by Larry Lagarde

I have good news for those of you looking for a practical, reasonably priced adult folding trike. Starting now, a presale will begin for a limited number of Westport trikes that will be here in about a month or so. Purchasing your trike during the presale will lock in the price at $359 (shipping included) regardless of any shipping or other price increases that occur in the meantime.

Although I have been aware of the Westport trike for over a year, I was skeptical how many people would be interested in a traditional styled adult trike that folded. Boy was I wrong. What opened my eyes? The excited reception that the trike received from both my wife & my parents followed by countless inquiries from customers.

Two months ago, Kent sent me a sample Westport to try out. Soon after I had unboxed the trike and completed the basic assembly, my wife and parents were all oogling it and talking about how much fun it would be to ride. FUN! For my mom, it was the idea of going to the grocery, convenience store, plant nursery or nearby garage sales on it. For my dad, it was a pleasant way to exercise with my mom and enjoy the neighborhood. To my wife, it was a safe way to go cycling with the kids. Hmmm.

The day that I added the trike to RideTHISbike.com, inquiries began coming in. I wondered what was going on? Turns out that there are a lot of folks like my family that want a simple, versatile adult trike. Many have told me that they haven't rode a bike in a long time and wanted something easy to start with - something that didn't require balancing, something that's highly visible by motorists, requires little to no maintenance and takes up less space than a non-folding adult trike. People also love that they can remain seated when completely stopped, without the need to put their foot on the ground as they would need to do to keep from falling over on a regular bike.

Higher costs for production and distribution have pushed the price of the Westport from $299 to $359 and Kent has indicated that there could be more price increases soon. If you want one of these practical and fun adult folding trikes, put to rest the fear of higher prices. Participate in our presale today.

Again, there will only be a limited number of new Westport trikes coming in. Until you make your purchase, prices are subject to change without notice.

Labels: westport-adult-trike

by Larry Lagarde

If you've been waiting for an adult folding trike, I have good news and bad news.

GOOD: The folding trikes are coming.
BAD: They won't arrive until late July or early August 2008.

Demand is off the charts for the Kent Westport, one of the few adult trikes that fold. The factory is churning out 4 container loads of trikes for distribution within the USA market. Unfortunately, the factory is in China and this is peak season. The result: these adult folding trikes will not arrive until - ugh - late July/early August.

If you want an adult trike, there are other models out there but a folding trike is hard to find. Worksman makes one (Walmart sells it online); the problem is that you'll need to have a bike shop assemble it and (judging by comments from customers) the quality of the components is not all that good.

As an alternative, I like the Tri-Rider trikes. They don't fold but they're in the right price range and the component quality is better. I can also have one to you within 15 days - at least until those run out (which will be soon).

Based on the demand for the Westport folding trike, I do anticipate selling out within a month of receiving them and being back in the same situation again so here's what I'm doing. For those that definitely want to be sure they're getting one, I'm preselling 40 Westport adult trikes. Terms are a non-refundable $20 with the balance due when the shipment arrives. I expect to have 10-15 additional trikes so those that do not want to pay a deposit will just need to keep checking back at the website and order before I'm out.

The presale will begin after I get a confirmation from Kent that they will definitely have the trikes for me (I expect to know later this week). I'm also waiting on Kent to confirm the price of the new trike because production and distribution costs have increased. Once I have these last details, I'll start collecting deposits.

Labels: westport-adult-trike

Small Quantity Now Available; More To Come In June
by Larry Lagarde

About two weeks ago, the supplies ran out of the Kent Westport adult folding trike. Since then, I've been calling Kent daily to get an update on availablity. Here's some good news but you'll have to act quickly if you want one.

Although Kent's computers were showing zero Westports in inventory, they had a pallet of these folding adult tricycles at one of their subsidiary warehouses. That pallet has since been set aside for RideTHISbike.com customers.

There were only 10 trikes on the pallet so these will not last long. Once they're sold, more trikes will probably not be available until June 1st, 2008.

Although I've updated the RideTHISbike.com shopping cart so you can now order Westports again, these folding trikes are in transit and will not be available for shipping until next week.

Labels: westport-adult-trike