A Trike for Every Reason story by Dan D’Ambrosio | photos by Dennis Coello

or most of the 27 years he’s owned and “Eventually he hounded me into getting a few operated Chain Reaction Bicycles in and becoming a dealer,” Cohen said. “I told him f Evans, Georgia, Phil Cohen considered ‘I’ll do this, but you have to help me.’” recumbent trikes a novelty. Together, Cohen and his customer started a On the rare occasion a customer asked for one, local trike club, and Chain Reaction’s business Cohen would order a cheap model from one of his in recumbent trikes began to grow, albeit slowly. distributors and leave it at that. Fast forward a year and a half. A couple of “We would sell one or two a year if somebody customers came into Cohen’s shop with a brand of asked for it,” Cohen said. “It was not something we recumbent trikes called Catrikes. Chain Reaction embraced, not something that was significant at was beginning to get a reputation as a shop that all, just a weird thing somebody asked for.” knew its way around trikes, and these customers Then one of Cohen’s customers, who had wanted them serviced. bought a couple of hybrid bikes, came into the “We worked on them,” Cohen remembered. “I shop. The hybrids had been gathering dust. was noticing the quality and the workmanship. “The bikes sat in his garage and he never These were really nice.” used them,” Cohen said. “He had ridden them They were also higher priced — Catrikes four miles. This guy was older, heavier, definitely started north of $2,000 and went up from there. overweight. He had seen a TerraTrike and At first Cohen dismissed the higher-priced wondered if we had them. We didn’t.” Catrikes as too rich for his customers’ blood. But The customer bought his TerraTrike the more research he did on the company, the elsewhere but kept urging Cohen to sell trikes. more intrigued he became. For one thing, Catrikes

46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST m a rch 2019 were made in a factory in Orlando, Florida. perimeter of the production area. “We live in a fairly conservative area with “I had already noticed these things are really a military base,” Cohen said. “Our customers put together well,” Cohen said. “Now we went appreciate anything that’s made in the USA. I through the assembly process. They explained thought, ‘This is worth another look.’” their business model. These guys really get it, Cohen decided to call Catrike. The company they’re really looking out for their customers — didn’t have a dealer in his area, and they were the initial customer, which is me, and then the interested in doing business. Cohen decided he end customer.” would take a trip to Orlando to see the factory for Cohen was sold. He ordered three Catrikes himself, and take a test ride, before he jumped in on the spot. About a week later, back home in with Catrike. This was in March 2018. Evans, he ordered three more. A week later, he “I went down there and I was blown away,” ordered eight. Cohen said. Customers started driving to Chain Reaction First there was the factory, occupying about Bicycles from a couple of hundred miles away. Cohen 30,000 square feet, with 10,000 square feet was all in on Catrikes, and the word soon spread. devoted to production and the remainder for “We had every model in stock, ready to ride,” he offices and warehouse space. This was a top- said. “We made the commitment to do that, which notch facility, with two rows of assembly stations, was a big jump, a financial jump. We’re bringing in racks of parts, and high-tech machinery on the CONTINUED ON PAGE 56

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ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 47 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 Camasmie settled on recumbent D’AMBROSIO: CATRIKE trikes because they were more like

MAY 31–JUNE 2, 2019 a lot of inventory, using a lot of physical a little car with braking and steering space, but we said ‘You know what, let’s dynamics that made sense to the go for it, let’s do it.’” auto engineer. But recumbents were The approach has paid off. stuck in 1970s, Egeland said, with long BikeTravelWeekend.org Remember that guy who initially wheelbases and “super nerdy people” annoyed Cohen into carrying trikes? riding them. His name is Jim Meyer, and he lives “They had such a stigma,” Egeland about a mile and a half away from said. “There was nothing modern, fresh, Chain Reaction Bicycles. or mainstream.” “He has come on as a trike consultant,” Camasmie’s first decision was to Cohen said. “He has helped me grow this make his trike out of fat aluminum business. He’s retired, he loves everything tubes to make it modern. trikes. He runs our trike club and sets up “Everyone said, ‘You can’t do that,’ weekly group rides.” but he started out making a couple at Meyer plans rides far afield — to the a time and the company got traction,” Virginia Creeper Trail, or the Silver Egeland said. Comet Trail between Atlanta and Camasmie added a few employees Birmingham, Alabama. but struggled financially. In 2004, When a trike customer is coming Camasmie decided he needed to in, Cohen will often arrange for improve his manufacturing process. Meyer to meet him or her to answer “He could design an amazing questions, arrange a test ride, and product, but he couldn’t make it to save “explain everything.” our lives,” Egeland said. “He’s very effective,” Cohen said. “If Following the lean manufacturing those people are interested, they’ll buy.” methods pioneered by Toyota, Meyer receives a commission for Camasmie started to get his production each Catrike he sells. From April and inventory under control. In through December, when Cohen 2007, Camasmie brought Egeland was interviewed for this story, Chain on as a partner. Not a cyclist himself, Reaction Bicycles had sold about 40 of Camasmie wanted to work with the trikes. someone who was familiar with bike “It’s a significant part of our culture, and in particular trike culture. business,” Cohen said. “Don’t tell That was Egeland. The two met at anybody. This is blowing my secret.” a bike shop where Camasmie was TOM ROBERTSON TOM While other bike shops around showing his trike. the country are fawning over electric “We started working together,” REGISTER FOR bikes, Cohen said his eBike business is Egeland said. “I have a really good “very minimal.” sense of the way bicycle retail shops a chance to “It’s funny, eBikes are the rage work. I can talk the whole bicycle everywhere,” Cohen said. “Our trike industry language.” win a bike! business is booming. I talk to people in Egeland took a risk joining Catrike. other markets and it’s the opposite. You He says he was making a “really good need a guy like Jim. Jim is the key. Find living” as a professional surveyor and a Jim and let him help you build your mapper at a civil engineering company trike business.” while he raced bikes on the side. But Egeland never looked back. AMERICAN MADE “This was the chance of a lifetime So who’s behind Catrike? Mark and this is what I wanted to do,” he said. Egeland, a partner in the business, Egeland said he soon learned that explains that the company was founded Camasmie had created a product that by a Brazilian mechanical engineer sold itself. May 31–June 2, 2019 named Paulo Camasmie. Camasmie did “People were super passionate an internship at Chrysler, then told his about Catrikes,” he said. “Someone biketravelweekend.org wife in 1998 they were moving to the gets one and pretty soon the U.S. to build comfort bikes. Catrike was neighbors know about it. The established in 2000. dominoes start falling.”

56 ADVENTURE CYCLIST m a rch 2019 Phil Cohen understands where that manufacturing process and super CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 passion comes from. high quality.” SAYER: SAFE PASSAGE “We have people who come to trikes Egeland believes Catrike met its goal Cycling for our advocacy work, they also for lots of reasons,” Cohen said. “They with the $1,950 Eola. Now it’s time to ride took me on an inspiring ride between have issues with their backs or necks, that trike to an ever-increasing presence Ventura and Santa Barbara, in part on people with equilibrium issues, but in the bike scene in America, and abroad. the gorgeous Ralph Fertig Bike Path. that’s not the majority. The majority “We want to be in all the big cities The recently built four-mile facility try them out and have big grins on and all the top 100 bike shops,” Egeland was named after our friend Ralph, their faces. They say, ‘This is the most said. “My goal years ago was to have who passed away in 2014 but will be fun I’ve ever had on a wheeled object. one million Catrikes out there.” remembered forever for his tenacious I want one.’” How close is he? Egeland says there advocacy and this separated path that Cohen also has customers who ride are about 36,000 Catrikes on the road takes cyclists off a busy freeway shoulder. their Catrikes across the country. The right now, but sales are growing in The ride and the path were trikes can be outfitted with traditional double digits annually — up 24 percent reminders of how much we’ve racks and panniers, or use bags made in 2017, 40 percent the year before accomplished over the last decade especially to fit the trike frames. that, and were on track for 20 percent — and how much more we can do to In 2019, Catrike introduced its growth in 2018. achieve better facilities and policies, latest model, the Eola. The company “The good thing about this year from comfortable shoulders on rural already had eight different models is we’ll have a bunch of Eolas to sell roadways to safe passing laws to available in eight different colors, before the fiscal year ends in April,” excellent urban bike lanes. Thanks to ranging in price from $2,150 to Egeland said. “We’re a growing Made all of you who support this work — and $4,150, but it wanted a trike that sold in the USA company that’s doing some look for updates on exciting progress as for under $2,000. really good stuff.” we expand our advocacy efforts. “When we made the Eola we Phil Cohen from Chain Reaction wanted to get back to Catrike’s core,” Bicycles could not agree more. Jim Sayer Egeland said. “How simple can we Executive Director make it with everything we learned Dan D’Ambrosio is a contributing writer for [email protected] about trike design, but with the same Adventure Cyclist magazine.

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