On any given weekend, imprudent partiers can ditch the walk home for a ride on a souped-up Raja Royal, thanks to Athens main bike man.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Eric Cornwell can be spotted in his latest adaptation of the Raja Royal — a sidecar bicycle. Customized bikes usually take Cornwell two to four weeks to complete, but this one was a long time in the making.
Cornwell’s interest in bicycles began in high school after his cross-country coach told him the bicycle is the most efficient means of self-powered transportation. Energy transferred from a bicyclist’s legs to the wheels nears 100 percent depending on the bike.
“Once I had that piece of information, I was definitely willing to stand behind the bicycle movement,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell was once one of the main volunteers at the Athens Bike Co-op, where he learned basic welding techniques to repair and construct bikes. Two years ago, Cornwell decided to start his own cooperative at 18 Euclid Drive, where he lives.
The split was not a bitter one, however. Cornwell said that establishing the second co-op was for practicality because Euclid Drive is on the east side of Athens and the other co-op, located at 30 First St., is on the west end.
Ohio University alumnus Eddie Barnes worked with Cornwell at the cooperative.
“Eric was one of the first people I met at the bike co-op, and he has more passion for bikes than I have witnessed in any other human,” Barnes said. “He’s an awesome guy, and he definitely got me excited about bicycles in general.”
About the time Cornwell started his own cooperative, he met a man who imported Indian sidecar bikes called Raja Royals. The man offered to let Cornwell use the bikes in Athens if he agreed to repair them. Cornwell did and his pedicab service began.
The Raja Royals were heavy, and their inadequate brakes were less than ideal for the Athens landscape, though.
“It was nearly impossible to get it up the hills, and then on the way down, it was a cannonball roller coaster that you couldn’t stop,” Cornwell said, “So I started thinking, ‘We ought to be able to do this better … I could build something that would work for Athens.’ ”
After several prototypes, Cornwell has settled on the design he now uses for his cab service. Aside from widening the bike to gain stability, the wheels have been reduced from 26 inches to 20 inches to prevent them from bending.
The time and effort put into the bikes is paying for itself now.
Each taxi night produces six to 12 fares and averages about $20 an hour. Cornwell has even designed and sold a custom bike to be used as a produce cart.
Each custom sidecar bicycle costs about $1,000 depending on the needed specifications.
So far, Cornwell has sold one bike to a produce vendor in Cincinnati, and
negotiations for other bikes are in the works as well.
“I’m looking for people that would like to get involved either driving, building, marketing or any aspect of starting a business,” Cornwell said. “I’m not a business person per se; I just have fun with bikes and love doing it.”
Cornwell can be contacted at cycleric@gmail.com.
mt360307@ohiou.edu
