Speaker 1: 0:00

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Speaker 1: 0:59

Welcome back to the garden, state outdoors and podcast presented by boondocks hunting. I'm your host, mike Nitre, and today we have Dieter Kochman. I said that correct, that was good. Yeah, all right, perfect From Face Off. E-bikes. Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. No, it is our pleasure and you know I really wanted to for the longest time since we started. This was to get somebody on about e-bikes, because they've been the wave probably since COVID, probably, I would say. At least I started noticing e-bikes around COVID and everything like that. So you know, I think they are such an amazing and valuable tool. So you know, I want to pick your brain on all these different things and how you got into it. But before we do that, you know, give everyone out there a quick you know update on you know, your backstory and everything like that.

Speaker 2: 1:59

Yes, so I started. We'll call it a company. I never had really an intention on starting a company, but it started off as Stealth e-bikes and then we rebranded this year just because we had gained so much traction, to where there was some brand confusion with some other brands and with the website and stuff like that. So it was a good time this year before we grew a whole lot bigger to switch the name. So now we're Face Off eBikes.

Speaker 2: 2:28

My background with bikes is, I guess, growing up. We were. That was our main mode of transportation. I had three brothers and a sister and we didn't need to have a vehicle, so we were on bikes, we were tearing them apart, working on them, tearing them apart, working on them. And then my wife after I met her her father-in-law or my father-in-law her dad was a truck dealer, so I was helping him with bikes. So I understood the basics of mountain bikes.

Speaker 2: 2:59

And then fat bikes came along and I saw, much like a lot of people, where the use of an e-bike would be really great for hunting, where you wouldn't get sweaty, you could get to a lot of different places you couldn't, couldn't go. So my original intention was just to basically build my own bike from a existing fat bike where you can buy the motor, you can buy the battery, and then along that that journey I kind of got in contact with a couple different companies that were selling the motors and the batteries and one thing led to another and then I ended up getting more or less partially completed bikes where the battery was integrated into the frame and the motors were on the frame and those are what I originally started selling and it was just for me and my brother and a couple of buddies and then kind of saw that there is an opportunity to where I didn't think anybody was really designing the bikes to do what what hunters were asking them to do, where, particularly with the derailleurs, where that's kind of the weakest spot on the bikes for a lot of guys, where if they're going through corn stubble or bean fields or tall grass that they're, they're tearing off the derailleur or clogging it up to where the bike bike won't function. So our company's kind of built on single speed bikes where some, the majority of them, only have one gear so they have a max speed but they the gearing is critical to where you want the bike to be able to climb pretty much every any hill where guys don't want to pedal, you know, throttle only, climbing ability.

Speaker 2: 4:38

And then now, as we've gotten bigger, we've advanced to two different internally geared hubs where the basics is like the derailleurs, housed inside the rear wheel and it shifts without having a derailleur. That rear hub shifts. So we have an automatic shifting hub where it shifts like a vehicle transmission. And then we have another hub that you switch on the handlebars with all the shiftings done inside the hub, so you still have the single speed kind of bulletproof design where we can actually use thicker chains that are on standard bikes with derailleurs, because the size chains we use we actually won't fit through a derailleur.

Speaker 2: 5:21

So we're able to use stronger components and kind of identify all the weak spots on the bicycles when you put them in a hunting application, because bikes were really never designed to do what what hunters are asking them to do. I mean they weren't designed to drive through bean fields or five foot tall grass or you know they're. They're a mode of transportation on roads and trails. And then the hunting application is kind of asking the bikes to do different things and we felt we feel that we've kind of identified what hunters want out of the bike and we're able to give them something that's going to meet their expectations yeah, no, it's, it seems like.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Also, it's a lot of wear and tear in the bike. So you know you're like you said, you're you're taking it from what it's meant to do and absolutely just basically seems like starting to trash it. You are trying to get the most out of it. You're, you're riding it through, just you know tall grass, you know mud dirt like you know every aspect of you know grass. You know mud dirt like you know every aspect of you know you look at what we do, just walking through through the woods or cornfield, beanfield, whatever they are, and now you're asking a, a bike, to do it where originally, you're right, this is not what they're made for. They're, for the most part, they're made to ride on, you know, maybe, gravel path and you know paves, pathways and stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 6:50

Yes, you do have mountain bikes, but even those those are. I mean, I remember we've, we've ridden the hell out of mountain bikes up in, up in Maine and everything like that, and just you know there's just certain things you, you can't go through. So you know it's, it's asking a lot and I can now understand where you know, the way that you described it. What you know sets your bikes aside and from the rest. But you know really before, before we get in there, like when you're making it, you know, and in the beginning you know I swear I have so many people that come on. They're like you know I really made it for myself and for my friends and you know that's that's where it really really started. You know before you even thought of the idea of selling it. You know what were some of the trial and errors errors, you know, just for for yourself and your family and friends.

Speaker 2: 7:47

So there's a lot of parts that are that are hidden on a lot of the imported imported bicycle or the less expensive bicycle. So immediately we realized that almost every e-bike that's getting imported it has a lower end headset and the headset's the bearing group that attaches the front fork to the frame and handlebars. So even if you go online, you're going to constantly see where people are talking about failing headsets and different problems with the front end of the bike. So we're probably one of the only company that uses higher end performance headsets, the type of headsets that are used on competitive downhill mountain biking. So we use Wolf Tooth Components, which is an American made company. Their headsets, one of the best headsets on the market. There's a couple companies there's like wolf tooth, cane creek, but branded headsets where, if you look at the front of the bike and where the, where the handlebars attach to the frame, there should be some type of logo or a name on there. If there's nothing there, then it's, then it's, it's a, it's a lower end headset and that that's the first trial we had. So the first, I think the first bike I sold, and originally the bikes were kind of like Frankenstein bikes where I'd get, you know, a frame from one company, a motor, a battery, and then you know, change some of the parts that I knew were problematic and you know, I think, that first headset it failed within the first three weeks and it was like, well, this is a, this is a major problem. So I started looking at it and it's basically it's just a. It's just a design that's not intended to go through what people are putting the bikes through, I mean, when you're going down tactical terrain or hitting rocks or hitting logs and stuff like that, it's hard on the front end of the bike. So that was a part that immediately we realized needed to be replaced.

Speaker 2: 10:01

And originally we did have bikes with derailleurs, just because nobody had really done the single speed thing very successfully in the hunting industry. And a lot of it was because the parts really didn't exist, where you need a combination of the right size front chain ring with the right size rear cog to give you climbing ability and then you know a decent top end speed. So the parts didn't exist. So we started fabricating our own rear cogs to where we could get the bikes geared properly so that they'd climb pretty much anything. They'd climb similar to like a nine speed derailleur and starting out kind of our, our baseline bike that I looked at when I was designing bikes was the Baku Mule was always well respected in climbing. So I looked at the Mule, I looked at the gearing. I said, well, our bikes have to be at least that good or better.

Speaker 2: 11:00

So that's kind of where our bikes are at, where we don't sell any bikes that that won't perform in hills or throttle only climb. Our least expensive bike will perform extremely similar to our most expensive bike, and then, as the price goes up, what what you get is usually a larger battery, where there's a lot of cost. In the battery you're going to get better brakes and you're going to get a better front suspension and maybe some other small features. But if you, performance wise, if you went to any hill, our, our least expensive bike is going to climb the hill as as well as our most expensive bike. It's just going to be. Some of those other components are going to be a little bit better. So so we want to we kind of have our thought processes we want to have a minimum performance standard where if anybody buys any of our bikes it's going to perform to that level. We didn't want to kind of drop down and it'd be nice to sell bikes in that lower price range, but I just I know they're not going to, they're not going to last, they're not going to perform. And you know, we want anybody who buys any of our bikes to know that it's going to accomplish everything they need to do. And it's not going to be a situation where you see online where a guy buys a bike and it might be even a decent name bike but he just buys the wrong bike to to perform the way he wants it to perform and he's disappointed. And you know, we just made the decision we're going to sell bikes kind of in that mid to top price range and that gives us the ability to give people exactly what they need to perform in hunting situations. And then that also gives us the ability to kind of stay in the forefront of technology, where the advancements in technology are going to be in the higher price range and that may eventually trickle down. It may not, I'm not sure, but even going to this year I think we're. There's only one other company that has access to the, the buffang five-speed automatic geared hub, so we're able to stay in front of the trends and then hopefully evolve and keep giving people exactly what they want and staying ahead of the curve.

Speaker 2: 13:18

Where you talked a lot about the covid boom, where there's a huge boom in bicycles and a lot of those are leftovers. Where you're seeing a lot of cheap, particularly hub drive bikes that they're basically rebranding and just trying to unload on amazon or whatever. And those companies are here today, gone tomorrow. Yeah, you're not going to get any type of warranty or service because they're there's a bunch of there's only a handful of companies in the industry and then there's just offshoots, and so that's where you're seeing these, these new companies constantly springing up. They'll unload a bunch of bikes. They might have camouflage paint, they're trying to market them to hunters, but you know, just slapping paint on something doesn't make it a hunting e-bike. We kind of take that wording seriously to where you know, our bikes need to have something unique and special about them for them to be a hunting, specific bike.

Speaker 2: 14:26

Derailleur, looking at the bikes in ways that other companies aren't, where we sell bikes with narrower handlebars, where you can drive through cornfields, corn rows, tighter terrain with trees and stuff like that, we're putting big batteries on our bikes and we're just doing a lot of little things, where the trailer attachment points are integrated into the frames so that they can. They can do what the bike needs to do, because the bike needs to perform from, you know, whatever date to whatever date september to the end of december so it's a short time frame. Our guys aren't putting thousands of miles on bikes, but the bike better work when it needs to work, because a guy might only have a week to two week vacation and if his bike goes down, I mean, I just I don't want that to happen, which is why, of course, we're trying to sell bulletproof stuff that just isn't going to break and is going to do what guys wanted to do.

Speaker 1: 15:42

No yeah, yeah, definitely, and I think that's always the most important aspect of it. And you know, I was taught at a young age, like you know, you'd never, you never really want to go off brand. You know if you're going to spend the money, you're you at least you know you're spending the money on a good quality, that it's not going to fail you when the time comes. You know, and that's why usually, like people ask like, oh well, why did you spend the extra money on this? Well, because you know what I want to buy, the best of the best, because I don't want it to fail me when I need it, to count on it the most. You know and I believe in that, from kind of like everyday life, from you know the vehicle that I drive to to my hunting equipment, to my bows, to my broadheads to, to clothing, everything like that you know it's not because I want to wear the best stuff in the world or or be this brand, you know type of person, but you know it's more of the fact of at least I know when push comes to shove, you know it's going to get the job done or it's going to help me get the job done.

Speaker 1: 16:47

And you know, even if something does fail, usually when you spend more, you know when you got that higher quality or whatever you know in that case is you know you're usually going to get like, hey, you know what, ok, where you can send it back, let's see what the problem is, things like that. And I think that's very important. When you're usually buying cheaper made stuff, I mean you're not gonna get that. You said directly some of these companies from the COVID boom and everything like that there is no warranty with your bike and things like that. So I think that's extremely important. Now, something I really wanted that has always piqued my curiosity and I've had debates with, with, with uh buddies and everything like that. You know what's, what's your pulling weight, like you know. So, say, you go out for a hunt and you shoot a big buck or a bear or something like that, what, what can people expect from from your uh, from your e-bikes, uh, with pulling weight?

Speaker 2: 17:45

so I mean they're. They're designed to handle, you know, as much as we can. There's always going to be a weak spot on the bike just because they're not. It's not a pickup truck, it's not a four-wheeler. Last year I shot a buck that dressed 207 and I hauled it on the bike. I had one customer who called me and he had shot two does and he had his kid on the trailer. So he said he was hauling like over 550 pounds. So they're, they're designed.

Speaker 2: 18:21

But anytime you start overloading with weight you're going to risk damaging something on the bike, whether it's the rear hub, the racks. We've really reinforced the racks where that's less of an issue. So we've identified those points. Don't think there's many bikes that that are going to handle more weight than ours do, just because we've looked at the problem points and tried to do it. But it's like if you have, if you have an f-150 pickup truck, you can't expect it to do what you know an f-350 could pull. They're both trucks and you know any bike is going to have the same weak spots with the.

Speaker 2: 19:09

The rear hub ends up being something that can happen and we kind of talk a lot of. It's dependent on how you ride the bike. So what happens in the rear hub is there's there's pawls inside the rear hub and that's that little clicking noise when the, when the wheels in free wheel and then when you're pedaling those, those pawls engage the hub and that's what spins the wheel. So if you're hauling a bunch of weight and those pawls are fully engaged, you're probably not going to have any problems. But if you're going on and off throttle where those pawls are disengaging and engaging and you catch them kind of halfway, that's where they're at their weakest. So I always recommend, if guys are going to be pulling a lot of weight, as long as, like our bikes are obviously designed throttle only application, but as long as your feet are moving and that rear cog spinning those, those pawls are engaged, so you can be on the throttle. But even if you're just ghost pedaling, that's going to keep those pawls engaged to where they're not going to go in and out of engagement. And that's a part that can break on the bikes with that, some of our our hub designs where we're making them, where they're going to handle more torque, and different designs where we're using some star ratchet designs, and I think we're one of very few companies that are actually selling that part just because we know that that's a stronger part and it's actually makes less noise than the the louder clicking on some of the paws. So guys can normally they should be able to expect to haul a deer.

Speaker 2: 20:53

But the more and more you do that how you ride the bike, what type of terrain you're going on and, worst case scenario, you break apart. And worst case scenario, you break apart. And that's kind of where I think we pride ourselves on customer service, where if you break a hub, we're going to get one in the mail to you as fast as we can. It's not going to be where you're waiting weeks or months, which is some of the horror stories we hear with some other companies. So we're going to get you parts that you need. It's a lifetime customer service where you know if you break something down the road on the bike, we're going to get you the parts.

Speaker 2: 21:37

And a lot of times with customer service, especially with e-bikes, people just they want you to point them in the right direction, where they just have no idea what they need. Like if they need a part, you know and they call me whether I have the part or I can point them in the right direction because most of it, most of the bikes just bike parts, where you can get the stuff on Amazon or your local bike shop or wherever. Compared to to hear stories, people need like a front fork and it takes them over a year to get it. And you know, from our standpoint that's ridiculous because the problem is if you buy a bike from, you know, one of those big name companies, they're they're importing completed bicycles. They they're not building bikes. So people assume that they have piles of parts laying around and they don't, because they're just they're just importing bicycles and kind of reselling them, whereas, like, we actually have those parts because we're tearing bikes apart.

Speaker 2: 22:44

You know, I think our most popular bike right now is the switchback and off that frame configuration. I can build it three different, four different ways. I can build it with a chain, single speed. I can build it with a belt. I can build it with a five speed, the fang hub. I can build it with the roll-off hub.

Speaker 2: 23:03

So I'm actually getting bikes, building them and then shipping them off to people, compared to companies that are just drop shipping bikes and never really have their hands on the bikes. And you know, with that comes. I have the parts laying around, I have the knowledge of you, know what can go wrong and what needs to get fixed on the bike. So you know we feel you get a lot by buying a bike through us, just with with customer service and assistance if you need parts or or knowledge setting up the bike or doing any type of modification. So that's kind of been our goal as a company is to you know, we obviously respect the fact that people are spending a considerable amount of money buying a product from us and we're going to, we're going to stand by it and help them any way we can.

Speaker 1: 24:02

Yeah, no, definitely Cause I think that's that's part of the. I've been wanting one for since I think I saw the first one at the Great American Outdoor Show. You know, and it has always been this, it's like, oh, like I really want to get it, but then you know it is. You know there's some money that that's going to be involved, but I look at it as a as a it's a long term investment. You know it's something that is going to benefit you. You know, obviously, yes, you got to spend the money, but you know you're looking for that, especially with a company like yours. You know you're saying you know you can, the customer service is very excellent.

Speaker 1: 24:45

I always look at companies like that like, well, okay, what's their, what's their customer service? Like, you know, I don't want to spend the money on something where it's like you said, oh well, I have to wait a year, like, oh, come on, we, we don't have that, that amount of time. You know you're, you're gonna do the best you can get the whatever they need out to them as quickly as possible. You know this is also something that is you know you build and it's first of all you build, it's american made and everything like that. So it's. It's great, um, you're gonna get great customer service.

Speaker 1: 25:15

But I think that that's always been part of the issue and I think why a lot of people don't go to is because you know they're not 100 sure. You know, is it worth it? You know what happens if something goes wrong with, something breaks. You know this right here. You know you're able to. You know everyone listening, this listening, this is the, this is the man behind it. All you know. So you know you're you're hearing this now, and that's a big part Another reason why I wanted to, you know, to get you on and everything, just so more people can find out. You know what really they're going to be getting into buying one of one of your bikes, um, and and I don't want to misrepresent that it's entirely american made.

Speaker 2: 25:56

Like I'm 100 honest about everything. Like guys call me about a bike and my bike might not fit their needs, I'm going to tell them. So I mean we're importing a lot of the stuff like I'm using american headsets, like we're getting parts locally fabricated rear racks and stuff like that but a lot of the bikes I mean the motors and the batteries. Right now, I mean the only place you can get them is the best companies right now are in China and we're using a lot of stuff with the Bafang motors and batteries.

Speaker 2: 26:26

I mean lithium batteries are coming from over there. So, you can say they're kind of assembled here, whatever, but it is what it is. If we could buy everything here, we would. But because there's, like there's, one company, it kind of drives me crazy. They keep saying that they're assembled or whatever and I, and I know you think it's kind of dishonest to say american made. But I mean, we do what we can and you do it, yeah, you do it.

Speaker 1: 26:55

You do what you can. Uh, for the most part, for the most part, it's it's you know, and it's made in America. It's. There are parts that are American made and, yes, I, I, I know the batteries, you know, at the end of the day, that's where we're getting it from, is you know? It's China, and I agree, I would love to be able to get it here, but that's not the case. But still, and love the honesty too as well, when you're looking at this and you're somebody who's new and you're looking at all different types of options. You have the Switchback. You have the Bowhunter obviously, derailleur bikes um, you know, obviously, derailer bikes Um, you know what? What are you really like if someone is looking for something? I guess simple. You know I bow hunt. You know I'm a bow hunter, so 98% of the hunting I'm doing is bow hunting. You know what? What is your recommendation for somebody that's looking at your website and looking for what is your recommendation?

Speaker 2: 27:57

for somebody that's looking at your website and looking for you know something to to get to start themselves off at. So with our minimum performance standard, like guys can't go wrong with any of our bikes. So if I look at the bow hunter to switch back, if I made like a car comparison it'd be like your Chevy Tahoe to the Escalade. So there there's a lot of similarities between the two bikes. The Bowhunter we wanted to keep one of our bikes as affordable as we could. Unfortunately they're still expensive. But our Bowhunter ST, which is a step-through bike. It's packed with features. It's our most affordable bike. It's a little bit less than the other ones because it has a 15 amp hour battery, so a little bit smaller battery. It still has four piston brakes, which you're going to want. Hydraulic brakes and four piston are the best. It still has a good front suspension, but some of the other bikes have a have a better front suspension.

Speaker 2: 28:51

We integrated the rear rack into the frame to give it strength. We have specific trailer attachment points for basically every trailer and we were able to do a lot of those things with that bike because I actually designed that frame from the ground up, where you know. I knew I needed this, this, this and this. So we looked at what hunters were were asking from us, which was the step through frames, just because guys with bibs, boots and whatever else don't want to have to swing their leg entirely over the bike. So step through frames. They wanted all the trailer attachment points. They wanted a stronger rear rack. We're putting the higher quality brakes on them. So we packed a lot of features into that bike and that's our most affordable bike. And then the other version of that bike has a bigger battery. So it has it's actually a 52 volt system compared to a 48 volt system, which is a little bit more power and then a bigger battery. So those two bikes are kind of well, I won't even say entry level, but those are our value-packed bikes that are extremely popular right now.

Speaker 2: 30:17

And then the Switch Pack is where you're going to get those high-end features where, if you're looking to get the Bafang automatic five-speed hub or if you're looking to get the Rolllloff hub, which is a 14 speed internally geared hub, those bikes are available with those features. So if you're looking for the real high-end bike features, then then that's where the the switchback is, with some of those, some of those smaller details but for for anybody. If they bought the bow hunter they'd be extremely happy with it and it's going to perform side by side with the switchback. Switchback just has some small little details and then it has the ability to kind of to upgrade to even, you know, higher end stuff where when you start adding the buffafang five speed hub and the and the roll off 14 speed hub, those are equivalent to, you know, the top of the line bike from Baku or the top of the line bike from Quiet Cat, where those are just the, the real high end stuff, where you're going to get the single speed simplicity but you're not sacrificing top end speed, where those bikes will still go 30 miles per hour compared to our.

Speaker 2: 31:36

Our single speeds only go 14, 16 miles per hour. But, to be honest, if you're, if you're going through fields or the woods or most hunting situations, you're not going to need to go faster. The only time you'll miss it is if you're just driving down the road or if you want to use the bike for a bunch of different things where you're going to use it riding with the family or maybe commuting. You know, maybe a roll-off hub makes sense for you, but our, our single speeds are our most popular bikes right now.

Speaker 1: 32:12

And that that kind of gives you. You know, I like how you said, like do stuff riding on with the family or something. So it kind of gives you best of both worlds, where it's like, okay, if you live, you know, maybe not too far away from your work, you could take that to work, or you can go on a, you know you and the family can go out, and so it gives like a whole different option to where I kind of like that, like I would I'd be. I mean, I could do that probably with the 15 and 18, go to the store real quick, or something like that.

Speaker 2: 32:40

But you know, it does give that extra option where you can do a lot more with it than than just hunting as as well because the single speeds are more of a throttle only application where if you think of your standard mountain bike and you put it in your the gear you would use to climb a hill, that's the only gear that that bike has. So if you all of a sudden take that bike and put it on flat ground and you're going 15 miles an hour, you're not going to be able to keep up with the pedals. So if you're doing a lot of pedal assist or want to get exercise for the bike, then you're going to want we sell bikes with derailleurs. If people want bike with a derailleur, we have no problem selling it to them. We've just probably 99% of the bikes we've sold have been the single speed bikes. But if you're going to, like you said, use the bike for a whole bunch of different things, then you might want a derailleur.

Speaker 2: 33:33

Or if you have the money for the investment into the 14-speed hub, I mean that thing is absolutely amazing where you have the gearing equivalent to like a 12-speed derailleur with that many different gear selections and it's all internally housed in the hub and it it's basically bathed in oil to where you change the oil on the rear hub, where all the parts are are being lubricated by the oil and all the gearings inside inside the hub.

Speaker 2: 34:08

So it's it's amazing technology, it's just. It's just more expensive. And if you wanted a derailleur, then we have. We have no problem building bikes exactly how the consumer wants them, and that's kind of how we started was. Our original name was stealth custom e-bikes because it was, you know. Basically you tell us what you want and we'll build it, and then we kind of learn the features that everybody was asking for and just kind of put those into into packages and that made it easier for us to kind of keep parts in stock and then less confusion, I mean, because you have a hundred choices on a website, then just people get more confused.

Speaker 2: 34:56

so it's easier to put thing in in packages and if people want something a little bit different where, if you know they want the throttle on this side or that side or a twist versus a thumb throttle, you know we can.

Speaker 2: 35:09

We can build the bike exactly how you want, because we're actually putting our hands on it. And with that being said, I think one of the most popular features is the puncture resistant package, where we put tannus liners and flat out in the tires and I don't there's very few companies that actually do that just because you have to physically take the tires apart and put them back on the bike. But it really doesn't make that big a difference for us. So instead of you buying a bike and then having to take it apart and do a bunch of stuff to get it to the road, we're selling them pretty much where they're out of the box. Out of the box, you have a few things to assemble. When you get a bike, it's in a box, the front tire's off and then the handlebars are off. So basically you have to attach the handlebars, put the front tire on, then you have some racks and fenders and pedals, and other than that, it's ready to go.

Speaker 1: 36:10

Now, that's incredible it's ready to go. Now that that that's incredible and you know you, you talk about the tires and that's that was tires and batteries were were another worry and concern. And when you're going through like that and I know the bigger tires, usually you know you say the better and everything like that, but you're kind of making it. So this is kind of you never know what you're going through. You know when, when we're in hunting situations, you, at the end of the day, I don't care who you are, whatever the case is like, you just never know.

Speaker 1: 36:41

Um, so you're, you're basically making it so the tires are less likely to puncture. Obviously there's still a chance. You doesn't mean you can drive through, you know, ride through a bunch of nails and everything like that, but you know you're going through cornfields there's you're going to be going through. You know whatever you're going to be going to there there's things that you know fallen limbs, branches, everything like that that could potentially pop your tire and this is, you know, just that extra, extra as as well definitely I mean I it must be like 99.9 of the bikes that we sell.

Speaker 2: 37:24

Guys get the, get the tannus liners. And the tannus liner is basically it's it's probably like a half inch a foam liner. So you have, you have the, you have the tire, then you have a half inch a foam liner. So you have, you have the, you have the tire, then you have a half inch of foam, then you have the inner tube and then you also put a sealant in the inner tube where, in case something came through the foam, punctured the inner tube that it's still going to seal itself. And, worst case scenario, if you had a total inner tube failure, there's enough foam in the tire where you'd be able to ride the bike with a flat tire and not damage the rim.

Speaker 2: 37:59

So we know that. You know people are going to go hunting and they can't afford to get get stranded two hours from their truck. So I think some of the the early on problems where people were calling us say, hey, this is the problem I always have were guys going out east or out west with with goat heads, which was it's like a, a small thorn type thing, yeah, yeah. And then the other one was locust pods, where locust trees have those huge thorns on them. So in both situations people who normally would have multiple inner tube failures were using our bikes with the tannis and the flat out and could go through the entire season without a problem. So we haven't. I can't think of a phone call that I've had where someone's saying, hey, this isn't working, we got to try something else. So for the most part I don't think there's.

Speaker 2: 39:04

When you use those two items, they're probably the. They're the most effective by far. Like, if you do any model research, the the tannis gives you, gives you a couple different it improves the ride because you have additional foam in the tire, and then it gives you the protection from any type of puncture through the, through the tire itself. And then the flat out is a kevlar sealant. We've all used the slimes and different things and the flat out's by far the the most effective with with sealant. If you do have, do have an issue now it's put right before I left.

Speaker 1: 39:48

I've never had this happen. But I was actually walking through the woods and something went right through the sole of my my boot and right into my foot. Um, it's never, it's never happened before. But it's you always like now, thinking about it's like you always want that extra protection. Um, and that's something, even if I wasn't, you know, even if I was, I was, you know, taking my e-bike out on, you know, gravel dirt road or maybe maybe the most like a cornfield Right, and I just had to travel a good distance where I couldn't walk, you know I would still. You know, those tires you just never know, you always want to be safe and that's kind of like you know have, um, my truck has the kevlar tires, you know it's just in case and it's helped. I mean, I ran over a screw when I first got them and it actually didn't really do much to to the tire and actually kind of bent, bent the screw and everything like that. But you know it, it's something that rather be safe than than sorry. And you know that bending the rim, I know that's always, from driving cars to bikes, that's always like a huge concern when you get flat tires and everything like that, so that that is a really good, assuring thing to hear.

Speaker 1: 41:05

And you know the batteries that that's always another thing. What is battery life look like? You know you got different models, everything like that. And you know, like you said, with the with the bow hunter, you know you got a 48 volt versus a 52 volt. You know, um, what is that gonna? What are the effects on the battery? How much drive time do you usually have? You know? And what does that look like? Also, during the winter, that's always my biggest question is is during the winter, once it starts getting colder and colder, what's the battery?

Speaker 2: 41:39

life look like in in that. So so I always laugh at the battery and I don't understand this, because there's there's one of our competitors has the exact same motor, exact same battery as one of our bikes and they advertise 90 mile range, which is insane and that. So I don't know why companies advertise like a, basically a pedal assist range where, if you want to help the motor out and do 90 of the work.

Speaker 2: 42:09

If you want to help the motor out and do 90% of the work, yeah, you can maybe get 90 miles. I mean you could take a bicycle without a motor and say it has a 100-mile range if you want to pedal it for 100 miles. So when I look at a battery I rate it throttle only with hills, kind of real-world situation, hills, kind of real world situation. So if you look at any any thousand watt motor with a battery, if you have a 15 amp hour battery, that's roughly 15 mile range. So you'll get. You could get on the low end 10, you could get on the high high end 20. So it's kind of you know five miles either way of what the amp hour rating is. So 30 amp hour battery, roughly about 30 mile range, 25 at the lowest, 35 or more maybe on the high end and that depends on the weight of the rider, the tire inflation, like you said, temperature.

Speaker 2: 43:10

Temperature is going to suck some out of the battery.

Speaker 2: 43:14

I haven't seen it where it's too terrible like I've used them in, you know, single digits. The hardest thing on the battery is you're not going to want it to freeze like if you kept the battery in your house and then went out in the morning, then that battery is going to perform pretty good compared to if you let it sit outside in the cold. It's similar to like, I think, a lot of us, if you remember this last winter where we had that real cold stretch where some of the electric cars weren't starting. Yeah, I mean the the batteries don't like when it's super cold. But there's things you can do to mitigate that, where if you bring the battery in at night or if you, you know, put a jacket on the battery when you're parked at your tree stand during the day, that's going to hold some of that heat that the battery kind of was emitting while it was working and then that's going to give you better performance. But overall, you can look at, you know, a mile per amp hour for for the range that's.

Speaker 1: 44:30

That's pretty smart. I, I like, I like the jacket, the jacket idea that that's pretty unique. And yet again, you know, is that something that's pretty smart? I, I like, I like the jacket, the jacket idea that that's pretty unique. And yet again, you know, is that something that you will, that you did or one of your customers tried doing and you know, brought that to, to your attention?

Speaker 2: 44:44

there's some like we were kind of working on designing, uh, like something that would zip onto the the frame and kind of cover the battery. There's a couple of different companies that have it where you know you can cover the battery or, like I said, you could just use a coat or something when you got where you're going, where you're just trying to maintain some of that heat on that, on that battery, while you're, while you're sitting in your tree. But we haven't had. You know, usually at some point, especially up here where I'm at, the snow gets too deep, where the bikes are tough to operate. But you know, for cold weather they seem to work.

Speaker 2: 45:31

As long as you know you're doing some things with bringing the battery in and the worst thing for a battery is to totally drain it and then let it freeze. That can cause problems. But the batteries are. You know we're using high quality batteries that are. You know they should have a lifetime range of probably 20,000 miles. You know they should have a lifetime range of probably 20,000 miles. So the battery is probably not going to be the weak spot on the bike and you know, if they're, I think we've only had one or two situations where it wasn't looking like the battery was performing the way it should be and like the battery was performing the way it should be and we just sent the person a new battery and you know we're not going to haggle and ask you to do all kinds of things If your battery's not working, then Gotcha that, that and yet again another.

Speaker 1: 46:28

You know, customer, sorry, cause you're not going to get a lot of companies that do that, you know. And the charge time, so you know when you charge it. You know, customers, cause you're not going to get a lot of companies that do that, you know. And the charge time, so you know when you charge it, you know. You said don't let it die and then leave it. You know, sitting out outside, you know, and let it get cold. So bring it, bring it inside, charge it right away. What are? What are we looking at for for a charge time?

Speaker 2: 46:58

So you can charge the battery at any time. If you took the bike, drove it for a mile, it's not bad for it to throw it on the charger and get it fully charged. So I think they're rated for like 10 000 full cycles, which is fully powered up, fully drained, so that could happen a bunch. So you could charge the battery three times in between there and it. You know it's fully charged to a full drain would be would would be one cycle so you can charge at any time. They come with smart chargers where the charger is going to shut off when the battery's charged. Recommend that you don't leave the battery on the charger for extended periods of time. You're just, you know there's always it's a battery that's housing a lot of a lot of power and you know once it's charged, take it off the charger. The chargers are rated similarly where if you have a 5-amp charger it charges 5 amps per hour. So let's just say you had a 20-amp hour battery, it would take a 5-amp charger four hours to charge that battery. So our bigger batteries are going to have five amp chargers. So our bigger 30 amp battery it would take six hours if it was completely drained, which would be unlikely it'd be that low. And then our 15 amp, our batteries come with a two amp charger, because you don't want to, you don't want to have too big a charger for the battery, because then you're just you're inputting too much energy where you can have problems.

Speaker 2: 48:17

But we use high quality battery batteries with with good battery management systems.

Speaker 2: 48:26

Like if you look at, if you're building your own mid-drive e-bike, you have the motors and then you have the batteries and you can have two identical looking batteries and one's $400 and one's $800. Well, the one thing you don't want to skimp on is the battery, because the $800 battery is going to have a better battery management system, it's probably going to have better welds, it's going to have better cells and you know that's an important component on the bike where you know, if you're building your own, don't skimp on the battery. We use high quality batteries and basically understanding that the battery obviously powers the bike but it's also a safety feature on the bike where most of the problems with with e-bikes being fire hazards and there being problems, a lot of those are either DIY batteries, where you could actually do all the welding and design and make a battery all by yourself, or they're. They're cheap batteries with cheap battery management systems and and combined with a with a cheap charger, and you're gonna you're gonna have problems, okay, gotcha gotcha.

Speaker 1: 49:47

Um, you know well, I want to real quick move and talk a little bit more about about yourself and your hunting and everything like that.

Speaker 2: 49:54

You know you grew up in, you grew up in Michigan or you guys are based in Michigan we're based in Michigan, so I grew up in Wisconsin, live in Michigan now, so I'll usually hunt two to three states a year. I try to get get somewhere in September and then I'll hunt Wisconsin, michigan and then, if I have time, maybe something else. But so that's where my passion is. Like, my passion was never. Oh, I'm gonna start a business. I want to sell bikes. Mine was. I, I'm a hardcore hunter. I needed a tool to help me get the job done, and that's where this whole this whole business started was. Just it was.

Speaker 2: 50:39

It was actually a trip to Nebraska where we were there early season and there's a lot of pressure with out-of-state guys and stuff like that. But but it's big country to where. If, if you had the ability to get a little bit further away than everybody else, then then you'd be in, you'd be in, uh, than everybody else, then you'd be in, you know, uncharted territory, so to speak. So that got me thinking where, how can I use the bikes to kind of change the angles that I was accessing property? So a lot of the times right now I'll actually. So a lot of the times right now, I'll actually park my truck and then drive the bike even down the road a couple miles and then access the I hunt mostly public land, but access the public land, you know, down the road in the Naxos. So it kind of opened up a whole different world of you're going after the deer from different angles, where they're not used to being targeted from, and then you're able to get to areas that other people aren't necessarily going to, because most guys who are going to you know you always walk, talk about walking one, two, three miles. They're probably not going to walk one, two, three miles parallel to the roadway. They're probably going to try to get into the middle where they think nobody else is going to be.

Speaker 2: 52:06

So you're able to access different areas. And then you know, hide your vehicle to where. Like, if you're parked in the same spot two days in a row, people are going to start noticing. So I'll strategically park my vehicle here or there to hide where I'm at, where nobody really knows where I'm at.

Speaker 2: 52:26

I don't have to worry as much about people walking in on me and that's kind of opened up different, different worlds basically to where, once you get the bike, it, it kind of gives you a completely different playbook where you know if you're just walking to spots. You had this many plays where all of a sudden you have have this bike and it's. You have way more options for for what you can do and how you can access different parts of properties and depending on the state. Some states are e-bike friendly, some are more restrictive, but either way, even in the most restrictive states, you can just drive down the road and then jump in from a different angle than everybody else, and you know, I've found that to be a huge advantage yeah, I, I agree and I I've, I've taken that tactic as well, but yet again, I'm limited because I can only really park in certain you know areas.

Speaker 1: 53:28

Still, you know, I will try to go where where other hunters don't think to go. Um, I hunt a lot of public and obviously it's a lot of it's landlocked, you know. So a couple of spots that I hunt, like I have to park on a side street then walk across, you know, but I'm still not, I'm still parking, kind of, in that area. So people, I've noticed people have picked up on it where I've never had people walking into certain of these areas and scouting certain or hunting certain areas. And now all of a sudden, you know, every once in a while I'll get somebody who you know probably has noticed my truck being there, you know multiple times. I'm like OK, he's got to be. You know, this is most likely a hunter. I know that right over there you can hunt over there. He's probably somewhere in there, you know where.

Speaker 1: 54:17

You know, if you get an e-bike and you know I'm looking at it's like all right, now, it gives you so much more access to you're going parallel, like you said, two to three miles, and then you're cutting in and it's just it, completely it's. You're hitting the deer from, like you said, a different, different angle, and you know somewhere where they're not expecting hunters are not expecting you know, they don't really have any sign that you're there because you're taking the e-bike in and everything like that, so on, all around like just a phenomenal idea as well, where you're right, you don't, you're not getting too. Actually I really do that again. I don't know anyone who would walk two to three miles down the road, then cut in and then go. You know however many more you know I always, I always feel strange just walking, you know five, 600 yards, 700 yards, on a, on a main road, with my hunting gear.

Speaker 1: 55:12

Like I couldn't imagine walking two to three miles and just like the, the amount of stairs and everything like you you would get, you know, while people drive by. But you know it's a phenomenal way to access and that's one of the biggest, one of the. I think the most important things to hunting is is access and it's always going to be. You know access. Obviously. You know you have to access a spot before you can worry about the wind and and all the other factors.

Speaker 2: 55:45

But you know, especially with the bike, you can look for areas with the worst access. Yeah, so you can like. When I hunted kentucky like it's, you know, just because it's like steep ravines and everything there's a lot of guardrails, so guardrails are awesome because there's no place to park, so you just find whatever the nearest parking spot is, and it's it's way. I always felt that you know if you're parked close to where you're hunting, you always felt like you're in a rush, like you're trying to get from your truck to the woods, that no one would see you or wouldn't see where you walked in. So if you park away from your spots it the woods, that no one would see you or wouldn't see where you walked in. So if you park away from your spots, it's just so much more relaxing. Get your gear on, hop on the bike, buzz down the road.

Speaker 2: 56:29

You know you have way less, way less worries about people figuring out what you're doing and it's just. You know it's a. It's a huge advantage to where you know you can look at a map and see where the closest parking spots are and if you can find sparks or spots with, with no parking, you're gonna probably have very little pressure, so you're gonna open up those are those that. Those are the other parts of the playbook I'm talking about where you know, even like expressways or whatever, where you can't part park your truck or guard rails or any of those spots. You know small spots like if you have there's, like there's some 15 acre spots that are unbelievable, but if you park there more than one day, like people are going to walk in and start checking it out, but if nobody has any idea you're back there, then you know you're. You're way more likely to keep your so-called secret spot secret if people have no idea that, uh, anybody's hunting back there yeah, no, I, I agree it.

Speaker 1: 57:48

It opens up, like you know, my mind. I'm just, you know, every time. This is why I love doing this podcast and just talking to all different people, because now everything just starts turning in the head and all these ideas, and you know, you start to brainstorm. You know, um, it's just, you know, I, um, I will be excited when I, when I get my first e-bike. You know, uh, I gotta talk to the fiance. We were planning a wedding, so I, I don't know if I'll be able to pull that one out for put it on your what's the where you do the?

Speaker 1: 58:17

yeah, whatever yep, that's, that's, that's the big plan. That that is the big plan. Um, you know, but you know hunting. So you, you hunted in wisconsin, you know, you grew up in wisconsin, now you're in michigan, yet you still, you know, you love to hunt. How do you find that balance? You know of hunting, but also you know working on the e-bikes and everything like that and running a business yeah, I actually. And family time and family time.

Speaker 2: 58:46

I do the bikes on the side, so this is like my, my side hustle. But I'm actually a Michigan state trooper, so that's my, my full time job. I actually before that I actually hunted out east quite a bit. I was a professional hockey player for 10 years, so I was mostly in the minor minor leagues, but I played in bridgeport, connecticut, springfield, massachusetts, binghamton, new york okay so you played in the ahl yep, I was in the ahl okay, cool, yeah.

Speaker 1: 59:20

So I grew up playing hockey. Um, you know, a bunch of actually, anthony stole ours up, just, uh, that just won the cup for for florida. We played together. I played with, uh, johnny goudreau, uh, all the jersey guys you know. I played in, um, I played in EJHL and on the East over here and everything like that, um, so big, big connections, and was was on that path too, um, but you know it's, it's a grind, it's, it's an absolute grind. Um, you know, but I I do miss it, but I love, I think I love hunting just a little bit more oh yeah, that was when I finally retired.

Speaker 2: 1:00:01

It was like, oh yeah, I finally get get to hunt the rut. But even when I was playing so I remember in connecticut I think I shot like seven deer that year because I think you could shoot like three bucks and all kinds of doe tags. But so I'd we'd practice in the morning and you'd be done by you know one o'clock or so. So almost every day when we just when we didn't have a game that night I was, I was hunting, so hunted a lot out out east, kind of got to learn a lot of different terrains and strategies and you know.

Speaker 2: 1:00:36

So I've kind of been forced to be a public land guy from early on and forced to be, you know, as mobile as as possible, just because you know I was probably only going to be in a place for the one year, it wasn't going to be year to year, and I, yeah couldn't leave, stands up and stuff like that. So that kind of shaped my, my hunting. And now it's, you know, with work as a state trooper and then the bikes, you know I'm gonna, I burn my vacation in the fall and works good to where I can take quite a bit of time off. So, yeah, I'll usually go someplace in september and then hunt Wisconsin and Michigan for sure Two States, but I love those those September. Have you ever done a like a velvet?

Speaker 1: 1:01:25

No, it's on it's on the bucket. I was actually the fiance and I. We were watching man, I can't remember. I think we're watching Midwest white tails last night and the girl it was her first buck, her first buck or her first deer, first buck, first bow, bow, deer. And it turned out to be a velvet buck and she was like oh. She was like oh, my god, that's so cool. And I was like that's the goal right there, like that's that's on the bucket list, is to do a uh hunt for sure. So I definitely want a velvet buck.

Speaker 2: 1:02:01

It's just that time of year it feels like you're getting a bonus hunt Cause it's it's like the last thing in your mind, Cause in Michigan we open up October 1st, so all of a sudden September sneaks up on you. It's like holy cow, I get to go hunt next week and then you go do your hunt and then you know there's another gap of time where you can actually your season starts. So it's just, it just feels like a bonus.

Speaker 2: 1:02:24

It's kind of uh yeah for the most part, it's a comfortable time of year. It's not cold, it's usually hotter and you'd like it. But yeah, it's fun, definitely, just to try to extend the season. And I'm starting to look into, you know, what places can I go in December or January, when you start thinking like Alabama and those different seasons, because a lot of times, like our rut gets done here and then it's like, oh, the season's over, and then you forget that you know the rut hasn't even started down in Alabama and that was the one thing I noticed with with bike sales was I tried to build inventory coming into the season, kind of thinking that I'd sell a lot like September and and October, which was true, but then all of a sudden I was selling almost just as many bikes in December and it's like kind of caught me off guard.

Speaker 2: 1:03:24

Well, it's like you know these people are still hunting, you know they're ruts in December, they're still getting after it. So it started to make me think, you know, well, that'd kind of be cool to leave four feet of snow up here and go down for a rut hunt down south, which sounds like a pretty good idea to me yeah, no, I, I agree, like we're fortunate here we start the second week of september and we actually go to the middle of February.

Speaker 1: 1:03:55

We have a very long hunting season um, over here. But I would, I would eventually like to go, like you said, during that December time. You know, when it's real, when it's getting cold up here you're starting to get the snow and everything like that. For you it's even worse, you know, in Michigan, yeah, you know, but um, to move more of that down south, because you, you kind of get that, you get to hit that that other rut, you know their rut, you know, so it's, it's another hot, pop, popular time and it's it's another thing like you have to worry about.

Speaker 1: 1:04:28

You know everyone always forgets down south, like they're, they're behind everyone in the in the north and in the the midwest and everything like that. So you know, for if you're a business and you're, you know you have to prepare for that September, october, and then you have to prepare, you know, yet again, for that, I guess December, maybe January, uh, timeframe when you're you're getting another whole, you know, peak of of hunting for a whole nother area. So it's, uh, that's that's quite interesting, um for sure, I, I didn't even think about that at all. Like you know, and I you, you just leave it off the it's never on, I guess, the top of your head, because by the time for us, like it's like all right, like we're winding down, like you know, waterfowl's usually hitting off.

Speaker 1: 1:05:15

You know you start predator season, come in trapping season. You know waterfowl is usually hitting off. You know you start predator season, come in trapping season. You know you're doing all these other things. But you know, if you just go down south here you could be back in the the swing of things then, or you can even go what can? When does kentucky? Kentucky, I think, starts the end of august or the first week of september.

Speaker 2: 1:05:34

I, I believe, um yeah, I can't remember beginning somewhere in the beginning like there's only, I think there's only like four velvet states yeah, yeah, there's not many I think it's like kentucky, north dakota, nebraska. I don't know if tennessee had something going. I don't know if they they're still doing that, but it's. It's a cool hunt, like I. Some people like the idea of velvet, some people don't.

Speaker 2: 1:06:05

For me it's just, it's just a bonus time time of year where you're like getting getting to do something you normally wouldn't be able to do, so it's just kind of a a gift yeah, no, it is.

Speaker 1: 1:06:20

I definitely agree and I understand. You know, like I said, I'm blessed with how much time we get to hunt over here, but I'm still looking for, hey, why can I start hunting earlier? And it's like you know, you can go do a velvet hunt. I think maine.

Speaker 1: 1:06:33

Their bear season starts the day after Labor Day. I think it's the Monday after Labor Day or Labor Day, whenever Labor Day is going to be on. I think they start that first week of September. So it's like all right, how do I plan this where I go to another state hunt there, then come home Our weekend, our opener will be the next week or two. Then you can go to, I think PA or upstate New York starts like I think a week after ours, and those States all open up like one after the other and then it's like boom, you're in the full swing and everything like that. So it's a, it's definitely a fun time. But so we're a few more questions and I, you know I always ask this one to all the new people that we get on on the show Um, you know you had two weeks for a dream hunt where it would be all paid for two weeks. What's the animal and what's the? Where would you hunt?

Speaker 2: 1:07:34

I think, uh, I'm obsessed with whitetails right now, like we started putting in for elk points, stuff like that. But I think, uh, I'll be able to draw Iowa next year. So I think that for me right now, that's probably going to be my, my dream hunt go down to, for whatever reason I like to beat my head against the wall and hunt public land. So, probably, go to iowa, hunt public and uh, see if I can get it done.

Speaker 2: 1:08:04

I guess I like to, I like to fail my my own way. Then, uh, kind of somebody put me in a tree and I just become a trigger man. So so that's what I, I don't, I don't mind failure, I guess, like I don't need a guarantee. So I'll go give it a go and try to make it happen. If it happens, awesome. If it doesn't, I'll learn from it and go from there. But that probably, right now, that's my dream hunt go to iowa, see if and get on something really big. You know, I think the the goal for every whitetail guy is, yeah, it's somewhere in that, uh, 200 range. I'd be happy, you know, 180.

Speaker 1: 1:08:44

But uh, yeah, we'll see I I just started my points, uh, for for iowa as well. But I think that mentality, too, comes from being a hockey player. You know, I think you know you look at, know what we do, and it's like you have to be OK with with failure, because it's the only way that you're and it should be really with anyone with life, but I think with hockey you just you know it's such a grind. You know, look at all the games that you're playing in the season. You can't get hung up on.

Speaker 1: 1:09:14

You know a loss or a bad shift or a bad game, you know you kind of just got to keep on going and you know, look at how many people actually first make it to the nhl and then to win, win the stanley cup. You know, you look at, you look at some of the greats in the world and they've, you know they've still never done it. But um, I, I think hockey is, is playing at the level that I played at has helped me so much. Be the hunter I am today, just through a mentality standpoint, and you could probably say that about like playing any sports team sports that are such a high professional level, but you know, I definitely mark it down to hockey has gotten me to where I am now.

Speaker 2: 1:09:54

Yeah, definitely I was a goalie. So I was only one shot away, oh really One shot away, from failure.

Speaker 2: 1:09:59

so, oh man, you, you had it hard and I think, like you said, with hunting I mean it's just uh, at most athletes, I think with that mentality can can grind with the best of them to where you're not going to get beat down. You know that I always the one saying I always tell my brother is I'm a moment, moment away from greatness, like you could have. Your whole season could be total garbage and then, like in a split second, it could could all change. And if if during that split second, you're at home on the couch compared to in the tree, you know things. Things are totally different. So you got it. Sometimes you just have to be willing to put the time in and give yourself a chance and and hope for the best. And if it doesn't work out, then just learn from, learn from your decisions and get better in the future yeah, no, I agree.

Speaker 1: 1:11:01

Um, if you could, are you? Are you a snacker in the woods? Are you a big snack guy? I like my snacks, yeah what's?

Speaker 2: 1:11:10

what's your go-to uh hunting snack? Go-to hunting snack is Oreos Oreo cookies. I like the yellow ones. What are those? The golden Oreos.

Speaker 1: 1:11:23

I usually have a. Ziploc bag of those with me in the tree. I love it, typical or non-typical, whitetail.

Speaker 2: 1:11:31

I like non-typical. I like the trash.

Speaker 1: 1:11:37

I like the trash. What's your if you could?

Speaker 2: 1:11:46

only hunt one week of the year. What year, what, what? What dates would you pick the week before Halloween, just cause I think, I don't think I don't know if it's the best week, but as a public land guy, the pressure picks up on Halloween.

Speaker 1: 1:12:17

So the week before, a little fewer guys, maybe you can have Face Off, be work with one company. What would it be?

Speaker 2: 1:12:25

Funny, you should ask, but I guess. So I've worked with Lone Wolf Custom Gear and we actually partnered with them to build a bike for them and we actually partnered with them to build a bike for them. So that'll be coming out later this summer. Maybe in the next couple weeks we have bikes painted and ready to go. Andre's designing the rear rack where all the stands will lock into the rear rack.

Speaker 2: 1:12:53

So the stands and sticks will all lock into the rack on the bike and then they'll have bow holders, the rack on the bike, and then they'll have bow holders. So we're really excited about that. So I mean, that was kind of like that as a as a company coming up to be able to partner with, you know, one of the the bigger names in the hunting industry, probably the biggest name in mobile hunting. But to partner with them, to work with them, is, uh, exciting for us. So I guess the dream has somewhat come true with that.

Speaker 1: 1:13:23

That's looking forward to that. I I think I I definitely already know a couple of guys who are big lone wolf guys that I would love to to invest in, to invest in that. Um, where, where do you? Where do you see you? You know yourself. Um in the company in five years just, uh, continuing to exceed expectation.

Speaker 2: 1:13:50

That's always been our goal is, where somebody gets a bike from us, that it meets and exceeds what they expected from the bike. A lot of times, you know, you'll see where somebody will buy something that are disappointed. So as long as we're exceeding expectations, I don't care how many bikes we sell. We'll just keep trucking along and designing them and building them. To do what? Because we've kind of focused on a really small part of the marketplace, which it which is why I think our bikes are are unique, because we're not marketing to a large group to where, you know, the overall e-bike market is interested in top end speed. They're interested in in different things that aren't really priorities for hunters where, you know, with the popularity of our single speed bikes, it goes completely against what other companies think people want. And that's just because we're looking at a real minute part of the marketplace and and that's who we were building bikes for.

Speaker 1: 1:15:02

Um, you know, and last one here for you, if you know, if you could, if you couldn't go on a hunt with one person, um, you know, dead or alive family friends, someone who's famous, who, who would you, who would you like to hunt with?

Speaker 2: 1:15:20

uh, I mean that's kind of a a low. I I'd just pick my dad just because, uh, I mean he's in his 70s now. Who knows how many more season he seasons he has left. So just for me right now is take advantage of that time and you know, the more time I can spend with him in the woods, the better and enjoy it while it lasts yeah, no, definitely, definitely.

Speaker 1: 1:15:48

Um, you know I, I would definitely love to to thank you for for coming on. I mean, this has been absolutely incredible. You know, the e-bike game is just grown so much and you know I, when the time comes, I am going to be very excited to to to get mine. You know I, I think you've you hit the nail on the coffin here and I, I I'm going to be telling that I'm going to be putting this in the uh, the wishlist for for the wedding. I might have to sneak it in there, but, um, you know I, I definitely plan on getting a bike from you guys. Um, you know, at at some point, um, but I mean just a phenomenal episode. Anyone who's who's looking out there or has got any questions, you know definitely, feel free, make free, make sure you, you know you give them a follow and you give a quick dm and everything like that and you know any any last words from you no, yeah, just get us on that uh gift registry and see if anybody gets your bike.

Speaker 2: 1:16:51

But yeah, follow us on, we post. Our company was basically built on facebook, so face off e-bikes on facebook. We post a couple times a week. You'll get some information, post videos of what the bikes are capable of. Our website, faceoffebikescom, and then on instagram it's face off e-bike, so follow us on any of those things. Feel Feel free to call us. We probably talk to the vast majority of our customers just to make sure that they get exactly what they need to fit fit their hunting style and what they want the bike to do.

Speaker 1: 1:17:34

So yeah, definitely follow us and feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. The link I will post the links down in the description below Everyone. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and we'll see you guys next time.