This weekend Bigfish becomes Gigfish as it’s travelling to Glastonbury as the chosen mode of festival transport for one of the main acts.
“Glastonbury is a massive site and we thought bikes would be a good way of getting around the festival and seeing what else is going on” explained The Broken Family Band’s Jay Williams, “and the only way we could fit 4 bikes in a van with 4 musicians, a guitar tech (pictured), guitars, spare guitars, drums, drum sticks, deodorant and wellies was the Bigfish cos it folds narrow enough. And besides, it looks cool.”
Typically setting off late, Jay was kind enough to send photos of the bikes via cameraphone as they were being loaded up – in various states of fold!
The Broken Family Band are playing on saturday on The Other Stage at 11am and on the Dirty Boots Stage at around 5pm. They may or may not be doing something special with the bikes as they enter the stage…
We just wanted to highlight a great initiative by Sustrans in the UK, the Change Your World campaign.
Taking place between 29th June and 4th July 2009, it’s an initiative that encourages you to swap one car trip in the week and cycle, walk, use public transport, or car-share instead.
We can all do a little bit to ease our reliance on the car, and if you start by doing it for one day and realise how easy and fun it is to do then why not get into the habit of doing it permanently. Or doing it more days in the week?
If you’re going to Glastonbury why not pop by their stand in the Green Futures Field, or pop by their Change Your World disco, on the walkway between the Pyramid Stage and the Other Stage.
Many of you who didn’t know the Ideal World shopping channel previously will be very aware of it now after its appearance a couple of weeks ago in The Apprentice. Well Bigfish beat them to it and had an appearance a month or so ago – and we now have some video online of it.
It’s certainly not as easy as it looks to present on a shopping channel – and full respect to the presenters who bang on for HOURS! Anyway, we had a fantastic response and here’s a quick 10 second clip of Bigfish’s folding prowess. And the slightly nervous looking Scottish bloke doing the unfolding is your intrepid writer.
For those unlucky enough to use the London Underground the city is facing 48 hours of chaos due to a workers’ strike. Asking for a pay rise and guarantee of a job for life seems a crazy argument to strike for in the current economic climate, but I’ll leave that discussion for others, as my ire is not as fierce as some people’s probably is.
The reason for this? It’s actually my Bigfish folding bike. My normal journey to work is by overground train to London and then, instead of taking the underground the rest of the way to work, I cycle there on my Bigfish. It’s about a 7 stop distance, so would be a long way to walk, but the bike gets me there in no time at all. And i get to completely avoid the tube if I choose to!
Here’s a photo from the BBC News website that shows the queues that commuters are faced with today, it’s the queue for the taxi rank at Liverpool St Station. COME ON FOLKS GET ON YOUR BIGFISH BIKES!!!! You might even enjoy your journey to work!!
Was it Debbie Harry who sang “French Kissing in the USA?” I think it was… Anyway, we’re going one step further and are delighted to announce that you will soon be able to go BigFishing in the USA.
Bigfish will be available very soon in the US – so watch this space!
We just got this great video from our good friend Larry La Garde at RideThisBike in LA. This is what he has to say..
“Two days ago, I took the BigFish out for an evening bicycle ride on the Mississippi River levee trail in Waggaman, LA (just outside New Orleans). I brought my camera with me and shot video as I rode. The video you see below is the result of that ride. Hope you enjoy it. If you’re not a fan of French punk rock, you may want to turn down the volume a smidge…
If the video has you interested in the BigFish folding bike, I’m excited to announce that the BigFish will be available for purchase very soon in North America. Priced in the Mobiky/Strida range, the BigFish will appeal to city commuters and urbanites. It has a great ride, rolls when folded and 3 speeds (with rear coaster brake).”
Conservative Party leader David Cameron has only gone and done it again the poor old sausage. He’s only had his bike stolen again.
Offering our deepest sympathies we got straight on the phone to the Conservative Party HQ and offered a replacement bicycle for David in the form of a Bigfish Folding Bike - the simple reason being that he could fold it up in seconds and take it right into the building with him, never having to leave it chained to railings (or thief-magnets as you could also call them)
Unfortunately it’s against party policy to accept gifts, though the very nice people we spoke to in his office thought it was a fantastic idea and were very disappointed to be unable to accept.
Here’s a screengrab from the BikeBiz website relating to the offer…
On my journey into London last friday i couldn’t resist taking this photo.
This is my Bigfish folded up on the train next to a normal bike – look how much less space the Bigfish takes up! And it’s also worth noting that, had we been travelling at peak times, the gentleman who owns the non-folding bike would not even have been able to take it on the train with him!
And of course… once unfolded, Bigfish’s dimensions are exactly the same size as a full-size bike anyway! How cool is that! One-nil to the Bigfish rider I’d say!
Spotted in London getting off the train at Victoria!
The ability to wheel your folded bike along with you is one really unique thing about Bigfish, and it saves a lot of bashing of knees and straining of shoulders.
And when the train is crowded, because Bigfish folds flat and can be held upright you can keep it close into your body and avoid the ire of your fellow passengers who get fed up with other folders down at their feet.
(And you might hear the odd ‘wow!’ when you’re pushing or pulling it along with you…)
Plant a flower, or a tree, or turn the lights off, take the telly off standby, have a shower with a friend, skip major fast food chains just for one day, or …..
You know what….
These are all good things, but the best thing you can possibly do is just get out on your bike! Why not make it a Bigfish in fact, because this will help you make every day an Earth Day, as it will enable you to make a small difference one day at a time.
Bigfish gives you the freedom to choose when to cycle, and you can still use your precious car as you can just pop the bike in the boot. How’s that!
And now making it even easier for those of you in the UK, our Bigfish UK website is now LIVE, making ordering even easier and quicker!!!
Ok, now go and plant that flower too! ‘Here’s one we made earlier’ as they say…
Bigfish has just had its first 15 minutes of fame in the UK – with many more to come we’re sure!!
Many thanks to all those who watched us on sunday evening presenting Bigfish to the TV audience of Ideal World. And extra special thanks also to all those who bought a bike, those who contacted us with best wishes, and those who got on the phones to ask for more info.
Bigfish is is currently selling online with Ideal World at a fantastic special offer price of £499 (£100 cheaper than RRP!) – so why not kick start spring your spring fitness campaign (preparation for squeezing into those speedos!) and enjoy the beautiful weather on a Bigfish folding bike.
Remember, Bigfish is true convenience… in fact here’s a little reminder why:
Weather is unpredictable.
With Bigfish you can take your bike out with you, and if the weather does turn nasty, it’s so easy just to pop it in the back of your car, cab, or just hop on the bus or train with it.
It’s far less likely to get stolen… Because you don’t ever have to leave it unattended.
Bigfish folds so small you can take it inside with you, put it next to your table, under your desk, take it up into your flat, just leave it in the boot of the car…
Bigfish has great gearing for perfect performance in the city
3 Speed Shimano Nexus hub gears in fact. What’s great is you don’t have to be in motion to change gears (excellent for stop-starting at lights etc), and because they’re in the hub, the chain isn’t going to fall off, and there’s no hanging-down parts – so you’re far less likely to get mud and oil everywhere!
The fold!!!!!!!!
This is the really cool part that separates Bigfish from other folding bikes. You can fold it in around 10 seconds (or mississippi’s or elephants if you prefer). And what separates Bigfish is the fact that there are no complicated screwing parts, you don’t need tools to do it, and it folds around the frame rather than having a hinge in the frame, making it flatter and better performing.
So what are you waiting for??? Get yourself a fantastic deal on the hottest mode of transport you’re likely to see in a loooong time!
In fact – here’s a quick reminder of how great the fold is…
This weekend Bigfish becomes Gigfish as it’s travelling to Glastonbury as the chosen mode of festival transport for one of the main acts.
Many thanks to all those who watched us on sunday evening presenting Bigfish to the TV audience of Ideal World. And extra special thanks also to all those who bought a bike, those who contacted us with best wishes, and those who got on the phones to ask for more info.
