Priority Bicycles: Making Bikes Simpler To Buy, Ride And Own

ForbesLife Priority Bicycles: Making Bikes Simpler To Buy, Ride And Own Lauren Mowery Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover drinks, travel and food, and the intersection of all three. May 31, 2022, 08:02pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A city commuter on an all-weather four-season Priority bike.

Priority Bicycles Almost everyone who has ridden a bicycle, from a Sears Huffy to a multi-thousand-dollar eBike, knows the risks of this ubiquitous essential. Irritations come in the form of grimy hands, uneasy shifting, disconcerting sounds, and stained pants upon arriving at one’s destination. When Priority Bicycles launched on Kickstarter eight years ago, their brand stood out for its chainless bike innovation.

Their first model, and all subsequent ones, replaced the chain with a longer-lasting, quieter, maintenance-free solution: the carbon belt drive. Problem solved, time to deploy the bikes to dealers. Only that was never the plan.

Priority Bicycles could have sold an expensive wholesale product but instead went a step further. They offered their bikes direct-to-consumer at affordable prices while also incorporating a rust-resistant, lightweight aluminum frame and puncture-resistant tires meant to solve a slew of would-be and even veteran cyclist concerns. Priority’s founder, Dave Weiner, who is based in New York, was the CEO of a software company.

However, as a teenager, he worked in sales and purchasing at a bike shop. As an avid city cyclist, he decided to tackle the challenges of commuting in New York and bike ownership generally. He convinced his college friend, Connor Swegle, to join him as a co-founder, and in July 2014, they launched the Kickstarter campaign that would evolve into Priority Bicycles today.

During an interview with Forbes about the history and future of the company, Swegle described their initial target audience. “We were thinking about people who thought the bike shop was a little intimidating and…those who didn’t necessarily feel they needed to wear spandex to ride a bike” he said. MORE FOR YOU These Are The Best Beach House Destinations In The U.

S. Nordstrom Home Launches First-Ever Home Retail Store Within NYC Flagship NBA Superstar Magic Johnson On His Love Of Travel, Food, Italy And More He and Weiner wanted to address the three big threats to becoming an everyday rider: flat tires, tune-ups, and chains. For example, the amount of maintenance for a casual rider, from cleaning then lubing a greasy chain, to you-tubing rust solutions requiring an alchemy of baking soda, vinegar, and lime, becomes an impediment to bothering to cycle at all.

Suddenly a Citi Bike membership looks good. NEW YORK – AUGUST 25: Cyclists ride across the Brooklyn Bridge during the evening commute August . .

. [+] 25, 2009 in New York City. Recent improvements in biking infrastructure have led to a 35 percent increase in bicycle commuting in the center of the city between 2007 and 2008.

The Department of Transportation recently announced the completion of a three-year project that created 200 miles of bike lanes throughout the city with more scheduled to open next year. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Getty Images Over the last two decades, New York City has experienced a cycling explosion. Bike lanes have more than quadrupled in mileage to over 1,300 miles and counting.

This movement has both driven and accommodated a corresponding increase in bike volume on the street, equivalent to half a million daily bicycle trips and a growth in regular bicyclists to nearly 800,000 regular riders. The Citi Bike program accounts for a sizeable portion of those daily rides, often peaking at 100,000. Despite Citi Bike’s expansion, the ride share model has its limitations.

For example, bikes can be hard to find or park rush hour, plus they are significantly slower and weigh an unwieldy 45 pounds. Enter Priority Bicycles for the city commuter. The company, remarkably, managed, to jettison all these problems with new technology at a remarkable price.

Logically, several bike designs and their corresponding names include nods to New Yorkers. The Classic Plus Gotham Edition ($599), painted matte black of course, weighs a mere 26 pounds. The Brilliant L Train ($750) references the NYC subway line that threatened to shut down for 18 months, potentially putting nearly half a million daily subway riders into a commuter’s quandary.

Priority Bicycles provided two models at a discount for me and my husband to test ride. Based on our lifestyle needs, we picked The Priority Continuum Onyx and the Priority Turi, which we’ve now cycled on for several months. Priority Continuum Onyx looking stylish in matte black Priority Bicycles The Priority Continuum Onyx ($1299), an all-weather, four-season commuter bike, lives up to its name.

The “onyx” speaks to the sleek matte black paint finish. The “continuum” refers to the Enviolo continuous variable transmission (CVT), a replacement for a chain derailleur system, which shifts so effortlessly and quietly that I was confused on the first ride when expecting to hear and feel the gear change click. The shifter grip on the right handlebar uses a clever schematic of a rising and falling hill to indicate expected resistance.

Given that CVTs weigh more than derailleurs, Priority Bicycles has managed an engineering feat by delivering a bike at approximately 30 pounds. Additional bells and whistles include front and rear dynamo powered lights which don’t require batteries or recharging plus 360-degree reflective logos and tire beading for increased visibility, especially for urban rides or a spin after dark. The stylish Turi in blue with a vegan leather caramel-hued seat is a dream to ride Priority Bicycles The Priority Turi ($949), painted a handsome blue hue, is geared towards the “lifestyle” rider with its vegan-friendly and weather-resistant leather padded seat, upright stance, and mid-step frame.

The Enviolo hub shifts with the frictionless seamlessness of 5-star services at a luxury hotel. Like the Continuum, the rising and flattening hill schematic informs your resistance without potential confusion over gear selection. Dual piston hydraulic disc brakes stop on a dime, even downhill.

To the front of the bike, I affixed a black aluminum basket with a wooden base and cotton liner purchased from Priority’s design-forward accessories collection . All in, the Turi is an easy, joyful ride that makes me wish I lived in a small breezy village by the sea where I could cruise from coffee shops to bakeries to florists filling my basket along the way. Oh wait, I live in Charleston.

Life goals, check. Priority Bicycles’ product offerings continue to proliferate for the eBike, casual, urban, commuter, and now adventure cyclist categories. They even have a children’s bike plus a rust-resistant beach cruiser which will debut this fall.

A folding bike is also in the prototype stage, rounding out nearly every cyclist’s need save for the competition-level athlete. If you’re eager to try one, you might get a chance if you’re staying at one of hundreds of hotels which have partnered with Priority on Fleet bikes. Hotel partners include Viceroy Hotels, Le Meridien, Element Hotels, among others.

Element Hotel: Austin Fleet Program allows guests to ride and test-drive Priority Bicycles Priority Bicycles Priority Bicycles has transformed the bike of yore from an afterthought, gathering rust and dust in your garage or apartment corner, to an integral part of your family which you look forward to spending time with. The adage “you never forget how to ride a bike” now encompasses “we supply the bike, you supply the air” and with both now true, you’re on your way to a maintenance-free cycling lifestyle. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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