ANN ARBOR, MI -- An Ypsilanti-based bicycle business is moving to Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown.
Kim Mayes and Jim Summers, husband and wife, are moving their electric bike company Human Electric Hybrids into a new space, along with their other shop Urban Rider Cargo Bikes, this August into the bottom floor of 410 N. 4th Ave., the former Hollander’s space. The two were looking for more space, Mayes said.
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Summers previously worked as a controls engineer and commuted 20 miles each way to work on his bike. He added an electric motor and in 2013, began converting more into electric bikes from the couple’s Ann Arbor condominium, Mayes said.
“I told him he should be the electric bike guy in the area,” Mayes said. “The business just kept growing exponentially. We had to move out of our condo to have more room for the business. We did it in a lower level of a house and started selling factory-made electric bikes instead of doing conversions.”
The Ypsilanti shop was born at 25 South Huron St. in July 2016. The two also began selling cargo bikes in February 2019 in Kerrytown, but had to close temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Ann Arbor market still huge. We haven’t reached it yet because Ann Arborites don’t want to leave Ann Arbor for anything,” Mayes said. “Even though we were in the tiny upstairs little space, we sold cargo bikes like gangbusters.”
She said Ann Arbor is where most of their cargo bike customers lived.
Cargo bikes can hold 200-500 pounds and are used worldwide to ship items or for parents to travel with their children, Mayes said. The shop provided an electric cargo bike to the Detroit Filling Station at the beginning of the stay-home order in March for the restaurant’s delivery drivers.
“So many people come in our store and say they’ve never seen anything like this, unless they’ve been to northwestern Europe,” Mayes said, adding they can come in both electric and pedal options.
Electric bikes have a small electric motor to assist with pedaling.
“It’s exactly like riding a bike, only you’re Captain America or Wonder Woman. It doesn’t feel any different from riding a regular bike but there’s as much effort as you want. That’s key,” Mayes said. “A lot of people use bikes for exercise, so it’s important to know you get as much of a workout as you want to on electric bicycle.”
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Cargo-electric bike retailer moves into former Hollander’s shop in Kerrytown - MLive.com
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