The Berkshires and the Hudson Valley are known for their beauty…and their hills. It’s lovely to ride down a country road on a bicycle while beautiful scenery unfolds before you—until you’re faced with a daunting incline. No worries: With a push of a button, your pedals continue their constant pace, and you glide up that mountain with no more effort than if you were on flat ground, thanks to the technology in the e-bike you rented or bought from Berkshire Bike & Board.
“E-bikes have been revolutionary over the past couple of years,” says Jay Elling, marketing and e-commerce manager for Berkshire Bike & Board, which has locations in Great Barrington and Pittsfield. "The joke around the shop is to call a traditional bicycle an 'acoustic bike,'" he says. “Just like guitars, electric bikes amplify the experience. You turn them on, and they give you assistance. It’s all the fun parts of riding a bike.”
The electric-assisted bikes at the shop have a top speed of 28 miles per hour, and a range of about 35 miles between charges. “You’re still going to get exercise, but you can go farther and faster, while you’re pedaling all the time,” Ellings says. “Turn the motor on and a steep hill becomes like riding on a flat road.”
The bikes offer three to five levels of assistance. The most basic models include eco, sport, and turbo modes. And the learning curve is easy, Elling assures, with controls that are more intuitive than a traditional multi-speed bicycle shifter.
In addition to its two locations—Great Barrington, which opened in 1995, and Pittsfield—Berkshire Bike & Board is now cycling into New York, opening a shop in Hudson on Healey Boulevard this summer.
Open seven days a week, the shops offer rentals or the opportunity to test drive a bike before you buy. “Someone can walk into our store, and we’ll send them around the block on a bike for free,” Elling says. Or rent a bike for three days and if you decide to buy it, part of the rental cost can be deducted from the final purchase.
Whether you’re looking to rent or buy, Berkshire Bike & Board invites you to cruise the open road with mapped routes on their website, and a full roster of group rides tailored to ability, speed, and type of bike, which are available on weekdays as well as weekends. To join a group ride, simply register on the website, sign a waiver, and sign up for the email list to be notified.
Whether you race, ride for exercise, or simply shred for fun, stop by Berkshire Bike & Board to indulge your love of everything on two wheels.
29 State Road, Great Barrington, MA
(413) 528-5555
502C East Street, Pittsfield, MA
(413) 445-8888
