Let’s ride: New electric bike shop opens in West Columbia. Here are the details

If you are looking for some power in your pedal, a new electric bike shop in West Columbia could have what you need.

Pedego Soda City, which sells, rents and repairs Pedego brand electric bicycles, recently opened its doors at 521 Meeting St., in the Shoppes at Meeting Place shopping center not far from the Congaree River.

The shop has a variety of Pedego bikes, which have electric motors that assist riders as they pedal. Pedego Soda City sells the bikes, along with helmets, apparel, accessories and more, and it also has two-hour bike rentals for $40 and half-day rentals for $75.

The Meeting Street shop is the second Pedego dealership for owner Coker Day, who also owns an electric bike shop in Aiken.

“These bikes are really for adventure and fun,” Day said during a Tuesday morning chat at the shop. “They are just like a regular bike — they have an aluminum frame — but they have a battery and a motor. When you ride them, you still pedal. They are not mopeds or motor scooters. There are five different levels of (pedaling) assistance that you can use on them.

“So you can ride it like a regular heavy bike, or you can have it help you a little bit, or you can have it help you a lot.”

Day said he initially became interested in Pedego bikes as a customer, as he bought one as a gift for his wife, Caroline. She had ridden one while on a trip out in Austin, Texas, and returned home and mentioned how much she liked the experience. So, the couple started riding the electric bikes in their neighborhood in Aiken.

Not long after, Day started selling Pedego bikes from his shop in Aiken.

He said having the new shop near the Riverwalk in West Columbia was a particularly attractive proposition.

“I didn’t realize how nice the (Riverwalk) paths were here until I rode them the first time, and it really affirmed my decision to (have Pedego Soda City) over here,” Day said.

A reporter from The State rode one of the Pedego bikes Tuesday morning — without incident — along the streets of the leafy neighborhoods behind the Meeting Street shop. The electric motor was both helpful and quiet, and the assistance controls were easily adjustable.

While Pedego Soda City is already open for business, it is planning a grand opening ceremony at 4 p.m. Nov. 2. There will be a ribbon-cutting with local officials, catered refreshments, and test rides available on electric bikes. Those who attend will be entered into a drawing for a Pedego Element V2 bike.