Electric bike wins design award

A retro-styled e-bike designed by a small Treendale business has been awarded a Good Design Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious international design awards.

The Michael Blast Greaser Vintage Electric Bike was co-designed by local man Conrad Lovett with his business partner Cedric Sylvestre to resemble a classic boardtracker motorcycle from the early 20th Century.

“This was our first design that we had ever done, something completely different to what we had ever tried to do,” Mr Lovett said.

“We had to send one of our bikes to the Fox studios in Sydney where all these judges came around and analysed the bike.”

There was more than 700 entries into this year’s awards with the Greaser claiming the top prize in the Product Design category.

While designed locally, the bikes are assembled in China before being shipped worldwide sporting a 250W electric motor that is operational up to 25km/h.

“Our bike comes under the Pedalec certification which means when you pedal, the motor is allowed to help you get up to speeds of 25km/h and then the motor will cut out,” Mr Lovett said.

“With the Greaser, it’s all about trying to get more cars off the road and getting more electric power into the world that we live in.”

The Lovetts travelled to Sydney earlier this month to collect their award at a gala evening, an event attended by more than 950 people.

Other designs are set to be released later this year.