Woman opens shop to sell new style of bicycle
By Edward C. Fennell
The Post and Courier Thursday, January 22, 2009

With a degree in nuclear medicine and a minor in biology, Claire Hart returned to South Carolina confident she'd find a career at one of Charleston's many medical centers.

When harsh economic times and hiring freezes closed those doors, Hart opted for a different career path. She pedaled over to a growing fun and fitness phenomenon: stepper bikes.

As the owner of her own business at 25, Hart thinks she's on the right road. Not only is she marketing a new type of bicycle she said makes fitness easy and enjoyable, she's proud to have a workplace that's totally "green."

Hart said she's always been enamored with the outdoors. "This is it, this is all we have," she said of the planet she hopes will be saved. "One person can make a difference." Her shop helps raise funds for charities, and she'd like to offer classes someday on being green, she said.

Carolina Stepper opened Dec. 15 at 34 Windermere Blvd. Its green features include locally produced materials such as old doors and a countertop incorporating bicycle parts in locally made concrete; all LED lighting; low-odor, antimicrobial paint manufactured using less waste and energy; and a floor stripped of carpeting and stained with a water-based product with nonhazardous components.

But the stepper bikes are the shop's main attraction. Made by Randy Ross of Miami, steppers are a cross between an elliptical workout machine and a road bike, Hart said.

The shop stocks three types of steppers for adults and two for children. Prices range from $550 to $750 for the adult bikes and $300 to $400 for children's. Customers are welcome to come in and try out the bikes, said Hart, who also rents them.

Patrick Hawkins of Akron, Ohio, was touring recently with a band, the Speed Bumps, when friends he met in Charleston introduced him to the stepper.

"It's just a comfortable ride. All you do is push down and you ride. It's a great workout, too," Hawkins said.

The stepper has a way of selling itself, said John Kimbler, assistant manager of Carolina Stepper.

"People flag you down, and you go over and show it to them," he said.

Hart said she has great faith in the future of the product she's selling.

A native of Lexington, Hart is well-traveled. She graduated from Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., after which she returned to her native state with intentions of living in the Lowcountry.

While she was rehabilitating following a traffic accident, a friend's father introduced Hart to the stepper. "It helped keep my weight off and didn't hurt my back."

She joked that the friend loaned her the stepper "and never got it back."

She said she believed so strongly in the stepper that she contacted the manufacturer and obtained a franchise. "It was an idea, and now it's a store. People tell me, 'You're too young to own a business,' " she said.

Hart lives on James Island but plans to move to West Ashley to be nearer the shop. There's no safe place to ride beside motor vehicles where she lives now, and she will ride a stepper to work after moving, she said.