Chris Nolte, founder of Brooklyn-based Propel Bikes, returned home from the Iraq war with a painful injury. A back wound kept him from pursuing his lifelong passion – riding bikes.
He later found that he could ride comfortably again thanks to electric-assist bike technology. Now, as a veteran entrepreneur, Nolte helps others with physical limitations experience the joy of cycling.
It all began in 2002, when Nolte hurt his back while serving in the U.S. Army as a transportation specialist overseas in Kuwait. One day, a fuel truck he was riding in violently veered off the rough terrain into a deep ditch.
The jolt left him in pain and unable to remain as physically active as he once was. After returning home and wanting to cycle again, Nolte came across an electric-assist bike kit online. Piece by piece, he tinkered with the parts and transformed his old bike into a slick electric ride.
This was it, the spark of hope the disabled veteran needed to get back on his wheels again. “It gave me a new sense of freedom to be able to get out, to enjoy myself, and to spend more time on a bike,” Nolte said.
Experiencing that newfound freedom also ignited his desire to help others like him climb back onto bikes and ride comfortably again. He does just that six days a week at his Brooklyn brick-and-mortar electric-assist bike shop.
Before opening his spacious Flushing Avenue venue less than a year ago, Nolte, formerly a web marketer, sold electric bikes and parts online and from a second-floor office in Lindenhurst, New Jersey. He launched his startup with only six bikes. That might not sound like much, but it was enough to get business rolling.
Nolte was initially intrigued by how electric bike motors — built into the front or back wheel hub, or mounted on…