Inspiring Conversations with Chris Hunt of Hi-Power Cycles, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Hunt

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The HPC Story:

In 2005 Chris was attending College at the University of California, Davis when he quickly got tired of his pedal bicycle. He would arrive exhausted and sweaty to class constantly and quickly thought “there has to be a better way!”. Chris said he was embarrassed to talk to girls when we was wet and sticky from the 15 minute ride to class. He quickly scoured the internet and stumbled upon a 2003 Currie E-Ride MTB. Chris previously had experience with an electric bike he received as a Christmas present from his parents back in 2000. That first electric bike lasted a good 6 months and was fun, but the SLA battery technology was old, heavy and simply unreliable.

He quickly purchased the 2003 model Currie E-ride MTB, hoping it could serve to get him to class faster, and free from sweat! He rode the bike daily to class, and quickly realized with a top speed of only 16 mph or so, many of the standard bikers who were in shape could easily pass him on straightaways. He promptly modified his bike for 36V operation instead of the standard 24V. This allowed him to get a top speed of near 25 MPH and allowed him more power and speed for off-road use. Many people inquired about where they could purchase a bike like this, and he told them that they would have to build in themselves since no one really built a high performance Electric Bike.

Fast forward a few years, and while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA, Chris was chosen to build a solar powered two person surrey style bicycle with dual hub motors for the physics department. Upon completion of the project, his Professor at the time told him that he had an eye for quality and attention to detail and that he should think of making it a full time job. Chris spoke with his brother Derek who promptly began writing a business plan while studying Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Newly incorporated Hi-Power Cycles, LLC sold their first bike (A converted Schwinn Mountain Bike) on eBay:

The lucky recipient of their very first bike was none other than Officer James Hill of the Seabrook Police Department of Seabrook, Texas. After taking a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, Hi-Power Cycles’ very first bike was put to use immediately and ended up literally saving lives. Here is his incredible testimony:

“Hey Chris, we had a direct hit from Hurricane Ike. The City of Seabrook suffered MAJOR damage and a complete collapse of infrastructure. I can not convey in words how bad it is. We were hit by a 16 1/2 foot storm surge of water plus 110 mph winds. All I can say is it was complete devastation. Our police department building was flooded and half of our department was trapped on the 2nd floor until the water receded. The other half of the department was in was trapped at our local Holiday Inn Hotel. We did this so at least one half of the department could be functioning. After the storm, we emerged and secured our city. That was on Sat. Sept. 12th. By Monday morning the 14th we were out of fuel. I was ordered out on bike patrol because we did not have enough fuel to run our patrol cars. We had numerous agencies helping us and it consumed all of our fuel supply. FEMA was not able to get fuel to us until the 16th. Our police bikes were stored at the Police Station and destroyed by the storm surge. We were only able to get one functioning. Luckily I had taken the bike you and your partner built for me to work before the storm. I was able to use the bike in a real world disaster zone. The bike was the only way to access certain areas in the aftermath of the storm. Unfortunately I had left my bike helmet in my car which was flooded and a lost. I found a bike helmet in a ditch and used it for 2 days until a store opened and I could buy another one. I want you to know your bike Saved lives. I could not have accessed certain areas of the city with out it. There were broken gas lines, fuel spills from boats plus sand and tons of debris every where. The bike has been thru Hell and back along with me. Just today I was riding with my partner and we were flagged down about on a man beating up a female. I was able to catch and tackle the Suspect who never saw or heard me coming. I had to responded to a 84 year old elderly female who had fallen literally split her skull open about 7 inches. I beat all other units to the scene and was able to apply direct pressure and stop the bleeding. The bike is being used constantly with the batteries being charged back up as soon as they go dead. Today was the 1st day I got to go home to my family and send you this Email. Even though my house is damaged I felt it was necessary let you know what is going on while everything is fresh in my mind. I have attached three pictures because I wanted you to personally see what your bike is doing. There were lots of people taking pictures so I will try to find more later. I now work everyday on bike patrol. The looters are everywhere and the bike is a must have at this point. I work 12 hours on and 12 hours off with no days off. The bike is taking some very serious abuse but it is still functioning. I just wanted to say thank you for making me a very good bike that is saving lives including my own. When the SHIT hit the fan your bike had my back and I thank you for it.”

Sincerely James Hill,
Patrol Officer, Seabrook Police Dept.

Chris and Derek were in awe that their creations could have such a profound impact on people’s lives and resolved to push the industry to new heights. They dreamed of not only building potentially lifesaving machines, but building bikes capable of true off-road exploration. They wanted to build a bike without compromise that could climb to the top of a ski mountain in total silence.

They worked tirelessly out of a garage for two years and pioneered the use of lightweight, high performance lithium batteries as a power source in lieu of traditional SLA or NiMH batteries. By doing this they could drop more than 40lbs from the bike and gain more range and power simultaneously. They pushed industry manufacturers to make more powerful motors and soon high performance lightweight geared motors that could take up to 2000W were brought to the market that added a new dimension of fun and maneuverability never seen before in a light electric bike. The combination of lightweight lithium batteries combined with the ultra-lightweight 9lb geared hub meant a sub 50lb bike that could literally run circles around the 90 lb. bikes with only 1/4 of the power output! The high performance, lightweight Electric bike revolution was born.

Sales boomed, and in 2010, brothers Chris and Derek quickly outgrew their garage and moved into a warehouse where they could have more space to build their bikes. They sold their high powered e-bike conversions at a startling pace. Within a year, they opted out of their lease in order to move to a building more than three times the size of the previous one. In 2011 Hi-Power Cycles added employees and began to heavily invest in their own frames and proprietary battery systems. Throughout the next year HPC started to passionately build their own branded bikes from the ground up entirely in Los Angeles, CA. Founders Chris and Derek Hunt are very passionate about keeping these high performance bikes hand-made right here in the USA. Even though it can take up to 16 hours to build a single bike, HPC refuses to compromise and makes every bike with very strict QC and high attention to detail. Today, HPC offers some of the highest performing bikes in the Industry and heavily invests in R&D to usher in the new age of some of the world’s highest performing motors, batteries, and bikes!

HPC has a rapidly growing network of more than 20 dealers worldwide, and are fiercely dedicated to offering some of the highest quality and most technologically advanced lightweight e-bikes and conversion kits that money can buy.

Recently, Hi-Power Cycles was asked to produce the World’s fastest electric bike at the request of Mr. Bruce Wayne himself. We produced what would be called the Revolution W, which is the fastest electric bike in the world with a top speed of more than 80 MPH, and are available at www.brucewaynex.com. This 27 unit masterpiece is being sold all over the world to collectors and enthusiasts alike!

Even more recently, Hi-Power Cycles secured a Federal GSA Contract (#47QSMS24D005F), and have opened a new Defense branch called HPC Defense. HPC Defense is committed to providing our troops and Miltary/First Responders with the ultimate high power, high strength electric two and four wheel mobility solutions. See www.hpcdefense.com for more information.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, at first, we struggled with packaging the early bikes, as we didn’t know how rough carriers could be with bike boxes, and we had to deal with many very frustrated customers who just spent $3,000 on a bike that was all scratched and beat up and sticking out of the boxes! We eventually figured out how to overpack literally everything, and claims are almost non existent now.

Covid was also a huge struggle for us and many other companies. Year 1 was great in terms of sales, but then bigger companies started purchasing up materials and components at a faster and faster clip. Lead times started creeping up from 30 days from factory OEM order to shipment to 60 days, then 90 days, then 6 months, then 1 year. At its height we had some products well beyond 2 years lead time, which is unsustainable and a potential death sentence for a small company. How could we survive if we had no parts to even sell a bike?

We played this scenario out in our heads at the start of Covid, since I tried to put myself in the headspace of a large company: If lead times were going up and there were some shortages of parts, what would I do? I thought to myself that I would buy up as much of future production as I could to protect my company and workforce, I couldn’t afford to be without bikes to sell…

We then had to take money allocated to purchasing land and building a new commercial building that we wanted to rent out to other businesses and move into ourselves, and we pooled this money up to purchase as much raw materials and components as we could afford. This allowed us to have parts and bikes to sell when many other companies had nothing to sell and went out of business. Through hard work, countless prayers, and the will to overcome, we made it to the other side. Now, our prospects are looking brighter than ever as we branch off into the Military/Defense space in addition to our retail and wholesale customers.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are known for building one of a kind US made electric bikes. We hand build and assemble every part of the bike from the frame up. Our frames are mitered, TIG welded, heat treated, spray quenched, straightened, media blasted, and powder coated here in California, and might be the only company in fabricating and designing new frames in the United States.

We specialize in making electric bikes that deliver high power, high speeds, and exciting, creative designs that don’t exist elsewhere. We also proudly provide kits to convert existing bikes on the market to make them into fast, exciting, sustainable electric bicycles.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My parents always were entrepreneurs. My father David Hunt is blind and was a pioneer of bringing voicemail to the US, and sold smart home equipment in the 80’s. He now runs a successful winery, Hunt Cellars in Paso Robles, that has been producing world class wines for more than 25 years. My parents have always been mentors, and my father has guided my thoughts and answered a ton of questions I had about how to start a business. My mother has always been there as the constant hand of support, no matter what I have done.

My physics professor, Adrian Hightower at Occidental College saw I had a penchant and passion to build lightweight electric vehicles, and after building a two person Surry e-bike powered by solar panels, he thought I should think about making it a business.

Pricing:

• Prices start around $2,995
• Most expensive bike is $29,995 for Revolution W

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hpcbikes.com
• Instagram: @hpcbikes
• Facebook: @hpcbikes
• Twitter: @hpcbikes
• Youtube: @hipowercycles
• Other: https://www.hpcdefense.com