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Rock The Bike

Have welder, will travel: Mike Cobb’s mobile welding rig

ike Cobb came up with a trailer-based mobile welding setup that allows him to bike anywhere in the Portland area, and repair anything from a bicycle frame to, well, a broken spatula.

Mike's mobile welding setup

The setup includes a thick wool sweater, welding hood,  lightweight inverter-based welder, angle grinder, and various other tools. Alas it requires plugging into AC current, but at least it doesn’t require 220-volt current.

He’s learned to weld without a workbench, which requires modifying his technique to use his right elbow to work the amperage contol pedal. He also rolls with a padded cordura nylon ground mat and kneepads.

The welder is protected against rain by a stretch rain cover that hugs the rails of the Blue Sky Cycle Cart. The folding Bike Friday can be packed into the trailer, and hoisted onto an AMTRAK train without a surcharge.

Check out the full web album or contact Mike through Rock the Bike.

We eat our own dog food

One evening I dropped off a DLG to a customer on 18th St. in San Francisco. As he opened his door and walked down his steps towards my glowing bike, he said “You guys really eat your own dog food.”

We are a bicycle based business. We do not have a company car. We use public transportation and bike to work. We ship our products on our Xtracycle SUB’s.

Being a bike based business has been a conscious choice. We’ve had chances to buy and use cars that were very affordable. And we do borrow vehicles occasionally for distant or especially awkward tasks, perhaps 4-5 times per year.

The main benefit of being a bike-based business is that we get to be out there in the bike community. It helps us connect with future customers and employees. And it feels good to carry your DLG orders to the FEDEX depot on our bikes.