LEVERETT — “We literally started to go to junkyards (looking for) scrap pieces,” said Kevin Murray, owner of the startup business Better Bike. “We thought it was just gonna be a one-off.”
One turned into two, two into three and now, Murray and his family want to expand building better bicycles into a full-blown business. Their mission? To change the world — one bike at a time.
“Our goal has been to displace as many cars as possible,” he said. “We’re combining zero emissions with good health.”
Better Bike is, in many respects, an electronic three-wheeled moped fully enclosed by an environmentally friendly alternative to fiberglass made from hemp cloth glued together with epoxy; the frame is made from aluminum. The epoxy is made from plant oils such as soy, peanut and pine oil.
The vehicle, which seats two adults, has two wheels in the front and one in the back, allowing the driver to sit upright and steer with a handlebar. Four lithium ion batteries (which weigh about 9 pounds), shipped in from China, allow the trike to drive 20 miles per hour and travel up to 100 miles on a single charge. Internally geared hubs allow the vehicle to be powered by pedaling, battery, or a combination of both. The batteries charge in about two hours, from a regular wall outlet.
The bike also recharges while traveling downhill.
Cruise control and a suspension system make for smooth travel.
“It’s a lot of fun to ride,” Murray said, adding that he has driven in the snow and rain without any problems. As far as safety goes, he said it’s narrow enough for cars to pass on the side of the road, and can be driven in traffic. The vehicle is considered a bicycle by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Murray also noted that there are other electric pedal-trikes on the market, such as Elf, Organic Transit and NuWay2Commute.
Right now, the raw materials to make the vehicle cost between $3,000 and $4,000. Murray builds them by hand in the garage of his home in Leverett, where he lives with his wife, Molly, his son, Nevin, and his daughter, Gaelen. Eventually, he’d like to sell the trikes to the public for about $6,000 to $7,000.
Murray is a naturopathic physician. After going to school for pre-med with a minor in engineering, he graduated with a docterate from the National College of Natural Medicine after another four years. Today, he is a licensed acupuncturist and a naturopathic physician in a group practice.
He has been biking seriously since his 20s.
“I see this as being a full-time thing,” he said, “depending on how it takes off.”
He was inspired to build a better alternative to a car when his son needed transportation.
“We have always built things together, my son and I,” he said. “(And) helping people improve their health is what I do.”
A year after the trike was built, Nevin Murray, a senior at Amherst High School, still drives every day.
“I’ve been doing it for a year, pretty much non-stop to school and work, and pretty much anywhere I would need to go,” he said. “I don’t even have my driver’s license.”
Over the summer and through the year, the elder Murray will kick off with a few Kickstarter campaigns to raise money. He said he’d like to offer presale better iterations of the trike at around $5,500.
Funds from the campaign will be used to obtain a mold for the shell, among other necessary items such as new tools.
“We’re not looking for investors,” he said. “We’re gonna try and bootstrap it.”
So far, one prototype and two completed trikes have been built. Nevin drives one, and the other has been sold. A third has been presold, but yet to be built.
Eventually, he said, he will try to put solar panels on the roof, so the batteries can be charged in about six to seven hours while it’s moving.
Watch a video of the bike at: youtu.be/oC7K5crx0V0
More information can be found at better.bike.