Direct to Consumer Electric Bikes
Direct to consumer, DTC or D2C, for electric bikes is when the manufacturer sells an eBike online and ships it direct to the consumers house, skipping the local bike shop or big box retailer.
- Order your new eBike online.
- It's shipped to your home in a big box.
- Assembly is required... some less than others.
The single biggest advantage of DTC is lower prices.
Direct to consumer eBike brands sell $1,000 to $1,500 less than local bike shops.
Makes sense... Local bike shops need bigger margins to cover their expenses.
So, they sell brands like Specialized, that have always allowed for the margins they need.
I don't mean to crap on local bike shops, we all need them.
What are you going to do when your eBike needs maintenance, it breaks or it's shifting funky.
That direct to consumer brand doesn't have a shop around the corner to bring it to.
It'll be the local independent bike dealer, IBD, that you'll be asking for help in your time of need.
Challenges
Test Rides
How do you test ride an eBike that has no retail stores near you?
Simple... you don't. You buy before you try.
Just make sure their return policy is super easy.
These brands are coming up with all sorts of creative ideas to get you on their eBikes.
- Home trials
- Pay current owners in your area to try their bikes.
- In-depth, video reviews are a must have. So, they give their eBikes to YouTube influencers like eBike Escape or Electrek.co to share their thoughts.
Shipping and Assembly
Direct to consumer eBikes get shipped to house in a box.
Assembly is required, but mostly the easy stuff.
Like handlebars, pedals and wheels.
One of my favorited brands, Electric Bike Company, ships their eBikes completely assembled, but they do charge extra for shipping.
Service After the Sale
Partners are key to this challenge.
Most DTC brands partner with local bikes shops or mobile service companies to provide the service you need.
As the direct to consumer channel grows in the eBike industry, all of these challenges will be addressed one way or another. They are just trying different ideas right now to see what sticks.
Direct to Consumer eBike Brands
There are a lot, but here's a list of some that are included in ThrottleFans.
Lectric
Top selling USA brand founded in 2019, known for truly affordable quality eBikes.
Ride1Up
Founed in 2018, another USA brand building truly affordable quality ebikes with name-brand components.
Juiced Bikes
Founded in 2009, one of the first direct to consumer brands in the US market. Has been a favorite to eBike experts.
Electric Bike Company
Founded in 2014, known for being the best American built eBike company. Most eBikes are built in China, not these...
The bike comes fully built - USA based warranty and insurance and builders etc - plus ability to customize
Rad Power Bikes
Founded in 2007, best known as the largest eBike seller in the US.
Velotric
A newcomer, founded in 2021 by a team spun out of large shared-bike programs bringing experience for scalable manufacturing and supply chain management to eBikes.
Aventon
Founded in 2013 with a single speed bike racing team. Pivoted in 2018, bringing their racing knowledge building bikes that last to consumer eBikes.