The Most Unexpected of Places for An Electric Bike
No one is a more fervent electric bike evangelist than a brand new, first-time electric bike customer. Sometimes you meet them in the most unexpected places.
I have a love-hate relationship with my car. It’s taken me on great adventures and it’s an important part of my own personal transportation mix, yet I go out of my way to leave it parked in front of the house and go by foot or by Faraday whenever possible. More trips by e-bike equals fewer cash outlays on gas and oil changes, but more importantly, ditching my car in favor of my Faraday means I am happier, healthier, and less-stressed – and that’s worth even more to me than cutting back on the estimated $5k per year that Consumer Reports tells me I’m spending on automotive upkeep.
A big chunk of that annual automotive spending bill comes from semi-regular trips to my local mechanic for upkeep on my aging Mazda. I’m lucky to have had the same car mechanic for the past 6 years … the kind of local shop that knows me by name and knows my car even better. It’s the sort of shop where you can feel good about being a customer, even when you discover that a slashed sidewall is going to set you back for a brand new set of tires.
It was on just such a trip to the automotive garage, this morning, that I spotted a shiny new e-bike in the back of the shop. I asked around and was happily surprised to learn that it belonged to none other than David, the owner of the shop. Just two weeks earlier, he’d sold the gas-guzzling oversized truck he’s driven for years and upgraded to an e-bike for his ~4 mile commute to work. He loves the exercise, the opportunity to get outdoors, and the thrill of riding his speedy new bike – he couldn’t be happier with his new set of wheels.
I walked home and rode by later in the morning on my Porteur, let David take it for a spin (he loved it), and chatted e-bikes for a bit. He hadn’t heard of Faraday when doing his research (shame on us for the missed marketing opportunity) but loved the bike’s classic lines and smooth ride. We may have missed the chance to win him as a customer, but now his wife wants an e-bike … hopefully, she has a Faraday e-bike in her future.
I rode away with a bigger-than-normal smile on my face, already thinking about this blog post. It’s the greatest thing in the world to me that a guy who’s lived and breathed automobiles for 30 years or more can so happily walk away from his own car (or truck) and become an electric bicycle evangelist. David’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I like to hope that many more of his future customers will come in for an oil change and leave with something far more inspiring – a glimpse of a new alternative for the future of transportation, in the most unexpected of places.
– Adam