The area’s first electric bicycle store will open near Clarendon on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Hybrid Pedals, at 925 N. Jackson Street, specializes in selling electric bikes that can travel 20-30 miles on a single charge, giving riders the option to pedal when they want, extending the bikes’ range. Hybrid Pedals founder Alan Levine also founded Mario’s Pizza House — just around the corner from Hybrid Pedals at 3322 Wilson Blvd — and the food delivery service Doctor Delivery.
Levine said in a press release that his is the first electric bike store in the Washington, D.C., area, but the shops are already popular in California and Florida, as wells as overseas. Hybrid Pedals will carry bikes from seven manufacturers, including Pedego, Stealth, Thrust, and VeloMini.
“There’s literally nowhere you can’t go on an e-bike,” Ray Carrier, Hybrid Pedals operations manager, said. “The range can be extended to any length if the rider pedals… If you know how to ride a regular bike, you can ride an e-bike within moments of first trying one out. There’s no steep learning curve as with a Segway, which has limited range and is stymied by ‘rough’ terrain such as grass and gravel.”
Hybrid Pedals also has a license to sell to police and emergency responders, offering bicycles that can go as fast as 60 mph. The bicycles available for public use by law can’t go faster than 20 mph. Levine’s store will also sell solar-powered e-bikes, which he said are useful for extended power outages when a wall charger can’t be used.
The showroom’s grand opening ceremony on Sept. 7 starts at 11:00 a.m. and goes until 7:00 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 3:00 p.m. There will be live music, project demonstration and test drives as part of the event.