E Bikes and Vulnerability

Welcoming June with some thoughts on E Bikes and Vulnerability.

E bikes are still the hot topic on the to do list and in conversations with retailers and association partners. With lots of growth and development we as an industry need to work through safe places to ride, best practices in retail, battery safety and overall risk and regulation.

This past May, NBDA Board Member Kent Cranford, attended the PeopleForBikes Electric Bicycle Summit in Asheville, NC on behalf of the NBDA and retailers at large. For those unable to attend the event, Kent has shared with me some key takeaways of the event for retailers…

“Thursday's all-day Summit was very well attended with around 75 folks.?It was held in an open-air pavilion?at a private restaurant in Asheville's River Arts District.?The keynote speaker, Jeremy Hyatt of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, spoke about the amazing work that he has been able to do with the building of the Fire Mountain trail system in Cherokee. He pointed out that it has been e-bike legal since the opening and gave the reasons about why, mainly to allow the Cherokee citizens more ability to access those trails.

After that keynote, there was a moderator-led panel discussion on E-bike access for everyone.

The take-aways on the topics were these:

• Access is still an issue although there seems to be good momentum and e-bikes are much more accepted than they were only a few years ago.
• E-bikes are expensive and there need to be ways for lower-income riders to have?access to them.
• Shops will need to be more open to working on a wide array of e-bikes
• Battery safety is a BIG Deal and everyone needs better education on that
• Regulation and legal definitions are starting to be more closely monitored as non-compliant e-bikes are causing most of the problems

The event finished off with a great e-bike tour of Downtown Asheville.?The mountains almost require an e-bike for this tour and we went on some routes that you would never take on a regular bike.”

As we continue to work to best inform retailers around e bike risk, regulation and safety, we are currently offering a scheduled 4-part super webinar series for retailers on Best Practices.

Part 1- A Fireside Chat around UL code, Battery Safety and Regulation was last week. You can access the recording on our You Tube Channel.

Part 2- What Dealers should tell their customers about the safe storage and Charging of Lithium -ion batteries is taking place tomorrow, Thursday June 2nd at 1pm EST. Pre-register here.

You can find a link to part 3 and 4 on the NBDA Event list.

On this morning’s run I was thinking about how we, as shop owners, mothers, friends; ?humans, how we have this superpower to create genuine moments the more we let our walls down and share our truth. We might be struggling inside, we might have a big dream we are after that sounds silly, but the key is to be vulnerable and let people in. As we share, we grow and people around us understand what we need, how they can support us and how to best interact with us.

This is true with our customers that come through our door. Walk in any bicycle store in any city and you will most likely find bicycles, tires, tubes, lube, and more. But what we see that is unique is what makes us want to keep popping into store after store just to visit. We know there will be bikes there, what sparks are interest is what we don’t know we will find. The possible conversations, the people we will meet, the other rides.

I challenge you, your staff, and your shop to not be like every other shop. Be authentic. A reminder to promote your culture, your shop story, that is 100% yours. There is not another store like yours. You are it. 100% your vision. So, when riders come through your door it is up to you to capture that person and share. People value connection. With so many choices out there, today’s consumer wants to spend their money and time on things that leave them with a memory, that make them feel good. Create an environment that allows a sharable story of an experience, something they can connect with and relate. People are moving away from just buying the bike; it’s about the process, reason, and people behind it.?

Why visit the IBD? Service, product, and more commonly addressed the "experience." Where can you learn about group rides, or hear first-hand reviews on product? You and your staff. Where can consumers go to chat local trails, ask about which tires they should ride, or get excited about something they never knew they needed? Your shop.

Why does your business exist and why does it matter? Begin with the story of your business. Share it, then share it again. It is who you are. Go all in and be vulnerable. Every single person who has visited your store once, should come back in this week and visit you again. Do you believe that? I am sure that since they visited last, something has changed. Let’s invite them back in. Organize a community day and educate all about cycling. Products, safe places to ride. Invite schools, day cares, seniors, spread the word and make it about the sport with your shop at the epicenter. Or share news of a remodel, send an email to your database, come see what’s new – new service center, new clothing section, or outdoor community space. Invite local clubs, race organizers, even cross sports like running or hiking clubs over to pop up some 10 by 10 tents in the parking lot and have an outdoors day.

Be creative, be you and go all in.

We got this.