As venture capital-backed e-bike startups go bankrupt, bootstrapped Lectric grows

Lectric eBikes, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company known for its practical and affordable XP Series electric bikes, has launched three new brands so far this year — a relaunch of Juiced Bikes, a new Juiced Powersports brand, and now a premium adventure brand called Monarc — an expansion strategy that runs counter to the wave of bankruptcies plaguing the sector.

Together, Lectric has committed about $10 million to these initiatives, CEO Levi Konloo told TechCrunch.

“Others may be withdrawing or raising money, and we are actually deploying and investing in initiatives like this,” he said. “I actually don’t think the market is saturated right now; last month Lectric had their biggest sales month in our company’s history and we sold almost 30,000 bikes. I’m not sure anyone has done that before, even at the height of the coronavirus.”

This may seem like an odd time to launch an e-bike brand, let alone three.

In the past couple of years, a large number of e-bike companies have filed for bankruptcy, closed down, or declined until they were acquired by larger companies. Rad Power Bikes, the buzzy electric bike company that raised nearly $330 million in venture capital, was perhaps its most famous collapse. The company is valued at $1.65 billion Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection In December. Its assets were acquired by Life Electric Vehicles Holdings for Life Electric Vehicles Holdings $13.2 million.

“For me, it just opened up,” Conlow said of the market after listing dozens of companies that have closed or left the U.S. market. “I think the market actually lacks a lot of trustworthy competition right now.”

Contrarian betting has a contradictory backstory. Conlow and co-founder Robbie Diesel never raised venture capital, instead bootstrapping the company, which they founded seven years ago as childhood friends, before securing investment from private equity firm Bertram Capital Management in 2020. What started as a scrappy startup is now one of the best-selling direct-to-consumer e-bike companies in the US, with 150,000 units shipped in 2025.

The rules of the game — bootstrapping, maintaining profitability, letting better-funded competitors collapse, then expanding — are one that founders across hardware categories may find useful. But Conlo is keen on how Lectric will grow. Trying to sell e-bikes to every type of customer risks diluting the brand, he said.

“What we’ve learned is that Lectric can’t be everything to everyone,” he said, before pointing to its wide product range, which includes folding bikes and electric tricycles. The company sells 90% of its products directly to consumers through its website, which attracts between 2 million and 4 million visitors each month.

The solution is to keep the brands separate or mitigate the risks. For example, having a Juiced Bikes model prominently displayed on Lectric’s homepage may draw attention away from Lectric’s best-selling XP series, sending the wrong signal to the wrong customer.

“You have to be more intentional, and when you’re more focused, you can delve deeper into that sector; you can make customer service, branding, and marketing tailored to that product and that company,” he said.

That’s what Lectric has done with Juiced Bikes, Juiced Powersports — which will ship its first e-scooter in August — and Monarc. Lectric acquired Juiced Bikes in 2025 and relaunched last month, while Monarc, which started as a skunkworks project within Lectric, emerged this week as an independent brand based in Minnesota, led by industry vets Julia Moran and Ryan Callahan.

Each brand has its own teams in product engineering, development, branding, marketing, and customer service. Conlo takes this separation a step further, stating that he wants the brands to compete with each other.

“We don’t want three brands to end up looking, performing or feeling the same. There has to be healthy competition between them,” he said.

Monarc builds on premium adventure lifestyle features and a customer service strategy that includes a five-year warranty and phone support with real humans. (Conloo is quick to point out that none of its brands will ever use AI for customer service.)

Monarc’s first e-bike, an all-terrain electric bike called the Marker, will come standard with two LG 48V 15Ah batteries — an unusual offering in the e-bike segment — that each deliver 720 watt-hours and are UL 2271 certified. The batteries also come with a 5-amp fast charger. The Marker, which will begin shipping to customers in July, is equipped with other premium features like a Bafang motor, Shimano drivetrain, and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen that can sync with other accessories like rearview radar and smart helmets.

Monarc and the Juiced brands are small, with 10 and eight employees, respectively, although they are expected to expand. Lectric itself has 170 employees. The brands operate independently but benefit from Lectric’s supply chain, buying power and back-end support.

Whether Lectric will continue to launch new independent brands is an open question. Conlo kept the possibility open: “We are continuing to explore and keeping our eyes open.” But he’s in no hurry. “Our schedule is full and we will continue to focus on this.”