E-Bike Resellers Look to Lower the High Cost of Going Electric

At a warehouse in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, electric bikes are everywhere. Dozens of them line the space, some with cargo baskets, some with super-fat wheels, some with kids’ seats. A scrum of mechanics attend to a queue of inspections near a photo-shoot setup.

This is the New York City hub for Upway, a French-based company often described as the “Carvana for e-bikes.” It refurbishes and resells second-hand machines, offering them to new riders at a discount of about 40% compared to buying new, the company says. This is its first US location, with the warehouse giving the four-year-old firm a ...