The formation of OSET and the development of OSET electric dirt bikes was inspired by young Oliver Smith, son of OSET founder Ian Smith. At the age of 6 months Oliver was already obsessed with bikes. This was helped by the fact that one of Dad?s businesses was producing Motorcycle Trials DVD?s and the other a business providing back issues and article reprints to Motorcyclists. Oliver watched the DVD?s constantly, and played with toy bikes all day long. It was clear that Oliver would want his own bike at the earliest opportunity. As Oliver got older, the obsession continued. Dad didn?t want to wait until he was 5, 6 or 7 to get a bike, and, looking at the marketplace, didn't find any of the bikes suitable anyway. Putting a kid on a 100lb+ bike with terrible suspension, no power and a hot exhaust didn?t seem too appealing, so the cogs started turning in Dad?s brain.
In 2004, Ian came up with the concept of an electric Trials bike, and started looking around at electric scooters and such. He speculated that you could take an electric scooter and modify it into a tiny Trials bike. Ian spoke to Mike Buchholz, a fellow Trials rider and a retired engineer. He agreed that it might just work, and agreed to make the bike! The resultant bike was completed when Oliver was 3 years 3 months old. Oliver rode the bike, standing up and in control on his very first day. 1 week later, he rode his first Trials competition! We fiddled and modified this bike constantly. One thing was very clear? this bike really did work! At this point, we knew we were on to something!
From this point forward we started working towards production. Obviously there was a lot to do! A Corporation was formed, more prototypes were built, manufacturers contacted. Patents were applied for. Lawyers were engaged for Trademarks and contracts were drawn up.
Fast forward to December 2010 the company has moved from America over to the new UK Headquarters in the south of England. OSET now deals to importerships in over 25 countries around the world.
OSET UK Ltd now employs a team of people to help with the OSET cause as well as consulting with a host of well respected companies to ensure OSET Bikes are developed and produced effectively. The UK now has a stable network of dealers with most of the counties having good representation. This is in thanks largely to the work of the now retired David Knight, who was the original UK Importer from 2006-2009. Davids work had laid the foundations for OSET UK Ltd, where along with supplying to the various dealerships, the new headquarters is also responsible for a large part of the development and testing of OSET products.
OSET are continuing to develop new bikes and are working on several exciting projects, so check back to our news section for the latest updates. OSET are always looking to extend and build upon the possibilities electric technology can be applied to, and are constantly striving to deliver well developed and competitive products into the marketplace.
OSET UK Ltd is also pro actively working with several Clubs around the UK in order to arrange bespoke electric bike championships / classes for trials. While ACU rules now allow riders from 4-6 years old to compete on electric bikes in ?conducted? trials. Many clubs have either started or are considering running classes for the ?E? bikes (Check out our news page for details on specific events). Several of the Youth Nationals this year have run the ?E? class for the young riders. The OSET 16.0 36v bike, in the hands of Oliver Smith, finished second in the 2010 National ?D? small wheels class, even finishing the year with a win on a new OSET 20.0 prototype.
OSET were also proud to receive their 1st major accolade in 2010 in the form of Dirt Rider magazine's (a Major US Off road Publication) "product of the year" award, beating off competition from a whole host of established marques.
2011 and beyond will be an exciting time for OSET as we enter into another decade. We are delighted that all our efforts behind the scenes will come to fruition this year with some new product launches, so look out for those! And remember to check back to our news page from time to time to keep tabs on what we have been up to.
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