FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aluboo Kickstarter Project Over 50% Funded in 48 Hours!
A new do-anything bamboo bike with unsurpassed ride quality garners strongearly support on Kickstarter.
FORT COLLINS, CO–From the makers of Boo Bicycles (www.boobicycles.com), thehighest performance bamboo race bikes in the world, comes the Aluboo–a bamboo andaluminum do-anything bike with unsurpassed ride quality.
Made available for pre-sale on Kickstarter.com (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dhaugen/aluminum-and-bamboo-bicycle), the response to the recently-launched projecthas been impressive. As of this writing, the project has received $27,361 in pledgesfrom 50 backers in less than 48 hours with an average pledge of $547 per person–that’smore than $570 an hour, and more than $9.50 a minute.
“We’ve wanted to make a bamboo bike that was more price-accessible and that bringsthe excellent ride quality of bamboo and our custom Boo race bikes to many more ridersfor a long time” said James Wolf, Aluboo cofounder and master craftsman of BooBicycles. “But to make the Aluboo we need to do it in a production run to keep costsdown and provide this high-quality handmade bike to more people–this Kickstarterproject, if successfully funded, allows us to do just that.”
Kickstarter, an online fundraising platform for creative projects, allows project creators toset their own fundraising goals and project duration, between 1 and 60 days. But unlikeother online fundraising platforms, Kickstarter follows an ‘all-or-nothing’ method offunding. That means if projects do not reach their goal, then no money changes hands.
“Everything is on the line with the Kickstarter project” said Drew Haugen, Aluboocofounder and CEO. “Without a successful project, Aluboo won’t happen. We’ve beenbootstrapping to develop the design and prototypes of this bike up to this point, but asuccessful Kickstarter will afford us the ability to properly launch production, build thesebikes in quantity, and launch retail sales.”
“What’s more, it’s a great way to let people know that bamboo is a great material forbuilding bikes and to explain why we want to build a better-performing, more versatile,and easier-on-the-planet-to-build bike than what’s available in the marketplace today.”
Backers of Kickstarter projects pledge in exchange for certain pledge rewards. In thecase of Aluboo, the minimum pledge is $1 and rewards range from $20 for a t-shirt orhat and $35 for a custom bamboo iPhone skin to complete Aluboo framesets and builtbikes that range from $645 to $2795, depending on the bike’s components. An allinclusivepackage to Vietnam to ride bikes with James and see the factory is evenavailable for $3995.
“We worked really hard to maximize the value that each supporter will get from everyone of our pledge levels” said Nick Frey, Aluboo cofounder and founder of Boo Bicycles.“We want our supporters to get a great deal on a great bike, since their support will bethe reason we will be able to launch production of the Aluboo.”
Builds offered include an entry-level single speed, a two-speed automatic, an 8-speedinternally-geared hub commuter, three road bike builds, and two cyclocross builds.Backers can also select from a variety of different aluminum paint colors. How is onebike able to achieve so much versatility?
“We designed this bike to be as versatile as a Swiss Army knife, but without looking likeone” said Frey, who also happens to be a two-time national champion, professional bikeracer, and holder of a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University. “Wecustom-designed our interchangeable rear dropouts to allow for three different hubspacings (120mm, 130mm, and 135mm), a derailleur hanger or no hanger, disc brakes,and breakability so folks can run a Gates Carbon Drive belt system if they choose.”
“Aluboo is also capable of running all three types of brakes–cantilever, disc, and roadcaliper, has clearance for up to 38mm tires, pannier rack and fender mounts, and cableguides for everything that can be turned into stops or even removed for a clean, lowprofilelook.” “We grow bikes, and we designed the Aluboo to grow with its rider so folksdon’t have to buy a new frame every time they change their setup” Frey added.
The Aluboo Kickstarter project runs until May 7 and, if successfully funded, will begin todeliver non-bike rewards in May and the first production Aluboos in July.
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Aluboo Bikes, Inc. was founded in 2012 by James Wolf, Nick Frey, and Drew Haugenwith the goal of making the excellent ride quality benefits of bamboo price-accessible tomany more riders. James Wolf resides in Saigon, Vietnam where he builds Boo andAluboo bikes and where he maintains his private plantation of Vietnamese Tam Vong(also known as ‘Iron Bamboo’)–the strongest bamboo in the world. Wolf handles allbamboo procurement personally. Aluboo Bikes, Inc. is headquartered in Fort Collins,Colorado.
CONTACT:Drew Haugen, CEO
970-205-9375
Nick Frey, COO
515-554-9226
WEBSITES :
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dhaugen/aluminum-and-bamboo-bicycle
www.aluboobikes.com
www.facebook.com/aluboo
www.boobicycles.com
