I am so slack. Even Phil at Spinopsys.com posted about the Raleigh Coasting bicycle before me. But I was assured by my man on the inside that it won’t happen again. Now all we need to do is round up a Lime, an Amsterdam, and a Coasting bike for a proper shootout.
In the meantime, here’s what Reed from Raleigh had to say:
Raleigh is very pleased to be partnering with Shimano on the Coasting Project. Shimano deserves a great deal of credit for taking the initiative to start this program, to reach outside the industry for expertise, for addressing the needs of the new riders and returning riders, and for the investment they have made to ensure its success.
The Raleigh Product Manager, Kyle Casteel, worked very hard on a design that captured the spirit of Coasting and combined that with a modern take on a “classic” Raleigh look -the classic styling and 700c wheel format have been very well received by dealers and consumers. If fact, we have sold out our first delivery and the Raleigh Coasting bicycles are on dealer‘s sales floors right now.
The combination of the unique design, automatic shifting feature and the grassroots/online marketing has really resonated across a wide demographic and psychographic range of individuals resulting in coverage of Coasting in media outlets such as CNN, Forbes, Bicycling, Boston Globe, CNET, Men‘s Journal, Hemisphere, and created quite a number of posts throughout the blogosphere.
We are excited about Coasting, excited about the notice people are taking of the Raleigh Coasting bicycle and encourage everyone -new riders, returning riders, racers, all riders -to test ride one today and check out what Coasting is all about -FUN!
I think these Raleighs are far more nicer looking than the Treks. Just sayin’…
Ok, they *are* better looking than the Treks. I just saw my first Raleigh coasting bike locked up in downtown Portland. Lovely!
Yet another blog about Coasting
http://cyclingedinburgh.info/2007/04/02/coasting-the-new-cruising/
(referencing your site too!)