U.S. Built Bicycles in Titanium and Carbon-Titanium Mix
U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
What: Seven Cycles is well known for their titanium craft, but recently have added carbon to their quiver. The Mudhoney SL though is created in Watertown, MA from butted titanium and will be custom built to order. Titanium is a great choice for cyclo-cross and the Mudhoney SL has been ridden by Pro Mary McConneloug to quite a few victories.
By Nick Legan
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (VN) Maureen (Mo) Bruno-Roy is a three-time master’s national champion and represented the United States at UCI cyclocross world championships in 2009.
This year Bruno-Roy is racing for Bob’s Red Mill Grains. She and her husband, Matt, are a two-person team with big results.
Bruno-Roy doesn’t receive a new frame each season. Her Mudhoneys (she has two identical bikes) are in the middle of their third season of ‘cross. Seven will provide new frames if necessary, but with her bikes in such great shape the past two seasons, Seven instead helps with travel expenses. After each campaign her frames are sent back to Seven for a complete refurbishment. The frame’s alignment is checked, small parts are replaced, the frame is cleaned and new decals are applied.
For 2010 Seven introduced a full carbon fork to compliment their titanium and carbon bikes. Bruno-Roy previously rode Alpha Q forks, but loves the new fork from Seven.
Matt Roy’s attention to detail is clear. Shrink-wrapped cables help seal the shifting system. He drills the red-anodized ferrules to keep cables moving freely. Even taking time to cut down the Fizik handlebar finishing tape, Roy puts in a lot of time on his wife’s bike. Periodically he changes the inspirational stickers on her bike. The Angry Cupcake sticker on her handlebar is the latest.
Seven Cycles announced today that they have formed a partnership with Cycling Silk to become the official bike supplier for their upcoming yearlong journey. Cycling Silk is both an epic adventure and an exercise in environmental advocacy. The 2011 expedition’s aim is to explore and promote conservation across borders as a force for peace, environmental integrity and sustainable development in mountainous regions along the famous Silk Road from Istanbul to India.
Cycling Silk is comprised of two scientist/ explorers, Kate Harris and Melissa Yule. Kate is a writer, wilderness conservationist, adventurer and photographer. She won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where she completed her Master’s thesis on transboundary conservation and peace parks. She also holds a Master’s degree from MIT in earth and planetary sciences. Melissa is a social scientist, environmentalist and endurance athlete. In her work and research, Mel combines community development with environmental science to study ecological impacts on human health. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the University of Guelph, and is currently a researcher at the International Development Research Centre in Canada.
Throughout the duration of their trip, Harris and Yule will conduct research to develop case studies on conservation and advocate for eight existing or proposed Transboundary Protected Areas or “Peace Parks” along the mountainous route. They have planned periodic stops along their route to survey the regions, meet with local inhabitants, and continually update followers via their website.
The duo are using bikes to enable the autonomous and adventurous exploration of remote transboundary wildernesses, and to reinforce the notion of the Silk Road as a landscape of continuity, despite the borders that attempt to divide it. In the process, they hope to inspire others to get outside and ride bikes and explore the wild and look beyond borders. Both Kate and Mel will be riding Seven’s Expat S expedition bikes.
“Mel and I are so indescribably thrilled and honored at this chance to ride Sevens down the Silk Road,” said Kate Harris. “With this type of self-supported expedition, having bikes that are utterly dependable and tailored just for us means two fewer things to be concerned about,” added Harris.
“Kate and Mel’s approach to cycling and environmental stewardship fits perfectly with our company philosophy,” said Mattison Crowe, Marketing Manager for Seven Cycles. “Not only do they embrace the challenge, but through their efforts, strive to create an environmental impact many orders of magnitude larger than themselves. On top of all that, this adventure represents an ideal proving ground for our bikes.”
By Jake Sisson
With a background in track and field, Maureen Bruno Roy made the transition to racing cyclocross in 2004 and quickly moved up the ranks with some big wins. Highlights include the overall win in the Verge New England Series, the overall win in the Verge Mid Atlantic Series, winning the Masters 30-34 Cyclocross National Championship, placing 3rd in the Elite Cyclocross National Championships and earning a spot on the US National Team to compete in the World Championships.
Last year, Mo made the switch to Seven Cycles, who became a title sponsor in the New Englander’s operation. This year, Bruno Roy has teamed up with Bob’s Red Mill and is tackling her first national cyclocross campaign, traveling across the country to some of America’s biggest races. Mo’s Seven Mudhoney SLX features an elegant set of titanium lugs with carbon fiber tubes, as well as a cyclocross specific titanium rear triangle. A full SRAM Red drivetrain provides the shifting for Bruno Roy, while a set of Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimates wrapped in Challenge tires keeps her connected to the ground. Mo prefers a 44 tooth Thorne Koksijde compact outer chainring and a 36 tooth compact inner chainring paired with her SRAM Force level cassette in a 12/27 configuration.
No other technology I can think of matches the bicycle in beauty, efficiency, and power to do good. Its design, fundamentally resolved a century ago, wastes nothing. Twenty pounds of bike can replace 3,500 pounds of car, get you to work nearly as fast (with a smile on your face), and harm no living thing in the process. Many bicycle designs have risen to the level of art—Cinelli racing bikes from the 1960s, ageless Raleigh 3-speeds, the tricycle that all three of my children rode (with the ingenious removable push handle that saved my back)—but if you’re feeling generous, I’ll take an Elium SL from Seven Cycles.
Bruce D. Snider’s career in residential architecture and construction stretches back more than 25 years, and includes a Bachelor’s degree in environmental design and 14 years as a writer and editor for Hanley Wood magazines. A senior editor for residential architect and CUSTOM HOME, he lives with his wife and three children on the coast of Maine. He keeps his wits sharp by taking on the occasional design project, battling the ravages of age on his family’s 19th century Greek Revival house, and meditating on the relationships among architecture, planning, health, happiness, and the environment from the saddle of his road bike.