In a building near the beach, an Encinitas company is selling the Southern California lifestyle. On wheels.
Founded in 1993, Electra Bicycle Company has become a home-grown success story in the electric bike industry, selling bikes for adults and children that riders can pedal at their own speed or, with a push of a button, with a motorized assist to go faster and further.
For company leaders, it’s more than just bikes that they sell.
“We are an outdoor, SoCal sunny weather beach brand that over the years has kind of morphed ourselves into more of a lifestyle e-bike brand, but that lifestyle is deeply steeped in Southern California,” said company president Kevin Cox.
Electra was started in Leucadia by two German entrepreneurs who wanted to reinvent beach cruiser bikes to make them more fun and modern. Its first bike, the Townie, became Electra’s most iconic bike and remains highly popular today.
The bike was designed to let riders sit more upright and feel more comfortable. The company also sells a Cruiser collection of bikes, the Loft collection that is designed to be a grittier, more durable bike that can handle city streets and children’s bikes.
Its newest e-bike is the Ponto Go! that is named after North Ponto Beach in Carlsbad. Described by the company as super fun and versatile, the Class 3 bike can use a throttle and pedal power to go up to 26 mph. The bike has turn signals and brake lights and can seat two people.
Like many companies, Electra was initially hurt by the global pandemic that forced shutdowns. But, as people searched for safe activities they could do outside their homes, bike and e-bike sales took off in 2021 and 2022. Cox wouldn’t disclose exact sales figures but said the company has sold hundreds of thousands of bikes.
The e-bike industry has surged in the United States. A recent Business Insider report estimated that electric bike sales have quadrupled since 2019 and the industry is approaching $1 billion in annual sales nationwide.
Cox said the company is conscious of a need to make sure its bikes can be affordable for people. Initially, its bikes sold in the price range of $2,500-$4,000. Thanks to new technology, some of its e-bikes now can go for under $1,500 and most are under $2,000.
As the popularity of e-bikes grows, local cities have sought to enhance bike safety by adopting ordinances that allow for more enforcement of e-bikes and bicycles on local roads.
Cox said rider safety is important to the company. It provides bike safety information on its website and in its user manuals, holds safety classes for bike trainers to teach kids and, long term, would like to work with state officials to add bike safety information to California driver’s handbooks.
“We’ve always been safety first,” said Cox. “It’s something that we believe in because we know that one of our core missions is really getting more people out riding bikes more often and the more people you put on bikes, the higher the risks can be. We’re always driving to make bike riding as safe as possible.”
Electra, which is owned by the giant bicycle manufacturer Trek, employs about 25 people in Encinitas and has another 6-8 employees in Wisconsin, where Trek is headquartered.
The San Diego office of Electra is located less than two blocks from Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, providing a convenient testing ground for its bikes. San Diego’s weather and its bike-friendly culture and bike paths provide year-round inspiration for Electra’s staff to help them create the bikes they make.
“We wouldn’t be who we were had we not been founded and grown up in San Diego,” said Robin Gordon, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “Southern California is almost a brand in and of itself.”