While Shinola has been getting all the press lately (factory tour here), there is a small new company doing manufacturing a new vision of American efficiency within the Motor City Limits.
The idea is simple as their product line. Just a one size fits all bike available only in black. That’s right. One size. One color. It’s attractive, it’s affordable, and it comes with everything you need to commute from one side of town to the other.
Well, that’s just one half of the idea…
The founder of Detroit Bikes is Canadian Zak Pashak and he’s actually a music guy. As a young gun he helped create a vibrant music scene in Calgary and Vancouver, but his endeavors were too frequently mired in red tape. So he made an unsuccessful bid for a city counsel position.
Short story long, he did what no sane American would do – bought a ticket to Detroit and decided to settle down. It’s here where these last two paragraphs intersect. Running for city council spurred Zak to look at alternatives to cars and shopping for a bike in Detroit left him empty handed. He just couldn’t find anything simple, affordable, and elegant enough to buy, so he decided to build his own.
Taking a page from Henry Ford, the A-Type is available in whatever style and color you like, as long as you want a 3-speed cruiser in flat black with a coaster brake and fenders.
Just like the design, Detroit Bikes marketing scheme is also a little different.The company is choosing to take a homegrown approach by trying to develop a strong local dealer network before branching nationwide. Ideally, the company will eventually pump out roughly a hundred complete bikes daily.
The bikes will retail for $550 USD and are currently available anywhere through their online ordering system. The bikes will show up at your door almost fully assembled, with all the tools required to do the few remaining adjustments e.g. mount the handlebars, etc…
While $550 is a large amount of money for many of the residents of Detroit, the company is banking that many residents will pay that little bit extra for a bike made by the people and for the people.
For more visit Detroit Bikes
