But the combination of a spike in silver prices, and he and partner Tamzin Blair having their first child, sparked the need for a change.
The couple had been living for nine years in a rural eco-village near Kaiwaka, in the Far North. But there were no other owners with children and it was a bit isolated, he said. By 2005, the family had relocated to the Bay of Plenty, attracted by the lifestyle and weather.
Meanwhile, precious metal prices were skyrocketing and with silver accounting for 60-to-80 per cent of the value of his imported jewellery, the business model was looking less sustainable
"I had to find something else," he said.
His next business was triggered by a dream about converting a bike to electric power. He woke up thinking he had invented an exciting new concept, only to Google it and discover he was far from being first to market.
But after further research, he found there was very little local competition and quickly secured the domain name www.electricbikes.co.nz
"The first step is to get the domain name, then you're sorted," he said.
He began by importing conversion kits from an Australian source, and a Chinese front wheel motor kit, but found the quality was poor. He then discovered UK company, Wisper, which was manufacturing in China, and began importing its e-bikes to New Zealand.
Mr Clyde also started visiting Wisper's component suppliers in China, making what was to become a key contact in Fumio Kurebayashi, president of Dapu Motor Systems, a Japanese-run factory in Shanghai specialising in electric motors.
"I started forming contacts in a range of Chinese factories, schooling myself up on what was good about e-bikes and what wasn't," he said. He also helped develop Wisper's designs, including their DaaHub conversion kit.
However, Mr Clyde found it frustrating to be working through another company to implement his ideas. The opportunity to develop his own brand began when he crossed paths at an Australian bike show with John Shaw, owner of Timaru's Reiker Cycles, which makes bicycles for NZ Post and was looking to develop e-bike options for posties.
Mr Clyde designed a conversion kit and worked closely with Reiker to modify and trial the NZ Post e-bike. The first trial of 60 e-bikes took place in Tauranga four years ago and resulted in him redesigning the battery box and seals.
"You could pretty much throw the battery in a swimming pool after that," he said.
They did a further trial with another 150 bikes, but by then NZ Post was going through major restructuring and cutbacks and momentum slowed on the project, although the current fleet of e-bikes is maintained by Reiker's with components supplied by Electric Bikes NZ.
"We expected a life span of around a year, given the punishing workload, but we've had some kits out there for three years," said Mr Clyde.
Realising he had invaluable real-world product testing to draw on, as well as his experience and contacts in China's bike frame and components industry, Mr Clyde launched his own brand, SmartMotion, which now markets four of his custom models and is continuing to evolve new designs.
Mr Clyde said SmartMotion was selling about 850 bikes a year in a New Zealand market he estimated currently totalled about 2000 unit sales.
"We're now the top-selling e-bike in New Zealand, and we're in Australia and Norway, with other countries coming soon," he said.
Electric Bikes NZ has also become an importer of leading US brand Pedago, which makes higher end cruiser type bikes and Mr Clyde recently finalised a design for the new Pedago Stretch cargo cruiser e-bike, for which he will receive a sales royalty.
He teamed up a couple of years ago with Daryl Neal from Wellington to form Neal Clyde Design. The first fruit of their collaboration was the innovative all-electric utility farm bike Ubco, which will be launched this year, with strong pre-sales interest from farmers.
The partners are currently working on a design for an e-mountain bike.
"Our focus is on innovation, like the electric farm bike," said Mr Clyde. Timothy Allan, managing director of Tauranga's Locus Research, which is a co-investor in Ubco and has worked closely with Mr Clyde on the project, said that as well as being strategic, he had a strong sense of detail and an ability to pick out technical problems with unerring accuracy.
"Anthony is great with people - he has a strong rapport with them," said Mr Allan.
"He understands people's strengths and how to effectively use them as a team and feel valued, whether it's someone in the supply chain or someone in the core team.
"Aside from that, he has a killer sense of humour, which makes working with him fun."
From wheels to words and music
As well as being a pioneering e-bike developer, Anthony Clyde is a writer and musician.
He has published a novel and written several screenplays, including one for the New Zealand Film Commission-backed short film Water, directed by Chris Graham, which was screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
He is also a songwriter who plays guitar and sings in Whakatane band The Uneducated, whose name is a wry comment on the band members' lack of formal qualifications.
Mr Clyde has been married since 1998 to Tamzin Blair, an early childhood art educator and visual artist who has works in several galleries around New Zealand. They have two girls, Neva (10) and Sophie (8).
Anthony Clyde
Role - founder, director Electric Bikes NZ
Born - Wanganui, New Zealand
Age - 43
First job - Jewellery importer
Currently reading - Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young
