A New Kind of Karpiel

After over 12 months of increasingly difficult supply issues and unpredictable prices, it takes a lot of determination to keep doing what you can. For Jan Karpiel, the drive to design and build new things has always created a path forward, no matter what the odds.

While both have enjoyed success, neither Karpiel Design nor Gravity Coaster have been large companies, never been part of the mass-produced corporate landscape, and have never been brands to follow trends or fall into the same patterns as everyone else.

For many of the years that Jan Karpiel has been designing bikes, suspension systems, and off-road vehicles, the challenge of being a solitary designer in uncertain times has often taken its toll and created a fair amount of ups and downs.

But that hasn’t stopped the drive to out-design what he’s done in the past.

With the Electric Coaster, he created an electric off-road experience with an organic ride experience, a vehicle that could climb through ditches, race up slopes, and tackle downhills while offering a stable seating position that would be comfortable for riders of any experience level.

The challenge in 2021 was to design a bike that would offer a different experience than previous Karpiel bikes and to push the design further than others have in the same category.

So, while the realities of production in 2021 ground many small and large manufacturers to a halt, it was a good time to perfect ideas that had been evolving for some time.

The newest Karpiel bike design hit the test trails this week, and will—we hope—make its official debut in the early summer. As a designer, Jan continues to follow his calling, and his experience with other friends and riders over the years is what will always make that effort worthwhile.

As always, we wish the best for all of our riders, friends, and partners, and look forward to the new adventures 2022 will bring.

More information to follow.