BioWheels Experience Blog

BioWheels Asheville’s Grand Opening was Ideal.

April 21, 2008 on 4:12 pm | In Growth | No Comments

How completely perfect. With little fanfare, BioWheels hosted a series of events at our recently completed 81 Coxe Avenue location. A couple hundred people dropped by to wish us well, spend some coin, learn something new, ride something new, or just have a snack.

Please Follow the ‘ribbon cutting’ picture to a slideshow of 3-days of BioWheels’ celebration.

The event kicked off on Thursday evening with our usual weekly road ride. This ride, however was more like an event. About 30 riders showed up including by Timmy Johnson (Nat’l CX Champ), and some of his Healthnet teammates. The group rolled out through town & got so many cheers that it felt like an actual event.

Friday morning we hosted a bike commuter breakfast. Coffee & yummies were provided by the Dripolator Coffeehouse. The day experienced lots of foot traffic and activity in the store. People came out to talk about the products we offer, the green building we built, and what lies ahead for the business & bike community.

Friday offered a full-day of demo’s from Cannondale, Cervelo, Scott & Jamis. Eric & Andy worked with people on bike-fits. At 5pm the Asheville Chamber of Commerce descended on BioWheels for a good old-fashioned ribbon cutting ceremony. Afterwards, we had refreshments and a fine social event. All the while, Matt J. taught a class on drivetrain maintenance & adjustments.

Saturday was a full day of interactions and more demos. Late in the day, Andy & Ian took of their service aprons, cocked their ball-caps & started spinnin’ vinyl. We shifted into a party atmosphere, and French Broad Brewing Company’s 13 Rebels Ale & Kolsch began flowing for the adults. Soon, there was dancing, and a generally groovy feel swept in. The crowd grew, the free raffle tickets were passed out, and Asheville Pizza showed up (we knocked back 21 larges!). Much mixin’ later, Hyla, Greta, Kris & Andy ran the raffle in which we gave out about $1000 in prizes. Leftover items were aggressively disbursed via air mail per Andy Grabowski in the always popular “schwagg toss”.

Special thanks to Chris from Cervelo, Charles from Cannondale and Eric from Cane Creek. All 3 spent a great deal of time with customers & offered products demonstrations of their latest offerings. Also thanks to Scott Bikes, Jamis Bikes, Spot Brand Bikes, Jamis Bikes & Niner Bikes for sending us some great demo bikes.

Thanks again to the following Asheville businesses that helped make our event fun & tasty:
The Dripolator Coffeehouse for coffee & baked goods, The Green Sage Cafe for the biodegradable cups, plates and forks, French Broad Food Coop for organic wine, snacks, and soft drinks, Laurey’s Catering for some delicious finger-foods, French Broad Brewing Company for the wonderful hop sodas (as always), and Asheville Pizza Company for keeping everyone well-fed with massive amounts of pie!

Thanks to everybody who supports BioWheels.
We would not be here without you!

BioWheels Asheville Grand Opening Celebration

April 4, 2008 on 6:37 pm | In Growth | No Comments

JOIN US April 17-19, 2008!

Our building is complete, Spring is here and we love to ride bikes. So, for 3 days we’ll host varied events that give you insight into what BioWheels has in store for the season.
Enjoy some free bike clinics, talk with industry professionals,
socialize with food & drink and learn about
Asheville’s first commercial green building from the people who designed and built it.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Thursday April 17
5:30 - Join us for a huge group road ride split into groups for all ability levels and led by the always courteous & knowledgeable BioWheels Race Team Members. There will be some demo bikes available for test rides and some surprise industry representatives along for the ride. Call for demo info and to wish Matt a Happy Birthday (828.236.BIKE)

Friday April 18
9:30-10:30 - Ride your bike to BioWheels for coffee & breakfast from the Dripolator Coffeehouse and learn about the new “BioWheels Frequent Rider Club” that rewards you for your bike commuter miles.
All Day - Come in with your bike for a free ergonomic bicycle fit assessment with Eric or Andy - BioWheels SICI-certified fit technicians.
5:00 - Chamber Of Commerce Ribbon Cutting. What’s a Grand Opening without a little pomp? We’ll pull out the big scissors and officially open the doors to Asheville’s first commercial green building. Refreshments & Snacks will follow.
5:30-6:30 - ‘Demystifying The Bicycle Drivetrain‘ is a free clinic to teach you the skills you need for proper drivetrain maintenance & adjustment to keep your bike running more smoothly and save you money.

Saturday April 19
11:00-5:00 - Vendor Reps will be at BioWheels for a trade-show-style product experience. There will be free product demos from Cannondale, Cervelo, Scott, Jamis, Spot and more (bring your pedals, shoes and helmet if you like). There will also be lots of free schwag that you need to come to find out about!
5:00-10pm - Open House Party, BioWheels-style - local beer from French Broad Brewing Co., organic wine and snacks from French Broad Food Coop, pizzas from Asheville Pizza Co. …and its all served with compost-able/biodegradable cups, forks, plates from The Green Sage cafe.

SEE YOU THERE!

BioWheels Asheville has ‘Raised the Bar.’

February 6, 2008 on 6:14 pm | In Growth | No Comments

BioWheels opened the doors before the building was actually complete. (We were closed only 2 days during the move!). We are still preparing to have a blow-out grand-opening party this Spring. There is still touch-up painting, small carpentry projects to complete before we will call it done. Fortunately, customers have kept us so busy that we have not had the time. And yes, we are still saving up for some fancy signs.

Moving forward, our building and all hot water will be heated by the power of the sun through our newly installed solar hot water panels. Incidentally, the efficiency of our building kept even our highest summer electrical bills low (especially compared to our 76 Biltmore address). Next to air conditioning, heating of space & heating of water are typically the top two utility expenses. After we have one year of billing, we plan to publish our energy audit on this website.

Since our relocation, our sales have grown and our staff has changed. Both Nate & Lela have moved on. Lela will still lead road rides, and Nate is on the BioWheels-sponsored Industry 9 Pro Road Team. Their departure was timed perfectly the arrival of Andy Grabowski. Andy has been a long-time friend of BioWheels. Born & raised in Asheville, Andy has been in the bike industry since his first W2 form. He is an incredible mechanic, and also brings tremendous product knowledge to BioWheels family. “These guys have it going on, and I want to be part of it” stated Andy.

In the Service Department, we have sold off many our older tools and replaced them with fresh ones. We have also replaced our mineral spirits parts cleaner (a varitable fire bomb) with a microbial system, so the formerly filthy underbelly of our service department is now a warm soapy tub that uses the greenest cleaning technology on the planet. Our workbenches are 100% recycled newpapers and our countertops are 100% sunflower husks - both are held together with soy-esthers.

Our bike vendors - Scott, Cannondale, Bianchi, Jamis, Cervelo, Ellsworth, Breezer, Maverick, Independant Fabrications, Swobo, Niner, Spot & Schwinn - have all given us the big ‘attaboy’ for our eco-efforts.

Thanks to all of you BioWheels customers who ‘get it’! You understand that BioWheels reinvests your purchases into our entire community, not just our personal retirement, and that we are eco-conscious with our buying decisions.
Follow this final picture to a slideshow of Winter ‘08 store shots.

How to Contribute to BioWheels.Com

August 22, 2007 on 5:55 pm | In Growth | No Comments

BioWheels new blog-based format is designed to help our community communicate about bike related ideas & experiences.

We are developing a step-by-step process on How to Contribute to BioWheels.Com. The skills you will develop will give you a head-up during the revolution, which “will not be motorized”. Here is a printable file to get you started called How to Contribute to BioBlogs.

Since 1996, this website has been collecting fragments of bicycle life. A rich tapestry of experiences has been created. Please peruse our archives for ideas.

BioWheels Asheville’s Green Renovation is based in our ideals.

June 21, 2007 on 9:23 pm | In Growth | No Comments

On Saturday, June 9th, 2007 BioWheels opened our new doors to the public. It took us 18 months, but the community response indicates it was worth the work. BioWheels has built a home as good as our name. “We’re putting the ‘Bio’ in BioWheels”, we explained simply to the bank. That was good enough for them.

Effectively, we took a building in Asheville’s Core Business District, that would have certainly been demolished by a myopic developer, and recycled it - the whole darn thing.

Here is the complete Photo Essay on the project.

The Complete Construction Story is here in draft form:
BioWheels-Asheville’s Complete Construction Story

Check out the Green Construction Critique from the Pros @ New Life Journal.

“Green Renovation” Highlights 81 Coxe Avenue

Entire 1920’s building saved from the wrecking ball

Recipient of NC State Energy Improvement Loan Program

First commercial Green Renovation in Asheville

Materials sourced through locally-owned businesses whenever possible

Energy modeling by Home Energy Partners & Simms Engineering

Hydronic Radiant Floor system with solar-heated water and natural gas backup installed by Solar Dynamics.

Solar Collectors supplied by FLS Energy provide domestic Solar Hot Water and heat 2600 sq ft floor with 8 solar collectors.

Insulation installed: 6”-9” Icynene in the east & south walls from Home Energy Partners, 2” blue-board used under new concrete slab and in the west & north walls

Infrastructure installed to produce electricity from solar panels. Currently donate to NC Greenpower - Plans for a photovoltaic array are developing.

Energy-efficient windows & skylights installed throughout the building - All are double-pane with insulated frames

Paints & finishes: Vegetable-based paints, stains and sealers from Shelter Ecology

Reflective & Insulated (R30) Mule Hyde roof installed by Dry Ridge Roofing

Countertops are 100% sunflower husks, recycled newspaper & soy esters

Of the 80 light bulbs in the store, all but 6 are compact fluorescent.

Stormwater Permit: In compliance with Federal Clean Water Act, All roof water is diverted to a storm drain. Positive Backflow Preventer installed.

Outside garden spaces add beauty, shade and an 80 sq. foot rain garden that helps capture parking lot run-off - plantings installed by Quality Forward.

Custom cabinets were built & installed by Rob Bullock (co-owner of Sante’ Wine Bar). They are built with formaldehyde-free birch plywood & solid local birch.

Flooring & stairs use amazing renewable Bamboo

State-of-the-Art, non-toxic, skin-friendly microbial parts cleaner

Organic Pebble-Dash stucco for a ‘lifetime’ exterior

A 900 cfm exhaust fan for indoor air quality can create a cross draft from the operable front transom windows.

Gypsum Sheetrock is used as an inert and neutral wall-covering.

Energy-efficient, ductless Mitsubishi A/C units filter air & dehumidify

All water is filtered once with double-filtered drinking water.

ADA (American Disabilities Act) shower installed for employee bike commuters.

The building is completely ADA compliant.

Massive recycling effort for all materials removed from building. Existing interior wood framing was recycled into walls and used in concrete forms.

Total compliance with the Asheville UDO (Unified Development Ordinance)

Underground Utilities (not a wire is visible!)