Hello from Everywhere! Friends and Visits?

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Before the official intro I just wanted to say if anyone lives in SoCal, NorCal, Vancouver, South Florida, Colorado, Austin or another area with lots of ebikes and wants to go for a ride, grab lunch or even has a couch to crash on... sound off! I've met some great people here in the past and enjoyed visiting and experiencing new locations with a local friend. Comment or message me!

Hey guys and gals, this is Court Rye! I created EBR in 2013 to help people understand and better choose electric bicycles for their lifestyle and budget. My own first purchase was confusing, expensive and frustrating... I bought online and felt like I spent too much when the bike actually arrived. I had never assembled an ebike before and wasn't sure if I'd be able to get help from a regular shop if I messed something up or it broke and I wasn't sure if anyone would ever want to buy it used someday if I decided to upgrade or just move on. It was a tense day and I felt very alone, there were very few resources at the time but one that I relied on a lot was ElectricBikeReport.com run by my now-friend Pete Prebus!

Given how awesome this technology can be (health, community, and affordability wise) I was inspired to start reviewing bikes in my free time outside of work. I bought the domain electricbikereview.com for $1,500 and launched a WordPress site before eventually launching this forum so people could help each other. These days I'm so busy traveling and being "everywhere" trying to review the latest tech that I'm not on the forum as much as I'd like but our staff of @Angela M., @mitchhackleman, and @troehrkasse are here for you and they are great! I'm always open to more help so feel free to message me here or contact me directly if you'd like to join in. I believe in transparency and objectivity and do my best to disclose advertising relationships and moderator relationships etc. but still speak critically when need be. Please do the same, tell the truth and help people or at least use tact if you're on the attack :)

Just below is a video I shot before jumping into EBR full time. I was working for a tech startup in Austin, TX and using ebikes to commute to work... the bike in the video is an Easy Motion Neo Jumper and was my third electric bike! I finally felt like I had found one that worked great for me and was excited to share the experience with the world.


As always, thanks for being involved here. Your comments, helping each other and feedback to me make this place special and it means a lot. As always, ride safe! Here are a few pics of me doing reviews, this is how the magic happens baby XD

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Update! In March of 2018, EBR and me were featured in an article on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) magazine. It was an honor, but they were not able to fit in everything and I wanted to thank Ann M, Darlington, Tara, Brent, and Jeremy who have all helped in various ways to make this site and community possible, I love them and also appreciate everyone here who has contributed to this positive and useful space. I got permission to share the story here, and it's embedded as an image below along with some additional images I shared but that were not used (the last one is my Grandfather, who also loved riding bikes):

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A news station recently did a story on the history of EBR and they interviewed me. I got the full footage and posted it because it covers lots of topics, like how to pick an ebike and why they're awesome :D here's the video:

 
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wow the beginning of a legend :) Congrads on making electricbikereview the #1 ebike review site on the planet.

I am in LA now but fell in love with ebikes in SF...a place i think is awesome to ride ebikes.... LA is not so good for riding. But maybe you know some good rides...
 
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Hello Court: I just want to add my thanks to you and EBR. The site is a great resource, and I really enjoy the video reviews. I mostly watch them and try to control the drooling over the latest e-bike specs (I'm a mechanical engineer by trade). I am in Orange County (So Cal) and I do see e-bikes cruising up and down PCH once in a while. I am saving to get a Haibike Trekking RX (2015 model -- I like this setup, from the dynamo driven light system to the Bosch drive and 3/9 dual drive arrangement, although I wouldn't mind if a larger capacity battery option is available). Hopefully by the time I have enough $$$ I can still find one. Wish me luck :) Keep up the good work.
 
Hey Court, thanks so much for this site. Your reviews were a great help when I was choosing which bike to get...

I got interested in electric bikes when I ran across a blog called Electrek. I'm a big fan of electric cars (I drive a Volt) and electrek has all the latest info on electric vehicles including a whole section on electric bikes. They wrote an article on the Sondors e-bike for $500 and I knew I wanted an e-bike; but which one?

There's just a huge array of electric bikes out there and you do an amazing job of sorting them out and reviewing them... Luckily I live in So California and was able to go to a demo day at the Electric bicycle center in Fullerton a few weeks ago. Got to test ride a lot of different e-bikes; finally decided on an E-Lux Newport for several reasons; 1. comfortable and easy to ride 2. powerful enough for good speed and big hills 3. priced right 4. would fit in the back of my car.

I bought the bike last Sunday and have been riding it every spare moment I have. Its just a lot of fun. Its true what they say about e-bikes; they make you feel like a little kid again :)
 
Hey court, awesome website and resources!! Love the great work. We met briefly at the denver ebike expo, my name is Madeem, but everywhere online I go by Kaldeem. I live here in CO and would be down for a ride or w/e.
 
Court, it was EBR that got me hooked to ebikes. I'm commuting almost exclusively on ebike now. Thanks for all your work. If you happen to be in Austin, would love to go for a ride.
 
Hi there are you going to be in orange county anytime soon? I would love to go for a ride I'm new to this sport and would love to make friends.
 
Before the official intro I just wanted to say if anyone lives in SoCal, NorCal, Vancouver, South Florida, Colorado, Austin or another area with lots of ebikes and wants to go for a ride, grab lunch or even has a couch to crash on... sound off!

If you ever make it up to San Francisco, let's go for a ride! Also, my living room makes a perfect crash pad.
 
Mark, I just demoed a turbo couple weeks back in Texas wonderful ride , love the Brose power source .A front came through and temp dropped 20 degrees ,

saw Quail and a fawn and its mother jumping around check out YouTube Glendora Canyon mountain biking wish . Views of mts. are spectacular, have fun with your turbo.
 
Court,
I really appreciate you creating this site and forum, I was lost trying to figure what is what in the e-bike world. I am an avid MTB/Road biker myself, and was initially a little intimidated to venture into the e-bike world since being on the east coast. The market is just waking up to that option, if not sneering at it. Your educational write ups have assisted me in informing others on what this e-commuting lifestyle brings to the local community. If I ever make it out to the west coast in the near future, will definitely hit you up.
 
Hey Court,
I sent you an invitation to visit Prescott AZ on your regular website. Perhaps swing by on your way home from Interbike. Got an Xduro & Sduro you can compare side-by-side on some awesome mountain bike trails.
 
Mark, I just demoed a turbo couple weeks back in Texas wonderful ride , love the Brose power source .A front came through and temp dropped 20 degrees ,

saw Quail and a fawn and its mother jumping around check out YouTube Glendora Canyon mountain biking wish . Views of mts. are spectacular, have fun with your turbo.
Wow that was a beautiful ride! I ride yesterday and saw a Pac of cyotoes and it scared the hell out of me.
 
I appreciate the insightful reviews. Inspired me to get a couple Radrover's, one for my partner, one for me. Both got wounded in the shipping. But after swapping a couple parts, one is operating nicely giving my partner lots of joy. The tech people at rad power bikes are being quite helpful in getting replacement parts out to me. I'll give an update later on our rides here in Mendocino County.
 
Thanks Court. I have your YouTube channel listed in favorites and check it almost daily to see what's new. One problem I have is that I weigh about 100 more pounds than you do...235lbs. Maybe you could put on a 100 pound backpack to try bikes and see what happens. :)
 
Court, Great site!

I love your thorough reviews and look forward to new ones. You seem very fair and willing to share pros & cons of the various bikes you review.

Do you still review just in your spare time? Seems like it should be full time with as many reviews you have these days!

Keep up the good work!
 
Thanks, @LI-ghtcycle, the reviews and videoblogs and other goodies that Court produces are full time for him. He spends a fair amount of time on the road traveling to shops and manufacturers and the occasional ebike show to do reviews. No 'one stop' shopping for him :D
 
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