​Local Electric Bike Shop Another New Brand: Faraday

Electric Bike Place Adds Faraday to Line

Back for its fourth year of providing electric bikes to the West Michigan area, Electric Bike Place (a branch off of MACkite) has added another brand of electric bikes, Faraday.

Faraday was discovered when staff of Electric Bike Place visited the Focus Dealer Meeting in California. Faraday is a sister company of Focus and has been in business since 2015 and focuses on creating European-inspired 1940’s and 50’s bikes with all of the technology of the 21st century.

Faraday bicycles are clean-looking with minimalist battery located under the seatpost and a small indistinguishable rear hub motor. Faraday bicycles come in two four models: Porteur, Porteur S, Cortland, and Cortland S. The Porteur S offers a double top tube frame with steel fenders and mechanical disc brakes. The Proteur upgrades their design with steam-bent bamboo fenders, a belt drive, and hydraulic disc brakes. The Cortland S is a step-thru frame and offers similar features of the Porteur S. The Cortland is the premium model of the step-thru line, with the same upgrades as the Porteur. The Proteur S and Cortland S are $2499 and the Proteur and Cortland are $3499.

Faraday also offers accessories such as front and rear racks, bells, an auxiliary battery pack, and a GPS tracking device.

Both brands will be available to test ride at Electric Bike Place at 16881 Hayes Street in Grand Haven.

We partnered with Thomas W. (Head of Marketing) & Colin R. (North America Sales Manager), two employees at Faraday and they helped answer questions to help us and our customers get to know our latest brand.

What is the history of Faraday? Why "Faraday" and how did you come up with your idea for your bike designs?

The name is from Michael Faraday (1791-1867). He was a pioneering British physicist whose research in the fields of electromagnetism paved the way for today’s safe, modern electric motors like the ones you find on our bikes.

Faraday’s roots go back to 2011 as a participant and the eventual People’s Choice winner of the Oregon Manifest, a design competition to build the ‘ultimate modern utility vehicle.’ From there we crowdfunded our first production run on Kickstarter in 2012 and our bikes officially hit the road in 2014. Today we’re excited to be a part of PON Bikes, a Dutch company that owns bike brands such as Santa Cruz, Focus, Gazelle, and now Faraday!

The design for our flagship double top tube model, the Porteur, was inspired by European delivery bikes of the 1940s and 50s. They were practical, efficient, and pretty stylish to boot. For all our products we like to aim for a modern feel that implements the latest technology, but also has a hint of this classic bike design.

What would you consider the must-dos for electric bike customers (i.e., purchasing questions, test rides, etc.)?

It’s still a pretty new category so it’s worth doing a fair amount of research before making a decision. There are a ton of eBike review resources online and I’d recommend doing some digging to find reviews from actual customers if you can. Of course, research will only take you so far. Test rides are essential to get a sense for how a bike rides, how smooth is the assist from the motor, how light is it, is it love at first sight, etc.

The final thing I’d add is to really consider what you need the bike to accomplish. It’s easy to sometimes choose the least expensive bike or be convinced that the bike with the most power or the biggest battery is the best one. Make a list of what you need: range for commuting, cargo carrying capacity, ability to carry up stairs or get on a bike rack, hill climbing prowess, ability to customize components, etc., and then narrow your options accordingly.

What makes your brand stand out from the rest?

Electric bikes are a ton of fun, but there still can be significant differences in ride quality and style across all the bikes on the market. We summarized a few of our stand out features here on our blog. Our design philosophy is straightforward: bikes are already pretty perfect, so let’s stay out of the way as much as possible. That approach is reflected in how the product team builds everything. As an example, Faraday’s electrical system was created from the ground up to keep things integrated and seamless. We were never crazy about most external batteries that disrupt the classic lines of a bike, so we worked with Panasonic to develop a custom battery that fits into the downtube of our frames. A lot of people never even know our bikes are electric until you fly by them! The end result is a lightweight, intuitive, and really fun bike that you’ll love to ride.

Which model is your favorite and why?

The one I ride! A Slate Grey Porteur S. I really like the crisp shifting of the 8-speed Altus derailleur that keeps the ride sporty. It’s our entry level model, but you really can’t beat the value and it comes with everything you need for a reliable city bike.

Why would someone want to choose an electric bike? Pros? Cons?

Besides all of the obvious stuff like avoiding traffic, fresh air, and exercise it’s just a really enjoyable way to get around. A customer once told me that having a Faraday makes her look forward to the stuff she used to dread. Running errands, going to work, doubling back somewhere because you forgot your bag - actually become pretty fun on an electric bike. I think that sums it up nicely.

On the other hand, electric bikes aren’t cheap and for a lot of people require an investment in a new form of transportation. But regardless of your use case, from needing to take the kids to school in the morning to lugging equipment around a farm - there’s probably an eBike on the market that would make your life easier and a lot more fun.

For Faraday, what maintenance can riders do at home and what should be done at a shop?

This varies of course by how experienced the rider is, but at home with a couple hex wrenches you can easily adjust seat height and add aftermarket accessories to your heart’s content. For all drivetrain, brake, electrical, and firmware updates we generally just recommend visiting your local Faraday dealer to ensure everything is perfect.