Often I have customers come into our store curious about the best electric bicycle for their teen or pre-teen. I won't get into the argument of whether or not this is "ethical" or "healthy"; the fact of the matter is that it's our reality, and I've chosen to meet this demand as best as possible. But I digress... My typical sales approach is to qualify the customer by learning their use case and then translate what I've learned about this customer and their desire for an e-bike into a tangible product in our store. I do typically suggest that the throttle be removed or disabled from the bike as I believe forcing the rider to only use pedal assist heightens awareness of their surroundings and fosters intentional fixation on where the bicycle is heading.
Typically, one of the first points of the conversation is whether or not the rider will be carrying a passenger. The answer is typically a resounding yes, be it a friend or sibling; almost all of my customers quickly envision the usefulness of their little rider hauling a passenger. Single-passenger cargo bikes like the new Aventon Abound SR fit the bill nicely. The ability to geo-fence and track the bike's location via the app and the out-of-the-box anti-theft features make this electric bike a no-brainer for most parents. For customers who do not want the option of a passenger, I typically suggest the Aventon Sinch.2 folding e-bike. The super low step frame renders this bike quite adaptable to a wide range of rider heights (i.e. perfect for that young teen or pre-teen rider). The parents usually love that they can easily fold the bike and load it into their vehicle.
