Hi My name is Matt Leve , one of the Co-founders of Chilled Squirrel Electric bikes.

Picture of me on the right after commuting to gym on my e-fat bike :-).

These days I Love getting around on my ebike.

It was not always like that. The day my MTB ( and legs ) failed me . 

While Mountain Biking I experienced a potentially Life-threatening situation .

Being a slower rider than the others I was left behind on the trail and got horribly lost in the mountains. 

It was 38 Deg C and I had run out of water , food and had zero GPS signal. As I sat on the trail in a state of panic I asked myself “How could you have put myself into such a predicament? “

I was very surprised to see a Mountain Bike cruising up this ridiculously steep hill.

The same hill that I had struggled like crazy to ride up!

“ Hi There “ I said in my weak and desperate voice “ . “ Please could you help me , I am Lost “  

Tony, who I found out later was his name , saw how exhausted , dehydrated and stressed I was and guided me back safely to the city .

He got me water while I sat outside the 7-11 . I almost collapsed from exhaustion. 

Just before Tony and I said our goodbyes he said to me:

"Here is my business card , I recommend you ride an electric bike . You won’t get yourself in a situation like this on an e-bike. Give me a call , lets have lunch and I will show you our e-bike factory” 

He left me dumbfounded. I had briefly heard about e-bikes but now I not only felt like my life had been saved but I was also invited for lunch and to do a tour of his electric bike factory. 

My first Test ride on an Electric bike.

2 weeks later I had lunch with Tony and he introduced me to his company.

Tony was super passionate about his business and he preached to me excitedly :

 “ Ebikes are the future of the cycling.

People will eventually stop investing in a normal bicycle because an e-bike will provide so much more functionality than just a normal bike - commuting , exercise and being able to ride further.

We are exporting thousands of electric bikes to Germany, France, Holland, Sweden and Denmark “

Then he popped me the question : “ Would you like to test ride some of our latest electric bike models? “

To say I was blown away would be an understatement.

When I started pedalling , the motor engaged. I could now choose the exact sweet spot level of assistance via a small LCD display dash board fitted to the handlebars.

I felt in control and confident. The fear of being unable to keep up with friends was disappearing.

I was ready to take on any mountain! I decided that day that I would never go back to riding a normal bike.

I had found my love for cycling again.

After all , I could always just turn off the power and ride the bike as normal if I ever wanted to.

Tony carried on with his excitement “ After All you cycle for fun and exercise and to enjoy the outdoors with friends , you are not here to enter the olympics ! “

“ So true”, I thought to myself.

I realized that an electric bike was not only for me! and I just had to tell friends and family about it like yesterday!

What was I doing in Taiwan ?

My journey to Taiwan started when I was fresh out of school hitch-hiking from the Transkei to Cape Town after a camping trip in Port St Johns.

I met a traveling salesman from Taiwan who gave me a lift all the way to my home in CT .

He was like my friend “Tony” who had rescued me on my mountain biking trip.

We became good friends and a year later he invited me stay with his family in Taiwan.

I attended university to study Mandarin while learning Kung fu and studying international trade.

The Big Lie about Electric bikes.

“Its cheating “ . “You might as well get a motorbike “. “Its for lazy people” . On and On some people go.

Ironically most of them have never even test-ridden an electric bike!

The more research I did and the more I rode , the more I knew that these comments were simply not true.

E-bikes do help people who want to get fitter and enjoy themselves ( and not get left behind like in my case ) .

They help different people in different situations .

People with Knee and hip problems . People with heart / cardio issues. People who have balance issues. People with physical disabilities that used to cycle and are no longer able to without electric assistance.

People who plain and simple want to enjoy their cycling instead of hitting a wall.

It became clear to me that E-bikes should be easily available in South Africa too.

The real problem with e-bikes are not e-bikes but the people telling others (who really need it) that its cheating and that its for lazy people .

These are false claims spread by people who have obviously not even test ridden an e-bike.

Upgraded my Ride.

Right from the start as soon as I test rode an ebike I could feel how an electric bike would help me reach my cycling goals .

With a renewed Love for cycling, was riding a lot more and looking for every opportunity to ride.

I was hooked to the fact that I was now fully in control of each ride.

It wasn’t Just me!

Soon after inviting friends and family to join the wonderful world of cycling , I realized the potential of how many people could benefit from riding an electric bike.

Not only control.

Not only does it gives one full control over one’s ride, it also helps increase your range .

You also feel motivated to want to ride more than you normally would.

This amounts to more exercise. And the well-being benefit of riding outdoors.

The Birth of the Chilled Squirrel.

This is why we created Chilled Squirrel electric bike company.

We help people gain Full and Control of their Ride based on their Weight , Distance , Power , Fitness level and Terrain.

People who want to enjoying cycling .

People who may have not ridden a bike for a long time.

People who want to jump on a bike, and have fun and get exercise cycling according to their own situation.

Our moral duty is to share our passion with other people who are looking to ride in this way.

Super Challenging Times.

Investing in 2 years of R&D is costly . We were adamant to design and produce after-market compatible components.

These were necessary to make it possible to convert many different brands and designs of bikes to electric.

Some of the main bikes we convert to electric are :

Specialized , Cannondale , Scott , Trek , Giant , Bianchi , Silverback, Dahon, Farley, Raleigh , Merida , Schwinn, GT bikes, Pyga, Momsen , Titan bikes , Avalanche bikes, Bridgestone.

Road, Gravel, Off-road, Hybrid bikes,Tandems , Trikes and Recumbents.

Through trial and error and finding out what worked best we focused on producing the engineered components to facilitate a smooth conversion from bike to e-bike.

Now we Build Complete E-bikes and Convert existing bikes to electric.

Totally Worth our Sweat and Tears.

Now I can share my experience with you to save you from struggling with the same issues.

To help people prevent Hitting a wall with cycling is super rewarding.

Being Left behind on trails is unnecessary.

Saves you Time.

For short trips like riding to a friend or to gym , it takes far less time on an e-bike than driving.

Transform your Ride.

Many people tell me that one of the main advantages they get after getting an e-bike is that they can ride further.

People Love Pedal assist because it allows you to pace your ride.

A big plus with converting one’s bike is that you get to keep the same geometry that may already suit your height, weight and level of comfort.

However if you don’t have a bike to convert then we recommend you look at our complete e-bike collection.

Don’t take my word for it (View some reviews Below)

It is not only us Chilled Squirrels that have benefited from the value that e-bikes bring.

It is so rewarding to read the testimonials and positive reviews from our customers on our facebook and google pages and to see their happy pictures of them.

We will be in Touch Real Soon!

Thanks again for taking your time to fill in our online evaluation form.

Our technical team is going through it now.

We will get back to you shortly with a Solution that suits your requirements best.

Stay safe and Looking Forward to meet you in the near future.

Warm Regards,

Matt