About

I have been asked many times why I chose to start 171 Electric Bike Company. The answer I am inclined to give is a version of the truth. I wanted to see better quality and higher standards in this niche industry that I grew to love. But there is a deeper truth, a more vulnerable truth. How this journey really came to be for me.

In 2015, my mother was dying of cancer. It was Stage 4 and I had taken a leave of absence from my retail job to assist my mama with all her medical appointments and life in general. I was her primary caregiver and my soul desire was to ensure she was comfortable, positive, and as happy as she could be in this last phase of her life.

It was the best 9 months a mother and son could share together. I am beyond grateful I had that time and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Certainly though, it was not easy.

What does that have to do with you? With 171 Electric Bike Company? Well - everything.

While taking my mama to all her appointments and meeting with all the doctors and specialists, I researched everything I could find on new treatments that would help her have more time. I wanted to fix her. I wanted SO BAD to fix her - but I could not.

If anyone has ever looked after someone fighting cancer or another disease as such, you understand it is 24/7. It can be extremely overwhelming and you need moments of relief and time alone to cope.

For me, that relief was my ebike.

 Once mama was settled at night and my girlfriend would stay with her, I would hop on my ebike late at night and just ride, and ride, and ride. The feeling was life saving. It made me feel human again. Free of all the worry, if just for those moments.

The problem was, my bikes would constantly break down! It was beyond frustrating - infuriating at times! I would think to myself this is not a rocket ship, it is a blankety blank bicycle! Going online to find solutions, I realized I was not alone. The bikes breaking down was a thing!

I could not fix my mama, this was true. And if I could not fix the ebike, I would search for a better one. The best one. So, I told my mama my dream to start a high-quality electric bike company here in Canada. It was founded that year, in 2015, with the number of the home my mama raised me in - where we had our finals months together and made all the best memories. 171 Electric Bike Company. For us to have a reliable, durable, and healthy way to release, to adventure, to engage.

For me, for you and in memory of my mama.

"Buy it once - ride it for life"

Scott Dunn CEO