Impact
Our bikes are local, but our footprint is global
Taking cars off the road is critical, but the way we do it has an impact. We recognize that every step in the build process, from raw material extraction, to machining, painting, assembly and shipping, has a harmful impact on the environment.
By staying aware of how our decisions impact the environment, we hope to learn and continually improve. And by opening up about our impact, we hope to inspire other companies to do the same and move us all forward.
Our Suppliers
Pemberton, BC
Final Assembly and Testing
We take all the parts sourced globally and build a bike to your custom specifications. Each is tested prior to shipment on the mountain roads right out our garage door to make sure everything is just right.
Vancouver, BC
Motor and Controller Manufacturing
Our partnership with Grin Technologies, a local leader in electric bike hardware, has allowed us to bring you features not normally seen on commercial cargo bikes.
Regen braking, dynamic hill assist, and throttle control are just the start.
Montreal, Quebec
Frame Welding and Paint
Etique Fabrications, located in the manufacturing hub of Montréal, has been welding and restoring frames for years.
We trust them with the most exacting manufacturing step of the process, welding and powder coating of our rear frame.
Taichung, Taiwan
Components
Bike capital of the world, Taichung is home for most of our off-the-shelf component suppliers. Our brakes, pedal drivetrain, cockpit touch points (grips, saddle, pedals, bars, stem), and smaller bits are all made here.
They are then carefully inspected, packaged and shipped via sea freight to our Pemberton HQ to await final assembly for our riders.
Dongguan, China
Frame Beams and Brackets
Home to our CNC machinists and aluminum extruders, Dongguan and the the neighbouring Shenzhen are the beating heart of manufacturing in China.
While we strive to reduce waste by converting to hydro-electric-powered aluminum smelters based in Canada, we couldn’t ask for more capable and responsive suppliers.
Salar de Atacama, Chile
Lithium Mining
Chile, Argentina and China are the biggest worldwide exporters of raw Lithium, material critical to the manufacturing of our batteries.
We are not yet at the point where we can ensure working conditions are safe and all local stakeholders are fairly compensated for the resources they own. However, this is goal we will strive to achieve through our ability to choose from manufacturers acting responsibly in the industry.
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.
FAQs
Ebikes run on electricity, doesn’t that save the environment?
The answer is, “it’s complicated.”
Not all electricity is created equally. If you burn coal to make steam which spins a generator, the energy you’ve created is about as dirty as it gets. You might be better off driving the used gasoline van you own rather than buying a new cargo ebike that runs on dirty power.
Now if the electricity comes from sources that are relatively clean, an ebike really starts to shine. The emissions savings from converting trips by car to bike very quickly outweighs the impact of manufacturing and shipping. And the environment is a little better off for the change.
In general, we don’t ever claim that what we are doing is sustainable, because nothing that involves extracting materials from the Earth is sustainable.
The Earth cannot sustain a western level of consumption and the lifestyles we have all become accustomed to. Similarly, our ebikes are not saving the environment any more than buying an espresso machine to reduce your spending at Starbucks is “saving for retirement.”
We’re simply trying to get people to think and take ownership for their decisions, something we strive to do every day.
What’s the carbon and environmental footprint of making an electric bike?
What we do know is that none of what we make would would exist without massive raw material extraction industries, chemical engineering factories and carbon-based shipping networks. Nobody likes talking about how the sausage is made (okay, maybe you know by now that we actually do), and we aren’t afraid of sharing what we learn along the way. Because knowledge is power, and without asking the questions we will never be armed with the power to affect change.
What are bike companies doing to make a positive impact?
We don’t think it is enough to simply sell a lot of something that is good. True change comes from continuous improvement and never settling with the status quo. Sartée bikes will always be looking for ways to improve the quality of our products, but also reduce the negative impact on our world of making them in the first place.