the Family of G&O, part 2!
Hi, Pedal People! Settle in, this looks to be a long one.
At G&O, we LOVE our customers. How could we not? They are so impressive. Also nice, funny and stylish. And their kids are cute. See for youself. Starting with some kids of our own...
Two Oil cuties on our own Oil family rig, "Blooey," in her earliest configuration.
You think Craig looks excited to ride his new custom Surly Ogre? Craig's got a 3D printer, so his bike is now covered in tons of little plastic doodads.
Chris came and picked up his bike during the Greenwood Car Show. Too funny.
Bob built this bike himself, with parts from G&O and some wheels built by us. Replaced this amazing bike. Note the Brompton in a bag strapped to the side, for bailing out in case of emergencies?
Anne's a contractor, she can use her BionX EdgeRunner to take her tool chest to the jobsite!
See? Also, notice how we really improved the basket mounting between these two photos. We are really attached to this method. Looks good, right?
The Rolling Jackass Centerstand. For when you need to photograph your amazing Mamapower.
Pick up your electric EdgeRunner and bring home your new mixer by bike.
Tell your doula and midwife friends: birth professionals, such as the happy cycler you see above, get a 10% discount off the cost of a cargo bike from G&O. Because we love them.
This dude came in for an Xtracycle FreeRad, stuffed all the components for his new cargo bike into his backpack, and rode it home to build his new ride. We hope that was the last time he ever needed to ride with that backpack. Carrying the load yourself? Shiver...
Scope that lap blanket! That's the Passenger Panda Cargo Bike Kid Lap Blanket! Made in Seattle by Mama Oil! Cozy on one side and waterproof on the other, buckles around a kid so they can stay warm and dry and keep their hands free for putting up the back of Dad's shirt. Available only at G&O.
This Summer we added more than just a whole lot of new cargo bikers and customers to our family, we also added some more folks to our staff team! Meet Kent! He's a famous bike and book blogger, a car-free role model and a rad mechanic. Kent worked with us once a week all Summer and we hope to have him back soon. Kent is pictured here scooting to Greenwood. From his home in Issaquah. Maybe he used a bus for part of that sometimes, who knows?
Meet Michelle, and Family. They were a blast to work with as we came up with a plan for toting two big kids and twin babies on one bike. Five on a bike? We love a challenge!
A frame-mounted, heavy-duty rack was welded to her frame for carrying an enormous basket up front. Five people need to bring more stuff with them than one or two people do. This also meant that Michelle needed to get the bike repainted. Custom colors! She chose "Sparkle Burgundy!"
Stokemonkey, the OG high-torque eassist kit for Xtracycles. We specialize in these things, but offer many varieties of eassist systems for cargo bikes. Michelle obviously needed a system that would give her maximum hill-climbing help and play well with her bike's Nuvinci N360 internally geared hub. Stokemonkey was the obvious way to go.
An elegant trailer hitch solution was required, as the name of the game here was flexibility, and long-term use. Here you can see two bits of clever custom fabrication. The trailer hitch is welded to the rear corner of the bike, rather than bolted to the rear axle. This allows the bike full range of steering, which is typically a challenge with towing a trailer behind a longtail. The wire that tyler is holding is the lead for the TRAILER'S taillight, powered by Michelle's front generator hub. When her trailer is in use, she flips a switch that Tyler wired up to switch to her trailer's taillights. When the trailer is removed, she flips the switch again and the fender mounted taillight resumes duty. Cool, right?Final test ride.
The bike, at its most bare. No kids today?
Bicycle Built for Five.
Heck.
Yes.
These folks came back for a second EdgeRunner. And to change a diaper. I guess the changing station in the bike shop bathroom was occupied?
While we specialize in family and cargo bikes, we also do very fine work with custom builds of conventional bikes. Surlys and Somas, mostly. Done up pretty, is my favorite. Like the Buena Vista featured here.
Nice looking, right?
The Larry vs Harry Bullitt with eZee front hub motor and NuVinci infinitely variable internally geared hub. A G&O specialty.
John's Bullitt. He went on to make his own sidepanels for it.
Really, this could just go on all day. Let's just sit back and admire all these happy people and their happy bikes and kids and stuff and not talk for a while, okay?
Look! A Bike Friday Haul-a-Day! We sell those. Sold this one to this nice person right here.
Brompton folding miracle bike in raw lacquer with Titanium replacement parts from Brompfication! Jim looks pleased!
Another important addition to the cargo bike family, Lady Oil Herself finally joined in and started going by cargo bike! Welcome, new Pedal Parent!
Cuuuuuuuuuute!
Finally, meet Donald. (And Wylie.) Donald is the first full-time employee at G&O. He and Davey worked together at Bike Works and the Bikery for years and are excellent friends. Donald is a talented mechanic and a fabulous person. Caring and considerate and dedicated to using his talents to help others. We like Donald.
Thanks for reading! Come in and see us sometime soon.