When you picture a bike workshop, you probably imagine a group of passionate, hands-on experts, meticulously aligning brake pads. You’ll be encouraged to know that the ebike world is firmly in touch with its roots – but now with a little help from some advanced computer programming.
estarli was founded by two brothers, Alex and Oliver Francis, with the vision to create quality ebikes, at a price point within reach of the typical consumer. The company has grown from humble beginnings to an innovative ebike specialist. From foldable city-zippers to full-framed tourers, estarli has grown to offer a range of bikes for any occasion.
Their newest model is the estarli eCargo. It’s a sleek, mobile, and incredibly efficient machine. Adaptable to families, businesses, or just a trip to the shop.
All constructed in-house, the team has full control over each bike
Rigorous quality checks ensure every bike is up to scratch. As the ebike world has grown, as has estarli, with new processes coming into play to bring each bike to life.
The brothers showed us their expanding production facilities, as they gradually take over more warehouse space to keep up with the fantastic demand their brand has brought.
Alex ran us through the rapid growth of the company’s facilities:
“We tend to evolve really really quickly. So this is constantly moving. It’s quite transient and we’re adapting it. Improving it all the time. We’ve now opened up the left-hand side, which was storage previously.”
The production line itself is an impressive process. Each bike is taken through stages of quality assurance checks, so every bike is just right. The team rotates through different stages, ensuring a holistic overview of the production from all of the engineers. We were taken through the new systems developed to stay on top of the bustling bike builds. Each step is monitored, checked, and discussed to open the door to new learning and opportunities.
estarli has become renowned for its wide range of customisation options. These stock keeping units (SKUs), cover every aspect of the bike, from the frames to the tyres, to the power-packs, to the wide range of colours.
As demand grows, SKUs become more varied and specialist but more time-consuming to operate. So, the brothers took us through the process of opening options, then slimming them based on market demand.
Oliver explained:
“We open up all the SKUs and then we educate ourselves with what the market wants, and then we can hone in and say, actually, we can drop that. So it’s a true evolution, that sort of survival of the fittest in terms of market demand.”
This approach speaks to the emerging nature of the ebike industry. It’s a sector that’s rolling with innovation, and when these innovations hit the market, we can learn and refine what the everyday ebike rider needs. That means estarli has to keep its ear to the ground and its finger on the pulse.
Alex explained the benefits of this mobile, fast-moving approach:
“We felt like we came into an industry full of really big players who’ve been on the market a while and who released a new bike or two every spring – with big launches. Whereas we’ve always focused on iteration, as a way to compete and grow.”
As ebike technology evolves, so does estarli. Their chosen innovations then trickle into every model, ensuring they’re delivering the best ebikes possible. Building to these specifications with this level of quality is no easy task.
Oliver commented on how their approach sets estarli apart:
“We’re not looking to any sort of next-day delivery [of modification requests], because there’s a little bit more to it. But we’re hand-building all of these [bikes]. And there’s a lot of love that goes into it.”
As production expands, it can become easy to lose sight of what really matters—sustainability. But for estarli, every component of the bikes is sourced as sustainably as possible, and when it comes to delivery, the approach is no different.
Oliver ran us through the recycled aspects of their packaging:
“We’re big on not using plastics anywhere. So everything is card-based, and we try and recycle as much as we can. These (packaging components) are recycled cuttings of cardboard from boxes that have come inbound to us.”
We watched as an e20.7 folding bike was packaged and made ready for delivery. Which brings us to one of the primary questions in any ebike business. What are these bikes for, and who’s riding them?
Alex took us through what brings their folding bikes to life:
“What’s at the heart of these is, giving people a bike to ride to work for the first time. That’s why we focus on a more rigid frame, a bigger wheel, so the experience is much more akin to what you expect a bicycle to be.”
That ethos echoes throughout estarli’s operation. These bikes are designed to be friendly, lightweight, versatile, and robust. They’re telling the world that embracing an ebike isn’t an enormous departure from cycling, it’s just an advancement. That even goes down to the styling, where the estarli team has designed sleek, agile models that wouldn’t look electrified, except for how quickly they’re able to whip up an incline.
It’s not all about speed, of course, as Alex explained as he mentioned estarli’s lively Facebook group of committed and passionately converted riders.
“We have a really lively Facebook Riders Club, our riders are posting on that all the time, and it’s amazing.
(One rider) has got two kids, I think they’re about three and five, they ride on the back. She’s got the family set up. She shared something the other day with one kid on the back of the bike, a kid’s balance bike stored behind, and then she was towing her eldest off the back of her cargo, as he was learning to ride.”
The use cases of these bikes are evidently huge. Electric power isn’t just about reducing effort, it’s about being able to use your bike for anything. The strength and passion of the estarli community is a shining example of how well that versatility resonates with riders. It’s the old EV adage, if you’re unsure about it, just give it a go.
estarli’s site is a wonderful microcosm of the ebike industry. It’s a growing, evolving space with an ever-expanding team of skilled people who are passionate about bikes. The process reflects the passion. Every step is defined by care and skill, so that every delivery has the power to change the recipient’s outlook on what a bike can do.
