Economical bike hits KS roads

Last Update: 11/02/2009 6:15 pm

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Economical bike hits KS roads

El Dorado, Kansas -- With gas near $2.50 a gallon, many are looking for a cheap way to get around. If you think a motorcycle is too big, and a bicycle is just too much work, a group of entrepreneurs in El Dorado think they have found the perfect compromise between the two.

Harley Davidson's are arguably one of the most distinctive and recognizable motorcycles on the road today. But the first Harley's didn't look like they do today.

Now a handful of enthusiastic young entrepreneurs hope that buzz turns into the ringing sound of success!

It's called a Strider Rider. It sprang from a dinner conversation between Randi Lipsomb and her dad. They were talking about old motorcycles, and how simple they used to be. From there the wheels went into motion.

“Instantly, when you look back and see the look of a peddle bicycle we instantly thought, ‘wow, fuel efficiency, why doesn’t everyone have one of these?’” Randi said.

With a little capital investment and a lot of confidence, the six full-time and six part-time employees started bolting these little two stroke engines onto beach cruiser bikes.

It's not a motorcycle, and it's not a scooter. It's a motorized bicycle. At full blast it'll do close to 50 mph, but you need a license to ride it on the street.

Once you get it going it goes pretty well and it goes for quite a while. One of them will get more than 100 miles per hour.

It was only three months ago the Strider Rider crew rolled out their first ride from a little garage just south of El Dorado. Since then they've sold close to 100 and now they are getting interest from across the country from people who think the Strider would make a good franchise.

“That actually started last week,” Randi said. “We have people who are opening franchises in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Hawaii, all over the place.”

The Strider Rider starts at about $1,800 and goes up from there. For more information, click on Newslinks.

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