Gates Custom eBike Showcase at NAHBS

Gates Carbon Drive sponsored a themed display at this year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show with just two requirements: the use of its increasingly popular belt drive system and the inclusion of some type of e-bike system. Roughly a dozen builders bellied up to the bar with their own interpretations of the genre and the results could have earned a show of their own.

“Electric bikes can get more people out of cars and onto two wheels, and we want to expose more Americans to this efficient, affordable and healthy transportation solution,” Todd Sellden, global director of Gates Carbon Drive, said in a press release. “Our goal with the Custom eBike Showcase is to allow top custom builders to present an American interpretation of the eBike movement that is sweeping Europe.”

Never thought an e-bike would be for you? Given how clumsily motor-assist systems are often built into – or on to, as the case may be – we can’t blame you. But take a look at the gallery at right and then ask yourself the same question again. We dare say some of these builders might change at least a few minds.