Chrysler came up with the catchy slogan "Imported from Detroit."
People think cars when they hear it.
But the Detroit Free Press reports that the concept of homegrown in Detroit "is now driving another industry on wheels: Bicycle making."
Frank Witsil of the Detroit Free Press writes:
In the past year, the bike business has gained traction in metro Detroit, in part, because people outside the country are seeking products made in the Motor City. Two new companies — Detroit Bikes and Detroit Bicycle Co. — even worked Detroit into their names.
“Globally, Detroit has so much more recognition and its going to be a big help for us,” said P.J. McDonald, sales manager of Slingshot Bicycle Co., which is online and relocating its four-employee operation to Lincoln Park after three decades in Grand Rapids. “The whole history of manufacturing in Detroit plays a big part and we have access to so much talent.”
Sean Simpson, a former General Motors engineer who, with his best friend from childhood, another buddy and his dad, started AutoBike in Troy in 2011. He told the Freep: "Detroit is becoming one of the places for anything new, and biking is one of those things. “Bikes aren’t all that dissimilar to cars.”
AutoBike has invented technology that lets bikes automatically change gears.
