Denver — A quick picture from the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education: This little hot rod seemed to be the hit of the expo floor. It’s an industrial-strength tricycle manufactured by Worksman Cycles, a 112-year-old custom-bike company from Brooklyn. (The New York Times has focused on Worksman as one of a set of companies that the newspaper is following through the economic downturn.)
Worksman has made these bikes for major manufacturers, which use them to shuttle tools and parts around their factories. But the company is also making a play for college facilities departments with this big-boy trike.
“Get those facilities guys out of those golf carts!” said Worksman’s sales rep when I stopped by the booth.
“And get them some exercise,” chimed in a sustainability director from a community college who had taken the trike for a test spin around the expo and was seriously considering buying one. The bikes run under $1,000, the rep told me.
The bikes might be difficult and impractical on hilly campuses, but on relatively flat campuses they could prove to be a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative to some carts. (Of course, there are cases where carts and maintenance trucks are absolutely necessary.)
The expo also featured super-tough Worksman cycles that had been made for the University of Colorado’s bike-share program. The company’s home page features a picture of the bikes made for the University of Central Oklahoma.
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