While I enjoy covering news and reviews related to new e-bikes and other micromobility vehicles, my favorite part of working in this industry is actually getting to go deeper behind the scenes, often pulling back the curtain to see what lies behind some of the biggest companies in the market. Most only show us their polished front-facing image, but there’s so much more to the story than that. From the people who build and operate these brands to the way new ideas work their way through the design pipeline and into bike boxes headed to our doorsteps, there are countless untold stories just waiting to be revealed. And that’s exactly what I set out to do when I visited the headquarters of EUNORAU, one of the most prolific e-bike makers in the world.

Companies like EUNORAU don’t necessarily have the same flashy marketing or brand awareness as big hitters like Lectric eBikes or Rad Power Bikes, and that’s one of the reasons that their innovations and unique stories often fly under the radar. But when you look a bit deeper, there’s a lot to see!

You may not realize it, but EUNORAU actually makes dozens of models of e-bikes and related micromobility products that are sold all over Europe, North America, and Oceania. They’re one of the biggest recognizable e-bike companies around the world, certainly when measured by the breadth of their catalog. And with operations since 2009, they’ve ridden around the block time and time again, seeing firsthand just about every fad, trend, and update to the e-bike world in the last decade and a half.

I’ve personally reviewed at least half a dozen of their models, from chunky fat tire e-bikes to smaller folders and even electric tricycles. Now I wanted to see where they came from.

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I’ve visited e-bike factories before, and to be honest, many of them functionally look the same. So instead of going straight to EUNORAU’s factory, I headed a few hours over and went to their headquarters to meet the team and check out their showroom as well as design/operations center.

There I met Kevin Fang and Vic Erdinc, EUNORAU’s CEO and CMO. The two are like a pair of mad scientists, but for e-bikes, and their skills definitely complement each other. Few in the e-bike industry are better connected than Kevin, who knows just about every bike factory, component maker, supplier, subsupplier, and more. If someone in the e-bike has ever considered making an e-bike part, Kevin has probably had a meal with them.

Combining that network with his in-depth technical knowledge of bicycles and electric drive systems makes for a potent combination that has helped EUNORAU innovate from the early days of the industry.

Vic, as the company’s CMO, should ostensibly be mostly concerned with marketing. But in just the day I was there it was obvious how many hats he wears on a regular basis.

In addition to leading the company’s marketing, Vic is also the main bridge between very divergent groups within the company, facilitating the interdepartmental communication that helps quickly respond to the market.

Vic is constantly the go-between, relaying customer questions and concerns to the product development team, helping to improve designs in real-time and pushing out rolling updates. He interfaces between the technical teams and marketing teams, and has a surprisingly strong influence on the types of bikes that EUNORAU sets out to develop.

With so much focus on customer needs from a marketing perspective, it turns out he’s the perfect guy to inform the designers what needs to come next.

The first part of my tour took me through EUNORAU’s expansive showroom, which is absolutely brimming with e-bike models. Dozens and dozens of e-bikes from every category imaginable are lined up along the walls, with even more on elevated tables and mounted on the walls. And it sounds like Kevin or Vic, or both, had a personal hand in the design of each.

Kevin’s deeper understanding of the componentry and drive systems has resulted in many of these models sporting powerful motors and extremely long all-electric battery ranges.

Vic’s coordination between customers, marketing, and designers has helped further massage the various models into their final forms laid out before us. I was constantly surprised by just how deeply involved in the details he is with these different models.

As we walked past the newest version of EUNORAU’s popular adult e-trike, Vic pointed to the fenders and remarked to me “those are because of you.” Apparently after my otherwise positive review of the trike took a dig or two at the old fenders, he went to the design team and made sure they were updated to improve them.

But Vic doesn’t only have to think about the bike’s functionality. He also has to consider every other step along the way of producing and delivering the e-bikes. “The only problem with this one is the shipping,” he says as we pour over a slick-looking recumbent electric trike that I want to drop everything and ride immediately.” This one costs a lot to ship.”

I surmised that the bike was also probably pretty expensive too, as recumbent e-trikes seem to be one of the costliest categories. “Not really,” he responds. “It’s not that much more expensive. The other companies just don’t have much competition yet, so they can charge a lot.”

That’s become a hallmark of EUNORAU. The company has an e-bike to match just about any model out there, but at quite competitive prices. They may not have the cachet of the fancy European companies, but they sure do have the connections and team to build competing bikes at much better prices.

Looking around the showroom makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Or rather, an e-bike fan in an e-bike store full of just about every type of e-bike you can imagine. From gravel bikes to fat tires to kids e-bikes and even trikes. There are cargo bikes and mountain bikes and mopeds and fitness bikes and on and on and on. You wouldn’t think one company could make literally dozens of different models, but they’re all parked here right in front of me. “Designing stuff is what we do best, but sometimes it’s too much. We have too much product, I have to remind myself that I can’t just do everything,” Vic tells me with a smile.

Part of the way they can get away with having so many models is that they don’t market all of them in-house. Instead, EUNORAU and its team have leveraged the huge network they’ve built between parts suppliers and factories to produce numerous models of e-bikes for other brands.

In fact, that network that EUNORAU has built eventually led them to open a new service entirely, one not designed for e-bike companies but rather for individual e-bike riders themselves. We’ve all heard about the many e-bike companies that have gone out of business in the last few years. Unfortunately, that often leaves the riders of those e-bikes without any source for spare parts in the future. If a controller dies or a display breaks, riders may be at a loss to find appropriate spare parts. That’s where BKRE comes in. They can find just about any e-bike part that’s ever been made since they know just about every factory that’s ever made them. They keep many of these parts in stock in their warehouse, but can usually find any part they don’t have in a few days. They simply charge a transparent 30% markup for the part and mail it out to riders in need. Just like that, you’ve got that nearly unobtainable controller or wiring harness that the original long-bankrupt e-bike company isn’t around to sell to you.

As I walked down the long aisles of floor to ceiling shelving, it was like a who’s who of long gone e-bike companies. As I peeked my way through endless blue tubs, my hands landed on a controller for a Zugo Rhino, a bike I had personally enjoyed riding just a couple years ago, but has since become hard to service after the company went bankrupt last year.

I had a chance to test out several different models, starting with a EUNORAU Meta 20, which looks like an unsuspecting 20″ wheel folding e-bike. But looks can be deceiving, and this little e-bike hides away some big power and interesting technology. First of all, when you put it in the highest power mode, it will throw you back in a way you’d never expect from something that looks like an innocent little commuter bike. And secondly, its got an interesting feature that allows the rider to choose between cadence and torque sensor operation. That lets you leverage the torque sensor for the most intuitive and natural riding experience, where the bike responds instantly to your input and proportionally to your own power. Or you can put it back in cadence sensor mode, where the bike just checks that you’re pedaling and then allows more power to flow without requiring you to actually increase your own power output. That mode is better for folks who still want a powerful ride while pedaling but don’t have the leg strength to push themselves harder. It keeps your own legs active without requiring as much effort.

From there I moved to a hardtail version of the EUNORAU Flash, a moped that could hold its own against a Juiced Scrambler or other popular top-tank-styled moped. Again, the power was palpable as a slight push of the throttle rewarded me with more acceleration than I needed but for which I was more than willing to accept!

The final impressive e-bike I had the chance to test out was a four-wheeled fat tire recumbent electric quad-bike with a mid-drive motor and independent rear suspension. As I climbed into the bike, I felt like I was entering a mech-suit in a sci-fi movie. The massive fat tires surrounded me and the torquey motor was ready, waiting for the press of a pedal to launch me forward. And launch is exactly what it did! As soon as I gave it a little power, I was rolling like a bicycle battle tank, climbing over curbs and basically surmounting anything in my path. With four wheels, the thing was as stable as a car. And with the reclined seating position of the recumbent chair, it felt more like a go-kart than an e-bike. Needless to say, it was absolutely wild!

The chance to visit EUNORAU’s headquarters and meet the dedicated team that brings its designs to life was a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Having visited so many e-bike factories around the world by now, I find that there are often even more important stories not just where the bikes are built, but also where they’re dreamt up, maintained, and supported.

With folks like Kevin, Vic, and the entire EUNORAU team laser-focused on providing the widest assortment of high-impact, high-value electric bikes that actually fulfill the real needs of commuters and recreational riders alike, it feels like the sky is truly the only limit. After all, they’ve already conquered the roads!