New Belgium Teams Up With Detroit Bikes To Make Fat Tire Bicycles
Too often am I drinking a Fat Tire beer and I begin imagining myself riding the iconic red bicycle emblazoned on the label. Granted, these musings normally end with me eating shit (even in my imagination I’m falling off of my bike and chewing gravel), but they’re still delightful thoughts nonetheless. No longer will those thoughts be necessary.
New Belgium (the company that produces the Fat Tire beer) recently commissioned a manufacturing company in Detroit named Detroit Bikes to create 2,500 Fat Tire bicycles for them. According to a video released for Detroit Bikes and New Belgium, 16 million bicycles are sold in America every year, but only 50,000 of them are actually made here.
The bicycle, despite not being an identical replication, was heavily inspired by the red one on the Fat Tire label. Detroit Bikes sold roughly 1,000 bicycles last year, so this one order has already more than doubled their sales number. They even had to expand their workforce from 20 to 40 employees just to get this order done.
Encompassed by a rich history of industrialization and manufacturing, Detroit seemed like the best place for New Belgium to complete their bike-building order. With the slow decline of the automobile industry (particularly in Detroit), pocketfuls of people are losing their jobs left and right. This one contract was enough to draw in many assembly line workers from the auto industry with a wide enough skill set to make the switch from cars to bikes.
The bad news: the 2,500 Fat Tire bikes will only be available through New Belgium fundraising events, some sort of contest, raffle or giveaway, and as a gift to employees approaching their 1 year employment anniversary at New Belgium.
New Belgium brought their famous bicycle to life. The ball is in your court now, Coors. Are you going to make a fancy, constantly frigid bullet train or what? We’re waiting…
Photo Source: New Belgium, Bike Rumor
Source: M Live