Last week I visited the Pi Factory and was informed that we are expected to start production on 300 PiMotos within 90 days. This quota is part of a pending deal with Best Buy, which plans to feature the PiMotos as floor models in their stores.
While the quota and the deadline seem a little daunting, it has motivated Ms. Sherman and I to finally sit down and flesh out a virtual bulletin board for Pi Mobility. Through a comprehensive program called BaseCamp, all of the Pi staff will be able to telecommute, collectively brainstorm, work on pressing projects, and prioritize important "to-do" lists so as to make the company more efficient as a whole.
While all of this may seem quite boring to you, dear reader, it's an exciting milestone for the company because it means we are getting closer to our ultimate goal of being a smart, savvy, and smoothly run company. And although many of the deadlines and to-do's will have to be fulfilled by staffers other than Ms. Sherman and myself, the creation of the BaseCamp account has galvanized us to get moving on our own over-due projects, the most important being the completion of the PiMopedia.
So here's to creativity, productivity, and the future of Pi Mobility!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Pi: The test drive
Caron and I set out donning scientific uniforms (white Pi lab coats), colorfully decorated helmets and anticipatory smiles as we pushed our test bikes out of the warehouse into the crisp open air. The semi-circular frame is heavy to push, about 65 pounds, and as sturdy as a work horse. I mounted the yellow one and found myself at home on the seat. I took in the feel of the bike; slightly arched handlebars angle my back comfortably; the 8-gear shift on the right side is smooth to press; and of course, the throttle on the left awaited my thumb.
I ride my hybrid 21-speed around San Francisco as often as I drink coffee (i.e. quite frequently) and sometimes even attempt to do the two things together. I am accustomed to extending my route to avoid large hills and showing up at my destination slick with sweat and coffee. It takes a couple minutes to find bike parking and lock up, so I always have to plan that into my day.
With a PiMoto, I find I can immediately eliminate several of these things. The 2Kw motor has a 25-degree hill potential, and according to Marcus, only three hills in San Francisco are at or greater than that. There eliminates the sweat. I can also take the fastest route and cut time off my journey. And boy does she rip: Once I felt the torque of this baby, I found I could replace my daily caffeine jolt with a PiMoto ride at full speed.
We zipped along Bridgeway in the bike lane, surpassing traffic at times. I immediately felt comfortable riding my yellow lightning bolt full throttle and anticipated wide-open spaces where I could test its full potential.
Heads turned and eyes widened as we passed fellow cyclists on the bike path toward Miller Avenue in Mill Valley. "Is that an electric bike?" one couple inquired as I was pedaling past. They were eager to look at it and feel its frame and know that it can go up to 30 miles per hour. "Where can I get one?" they asked as I readied myself to start the engine once more.One guy doing wheelies and hops on his mountain bike slowed when he saw me. "Want to race?" he challenged. Did I? Prepared to get burned my friend...(see YouTube video of the race on the adjacent post by Caron Alarab).
Check out pimobility.com and Best Buy in Marin City, that's how. You too can have a PiBike of your own. We came, we saw, we rode, we raced, we promoted, we smiled...all in a days work.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Day 2: My First PiHigh, An Impromptu Race, and The Evolution of PiPride
After my very first opportunity to ride a Pi Moto in public, I have to admit that the PiHigh is a very real phenomenon. From the first moment that I turned the ignition and lightly pressed the throttle with my left thumb, the immediate pick-up and smooth acceleration automatically put a smile on my face. What kept the smile on my face - aside from the feeling of the salty bay wind running through my hair - was watching my viper red Pi Moto turn heads left and right.
By the end of my first official excursion as a PiBlogger, it was more that just a PiHigh.
It was more like PiPride.
Whether they were casually jogging pedestrians or decked out Lance Armstrong wanna-be's, every single person I zipped past on my silent yet stylish ride couldn't help but do a double take and ask, "What was that?"
The funny thing is, we are still trying to figure that part out.
Is the Pi Moto an electric bicycle or a light-weight motorcycle? Pi Mobility Founder and Inventor Marcus Hays is leaning towards the latter (even though it's too slow for the freeway and just light and small enough to fit on a Muni bus bike rack. . .)
Motorcycle or not, when my co-blogger Jenny and I took Pi Motos along the scenic bike path that runs from Sausalito to Mill Valley, no one seemed to question our right to be there. If anything, they welcomed us as we rode along, me on a viper red model, Jenny on the safety yellow, both decked out in stylist helmets and white Pi lab coats.
As we sped North along the canal with San Francisco behind us and Mount Tamalpais ahead, we toyed with gears, feeling what it was like to pedal a 65 lb. frame along flat terrain, wondering what it would be like on a 25 degree incline. But that is the subject of a Pi Blog to come. . .
While Jenny snapped photos, I scanned the path for a good place to stop and take a few videos of the Pi Moto in action. We settled on a stretch near Tam junction, just off the Highway 101 Stinson Beach exit in Mill Valley. I took a couple of her riding by on the motor alone, then a couple more of her pedaling along, none of which seemed very engaging.
Then, at one point, Jenny decided to let a random mountain biker ride by her a few dozen yards down the path and then try to race him before he passed me and my camera. She smoked him, primarily because the guy was just taking a leisurely afternoon ride. It made for a much more interesting clip and I was about to pack up for us to head back to the Pi Factory when she signaled me to ready the camera again.
As it turns out, Mr. Mountain Biker was intrigued by the sleek, banana yellow electric wonder that left him in the dust and, after asking Jenny about it, actually asked challenged her to race for real. The resulting videos - which I labeled "Pi Moto vs Mountain Bike" (see the window below) - are as classic as they come, not only because she continued to beat him to the finish line, but because the silent operation of the Pi is undeniable compared to his squeaky old two-wheeler.
When I was done recording their sprints up and down the path, I politely asked him for a testimonial. Sweaty and out of breath, he was happy to oblige. (Thanks, David!)
After we packed up, Jenny and I headed back to the Pi Factory, laying on the thumb- throttles the whole way, effortlessly whooshing past winded cyclists galore. At a stop light between Sausalito and Marin City, an older male cyclist asked us so many questions about the Pi Motos that we inadvertently clogged the bike path in both directions.
Although Jenny and I apologized to those passing us in the dusty shoulders on either side of the concrete, we couldn't help but notice the grumpy riders checking out our colorful yet sexy curved frames. . .
"Thaaaat's right," I told them in my head. "Take a good hard look, 'cause there's a lot more where this came from."
And all at once, my fun-loving PiHigh became a shameless case of PiPride. . .
By the end of my first official excursion as a PiBlogger, it was more that just a PiHigh.
It was more like PiPride.
Whether they were casually jogging pedestrians or decked out Lance Armstrong wanna-be's, every single person I zipped past on my silent yet stylish ride couldn't help but do a double take and ask, "What was that?"
The funny thing is, we are still trying to figure that part out.
Is the Pi Moto an electric bicycle or a light-weight motorcycle? Pi Mobility Founder and Inventor Marcus Hays is leaning towards the latter (even though it's too slow for the freeway and just light and small enough to fit on a Muni bus bike rack. . .)
Motorcycle or not, when my co-blogger Jenny and I took Pi Motos along the scenic bike path that runs from Sausalito to Mill Valley, no one seemed to question our right to be there. If anything, they welcomed us as we rode along, me on a viper red model, Jenny on the safety yellow, both decked out in stylist helmets and white Pi lab coats.
As we sped North along the canal with San Francisco behind us and Mount Tamalpais ahead, we toyed with gears, feeling what it was like to pedal a 65 lb. frame along flat terrain, wondering what it would be like on a 25 degree incline. But that is the subject of a Pi Blog to come. . .
While Jenny snapped photos, I scanned the path for a good place to stop and take a few videos of the Pi Moto in action. We settled on a stretch near Tam junction, just off the Highway 101 Stinson Beach exit in Mill Valley. I took a couple of her riding by on the motor alone, then a couple more of her pedaling along, none of which seemed very engaging.
Then, at one point, Jenny decided to let a random mountain biker ride by her a few dozen yards down the path and then try to race him before he passed me and my camera. She smoked him, primarily because the guy was just taking a leisurely afternoon ride. It made for a much more interesting clip and I was about to pack up for us to head back to the Pi Factory when she signaled me to ready the camera again.
As it turns out, Mr. Mountain Biker was intrigued by the sleek, banana yellow electric wonder that left him in the dust and, after asking Jenny about it, actually asked challenged her to race for real. The resulting videos - which I labeled "Pi Moto vs Mountain Bike" (see the window below) - are as classic as they come, not only because she continued to beat him to the finish line, but because the silent operation of the Pi is undeniable compared to his squeaky old two-wheeler.
When I was done recording their sprints up and down the path, I politely asked him for a testimonial. Sweaty and out of breath, he was happy to oblige. (Thanks, David!)
After we packed up, Jenny and I headed back to the Pi Factory, laying on the thumb- throttles the whole way, effortlessly whooshing past winded cyclists galore. At a stop light between Sausalito and Marin City, an older male cyclist asked us so many questions about the Pi Motos that we inadvertently clogged the bike path in both directions.
Although Jenny and I apologized to those passing us in the dusty shoulders on either side of the concrete, we couldn't help but notice the grumpy riders checking out our colorful yet sexy curved frames. . .
"Thaaaat's right," I told them in my head. "Take a good hard look, 'cause there's a lot more where this came from."
And all at once, my fun-loving PiHigh became a shameless case of PiPride. . .
Friday, May 7, 2010
Day 1: Creating the PiMopedia
After a few afternoons of familiarizing myself with the tools, parts and challenges of building PiMotos at the shop in Sausalito, I have commenced the colossal project of creating a PiMoto encyclopedia. This photo-illustrated catalog of parts, tools, and assembly steps will be an essential tool when it comes to creating both builders' and users' manuals to educate PiMoto customers and streamline the manufacturing process.
And we shall call it the PiMopedia.
Here at the shop - which I refer to as "the Pi Factory" - we started by making a labeled diagram of the front hub motor bike to identify its parts. From there, my trusty co-blogger Jenny photographed these parts so that customers and builders can use them as reference when repairing or assembling PiMotos.
While this all may seem technical and humdrum to those more interested in riding the PiMotos than making and maintaining them, it is very exciting for everyone here at the Pi Factory. Having a comprehensive PiMopdeia and resulting manuals means we are on our way to being the most efficient, well-organized, and ultimately successful heavy bicycle / lightweight motorcycle company in existence.
But the primary purpose of this blog isn't to bore you with the inner-workings of a young company on the bumpy bike path to efficiency and eventual victory within a new industry.
It's to impart my elation in actually riding the PiMoto, also known as "the endorphin-cycle".
Brace yourself for an exceptionally vicarious experience.
Get ready for the PiHigh. . .
And we shall call it the PiMopedia.
Here at the shop - which I refer to as "the Pi Factory" - we started by making a labeled diagram of the front hub motor bike to identify its parts. From there, my trusty co-blogger Jenny photographed these parts so that customers and builders can use them as reference when repairing or assembling PiMotos.
While this all may seem technical and humdrum to those more interested in riding the PiMotos than making and maintaining them, it is very exciting for everyone here at the Pi Factory. Having a comprehensive PiMopdeia and resulting manuals means we are on our way to being the most efficient, well-organized, and ultimately successful heavy bicycle / lightweight motorcycle company in existence.
But the primary purpose of this blog isn't to bore you with the inner-workings of a young company on the bumpy bike path to efficiency and eventual victory within a new industry.
It's to impart my elation in actually riding the PiMoto, also known as "the endorphin-cycle".
Brace yourself for an exceptionally vicarious experience.
Get ready for the PiHigh. . .
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