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Update #5: The show must go on!
Even though we did not hit our Kickstarter funding goal, it was still a great month for Social Bicycles. We received amazing press coverage, picked up our prototype bike frame, and found a few new potential investors and operating partners. SoBi will keep on rolling with an SBA loan and we are close to securing additional funding that will help us bring this product to market.
Thanks for your support and please continue to follow our progress at www.socialbicycles.com and facebook.com/socialbicycles. We are committed to bringing you the world's most affordable and scalable bike share system, and are still on track for demos this fall and pilots next spring!
Ryan
Update #4: Heading back to NYC with the first sample frame!
I am happy to report that I will be returning from Taiwan with our first sample frame! The welding looks great and the lockbar slides into both the locking and storage positions. Check out the pics on our Facebook page and let us know what you think!
Also, we just added a new backer incentive. For a $10,000 pledge you can sponsor a SoBi demonstration in your city and receive 5 bikes customized with your name or company logo!
Ryan
Update #3: Looking for bikeshare pioneers
Over the last few weeks we’ve had a lot of people reach out and express interest in bringing SoBi to their city. To facilitate these partnerships, we are creating the SoBi Beta Partner program to offer our bikes on Kickstarter.
This program will allow individuals, organizations, or companies to lease SoBi beta bikes to test and help build community support to launch a full-scale system. Since our system is scalable, this opportunity works for many types of partners – a student association, non-profit, bike shop, corporate campus, or transit authority.
Each bike will be $1500 for a 3-year term. You can receive multiple bikes by pledging an additional $1500/bike. As a backer through Kickstarter, we will include 3 years of wireless connectivity and service. Additional contractual terms will be required, including an NDA, since you will be receiving early access to the product.
Thanks again to everyone who has backed the project thus far. Please continue to share this project with friends - we still have 3 weeks to meet our goal!
Update #2: Social Bicycles Road Trip
To all who have pledged, thank you so much for your support!
In our first week, we received some great early press on Techcrunch, Engadget, and designboom, but we still have a long way to go to meet our funding goal.
Please continue to share the link with friends so that we can reach our goal and build our pilot fleet. We realize that it is important for our backers to be able to see the product in action, so we've decided that if we reach our funding goal, we will reward our backers by taking Social Bicycles on a road trip with product demonstrations in 10 bike-friendly cities. These markets are primed for bikeshare, and the demos will lay the groundwork for full-scale pilots.
Tour locations and dates:
Brooklyn and Pratt Institute (Fall 2011l)
Buffalo-NY and SUNY Buffalo (Fall 2011)
Los Angeles-CA and UCLA/USC (Winter 2012)
Austin-TX and University of Texas (Winter 2012)
Philadelphia-PA and Penn/Drexel (Spring 2012)
Bloomington-IN and Indiana University (Spring 2012)
Chicago-IL and University of Chicago/Northwestern (Spring 2012)
Seattle-WA and University of Washington (Spring 2012)
Portland-OR and Portland State University (Spring 2012)
San Francisco-CA and UC Berkeley (Spring 2012)
Do you think your city or university should be added to the list? Then please build support in your community as we will be adding additional cities and universities based on interest and demand.
These product demonstrations will include free rentals and group rides that are open only to our Kickstarter backers.
Thanks again for your support. I'll send the next update from Taiwan after I visit the bike factory!
Ryan
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Shelby Thompson on July 4, 2011
I think DC would be a great place to visit! The Capitol Bike Share program has really taken off here, and I believe SoBi would be really successful, especially with the locals.
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Mark Sumner on July 9, 2011
St. Louis has just added a public station downtown with showers and lockers especially for bike riders. This would be a great addition to a downtown area struggling to redefine itself as a great, green place to live.
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Ryan Rzepecki on July 13, 2011
BYes, DC would be great, but they've committed to CaBi for the foreseeable future.
St Louis hasn't been on our radar - but I'll have to check it out!
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Update #1: Off to visit the bike factory in Taiwan!
Thanks so much for the early support! We've raised around $4000 in the first 48 hours, but still have a long way to go. This afternoon I am flying to Taiwan and will be visiting the bike frame factory and meeting with other suppliers. I will provide updates from my trip, but there may be a delay in my responses for the next few weeks.
Please continue to share on Facebook, twitter, tumblr, etc., so that we can meet our goal!
126
Backers
$18,913
pledged of $75,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on August 1, 2011.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Thanks, every little bit helps! We will plot your name and city onto a map that shows bike share supporters. We'll also add you to our email list and invite you to public demos in your area.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Congratulations, you just became one of the first Social Cyclists! You can create an account and receive a $25 credit valid toward membership or rides in any market that we eventually operate.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
You're a proud backer of the project, and have the shirt to prove it! We'll send you a custom t-shirt that reveals a 3D model of the bike (see FAQ for explanation). You'll also receive the $25 system credit. Please add $10 to ship outside U.S.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Need a Social Bicycles package built for two? We'll send you two t-shirts and a $50 credit that you can share with a friend. Please add $10 to ship outside U.S.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Let's go for a ride! I'll take you and a couple of friends for a 2 hour bike ride around New York. We can talk bikes, technology, and start-ups. BYOB(ike) or if the timing is right we can ride Social Bicycles! You'll also get the $25 credit and t-shirt.
Pledge $1,500 or more Pledge $1,500 or more
Want to be a bikeshare pioneer? For $1500 per bike, you can become our Beta Partner. You will receive a Social Bicycle that you can test and showcase to build support for a full-scale SoBi system. United States only for the Kickstarter Beta. See FAQ for more details.
Pledge $10,000 or more Pledge $10,000 or more
Sponsor a Social Bicycles demonstration in your city! The SoBi team will bring you 5 beta bikes customized with your name or company logo for a product demonstration. At the end of the demo, you can keep the bikes as part of the Beta Partner program.
Project By
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I am a NYC-based urban planner trying to make cycling more accessible and convenient. I bike everywhere in New York and find it to be the fastest way to get around. Prior to working on Social Bicycles full-time, I worked for the NYC Department of Transportation in the bike program where I sited bike racks, edited the bike map, and conducted research for bike lanes.
You can check out my bio and the bios for the rest of the Social Bicycles team at http://socialbicycles.com/pages/about
