The Maturing of the Industry
Its another stormy day here in Ashland; March is doing its “in-like-a-lion…” thing again, so its a quiet day at the shop. I’m taking the opportunity to catch up on marketing projects, website updates, and taking stock of just what we’ve created with the support of our community. This job has great rewards!
Seeing the smiles on the faces of new electric bike owners as they step into (or onto, to be precise) a new chapter in their lifestyle choices brings me great joy. People coming together in the name of fun and health and greater harmony with their natural surroundings is always a rewarding endeavor. What might seem like simple or even trite changes in our daily habits can sometimes surprise us with their actual significance, and its fun to witness that process again and again. Besides that, there’s the piece of this picture where I get to play with cool new stuff all the time!
As e-bikes gain in popularity worldwide more companies are investing greater resources into refining the product. There’s an amazing evolution of innovation and features finding their way into ebikes comparable to what we’ve come to expect from car makers and motorcycle companies. More and more of the big name players are entering the scene all the time – GM, Ford, VW, BMW, KTM, Yamaha – the list goes on and on.
The biggest changes we’re seeing with e-bikes are in the realm of connectivity via the internet. Diagnostics can now be performed that rival much of what you get at your best auto repair centers. Upgrades and downloads can be pushed from manufacturers to their bikes via a computer hook-up or in some cases via the ‘cloud’. Smart phone integration for enhanced user control is also showing up on more bikes.
Motors are more durable and efficient, electronics become more solid and trouble-free, and battery technology, of course, advances every season. Its such an exciting time to be alive and participating, via our spending dollars, in the progression toward healthier more sustainable ways to be and move about in the world around us. If you think that bikes are merely toys and electric bikes are just the latest fad, think again. They’re so much more than that. They represent the two-wheeled aspect of the revolution that’s sweeping (and rolling) across the face of our planet. More and more people are waking up to the fact that we need to come into much greater harmony with the natural world around us. Come join the movement; your children and their children will thank you!
