So how did the Kalkhoff accomplish in the to and fro of a circadian drive from Syston to Leicester and back?

It's a 13-mile round trip I make on my normal push bike every Monday to Friday without too much trouble.

Last week, though, the Kalkhoff would have it all to do. I was pathetically enfeebled by man-flu as I got ready for my first ride home. The aftermost affair I acquainted like accomplishing was throwing my achy limbs over a bike anatomy and trudging it up the Melton Road into a head-wind.

Yet, unbelievably, it couldn't accept been easier. The bike absolutely does do all the donkey work.

Imagine actuality on a bike with Chris Boardman. He's on the back, accomplishing best of the legwork. You're at the front, coasting along.

The tilting scenery told me I was going up a hill, but the electric bike glided along like the incline was a figment of my fevered imagination.

Leicester to Syston is hardly the Pyrenees, but even the sharp gradients of footbridges were effortlessly levelled out by the appliance of German engineering science.

Fellow cyclists, puffing and panting, gawped in disbelief as they were effortlessly outpaced by a podgy bloke who wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Solid, comfortable and well built, the Kalkhoff rides like a bike that can handle a much tougher and longer commute than mine.

Scott says the electric bike can cover up to 40 miles on one charge and (after the first night when I drained the battery by constantly fiddling with the settings) I couldn't dispute that.

Syston to Leicester and back only knocked one light off the power indicator, suggesting there was plenty of juice still in the tank.

The motor formed after a botheration and accepting to grips with its operation took little time – already I got acclimated to the hardly aberrant awareness that the bike capital to run abroad with me.

The first question, then, has been answered conclusively in the affirmative. This is a very good bike indeed.

Now for the additional one – the eco-conundrum. Is it environmentally friendly? Can you put a motor on a bike, one of the greenest forms of carriage available, and still accomplish a affirmation for it actuality green?

Scott insists you can. Electric bikes might not be as eco-immaculate as their entirely pedal-powered rivals, but they are cleaner than almost every other transport alternative.

Recharging the battery from flat would take about five hours, says Scott, but if you keep it recharged it takes nothing like that.

"You're looking at a couple of pence to recharge the battery, possibly 4p, depending on your electricity supplier," he explains. "This bike is not a huge cesspool on electricity."

At £1,595 for a 2009 archetypal and £1,895 for the latest incarnation, the Pro-Connect's not absolutely cheap.

"It's still cheaper than running a scooter," says Scott, "and it's a lot cheaper than running a car. We anticipate these bikes pay for themselves in about 10 months in agreement of money adored on petrol."

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