WAVECREST'S TROUBLED SEAS - Published: Monday, 31 October 2005
By Bill Moore - excerpts from EVworld.com

When I rode my first WaveCrest TidalForce electric bike, I was enthralled. I’d ridden others and owned a Currie Technologies folding electric bike that buzzed as I rode along. The TidalForce bike had three times the power and was completely silent. Its matte black finish lent to its mystique.

Clearly, these guys were on to something special. I visited their headquarters just outside of Washington, D.C., did a special promotional deal with them that gave away two of their bikes.We later bartered one of their early demonstration models for advertising on EV World. I drove their modified Smart roadster at their Detroit R&D center, and mentioned them every chance I got.

More importantly, I ride my TidalForce M-750 every opportunity I get. It is one fabulous piece of hardware that is one of the technological treasures of my life.

So, you can imagine the disappointment I felt when I started hearing rumors that the company was folding its electric bike unit. A WaveCrest dealer sent me a copy of the letter he received from the company explaining that while they would continue to provide service and support for existing customers, they would no longer continue their two-wheeled EV business.

As you might imagine, there was more to the story than that. Allen Anderssen, the multimillionaire who bankrolled the company for some five years, spending an estimated $80 million of his personal fortune trying to make the company succeed, decided to call it quits.

Speaking confidentially, my source told that Anderssen has decided to try to license or sell off the company’s electric motor technology, including its automotive hub motor unit in Detroit, which a group of investors are apparently interested in acquiring separately in order to keep the team that together.