Sartée Bikes
BIKES THAT LAST A GENERATION
FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THE NEXT ONE
Modular cargo bay built for little people or big loads
Throttle-controlled, Vancouver-made motors
Vertically-integrated Canadian manufacturing
First cargo bike with regenerative braking
Designed for either, built for both
from $7,999 USD
from $7,499 USD
We build fun bikes
because we ride ours everyday
We design bikes that can be repaired at home or local bike shops with standard tools and components. We don’t use proprietary motors or gearboxes and we use open-source software that can be modified to meet local regulatory requirements or specific business needs.
Our cargo platform is modular, meaning our bike can adapt as your needs do, saving time and reducing waste. And our company is small, with roots in mechanical engineering at MIT and product design at Apple, which means you will have a direct relationship with us if you ever have any questions or problems.
Our Mission
Is to build the last bike you will ever need and to address the environmental crisis by using our company to improve the natural world.
Our Vision
We endeavor to build bikes that will stand the test of time, support the local economy, and break trail towards a gas-free future.
We envision a community where people not only know how their products are made, but care deeply about improving the lives of the people who make it.
We see ourselves as leaders, not measured by sales or market share, but in product reparability, customer transparency and community wellbeing.
Our Values
Everyone deserves a convenient, safe and clean way to get around
Bikes should be repairable and serviceable by anyone, anywhere, anytime
Materials should not be wasted, pick the best ones and use them sparingly
Transparency encourages conversation, and conversation enables change
Pride of ownership and quality of product are two sides of the same coin
Stronger communities, both locally and globally, through carbon-free mobility
…and we support big solutions
by using our company to repair the natural world
Bikes are the most efficient mode of human transport, hands down. But even building something as simple as an electric bicycle comes with a tremendous environmental cost. Batteries are made with metals mined in developing countries striving for food security. Aluminum is smelted using vast amounts of energy, often generated by burning coal. And poor design choices can leave customers stranded when hardware can’t be repaired if something goes wrong.
We strive for radical transparency in our business practices, continuous improvement in our selection and use of natural resources, and to use our profits to restore damage that has already been done to this amazing world.
It’s time to reimagine what a bike company can do for us.
Designed, tested and handmade in Canada
Most bikes made in North America are simply assembled there. But we take “Made in Canada” many steps further.
Our motors and controllers are designed and assembled in Vancouver. Our frames are welded and powder coated in Montréal. And 100% of our bikes are tested and ridden by us before leaving the warehouse.
What we build, we build for you.
E-Bikes and the environment
Everything has an impact, almost nothing is truly sustainable.
We’ll share what we learned in our FAQs and Stories. And as we learn, we grow.
PRESS
FAQs
(and some less-frequently asked ones too)
What are you doing to combat climate change?
Sartée Bikes is committed to building bikes that last for generations to come and we want the people riding our bikes then to live in a world that is safer, cleaner and more sustainable than the one we live in now. To achieve these parallel goals we are taking the following actions right now…
Build the best bicycles possible
We feel the best way to reduce our impact on the environment is to build bikes that have no reason to ever be replaced. This means using materials and hardware that will not deteriorate over time, as well as designing our frames and in-house components with a priority on durability over weight savings and quality over profit margin.
Understand our impact on the environment
The gold standard diagnostic tool for a company understanding the impact of its products is a detailed life cycle analysis (LCA). This tool takes into account the carbon footprint of all stages of a product life cycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing, to distribution, customer use, and disposal or recycling. When done correctly and thoroughly, these analyses tend to be very expensive to implement but provide invaluable baselines from which a company can measure improvements over time.
Sartée Bikes is not yet at the point where a detailed LCA makes financial or practical sense to implement. As a young company, there are just too many variables still at play throughout our supply chain to justify such a detailed evaluation. That being said, we are committed to radical transparency from day one, and to that end we have begun the process of cataloging the amounts and sources of each of the major materials used in our PICKUP Bikes.
We are also committed to complete supplier transparency, something that is not typical in the bike industry as a whole. For every component and major part of the PICKUP, we have provided company names and even links to the exact parts that are sourced, information that can be found here. We hope that by providing this information to our customers and the general public, we will encourage other companies to do the same, allowing for a stronger connection between end customers and makers of the goods we all use.
Finally, starting from year one, we plan to commit 1% of our annual sales to organizations who focus on restoring the natural environment and build community, both locally and globally. More specifically, we will direct our contributions towards non profit organizations which restore natural habitats that have been negatively impacted by raw material extraction as well as recycle and repurpose unused and end-of-life bike components like batteries, parts, tires and frames.
You say your bikes are made in Canada, what does that mean?
What does it mean to be made somewhere? Our bikes, and all bikes really, aren’t simply made. Their frames are hand built by real people all over the world, extruders, tube benders, welders, anodizers and painters. Their components are sourced from one of hundreds of suppliers across Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Japan, Europe and USA. This article from Vernon Felton at Pinkbike offers an amazingly insightful view into the bike-building industry.
Right now, our bikes are fully assembled at our headquarters in Pemberton, Canada. The main reason we do this is to maintain as much flexibility during the early days of our company. If a part or process isn’t working for us, we have the ability to change it immediately, from one bike to the very next. As many of these variables begin to stabilize, we will consider moving them up the supply chain if it helps us focus on the most important quality issues here at home.
Final assembly, test and pack-out (FATP) is only one of many steps in the process towards making a complete bike. We source about 90% of our mechanical components from vendors in Taiwan and the remaining ones from China. Our front-frame is assembled from raw aluminum extrusion and CNC billet machined aluminum blocks from our partners in China, then anodized and sent on a container ship to Pemberton for final assembly. Our rear triangle is hand-welded and powder coated in Montreal, Quebec and sent to us here as well.
From assembly of the smallest components to welding the final frame, our vendors, welders and staff work hard to bring the elements of a complete bike together. We would like to highlight their stories, both to say thank you for the hard work, and so you know the monumental effort that goes into each and every one of our bikes.
Can I order the LIFT without a motor? Do I even need a motor?
Yes, you can (and should consider) buy the LIFT without a motor.
One of the most important things for us as a bike company is to sell only what is needed and nothing more. Up until 10 years ago, nearly all bike sales were for non-electric models, and there was plenty of bike use across the country, both in business and for personal use. Clearly, there are advantages to having a motor-assisted platform, but there are many circumstances in which it’s likely more trouble than it’s worth. A perfect example is in our hometown of Pemberton, BC.
Pemberton is a small farming community-turned outdoor sports hub built on a floodplain in the Coast Mountains. Despite having hundreds of snow-capped peaks in every direction, it is pancake-flat and sits at 600’ above sea level. The village is centrally located and small, with neighborhoods surrounding it and most things within a 20 minute walk or 5-10 minute bike ride. If one of my closest friends came to me asking whether they needed an e-bike to get around, I’d probably recommend against it or at least ask them to consider why they think they want one.
Electric bikes use lithium batteries, made from raw material that is harvested from open-pit mines halfway across the world. Motors use large quantities of rare-earth metals and copper and do have a lifespan after which they will eventually need to be recycled. And motor/power systems add weight and significant expense to the final price of ours, and everyone else’s bikes. If there isn’t a clear need for the added benefit of a motor (or a clear need for our bike in general), we don’t think you should buy one.
That being said, we recognize that circumstances change and want to make it as easy as possible to retrofit our bikes with motor kits down the line. We offer electric conversion kits for the same price difference between our electric and pedal-only model and give you clear instructions for you or a bike shop to make the conversion. If you have the opportunity to test-ride our bike before buying, we encourage you to try it without electric assist to see if pedal-only is right for you.
Why do you use a hub motor, aren’t they less powerful?
Most are, but not ours!
Our hub-mounted direct drive motor is one of the most powerful you can find and is designed specifically for high-torque applications, 85Nm, to be exact. Combined with our high-power motor controller, our made-in-Canada drivetrain will pump out up to 1300W at the wheel when needed, nearly 2 horsepower! Our AWD model more than doubles the thrust of the RWD and can climb sustained grades of 10% at full speed and full load.
One of our core values is that bikes should be easy to repair by anyone. Most other front-loading electric bikes fall short on this promise by using a proprietary mid-drive motor locked to a particular manufacturer (Shimano STePS, Bosch, etc.). When this motor breaks, you’ll have to hope the company is still supporting repairs for your model, and if they aren’t, you’ll be stuck pedaling a heavy gearbox around and looking for a replacement bike.
Finally, our bike is the only cargo bike with regenerative motor braking, increasing both your range and the life of your brake pads. This is simply not possible with a mid-drive motor. When the brake lever is pulled, our controller engages regenerative braking to slow the bike down smoothly and top up the battery at the same time.
I want to use the BIG LIFT for business. Can I order a custom length or alternate specifications?
Yes, absolutely!
The BIG LIFT has been designed to be fully customizable for clients that have specific needs for their business. Wheelbase may be spec’d longer or shorter as needed, and we can work with you on custom accessories for the cargo bay, from a large-volume delivery container to a mobile retail kiosk. Please reach out to us to discuss how we can help you meet your goals.