Boedie Cycles

[Boedie]

Todd, thanks for the info. Pretty scary with the who is page. I get some spam e-mail requests from time to time, but not too much. My wife was the lucky recipient of a Viagra add. I think that law enforcement in the future is going to more about e-commerce than anything else. People just have too much time on their hands.

I like what you are doing in your business. Finding a niche, for sure.

Chris

[DeeDub76]

Chris, I really enjoyed reading your story. I think many new builders can relate to the struggles on how to get your brand out there. Keep being consistent and it will surely pay off. You have definitely got the passion and abilities to make great bikes.

How was it when you sold your first couple frames...did you ever question yourself like, are these bikes good enough? Was it intimidating or not putting your name out there?

Darrel

[steve garro]

I truly do enjoy building frames and when I hear folks say, “Follow your Dreams.” Well, this is my dream. I wished it was as easy as that. I have built around two dozen bikes, repaired many steel frames, and built a few racks along the way. I haven’t made a dime and have spent a lot of money on materials and tooling. I enjoy building different types of bikes, and always welcome a challenge. (Probably part of my profitability issue)

Thank you for reading,

Chris Boedeker
Boedie Cycles

I'm not going to bag on you, so take this constructively, please?

Since 2008 you have built 28 frames - if you have (or, were to have) insurance at base rate, man............you would be paying ALLOT for the "privilage" to build people bikes - how has this worked for you?

You say you want a challenge, but aren't sure what your offerings are, and even ask "Why would anyone buy from me, I live in X and *****-***"

Well, Why would they?
You need to define who you are, what you sell, and why someone would pick you out of the builder cloud, because if you can't........how is anyone else to?

Let me know what you think, and feel free to turn the Q back on me - we need to define YOU so you can sell some bikes.

PS - what happened to Sam Hill? Ramblumtick, yeah? or something?
Nice Guy.
- Garro.

[Amaro Bikes]

Todd, thanks for the info. Pretty scary with the who is page. I get some spam e-mail requests from time to time, but not too much. My wife was the lucky recipient of a Viagra add. I think that law enforcement in the future is going to more about e-commerce than anything else. People just have too much time on their hands.

I like what you are doing in your business. Finding a niche, for sure.

Chris

Chris, as a general advice to avoid spam or any other issues, I've seen you've written your email address at the contact section, it would be a better option if you can replace it for an image with the email address text, because most spam bots do search all sites for the "@" character and copy whatever is left/right so to have "real" email addresses. When you show your email as an image, those bots won't be able to "read" it as it does not work as a text. I don't know it it makes any sense what I'm saying...

Also, wound't be bad idea if you can use your own domain email address, even if it's just as a redirection to your gmail or any other email service, but it does always give more of a "professional" feeling when seeing a "proper" email, rather than a free email service account. The website, as they've already told you, could be easily "tidied up" by using any of the wordpress templates if you do not want/know how to get into a website code

Cheers

[edoz]

Chris, you're not to far from the same place as far as business development goes. I could have written the same thing a year ago. Just keep on keepin on and you will slowly gain traction. I used to worry about turning down weird projects, because it might hurt my 'business' but I don't think it has. It's only allowed me to define what I do in more distinct terms. As word gets around that you turned down that fully faired, solar assist, tandem, tadpole, recumbent trike (real request) I think the peeps who want weird shit figure it out and stop asking.
Good luck, and don't go into debt. I think that's the biggest thing to ensure your longevity. I own all my stuff, and there are a lot fewer things to put me out of business if I don't have to worry about my stuff getting repo'd.

[Boedie]

Steve, thanks for the insight. Everything you propose is relative and something I really need to figure out. At this point, I build custom bike frames to people who really appreciate a detailed, locally made bicycle. Most people are searching for that locally made product- something/someone they can connect with. The community that I live in has been very gracious in supporting me, and in turn I have given back with a bike that was raffled to raise money for our local trail system. I've always heard that in order to be profitable, you have to expand past your local community.

What you ask is the question that I have been trying to figure out. It's not that I haven't given it any thought, I just don't know the answer.

As for Rumbeltik, I heard he went of business years ago. Not too sure on the specifics.
Regards,
Chris

[Boedie]

Chris, I really enjoyed reading your story. I think many new builders can relate to the struggles on how to get your brand out there. Keep being consistent and it will surely pay off. You have definitely got the passion and abilities to make great bikes.

How was it when you sold your first couple frames...did you ever question yourself like, are these bikes good enough? Was it intimidating or not putting your name out there?

Darrel

Darrel, thanks for the message. As for the first couple of frames I sold, I felt pretty confident in the build of the frames. That doesn't mean that I didn't think about them bombing down fire roads or steep Seattle side streets. I think that just makes you human thinking of what can happen. The one thing that you have to do is not dwell on it........and do everything in your power to make the best bicycle you can. I made sure to mock up with parts before I sent them to paint. I have skipped that step since then, and it can be nerve racking second guessing whether you left enough room for that crown or this small ring. I really like sticking wheels on a bike to double check angles and measurements. An ounce of prevention goes along way in providing sleep.
Regards,
Chris

[adarn]

Hey,
You're in MT too!
I just stumbled upon your flickr page and your work looks awesome. I have lots of friends from Whitefish, I'll have to find you if I'm ever near by.
It seems like you're a little further along the road than me, but it's cool to see that you're doing it!

Adam

[Boedie]

Hey,
You're in MT too!
I just stumbled upon your flickr page and your work looks awesome. I have lots of friends from Whitefish, I'll have to find you if I'm ever near by.
It seems like you're a little further along the road than me, but it's cool to see that you're doing it!



Adam

Hey thank you Adam! Definitely look me up when your up. Your work looks pretty awesome. Keep it up.
Chris

[Hawker]

Chris!

So nice to see your post here. I am your Seattle customer, proud owner of Boedie #10, as shown here:

Light Commuter | Boedie Cycles

I wanted to let you know that Boedie #10 is still a great bike and still going strong. The bike's story: I ran across Chris because he had a frame (I think it was the Lithium Flyer) on display at at a bike show some time in early 2009, squeezed into the booth of Recycled Cycles during the Seattle Bike Expo. It was just one lonely frame in the middle of a display booth but something about the bike caught my eye. I was shopping for a commuting bike/light touring bike and was intrigued by the idea of getting a second bike from another local builder (I also own a Davidson by the local legend, Bill Davidson). Some time later I was riding a century and spotted a rider on one of Chris's other bikes, and the rider told me how much she liked the bike and how much she liked working with Chris. So I got in touch with Chris, we started talking, and before you know it I was the proud owner of Boedie #10.

A couple of things I liked about working with Chris: great guy to work with, responsive, listened carefully to what I wanted and responded. He also was really helpful in helping me think through component choices...he built the bike up with a collection of parts from my parts bin, some new parts, and some used brifters we (maybe Chris?) scored off eBay. As a seasoned mechanic, he also did a great job building up the bike. The finish is superb, and has held up really well in the five years I've owned the bike.

I put a ton of commuting miles on this bike from late 2009 through 2011, and also went on one credit-card tour in the San Juan Islands. I have a dynamo hub now that I use for winter commuting and late night rides. Unfortunately, the bike didn't get a lot of use in 2012 through just recently as I was out of the country on a long-term work assignment....the first thing I did when I got back is put the Boedie and Davidson on the stand and get them tuned up and ready to go. I'm s-l-o-w-l-y riding myself back into shape and hope to be commuting again on the Boedie by spring.

Best of luck to Chris...and to anyone looking for a nice custom frame from an easy going and thoughtful guy, I'd recommend you give Chris some thought...

[Boedie]

Hey thank you very much Steve! Glad it still serves you well!
Best,
Chris