I wasn't sure what to make of an invitation earlier this month to the unveiling of some newly arrived hybrid bicycles at a Bloomfield bike shop. Hybrid bicycle?
What could be more eco-friendly than a bicycle?. Pedal e power. That's about as carbon neutral as it gets, right?
Right! But that doesn't mean this hot new mode of transportation isn't a good idea, I soon found out.
When I arrived at Bloomfield Bike and Repair Shop that cold, rainy afternoon, owner Mike Wolf greeted me with a warm smile. A gregarious fellow with an obvious knack for making a business successful, Wolf's excitement about the bikes immediately made me want to learn more.
Hybrid, I discovered, is just a fancy way of saying battery assisted peddling. The technology has been around for about 30 years, Wolf said, but the push in recent years to findgreener, less oil-dependent ways to get around has ignited interest.
They are hugely popular in Europe, he told me, where a gallon of gas runs three or four times what it does here. In fact, the technology was developed there and demand for the bikes is so great, Wolf said he could never get any to sell in his store. Last year, seven finally came in and within a day every one had been sold, he said.
On Sept. 4 of this year, 19 more arrived and within five days, those too were scooped up, Wolf said.
Darkness had fallen by the time I got a chance to try one of the bikes out.
Steve Rogers, a salesman and mechanic at the shop pictured here, gave me a crash course on all the lights and do-dads on the handle bars.
Here he does the same with Miriam Bracamonte, a Hartford Advocate reporter also at the unveiling. Both of us took brief spins around the parking lot.
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" was my first thought when the electric assist kicked in as peddled around.
When I stopped peddling, the assist stopped too. The first model I tried was a Giant DX Twist, pictured with Steve here. It'll run you about $2,300. I also tested a Schwinn GS Electric, which costs about $1,800. That may sound like a lot for a bike but it's pretty reasonable if you think of it as an alternative way of getting to and from work.
Even if you only used it from May to October - the six months when the weather is warmest around here - the thing would pay for itself in what you save not having to buy gas alone. How fast you recoup that investment would, of course, would depend on the price of the gas and how far you commute. When you figure in the cardiovascular benefits - what you spend monthly to work out on a stationary bike at the gym - it's an even better value.
The models at Wolf's shop - he also carries Schwinn and Izip - run from $700 to $3,300. And his Nov. 13 reception came a week after the passage of The Bicycle Commuter Act - a federal law that will give companies tax breaks for providing incentives to bike riding employees in their fringe benefits.
In business for 52 years, Bloomfield Bike and Repair is the oldest bike shop in the state. Wolf credits his long relationship with the bike manufactures with being the first shop in Connecticut able to feature hybrid models by the top three brands.
A number of town officials turned out to congratulate Wolf on his coup. Picture here with Wolf from left to right are: town council member Bob Berman, Deputy Mayor Donald Harris, Harris' grand-daughter, Janice Green, 5, Deborah Davis, Bloomfield's Economic Development Director and Leon Rivers, another member of the town council.
"You are a business icon in this town," Harris told Wolf. . "Maybe my daughter will buy me a bike like this."
I don't know. Could this be these bikes be the must-have holiday gift for 2008?
