Bicycle Friendly Business

Liberty Bicycles| Silver Level

Business Highlights: At Liberty Bicycles it pays to ride your bike to work, literally. Employees are paid one dollar for each direction that they ride to work or home. They are provided a shower, locker room with laundry facilities and a kitchen for cooking food, as well secure, convenient, and covered bike parking, and a bike wash.  The front door has a button to open the door for customers and staff to open the door hands free. Liberty is very involved in advocating for places guests can ride for commuting, recreation, mountain biking and parking their bikes.  Bike club members receive a discount on purchases and trail builders receive biker bucks when they are involved in train maintenance. The owners sit on many committees such as the greenways commission, healthy buncombe, the bike and pedestrian task force, the metropolitan planning organization, the state bicycle and the state trails committees and the national bicycle dealers and League of American Bicyclists board.

Most Compelling Bike Related Statistic: One third of the staff commutes to work at least half the time. There are two individuals who commute by bike almost every day.

Most Compelling Bike Related Accomplishment: Liberty Bicycles helped rally over 75 concerned citizens to attend the city council meeting when the Asheville Bicycle plan was to be passed, all of whom wore their bike helmets.  The business participated in the National pedestrian and bike counts.  The city of Asheville had 51 sites manned by volunteers to count the bicyclists and pedestrians coming by their site.

Benefits of Being a Bike Friendly Business: Customers have always appreciated Liberty’s commitment to advocacy.  Many tell them that they do business with them because they are so involved in working to improve conditions for bicycling. Employee morale is usually higher when more employees commute into work.  They also find that those who ride to work are healthier.