Recovered Bike!!!

After more than a month of searching, Matt received a tip that someone had purchased his bike at the Oakland Coliseum flea market. He was able to track it down and buy it back. Not ideal, but Matt is totally stoked to have his bike back and be able to continue his trip. Thanks for keeping an eye out!

Stolen Bike - Custom Bilenky Rohloff-Equipped Longtail Fat Bike

One of our customers had this bike stolen in downtown San Francisco last week while on his way to visit NAHBS. This has stranded him in Northern California in the middle of his tour. The bike is very distinctive - basically a cross-breed of a Surly Big Dummy and a Pugsley - and was made by Bilenky. It has a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 on the back and huge Surly tires. The frame fits a small or extra small rider. Please help spread the word on this bike by posting this photo to bike boards and social media sites. If anyone notices this bike, please call your local police to report is stolen and notify Matt by email at thesandystretch@yahoo.com.

*** Update ***
Matt recovered his bike after a month of searching: http://cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com/2012/04/recovered-bike.html.

Happy New Year from Cycle Monkey!

Greetings from our nation's capital! For the past few months, Cycle Monkey has been serving you from the East Coast -- Washington, DC to be exact.

Relocating from Berkeley has triggered some interesting new experiments in the Monkey Lab, while allowing for us to carry on some key Cycle Monkey traditions.

From the start, Cycle Monkey has been a cycle-powered business, with several bikes ferrying goods to local customers and the post office to ship packages to those more distant. For large shipping days, we pull out our cargo bike from Bilenky Cycle Works (Philadelphia, PA). With this bike, we can stack the packages high on the front platform and fill up paniers on the rear rack. Not only does this elicit smiles along the route, but also challenges folks to rethink how bicycles can be used.

Adding to its uses, we have found the cargo bike to be the perfect ride home from the local metro station. There's nothing quite like it in the Kiss and Ride area! Katie has found new joy in railing corners while sitting on the platform, but sometimes wishes she had control of the brakes. Regardless, this experiment has made our family transition to living without a car that much more fun.

Biking is a cornerstone of our business and family. We would like to share this love of cycling with you through this blog. From the Monkey Lab, we will feature our favorite bike builds, components, builders, riders, and rides. Happy pedaling!