On June 7, from 1-3PM, cyclists and families in the Seattle and Eastside area can enjoy an afternoon of games and prizes outside the Flatbike bike shop in a safe, quiet corner of the Totem Lake area of Kirkland. There will be fun, bike-related contests for people who have brought their own bikes, along with opportunities to discover what's possible with a bike-like fitting an existing bike in 1/3 the space with just a couple of space-saving add-ons.
FLATBIKE: ON A MISSION TO MAKE BIKES MORE CONVENIENTFlatbike has been delivering space-saving cycling solutions worldwide from a small shop in Kirkland since 2016, with two focus areas:
— Folding stems and removable pedals. Most of the space of a resting bike is wasted, taken up by handlebars and pedals sticking out. A “Flatten Your Bike Kit” fixes that. A recent addition to this product line is a Flatbike-designed, patented quick-removable pedal system that recently won an international design award for its ease of use and reliability.
— Full-size folding bikes. Over the years, Flatbike has progressed from reselling full-size folding bikes on the CHANGE folding frame to designing and assembling their own gravel bikes, mountain bike and adventure bikes-all of which ride like everyday bikes in their class, yet fold in half easily, fit in a car trunk, and never need a car rack. Recently, that innovation even included electrifying all of these bikes into 37 lb folding e-bikes-half the weight of many e-bikes-yet with 750 watts of power.
HIGH TARIFFS? HOLD A PIVOT PARTY.While Flatbike doesn't import from China, the new tariff environment has hit the company hard from several directions: affecting domestic customer audiences (such as long-haul truckers), reducing worldwide interest in American products, and making it more expensive to put Shimano components on Taiwan-made frames. Financially, this made the US bike-assembly side of the business no longer viable and it needed to wind down.
Flatbike founder Bob Forgrave is reflective about the change but determined to make the most of it. “We can have ourselves a little pity party about part of the business shutting down, or go big and have a pivot party to share deals and celebrate what we're ramping up. We're down to our last 20 bikes and frames, so we're inviting the local community to visit, play games, win prizes, have snacks, and get some one-time deals on uniquely convenient bikes that will not exist after we've sold through our inventory.”
In addition to door prizes on the half-hour, other fun activities for attendees who bring their own bikes include a slow-riding contest, a mini-slalom contest, a mini-sprint contest, and more. Those already interested in showing up are encouraged to ping Flatbike on Instagramat @flatbike. Flatbike will also have a booth in Medina Park as a sponsor of the 7 Hills of Kirkland bike rideon Memorial Day.
Flatbike is located at 11626 Slater Ave NE, Suite #9 in Kirkland, behind NAPA Auto Parts.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Flatbike president Bob Forgrave at 395624@email4pr.com or 425-985-6219. For more information about electrifying CHANGE full-size folding bikes with strong, lightweight motors, see https://flatbike.com/bimotal-elevate/.
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SOURCE Flatbike, Inc.
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