A few years ago, I was wary of buying a bike: It was scary, I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was a child AND I had no idea where to even start buying one!

Luckily, two local guys knew there were people like me out there… and decided to cater to their needs.

Jason Hoover and Sandeep Gopal started Edibikes with the ‘wary’ biker in mind. When they met in grad school at Northwestern, they both discussed challenges of traffic congestion, an easy way to get around town and the intimidation of riding in the city.  Their solution? Get people back ON the streets with two wheels – by building the perfect bike. Edibikes was born! Luckily, Jason & Sandeep found their market of #1 bike-commuting city Philadelphia by a simple coin toss.

Edibikes make it easy to ride a bike for the “non” bikers in the areas where people typically get intimidated: The wires, gears, comfort, and safety. These bikes automatically switch gears (out of two modes), look retro and have a few customizable features. Although the design is road ready, you can choose your handlebars (classic or relaxed), size (small, medium & large) and color (Steel Blue or Burnt Orange).  With features like sensor lights coming on when necessary, you don’t have to worry about the ‘nuances’ of riding a bike. Plus, they’re damn cool looking!

Worried about where the bikes are getting built? Although sourced from all over, the bikes are assembled nearby in Wilmington.

The guys behind Edibikes reached out to me as soon as I requested a bike rental via Twitter for my friend one Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, we were both able to test ride them through the city and Schuylkill trail.

My take? The bike was very comfortable to ride and I enjoyed the cruiser model instead of my typical hybrid. The automatic gear switch was a little odd to get used to at first, but by the end of our bike ride it was smooth as ever.  The bike was comfy for a long bike ride and was definitely easy to use. Overall, I’d love to use the bike to commute in the city (but wouldn’t encourage it for long races if you were doing the MS 150).

These guys aren’t only smart about their design but also with their marketing methods. Edibikes go to unconventional places like the Night Market and coffeeshops to catch those unsuspecting ‘non-biking’ consumers. As co-founder Gopal describes the experience, “Usually we have someone walk in, and they love to look at the bike. They’re usually skeptical about it since they haven’t ridden a bike in 5 years. People fall in love with it after they take a spin. We’ve seen women take the bike for a spin and high five each other afterwards.” 

Want to find out more? You can sign up for a test ride with Edibike to try it out!  There’s also a form on their website to make a deposit (Retail is $795), and the bike is custom built for you after placing your order.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher