Founding the Company

At the time, there were very few cruisers, the classic ”fun“ bike, on the market. ”Back in 1993, there were no cruisers available,“ Erforth told the Carlsbad Local News, ”You could buy a $99 Huffy at Wal-Mart, or you could try to find an old one and restore it, which is very expensive,“ Baenziger decided there was a market niche for a stylish, affordable cruiser bicycle for twentysomethings and began working on designs that combined old school looks with contemporary technology. About this time, Baenziger met Erforth, a fellow German transplant who was selling pieces of the Berlin Wall. Erforth said he could sell the kind of bikes Baenziger was designing, so the two founded Electra Bicycle Company. The two remain the firm’s sole shareholders. The new Electra cruisers were manufactured by a Taiwanese contractor and the two partners began trying to sell them to bike shops. At first, "Dealers laughed at us," says Baenziger. "But people realized they didn't need a mountain bike to go to the grocery store." However, when bike shops tried stocking the Electras, they began to sell, and word-of-mouth convinced more dealers to sign on. In fact, the fledging company’s cruiser sales were so strong that larger firms were spurred to start offering their own cruiser models. Today, Electras are available in bike shops throughout Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia. Electra advertising in the early days focused on the company’s combination of classic looks with more modern features, such as aluminum frames and multiple speeds, with the tagline ”Modern cruisers, with modern components, for modern people.“

Hot Rod Influence

In 2002, the company diversified its products, introducing the new ”Stream Ride“ series. These new bikes were still in the cruiser tradition, but were inspired by the Southern California hot rod ”kustom kar“ culture. The lines of the bike frames became more exaggerated, chrome plating was applied liberally, and paint jobs became much more elaborate with flames, metal flakes, and wild colors. ”Chopper“ style elements like shortened rear fenders, racing ”slik“ tires, and elongated forks were introduced. Models carried hot-rod names like ”Rockabilly Boogy“ or ”Rat Rod.“ The company even offered balloon tires with flame-patterned tread.

In a more explicit tribute to the car culture, Electra brought out a ”Rat Fink“ model, licensed by the estate of legendary hot-rodder ”Big Daddy“ Ed Roth. ”We have spent a lot of time at hot rod hangouts during our time in California,“ Erforth told the Tacoma News-Tribune. ”We made a connection with the people who have the licensing for the Rat Fink (logo and name). We wanted to make something that would be appreciated by that community.“ The bike’s strikingly curved frame and poison green color has inspired widespread press attention, bringing new riders to the Electra brand.