Last summer, I received an email from someone named Bill*.
“Where is your store? I want to come see your bikes.”
We get this question every so often.
My response:
We don’t have a physical store. We make appointments to meet our customers for test rides in Confederation Park so they can experience the comfort and many benefits of our bike for themselves.
There’s no quicker way to discover the value of a bike than to ride it.
Bill's response is:
“Seems a bit odd to me, but I’ll give it a try.”
He books a test ride.
I meet Bill Friday afternoon, in the parking lot at Confederation Park. He has a hearty handshake with rough hands and a look of slight suspicion. I show him how to use our bike and adjust his bike so he’s comfortable.
We cruise for 30 minutes, weaving amongst the paths while he tells me about his recently begun retirement. We hit hills and I see him grinning ear to ear as he powers up them quickly and smoothly.
As we near the end of our ride, Bill is explaining to me what it was like for him to ride a bike as a kid. There's a small crack in his voice. I look over at the grizzled 60 something year-old man and see he’s having a meaningful emotional moment. Though, I’d never tell him that.
The ride ends, he shakes my hand again, but this time his eyes are full of amusement.
“Well, I was a bit suspicious of this whole thing, but now I understand why you want people to come ride your bikes. These ebikes really are special.”
He bought a TuffHill ebike a week later and put a few thousand kms on it over the last few months of summer. His bike riding has become a huge part of him enjoying his retirement.
*I changed Bill’s name for the purpose of this story because he was a little bit embarrassed at the emotion he showed, but he thought it would still be a good story to share with people.
We don’t have a store because we want to serve our customers exceptionally well.
Having a physical location restricts our time and finances in ways that retract from our goal of providing value for you.
5 Ways We Serve You Better Without a Retail Store:
1. Long-Term Sustainability
We need to serve you for as long as you have your bike.
We plan to be in business for decades. Having a lower overhead for our start-up allows us to lower our risk significantly. We can have lower prices on our premium bikes and re-invest more in the company. We can sell fewer bikes and still be profitable which leads to more care for each of our customers because we have more time.
2. Personal Real-life Test Rides
An E-bike is a huge investment.
Riding a bike is an important test for you in making a purchase. A loop around a parking lot isn't going to tell you enough about your comfort level on the bike. If you don’t feel comfortable, you won’t ride. That will be a waste of your money.
We love going for longer test rides with our customers to learn about their needs and teach them to ride safely.
3. Flexible Service
Our bikes require very little maintenance. But when they do need to be worked on, most of the time it’s a small job. That means we can come to you so you don’t need to worry about bringing your bike in and waiting weeks for it to be fixed.
4. Low Pressure Connection
People are most comfortable when they don’t feel pressured to buy.
Our rides are in a low-pressure, highly educational environment. A storefront would add overhead, increasing the pressure on us to make more sales to cover the cost. We prefer to spend our energy helping people, like you, understand e-bikes so they can make the best-educated decision.
Interacting with us will be friendly and professional.
5. Community Participation
By not being tethered to a store, we gain the freedom to participate in community events. As a local business, we believe we have a responsibility to make our community more resilient and safer for current and future generations.
Since our inception, we’ve helped with:
• Community Association Bike Fairs
• City Councillor Ward Rides
• The Alberta Bike Swap
• Teaching Basic Bike Repair in Schools
• Teaching E-Bike Safety to Seniors
• Promoting Active Transportation in Schools and Businesses
We have a service shop and a warehouse where we store our bikes, but they aren’t nearly as beautiful as Confederation Park.
“I’ve lived in Calgary for 40 years and have never ridden through this area before”, Bill mused halfway through our ride as we rolled under the giant shady Poplars along the path.
He’s one of many who’ve made the same statement on one of our test rides.
Calgary has a plethora of beautiful parks and pathways that can only be appreciated and fully explored by bike. E-bikes make it faster, easier and more fun.
I know we’re a bit unconventional, but I will do my best to help you discover child-like adventure on an amazing bike.
I’d love to take you on a test ride to help you learn more about what you need in an e-bike. I
f it's still winter as you're reading this, you may want to wait for the weather to get better. So you can sign up below to be contacted to book a test ride once the conditions are better.
If you're looking for an ebike to ride year round, through the winter, now is a great time to go for a test ride and feel how our bike handles the winter pathways. You can book a test ride here.
We expect to sell out of our bikes this Summer, so we’d like to make sure you can get yours in time for the riding season.
Thank you for your time. I hope to ride with you soon.
Sean