07 925 9920
Monday to Sunday 9am to 6pm
Dan Wallace and his wife Lisa have taken over the Electrify NZ Tauranga e-bike store, following on from the great success that previous owners Keith Silkstone and Lauren Te Pairi have achieved since 2017.
The Magnum Peak is clearly famous in Tauranga (and maybe Dan is too!)
Here Dan gives us a bit of info about their background and motivation for getting involved with Electrify...
Why did you decide to take on the Electrify license in Tauranga?
My wife Lisa and I have been looking for a business to buy for the past 18 months. We were excited to join the Electrify team. What attracted us to Electrify NZ was the product. After living for more than a decade in Asia we have first hand knowledge of the impact that humans are having on the environment and especially the air quality, We wanted to be part of a business model that had a meaningful purpose and sold a quality product that I could feel passionate about. E-bikes ticked all the boxes. I am a bike commuter myself, and getting people out of their cars and into the outdoors is fantastic.
What's your background?
Dan is originally from Rotorua and Lisa is originally from Tauranga. Both Lisa and I are teachers. We met at university doing our teaching degrees 20 years ago. I teach History and Lisa is a primary/intermediate school teacher. I have taught at Mount Maunganui College and am currently teaching at Papamoa College since returning from overseas.
Lisa has taught at Tauranga Intermediate and Tauranga Primary School. She is currently at Mount Maunganui Intermediate since returning from overseas. After first getting our teaching registration in 2002, we moved to London and taught there for 2 years. We then moved to Bali where we taught at Bali International School (now Bali Island School) for 4 years, then moved to Hong Kong and taught at Discovery College for 6 years.
What's the best thing about being in the electric bike business?
Selling a product that you know is quality and helping solve the issues we are facing with both air pollution and traffic congestion.
Seeing peoples faces light up when they come back from their first ride on an e-bike. The feedback from people about getting back to the outdoors and helping, meeting and interacting with a range of people from the community.
What future do you see for ebikes in Tauranga and New Zealand?
The council has invested a huge amount of funds to create and upgrade the biking trails around our area. There are proposals to create electric bike commuter tracks to link the CBD to the Mount. Kiwis are just beginning to recognise the potential that e bikes have. I think we have just touched the surface of how the technology is developing in e-bikes.
TEMPORARY LOCATION DURING CONSTRUCTION ON DURHAM ST: PAPAMOA PLAZA
Electrify NZ Tauranga is open on Durham St in the heart of the city. We have a full range of electric bikes to cater to a wide range of riders, from city and commuter electric bikes through to electric mountain bikes.
