What started as simply a red bike frame has been expertly transformed into a unique vending bicycle, thanks to the Precision Machining Technologies students at Pioneer Career and Technology Center.
The vending bicycle will make its appearance during the Shelby Bicycle Days festival on July 10, 11 and 12. Festival director Cody Albert said he brought the idea of building a vending bicycle to Pioneer as a way to feature the talents of their students.
“One of the goals of the Bicycle Days Committee this year is to incorporate the assets that we have both here in Shelby and in Richland County, and Pioneer is certainly an asset to Shelby,” he said. “As soon as we approached the team at Pioneer, they were on board and excited to be part of the project.”
Precision Machining Technologies instructor Chris Karl said his students were able to practice welding, designing and engineering skills in the midst of the bicycle project.
“They got to work with a table saw and woodworking, they got to stain and varnish and sand,” he said. “They learned how to take something that wasn’t supposed to be and actually come up with something that somebody wanted.”
Albert said the bicycle frame the students started with was a historical reproduction bike frame similar to a Shelby bike. He noted the project did not use an actual Shelby bike frame to save a Shelby bike from being distorted.
“We weren’t comfortable with altering a Shelby frame to the point that it wouldn’t be in its original condition,” explained Albert. “There are so few Shelby frames and bicycles left, it wouldn’t be right to cut one apart for a project like this.”
Two months of hard work transformed the bicycle frame into a vending bicycle with a cart on the front end. During the day the cart will act as a cooler likely to sell drinks from, and at night the cart will convert into a merchandise center for glow-in-the-dark products.
Albert said the vending bicycle will help offset the costs of the festival, which is fully funded by private donations.
“As directors of this year’s festival, Christina (Thompson) and I have focused on attempting to reduce our reliance on our community’s generous donations,” said Albert. “While we appreciate those donations, it’s important for us to do our part.”
In his four years as an instructor, Karl said the vending bicycle has been the biggest project his students have taken on. He added mostly seniors worked on building the bike, but there was so much work some of the juniors worked on it as well.
“The most challenging part was trying to decide how we were going to set it up on an angle and cut the frame and make it work,” he explained. “Once we had that figured out, the rest of it was easy.”
Karl said he is very proud of his students for the work they completed. Albert added he was impressed with the craftsmanship displayed by Pioneer students.
“We hope that this project is a visible reminder to our community how talented these students are and how well the curriculum prepares these students for real jobs,” he said. “The quality of work is proof that these students are learning top-notch skills.”
“We hope that this project is a visible reminder to our community how talented these students are and how well the curriculum prepares these students for real jobs,” instructor Chris Karl said.
