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Building a Beautiful Electric Bicycle- Production Update

Posted on December 08, 2014 by Victor Lane | 0 Comments

Here at Faraday Bikes we know you want more than just an another electric bicycle. You want a bicycle crafted to be functional and beautiful. That's why we designed the Faraday Porteur, the only electric bicycle that can be described as "art on two wheels." Currently our second round of production is underway and we wanted to share a peek behind the scenes as the next batch of beautiful bikes are created.

Before a finished Faraday is ready to roll, we carefully oversee every step of the manufacturing process. Every piece is designed, manufactured and double checked to ensure the highest level of quality possible. The very first step in this process is welding the Porteur's distinctive frame.

The frame of every Faraday Porteur is constructed from high quality steel tubing. Every piece is measured, cut and welded by hand. Our factory is small, employing just four expert welders. We chose carefully, selecting a factory that can assemble the frames quickly and efficiently while still meeting our high expectations and attention to detail. Many of these design elements are too small to be noticed on your finished bike, but we still check every single piece. This level of detail ensures that your Faraday is a piece of art on wheels.

Hugo, our lead engineer, traveled to our factory to ensure the bikes are being manufactured with the high level of quality you expect from us. He brought back these amazing pictures to share with you.

Your Faraday Porteur will be made from one of these steel tubes!

Every single Faraday Porteur is hand built by skilled craftsman.

Each frame is individually assembled and welded by a team of four expert welders.

Nine finished Faradays frames!

Manufacturing the frame is the first step towards a completed Faraday Porteur. Want to know what comes next? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or this blog for more production updates.

Can't wait that long to try our hill conquering Boost Mode? Sign up for the Faraday Demo program and take a spin tomorrow!

Posted in design/build, faraday staff, manufacturing, welding

Bike commuting for the love of it.

Posted on November 07, 2014 by Bridget Duffy | 0 Comments

People start riding their bike to work for many different reasons. Terrible traffic, congested or hard to access public transportation, expensive parking, etc. My path to becoming a bike commuter has nothing to do with any of those things.

A few years ago I moved from the Bay Area to a small town near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I traded life in the big city for a small house on Main Street. No really, my address was literally 600 Main Street. However despite the amazing rental market, I struggled with small town life. In a fleeting attempt to make new friends and adjust to southern life I embraced a variety of hobbies. Attempted to enjoy cooking, bought a skateboard, took surf lessons on the weekends, hip-hop dance class during the week and even joined the local tennis club out of desperation. In case you are wondering if any of these stuck, to this day I am a terribly mediocre cook/skateboarder/surfer and tennis player.

The moment that changed everything was the day I bought my commuter bike. I wandered into the local bike shop during lunch one day just “to browse” and fell in love with a shiny grass-green Specialized Globe. The details are hazy but I think the transaction took place in under 15 minutes with a 30 second test ride and plenty of remarks of how pretty I thought that bike was. It might have been the least technical bike sale in history.

My love affair with bikes was born that day. As silly as it sounds my favorite parts of the day were riding my bike to and from work. I quickly discovered small town life was perfect on a bike. The other riders waved when you passed by, I passed my co-workers in their cars when they were stuck at the traffic light, and my bike was a conversation starter and friendship-maker with strangers at the local coffee shop. To ride was freedom, and that was amazing. I explored ever inch of town, got out of the house and found random adventures that I would have never discovered if it wasn’t for my trusty two wheeled companion.

Now five years later I find myself back at home in the Bay Area and working for a bike company that has created the ultimate utility bike. Sure riding a Faraday is one of the most efficient ways to commute here but the real utility to me is the the joy that riding the bike brings. I still smile every time I pass a car, I still wave to my fellow riders and I meet even more curious strangers with a Faraday then I would have ever imagined. Call me crazy but commuting is still my favorite part of the day.

Bridget is a self proclaimed "boost-mode-only" rider and the Director of Community at Faraday Bicycles. You can find her riding a Faraday through the streets of San Francisco, Oakland and Marin County.

Posted in commuting, faraday staff, ulility