A NEW recumbent company in East Tennessee with a familiar bike

This press release is shipping already in RTR magazine.

You now know what insane venture I am involved in:



Koosah and Jett Creek Recumbents Get New Lease on Life
August 20, 2007

Razor’s Edge Engineering Inc. is acquiring the tooling, equipment and inventory for manufacture of the Koosah and Jett Creek long wheel base recumbent bicycles formerly designed and manufactured in Eugene, Oregon.

Production of the bicycles is expected to begin in the Spring of 2008. The bicycles will retain the same geometry and many of the features and components of the original designs. The seat and drive train components will undergo design improvements. Manufacturing of the bicycle frames and assembly of the bicycles will be in eastern Tennessee.

Razor’s Edge Engineering President Bill Gillette PE stated, “We believe there is still a following for these very well designed and versatile bicycles. With our background in automated bicycle MIG and TIG welding and manufacturing process controls we hope to be able to keep costs down while still retaining much of the metal work here in Tennessee. Our company’s background in stress analysis, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing engineering should enable us to produce a high quality bike at a fair price to the consumer. The members of our management team and advisors have many years of experience in both the conventional and recumbent bicycle business as well as the bicycle retail business. Our plan is to start and continue growth through continuous improvement, design innovation, and by listening and responding to our dealers’ and customers’ needs.”

The company will initially produce the long wheel base bicycles but will expand into the short wheel base segment as well as offer innovative new designs in bicycle driveline and accessory items. The bicycles will be sold through dealers. Dealer inquiries are welcome.

Razor's Edge Engineering Inc. is a successful professional engineering consulting business based in the Knoxville Tennessee area. The company performs design and analysis for defense related maritime welding projects as well as product development for the automotive and consumer products industries. The company’s website is www.razorsedgeengineering.com. Please contact Bill Gillette at bgillette*razorsedgeengineering.com for more information.

 

Don't you mean 2008???

 

Yes Jon.

I had to retype part of that. It is 2008 in the RTR release.....

Changed the above post already

 

In any new business there is consideral financial and reputational risk. Great to see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Tennessee. We're all behind you and hope & pray for the best in all. Let us know if there are promotional or other ways we can help. Meanwhile keep us informed. I love to watch new things grow from a shoot to a full grown "plant."

The Breeze

 

A little background: There are several advisors in this venture, some of whom you know and others who are nationally known in the recumbent industry. One person very instrumental in this is Doc at Greenlee Bike Shop. Doc is in charge of materials procurement, logistics, and labor management.

A press release tailored for local consumption is due out next week. The way you can help? We need a certain number of bikes to be sold to recoup our investment and get us more seed money. If we can pre-sell those it will ensure that we can continue. So if you know of anyone who needs a new LWB and is interested in getting a locally made bike, send them our way.


Bill

 

Cool Bill,

way to go

Those Bikes are too well made to go by the wayside.

I wil definately be talking you up

Ward

 

Check it out on BROL!!!!!!

Well that was cool!!!!!!!!Woke up this morning to see that Razors Edge Engineering is the main talk and article for today on Bentrider Online.

Check it out!!!!!!!!!


Bill

 

Need info. Price, Colors (yellow of course) Will you ship it to me in California? Picture or at least a drawing.

 

Bill, Looked up BROL and indeed you are front page news. Click here.

 

not selling yet.......

Well, we don't ship until Spring or late winter 2008.........

Yellow is a good color and we will be offering that.

If you want to know what they look like, just type in Koosah or jett creek on google and take a look at the picture. There will be no 'Burley' sticker. We are not associated with Burley at all and that was one of their stipulations in letting us have the trademark Koosah and Jett Creek names.

Price point? Probably close to the same price point that the same bikes were when they were manufactured in Oregon.....but that is still up in the air.

 

Re: not selling yet.......

There will be 3-4 standard colors of the bents: black, red, hunter green and gunmetal. We will allow custom colors later on once production is up and running smoothly.

 

Re: not selling yet.......

Already did that. It is the design I have been looking at.

Any chance that you will offer a bare frame/fork/seat package and let the buyer add their own wheels and components? I would go for this because:
1. I have 2 or 3 bikes laying around that I can take parts from.
2. People want Campy at XXX prices. Let them chose how they want to build it up.
3. I am a fair to middling mechanic and enjoy tinkering with my bikes. I will tinker with yours any way.

Either way I am looking forward to ordering one of your bikes.

 

Hey Bill, give us an update............What's happening with the bike business?? Hope everything is progressing smoothly!

Don
'03 V-Rex
'06 Formula 26
'03 Vivo
'51 Engine...

 

As far as I know the equipment is on its way here. It will be here in a few days. It got picked up in Oregon on Tuesday I believe. So it should be here pretty soon.

We signed the lease on our building today so the facility is ready for receiving now. It will be unloaded next week. We're getting close...exciting! William will probably give you more details next time he is on.

 

We won't give a lot more details until we produce our first prototype. We know for a fact that the recumbent trade magazines, sites and blogs as well as our 'competition' are watching what is going on with us.

A few of the things I can tell you:

We have a building.
Our stuff is on its way.
We have commitments for a quantity sufficient to maintain a good production rate.
We have a preliminary seat design and supplier.

Not much,I know, but there will be some 'big' news in December.

Bill