The Energy Of One

Just as P.T. Barnum did in gathering an array of wild animals, along with clowns and magic acts, and putting them under a big tent to make the circus a worldwide phenomenon, in years to come there’s a reason Troy Lee may very well be looked upon as the one man who got e-bike racing off the ground in America.

Even before his Troy Lee Designs company was just a start-up brand back in the early ’80s, his passion for racing and having fun was already well-known in SoCal motocross circles. Eventually, his custom-painted helmets began showing up on some of the fastest motorcycle, car and bicycle racers in the world, and the TLD brand went from being a provincial entity to a universally recognized house of style and protective gear.

ENTER THE E-BIKE

Troy is the kind of guy who wears a passion for racing and having fun on his sleeve, and it wasn’t long after he rode his first e-bike that he knew he was onto something big. After teaming up with Bosch, that something big became known as the Boogaloo Race Series.

In the year since his first race was held, Troy has expanded the series by adding new venues and bringing on new sponsors. Troy knew that the key to growing the concept was that people had to first ride them to realize his much fun they were. Knowing that in these formative days of e-bike popularity that there was a dearth of e-bikes owned, he partnered with e-bike manufacturers like Bulls, Fantic and Izip to supply bikes to be raced.

“It was amazing! I had fun, I tried my hardest, and now I’m eating a burrito!”

Now entering its second year, the Boogaloo race program has been further refined. Best of all, beyond this local series, the world of e-bike racing has now grown to include the EnduroCross indoor series, as well as a promotional race for e-road bikes in the Tour of Italy. Most recently, the Swiss-based UCI (the governing body that oversees professional racing) has seen fit to draw up e-bike-specific rules for future competitions.

Despite the world of e-bike racing still being in its infancy, it is no doubt going to continue to grow, and Troy Lee can be proud that it was his vision and boundless energy that helped make it all possible.  www.tldboschboogaloo.com

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THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET ELECTRIC BIKE ACTION