What is DTC?

When you start exploring whether EVELO is the right fit for you, you may come across one big difference about us vs. other brands - mainly that we sell direct to consumers and don’t have brick and mortar dealers.

This is by design and we wanted to address the question of why we do things this way and the benefits that it offers to you, as a consumer.

How Things Are Usually Done

Traditionally, in the bicycle world, bikes would be sold through two common channels: Local Bicycle Shops and Big Box Stores (e.g. Target, Walmart)
However, while these channels work quite well for traditional bikes, electric bikes are a bit trickier. There are a number of reasons for this.

Big box stores are not a good fit off the bat because we offer a high-end, technical product that requires training and expertise to properly service and sell.

When it comes to traditional shops, they do have the expertise but the challenge is that the industry norm is a 40-45% markup on the products they sell. It’s totally understandable - bicycle shops offer a valuable service and they need to compensate their staff, pay for their facilities, and make a profit.

However, on a $3,000 - $4,000 product, this would mean that you - as a consumer - would typically pay an extra $1,200 to $1,600 for the ability to purchase a bike from a local bike shop.

We believe that we can offer you a better value proposition by saving you these funds, keeping the margins smaller, and investing more in our products themselves and in a centralized team of experts that work at EVELO, who can help you with any of the questions and issues that may arise.

It’s worth noting that we continue to work closely with bike shops for service and warranty and compensate them for any work that is done in that regard. However, it’s beneficial to disconnect sales and service and treat each one as a standalone value offering.

Try-Before-You-Buy Approach

Naturally, as we work with customers all over the United States, some people want to try a bike before they fully commit to making an investment.
After considering the traditional test-ride experience where you have 15-20 minutes with a salesperson watching over you, we decided to take it to the next level.

As such, we’re one of the only companies that offer a completely no-risk, no-hassle 21-day at home trial. With this, you have 3 weeks (after the bike arrives) to try it out at your convenience, make sure that it meets all of your needs, and then decide if you want to keep it.

If it’s not the right fit, you can exchange it or return it for a 100% refund -- we also pay all of the shipping costs both ways, so it doesn’t cost you a penny. There are no “gotchas” or complicated forms to fill out.

We wanted to make sure that this way is a win for consumers and we believe that it creates a better experience all around.

What About Assembly?

When we ship the bike to your door, it usually arrives 95% assembled (except folding bikes which are fully assembled). That means that you typically have about a 30-minute process left to complete the assembly before you can go out for your first ride.

We provide comprehensive video walkthroughs, guides tutorials, and live assistance by phone and email to ensure that it gets done easily and hassle-free. However, we also understand that not every customer wants to deal with the assembly.

No problem - we have introduced our White Glove service to address specifically this issue. You can choose it at the time of check out and our team will find a bike shop local to you, get in touch with them to make all of the arrangements, and get the bike shipped to them for a professional assembly and tune up.

When they are done, you just get a call that it’s ready for pick up, so you can drop by and go home riding your new EVELO. It’s the full bike shop experience without the 40-45% markup.

Can I trust you?

The last, and perhaps the most important, point to address in this instance is a question of trust. After all, you may have just discovered EVELO and you may be concerned about spending $3,000 - $4,000 on a bike with a company you don’t know much about.

Fortunately, in this day and age, transparency is all around us. Our customers leave reviews about their bikes and their experience with EVELO all over the Internet and our reputation and track record is out there for everyone to see.

We’re proud to maintain an A + rating on BBB and an average of 4.8/5 review rating on Google and Facebook among hundreds of reviews. Check it out for yourself and see what real customers say about their bikes. Then, feel free to go out and research EVELO to see what’s being said about us elsewhere.

The Future of Direct to Consumer

Over the last decade, the direct-to-consumer business model has been becoming more and more popular as it gets easier to purchase products online and do it in a secure way.

When you buy direct, you go straight to the source, saving the extra markup and getting better value for your investment. We hope that you’ll choose to experience it yourself and give EVELO a shot.