Hey gang, remember Stephanie Nielson? She's been a MADSEN supporter from early on and won one of our link contests last year. Since then, we've been a NieNie supporter too. Her inspiring spirit has lifted us all.
Because of close geographic proximity (she lives in a neighboring town) we've had a chance to get to know Stephanie personally. Stephanie and her family use their MADSEN all the time and when the new 2011 model came out, Jared Madsen drove one down to swap out their older model for the new one. Just a thank-you for supporting us. Her site gets a lot of traffic, and she's been kind enough to help us spread the word to her readers. Well in her 2011-model-induced excitement she's put together a little bike rally for fellow MADSEN owners local to Utah. She also asked for a couple bikes to give away, and we hooked her up. You can see her post for the details on how to win one.
Finally - we'll have Stephanie's old bike, and a few other demo models (plus some new 2011 ones of course) available for loaning or sale down at the rally for anyone interested.
So here's the deal - you guys are awesome about helping us get the word out about MADSEN, and your enthusiasm around the new 2011 model has been very encouraging and exciting, and we love you for it.
And amidst the excitement many of you have asked us to bring the link contest back. For long-time MADSEN followers, you recall the crazy contests we held last year. The involvement of our friends and fans in helping us get the word out through that was amazing and we gave away several bikes to show our appreciation.
I checked in with some of our previous winners, and here are the words of one them, Bernadette who won a year ago.
I won my MADSEN Bike last year in the amazing Bike giveaway. I've always been an urban biker but admittedly, having four kids and all the accompanying accoutrement meant we were hopping in the van way more often than hopping on the bikes. This cargo bike has COMPLETELY transformed how we live our lives.
If we are going out for a day or a few hours, it is never a problem to haul all our food, bags, library books, groceries, etc in the cargo bike. And, I think my favorite times are when I have my 3 big kids on their own bikes, the toddler in the bucket (that's what we call it!) and his little two wheeler right there in the bucket with him. When we arrive at our destination, he too can have his bike to ride without worrying about riding the city streets.
And, as an avid second-hand junk seeker, being on a bike no longer inhibits my collecting abilities! As I can just toss any good finds right in the back of the bucket.
I love my MADSEN. Or, the bucket bike as we fondly call it. And I love the reactions it gets as we ride it down the street, with my small prince waving happily from the rear.
Bernadette Austin, TX
So we're going to do it again. Only this time - with the new 2011 model. One lucky winner will be announced on November 17th. Between now and then, to enter the contest all you have to do is help us spread the word by linking to us from your site. All the details, and images to help you can be found on our link contest page.
When running these contests, our only regret is that we can't give a bike to every crazy passionate one of you. You all have our deepest gratitude.
I won my Madsen Bike last year in the amazing Bike giveaway. I've always been an urban biker but admittedly, having four kids and all the accompanying accoutrement meant we were hopping in the van way more often than hopping on the bikes. This cargo bike has COMPLETELY transformed how we live our lives.
If we are going out for a day or a few hours, it is never a problem to haul all our food, bags, library books, groceries, etc in the cargo bike. And, I think my favorite times are when I have my 3 big kids on their own bikes, the toddler in the bucket (that's what we call it!) and his little two wheeler right there in the bucket with him. When we arrive at our destination, he too can have his bike to ride without worrying about riding the city streets.
And, as an avid second-hand junk seeker, being on a bike no longer inhibits my collecting abilities! As I can just toss any good finds right in the back of the bucket.
I love my Madsen. Or, the bucket bike as we fondly call it. And I love the reactions it gets as we ride it down the street, with my small prince waving happily from the rear.
Jared Madsen is headed down to Interbike in Las Vegas tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. No booth this year, but we'll have some bikes with us and would love to connect with anyone interested. To see the bikes in person, please drop us a line at (801) 870-1122 and we'll make sure to hook up. Can't wait to show these babies off.
Here at the MADSEN workshop, our gears have been turning nonstop. And we’re finally ready to show you the results of all our dreaming, tinkering, and building: The new 2011 MADSEN cargo bike!
To create our latest fleet of urban beauties, we’ve put our ears to the ground and listened hard to the people who’re out there on the road, riding our bikes every day. People like you. We’ve heard them profess their love for all things MADSEN—swearing they’ll trade their first-born child for a MADSEN, things like that—and yes, this pleases us. But we’ve also been truly inspired by our many customer-tinkerers, who can’t help but ask: What if?
Here’s what you’ve been dreaming about, and how we’ve granted your wishes:
"Could the ride be cushier?"
Why, yes! It can. We’ve created a more upright riding position that’s easy on your neck, shoulders, and back. And our totally re-designed saddle gives your delicate tush a lot more cush.
“What if I want to load in just a few more massive, ridiculously unwieldy pieces of cargo?”
No problem! The new 2011 MADSENs are built tougher than ever with a stronger, more durable steel frame that rides smooth and steady, even when you’re carpooling four rowdy kids to the soccer field.
“Um, my grocery store is at the top of a giant, lung-bursting hill.”
Even the strongest legs need a little help when the going gets tough—and vertical. That’s why we spec’ed our new MADSENs with an upgraded crank and dialed-in gear ratio. So you get more power for pounding up the steep stuff.
And here are a few of our own middle-of-the-night strokes of genius; things we just had to bring to life:
“What if the bike automatically locked to itself?”
Yeah, that would be cool! So we took a page from the Euros and came up with this built-in front lock, which allows you to secure your MADSEN in mere seconds.
“Cars have parking brakes. So do strollers. Why not our MADSEN?”
This simple little feature adds so much stability to your MADSEN. With the addition of a super-easy-to-use parking brake, your MADSEN won’t roll forward until you’re good and ready.
“Are we SURE it’ll stop on a dime, anywhere, anytime?”
We’ll, we’ve absolutely got to be sure. People are loading up their kids in these things, after all. That’s why, this time around, we’ve made our 166 mm disc brake easier to adjust and dial in. So you’ve got the stopping power you need. And your precious cargo is always safe.
We hope you enjoy riding our new MADSENs as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them. Now, shut down your computer and let’s roll!
We're very excited to announce that after a great deal of work, some careful listening to our customers, and a few strokes of genius, we're releasing the new 2011 MADSEN next Wednesday. There's much to share and we can't wait to get started. We'll be leaking a few fun details over on our Twitter stream between now and then, but come back on the 15th, we think you're going to like what we have in store.
Stephmodo blog featured someone using the MADSEN bucket bike to sell flowers around town. We think this is such a great idea and creative use of the bike. Thanks to Stephmodo blog and those who find great and innovative ways to use MADSEN cargo bikes everyday. To see her blog post, go to http://www.stephmodo.com/2010/07/petals-by-bicycle.html.
MADSEN Cycles is sponsoring LOTOJA again this year. The European style road classic is a scenic, one-of-a-kind 206 mile road race that runs from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Last year, Taylor, Jared, and Jake from MADSEN Cycles did road support on a modified 75lb MADSEN bike carrying tools, tires, and other bike essentials. They ended up changing 32 tires by the end of the race. Jared ended up doing the entire 206 miles on a MADSEN cargo bike. Taylor and Jack each rode half the course. We are planning on doing the same thing this year. As part of our sponsorship we have donated a bike to be raffled off to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Raffle tickets are currently on sale for this year's classic which begins Saturday, Sept. 11. For more information go to lotojaclassic.com.
We're honored to be featured in Outside Magazine's May 2010 Bike Special issue amongst the best utility bikes of 2010. They put the kg271 bucket through the paces including loading it down with "gobs of sundries and hardware; unwieldy, oversize loads that required lashing; and, on the removable benches, up to four kids" and found its "responsiveness to steering inputs" in such conditions especially delightful. Thanks Outside Magazine!
While the window for a guaranteed arrival of a bike before Christmas has closed, we're still offering FREE SHIPPING through the end of the year. Even better than that - if you don't have a MADSEN under your tree, you can drop a hint to those who really love you that you'd happily settle for a gift card under the tree.
Order by the 21st in the US and we'll get it to you in time for Christmas.
p.s. drop by and vote for us on Daily Candy's sweetest things of 2009, no registration required.
