New blog pages focused on sustainable transportation in High Point
05/31/08 10:55 Filed in: Products
We
love to hear about local folks who promote
alternative transportation, particularly if it
involves bicycles. We recently had a visitor in our
Chapel Hill shop from High Point, NC, who is one of
the most enthusiastic bicycle proponents we've met in
a while. He has been working to organize a group of
riders in High Point who use bikes as every day
alternatives to cars. He's started a blog,
Revolution
Cycling, that is
doing a great job of raising awareness of bicycles
as alternatives to cars. We hope that he and
people like him can really help promote bicycles
as one alternative to the US oil addiction.
This same fellow was really enthusiastic about RANS bicycles, which use the "Crank Forward" design. The idea behind crank forward is to have a more relaxed riding position that is closer to the ground, so that when you stop, both feet can be placed firmly on the ground. While bikes like the Electra Townie have advertised this feature heavily, there have been a number of companies who were doing this long before, including RANS, and more recently Day6.
We think this is an interesting concept. While we don't personally own any crankforward bikes ourselves, we certainly see the potential benefits for those riders looking for a more relaxed and comfortable arrangement.
So, we've decided to test the waters by bringing in some of the Day 6 bicycles first, to see how that goes. These are designed for the utmost in comfort at a very reasonable price, and are particularly focused on the female riders and over 50 crowd. If designs like this encourage more people to ride a bike in their daily lives, we're all for it. So, as of next week, we'll have two of the Day 6 bikes in the shop for test rides, the 7 speed internally geared Journey, and the 21 speed Dream. There are also a few different seat options, one with a backrest and one that looks like a normal bicycle seat, but has some very thick padding. If you've been looking for a more comfortable and safe way to ride a bicycle, stop by sometime and check one out.
If this market goes well for us, we may explore additional options like the RANS bikes.
This same fellow was really enthusiastic about RANS bicycles, which use the "Crank Forward" design. The idea behind crank forward is to have a more relaxed riding position that is closer to the ground, so that when you stop, both feet can be placed firmly on the ground. While bikes like the Electra Townie have advertised this feature heavily, there have been a number of companies who were doing this long before, including RANS, and more recently Day6.
We think this is an interesting concept. While we don't personally own any crankforward bikes ourselves, we certainly see the potential benefits for those riders looking for a more relaxed and comfortable arrangement.
So, we've decided to test the waters by bringing in some of the Day 6 bicycles first, to see how that goes. These are designed for the utmost in comfort at a very reasonable price, and are particularly focused on the female riders and over 50 crowd. If designs like this encourage more people to ride a bike in their daily lives, we're all for it. So, as of next week, we'll have two of the Day 6 bikes in the shop for test rides, the 7 speed internally geared Journey, and the 21 speed Dream. There are also a few different seat options, one with a backrest and one that looks like a normal bicycle seat, but has some very thick padding. If you've been looking for a more comfortable and safe way to ride a bicycle, stop by sometime and check one out.
If this market goes well for us, we may explore additional options like the RANS bikes.
Store opening!
04/30/08 06:47 Filed in: Store
We heard all the customer feedback, and realized that
we could have the most positive impact in the local
community (Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Burlington,
Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, etc) by having a
physical storefront where customers can drop by to
meet us and see the bikes. We have leased a building,
located on Highway 54 just west of Carrboro, and are
in the process of setting it up. It's where Furniture
Follies used to be (he was so successful, he moved to
a bigger space - we only hope that we will be so
successful!). We aren't open quite yet, but we expect
an opening by mid-May. We'll announce a grand-opening
sale and the exact location here, so keep your eyes
on this space.
Items we'll have in stock in the store include:
- Hub motor kits from Crystalyte, Forsen, eZee, etc. We are in discussions to also get the Stokemonkey once that is back in production.
- Folding bikes from Downtube and Anyrider
- Cargo/sports utility bikes from Yuba and Xtracycle. We are also considering getting a Big Dummy or two if there is customer demand
- Cycle 9 electric bicycles, custom manufactured to our specifications to be light weight, high power, integrated electric bikes
- Accessories, including: Cycle Analyst, Down Low Glow, Bicycle Cup Holders, Bicycle Stereo, Safety Gear, Batteries, controllers, spare motors, riding gear, bike bags, etc.
Other products we are exploring include various trike configurations, Bakfiets style bikes, recumbents, etc. If there is a particular bicycle-related product that you think we should carry, just drop us a line, we'll gladly take your feedback into consideration.
Items we'll have in stock in the store include:
- Hub motor kits from Crystalyte, Forsen, eZee, etc. We are in discussions to also get the Stokemonkey once that is back in production.
- Folding bikes from Downtube and Anyrider
- Cargo/sports utility bikes from Yuba and Xtracycle. We are also considering getting a Big Dummy or two if there is customer demand
- Cycle 9 electric bicycles, custom manufactured to our specifications to be light weight, high power, integrated electric bikes
- Accessories, including: Cycle Analyst, Down Low Glow, Bicycle Cup Holders, Bicycle Stereo, Safety Gear, Batteries, controllers, spare motors, riding gear, bike bags, etc.
Other products we are exploring include various trike configurations, Bakfiets style bikes, recumbents, etc. If there is a particular bicycle-related product that you think we should carry, just drop us a line, we'll gladly take your feedback into consideration.