Maybe this is the secret. I obviously can't judge on that as I am on the other side of the channel but from what I've read in british bike forums for the majority of riders a bicycle seems not to be a way of transport but a sporting utility. And much to my amusement you even have a special word for those kind of riders: mamil (middle aged man in lycra), which leads to a tremendous amount of more less funny articles in the press.

Mamils are a trend in Germany, too (though until now they have been nameless) but the boost of the electric bikes was started by the older generation who have good money after retirement and totally refuse to stay calmly at home as their parents did. Instead, they buy electric bikes and put the shame on the juvenils they overtake on steep hills. As this was not acceptable now the youngsters are buying electric mountain bikes, as going downhill is so much easier if you do not have to propel uphill first. Commuters start to realize that they do not sweat as much using an electric bike and at the same time are able to commute much further and faster. Hipsters come to the conclusion that a single speed is so much easier to ride if half the power comes from an electric motor. And so on and so on. Cycling and green transport are absolutely trendy and now we go for the smart bike as the next step. The industry loves it. What's left are the mamils, filled with bitterness, - they will get cought via electric shifting and cloud-based training-software - and the ordinary people of all ages that have been cycling for transport for years and years w/o electric support. Those weirdos still think you can pedal yourself - but the industry will get them all, sooner or later.

That's a really good question! I have been wondering why on earth Brompton is trying to literally reinvent the wheel when it comes to ebikes. Maybe they will keep their solution as an USP, maybe they will license the technology - we'll know in a couple of years.