Where’d it all start ? The HandleBar went through an interesting process trying to introduce the Pedal Pub® concept to the various branches of the city of Detroit government before most knew what it was. We’re very proud to have blazed the path that allowed us to introduce it to Detroit; which is why we call ourselves, “The Detroit Original” 🙂
The history of the pedal pub dates back to the world headquarters of the bicycle – in The Netherlands. 20 years ago the bike that you see in Detroit, Michigan today was invented by Brothers Henk and Zwier Van Laar. They were asked by a friend who owned a bar to make a float for the Queen’s Day Parade – the request was to make a float combining 2 favorites of the Dutch: Beer and biking. Henk and Zwier went to work and what you see is the result! After the parade it was such a hit they started renting it and the rest is history.
We’re honored to offer tours of Detroit with the world’s first bicycle bar. Look close and you’ll see dutch wording “Het Fietscafe” on the bike, which is a word that Henk and Zwier made up of existing words (Het = the, Fiets = bicycle, cafe = bar) Something else The HandleBar is proud of is that we’ve made design improvement suggestions to the clutch system and they have already been implemented to the bikes that are shipping worldwide
Curious about what The HandleBar experience is really like? Check out these photos of riders having a great time with friends, family, and coworkers while biking and checking out bars downtown.
We are more than happy to help you better understand what The HandleBar experience is all about, how to book your tour, and to let you know what to expect during your ride through our amazing city’s streets.