Spring has sprung! The sun is out! Flowers bloom, as thoughts turn toward long, lazy, California beach days.
Here in Costa Mesa, we enjoy the coastal life. We can bicycle to sandy vistas and crashing waves from anywhere in the city. But sometimes – especially after a full day of bodysurfing and sunbathing – the bike ride home can feel like the punishing slog of a chain-gang, slowly grinding back up the Mesa.
It’s moments like this an exuberant, electric cyclist will inevitably zoom past. That zippy, motorized bike that seemed so much like “cheating” on the ride downhill, now feels positively essential.
If you’re looking to take the powered-pedal plunge, one local company can get your there in style: E-Lux Electric Bikes.
E-Lux Bikes are ‘next level’ in every way. Fat tires, clean lines, cushy seats, easy-to-read console, helpful “pedal assist” to make those hills a little easier (or just crank up the throttle to really fly). Yes, electric bikes have come a long way from even a few years ago, when you pretty much had to build it yourself.
Costa Mesa-based E-Lux Electric Bikes was co-founded by Jerry Bridgeman (the mechanical whiz), J.P. Blake (the entrepreneur) and Josh Blake (the silent partner) – and even though the industry is still pretty new, this local company is growing like crazy.
E-Lux Co-Founders, Jerry Bridgeman and J.P. Blake, at their Headquarters in Westside Costa Mesa.
Photo: Brandy Young
E-Lux was founded in 2014, but the seeds were sown years earlier, when Josh Blake first took an interest in electric bikes. At the time, Jerry Bridgeman was doing electric-bike conversions through a bike store on Balboa Island – so the two connected over their shared interest.
“In those days, my sister-in-law joked that Jerry was Josh’s ‘dealer’ because my brother was so addicted to electric bikes,” said J.P. Blake from his spacious office at E-Lux HQ. “Josh would go over there to get work done on one bike, and come home with two more.”
Bridgeman was an electric-model-airplane World Champion, so he was already well-versed in harnessing electricity to make things go. Later, he was on the team that helped launch Pedego Electric Bikes. All this experience made him uniquely qualified… in an industry that hadn’t yet gained major traction.
Leading up to the idea that launched E-Lux, the Blake brothers – both entrepreneurial at heart – had been busily building, and running, various companies. But as they rounded the corner on 2014, their existing businesses started winding down. That’s when Josh popped the question.
“He said to Jerry, ‘You know your stuff, you should stop working for other people and start your own electric-bike company,'” said J.P. Blake. “We knew Jerry would build great bikes, and Josh and I knew we had the experience to handle the business end of things.”
E-Lux Electric Bikes hit the ground pedaling with a solid, fat-tire cruiser they eventually called “the Tahoe.”
“Jerry had been doing this stuff for a while,” said Blake. “He’d already made his mistakes, worked through problems, developed better bikes. So we were able to draw on that knowledge and make a great product right from day one.”
Despite Bridgeman’s vast experience, he’s never fully satisfied. The consummate tinkerer, he’s always improving, then improving again, on every design.
“We want to make the most comfortable electric bikes in the world,” said Bridgeman. “To take a good-looking bike and turn it into a comfortable-to-ride bike, too. So first, we got rid of little seats and uncomfortable handlebars – not comfortable.
“Fenders are a good example. Our first bikes didn’t have them. But then we tested the bikes in the dirt after it rained, and came home covered in mud. I knew, from then on, we definitely needed fenders.”
“After the fenders, we said, ‘Oh! Let’s add a light,'” added Blake. “Then we added a rear light. Then we decided the display should be upgraded… and hey, why not add shocks? As that early bike developed, we were able to improve all those things until it finally got to a really good place.”
Totally Turnkey: E-Lux Electric Bikes Are Beautiful, Functional, Comfortable and Ready To Ride.
Photos: Brandy Young
Even today, five years and multiple models later, the Tahoe is still Bridgeman’s favorite.
“I like it because it’s just a bigger bike,” said Bridgeman. “The bigger tires make it easy to ride. More rubber means more stopping power. The big tires are also great shock absorbers, they easily clear any cracks in the road.”
So what do Bridgeman and Blake say to people who think electric bikes are “cheating”?
“It’s a total misnomer,” said Blake emphatically. “What happens is you’ll end up riding an electric bike far more often than your ‘normal’ bike. You also tend to ride much farther, so you’re spending a lot more time outdoors.
“Electric bikes are actually very health-promoting. A lot of people end up losing weight with an electric bike because they ride more often, for longer distances, and they’re more comfortable doing it.”
“It’s true,” agreed Bridgeman. “I ride a lot because it’s so convenient. For example, I’ll be sitting at home and suddenly notice the sun will soon set. I need to get my workout in. With an electric bike, I can jump on, zip down to the beach, and spend 20 minutes pedaling along the bike path at sunset – then, zip home again before dark.
“If I had a normal bike, I wouldn’t even bother leaving the house, because no way I’d make it there and back in time.”
Biking to the beach on an electric bike has one more advantage – and in under-parked Orange County, it’s a big one.
“Getting down to Huntington Beach, or Newport Beach, can be such a hassle in the summer because you never find parking,” said Blake. “But with an e-bike, you can just cruise down, no problem, really easy – and then you’re enjoying the beach while everyone else is still circling the parking lot.”
This Shop Is Hoppin’: Tinkering To Improve Performance, and Servicing To Keep Your Ride Smooth.
Photo: Brandy Young
Maintenance seems, intuitively, like it would be more involved with an e-bike. Not true, assured Bridgeman.
“Our electric bikes are so easy to maintain, you just need to charge them before you ride,” said Bridgeman. “Then maybe lubricate the chain every month or two – and get the brakes adjusted once a year – just like a normal bike.”
If a customer does have an issue with their bike? The E-Lux team springs into action.
“We stock all sorts of spare parts,” said Blake. “If a customer has a problem, we’re going to address it. We’re huge on customer service, and we see our customers as part of an E-Lux family. We want everyone to have a great experience. We want you to tell your friends about us, and choose us again when it comes time to upgrade your e-bike.”
“Quality is really a big focus for us, too,” added Bridgeman. “High-quality components are the key to keeping the bikes running, and people happy. It’s crucial to use a name-brand battery – like Panasonic or Samsung – you definitely don’t want to skimp on that. Yes, it’s the most expensive part of an e-bike, but also the most important. If you ‘cheap out’ on batteries, you’re asking for a lot of problems.”
The co-founders of this budding business couldn’t be happier to be doing their e-bike thing from Costa Mesa.
“Because we own an electric-bike company, we obviously love that we’re so close to the beach,” said Blake. “Costa Mesa is also really centrally-located. And I really like the people of Costa Mesa, too. They’re all pretty mellow.
“There are little pockets of coolness in Costa Mesa that you don’t really discover until you live or work here. That’s when you find them.”
“I like that Costa Mesa is so unique,” said Bridgeman. “I can find just about anything within five miles of here. There are so many small businesses nearby, it’s pretty incredible.”
But the things Blake and Bridgeman like best about Costa Mesa are also the fragile traits they worry might evaporate.
“The main reason Costa Mesa’s cool is because of all these little, entrepreneurial businesses,” said Blake. “These days, I think there’s a lot of pressure to overdevelop Costa Mesa because we’re so close to the ocean. But I worry that we’re going to lose a lot of our charm if that happens too quickly. Too much traffic, too many people… that might drive out the cool, little businesses. So I’d personally like to see some of that development slow down.
“I love Costa Mesa the way that it is. I’d really like to see it stay that way.” ♥
