Jay pedaled! National TV debut of the Fender Blender Universale

To our delight Jay Leno climbed on a stylish white and orange step-through cruiser with a properly installed Fender Blender Universale bike blender (FBU) and blended what appeared to be a daiquiri, about 15 minutes into his show as part of the Last Minute Gifts segment. He pedaled for about 15 seconds, though to be honest I was too busy celebrating and making rock signs to count accurately. Jay had a medium-slow cadence and seemed very comfortable on the bike, smiling his trademark chinny grin and joking as he went -- "for the active alcoholic!" Although his leg extension wasn't optimized for power output, he had no problem crushing ice. He did not tuck in his pant leg prior to pedaling.

 Watch the segment on Jay's site: fast forward to 25:00 if you're in a rush. 

Above: The Fly Stick Van De Graaf effect levitation wand, one of the cooler toys on the segment. 

Of the 13 products he selected, only three -- the FBU, the Fly Stick Levitation Wand, and Snow To Go instant snow -- fell into the category of positive, educational, or amazing. The others were novelty gags.  

Six of the products were off-color: a stripping, singing Santa, a pole dancing alarm clock, and two products that involved sticking something (a pencil to be sharpened and a beer bottle to be opened) into the backside of an animal. 

Two were personal care products gone awry -- a head massager and a facial treatment system. 

At $249 The FBU was the most expensive product on the segment.  The others (apart from the Deer Rump bottle opener) were all in the $30-and-under price bracket. All of the products were available through the internet. Not a single mainstream store such as Target was mentioned. 

When the producer emailed today to say that Jay had selected the FBU for the show, I had to think for a minute where I'd be able to watch it -- there hasn't been a TV in my place for two years. Luckily Adam had one and was willing to host a viewing party. Four of us from the Rock The Bike crew, plus his two housemates, were there to take it in. At the top of the show, we took bets on whether Jay himself would pedal the bike, or an assistant. Heading into the segment, 4 out of 6 in our SF viewing party thought he'd do the deed. But at the last moment Grace changed her bet and it was 3 and 3. 

above: Adam updating Facebook status to "Jay Rocks The Bike" moments after Leno cranked out a frozen cocktail.

When the show first contacted us a few weeks ago to request an FBU, we offered to send it to them complete and built up on a Jamis city bike. We figured that they're busy TV people, not bike people, and they'd probably rather have us install it. No thanks, they said, just send hthe boxed FBU. Clearly installation was straightforward for them. The rack was perfectly level and the pitcher sat directly over the rear wheel. 

above: the FBU installed on a classic Stumpjumper with Sweetskinz tires. 

Invented in 2006 by Nate Byerley, the FBU is our most affordable bike blender, and it's the one that a lot of schools, nonprofits, and summer camps buy. Earlier this year our engineer Leif redesigned the FBU so that it goes on and off a bike without tools (once you install the aluminum rack). When the blender base is removed, you've got a strong, light, functional rack you can use to commute, carry groceries or boxes. Every FBU we sell is adding carrying capacity to the bicycle fleet of America!

Bike blending is the most approachable, affordable way to demonstrate human power at an event or school. It's a great conversation starter --  literally an awesome ice breaker -- and one of the few products that can raise environmental consciousness without a guilt trip. It gets people pedaling at events, which reminds them how awesome bikes are. Kids love it! Check out the awesome testimonials we've posted for the product.

We also recently came out with a human power generator that's compatible with every Fender Blender we've ever sold, so that a school that bought one, say, in 2007 can now add the generator and use their FBU to make power for a music system, lighting display, etc. 

Many thanks to Jay and the producers for helping to spread the cheer and magic of Pedal Power at the holidays.