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5 uses for an Electric Bike during the Holidays

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Bridget Duffy | 1 Comment

When most people think of bike riding they don’t think of winter as the premier riding season. Think again! If you were planning on tucking your bike away for the holidays, think twice - there are plenty of reasons why an electric bike is a holiday hero.

1. “The Errand runner” : the holidays are a time of eating, drinking, gathering and forever running trips to get that one last thing you forgot at the store. Instead of risking your sanity to brave the mall or the grocery store parking lot during peak shopping hours enlist your trusty electric bike to shop for that one last spice to make the perfect dessert. Nothing feels better than pedaling past the gridlock for front door parking at all your favorite local spots.

2. “The Family Entertainer” : Do you have a horde of relatives you need to entertain? In need of an activity to get folks out of the house and keep them occupied? Hello electric bike demo rides! Since less than 1% of the population has ever ridden an electric bike you can ‘wow’ them with their first e-bike ride and send them up the biggest hill they can find.

3. “The Calorie Burner”: Turkey comma or holiday cookie overload? A leisurely post meal pedal around the neighborhood can keep you active in the midst of a busy season of delicious temptations. Not only is the motor useful when you are stuffed but you don’t have to subject yourself to the full spandex kit. Even with Boost Mode, a little exercise goes a long way this time of year.

4. “The Holiday Tour Vehicle” : One of the best kept riding secrets are neighborhood night rides. There is no better way to check out the neighborhood’s lights then bundled up on a bike. You are going fast enough to cover some ground and generate a little internal heat but slow enough to appreciate everyone’s decorations. Perfect family activity or romantic evening for those long winter nights. Plus, with your Faraday's integrated lighting, you're part of the festivities!

5. “Santa’s Helper” : Looking to spread the holiday cheer around your neighborhood? Load up your front rack with goodies, attach the kids trailer for your little helpers and throw some decorations on your bike for added flair. A great excuse to visit neighbors and friends while you introduce them to Santa’s new, environmentally-friendly delivery vehicle. After all, spreading cheer and spending time with your loved ones is what the holidays are all about.

Posted in fun, holidays, utility

Electric bicycles on NPR

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Adam Vollmer | 0 Comments

We enjoyed reading this week's All Things Considered, in which NPR reporter Susanna Capelouto interviews Atlanta e-bike commuter Joel Bowman. A central theme of the story is the trajectory of e-bikes in Europe, which originally entered the market primarily among older riders, before being embraced by a much wider and younger audience. E-bikes have in fact become SO successful in Europe that Holland is now considering widening its already ample bike lanes to accommodate the surge of cyclists that e-bikes have added to the roads. It's a common question - when will the popularity of e-bikes take off here in the US? And if it does, who will be the early adopters, what trajectory will the market take, etc. An assumption from the article is that like Europe, older riders (like 66 year old Joel) will be the first to embrace this new form of transportation. This may be true, but just listen to Joel's description of why he is wildly in love with his e-bike to understand why the appeal of electric bicycles transcends age:

"The real contrast is the old [non-electric] bike, somethings I got a little, 'Arghh, I gotta bike home, I'm tired,' " he says. "This, I just look forward to being on because it is pure fun."

Whether 66 or 36, who hasn't, at the end of a long day or work, resented the prospect of riding home after a long day at the office? Commuting by bicycle is a wonderful experience, a welcome opportunity to stretch the legs, lungs, and mind before or after a long day of work, and for many of us, the highlight of our work day (how many people can say that about our commute??). That said, we can all relate to the feeling of begrudging our bicycle after an especially long day - or worse yet, being tempted to choose the car over the bike at the start of our daily commute. Joel's comment says it best - a great electric bicycle elevates the experience of cycling, and if you're a commuter, helps ensure that that daily ride to and from work is always a highlight of your day that you'll simply look forward to.

Susanna cites the statistic that only 1% of Americans (about 3 million people) regularly bike to work as an example that the market for electric bicycles in the US is limited. Certainly, even another 0.5% of Americans would be a welcome addition - but at the same time, there is a lot of potential in those numbers. That's because only 150,000 electric bicycles were sold in the US last year. Or in other words, less than 5% of those 3 million American bicycle commuters are riding e-bikes. I can attest from personal experience that the vast majority of the remaining 95% have never even ridden, much less considered, an ebike. And that right there is an incredible opportunity; to show the population who has the most to gain from an electric bicycle - those 2,850,000 American bike commuters - what they're missing. (Not to mention the other 99% of Americans who don't yet bike to work!)

So with that said, if you live in the bay area, sign up for our brand new demo program and try a Faraday on your commute to work. If you're outside the bay, get in touch to find out about test ride opportunities near you, or pre-order your Faraday Porteur. Our next limited edition batch of bicycles ships in March, and with free shipping and our 30-day return policy you can be sure that you'll have the opportunity to fall in love with your Faraday before you commit to becoming a lifetime owner. Get on board and join Joel ... and Mike, Stuart, Amo, Tiffany, Matt, Jean, Echo, Chris, and the many, many others in the Faraday family who are happy e-bike converts. We know you won't look back.

Posted in commuting, demo, electric bicycle market

The Faces of Faraday

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Bridget Duffy | 0 Comments

We have to let you in on a little secret: Faraday riders are an amazing bunch. Sprinkled throughout the United States from Honolulu to Cambridge, it is hard to find a more diverse, enthusiastic and forward-thinking group. While they are notoriously hard to track down as they zip through their neighborhoods at 20mph, we managed to catch up with a handful of riders to share a photo and a few words about their bike. This week we are featuring a few friendly faces so you can hear what they have to say about being a Faraday owner.

"So enthused to be an original owner. I get stopped nearly every ride by people asking questions and marveling over the craftsmanship. I live at the top of a five-block incline so traditional biking was out of the question. Look at me now, slaloming up Potrero hills without breaking a sweat! Transportational autonomy is key, and the Faraday makes distances much more feasible. Thank you!"

Ligaya, bike #0157 - San Francisco, CA

“I have a smug look in this photo because I have been feeling the smugness since the day the Faraday arrived. The Porteur gets constant admiration. I meet so many, like myself, who appreciate art in motion. Love the ride and the freedom it provides.”

Tim, #0002 - Cambridge, MA

"My husband bought faraday #138 for my 64th birthday and I ride it up and down the steep hills of Portland. I still get the exercise but it takes me places I couldn’t otherwise go. The bike captures everyone’s attention. Usually it is the design and beauty that catches the eye, not the electric assist. That feature is well concealed, sometimes to even the most experienced bike-aholic. When they find out it is electric, they are full of questions and occasionally beg for a test ride. I usually accommodate, keeping their bike as collateral. They always return with a smile on their face, amazed with the performance and many with a conviction to one day have their own Faraday. Expect sales to soar in Portland."

Gail, #0138 - Portland, OR

People like Ligaya, Tim & Gail are the best part of coming to work at Faraday Bikes. We love seeing their smiling faces and we can't wait to meet the next generation of Faraday owners. This is the first of an ongoing series where we'll share the amazing stories, photos, and feedback we've received from the Faraday community. To join these three and the rest of our Faraday riders, place your pre-order today for our next limited-edition run, shipping March 2015. Looking for just a taste of the Faraday experience? Look for a dealer near you, sign up for our Demo Program today, or call us up - we're here to answer your questions.

Posted in faraday owners, testimonials

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

Surprise guests

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Adam Vollmer | 1 Comment

Working late last night, there was a knock at the door. Drop-in visitors are typically folks who have seen Faraday's sign in the window and are curious to learn more or take a test ride. At this time of night, well past dark, that seemed unlikely. The visitors turned out to be Pablo and Olga, touring cyclists from Spain who were riding literally around the world on two INCREDIBLY heavily-packed touring bikes.

What brought these two to our door? Pablo and Olga have been riding their bikes for the past two years, from Spain to Russia, then across the Pacific (by plane or boat, hopefully...) to Alaska, where they'd ridden down to California, on their way to Patagonia at the tip of South America. By the time they reached SF, though, the dampness of the city's epic fog got the better of the headlight on Olga's bike, and the electrical connectors attaching it to her generator hub became corroded and ceased to function. They had spotted the word "electric" in the window of Faraday's shop, and came knocking in the hopes we could fix Olga's light. They came to the right place. We dug up some replacement connectors, attached them to her headlight, and in no time her generator hub was working like new. Just to be on the safe side we sent them packing with a few spare connectors, just in case they had another breakdown in, say, a few thousand miles.

It was fun to meet Pablo and Olga, they were friendly and thoughtful guests, and the fact that they had been living on their bikes for over two years told me that we shared a passion for the experience of seeing the world on two wheels. I wished I could jump on a Faraday and ride south with them ... at least as far as Santa Cruz :) The experience also reminded me of an important part of our design process with Faraday. Sourcing electrical connectors is hard - surprisingly hard - and we had spend literally months finding the right mix of connectors for Faraday. It was a search that eventually took us to the enormous electrical markets of China, where we hand-picked exactly the right mix of connectors required for the Porteur from nearly half a dozen different vendors. We committed early on not to cut corners on connectors - we would use only parts that were mechanically sound, waterproof, and, nicely designed and made. Olga's headlight was actually a very nice, high-quality European model - but it cut corners by using an electrical connector that was poorly equipped to handle riding in damp, rainy conditions.

People sometime ask me what makes a Faraday bicycle expensive. They typically assume that there's one single item - the frame, the battery, the motor, etc. - that accounts for the vast majority of the bike's cost. I've never had an easy answer to this question, but last night, as Pablo and Olga headed off on their long journey to South America, I realized the answer. QUALITY. The common thread that ties a Faraday's many hundreds (if not thousands) of pieces together, and in may cases contributes to their expense, is quality - an unwillingness on our part to cut corners on any one item lest we sacrifice the quality of the whole experience. It's our insistence to go to the far corners of the world to find the right part, even for something as seemingly simple as an electrical connector. We just think it's the right thing to do. But, we're also excited for the day when one of our customers has ridden as many miles on their Faraday as Pablo and Olga - and we've designed our bikes so they'll never find themselves knocking on windows at 9pm in a strange city, looking for new connectors :)

Happy riding!