Whenever I told people about this project throughout the winter, the question I got most often was: “So you have a bike?” It was usually meant as a joke and sometimes as a placeholder while they thought of a better question, but it always led to the story of Vanhawks.
Vanhawks is a young Toronto-based bicycle company designing safer, technology-integrated riding at the heart of urban transportation. They ran the most successful Canadian Kickstarter campaign in 2014, followed through by shipping thousands of bicycles, and have now been acquired as an independent brand within Ontario-based Warren Industries. They are fiercely proud to be a Canadian story, with the flagship Valour being designed, engineered and—in the near future—entirely manufactured in Toronto.
We are proud to be riding the Vanhawks Valour across Canada. The bicycle, which pushes the boundaries of connectivity and design, will be our vehicle in pushing both our limits of physical endurance and the expanse of the entire country. Thanks to Vanhawks, the very centre of our story will be a piece of Canada.
The Vanhawks team has worked hard to customize the bikes with touring forks, specialized tires and handles; plus decals to bring our energy up. More photos and stories to come. They’re currently boxed up and the next time we see them will be on the streets of St. John’s, NL.