Reader’s Lives

How The World’s Coolest E-Bike Landed In The UK

When I see the headline “be careful about falling in love with a British accent” I smile, as it reminds me of when I met my husband while on a trip to New York City. Although I thought it was a British accent I fell in love with, he is originally from a British colony - Northern Rhodesia now called Zambia. After 6 years of dating long distance and many hours on Skype and trips back and forth between my home in Chicago and his work locations in London, Italy and Germany, we were married 5 years ago. After our Chicago wedding, I quit my job, gave away most of my furniture and belongings, sold my car, and arrived in the UK in 2015. As I settled in London with him and we started our new life together, we realised that with both our careers in transition working for others, we needed a change.

In 2018, my husband and I launched Rayvolt UK as the exclusive importer and distributor for a luxury brand of premium e-bikes designed and hand-assembled in Spain. With his background in the European automotive industry and my HR background, we decided to give it a go after my husband fell in love with the Rayvolt Cruzer e-bike while on holiday in Spain. We happened to walk past the Rayvolt showroom and headquarters in Barcelona’s Old Town while looking for our favourite restaurant. My husband was drawn into their beautiful shop, and was astonished by their design and beauty and had to learn more.

During that visit, It didn’t take long after seeing their range of e-bikes, and meeting the founders and hearing their story before my husband politely asked: “Do you have a UK distributor?”, which startled me, as we weren’t actively looking to start an e-bike business or had even discussed it! My husband has an appreciation for retro-styled classic cars and has two 1980’s Mercedes SL’s and a motorcycle, and we quickly determined that there was nothing quite like these e-bikes on the market in the UK. We realised that they are the absolute cutting edge of design, engineering and technology, with Bluetooth connectivity, automatic uphill assistance, and intelligent regenerative braking among the many features. However, the real impact of the Cruzer is the smiles on all who see and ride it. When you ride a Rayvolt Cruzer, you can literally feel people staring. This is something we quickly had to get used to as they are real head turners and you’re the centre of attention when riding it.

What we also came to appreciate is that the Rayvolt Cruzer is a fantastic eco-friendly way of commuting and to enjoy a casual cycle, without having to exert a lot of effort. With a potential 50-mile range, you feel very confident that you’re not going to run out of power. This has become especially important during the current times we face as an alternative form of safe commuting.

When our first stock arrived in 2018, we initially worked out of our home in South London while storing most of our stock in a rented storage container nearby. Our first customer had inquired about a Cruzer by contacting the Rayvolt Office in Spain who then sent him our way. He set up an appointment, drove down from StratfordUpon-Avon, had a cup of tea, took a test ride, and fell in love with it straight away. He was looking for a high tech e-bike to take him on his daily journey along the towpath to go fishing. We will never forget our first sale, but working out of the house was not practical nor the image we wanted to present, as we

were determined to provide a first-class sales experience and provide a service centre and repair facility which would carry the full range of spares and guarantee personalised post sale customer support.

It took months of researching the high priced commercial letting market, but we found an industrial warehouse unit nearby and moved in a year ago. We’ve established a secure warehouse storage facility, stocked a full range of spares and built a fully-equipped professional e-bike service centre. A web designer friend of ours developed our first website and we launched our Rayvolt UK e-commerce business. My husband Graham handles the stock, sales, service and technical specifications of the business, and I handle social media, finances, and accounting. It’s been an interesting journey so far as I’ve had to develop skills that were not in my wheelhouseQuickbooks, the UK VAT system, photography, marketing, social media and the commercial retail market. We also realised we needed a vehicle to transport the bikes, and although we were looking for any other colour than white, we did indeed eventually purchase a white van - yes, we are those people.

We decided that unlike many e-commerce platforms that deliver boxes and have no follow-up service or support, we were determined to differentiate ourselves and offer personalised, professional service and support for our customers. The business we’ve created is one where a customer can build and customise their e-bike on our website, picking out colour, battery size, motor size and accessories, and placing an order or by making an appointment with us for a test ride while discussing their requirements and riding style to determine the most suitable Rayvolt e-bike.

Once an order is placed, we keep in touch and prepare the e-bike to your specifications including a full 52 point PDI inspection, full technical inspection and a 10-mile static road test to make sure the e-bike is perfect and ready to ride upon handover. We also offer a free white glove delivery service to your door which includes full training on the EIVA ® app which converts the e-bike to a smart bike to control, customise and monitor your Cruzer, and a custom bike fit. Riders can download the free EIVA app on purchase and get real-time readouts on speed, battery and bike health, as well as control acceleration, top speed, braking and drive modes. Included is the facility of switching to off-road if riding on private land with the owner’s permission.

Cruzer in Gun Metal Grey - Rayvolt images

The Cruzer has been designed as a highperformance e-bike from the ground up and it aligns a classic vintage look with cutting edge technology creating a timeless e-bike full of character. The look harks back to the legendary era of motorcycling: the early 1900s Indian Motorcycle, the 1969 Cafe Racer and the 1970 Beach Cruiser. The result is a timeless e-bike that doesn’t appear too futuristic and off-putting to customers and one that makes people feel sentimental about the old classic bikes of yesteryear.

The Torino, like the Cruzer, has all the built-in technology and uniquely beautiful design that sets it apart from other e-bikes available which are simply converted bicycles. Later this year we will also be launching the next Rayvolt e-bike in the range - the Rayvolt Clubman, which is similar in design to the Cruzer but is set at a more affordable price.

These unique e-bikes are a fantastic way of commuting and it’s been such a rewarding business to be a part of when we see the faces of the customers upon delivery of their new e-bikes. However, these last few months of the pandemic, with our transportation system severely limited, these concerns are clearly impacting everyone and we have a beautiful option to assist people with a safer means of commuting.

With prices starting at £3,400 we are making a special offer to the American in Britain readers of up to £400.00 worth of accessories free with any e-bike order. Please make sure that you quote code: AIB20 when placing your oder (this offer is valid for 90 days from date of publication).

Nancy Kusner Rayvolt UK nancy@rayvoltbike.co.uk www.rayvoltbike.co.uk

READER’S LIVES

An American In Britain: Meet Chau-Jean Lin, Co-Founder of Marulin, The Award-Winning British Tea Company

Chau-Jean in her family’s tea garden in Taiwan

Whether it’s “builders’ tea” - strong, often with sugar and always served with milk and in a mug - or a more refined variety such as Earl Grey, it’s a well-known fact that the Brits love their tea. In fact, they drink around 165 million cups of tea a day (according to The Daily Express newspaper). But you may not know that an Asian-American woman is currently taking the British tea sector by storm with her own award-winning tea company, Marulin.

California-born Dr Chau-Jean Lin grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, and now lives in London with her partner and baby. In 2016, she made an unexpected career move for someone with a PhD in materials science and engineering when she transitioned from working as a scientist in the oil industry to becoming an entrepreneur and starting up a tea business.

Tea farming has been in Chau-Jean’s family for generations, and you could even say that tea is in her blood! While working as a scientist in France, she witnessed the appreciation that her French colleagues and friends had for drinking tea, and the idea for a tea business was planted. She decided to leave the oil industry behind her to focus on tea, and undertook an MBA at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. It was here that she met her business partner - and the beginnings of Marulin were created.

Marulin sources tea from Chau-Jean’s family tea gardens in Taiwan and from trusted farms in both Taiwan and other parts of the world. The company’s heritage is in highquality Taiwanese oolong tea, the type of tea her family has been producing for generations. This deep family connection to Taiwan makes Marulin stand out from other artisan tea brands on sale today, because Chau-Jean knows the provenance of where her tea comes from, which piece of land it’s from and who farmed it – which in many cases is Uncle Lin or her Father, who eventually came to America to pursue the American dream!

This really is a family business. As well as Chau-Jean’s tea-farming family in Taiwan, Chau-Jean and her partner run Marulin together from London. They welcomed their daughter Marie in 2019, and she’s attended several events as part of the Marulin crew - even meeting the Duchess of Cornwall on one occasion!

Marulin produces a range of different teas in both loose and tea tent form. Varieties include the award-winning Hearty Breakfast tea, the zesty and energising Four Seasons Pearl Oolong tea, a cool and refreshing Minted Mint tea, and the classic and comforting Your Earl Grey tea.

Chau-Jean’s top tip for making the perfect cup of tea is to follow the brewing instructions on each packet you buy, since they can vary depending on the variety and quality of the tea in question.

Here’s her expert guidance for brewing the perfect cup of green tea, using an Imperial Green tea tent from the Marulin range: Use filtered or bottled water if possible Use a glass or porcelain teapot. If you don’t own one, brewing your tea directly in a cup or mug is fine. (The size of the teapot doesn’t matter but adjust the number of tea bags accordingly) Allow one pyramid tea tent per person Boil the water in your kettle and let it cool to between 70 and 75 degrees Celsius, otherwise your tea may taste bitter. (If you don’t have a thermometer, the water should be warm but not scorching hot to the touch). This is the optimal temperature for green tea Put the tea tent into the teapot or mug Pour the water into the teapot or mug and let it brew. A small teapot will take less time to brew, the bigger the teapot the more brew time required. For a mug, brew for three to five minutes and remove the tea tent A Marulin tea tent can be used twice in a mug /smaller cup before being discarded Sit back, relax and enjoy your cup of green tea!

Chau-Jean is passionate about Taiwanese tea and gives masterclasses at the UK Tea Academy, as well speaking at Universities, Societies and Private Members’ Clubs. If you’re interested in finding out more, visit: www.marulin.co.uk.