Missing Pictures and May Sale

Hi everyone,

If you've been wondering where the promised pictures of the new bikes are, you're not alone. I've run into some problems with downloading pictures from my Iphone onto my laptop. I have descriptions all ready for the bikes, but without pictures, they're not nearly as funny (assuming they were funny in the first place, which I doubt).

In better news, we will be marking down several of the bikes that have been around for a while just in time for you to take advantage of the last day of the 10% off May sale. There will be several BMX bikes as well as one or two mountain bikes discounted between 10 and 25%! We've also been finishing up some hybrid bikes as well as a few mountain bikes that should be ready sometime Saturday. This is all on top of whatever we find Friday and Saturday during our massive bike search. Hope to see you Saturday!

Holy Cow

Today was a good day at the shop. We managed to sell EVERY road bike we had ready to go as well as almost every mountain bike and a cruiser to boot. I've removed all the bikes from the main site that sold. If it looks a little empty in the online store, that's nothing compared to the shop. We're down to a few BMX, a pair of cruisers, and an assortment of non-standard bikes. I have two or three bikes to add to the website later tonight (I have a party to celebrate the forming of the Graduate Student Union to attend at the moment). We also have about a 1/2 dozen bikes in the shop that are close to being ready. This includes 3 hybrid bikes! It's been a while since we had any of those so don't miss this chance! And before you ask, I'm not taking orders. You gotta come in to claim them.

This looks promising

I’ve spent years (on and off) studying how these systems work and more frequently, don’t work. This attempt looks like a much smarter attempt than pervious efforts. One of the biggest issues with these systems has always been the common property issue. If everyone own the bikes then taking one home for permanent use is much easier. Further, if you don’t own it directly there’s little incentive to treat the bike with care. This program assigns temporary private property rights and thereby avoids the issue. What’s even nicer is that the designers took even the threat of vandalism into account and designed the bikes to be as sturdy and tamper resistant as possible.
I’m also a fan of the infrastructure design, or the lack of infrastructure. Because each terminal does not need to be hard wired into the city’s grid, the stations are effectively portable and cheap to run. Also, by not being tethered to a location, the stations can be redistributed as demand dictates and can be stored when the weather turns (this is Canada, the weather will always turn foul).
The only obvious drawback is the pricing system. A high initial cost (~$4) is combined with an hourly rate that can make renting a bike for a ride around town very expensive. Further, a very large hold is placed on the credit card (~$216) which makes this system impractical for anyone but the heavy users who buy a year’s pass or the tourist looking for a fun way to see the city.
Thoughts?

The Return of the Bike

Remember the good old days when a GBP bike only cost $50? I miss those days. It used to be that we got good, reasonable quality bikes on the cheap all the time. Lately it's been all we can do to find bikes to sell for twice that price. That is, until this week. So far we've picked up 5 mountain bikes (3 of the 24" wheel variety) that'll be on sale for only $50 this Saturday. Add that to the Mongoose already in the shop and that means we've got 6 mountain bikes for the economically minded (read: poor college student). We of course still have a slew of road bikes and BMX bikes for those of you who are looking for something different. See you Saturday!

New Bikes and road trip!

Just a quick heads up. I just posted 4 new bikes on the main website, 3 road bikes and a cruiser. All 4 are $100 or less! I meant to post the Trek too but neglected to take a picture. Woops.

Details on the ride to St. George are beginning the emerge. The date for the ride still seems to be the 13th. Still checking on a few details for the date (like will several of us have to be out of town on business). As of now it looks like camping on the beach (in the state park) is the general consensus. As several of our day jobs are for the FDEP we (and by we I mean Chris and I) will be working on getting free admission to the park and having the camping fee waived. The plan is to leave from the Saint Marks trailhead early Saturday morning, and then take the trail to 98. Take a lunch in Panacea (Angelo's anyone?) and then follow 98 to the beach. That makes our ride effectively a 36mile followed by a 42 mile ride on the way down. So far we have 6 people who are signed up to ride. We should have spots for up to 20? I still need someone to volunteer to be a follow car.

For your consideration...

Sometimes your bike realy says something about you. Perhaps too much...

Road/Tri Bike

We at the GBP like to think we keep our eyes open for good deals and we found a doosey this week. We've picked up a Trek 1200 road bike that has only 500 miles on it! If you're not familiar with the 1200, you're missing out. This is the exact same bike that 2/3 of the GBP officers ride (the other rides a specialized, but we don't hold it against her... much). The bike is a 50cm frame and features a carbon fiber fork and seat post. Needless to say, this bike is LIGHT. If you're looking for a bike to race or use for a triathlon, this is your bike. The best part is that even though this bike is almost new, we're asking 1/2 the wholesale price, $450. This bike is available by appointment or at the shop on Saturday.

Update: At least 1 commenter has complained that the posted price is above the purchase price. Here's why. This bike was purchased in used condition from craig's list for $300. The bike will be cleaned, repaired, and tested which will take the mechanic between 1 and 2 hours, $20-40 of mechanic time. The bike must also be marked up $20 for each week it will sit in the shop to pay the rent, utilities, and other costs (these are called holding costs). I anticipate a holding time of 2 weeks. Finally, all parts and the repair time must be added. As we haven't gotten it tested throughly yet we don't know what's needed. The most common problem with these bikes is wear on the chain and cassette. The replacement of both will run $50-$60 if it's necessary. This means our cost is between $360 and $440 for this bike. With coupons and trade in credits, it's possible to buy this bike at a price well below even our lowest cost estimate.

Ride for a Cause

We here at the Green bicycle project love bikes. It's what we do. The problem is, not everyone shares our love of our two wheeled friends. This is why we will be holding the First Annual SAVE THE BIKES bike tour. The idea is to show the people who think that a bike is a children's toy that your trust bicycle is just as useful as your car, if not more so.

Since we're still planning the event, all the details are still up in the air. Here's what I do know:

What: 2 Day Bike Ride from Tallahassee to St. George Island.
When: Sometime in June
Why: To promote bicycling as a means of transportation
How much: Free! Just pay for your food and Hotel/Camp Fee

The pace of the ride will be determined by what kinds of bikes are making the trip. I will be leading the road bike crew. If someone wants to volunteer to lead the MTB/Cruiser crew we can have a second group. The ride is about 80 miles each way so assume 6-8 hrs on a bike each day. The ride will take an entire weekend. We'll leave Tallahassee early Saturday Morning and return late Sunday Night. There will of course be a follow car for those who just can't make it.

At this point, nothing is set in stone, so if you have ideas, would like to participate, or would like to volunteer please email us at thegreenbicycleproject.org.

Update: So far we have half a dozen or so people interested in joining the ride. It looks like the generally accepted date will be the second to last weekend of June.

Holy Crap! New Bikes!

Today was weird. We picked up about a dozen bikes. Seriously, a dozen bikes, and as Big J was helping out today, we managed to get all but 2 ready to sell. Take a look over at the main site for full descriptions of what we still have, but here's the gist:

Nishiki Road Bike
Mongoose Dual Shock MTB
Next BMX
Fuji Single Shock MTB
Huffy Cruiser (Men's)
Woman's Road Bike
2 Old Style Cruisers

We also sold several bikes before we even got them up onto the site. In case you were wondering:
K2 Hybrid Bike
Next Dual Shock MTB
Huffy Cruiser (Women's)

Beyond the new bikes, we're also dropping the price on a few bikes that have been in the shop a little longer than I'd like. Check the site for up to date prices.

PS: If you were counting, I've listed 11. #12 is a parts bike.

May Sale!

If you didn't already know, this month is Bike Month. In the spirit of the holiday, and make no mistake the GBP staff treats the entire month as one big celebration, we will be offering 10% off all bikes in the shop as well as an extra 50% in credit for each bike traded in! To receive the discount please bring the below coupon in to the shop between May 1st and May 31st.