Article Contributed on: 4/17/2009 3:30:31 PM
Just a couple of years ago,
Kyle Manuel was working in the concrete jungle of New York City, putting his industrial design degree to use at a company that designs medical devices.
He was living to work, he says, and one day that didn't seem quite right. So, Manuel and his fiancé packed up and moved to a place they could work to live.
Hello, Colorado.
The 27-year-old Manuel is an avid rock climber, and while he had plenty of rock-climbs lined up when he moved here, he didn't have a job lined up, just some leads.
One of those leads was at Main Street Pedicabs in Broomfield. He got the job, and 1 ½ years later, he's the main welder at the company -- "they liked my technique and my accuracy, so they kept me around" -- he handles ordering the inventory, as well as whatever else needs to get done.
"We wear a lot of hats in this company," he says.
If you aren't familiar with a pedicab, think rickshaw attached to a bike. Main Street Pedicabs is the largest pedicab manufacturer in the United States, and as pedicabs become more popular, the company -- and Manuel -- become busier. Main Street Pedicabs has sold 2,000 pedicabs since its inception in 1992. The pedicabs are hand-made, and Manuel welded most of those together (they sell one model that comes to the shop already welded).
Pedicabs are becoming more popular as a means of transporting people around cities, and during events like Rockies games or the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, they're zipping all over the place, ferrying people for around $2 per block. Pedicabs were out in force during the Democratic National Convention.
Manuel estimates there are upward of 60 or so pedicabs working the streets of Denver, and he says there might be as many as 500 in New York City.
At Main Street Pedicab's shop, Manuel grabs a long piece of steel from a rack, measures it and cuts off a piece which he welds onto a frame he's making. Once the frame is welded together, he attaches the fiberglass cab to it -- 48 inches across, padded bench that seats three adults -- and once the 21-speed drivetrain, wheels and brakes are added to it, voila: pedicab.
Each pedicab is about 150 pounds, and pretty easy to ride, Manuel says.
"You don't feel it unless you're on a hill," he says.
Manuel says he enjoys the work, and he's putting his industrial design degree to use by streamlining Main Street Pedicab's manufacturing processes -- not bad for a guy who knew more about carabiners than derailleurs when we went to work for the company.
"I didn't know much about bikes until I started here," he says. "Now I know a ton."
Manuel was born in New Orleans, La., and grew up in Lake Charles, La. He and his fiancé are in the process of buying a home in Lafayette -- Colorado, not Louisiana.
Things get busy in the shop when a big order rolls in and he's got to order all the material and weld all the frames to make sure the pedicabs get out the door on time, but no matter how crazy things get, he has no regrets about leaving New York.
"We get to listen to music all day and build bike cabs," he says. "Life's not just about work."
Main Street Pedicabs
11811 Upham St. #9, Broomfield
303-295-3822
www.pedicab.com