As VC-backed e-bike startups went bankrupt, bootstrapped Lectric grew
As VC-backed e-bike startups went bankrupt, bootstrapped Lectric grew
当风投支持的电动自行车初创公司纷纷破产时，自力更生的 Lectric 却在增长
Lectric eBikes, a Phoenix, Arizona-based company known for its practical and affordable XP series electric bikes, has launched three new brands so far this year — a Juiced Bikes relaunch, a new Juiced Powersports brand, and now a premium adventure brand called Monarc — an expansion strategy that runs counter to the wave of bankruptcies that have plagued the sector. 总部位于亚利桑那州凤凰城的 Lectric eBikes 以其经济实用的 XP 系列电动自行车而闻名。今年迄今为止，该公司已推出了三个新品牌——重启了 Juiced Bikes、创立了全新的 Juiced Powersports 品牌，以及最近推出的高端探险品牌 Monarc。这种扩张策略与困扰该行业的破产潮背道而驰。
Together, Lectric has put about $10 million toward these initiatives, CEO Levi Conlow told TechCrunch. “Others might be pulling back, or raising money, we’re actually deploying and investing into initiatives like this,” he said. “I actually don’t think the market is saturated right now; Lectric last month had its biggest sales month in our company’s existence and we sold almost 30,000 bikes. I’m not sure anybody has done that before, even at like peak COVID.” Lectric 首席执行官 Levi Conlow 在接受 TechCrunch 采访时表示，Lectric 已为这些项目投入了约 1000 万美元。“其他人可能在收缩或忙于融资，而我们实际上是在部署并投资于此类项目，”他说。“我并不认为目前的市场已经饱和；Lectric 上个月创下了公司成立以来的最高销售纪录，售出了近 3 万辆自行车。我不确定以前是否有人做到过，即使是在疫情高峰期。”
It may seem like an odd time to launch an e-bike brand, let alone three. In the past two years a slew of e-bike companies have filed for bankruptcy, shut down, or withered until they were snapped up by larger companies. Rad Power Bikes, the buzzy electric bike company that raised nearly $330 million in venture capital, was perhaps the highest-profile collapse. The company, once valued at $1.65 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. Its assets were acquired by Life Electric Vehicles Holdings for $13.2 million. 现在推出一个电动自行车品牌，更不用说三个，似乎是一个奇怪的时机。在过去两年中，一大批电动自行车公司申请破产、倒闭，或在萎缩后被大公司收购。Rad Power Bikes 这家曾筹集近 3.3 亿美元风投资金、备受关注的电动自行车公司，或许是其中最引人注目的倒闭案例。该公司曾估值 16.5 亿美元，于去年 12 月申请了破产保护，其资产最终以 1320 万美元被 Life Electric Vehicles Holdings 收购。
“To me, it’s just opened it up,” Conlow said of the market after listing a dozen companies that had folded or left the U.S. market. “I think the market actually lacks a lot of worthy competition right now.” 在列举了十几家倒闭或退出美国市场的公司后，Conlow 谈到市场时说：“对我来说，这反而打开了局面。我认为市场目前其实缺乏很多有价值的竞争对手。”
The contrarian bet has a contrarian backstory. Conlow and co-founder Robby Deziel never raised venture capital, instead bootstrapping the business, which they founded seven years ago as childhood friends, before taking an investment from private equity firm Bertram Capital Management in 2020. What started as a scrappy startup is now one of the top-selling direct-to-consumer e-bike companies in the U.S., shipping 150,000 units in 2025. 这种反向押注背后有着不同寻常的故事。Conlow 和联合创始人 Robby Deziel 从未筹集过风险投资，而是通过自力更生经营业务。他们七年前以儿时好友的身份共同创立了这家公司，随后在 2020 年接受了私募股权公司 Bertram Capital Management 的投资。这家起初规模很小的初创公司，如今已成为美国最畅销的直接面向消费者（DTC）的电动自行车公司之一，2025 年出货量达到 15 万辆。
The playbook — bootstrap, stay profitable, let better-funded competitors implode, then expand — is one that founders across hardware categories might find instructive. But Conlow is careful about how Lectric grows. Trying to sell e-bikes for every kind of customer risks diluting the brand, he said. “What we’ve learned is that Lectric cannot be everything to everyone,” he said, before pointing to its broad product lineup, which includes folding bikes and an electric tricycle. 这种“自力更生、保持盈利、让资金更雄厚的竞争对手自我崩溃，然后扩张”的策略，对于各硬件领域的创始人来说或许具有启发意义。但 Conlow 对 Lectric 的增长方式非常谨慎。他表示，试图向每一类客户销售电动自行车可能会稀释品牌价值。“我们学到的是，Lectric 不可能满足所有人的需求，”他在提到包括折叠自行车和电动三轮车在内的广泛产品线时说道。
The company sells 90% of its products direct to consumers through its website, which, depending on the month, attracts 2 million to 4 million visitors. The solution is to keep the brands separate or risk dilution. Featuring a Juiced Bikes model prominently on the Lectric homepage, for instance, might pull attention away from Lectric’s best-selling XP Series, sending the wrong signal to the wrong customer. 该公司 90% 的产品通过其网站直接销售给消费者，该网站每月吸引 200 万至 400 万访客。解决办法是保持品牌独立，否则就有品牌稀释的风险。例如，如果在 Lectric 首页显著位置展示 Juiced Bikes 的车型，可能会分散人们对 Lectric 最畅销的 XP 系列的注意力，从而向错误的客户传递错误的信息。
“You need to be a lot more intentional, and when you’re more focused, you can go really deep into that vertical; you can make customer service, branding, and marketing specific to that product and that company,” he said. That’s what Lectric has done with Juiced Bikes, Juiced Powersports — which will ship its first e-moto in August — and Monarc. “你需要更有针对性，当你更专注时，你就能深入挖掘该垂直领域；你可以针对该产品和公司制定特定的客户服务、品牌推广和营销策略，”他说。这正是 Lectric 在 Juiced Bikes、Juiced Powersports（将于 8 月交付首款电动摩托车）以及 Monarc 上所采取的做法。
Juiced Bikes was acquired by Lectric in 2025 and relaunched last month, while Monarc, which started as a skunkworks project within Lectric, spun out this week as a standalone brand based in Minnesota, led by industry vets Julia Moran and Ryan Callahan. Each brand has its own product engineering and development, branding, marketing, and customer service teams. Juiced Bikes 于 2025 年被 Lectric 收购并于上个月重启；而 Monarc 最初是 Lectric 内部的一个秘密研发项目，本周已分拆为位于明尼苏达州的独立品牌，由行业资深人士 Julia Moran 和 Ryan Callahan 领导。每个品牌都有自己独立的产品工程开发、品牌推广、营销和客户服务团队。
Conlow takes this separation a step further, noting he even wants the brands to compete with each other. “We don’t want three brands that end up looking and performing the same or feeling the same. There should be healthy competition between [them],” he said. Conlow 将这种分离更进一步，他甚至希望这些品牌之间能够相互竞争。“我们不希望三个品牌最终看起来、表现或感觉都一样。它们之间应该存在良性竞争，”他说。
Monarc is leaning on its premium adventure lifestyle features and customer service strategy that includes a five-year warranty and phone support with real humans. (Conlow was quick to note that none of its brands will ever use AI for customer service.) Monarc’s first e-bike, an all-terrain trail electric bike called the Marker, will come standard with two LG 48-volt 15Ah batteries — an offering that is unusual in the e-bike sector — that provide 720 watt-hours each and are UL 2271 certified. Monarc 依靠其高端探险生活方式功能和客户服务策略，包括五年保修和真人电话支持。（Conlow 迅速补充说，其旗下品牌绝不会使用人工智能进行客户服务。）Monarc 的首款电动自行车是一款名为 Marker 的全地形越野电动自行车，标配两块 LG 48 伏 15Ah 电池——这在电动自行车行业并不常见——每块电池提供 720 瓦时的电量，并获得 UL 2271 认证。
The batteries also come with a 5-amp fast charger. The Marker, which will begin shipping to customers in July, is kitted out with other premium features like a Bafang motor, Shimano drivetrain, and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen that can sync with other accessories like rearview radar and smart helmets. 这些电池还配有一个 5 安培的快速充电器。Marker 将于 7 月开始向客户发货，并配备了其他高端功能，如八方（Bafang）电机、禧玛诺（Shimano）传动系统以及一个可与后视雷达和智能头盔等其他配件同步的 3.5 英寸彩色触摸屏。
Monarc and the two Juiced brands are small, with 10 and eight employees, respectively, though they are expected to expand. Lectric itself has 170 employees. The brands operate independently but leverage Lectric’s supply chain, purchasing power, and back-end support. Monarc 和两个 Juiced 品牌规模较小，分别拥有 10 名和 8 名员工，但预计未来会扩大规模。Lectric 本身拥有 170 名员工。这些品牌独立运营，但利用了 Lectric 的供应链、采购能力和后台支持。
Whether Lectric will continue to launch new independent brands is an open question. Conlow kept the prospect open: “We continue to explore and keep our eyes open.” But he isn’t in any rush. “We have made our plate very full, and we’re going to stay focused on this.” Lectric 是否会继续推出新的独立品牌还是个未知数。Conlow 对此持开放态度：“我们继续探索，并保持关注。”但他并不急于求成。“我们现在手头的工作已经非常多了，我们将专注于此。”