Back by popular demand, we’re organizing two Basic Bike Clinics in Oakland during two Wednesday nights in February.

Both clinics will be held from 6:30-8pm at 205 Alice Street @ 2nd near Jack London Square

Wednesday, Feb. 6 Women’s Only Bike Clinic
Wednesday, Feb. 13 Bike Clinic Open to Everyone

In 1-hour PUBLIC employee Jillian Betterly will teach you the basic mechanics of a bike. The purpose of this clinic is to help you understand basic mechanics of a bike with special emphasis on our PUBLIC bikes. Learn how your gearing works, how to change a flat, best ways to lock your bike, and basic troubleshooting of brakes, chain and shifters.

After the 1-hour workshop, stay longer for Q&A. It’s optional to bring your PUBLIC bike or your own bike. Jillian will spend the hour doing a demo on a PUBLIC bike & then can spend some time after the Q&A helping individuals with their bikes.

This free clinic is limited to 20 participants. Please send email to rsvp@publicbikes.com to reserve your spot with the either Feb 6 or Feb 13 in the email subject line.

We’re excited to exhibit PUBLIC WORKS at one of our favorite local establishments Mission Bowling Club from February 26-May 20, 2013.

We invited a group of world-renowned designers to interpret the concept of “public” in their own voice and style, to play with the word itself if they desired, and to design large scale posters around these ideas.

To launch this exhibition, we’re hosting an PUBLIC WORKS Opening Party on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 6-9pm. We’ll offer special deals at the Opening Party on PUBLIC WORKS posters and t-shirts. Join us to inaugurate this exhibition while enjoying no-host food and full bar at Mission Bowling Club. Make a lane reservation to go bowling that evening too. We’ll raffle some special prizes too.

JOIN US FOR THE OPENING PARTY
When: Tuesday, Feb 26 from 6-9pm
Where: Mission Bowling Club (3176 17th St @ S. Van Ness)
What: Design Exhibition, No-Host Food & Drinks, Raffle
BONUS: First 20 guests who buy drinks and mention PUBLIC WORKS receives a free PUBLIC WORKS Book.

PUBLIC has invited our favorite designers & food vendors to showcase their products at our Oakland store & warehouse for a Holiday Mart on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 11am-4pm.

This is a great opportunity to shop & find some new gifts for family & friends.

Here is the tentative list of vendors:

Join us at our Jack London District store on December 8 from 11am-4pm at 205 Alice Street at 2nd (across from Amtrak station at Jack London Square).

Anyone who RSVPs on Facebook & makes a purchase during this event will receive a free copy of our PUBLIC WORKS Exhibition Book.

Please share the event with your friends via Facebook.

We’ve partnered with our friends at Harrington Galleries to invite a few more of our favorite designers to showcase at our Mission Xchange on Sunday, Dec. 16 from 11am-6pm.

This is a great opportunity to shop & find some new gifts for family & friends.

Also enjoy Malaysian street food provided by mamakSF.

Here is the tentative list of vendors:

Join us at Mission Xchange on December 16 from 11am-6pm at 599 Valencia

The PUBLIC bikes family is growing and to celebrate we’re throwing a party and sale!

Join us in our Oakland store for a celebration of the new PUBLIC S7 and PUBLIC T7 + PUBLIC WORKS.

Come check our new PUBLIC S7 and PUBLIC T7 bikes available for a limited time for $399. Alongside the new bikes we will be displaying our new PUBLIC WORKS art.

We asked twenty-seven world renowned designers interpret the concept of “public” with a vision to reclaim urban streets, sidewalks and spaces for walking, biking and eating. The result is the beautiful body of graphic art, PUBLIC WORKS.

Join us at our Jack London District store on November 3rd from 4-7pm at 205 Alice Street at 2nd (across from Amtrak station at Jack London Square).

Please share the event with your friends via Facebook.

PUBLIC WORKS will exhibit at San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) from October 23rd – November 1 (extended date). Bike over and join us.

PUBLIC, a San Francisco based bicycle company with a mission to improve the quality and character of our cities and public places announces PUBLIC WORKS. We invited a group of world-renowned designers to interpret the concept of “public” in their own voice and style, to play with the word itself if they desired, and to design large scale posters around these ideas.

When: October 23rd from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

How: Please RSVP for SPUR Exhibition Opening Party

Where: SPUR, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco

What: Design Exhibition & Refreshments.

PUBLIC WORKS posters (20×30 and 40×60) a booklet, and t-shirts will be available for sale at the show. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to SPUR, along with a raffle.

More information here.

PARK(ing) Day is one of our favorite “events” of the year with dozens and dozens of groups reclaiming parking spots throughout the Bay Area and repurposing them into temporary community-oriented public spaces. PARK(ing) Day is now a worldwide activity with people participating in cities around the world.

As part of PARK(ing) Day, we’re presenting “Lighter than Air” – an installation of colorful tall-tube balloons, inflatable balls, and a “flying bicycle.” We’re taking over a few parking spots in front of 599 Valencia @ 17th.

Riding a bicycle is the closest many of us will feel to flying so we’re creating a whimsical bicycle-themed space where everyone can sit, eat, and play.

INTERSTICE Architects and PUBLIC has developed the design concept. Harrington Galleries will provide the furniture to enjoy your dining and lounging experience.

Come enjoy free tastings of Malyasian street food from mamakSF, drinks, and other snacks.

COLLABORATING PARTNERS

PUBLIC
INTERSTICE Architects
Harrington Galleries
mamakSF

Share this Facebook event page with your friends.

From Laurence King Publishing, 100 BEST BIKES is a new book by Zahid Sardar that features the latest and finest in bicycle design and engineering. PUBLIC is featured in the book in the City/Utility bike category.

Meet author and design expert Zahid Sardar at the Inn at the Presidio on Sunday, Sept. 30th from 2-4 PM. Enjoy a glass of wine, peruse a copy of the book, and drop a business card into the fish bowl for the chance to win a FREE Biomega Boston style collapsible bike. This event is free and open to the public.

Zahid Sardar is the former design editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, Zahid Sardar continues to write for the Chronicle as well as for Dwell and other design publications. He has also written for Metropolis, Architecture, Interior Design and Surface magazines. His books include New Garden Design (2008) and San Francisco Modern (1998). He is an avid cyclist, navigating the hills of San Francisco on his 10-speed Motobecane Mirage.

According to Sardar and Laurence King Publishing: “These are the best bikes to be found anywhere right now, giving every kind of cyclist an overview of what is out there. Whether a BMXtreme or mountain bike enthusiast, a keen tourer or racer, a city commuter or courier, or simply fascinated with the constantly advancing mechanics and engineering of folding and other innovative bike designs, this book has something for you. The bikes on display come from across Europe, East and South Asia and North America, not to mention examples from the southern hemisphere. The major bike manufacturers like Boardman, Giant and Fuji are of course featured, but also more maverick material from Biomega, Calfee and Daymak. 100 Best Bikes is the essential resource for anyone wanting to know about the best in design and engineering for every kind of bike.”

You can share this event on Facebook too.

Most of our customers make a personal choice to get around or commute by bicycle. But the growing number of groups, companies, and even neighborhoods that encourage people to rethink how they move around also inspires us. Bikes get us to smile, but they also serve a valuable social function.

All of the examples below share one common thread – the bicycle is a simple and cost-effective way to create connections between people and places, while also taking care of the environment.

Some museums, like Masschusetts Museum of Contemporary Art provide bikes for their visitors to connect the museum with the surrounding area. MASS MoCa Jodi Joseph sums it up: “What better way to see the area?  An hour or two on a MASS MoCA bike rental can bring you to three world-class art museums, while you take in stunning Berkshire views, tackle truly accessible urban and rural riding, and you get in some good exercise.  Everyone wins!”

Residential communities are taking bikes seriously as well. For example, Grow Community, a neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, Washington provides a fleet of PUBLIC bikes for residents. Grow Community leaders recognize that a healthy community has sustainable transportation options that are not entirely dependent motor vehicles.

We love to see companies such as Clif Bar, Mozilla, AOL, Williams-Sonoma, Rackspace, and others provide our bikes for their employees. We produced custom bikes for Clif Bar’s 20th Anniversary giveaway to each employee. Mozilla offers fiery custom bikes for employees. Williams-Sonoma employees utilize our bikes to move between offices in San Francisco.  And many hotels, like Tribeca Grand Hotel on the Right Coast and Hotel Healdsburg on the Left Coast offer bikes for guests.

If you have other examples of enlightened groups and companies that are encouraging bicycling, please pass them onto us (or send us a photo as part of our contest). And please refer us to your company or any other groups that might be interested in the PUBLIC option.

Kim V. – San Diego, CA

take me for a ride – i’m yours
but don’t forget we need
milk and eggs

Five Runner-Up Winners

Amber S. – San Francisco, CA

Skirt too short,
I pedal down your street
hoping you will peek.

Daniel K. – Sioux Falls, SD

Soft seat snug in crotch
Riding fast over grooved roads
What good vibrations!

Christina F. – Denver, CO

Swollen tires circle
Flashing fast in tandem with
Finger flicking gears

Edwin Z. – San Francisco, CA

One speed or eight speed.
It doesn’t matter how fast -
only that we go.

Ben B – Columbus, OH

leaning on a tree
two bikes await their riders
doing it outside