"We see Ourselves as the Trojan Horse in the e-Bike Space" - Vintage Electric Bikes Founder, Andrew Davidge

Vintage Electric Bikes builds high-performance electric bikes in nostalgic styles with concierge experiences. Andrew Davidge, Founder of Vintage Electric Bikes told Auto Futures how he started the company in high school and why the e-bikes are loved by car and motorcycle fans.

Davidge grew up racing mountain bikes all around the United States. He started the company attending high school in Los Gatos, California, making parts in the metal shop.

He built his first electric bike for his own use. The first commercial Vintage electric bikes were launched at a party at Monterey Car Week in Pebble Beach.

"I wanted to go to design school for transportation design. I built one for myself. People kept asking me to buy one. So I scrounged up the money to build prototypes. I was able to go to the Wednesday night Jet Center party. I didn't even own a suit. I bought a bad-fitting suit on the day of the event. I was up till three in the morning building those two first prototypes. And we sold like forty bikes that night," says Davidge.

A Life on The Road

Vintage Electric Bikes is catering to a niche audience.

"We see ourselves as the Trojan horse in the e-bike space. We sell electric bikes to customers who would never consider buying an electric bike - except for ours. Because of the aesthetic, the performance, and the customers we cater to. We built these bikes for us. We love racing cars. We basically sell bikes to classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts," says Davidge.

The style of the e-bikes is based on 1919 Harley Indian motorcycles that raced on early board- tracks. However, Vintage e-bike performance is state of the art.

"The thing that is really important for us is the performance of the vehicles. Everybody here comes from either a car, bicycle or motorcycle racing background. We are building bikes that are not only built to last but also perform," he says.

Vintage e-bikes are designed and built to be on the road for a lifetime.

"Whenever we come up with new technology, we always make sure it is backwards compatible to all of our previous bikes going back to 2014," explains Davidge.

Going Full Throttle

Electric Vintage bikes built in 2014 can be updated with a 72-volt drivetrain through a kit. The company offers a refurbishment program for new suspension, brakes, batteries and motors upgraded to the 2023 standards.

Vintage electric bikes come in two styles the higher-powered Throttle models and the Pedal Assist models.

"The best-selling models are our throttle bikes - it gives you a motorcycle-like riding experience. They have a really nice torque sensor pedal assist system, and then they have a throttle so you roll on the throttle, and away you go. We also offer a race mode key for off-road speeds on private property to go up to 40 mph," says Davidge.

Vintage customers use these bikes to get around their properties or their estate. The e-bikes are also used for transport on race tracks.

"A lot of our customers coming from the motorsport world use them as pit bikes. So when they are out at the racetrack with their race cars, they use these bikes to get around the racetrack. So there, you could put in that race mode key, go 40 mph." 

The throttle e-bikes include the Roadster, Tracker and Scrambler and an almost-sold-out Shelby limited edition.

The pedal-assist electric bikes are the Cafe with naturally cream tires that harken back to the natural rubber tires of early motorcycles. The Rally model has a more off-road flair than the Cafe.

The e-bikes' battery cases are diecast aluminium. The e-bikes feature fully certified and tested battery management systems.

"We put hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars into developing the performance of the drivetrain. How they're cooled, and how they manage the extra power going through the controller and the system. The metal battery box is an integral part of that design. Electrical components are mounted to that battery box allowing our components to run 60% cooler," says Davidge.

Attracting New Kinds of Customers

The electric bikes are available from select dealers and directly via the web. The Vintage e-bikes are delivered fully assembled by the company. The factory showroom in Santa Clara acts as a meeting place for enthusiasts.

"We just had an old Ford F100 Club meet here. We're doing a Porsche meet-up here a 'Cars and Coffee'. So we are kind of blending that car culture and our customer bike culture." 

The company also does custom builds such as the recent Himalaya 4x4 Special Edition Vintage Electric Bike with matching colours of a restored Series Model Land Rover by Himalaya 4x4.

Davidge suggests the company will be making new products and attracting more kinds of customers.

"The future for the company is building bikes that inspire a totally different demographic to get on a different form of transportation." 

"We have a really cool collaboration project launching this year with one of the oldest hot rod companies, the founding company of the whole hot rod world," he says.