Electric Bike Action

I was first introduced to Optibike founder Jim Turner back in 1978. Actually, we’d never even met, but from his accomplishments as a professional motocross racer, I knew all about him from the coverage that our sister ’zine, Motocross Action Magazine, devoted to him as it chronicled the burgeoning sport in North America.

And not at all unlike my desire to meet Preston Petty—another famous motorcycle racer who, lo and behold, also came to e-bikes decades after his throttle-twisting career—I jumped at the chance to interview Jim just as I did with Preston (EBA, January 14).

However, unlike Preston Petty, whom I had never met at all, Jim and I did have a few shared moments when we went mountain bike riding with his younger brother Paul, himself quite the pioneer in the world of bicycle technology. In fact, I even remember being somewhat dismissive of Jim back in the mid-’90s when I heard stories of his attempts at starting an electric bike company. Electric bikes, I mean, really!

Fast-forwarding, as the world is inclined to do, and it’s now 17 years later. The e-bike market has come of age, and I find myself sitting in a big showroom surrounded by a collection of fancy e-bikes at the Optibike headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.

As opposed to those early days when
e-bikes were heavy, ugly and lacking in
any viable reason to exist, the market is
now at a place 180 degrees distant from
where it was in 1997. As a result, Jim
now finds himself overseeing a growing
business, designing and manufacturing
a complete line of e-bikes that rely
on his own patented technology. No
doubt there were a handful of fits and
starts that he endured to get where
he is today, but Jim Turner can now
admirably look back, content in knowing
that his early dedication to the effort has
earned him the status as an American
e-bike pioneer.

FROM TWISTING THROTTLES TO TWISTING THROTTLES

EBA: Old-time motocross fans might remember you from your career as a racer back in the late ’70s. What was the extent of your racing background?

Jim: We grew up in Santa Cruz, California, which was surrounded by a lot of undeveloped land back then. Like a lot of kids, we got some mini bikes, rode all around and then started racing. My dad would have nothing to do with it, so my mom did a lot to help out and get me to the races.

By the time I was 17 years old, I had gotten good enough to get some factory support from Montesa. In 1975 I followed the nationals on a Bultaco, and then in 1976, I got a factory ride from Suzuki to contest the Canadian National Championships. I rode up there through the 1978 season and ended up winning both the 250cc and 500cc national titles. In 1979, I went to Europe to follow the GP circuit for Motocross Fox. Funny thing, but my mechanic at the time was Keith Bontrager, who would go on to help my brother Paul with his bike project before going on to become an international brand under his own name.