Upon walking through the front door of AutoBike co-founder, Sean Simpson's house, it was evident what his passion was: bicycles. The foyer had inverted bikes with wheels off, wires hanging down; the dining room table was filled with boxes of gears, small servo motors, battery packs, spools of wire, electrical connectors and tools. A dozen bikes, in various states of assembly lay littered throughout the house. The living room had a pair of 4' tall whiteboards with tasks and timelines instead of the typical hanging artwork.
Yes, it was time to find a facility to house the ever-expanding inventory of parts, bikes, and test equipment. Wanting to stay within commuting distance of the founders, the search focused on two areas, downtown Detroit and southern Oakland County. Fortunately, a facility already known as a former speed shop, became available. Its owner, a supporter of new businesses, was flexible in allowing AutoBike to rent just the amount of space needed at very attractive terms.
Located on the border of Clawson and Troy, at 185 Elmwood Dr., AutoBike, Inc. officially took occupancy on December 1, 2012. Its spacious 7,000 square foot space includes 1,000 sq. ft. of office space, 1,000 sq. ft. of research and development, and 5,000 sq. ft. of open manufacturing space where the Voyage and Voyage ST bikes will be assembled, tested, packaged and staged for shipment to customers.
What started as the "Motor City Investment Club" by five friends in 2008, had morphed into AutoBike, LLC in January 2010 and ultimately became AutoBike, Inc in 2012 after two of the founders spent three months at Betaspring in Providence, RI gaining valuable insight into start-up company’s financing, marketing and sales. We will start production in April and welcome visitors to stop by, check out our facility and, more importantly, take a test ride on our truly revolutionary bike, the Voyage.
Be sure to check us out at AutoBike at www.evolvethebike.com or on Facebook. Article contributed by AutoBike team
Created by Sarah Blanchette (scblanch@oakland.edu) on Monday, April 22, 2013 Modified by Sarah Blanchette (scblanch@oakland.edu) on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Article Start Date: Monday, April 22, 2013
was filled with boxes of gears, small servo motors, battery packs, spools of wire, electrical connectors and tools. A dozen bikes, in various states of assembly lay littered throughout the house. The living room had a pair of 4' tall whiteboards with tasks and timelines instead of the typical hanging artwork.