Karmic Bikes have the goal of getting people to love their bikes. The company started when the founder fell in love with cycling and wanted everyone to love bikes as much as he did. Hong fell in love with bikes when he had just finished a marathon and to stay in shape he started biking. After that he never returned to running. Hong believes that if everybody likes their bike, they will ride it more. Riding bikes is good for you health in many ways, it is good for your town or city, and it is good for the environment.
Founder Hong Quan explain the future of Karmic Bikes: “There are major demographic shifts that are happening in urban transportation, and the needs and desires of Millenials are different than their parents. Car ownership is no longer a requirement, or even a status symbol anymore. In big cities, it’s actually a nuisance, costly and inefficient. Our technology allows us to build great bikes, but we do it to get more people riding. Lots of people who can’t or won’t ride a regular bike find that the Koben is just what they need. Getting folks riding (again) creates a virtuous (karmic) cycle of encouraging even more people to ride their bikes, because cycling is contagious.”
The Karmic Koben is an electric bike that helps you get to your destination faster and with less sweat. The team believes that bikes should be simple, fast, and fun and make for great transportation. Newer technology allows ebikes to be efficient. Karmic bikes have a range of about 20 miles and can be charged in just a few hours. The electricity required to charge a bike only costs about 5 cents. The Karmic Bike also has a continuously variable transmission, which gives a wide range of gears.
“More people riding is good for everyone, even the folks stuck in their cars.” Biking, even with added electricity, is much better for the environment than driving, and it also allows you to get fresh air and some exercise on your daily commute.
Written by Elise Mazur, 7/31/2015