Josh Cross

jcross@mtcngroup.com

When Jerry and Becky Whithaus moved to Tennessee two years ago, the couple was unaware that the area’s rolling landscape would put an end to their cycling.

While living in Minnesota, the couple — ages 62 and 65 — had biked together for nearly two decades but were forced to put their bicycles up in 2012 due to the steep hills around Mt. Juliet where they live.

“We tried to get out a couple of times on our regular bikes and we were hand pushing them up hills and that’s no fun,” Jerry Whithaus said. “We kind of live up on a hill, and my wife didn’t like that last ride back to the house, so we just kind of quit riding altogether.”

For the last year, Whithaus had been researching electric bikes waiting for the technology to improve until he got a flier in the mail that Pedego, a California-based electronic bicycle company, was opening a store in Gallatin.

Owners Steve and Carol Smith, partnered with the company and in May opened Pedego Nashville, which shares a space with Gaslight Vapors, off Nashville Pike in the Kroger shopping center. Steve Smith said the Whithauses are a classic example as to the type of riders electric bikes appeal to the most.

“This product seems to be perfect for, lack of a better term, the aging baby boomers,” he said. “The people that really appreciate it are the ones that have already done some form of cycling and their bodies are just giving out.”

While the Whithauses had not planned on purchasing anything when they visited the store shortly after its grand opening, Jerry Whithaus said he and his wife had their minds changed after taking the bikes on a test drive.

“After we rode them once, we bought two of them,” he said.

More than meets the eye

Before opening up their Gallatin location, the Smiths occasionally sold Pedego bikes for about three years at their other business, Redline Acoustics, which manufactures and sells string instruments off Midtown Court in Hendersonville.

Smith said most people don’t realize the bikes are electric until they are told what they are.

“It’s a perfectly functioning bike,” he said. “The battery is about half the size of a shoe box, you can slide it out and you’ve got a bicycle that you can ride all day.”

On a full charge, which takes between three and four hours, the Pedego bikes can carry an average-sized rider on average terrain about 20 miles and about 30 miles in pedal-assist mode, which uses a combination of the motor and pedaling to power the bike, Smith said.

“The motor is in the hub of the rear wheel and it doesn’t spin the pedals, so your feet never have to leave them,” Smith said. “I use the motor to level out my ride, so if there is a hill or headwind and I’m tired, I’ll use the throttle.”

The bikes, which can reach speeds of up to 20 MPH, range in price from $2,000 to $3,000. The store also sells non-electric bikes as well.

With the Pedego, hills are no longer an issue, said Whithaus.

“We can wear ourselves out as much as we want and we don’t have to worry about how far out we go wondering if we’re going to be able to make it back without killing ourselves,” Whithaus said. “We know the electric bike is going to get us back there whether we pedal or not.”

An unforgettable ride

While the bikes have allowed the couple to continue riding, it has also allowed them to be able to keep up with their grandchildren who are 11 and 13 years old.

“We’re able to go out and ride bikes with our grandchildren, and they don’t leave us behind,” Jerry Whithaus said. “I think these electric bikes are going to be the next big thing.”

Despite not being right for everyone, Smith said a rider’s first experience on a Pedego electric bikes is one that they’ll always remember.

“I will guarantee you this,” Smith said, “if you ride one you will never forget it.”

Reach Josh Cross at 615-575-7115.