At this year’s Interbike show, I managed to get a few minutes with Hans Rey to talk about his Wheels4life.org charity.

Most people know mountain bike hall of famer Hans as a trials champion, adventure cyclist, and one of the most recognizable GT riders for over 20 years.  For those not aware, he is also the driving force behind Wheels4life,  a non-profit program with partners around the world that work very hard to provide bicycles to those that need them the most.

What many of us view as a piece of sporting equipment, fitness equipment, or hobby, is actually a life-changing tool that can break the chain of poverty in a third world country. With the simple bicycle, it’s possible to travel up to five times faster than walking, while at the same time, up to five times more cargo can be carried as well. This can mean reducing travel time to and from school, carrying more goods to market, or bringing medical supplies to more remote locations.

The whole operation itself is an extremely lean one. Because everyone is a volunteer (Hans even pays all his travel expenses out of his own pocket) 90-95% of the donations received go directly towards the purchase of bicycles. Where possible, they source the bikes locally, which reduces expenses such as freight, import duties, and various taxes. As an added bonus, this not only helps the local economy, but makes it easier to locate spares and service the bikes.

While Hans explained that they certainly appreciate cash donations, he also urges anyone with time to spare  to organize a fundraiser, volunteer their time, or even just help spread the word with posts such as this.

So while I was at Interbike, I got to take a closer look at the Pedego line of electric-assist bicycles. They offer traditional style cruisers, step-through models, folders, and even a tandem.

While they all sport a fairly large battery, as well as a hub motor, they’re designed so that neither jumps out at you, screaming “ELECTRIC BIKE”. Quite the opposite - with the exception of the folders, you might not even realize that they’re anything but really cool looking cruisers. With some classic color combos as well as a few modern touches, they could even be passed off as a fashion accessory. Either way, they definitely look fun, especially when you add in the optional Schwalbe Fat Frank balloon tire option. While they weigh in around 60lbs, that’s not such a huge penalty over something like an Electra cruiser. It can be pedaled comfortably on flat ground without any assist.

The key demographic doesn’t appear to be existing cyclists, but those that want something suitable for slower paced, or shorter weekend rides, or maybe a short trip to work or the market, without the worry of running out of human steam halfway home.

Comments welcome.

Well, I came in about 1MB under my monthly 100MB upload limit, only to find out that they only display my 200 most recent photos, unless I upgrade. So there are some from the outdoor demo that are not currently viewable.

Bastards!

So all the photos are uploaded, and I have a ton of reading to do. As usual, I spent the majority of my time visiting with the first-time exhibitors. It’s cool to see the small companies that are either just starting, or are doing their market research before investing the big bucks, or have been around and decided to see if the show will get them some exposure.

There’s the good and the bad. I saw several products that appeared to be the result of some serious thinking outside the box, along with some truly horrible ideas, that I really just don’t get. To that nice older lady who took the hard spill while taking a demo ride on the “electric chopper”, what were you thinking? I don’t think that 50+ is the key demographic for low slung chopper bikes with plastic v-twins, and don’t even know why they were at the show, but she hit the ground hard, and all she was doing was making a not so sharp right turn. Lots of electric devices with no human power required, and I’m happy to say that they didn’t get much traffic. Reinvent the (bicycle) wheel, not the scooter.

Anyway, it’s refreshing to meet people who have come up with a product designed to get more people on bikes. Two of them really stood out, and they’re among the first that I’ll be posting about shortly. In the meantime, I’m going to catch up on some much needed sleep.

If you’ve got any questions or comments on anything in my photos, just post a comment to the photo, and I’ll get back to you.

Wednesday passed pretty uneventful at Interbike. I spent the day meeting up with folks to get product info and set up interviews. My hope was that I would have time to compose some good posts while I’m here, but there is so much to do, I’ll have to settle for getting my images uploaded from the show, and post more about it later.

So keep checking back.