Bike Club is pioneering a blockchain-based cycling club with its NFT project. Yes, the club is called Bike Club.
Purchase an NFT and you become a member of this virtual ‘Bike Club,’ but that’s just the flashy aspect of the Bike Club membership. Club members will receive more immediate, tangible perks like gear discounts and access to cycling experts and athletes.
“We want to create awesome experiences for cyclists everywhere and give them access to brands and pros like they’ve never been able to access before,” said Tyler Benedict, a co-founder of Bike Club. He is also the founder of our sister site Bikerumor.
The club has drawn the attention of dozens of brands and is building a roster of ambassador cyclists. These athletes are already hosting online rides and chats ahead of the NFT launch.
The purchase of one of Bike Club’s 10,000 unique Rider NFTs will serve as a digitally verifiable membership card. Creating a sole owner via a chain of custody is what blockchain is all about.
Bike Club plans to “mint” its NFTs for those who sign up in the coming weeks. And the virtual club emphasizes that it wants bike enthusiasts as members, not speculative investors.
The NFT artwork is by Richard Mitchelson, who goes by Rich Mitch for his cycling art. Bike Club ambassadors and athletes have customized Riders by the same artist. The NFTs are called Riders and the initial batch will be roadies. If it proves successful, there are plans for a second wave of mountain bike NFT Riders.
Why Blockchain?
For now, the NFT aspect is mainly for verifiable digital membership thanks to its blockchain coding.
“It allows us to verify membership and also allows those to be sold, traded, or transferred,” Benedict said. “With the coding side of it and the blockchain, every day there’s something new that people are coming up with. So there’s really just unlimited potential for cool stuff you just can’t do without this kind of technology.”
Looking ahead, there are plans to use the Rider NFTs for gamification. For example, a Rider would have a special trait — like a climbing bonus — that would boost the results of your real-life performance in Bike Club Ride Challenges.
Eventually, members may want a team of Riders to then choose from different trait perks on any given challenge. Other ideas include team challenges with other riders and giveaways incorporating Rider traits with data from Strava and Komoot for verification.
Cycling in the Metaverse may sound years off, but anyone who has competed against friends and strangers on Zwift is close already.
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Real-World Perks
Lifetime Membership
Bike Club Perks
- Unique Rider NFT
- Access to private Strava, Zwift, and Komoot clubs
- Deals from dozens of bike brands
- Exclusive access to events at cycling festivals
- Private chatrooms with pro athletes and industry insiders
- Training and nutrition plans from coaches
- Input into where advocacy funds go