Looking for ebike shop owners

[mlt34]

I'm working on a website which will include a section featuring ebike shops from around the world. Largely US shops but also international as well. The section will be an overview of stores so someone on the site can click their country/state and see the closest physical locations that sell/service/repair ebikes and ebike components. It will include the basic who what when where facts as well as a bit of backstory on the shop, photos, specialties, etc.

If any ES members here own an ebike shop or know someone who does, I'd love for you to PM me if you'd like to be included in and featured on the site.

Thanks!

 

[mlt34]

Or if anyone knows any ebike shop owners and could refer me to them, thanks!

 

[spisska]

I hate to be Johnny Raincloud here, but think hard about what you're doing before committing a lot of time to it.

Ebikes are not an established market, so what storefront locations there are might not be around for long. A dataset like this is only useful if it's large and current, and it will be harder to keep current the larger it gets.

Before asking about storefronts, ask yourself this: Where do most people buy their ebikes in the US?

Off the top of my head, I'd guess 1) Wallmart or other big-box; 2) a licensed dealer at a regular bike shop that sells a whole lot more bikes than ebikes (and Currie/Prodeco seem to be following the auto-dealership model in the US); and 3) homebrew from any of dozens of mail-order shops.

Also, who services ebikes? For the most part, it's the users, just as with a normal bike, and everything sold at Wallmart is basically disposable. A licensed dealer will probably service bikes they've sold, but otherwise it's up to the user.

And who would you include? Would it be a regular bike shop with a service guy who doesn't mind respoking your hub? What about an RC hobby shop that sells batteries and basic kits, but no bicycles or service?

In other words, you're probably not going to be able to create a useful dataset, because by the time it's large enough to be useful, it will already be out of date.

If you want the locations of licensed dealers, just check with the manufacturer:

http://www.currietech.com/dealer-directory/
http://prodecotech.com/dealers/

 

[Farfle]

Sterling at Bend electric bikes has been successful for around 7 years. Shoot him an email at info@bendelectricbikes.com, let him know that you have ties to the sphere. A few others I have dealer experience with:

ebikes.ca (grin tech)
NYCewheels
Electric and folding bikes northwest
Ebike store in portland or
EbikesSF in san fran.

The problem i can see, is that all the ebike shop owners are soooper busy, so making it worth their time with an online article is important.

 

[mlt34]

I hate to be Johnny Raincloud here, but think hard about what you're doing before committing a lot of time to it.

I understand what you're saying, and you make good points. It's not the whole point of the site, just a side feature. So someone can learn about ebikes, then check this section out to see if there's an ebike shop in their neck of the woods.

Sure there are a bunch of bike shops that have an ebike or two in the corner, or that are 'also' pedego dealers or something like that, but I guess I'm more looking for 'real' ebike shops. somewhere you can go to have your battery repaired or buy a motor, etc. If you're living in Kansas then there probably won't be many near you. If you're in FL, CA, or actually most of either coasts, there's starting to be a bunch more options. So that's sort of my goal, to create this list of what is a growing ebike shop industry. You're right that keeping it up to date, as in removing dead stores, is going to be important. I'll have to put more thought into that actually. Thanks for the help.

 

[molybdenum]

Certainly an up-to date list of stores where you can have repairs done and purchase parts locally would be a valuable resource.

You're right that keeping it up to date, as in removing dead stores, is going to be important.

Here are some ideas to make your life easier. you can hyperlink the stores when possible, as checking the links periodically is easy; a dead link would indicate a possible closure. Also provide a button for readers to report dead links or store closures. You can invite users to comment/report new stores if they happen to hear of one in their neck of the woods.

The more work you can delegate to site users, the less work you will need to do yourself in maintaining the list and the more connected your users will feel to the site.

Best of luck