Pedalr, a new online shopping site launched in mid-September, features several Portland vendors. There are currently 9 sellers from Oregon and four from Portland.
Pedalr co-founder James Hayden, says he and his team started the site because, “We felt that Craigslist and eBay weren’t cutting it for the biking community so wanted to create something bikers could call their own.” Portland has a large crop of small, bike product manufacturers and artisans. I asked a few of them why they decided to become “pedalrs” and if the site is helping their business.
Curtis Williams of North Street Bags said he hopes Pedalr expands the geographic reach of his products.
“I’m pretty focused on selling bags locally but this site will help my business get noticed from anywhere, not just in Portland. It’s well designed, easy to use (like Etsy) and it’s just for bicycles and related products. I’m happy to have my bags on their site, and to support them.”
Rachel Dominguez-Benner makes a variety of hand-sewn bike accessories under the Bike Cozy banner. She said it just “made complete sense” for her to try a site where “the common denominator is ‘bikes’.” She reports just a few sales so far but thinks Pedalr has a lot of potential if they are able to combine the best features of eBay, Etsy, and Craigslist.
Tad Bamford of TCB Racks knows one of the Pedalr founders, but he also saw opening up a store on the site as a way to market his business to a new audience. He hasn’t gotten any direct sales yet, but he has noticed a bump in traffic due to Pedalr’s mentions in the media.
Hayden sees Portland as an important market for Pedalr. He says Portland represents, “The essence of biking for pedalr – artisans, boutique manufacturers and a bike passionate community.”
Pedalr features a wide variety of vendors — from people selling complete bikes to zines to fashions, and more. Check it out at Pedalr.com.