The Bike Shifts Itself: Iowa Company Launches Automatic Shifting on Kickstarter

DES MOINES, Iowa - EntSun -- Bench proof video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxO8YGJeVqcAvenue Cruisers Co., a family company founded in Des Moines by Bill Morton, 70, today announced Avenue Shifters, launching on Kickstarter November 12: a predictive automatic shifting system for bicycles and trikes that reads a rider's pedaling cadence and wheel speed and shifts the gears itself.

The system actuates a standard chain and derailleur with a servo. No phone is required. When the companion app is linked, it adds GPS speed, GPS grade — the system sees a hill before the rider is on it — and live wind to the shift decision. The firmware holds the rider's gear while coasting, so the bike never shifts under a rider who has stopped pedaling, and the company's trike models drive both rear wheels through a true differential.

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Morton built Avenue Shifters for returning riders, for couples who want to ride together again, and for riders whose hands — arthritis, nerve trouble, grip loss — no longer work a gear lever. "The bike shifts itself" is the company's refrain. Six models are offered, from the Servo to the Servo-ER XL, alongside a $25 Digital Supporter tier with full build instructions. On every model page the pricing is stated plainly: the smaller number is the pledge due now, the larger is the total price, the balance is due before the bike ships, and US freight is a flat $185 charged at shipping and not included in the totals.

The same campaign page also carries a $10,000 OEM Fleet License tier, because Avenue Cruisers Co. is licensing the system to other bicycle manufacturers. The license is per-model and non-exclusive and includes no hardware: licensees receive pinned firmware, integration documentation, calibration tooling, and engineering support. Founding terms are $30 per bike for the first 250 licensed bikes under agreements signed on or before December 27, 2026, and $35 per bike thereafter. Licensing delivery begins in Q4 2027. The system is patent pending (US Provisional #64/169,613), assigned to Avenue Cruisers Co. LLC.

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The Kickstarter campaign runs from November 12 to December 27, 2026, with a goal of $200,000. Demonstration films — including a bench proof of the servo at work and a test bike shifting itself — are public on the company's YouTube channel. Designed in Des Moines, Iowa.

Pre-launch page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1928835531/avenue-shifters-automatic-bicycle-gear-shifting
Company: https://avenuecruisers.com

About Avenue Cruisers Co.: A family business building automatic-shifting bicycles and trikes, and licensing its shifting system to manufacturers. avenuecruisers.com

Press contact: Bill Morton, founder — bill@aitoolsfortoday.com