Tradition

Crackers are one of the favourite festive table decorations on the Christmas dinner table or parties; They make a snapping sound when pulled open. They also contain a small gift of a toy or trinket, coloured paper hat, motto and a joke. In one version of this tradition, the person with the larger portion of cracker keeps all the items. In another, each person has their own cracker and keeps its contents regardless. We have been wearing festive hats to eat our Christmas dinner as far back as the Roman times. This is when on December 17th, they held a festival in honour of the God Saturn.

History

Christmas crackers were first made in about 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith. When on a visit to Paris in 1840 he came across French ‘bonbon’ sweets. On his return to London, he tried selling similar sweets including a small motto or riddle in with the sweet. These didn’t sell very well, and sales slumped.

Legend says that one night, whilst putting a log on his fire, he became aware of the sparks and crackles coming from it.

Suddenly, it came to him what a fun idea it would be, if his sweets could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half.

In 1861 Tom Smith launched his new range of sweets calling them ‘Bangs of Expectation’!

When Tom died, his three sons, Tom, Walter and Henry took over the expanding cracker business.

Walter introduced the hats into the crackers and travelled around the world. Gaining inspiration for gifts to put in them building up a big range of themed crackers.

There were ones for bachelors and spinsters with gifts such as false teeth and wedding rings! There were also crackers for Suffragettes, war heroes and even Charlie Chaplain!

Crackers were also made for special occasions like Coronations. The British Royal Family still has special crackers made for them!

Very expensive crackers were made containing a solid silver box with a piece of gold and silver jewellery inside it!

The world’s longest Christmas cracker measured 63.1m (207ft) long and 4m (13ft) in diameter. It was made by the parents of children at Ley Hill School and Pre- School, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, on 20 December 2001.

On 18 October 2009 the biggest Christmas cracker ever pulled was by 1,478 people. This was at an event organised by Honda Japan at Tochigi Proving Ground.

Tom Smith merged with Caley Crackers in 1953. A memorial water fountain to Tom Smith and his family stands in Finsbury Square, London.

Your own cracker

One of the best gifts you can give is an electric bike.

Electric Bikes are fun, they keep you fit, give you freedom and are good for the soul.

It is also a great way to start the New Year and getting fit will become not only a resolution but an excuse just to get out on your new ebike.

There are bikes for every pocket with no compromise of power and freedom. Prices from an unbelievable £999 will not fail to impress you.

To test ride these or any of our other fabulous bikes come and visit our showroom on Stroudley Road, Basingstoke where there’s plenty of free parking.

For Wincanton please call to book an appointment on 01256 353465 or 07771 927354

If you need a little financial help, especially at this time of year; for a simple, quick and easy process look at our finance page

To order an electric bike or top up on your stocking fillers with our wide range of accessories head over to our website www.espokes.co.uk

Our last day to guarantee you delivery in time for Christmas is Tuesday 17th December.

Here is a little Christmas joke to leave you all with;

Who is Santa’s favourite singer?

Elf-is Presley!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

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Electric Bikes are a fantastic Christmas Gift but what is Christmas really all about?

Christmas is a yearly festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

The month and date of Jesus’ birth are unknown.

By the early-to-mid fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25th, and from then on it is always a religious and cultural celebration on this day; a public holiday in many of the world’s nations.

Throughout the world, the celebratory customs associated with Christmas are a mix of pre-Christian, Christian and non-Christian themes.

Popular modern customs of Christmas include Advent calendars, Christmas songs, carol singing, sending cards, giving presents and decorating homes and towns with various Christmas decorations.

On Christmas day there are church services after a special meal, usually of turkey and ham or other meats with lots of vegetables. 

Christmas crackers to pull with jokes and a paper hat, finishing with a Christmas pudding traditionally set alight before eating.

Because of the tradition of bringing presents especially to children during the Christmas season by historical figures such as Santa Claus, Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas; the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world giving a much-needed boost to retailers and businesses.

Only 14 cycling days now left until Christmas.

One of the best gifts you can give this year is an electric bike.

Electric Bikes are fun, they keep you fit, give you freedom and are good for the soul.

They are a great way to start the New Year.

Getting fit will become not only a resolution but an excuse just to get out on your new ebike.

This year we introduced new models such as the Westhill range of ebikes.

They are modern and stylish with integrated battery hidden in the down tube.

The Classic has a traditional appearance whilst offering maximum comfort.

It offers the smoothest of rides with its latest high performance 40nm hub motor, 9 levels of assistance, front and rear disc brakes, Shimano 7 speed gears, all giving you great and leisurely ride;

The Ghost is discreet and lightweight with a frame offering unrivalled balance.

It gets you to the top of that hill faster without compromising on performance. It also has  front suspension which can be adjusted or even locked out for road cycling, perfect for that urban commute. Not forgetting a smart on-board tech for controlling and monitoring speed, battery, distance, lifetime distance and lights at a glance.

These are bikes with no compromise of power and freedom.

Priced from an unbelievable £1200.00 you cannot fail to be impressed.

To test ride these or any of our other fabulous ebikes come and visit our showroom on Stroudley road, Basingstoke where there’s plenty of free parking. For Wincanton please call to book an appointment on 01256 353465 or 07771 927354

If a little financial help is needed especially at this time of year; for a simple, quick and easy process take a look at our finance page.

To order an electric bike or top up on your stocking fillers with our wide range of accessories head over to our website www.espokes.co.uk

Our last day to guarantee you delivery in time for Christmas is Monday 17 thDecember. We will be open in Basingstoke until Saturday December 22 nd .

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Black Friday Ebike Deals are back

Black Friday is here once again.  If you have been thinking about buying an electric bike you could benefit from one of our super deals.

This year Black Friday is on Friday 23 November 2018 and Cyber Monday is on Monday 26^th November 2018.

We will be running several deals from now until cyber Monday and then two massive deals not to be missed – one on Black Friday and one on Cyber Monday. Visit Ebike sale page to take advantage of our current offers

If you have been wondering what Black Friday is and where it comes from, read on!

Black Friday comes from America and is the day after Thanksgiving Day, which is on the fourth Thursday in November and since 1952 has been known as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It is not an official holiday, but in some American states, it is seen as such by the State Government, who gives their employees time off in lieu.

It has become the traditional day for retailers to give big discounts to mark the unofficial launch of the Christmas shopping period.

It was named “Black Friday” by the Philadelphia Police Department in the 1950s and 60s. Due to the high number of shoppers out to get the best deals, cities became gridlocked and they described the chaos caused on this day as Black Friday.

Although this shopping phenomenon dates back to the Great Depression in 1939, it only came to England in 2010. As public awareness grew, 2013 was a real turning point with Amazon and Asda a subsidiary of Walmart announcing Black Friday deals which have led to companies now offering bigger and better deals each year.

At Espokes we run various offers all year long. Check out our demo bike page to pick up a fantastic deal on an ex-demo electric bike.

You could wait and see what we have on offer to take part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there’s no need to delay as we will be giving up to £100 off all ebike purchases throughout the weekend; saving our two best deals specifically for the Friday and Monday.

Visit our BLACK FRIDAY page to keep updated on our offers through out the week or pop into our showroom for even more discounted prices.

We will be keeping our deal under wraps until the weekend in question – but if you want to hear about it first, make sure you sign up to our newsletter below

The post Black Friday Ebike Deals appeared first on Espokes.

Take a look at our perfect Christmas Gifts. Only ten cycling days left until you need to hand over those presents, and an electric bike could just make someones Christmas even more special than usual.

Electric Bikes are fun, they keep you fit, give you freedom and are good for the soul.

It is also a great way to start the New Year and getting fit will become not only a resolution but an excuse just to get out on your new ebike.

Due to the success of Black Friday – we have another unmissable deal.

Santa has told us he will be giving either £600 off the Riese & Muller Charger or a RooDog Bliss folding electric bike free.

The Riese & Muller Charger

The Riese & Muller Charger will set you back £3689. It is powered by the industry-leading Bosch Performance centre drive motor. This will help reinforce your own muscle strength with speeds up to 15.5mph. This combined with a 36V 500Wh lithium-ion frame batter, gives you a range of up to about 50 miles per full charge.

Its handlebar mounted Bosch Intuvia display is the control centre for the Charger. With a complete range of information delivered to the rider via the Intuvia including; battery status, range, daily mileage, total mileage, ride time, current motor power, time, speed and average speed.

It also benefits from a walk-assist function taking the bike up to 4mph, always handy when you are walking it through town centres etc.

The Charger is a multi-award-winning design, and it is hard not to fall in love with it. Every single detail delivers superb functionality. The cables even run hidden under the top tube and through the frame. It has a level of sportiness and outstanding riding characteristics. In the words of a Charger owner, “I now have a bike I can ride in great comfort.”

The continuous NuVinci hub gears without gaps between shifts make for a faster smoother gear change, and the Gates carbon belt drive means its low maintenance.

To ensure shorter braking distances, the Charger has hydraulic Shimano Deore disc brakes which don’t fail to impress with their superb braking performance.

The 27.5” wheels and Schwalbe fat tyres guarantee the ultimate in riding comfort and add to the athletic look of the bike along with the Ergon GP1 performance comfort grips.

As well as all this superb technology you have the choice of money off or a folding electric bike completely free.

The RooDog Bliss

RooDog Bliss folding ebike

The Bliss folding electric bike would set you back £899 if you were to buy it on its own.

The brilliant thing about the Bliss is that it is so compact it easily fits under your staircase cupboard or you can squeeze it into that small space in your shed.

If you need to take the car into the garage a couple of miles away or you are nipping on and off trains, the Bliss will be a lot easier to take with you than the Charger.

It is made from aluminium alloy 6061; this makes it both light and robust.

The 250watt rear hub motor will assist you up to 15.5mph and is powered by a 36 volt 10Ah lithium-ion battery. This will give you a range of up to about 30 miles per full charge.

The display shows the battery indicator, management of five speeds, and powerful LED lights for the front and back.

The Shimano 7 speed Megarange gears mean you won’t have any problems taking on those hills and the extra low bottom gear means hill starts are a lot easier too.

The 20” wheels make it easy to fold away into the boot of your car and with the aluminium alloy zoom suspension, v brakes front and rear, this makes the Bliss very good value for money.

Our last day to guarantee your delivery in time for Christmas is Monday 18^th December. We will be open in Basingstoke until Saturday, December 23^rd. If you wish to visit us in Wincanton, please call to book an appointment 01747 840210

To order an electric bike or top up on your stocking fillers with our wide range of accessories head over to our website www.espokes.co.uk

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