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You are here: Home / Electric Bike News / EcoSpeed Launches Kickstarter to Ramp Up Production

EcoSpeed Launches Kickstarter to Ramp Up Production

September 22, 2014 by Gary M. Kaye 4 Comments

ecospeed electric bike kitBy Gary Kaye.

EcoSpeed, the Portland, Oregon based maker of mid-drive motor systems has launched a Kickstarter campaign and only ten days into the project says it had achieved 53% of its $75,000 goal.

According to EcoSpeed General Manager Brad Davis, “With just over twenty days to go, we’re feeling very good about reaching our goal.

The outpouring from existing and potential customers has been very gratifying.” Davis says that even though the company has built more than 450 systems over the past decade, it is hoping to take advantage of the huge surge in the e-bike industry by moving out of the one-off business and set up an ongoing manufacturing line to produce its motor kits in quantity.

ecospeed commuter electric bikes

Davis says there are two things that differentiate the EcoSpeed system from other e-bike systems, “We’ve been in business for a decade and have proven that we know how to create motors that have great performance and reliability.”

And he adds, “With the EcoSpeed system, you can put our motor on whatever bike you have for whatever need, be it commuting, recreation, cargo hauling, or fitness.”He notes that the system lets riders use all the gears on whatever bike they have, and they don’t have to compromise with the gearing provided by a rear hub system, whether from a kit or a manufactured bike.

ecospeed electric cargo bike

The company says the Kickstarter campaign will allow it to produce fifty systems, enough to warrant adding employees and create a full-fledged production line.

For those pledging funds for the campaign, EcoSpeed is offering a variety of bikes and trikes configured with its motors at substantial discounts as well as complete kits.   It is also offering other partner products such as paniers and bike flags for those who want to help out without buying a complete kit.

ecospeed electric trikes

EcoSpeed founder and CEO Brent Bolton notes, “Most of the Kickstarter projects are for startup companies that have a concept, but no products.  We have been producing our motors since 2004 and have a cadre of customers who’ve used our motors on mountain bikes, trikes, recumbents, road bikes, and cargo bikes.  The positive response from our customers, coupled with the tremendous growth in e-bikes, leads us to believe that this is the right time to expand, and after looking at a number of financing options, we felt that Kickstarter was the way to go.”

Learn more about the Ecospeed Kickstarter campaign.

Thanks to Gary Kaye for this article. Gary is a professional journalist who is passionate about e-bikes and technology. Learn more about Gary’s work.

Here is an article about a visit to the EcoSpeed headquarters in Portland, OR.

And here is Gary’s review of the EcoSpeed kit on his Greenspeed recumbent trike.

And an article about B-Line PDX who uses the EcoSpeed kit on their pedal/electric delivery trikes in Portland.

P.S. Don’t forget to join the Electric Bike Report community for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips!

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Filed Under: Electric Bike News, Electric Bike Videos Tagged With: ecospeed, electric cargo bike, Gary Kaye, kickstarter

Comments

  1. Lynn Ellsworth says

    September 26, 2014 at 12:29 pm

    The article about ecobike and Kickstarter was fun to read but I can’t seem to find any information on the costs of ecobike motor kits or even anyway to contact ecobike.

    My questions:
    Do any of the ecobike kits work with belt drives? How much do the kits cost?

    Belt drives and ecobike kits seem like a good combination because the mid drive ecobike motor powers the crank with a short chain and not the rear gear cassette so any type of drive and pulleys on the bike already are not affected.

    Reply
  2. Thomas Seaman says

    September 26, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    Lynn, their website is http://www.ecospeed.com
    the kickstarter is at
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2101618838/american-made-ecospeed-welcome-to-the-revolution
    They can make a kit that fits your bike =)
    Even if your bike has a belt drive…
    Tho I’m not sure if they would switch it to chain driven as perhaps belts are not strong enough…
    check their website, it has contact info. on it …

    Reply
  3. Lynn Ellsworth says

    September 29, 2014 at 9:51 am

    Every time I mention belt drives and electric motors someone tells me that belts may not be strong enough for 350, 500, or 750 watt electric motors. Then I visit a Harley Davidson Motorcycle store and see huge gas powered motorcycles with belt drives. And then I look at one of my chain drive bikes and see thin tiny pieces of metal held together with tiny press fit pins.

    Would someone please give me actual facts. Is Gates selling defective carbon belts for bicycles, are small electric motors capable of more torque than 1000 cc gas motors, or are people just afraid of quieter smoother simpler cleaner progress?

    Reply
  4. Ken Campbell says

    October 7, 2014 at 8:04 am

    Belt drives are the future. They are extremely strong, and, maintenance free. Throw in a NuVinci drive and you will be in awe.

    Reply

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