New Belgium finds U.S. source for its signature cruiser bikes

FORT COLLINS — For the first time in its decade-old program, New Belgium Brewing Co. is having its special-edition cruiser bicycles produced in the United States, company officials said Wednesday.

The bikes, which the Fort Collins-based brewery distributes to workers on their first anniversary with the company, raffles or auctions off for charity events and offers as contest prizes, will be made by Detroit Bikes, a bicycling manufacturer and North America’s largest bike producer.

Detroit Bikes will produce about 2,500 three-speed cruiser bikes for New Belgium during this first year. About 1,000 have been released so far, with about 40 going out a day. The partnership has created new jobs in Detroit, prompting the bicycle manufacturer to double its workforce from 20 to 40 employees at its 50,000-square-foot factory on the Michigan city’s west side.

New Belgium had given about 40 to 60 bicycles a year to employees, said Bryan Simpson, New Belgium’s media-relations director, but he added that the number might rise to between 60 and 80 now that the brewery’s Asheville, N.C., facility is up and running.

“This all started around 1996,” Simpson said, “when one of our co-workers said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate people’s first year here by giving everyone a bike.” We were giving out bikes made by companies like Electra, Schwinn, Felt and Spot. They’re perfectly great bikes, but they’re produced overseas, and we felt it was important to source them in the U.S.”

New Belgium has offered single-speed bikes for many years, Simpson said, but the ones being ordered from Detroit Bikes will be 3-speed models which he said should be “a little more flexible for commuting.” Each bike is worth about $700, he said.

“Bikes are a big part of our history and culture, so partnering with Detroit Bikes just made sense in every way,” said New Belgium’s bike designer, Ryan McKee. Zak Pashak, founder and president of Detroit Bikes, “first reached out to us, and we were inspired by his vision. We’ve been looking to source U.S.-made bikes for some time, which isn’t easy at scale. We now get to work with a U.S. bike manufacturer to produce thousands of bikes, while also giving an economic boost to Detroit.”

In a New Belgium media release, Pashak expressed delight at being able to bring more jobs to the economically challenged Motor City.

“As I started to think about production and making bikes back in 2011, Detroit was the best place to look,” he said. “Detroit has such a rich history of production, and certainly we’ve benefited greatly with a skilled local workforce. This partnership is hugely exciting because it marks a big shift in the industry and an amazing show of support for American bike manufacturing.”

New Belgium plans to include Detroit Bikes in its 25th anniversary celebration, to be held this summer.

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