Aspen’s e-bike only business expands fleet, moves locations

Aspen’s Best E-Bikes, one of Aspen’s only e-bike exclusive rentals and sales businesses, has officially moved to its new location — 409 South Hunter Street.

The business, which began as a small operation in 2022, has now grown to a fleet of about 60 e-bikes. The fleet’s expansion required a larger space, according to co-owners Andrew Amato and Austin Nelson. 

“Our first year, we started with six bikes,” Amato said. “We saw demand for it. The second year we grew to 10 bikes, and so we grew very slowly and organically.” 

Nelson attributed some of the growth in the business to a surge in demand for e-bikes in the market abroad. 

“In Europe, e-bikes are leading the bike industry,” he said. “The U.S. market is pretty far behind — we’ll start seeing the usage of e-bikes shooting up in the next couple years. We’re trying to get ahead of the curve.” 

The new location, which is only a short distance from the original one, is set in an outdoor patio area that was previously a part of Harper and Hudson, a gift shop that closed in 2025. 

Aspen’s Best E-Bikes sells and rents out a variety of e-bike models from the leading brand Aventon, including road e-bikes, mountain e-bikes, kids e-bikes and models built for comfort or athleticism. While e-bike rentals and sales typically cost more than regular bikes, they offer a different kind of accessibility between the array of models and the faster ground coverage, Nelson said.

“E-bikes really allow every type of rider and age to explore and have more fun,” he said. “It’s such a phenomenal sport and an easy way to get outside. A ride that would have taken me three to four hours on a normal mountain bike, I could do in about an hour and a half. When I simply don’t have the time in my day to go on such a big ride, it’s pretty nice to be able to cover more ground faster and go further.”

He also mentioned that e-bikes provide an easy way for locals to commute to Aspen without having to park a car. 

Currently, e-biking is generally allowed on streets, and Class 1 e-biking is also allowed on paved and gravel trails in Pitkin County, such as the Rio Grande Trail, Owl Creek Trail and Brush Creek Trail. E-biking is mostly not allowed on single-track trails within Pitkin County Open Space and Trails areas or on the White River National Forest. 

With the growth in demand, Snowmass Village recently approved a summer-long Class 1 e-bike trial for select trails on Snowmass Mountain. Amato and Nelson are hoping for more e-bike restrictions to be lifted. 

Both share a love for e-bikes and entrepreneurship, which led them to pursue the business in 2022. Nelson noted that the two also connected over the fact that they are both part of the hearing-impaired community, which helped them form a strong friendship followed by a business partnership. The two are looking forward to expanding the business and using the new space.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to grow,” Nelson said. “We’re excited that the demand is increasing year after year, and we will continue to offer the newest and best e-bikes to our clientele. We’re hoping to come back every summer and be out here on the patio.”

To learn more about Aspen’s Best E-Bikes, visit aspensbestebikes.com.