原文：https://vegnews.com/2020/3/vegan-startup-raises-1.3-million-in-24-hours-to-make-semi-electric-bikes

注：译文谨供参考

VEGAN STARTUP RAISES $1.3 MILLION IN 24 HOURS TO MAKE SEMI-ELECTRIC BIKES

纯素初创公司在24小时内筹款130万美元用于制造半电动自行车

Vegans Rob Rast and Pete Leaviss smash their $20,000 crowdfunding goal for FLX Bike—an eco-friendly company that makes semi-electric, affordable bikes.

纯素食者罗布·拉斯特（Rob Rast）和皮特·利维斯（Pete Leaviss）为FLX Bike公司设立的2万美元众筹目标很快就被打破了。FLX Bike是一家环保型公司，生产经济实惠的半电动自行车。

by ANNA STAROSTINETSKAYA

作者：ANNA STAROSTINETSKAYA

MARCH 27, 2020

2020年3月27日

This week, startup FLX Bike raised $1.3 million in crowdfunding, far-surpassing its initial $20,000 goal, in less than one day. The company was founded in 2016 by vegans Rob Rast and Pete Leaviss with the mission of creating affordable electric/traditional hybrid bicycles to inspire people to shift toward more environmentally friendly forms of transportation.

这个星期，初创公司FLX Bike通过众筹方式在不到一天内筹集了130万美元，远远超过了其最初定下的2万美元目标。该公司由纯素食者罗布·拉斯特（Rob Rast）和皮特·利维斯（Pete Leaviss）于2016年创立，其使命是创造经济实惠的电动/传统混合动力自行车，以激励人们采纳更加环保的交通方式。

“Pete and I met in Beijing, China, a place where you don’t just hear about air pollution, you see it, breathe it, and practically swim in it some days,” Rast told VegNews. “The problem isn’t just in Beijing though, it’s worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 4.2 million people die as a result of exposure to air pollution every year. It’s an insane figure.”

“皮特和我在中国北京相识。在那里，你不仅听到空气污染的消息，还亲眼看见并呼吸受污染的空气，有些日子里甚至亲身‘畅游’其中，”拉斯特向VegNews网站透露。“空气污染不只是北京的问题，而且也是世界性的问题。根据世界卫生组织（WHO）的统计，每年全球有420万人死于空气污染问题。这是一个很荒唐的数字。”

FLX uses only vegan materials such as vinyl on bike handles and seats instead of leather. “You can make the same great bike without needing an animal’s body to do it,” Rast told VegNews. “We want to make a product that’s going to make the world a better place for every being—animals included.” While Leaviss went vegan two years ago, Rast transitioned four months ago after watching vegan documentary The Game Changers. 

FLX自行车仅采用纯素材料进行制造，例如自行车把手和车座均使用乙烯基材料代替皮革。“并不需要用到动物的身体（材料），也能够制造同样棒的自行车，”拉斯特向VegNews网站表示。“我们希望制造的产品能够为所有生物（包括动物）创造出更加美好的世界。”利维斯在两年前就成为了一名纯素食者，而拉斯特观看了纯素纪录片《游戏改变者》（The Game Changers）之后，在四个月前也过渡到了纯素生活方式。

“I had lived as a meat eater for 30 years and knew how that life was,” Rast said. “Now it was time to at least try something new and see if I too, could perform like these athletes … while simultaneously doing my part to reduce the impact of animal agriculture.”

“我经历了30年的肉食者生活，也清楚那种生活是怎么样的，”拉斯特说道。“如今是时候尝试一下新事物了，然后看看是否我也可以达到像影片中那些运动员一样的效果……同时尽自己一份力量减少动物农业的影响。”

The current $1.3 million in funding will go toward producing FLX Bike’s newest model “The Babymaker”—a sleek, lightweight bicycle with a concealed high-capacity lithium battery hidden in the frame that allows riders to travel between electric-assist mode (at level five) or traditional pedaling (at level zero). With the most recent crowdfunding round, FLX will be capable of serving a wider customer base and bringing down the price of The Babymaker to make it more accessible to customers around the world. To date, more than 1,000 people have pre-ordered a Babymaker, which Rast says has the potential to make a substantial environmental impact.

FLX Bike公司目前的130万美元筹资将用于生产其最新车型“Babymaker”──这是一款光滑时髦的轻便自行车，车架内设有隐藏式大容量锂电池，自行车骑行时可以在电动辅助模式（五级）和传统脚踏模式（零级）之间切换。随着最新一轮众筹的成功，该公司将有能力服务于更庞大的用户群并降低Babymaker自行车的销售价格，让全世界的广大顾客更加容易购置使用。到目前为止，已经有超过1,000人预订了Babymaker自行车；拉斯特表示，这样有望为环境带来很大改观。

“That’s 1,000 opportunities to leave the polluting car in the garage, 1,000 people empowered to exercise as much or little as they please,” Rast said. “Every Babymaker shipped has the potential to make the world a little less gray, and a little more green.”

“这意味着1,000个机会把污染环境的汽车停留在车库中，而且1,000个人能够随心所欲地进行不同运动量的锻炼，”拉斯特说道。“每售出一辆Babymaker自行车都可以使将来的世界减少一些灰色，同时增添一片绿色。”

The Babymaker is available in six colors and features a battery that charges in two hours, allowing for 50 miles of pedal-assisted riding. The new model will be available in Standard and Pro and begin shipping in September 2020.

Babymaker自行车有六种颜色可供选择，电池充电两小时，可以踏板助力骑行50英里。新车型提供“标准版”（Standard）和“专业版”（Pro）两个版本，将在2020年9月开始发货。