Just one more reason Portland gets the Platinum

Cool bikes, Joie de vivre, opportunity knocks March 6th, 2009

Two words: Joe Bike.

This guy is buying cheap bikes from China and retrofitting them so they actually work, but still selling them cheap.

He focuses on, um “real” bikes (my ideologies are showing through here) that carry people and stuff upright and facing the day, just like God intended.

And unlike the auto companies, he’s hiring!

–Erik Ryberg

3 Responses to “Just one more reason Portland gets the Platinum”

  1. Scott Says:
    March 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    Hiring? An unpaid internship and a part time seasonal sales job – probably commission only. If the auto companies could get away with that they wouldn’t need a bailout.

    Nice cargo bike though.

  2. Erik Says:
    March 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Hey Scott,

    Turns out the real job at Joe Bike was filled. http://bikeportland.org/2008/10/16/utility-bike-specialistconsultant-joe-bike/

    You are right, the other jobs available at the company are less interesting/lucrative.

    –EBR

  3. David Bohm Says:
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

    I love the idea of cargo/useful bies. In fact, I am friends with Bill Stites who will help design the accessories. Certainly being involved for so long with bikes has changed my view but here it is anyways. There are ways to make these locally, greener, better and still bring them in at a cost that fits within a household budget.

    Buying bikes from China and then stripping off a majority of the parts only to replace them with “better” parts is a waste. I own a flying pigeon. These bicycles are about 35 dollars in China. I paid 85 dollars, shipped to my house. Having good brakes, wheels and such is missing the point entirely. Half a billion Chinese get around on Pigeon like bicycles happily without all the upgrades and by the time you have a 350 dollar Pigeon, you could have bought a better bicycle from Giant or many others.

    The intrinsic cost of these cargo bikes is high. All we do by making them in Asia and shipping them here is offset our carbon and waste somewhere else.

    Bilenky (www.bilenky.com)sells a well made fully outfitted American version for 2695.00 and a few of the Portland framebuilders make them between 1500-2500. I would say 1500-2500 for a vehicle that lasts nearly a lifetime with basic maintenance, has no insurance costs and no fuel costs is pretty darn good value.

    (I like that he has a locally made utility bike, the Mundo)

    All the best,

    Dave Bohm
    Bohemian Bicycles

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