BRANDS


BikeBiz editor Alex Ballinger and Estarli co-founder Alex Francis (right) YOU EITHER LOVE E-BIKES, OR YOU HAVEN’T RIDDEN ONE YET


Founders of Hertfordshire-based e-bike brand Estarli, Alex and Oliver Francis, are hoping to bring affordable bikes to a new audience. Alex Ballinger travelled to Estarli HQ to test out the brand’s offerings


“


We’re constantly iterating and changing stuff,” said Alex Francis, co-founder of British e-bike brand Estarli. “We’re always challenging what we do.”


Estarli, based in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, is a relatively new and nimble bike builder, targeting new cyclists with its range of affordable e-bikes, ranging from small-wheel folding bikes to hybrids. Founded in 2020 by brothers Alex and Oli Francis, Estarli now works with a network of 20 dealers in the UK, but is looking to expand its retailer network for the future. Alex, a former software engineer and bike lover, is responsible for much of the design work for the brand, while Oliver is a former marketing and advertising specialist, taking on that


52 | October 2022


side of the Estarli business. With five staff and a freelance community of specialist bike builders, Estarli is supported by a band of bicycle enthusiasts, who hand-assemble the bikes on site.


The brand name comes from James Starley, a 19th century


inventor based in Coventry, who built the first electric cycles 150 years ago.


The range One of the unique selling points for Estarli is its range of models, which include two folding bikes, and a 28-inch wheel hybrid, with more iterations on the way. On my visit to the new Estarli HQ, in an industrial estate just outside the centre


www.bikebiz.com


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