WEYBURN - Mick and Carol Samenook of Weyburn are no strangers to owning and operating their own business. For 30 years, they operated local businesses including Samenook Reinforcing and Xpress Vending.
Three years ago, Mick and Carol embraced the RV lifestyle, enjoying being active in the great outdoors. That’s when ebikes first caught their attention and a vision of how much farther they could explore while riding.
They started researching ebikes and they decided DJ Bikes was their first choice. It was a small family oriented business that started up in 2017 that has twice made The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies.
Mick and Carol hadn’t intended to start another small business, but couldn’t resist the offer of sharing the vision. They see their RV and ebikes as an investment in their future. They plan to show the bikes at trade and home-and-garden shows, and local farmer’s markets. Up until now, the social media platforms of Facebook and Instagram had been the main source of advertising.
A large part of the customer base is retired folks who want to explore the outdoors, RVing or at the cabin. With the price of fuel skyrocketing, some people have parked their vehicles and are now using their ebikes to commute to work. Others just want to enjoy the great outdoors in an environmentally friendly way. For the health-conscious people, just being active and getting some exercise is their goal.
DJ Bikes are Canadian designed, with their head office in Calgary, Alberta, and distribution centre in Surrey, BC. There are 10 vendors across Canada and the US, with Mick and Carol’s company, M&C Distribution, being the only one in Saskatchewan.
DJ Bikes supplies electric bikes, batteries and accessories. They offer direct to customer, and for this reason, they are able to keep prices more affordable. They are dedicated to delivery quality, value and customer satisfaction so users can enjoy the best electric bike experience in Canada.
Mick noted that the most popular bike they sell is Folding Step Thru model, as it is easy to get on and off. DJ Bikes has sold out of this model twice this year. The Step Thru combines the portability of a foldable bike with accessibility, which is key to older users and those with physical limitations.
DJ Bikes use quality name brand parts and accessories, like powerful 500 watt Bafang motor and a dependable Shimano derailleur and gears. The ebikes have a high end, reliable Samsung or LG battery. They take up to five hours to fully charge. The cost of a full five hour charge is approximately 35 cents and that charge will take you up to 80 kms, depending on conditions and the amount of peddling the user does. The bike will go 32 kms per hour. Mick stated that if he rode his ebike to work five days a week for a whole month, it would cost about the same as a milkshake.
As well as the health and fitness benefits of owning an ebike, they are economical and environmentally friendly. Other provinces and cities offer rebates for purchasing ebikes and hopefully our province and city does the same in the future.
On a biking trip to Canmore in February, Mick and Carol discovered an ebike rebate program in Banff. They offered up to 30% of the cost of the bike in a rebate to customer. The reason for the rebates is to lessen environmental impact and to have fewer vehicles in downtown Banff.
How do the bikes work and what are the regulations?
A driver’s license is not required, however, riders must be 14 years of age or older and are required to wear a bike helmet. The bikes themselves can be operated in three different ways. They can be pedalled like a regular bike, using the seven-speed shifter. There is no electric power required to do this. The second method is to use the five levels of assist. Turn on the power, and set the assist to one, and when the user pedals, the motor will assist up to approximately eight kph. If the assist is set to two, the motor will assist up to 15 kph. This assist feature is nice if the rider gets tired, is going uphill or into a stiff breeze. The third method is to use the thumb throttle, which is like a gas pedal, and let the bike do all the work.
M&C Distribution offers test rides, if you would like to take one of the eight models for a ride (depending on stock availability). M&C has a service tech for assembly, maintenance and repair.
M&C has a service tech for assembly, maintenance and repair as they feel it is a priority to offer service for the products you sell.
DJ Bikes stands behind their products. They have a lifetime warranty on the frame and one year on parts and labour.
Mick and Carol are excited to bring DJ Bikes to Saskatchewan and to Weyburn.
(Written in conjuntion with information gathered from Mick Samenook and DJ Bikes’ website.)
