The patent-pending, two-piece bicycle stand, designed by oddlyeven and manufactured by N-K Manufacturing Technologies, is made from 100 percent recycled materials.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Shane Wiersma and Armen Kassouni became friends through their mutual love of mountain biking.
Shane owns oddlyeven (www.oddlyeven.com), a design company specializing in 3D modeling, rendering, and animation. Armen owns N-K Manufacturing Technologies (www.nkmfgtech.com), an injection molding company specializing in horizontal, vertical, and two-shot molding.
The Paqrack bike stand features a minimalist design that is said to assemble easily with a quick squeeze and twist. (Image courtesy oddlyeven/N-K Manufacturing Technologies)
During one of their rides, Shane showed Armen his idea for an innovative bike stand he had created. After seeing the design, Armen immediately felt it was a perfect fit for injection molding.
Paqrack designer Shane Wiersma explained what led him to create the product.
“I was frustrated with my bikes being left on the ground or leaning against a tree or garage, only to come back and find they had shifted or fallen,” Wiersman said in a release. “I experimented with different designs before settling on the current version as the most utilitarian and cost-effective. The icing on the cake was teaming up with N-K Manufacturing to produce Paqrack from 100 percent recycled materials, right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.”
Paqrack features a minimalist design that is said to assemble easily with a quick squeeze and twist.
“Once assembled, roll your wheel into the cradle and push firmly to lock it in. To release, relieve the tension and roll it back out. It disassembles in seconds and stores flat. The simple, compact design makes it ideal for everyday use and a favorite travel companion on bike trips,” the release stated.
Paqrack is said to be compatible with road, gravel, and mountain bikes with tires up to 2.4 inches wide. Armen Kassouni explained the current marketing strategy.
“We are connecting with distributors and bike shops and will officially debut Paqrack as a sponsor of the Barry Roubaix ‘Killer Gravel Race’ (www.barry-roubaix.com) on April 18th, in Hastings, Michigan,” Kassouni said in the release. “The event draws 5,500 cyclists and thousands of spectators annually.”
With an MSRP under $50, Paqrack is described as “an affordable solution that outperforms many more expensive bike storage options.”