The California Bike: Model Urban Bicycle Reaches Africa

Posted: 01 Aug 2003

Related to: California Bike Project, Strengthening Bicycle and Rickshaw Industries,
Contributed by: Paul White, ITDP

Mention “bicycle” to most Africans and they think of the dull, black, old English roadsters their grandfathers used to ride to market on Saturday morning. With this month’s arrival of 2,000 “California Bikes” in Senegal, Ghana and South Africa, ITDP and the Trek Bicycle Corporation hope to change that image.

“People have bad experiences buying bicycles here in Accra, Ghana” said Magnus Quarshie, a leading urban planner. “The quality of African bicycles in the last several years has declined precipitously. Driving a car is the hallmark of success and modernity, whereas bicycling is for some poor old chap back in the village.”

To help remedy this situation, John Burke, President of Trek Bicycle Corporation, offered assistance to ITDP’s Access Africa program. Together, ITDP and Trek’s engineers designed the California Bike, which was created to raise the standard for modern, stylish, urban utilitarian cycling.

“Affordability was primary, but we wanted something durable, user-friendly, and attractive,” said Burke.

In addition to donating Trek’s design and branding expertise, Burke convinced other leading companies, including SRAM and Giant China, to contribute at-cost product and services to develop the bicycle. The bike’s yellow color was chosen to ensure that the bike will be visible at night. A derailleur protector, fully encased cables and other features help increase the bike’s durability.

The bicycles will be sold exclusively through the California Bike Cooperative, an association of existing local bike dealers that share a commitment to the transformation of their cities. By grouping together bike orders from many of small dealers, ITDP was able to reach the scale necessary to get such good quality at a low price. With funding from US AID and Alternative Gifts International, hundreds of bicycles will also be distributed to students, health care workers, and women’s business collectives.