I had a very interesting experience, and not one many people have when they are shopping for a new bicycle. Last week I went to the Worksman Bicycle factory in Queens, NY, because I had a few technical questions about their bikes. I was met by an Associate who directed me to a more knowledgeable person to help me with my questions. Well, blow me away, the more knowledgeable person I was introduced to was the President of Worksman Bicycle, the oldest continually operating bicycle manufacturer in the United States established in 1898. Try going to Cannondale, Trek, or Schwinn and having the president of any of those companies try and answer technical questions about their bikes - I don't think it will happen!
Worksman is a different type of bicycle manufacturer, they manufacture industrial bicycles and tricycles used to transport people and material in factories, and industrial and business complexes across the country. [see www.worksmancycles.com for more information] Worksman cycles are a terrific green solution when they replace Cushman style motorized work vehicles - more on this later.
I order myself a Worksman Cruiser, the bike arrives in three weeks. Better yet, I found Worksman was selling electric Estelle City Bikes, a German made eBike at a significant discount. Of course I will soon have all the components together to reassemble my eBike, but it was a really good deal. I mentioned this to friend who jumped on the opportunity and bought one of the eBikes. I helped assemble the bike only to find the tires had aged and need to be replaced, so it will be a few days before the Estelle City eBike hits the road. This is cool because it means one less car on the road, and I have converted another person to the simple pleasures of ebikes - we are one person closer to a better world.
I have to figure out how to post pictures in this Blog to help illustrate the things I write about. Perhaps that is a task suited for another day.
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2 comments:
I am interested in buying a worksman cruiser and recreational tricycle. I was wondering if you are happy with your worksman and if you would recommend it to someone else?
Dear Bikerchick,
Thanks for the email. I have been a little lax about checking my
gmail account, I am glad I looked at it today.
The Worksman is an awesome bike, and here are some of my thoughts
after riding my cruiser for the past 9 months.
1. The bike is heavy and I am glad I got mine with the 3-speed hub.
2. There is a very big hill in my life (I live on top of it) and I got
my cruiser with the smaller chain ring. The smaller chain ring is
great for climbing, especially with groceries in the baskets, but on
the flats I easily spin out at about 13 MPH, going down hill - it is
all gravity - no sense (or need) to pedal - the bike is that heavy.
3. I have been thinking about removing the rear baskets for a couple
of reasons. First, the large front basket is really big and most
everything I carry fits up front. Second, I find it hard to swing my
leg over both baskets and the saddle when mount the bike. Third, my
heals sometimes hit the front of the baskets when I ride. And lastly,
where I park the bike has limited width and the rear baskets take up a
lot of real estate.
4. I have regularly lubricated the chain and kept the tire pressure
up. I am finding the spoke nuts are rusting, but this is cosmetic -
and the bike is outside 24/7. I will soon need to lubricate the
bottom bracket, but you need to do that to most bikes.
I would certainly reccomend a Worksman bike to anyone, but understand
these are not light weight machines - strictly utilitarian.
Ask me in a few weeks how hard it is to work on them because last week
on the way home my cable lock got caught in rear sprocket and popped
the sprocket off the hub. Deffinately my fault, but I needs to be
fixed before it is ridden again (I am now riding my backup bike).
As I am writing this, it also occurs to me that I should have gotten
my bike with a front brake - something to consider.
Jim S.
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