Spoke N' Word
Posted June 25, 2009 by adminTHE CONFERENCE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!
We at WheelHouse were recently tipped off to a smoking deal on an online repossession site (www.stealitback.com). We were intrigued to find that a 7-seater conference bike was up for auction and extremely pleased when we saw the price. After a few days of agonizing over whether or not we really needed it and a small but fierce bidding war, we became the proud new owners of a used red 7-seater Conference Bike. Suffice to say, we danced and jumped around like elementary school girls for a solid 15 minutes after the auction ended and we had been named the official winners. Just a little background on the conference bike: it’s a 7-seat pedal powered vehicle designed in Germany by Velo.Saliko after an idea of Eric Staller (www.conferencebike.com). The original idea by Mr. Staller was one in a long series of “Urban UFO’s” that were designed to inspire, excite, and bewilder the masses. Each of the 7-seats has pedals that link up to a circular drive shaft. The vehicle is steered using a steering wheel and a Volkswagen rack and pinion steering system. It has hydraulic two front drum brakes (actuated by a foot pedal) and a hydraulic rear disc brake as well as dynamos on the front wheels that power the front headlights. Meaning, the Conference Bike is the coolest bike we have ever laid eyes on and will one day soon be the most recognizable vehicle in Santa Barbara.
After an abnormally long week of waiting, a large panel truck pulled into the WheelHouse parking lot. There was an overwhelming sense of excitement coupled with a sliver of nervousness due to the fact that we had never seen, in person, what exactly it was we had bought. The Delivery Man jumped out of the cab with a giant grin on his face and quickly opened the back to show us the magnificent machine. As soon as it hit the ground he told us that it was by far the “coolest thing” he had ever delivered in his 22 years of shipping. Upon closer inspection there were a few minor flaws that needed to be addressed, including: 4 ripped seats, a loose chain guide, and the replacement of a lever and caliper for the rear disc break. Overall, it was in good, functioning condition and we quickly began patting each other on the back and throwing around compliments for the best purchase thus far in WheelHouse history. After standing in awe of the Conference Bike for several minutes, we decided to take it on a test ride around the parking lot with the Delivery-Man and the WheelHouse Crew. After two short laps around the parking lot, a couple of women pulled into the lot to take pictures and drink in the sight of the Conference Bike. With one extra seat open, it didn’t take much convincing before we had one of them pedaling around with us.
After tooling around the parking lot for a while we started throwing out names in hopes of finding the perfect title for the 7-seater. After some off the top suggestions like “Septapus” (Octopus amputee) and the “Spider Bike”, we decided to pay homage to the original locator of the Conference Bike, Matt McClintock (www.bicyclefetish.com). With the McClintock Brothers’ blessing, the 7-seater conference bike shall be known from this day forward as “The McClintock 7”. With this said, there has been a sort of challenge to trump the good title of The McClintock 7 with the newest/coolest/silliest name possible. The name will not change, but due to the fine efforts put forth by many people we decided to put The McClintock 7 into the Wu-Tang Clan realm of naming, meaning the McClintock 7 will be adopting numerous aliases along the way, for example: The McClintock 7 a.k.a The McClintock a.k.a The USS WheelHouse a.k.a The Fire Breathing Red Rhino, etc. This way, all the well thought out names that deserve recognition will be added onto the list and the legend of The McClintock 7 will be sure to grow.
After spending the rest of the day looking for seats and inspecting the ingenious engineering of The McClintock 7, we closed up shop and got ready for the maiden voyage. The route was a no-brainer, we decided to hit State St. and see what kind of attention this puppy would get. Seconds after turning onto State St., we had more attention than most of us could bear. If you want to know what it feels like to be a rock-star or well-known celebrity, come ride The McClintock 7 with us. We had an open seat and no shortage of interest to fill it. We took it up State to De La Guerra Plaza, back down State, out onto the Wharf and back up to WheelHouse. One ride was all it took, this was a great purchase.
Look out for The McClintock 7 in your neck of the Santa Barbara woods, and if there’s an open seat, hop on and soak in the experience.
Enjoy your ride.
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Quite possibly my proudest moment…
[...] THE CONFERENCE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!! – WheelHouse: Classic and Modern Bicycles. [...]
July 8, 20098:44 pm -
ConferenceBike - The Seven Seater "Party on wheels" | veloWOO
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October 12, 20092:16 pm
Erik – You guys are having waaaay too much fun to have it be called “work”! Glad the business is going so well – in reading your events, looks like a lot of good PR opportunities have presented themselves. Can’t wait to see you and your shop in a few weeks!
June 26, 2009 12:54 pmso how much did you pay for this bike? my sister lives in santa barbara and she would freak out and maybe go along, I live in Lompoc and would like to check it out. Far out, man… Gary
July 6, 2009 4:47 amWoohoo!! What an honor! This is a real thing of beauty.
July 9, 2009 9:42 amThat’s awesome
July 10, 2009 5:23 amHowdy,
I too am a proud owner of two conference bikes I rent in Fort Collins Colorado. We should talk some time and trade tips on working these awsome bikes into local bike culture and renting them. I have conference bike specific rental agreements and liability waivers that I had drafted by a lawyer… I would be willing to share these for a portion of what it cost me to draft.
cheers
Ian
July 21, 2009 3:21 pmWonderful! I had a chance to meet the conference bike inventor and ride one of these around the UCSB lagoon. Dilling Yang even hopped on and rode with us into Isla Vista. Of course, we wanted to buy one, but I think they were nearly 5,000 with shipping. I am so pleased to know you got one. And it’s no surprise that a McClintock brother found this for you. Everything fancy I own was suggested by a McClintock. Those boys know about the finer things.
August 13, 2009 1:33 am