Trip Report: The Electric Bike Scene in Bend, Oregon. [VIDEOS]

I recently took a trip to Bend, Oregon and I had a chance to visit a couple of e-bike shops and check out some other e-bike & bike culture.

Bend is a mountain town in Central Oregon and has a population of around 80,000.

During the summer it’s usually nice and dry with long sunny days.  Bend is a very outdoor focused town with lots of opportunities for walking, biking, hiking, boating/rafting, fishing, rock climbing, skiing, etc.

Like some other towns in Oregon, Bend has a lot of bikepaths and bike routes that many people (locals and tourists) use to get around town.  In addition, there are a lot of rural roads and mountain bike trails to ride.

When I was in Bend I had a chance to visit Bend Electric Bikes, Let it Ride Electric Bicycles, Fat Power Electric Bikes, and Woody’s Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders.

Bend Electric Bikes

Bend Electric Bikes carries a wide variety of complete e-bikes (Stromer, Easy Motion, eZee, Hebb, Stealth, etc.), cargo e-bikes (Xtracycle, Yuba, Juiced Riders, Bullitt, etc.), electric bike kits (BionX, E-Bike Kit, eZee), and accessories.

They also provide e-bike rentals and tours.

The Bend Electric Bikes showroom.

While I was there I had a chance to chat with Sterling (the owner) and see him in action installing an electric bike kit on customer’s bike.

Here is a video with Sterling to give you an idea of what Bend Electric Bikes is like:

Let it Ride Electric Bicycles

Let it Ride is an electric bike shop in downtown Bend and they carry complete electric bikes (Pedego, EVELO, iGo, etc.) as well as e-bike conversion kits (BionX) and accessories.

They also carry a selection of conventional bikes that can be electrified!

The Let it Ride showroom.

Let it Ride really focuses on their e-bike tours. They have a historic landmark tour and the “Brewdie” tour.

The Brewdie tour is a tour of 5 (of the 14 total!) local breweries in Bend.  You can sample some of the brews on the tour, but only small samples cuz you gotta be able to ride 🙂

Megan from Let it Ride also let me know about their new grocery getter tour which takes you around to the local farmers market, a meat market, and bakery.  The idea is to show off how convenient and fun shopping with an electric bike can be!

Here is a video to give you an idea of what a Let it Ride tour is like:

Fat Power Electric Bikes

Fat Power Electric Bikes is a new electric bike rental company based out of Sunriver, Oregon which is about half an hour south of Bend.  Paul Willerton (an Electric Bike Report correspondent) started this company recently to get more people on bikes.

Paul is just getting things rolling (pun intended) and you can check out the Fat Power Electric Bikes Facebook page for more info and e-bike pictures.

Woody’s Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders

My longtime friend, Cody Davis, makes these amazing custom wooden fenders in his shop in Bend.  His custom wooden fenders have been installed on many electric bikes and conventional bikes around the world!

If you are looking to add a little bling to your electric bike, I highly recommend that you check out Woody’s Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders.

Cody Davis showing off his latest custom wooden bike fenders.

Yeah, I want those for my e-bike!

Close up of Woody’s Fenders.

So many different styles to choose from.

Woody’s also makes a custom wooden rack and wooden chain-guard.

The wooden chain-guard.

The wooden rear rack.

Woody’s Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders shop.

Cycle Pub

Okay, this one is not totally e-bike related but it has something to do with bikes and Bend and beer.  The Cycle Pub is a bar on wheels that is powered by the passengers pedal power!

Here is a video about the Cycle Pub, enjoy!

The Cycle Pub spotted at the Crux Brewery.

Another Cycle Pub vehicle.

The Bend Ale Trail is a tour of the Bend breweries and can be accomplished on the Cycle Pub 🙂

 

Well that was my e-bike experience in Bend, but I have a feeling there’s more e-bike related culture to emerge from this outdoor and bike focused Central Oregon town.

If you visit Bend, please be sure to check out a bit of the e-bike scene.

Thanks

-Pete

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!