One of the most shared things on our site recently was the announcement that pedal pubs would be coming to Michigan. Now, they’re about to hit the streets.
Stephen and Brian Lindsay, founders of HandleBar Detroit, are bringing what they say is our first 16-person pedal powered bar on wheels to Detroit and Royal Oak, and the first ride date is October 2.
The concept of the pedal pub has been gaining a lot of traction in other cities, showing there’s still room to grow in the bar business.
The brothers started the HandleBar to bring new interest and ways for people to come together and enjoy being outdoors while kicking back a few brews.
The HandleBar will hopefully draw attention from the visitors and local residents of both Detroit and Royal Oak, offering additional opportunities to be outdoors and socialize with friends and family. The contraption itself was made by two brothers in the Netherlands.
Although this is new for our region, these operators aren’t newcomers to the pedal pub game. Their entrepreneurial adventure started in Indianapolis, where they have six bikes and soon will have two in metro Detroit. One will be in downtown Detroit, and another that will be based in Royal Oak.
HandleBar Detroit has to follow a series of guidelines and laws, and they vary slightly between the two cities.
We’ve included the Top 10 Rules/Guidelines so you know before you go from the brothers.
1. You can bring beer and wine and drink it while we’re moving through downtown Detroit, but we only provide the driver and the bike. You need to bring the cooler, water bottles for wine, snacks, etc. (No glass. If you bring glass it must stay in the cooler unless we are stopped). For Royal Oak you cannot bring beer on the ride, but we will be stopping at several bars.
2. No hard liquor. Shots and mixed drinks like rum and coke or vodka and orange juice are NOT ok. Prepackaged drinks like Bud Light Margarita in a can are OK.
3. Must be 21 to drink, but we do allow 18-year-olds to ride.
4. If you’re looking for an available date click here. You don’t have to book, you can just search the calendar for available dates.
5. The max party size is 16 people (no exceptions) and the minimum recommended number is six
6. The cost for a two hour tour is $400 Friday and Saturday and $300 all other days.
7. We have a stereo on board with a headphone jack that you can hook up your iPod/iPhone to so you can be the DJ. If you’d rather us choose the music we have an FM/AM radio we can play.
8. We start and end all tours at the same location, but we are steps from the Cadillac Center stop on the Detroit People Mover. The HandleBar doesn’t move without pedal power!
9. The HandleBar operates from mid-March through mid-November, on Thursday through Sunday. We run from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thurs and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
10. We take care of the route, but if you have a bar or location you’d like to go, just tell your Bar Handler before you take off and we can more than likely accommodate your request.
You can also click here to go straight to their booking site and check availability.