William Leishman: Scooteretti's Founder on eBike Safety and Standards
Founder Spotlight
Founder and President of Scooteretti, William Leishman has spent sixteen years building Canada's most trusted electric bike retailer and become one of the country's leading voices for eBike safety, certification, and consumer education.
From the Roads of China to the Streets of Ottawa
William's path into eBikes did not start in a bike shop. In his teenage years and through his 20s, long before Scooteretti existed, he was a dedicated road cyclist, often logging 100 km in a single day between an early morning ride and another in the evening.
The real turning point came later, from somewhere he never expected. Between 2007 and 2010, a North American publicly traded company sent William to China to oversee operations across the country and the broader Asia Pacific region, from China to New Zealand. Living there, he saw firsthand how deeply electric scooters and e-bikes were woven into daily life. People used them for errands and commutes even when a car was sitting right there, simply because riding was faster, more enjoyable, and easier to park.
That experience changed the direction of his career. William returned to Canada in 2010, left the corporate world behind, and founded Scooteretti to bring the practical, sustainable mobility he had witnessed abroad to Canadian streets.
Building an Industry From the Ground Up
Scooteretti began as an electric scooter retailer before William expanded into e-bikes in 2011, starting with the A2B brand and later adding Pedego and Easy Motion. In the early years, most Canadians had never heard of an e-bike, let alone considered buying one. William and his team spent years doing the unglamorous work of market education: trade shows, local charity sponsorships, and countless television and radio appearances explaining why battery-assisted transportation made sense.
That groundwork paid off. In 2016, Scooteretti dropped electric scooters entirely to focus on e-bikes full time. As the lineup moved beyond brands like Pedego and Easy Motion, William's focus shifted toward what mattered most for the long run: quality, reliability, and safety. That is what pushed the company toward mid-drive systems, and after years of testing and comparing manufacturers, one name consistently stood at the forefront. Bosch. By 2019, Scooteretti had committed fully to Bosch-powered drive systems, a standard the company still holds today.
Under William's leadership, Scooteretti now carries more than 75 models across city, commuter, mountain, touring, folding, and cargo bikes, from brands including Cube, Gazelle, Moustache, Tern, Urban Arrow, and Riese & Müller, every one vetted to meet UL 2849 safety standards.
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2010
William founds Scooteretti in Ottawa's Byward Market as an electric scooter retailer.
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2011
Scooteretti expands into e-bikes, starting with the A2B brand.
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2016
Scooteretti drops electric scooters entirely to focus exclusively on e-bikes.
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2019
Scooteretti commits fully to Bosch-powered mid-drive systems after years of comparing manufacturers.
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March 2026
Scooteretti moves into a larger flagship location at the Ottawa Train Yards, described as Canada's most state-of-the-art electric bike superstore.
Canada's Most State-of-the-Art eBike Superstore
In March 2026, William led Scooteretti's move into a larger retail space at the Ottawa Train Yards shopping centre, a location that has since been called Canada's most state-of-the-art electric bike superstore. The idea behind it was simple: give people room to actually see, try, and learn about electric bicycles before they are asked to make a decision, instead of getting rushed toward a sale the moment they walk through the door.
A VIP Experience for Every Canadian, In Store or Online
William's vision for Scooteretti was never limited to people who could walk through the Ottawa showroom's doors. Today, Scooteretti serves a large and growing e-commerce customer base across the country, riders who shop online and have their bike shipped right to their door, no matter how far they are from Ottawa.
What sets that experience apart is what happens before and after the sale. Customers anywhere in Canada get the same one-on-one guidance as someone walking the showroom floor, just over video or by phone. It is a shopping experience William built to feel personal and VIP regardless of location, and it does not stop at checkout. Every customer keeps that same level of support for as long as they own their bike.
It is a model that takes traditional e-commerce shopping to a whole new level, closing the gap between browsing online and actually being guided by someone who knows the product inside and out.
A Voice on eBike Safety at the National Level
William's influence reaches well past his own store. He sits on the National Bicycle Dealers Association's Advisory Board for eBike Safety, working alongside other industry leaders to raise safety standards across North America.
He is one of the loudest voices pushing for mandatory UL certification on every e-bike sold in Canada, a requirement he believes protects riders but one current legislation still does not require. He has also weighed in publicly on how e-bikes should be classified and regulated in Ontario, pushing back on the growing wave of high-wattage, high-speed products marketed as bicycles when they do not meet the legal definition of one.
Part of William's mission goes beyond public advocacy. He actively works to report importers, manufacturers, and retailers who make false claims about UL certification in the Canadian marketplace. To him, misrepresenting certification is not a small thing. It is a direct risk to riders who believe they are buying something safe when they are not, and calling that out is something he sees as his responsibility, both to the industry and to the people buying from it.
Reporters and producers regularly turn to William for expert commentary on the eBike industry:
A Philosophy Built on Education, Not Pressure
Underneath everything William has built is one belief: Scooteretti should be about educating people first. His goal has always been a clean, safe, no-pressure sales environment, one where customers walk away with factual, honest information so they can make a smart purchase that holds up for years, rather than whatever is easiest to sell that day.
That is where the company's guiding principle comes from: buy it once, buy it right. William has seen too many Canadians burn through two or three e-bikes, and just as many wasted purchases, before landing on one that actually fits their life. So his focus has always been on getting people to the right bike the first time, backed by real service and support instead of a quick sale.
It is also why Scooteretti keeps investing, year after year, in staff training, diagnostic equipment, and servicing know-how. Not just for Bosch systems either. Gates belt drives, Enviolo hubs, and Rohloff gearing are all part of the same commitment.
Still Riding, Still Learning
William is not running this business from behind a desk. He is a rider, and it shows in what Scooteretti chooses to carry. He has put real miles on everything from the Riese & Müller Delite to the Superdelite line, and he still tracks what comes out of Eurobike and other industry events each year, not because it is part of the job description, but because he genuinely wants to know what is next.
That is the thread running through all of it. From the earliest days of electric scooters on Ottawa streets to today's UL-certified, Bosch-powered lineup, William Leishman has stayed obsessed with getting this category right. It is what makes him one of the most credible names in Canadian electric mobility, and it is why people still listen when he talks about where this industry needs to go.
Talk to Canada's Most Trusted eBike Team
Visit our Ottawa Train Yards showroom or book a free consultation to find the right electric bike the first time, backed by the same standards William has spent sixteen years building.