09-24-2008
Limited Hours During InterBike Show
09-17-2008
TerraTrike Featured In Rapid Growth Media Article
09-15-2008
TerraTrikes To Be Featured On Nickelodeon Gameshow
TerraTrikes will be featured on the kids cable channel Nickelodeon’s new show titled "My Family’s Got Guts".
The game show is an obstacle course type race pitting one family against another. The TerraTrikes will be the vehicle of choice for one of the elective stages.
"We are really excited to be a part of this show" says Jeff Yonker, Marketing Director at TerraTrike. "Many of us here grew up on the original Guts show from many years ago and it’s neat to see a whole new generation enjoying TerraTrikes. We hope this encourages familys to get out and trike as a family"
The show, which is filmed in Orlando Florida premiers tonight and airs regularly at 8PM ET.
Extreme Sports + Family Time = GUTS!
Nickelodeons My Family’s Got Guts Official Homepage
09-15-2008
Cruisers Have Arrived!
We just recieved our shipment of Cruisers today and already they’re going fast. Hurry to get your order in as these won’t last long.
08-05-2008
Grand Rapids Press Features TerraTrike
Local trikemakers riding high
Monday, August 04, 2008
By Kristi Jourdan
The Grand Rapids Press
KENTWOOD -- They call it the "TerraTrike grin."
It’s the toothy smile first-time riders have as they slide into the beach chair-like seat of a TerraTrike, a low-riding recumbent tricycle.
But its makers at WizWheelz Inc. in Kentwood are smiling for another reason. As gas prices hit $4, the company’s sales have noticeably increased.
People are trading their four wheels for three.
"People want to get on the green bandwagon, and we built the bandwagon," said Jeff Yonker, marketing manager. "Every time the gas prices go up, the phone’s been ringing off the hook. People are looking for alternatives to get to work."
WizWheelz doubled it’s space in January and might need more room soon.The company, which says it is the largest in the world and the only in Michigan making recumbent trikes, assembles them in the Kentwood warehouse to be shipped to customers worldwide.
WizWheelz uses parts from local suppliers as well as overseas.
About 90 dealers nationwide carry TerraTrikes, which come fully assembled. The trikes can be taken to any bike shop for repairs and adjustments because parts are similar to traditional bicycles.
TerraTrike’s reclined seating spreads the rider’s body weight over a larger area, increasing comfort, while easy handling and pedaling allow for a safer ride, the company says.
Riders also are closer to the ground, giving a shorter distance to fall should an accident occur. And the feet-up position allows the body to effectively circulate blood, increasing oxygen to the muscles for a longer, less tiring ride, the company says.
"People are realizing they can save money on gas but also ditch the gym membership," Yonker said. "We’ve seen unprecedented growth within the last year."
Although the company doesn’t claim to be "treehugging," its 12 employees do everything they can to be environmentally friendly. Only hand tools and a limited amount of electricity are used to assemble the trikes, which usually take one person almost two hours to put together.
After riding 1,000 miles, riders will balance out the trike’s carbon footprint, the company says.
"Our motto is, ’Be part of the solution.’ We’re not telling people to stop driving cars; we’re just showing them this is one way they can make a difference," Yonker added.
Send e-mail to the author: kjourdan@grpress.com
08-04-2008
New Trade With TerraTrike Contest Announced!
A new Trade With TerraTrike contest has just been announced with 9 ways for someone to trade for a new trike. This months trike is the Path ($999).
07-28-2008
TerraTrike Dealer Featured On Public Radio
Local Alfred Station, NYl bike shop owner and TerraTrike dealer Peter Stull of the Bicycle Man was featured this past week on Public Radios "The Environmental Report"
The spot which featured Stull and his shop, talked about the surge in recumbent bike sales
Bicycles are about as green as you can get. They’re economical and provide great exercise. But a lot of people draw the line at hunching over those skinny, hard seats. There are bikes that offer more ways to ride, whatever your age or size.
07-27-2008
TerraTrikes featured on WZZM TV spot
Even the foosball table made a cameo!
Click here to view the video or watch below.
07-18-2008
Trade With TerraTrike Winner Announced
We announced the winner of our first ever Trade With TerraTrike Contest today.
And theWinner is...
Jeffrey Wollberg!
Jeff was able to trade us full accomodations with a couple condos in Las Vegas for the week of the InterBike convention (Which we were going to go to anyways). Now it has turned into an employee team building week getaway. WooHoo!
The trade offers were funny, ingenious and generous. It made for alot of heated discussions and bell laughs around the clubhouse. Many of these offers were worthy of the trade but we had to pick just one.
So congratulations to our first winner, Jeffrey, and thanks to everyone who participated. It was an over whelming experience for us. The response was greater than we expected and several of the offers were real contenders. Because of the success of this, we have decided to keep the ball rolling and do another trade contest next month.
This one will be even bigger and have more opportunities for several of you to trade. Feel free to re-submit your same offer or dress it up a bit - we might take you up on it next time. Watch August 1 for details.
We’re still keeping our fingers crossed for a wienermobile!
07-07-2008
TerraTrike Featured On CNN Segment
TerraTrike founders Jack Wiswell and Wayne Oom as well as Marketing Manager Jeff Yonker were featured on CNN Internationals weekly show called The iReport this weekend.
The segment which talks about the “Going Green” movement and small businesses that are making a difference interviewed the three at their shop in Kentwood Michigan.
“Our Part Of The Solution video featuring Dan Price is what caught their attention” said Yonker, “and they not only were intrigued by his story, but also by the TerraTrike itself and the culture here at WizWheelz”.
The iReport airs on Saturday (6:00pm EST), Sunday (6:00pm EST) and Tuesday (1:30pm EST) and our segment can be viewed at http://www.cnn.com/ireportforcnn or below. Look for the TerraTrike segment at 4:27 into the video.
07-01-2008
Car Free Challenge Starts Today
Second annual TerraTrike Car-Free Challenge hosted by BentriderOnline begins today!
Live without your car for 30 days between the dates of July 1 and August 15th and qualify to win free a TerraTrike Cruiser! Contestants will keep an online diary of their daily challenges, adventures, and milestones. One participant will take home a new TerraTrike Cruiser! Participate (or just follow along) by signing up for a free BikeJournal.com account and join the group entitled ’BentRider Car-Free Challenge’. Then simply log your trips and keep a diary of your progress. The winner will be chosen at random. This was a lot of fun last year and we’re very excited to sponsor this great event once again. So make your plans now to park that gas guzzler for 30 days and join the challenge. Can YOU do it?
More details are available on bentrideronline.com.
07-01-2008
TerraTrike Employees Challenge Each Other In Commute Contest
In tandem with the "Car Free Challenge", Employees at TerraTrike have started a contest to see which employee can commute the most miles and most days to work for the month of July
"We all commute to work depending on our schedules anyways" says Marketing Director Jeff Yonker, "So we thought we should have a contest along side the 30 day challenge. The winner not only gets a paid day off, but more importantly bragging rights around the shop".
You can check the leader board daily at http://www.terratrike.com/challenge.php
07-01-2008
Holiday Hours
06-30-2008
Paths are back in stock!
Paths are back in stock but they’re going fast. Hurry to get your order in as these won’t last long.
06-30-2008
Last Day of "Trade With TerraTrike" Contest
Already the "Trade With TerraTrike" contest has been an overwhelming hit! Today is the last day for submissions and we will accept them up until 12:00 p.m.
We will then be taking a breather to look over all the entries and decide which one we’ll pick. It’s going to be tough - there are a lot of good ones.
05-31-2008
Cruisers Sell Out In Record Time! Hotter Than Hannah Montana Tickets!
Our shipment arrived at yesterday at 8:30 a.m. and we were officially sold out by 1:30, selling out faster than the Hannah Montana concert here this past winter. This is a record for us.
We have a limited quantity of Cruisers coming in late June, so get your orders in NOW. Seriously!
Otherwise our next batch after that is scheduled to arrive late July.
05-30-2008
Cruisers are Back In Stock! Again!
We just recieved our shipment of Cruisers today and already they’re going fast. Hurry to get your order in as these won’t last long.
05-30-2008
Tours Also Back in Stock!
05-29-2008
2008 Car Free Challenge
Bentrider Online along with TerraTrike is again sponsoring the second annual Car-Free Challenge. We will be providing the winner with a brand new Cruiser. The Car-Free Challenge encourages people to use a bike (or Trike) exclusively for the entire month of July. Contestants will keep an online diary of their daily challenges, adventures, and milestones. Participate (or just follow along) by signing up for a free BikeJournal.com account and join the group entitled ’BentRider Car-Free Challenge’. Then simply log your trips and keep a diary of your progress. The winner will be chosen at random. This was a lot of fun last year so make your plans now to park that gas guzzler for the month of July and join the challenge. Can YOU do it? More details are available on bentrideronline.com.
05-16-2008
Cruisers Out Of Stock
We are currently sold out of Cruisers.
We are currently taking orders for the next batch which is tenatively scheduled to arrive in early June, however, similar to the last shipment, these too are going quickly so be sure to get your orders in soon.
In the meantime, can we interest you in a Zoomer?
05-15-2008
New Website Launches
In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve launched our new website (you’re soaking in it now) and it contains some new exciting features. Along with a newly redesigned look and feel, the site features videos, interactivity, a virtual salesman, a Dealer intranet and a new shopping cart.
Stop reading and go look around. You can come back when your done - we’ll wait for you.
“We’ve re-designed this site from the ground up” says Jeff Yonker, Marketing Manager and web designer for WizWheelz. “The old site had been up since 2005 and had accomplished it’s purpose, but we needed to bring it up to date in line with our current re-branding campaign and to take advantage of current technologies”.
“We are hoping to bring more people into the triking lifestyle. The new site has an ever growing community section that promotes not only triking, but environmental and health awareness. Our riders feel as passionate as we do about triking, and we want to include them into our family and give them an opportunity to contribute to the site”.
05-12-2008
May 16th is Bike To Work Day
When is the last time you smelled the honeysuckle in springtime during your morning commute? Or pulled into the parking lot with a big smile plastered across your face, pumped with endorphins and ideas? Or lost weight just by going back and forth to work every day?
Likely never, if you slide behind the wheel of a metal box and fight the freeway each morning. But what if one day you left the car in the driveway and rode a bike instead?
The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16.
So pedal to work and become Part Of The Solution
05-09-2008
Cruisers Are Back In Stock!
Our latest shipment of Cruisers have arrived and we are fulfilling our back orders as quickly as possible. Although this shipment gives us Cruisers for stock - that stock is quickly being sold so get in your orders today before they run out again!
05-05-2008
Dan Price Visits And Works On New Project
Our good friend and hobo artist Dan Price has spent the last couple weeks at the TerraTrike shop working on a top secret new project and decorating the walls with his original art work.
Dan has been feverishly working on a new trike design code named ’The Vagabond’ and it is rumored to be a tank capable of carrying the multitude of gear he takes with him on his tours.
Besides working on his project, he has been acting as our in-house artist and contributing his unique style to our photos, walls and adding a unique perspective to our lively conversations.
Catch up with where Dan is currently through his blog
03-12-2008
As Gas Prices Increase, Local Company Profits.
The local Kentwood company is the nation’s largest manufacturer of 3 wheel recumbent trikes and sells both direct and through a dealer network. ’We’re seeing an increase not just locally, but also with all our dealers across the U.S.’ says Yonker. ’I think people are just getting sick and tired of paying top dollar for gas, and with commuting distances getting shorter, riding a bike or trike to work makes a lot more sense on the pocket book.’
Combined with the health benefits and the environmentally friendly aspects of ‘pedal power’, bike and trike sales are up nationwide. ’You want to get on the ‘Green’ bandwagon? Well, we built the bandwagon!’ say Yonker.
WizWheelz has set a sales record for January and February, and March is shaping up to be the same. Yonker states, ’And we haven’t even gotten into our busy season yet. When the warm weather breaks, you’re going to see everyone on a TerraTrike.’
01-25-2008
WizWheelz New Sub $1000 Trike Has Arrived. The TerraTrike Path Is In Stock And Shipping Now!
Wayne Oom of WizWheelz says, “Interest is high and pre-orders have been very strong. The Path is the most anticipated new model in our 11 year history. This product will draw many fresh faces to the triking scene.”
With a three speed internal rear hub, the Path is perfect for cruising along the bike paths in comfort and style and allows the rider to shift while coasting, stopped, or while soft-pedaling.
“Think about it; how many extra gears do you need to carry around?” says Mike Kessenich of WizWheelz. “Most riders, especially people who don’t live in particularly hilly areas, will find that the surprisingly wide gear range on the Path is more than they need. It’s a low maintenance machine that’s perfect for short commutes, neighborhood rides, and adventures on the bike path. It’s a beautifully comfortable ride.”
12-03-2007
WizWheelz Announces the New TerraTrike
Jack Wiswell, WizWheelz President, says, "The Path is a great addition to the most comprehensive line of trikes on the market. This model was designed for the rider who is new to triking and finds multiple gearing systems overwhelming and unnecessary. The Path is a low maintenance, non-intimidating machine that is terrific for neighborhood rides, short commutes, and enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the bike path. It is simple, affordable fun."
The team at WizWheelz believes that introducing this trike at the exceptional price of $999 will draw many new riders into the triking world. It is projected to be a huge seller for the Kentwood, Michigan based company. The TerraTrike Path will be available from WizWheelz.com and all WizWheelz Authorized dealers. WizWheelz is taking orders now for January delivery. The first batch will be in limited supply, so order now if you want to have the "first one on the block". For more details on the Path, visit www.terratrike.com.
Specifications:
Chromoly steel frame
Three speed internal Sturmey-Archer hub
Alloy wheelset
Disc brakes
Steel, tubular seat frame w/ comfy slung seat mesh (it literally feels like a beach chair)
Smooth and easy to control "linkage" steering
Sunset Gold powder coat
11-21-2007
WizWheelz Inks Deal With South America