Growing up on the Lower East Side of NYC, my first experience with bike riding was on a ten speed bike that belonged to my brother's super tall buddy and in tiny broken glass and garbage strewn "park" when I was 17.  Needless to say, it was not a fun experience.  So,  when we got our first batch of bicycles at carbon^(-), I was a bit nervous.  But the moment I got on the Electra Amsterdam, I finally got that, "Whee, this is fun!" feeling.  Not only did the bike fit me (finally), but it was a breeze to ride.  The fact that I didn't have to worry about my trench getting caught in the wheels or getting dirty from road spatter was great.  Can't wait to ride it all summer!

The dutch have been using bicycles as their primary form of transport for a hundred years or so, and have refined the concept of a bike meant for transportation as well as any in the world. The Amsterdam line of bicycles from electra are inspired by and draw from the best of these traditions with a few twists that make them even better suited for the us market. In broad strokes, Electra bicycles are significantly lighter than you would expect, and all feature their 'flat-foot' technology.

We can't believe that these things have not taken over NY yet. We've seen them as support bikes on all the big city bike tours, but never in what we think is their natural city environment: the farmers market. With the right options, a case of wine, 6 bags of groceries, and a wriggling child is a snap!

We have both the conversion kits for the bicycle you already own, and the complete 'Radish,' which not only integrates with the Xtracycle system in style, but rides beautifully as its geometry, 8 speed shift, and big rear disk brake make it optimized for carrying downright silly loads. Visit www.xtracycle.com for all the information, or come on down to try one for yourself. We are happy to show you your options.

They have a great selection of videos at their website, this one's my favorite: