The following is from the Felt Electric bikes site. Felt Bicycles’ mission has been to design, develop, and deliver the best bikes in the world. This continues with their new line of eBikes. The Felt line of eBikes are exceptionally light, have power and endurance, while still delivering the great riding experience the brand is world famous for.
Hauling a trailer full of fresh fruits and vegetables around a small town in Colorado, Scott Horner is instantly recognized as the e-bike farmer of Paonia. Zach Krapfl, Felt electric ebike specialist, is lucky enough to be one of his many customers, and was kind enough to supply him with a NINEe to continue his eco friendly efforts. We had a chance to speak with Scott and hear about his experience with the NINEe.
Scott’s bike and trailer
FELT:What are you using the NINEe for?
Scott Horner: I use my NINEe to pull a five foot long trailer to deliver vegetables to my farm customers and to get around the country roads between my farm and town. I use it for most of my local transport! I am a vegetable farmer and I deliver vegetables to my customers in town, which is a mile and a half from the farm. I can haul about 200 pounds safely on the trailer which has a maximum load of 300 pounds. The NINEe is great at handling the load; the weight is no problem for this bike. I also use the bike on the farm to get around. I farm 10 acres and need to cover a lot of area each day moving irrigation water, harvesting, etc, and I use my NINEe to cover it all! The farm has some steep terrain that I must get around on too, and the NINEe is my answer. This bike saves me so much time–like 95 percent savings on time spent on the farm at all these transport tasks. Before I had to walk or drive a four-wheel drive truck. Yeeeee Haaaaaa! What freedom with my NINEe! I love it!
FELT: How it has it helped you in everyday life?
Horner: I spend less time on my farm getting around; it beats driving a truck and walking long distances to move irrigation water. Plus the bike and trailer is easier on the land and doesn’t pollute the delicate pristine ecology of the farm! It has also helped me ‘attract’ people to buy my veggies because of the low impact of delivering with such an efficient rig. My sales have gone up because of this and customers love supporting a farm that is so innovative! I make more money and they love the cool service of me delivering wonderful food with an ebike! When delivering around town, I contribute to the town by not driving a car and adding more pollution and congestion. It’s also easier to deliver with a bike and trailer. There are no doors to open and close and it’s easier to park the bike and trailer while making door-to-door deliveries. Add this to the maneuverability with such a rig, and you have the best delivery system possible—no doubt. One more point: I have cut back so much on using fossil fuel powered transportation (car), that my gas bill is very little. This is a big plus.
Scott ready to make a delivery
FELT:How do you see others using it?
Horner: I could see a lot of people using it like me: first to transport themselves around town and the immediate country roads of most towns anywhere. I also use it with a trailer to pull their stuff like groceries, tools, and delivery services, etc. With the powerful Bosch system it makes pulling heavy loads a breeze. This is what gets people back onto bikes that thought they could no longer ride and pull a load because of say a knee injury or some other health issue. In my experience I have never come back from a five or six mile delivery ride feeling sore or fatigued. Rather I always get back and feel refreshed, and, I feel satisfied because I did it with a bike!
