Seven Cycles

RAAM Soloist Nearly Breaks Age-Group Record in First Attempt

Along with the impressive accomplishments of fellow competitor Jeff Bannink, another Seven competitor, Dr. Paul Danhaus, achieved a victory of his own last month in the Race Across America. Competing in the Solo 60+ category, Danhaus finished in 11 days, 10 hours and 48 minutes, missing the course record for his age group by a mere five hours! Danhaus, who worked with Cronometro in Madison Wisconsin to get his Seven, was participating in his first RAAM as a solo competitor as a way of celebrating his sixtieth birthday.

Paul is no stranger to endurance events, having completed 66 marathons, 7 consecutive Hawaii Ironman Triathlons and 4 National 24 hour Challenges, to name only a few of his achievements. He had already completed RAAM as part of four-man team, (Team Sixty Going Hard) in 2007. When his previous bike was stolen after that race, he visited Cronometro to speak with them about designing a new bike for himself. They recommended Seven and set about designing his Axiom SG to meet the rigors of his extensive training and racing schedule.

“I wanted a bike that had a stiff bottom bracket, but also a compliant ride. I had assumed those attributes would be mutually exclusive, but that turned out not to be the case. I was amazed at how compliant and comfortable the bike is, while still delivering high performance. Scott and Craig dialed in the fit perfectly and Seven delivered exactly as promised.”

“I brought three bikes to use during RAAM, my Seven and two backup bikes. I rode the Seven for all but maybe six of the 3,021 miles, and that was only to facilitate a wheel change.”

Scott Wente of Cronometro said, “Paul’s achievements speak for themselves. We feel privileged to have been able to get to know Paul as a person and to work with him as he reaches new goals. Totally inspiring.”

Having fully recovered from last month’s race, Paul has already set off on the more modest goal of completing RAGBRAI. Paul, from all of us at Seven Cycles, your latest accomplishment reinforces to us what a truly impressive athlete you are. Thanks, and continued success.

Pauls’ Racer Time Station Data

Team Type 1 Breaks Record at 2009 Race Across America

In one of the toughest feats of endurance cycling, Seven owner Jeff Bannink not only succeeded in completing the 3,021 mile nonstop cross-country race, but his eight-person team set a new record, finishing in first place with a time of 5 days, 9 hours and 5 minutes.

Jeff, the tallest rider on his professional squad at six feet, six inches, and 225 pounds found that none of the team’s time trial bikes properly fit him, which led to contacting Zac Daab at Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle, Washington. Zac and Seven Cycles were able to design a custom titanium Aero Alaris (now known as Axiom S) that provided all the aerodynamics, drivetrain stiffness, handling and ergonomics that Jeff would need during such an extended time trial.

“I wanted a TT bike that allowed me to take advantage of all the training I had done in preparation, but not have to make drastic adaptations when I switched between my road bike (also a Seven) and my TT bike during the course of the race,” said Jeff. “Seven and Cascade Bicycle Studio got it perfect.”

“It’s always rewarding to work with a client and help them achieve their riding objectives,” remarked Daab. But when that rider is an athlete of Jeff’s caliber and they go on achieve something monumental, it’s really inspiring. As for the bike, its performance speaks volumes. There really are no limits to what Seven can do with titanium or any other material.”

Jeff and his teammates, all of whom have type one diabetes, had to overcome a series of early setbacks in addition to the already grueling race conditions. Despite early problems with the support vehicles and some minor delays in the first 36 hours, the team continued to execute their race strategy in the face of adversity. Congratulations to Jeff from Zac and Seven. We’re all impressed by your achievement.

Bike Magazine, May 2009 issue [excerpt]

The Case for Made in the USA

First, there’s the environmental consideration. Bikes built in the U.S. aren’t inherently “greener”, but some of our manufacturing processes, especially painting, are more sustainable. America’s regulations tend to be stricter than those in Taiwan and China. Theoretically, there’s less of a carbon footprint as well, since a domestically built bike should travel a shorter distance from the builder to your home. There are excellent bikes being built overseas—particularly mainstream models. But when it comes to finding more unique, niche bikes, domestic builders are often your best bet: if we have an interesting idea, we can fabricate it right now. Companies that must import big production runs generally don’t respond to new ideas with that kind of speed and flexibility. Finally, without getting too nationalistic, there’s something to be said for keeping dollars in America, and for maintaining a group of artisans here in our country who can design and actually build tomorrow’s great innovations.

—Rob Vandermark,

founder and president, Seven Cycles