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Royal visit: Traveler Vincent Fox (UK), Former Cupertino Bike Shop owner John Finley Scott, LAB Director John Allen, BF sales expert Dave Seybert, BF co-founder Alan Scholz, and author of Bicycle: The History David Herlihy (Yale press).
UPDATE JAN 31, 2006: Tragic news about John Finley Scott
MOVIE CLIPS:
Meet our visitors: 2 Mb Quicktime clip | YouTube clip
Bike Friday Factory Tour with Alan Scholz
"WHEN we first met yesterday I could name a dozen reasons why I'd advise against buying one of these bikes. I have to say I am just blown away," said John Finley Scott.
"I noticed that all of the special components for the Bike Friday are very well designed, and during a spin around the parking lot on a demo bike 80% of my reservations about small wheels disappeared in 20 seconds. The problems cyclists perceive in small wheels are mostly a result of the frames in which they are fitted. The Bike Friday frames solve these problems."
John was one of the 'visiting four' that converged jointly and severally on the Bike Friday factory for a couple of days of fun, feasting and factory touring. To do a roll call:
THE TRAVELER: Vincent Fox, all the way from Manchester UK, took delivery of his brand new candy raspberry New World Tourist. He was on his way down to San Francisco, pulling the Travel Trailer, but got caught up in the social whirl so stayed a couple of days.
Fresh from the 16th Annual Bicycle History Conference in Davis came:
THE (new) OWNER: John Allen, LAB Regional Director (NY and New England), turned up to take delivery of his pre-owned New World Tourist and ride in Cycle Oregon, a favorite tour for many of the fitter Friday fold. John is a die-hard self-built bicyclist, and for his beloved Raleigh Folder to have to share garage space with a refurbished Friday is news indeed! How did BF Sales Expert Dave Seybert convince him to do it? "He knew what he wanted - a older Sachs 7-speed hub model. I kept my eye on the pre-owned Bike Fridays coming in, and when I saw it I called him and said, John, we have your bike." He is now the proud owner of a 1997 Rocket Tourist (New World Tourist with drop bars) in British racing green. He's already living the Bike Friday intermodal way of life, having caught the train to Salem to visit his sister with TravelTrailer in tow.
THE LOANER: David Herlihy, award-winning author of the lavish new book Bicycle: A History, requested a loan of a Bike Friday to do part of Cycle Oregon as well as try it out in Boston. Since his book does not mention the Bike Friday, we're hoping he'll remember us for his post-19th century addenda to his book, if he ever decides to write one! We set up up on a demo New World Tourist in British racing green. Watch this space for his forthcoming article with working title 'What I Did On a Friday'. UPDATE: We caught up with David while he was in Boston. He said:
I've put it in car trunks a number of times when it would have been a hassle to transport a conventional bike. Also brought it on a commuter train the other day during rush hour when conventionals aren't allowed. And it is great performance. It really is a great city bike. It feels a lot more maneuverable in traffic than a conventional bike; I can stop and go as I please, make quick turns, etc.
THE SKEPTIC: The erudite John Finley Scott, who opened this story. John is a retired professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis; extensive cycle tourist and explorer, builder of a prototypical mountain bike in 1953, advocate for improvement of California cycling laws and facilities, supporting investor of 70s' mountain bike pioneers, and several years as owner of the Cupertino (California) Bicycle Shop, "founded by the charismatic Spence Wolf in 1953. I bought it from him when he retired in 1980, and sold it to my friend Vance Sprock in 1989."
STOP PRESS! John F Scott has, as of January 2006, joined the Friday Fold. He's gone from Skeptic to Believer!
John Finley Scott went from skeptic to Bike Friday appreciator in a day of seeing for himself what Bike Friday is all about. "I'm practically about to open my checkbook."
Watch this space for a link to a movie of a Bike Friday factory tour, led by Alan Scholz.
A sneak peak behind the swinging door of BF Production.
For more information, follow this link http://www.bikefriday.com/famous.