Seven Cycles – Page 16 – U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix

At the Coulee Challenge

Sunrise over a misty field

Brad and Matt are at it again, this time taking on the 1200km Coulee Challenge in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We remixed their TransAt bikes for this new event. This ride differs from the TransAtlantic Way they took on last month in the quality of the road surfaces (thus the switch to 700c wheels) and the type of climbing they’re doing.

From the ride description:

Our RM 1200k route includes great roads and bike trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin with a focus on the challenging coulees of Southeast Minnesota and Southwest Wisconsin. The terrain will have some hilly sections, with multiple, occasionally steep, hills crossing ridge lines followed by pastoral valleys and quiet, bucolic roads. Along the way riders will enjoy passing through a number of small towns in the coulees and river towns on the Mississippi River.

A coulee is a deep ravine, one of the defining features of the terrain in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This is no flat, mid-Western romp,so we reconfigured Brad and Matt’s bikes for the occasion.

The Coulee Remix bike is a progressive gravel bike that features a number of innovations, special offers, and incentives. It’s also available for a very limited time. The Remix employs the SRAM Force 1 group set with mechanical shifting and hydraulic brakes, aiming for the lightest weight, simplest design, and purest performance.

two riders ride away on a county road on a sunny day

Matt B’s Graphite Gravel Evergreen SL

This is Matt’s Evergreen SL turned out in the limited edition Graphite Gravel configuration, with custom decaling, a Seven Ti seatpost and alloy bar and stem. We built this one with our friend Kyle at Spin City Cycles in Decatur, IL. Matt’s photos and kind words, below:

Seven,

For years I have watched countless Sevens come through Spin City Cycles for routine maintenance and upgrades. Each time I would have the opportunity to talk to one of the owners it was impossible not to sense that they knew they owned something special.

I always appreciated that love they showed for their bike, but it was not until last week when I took delivery of my own custom Evergreen SL that I truly understood where that pride was coming from.

Very simply, the bike is perfect. It is completely customized down to the smallest detail to match my riding style, fit and aesthetic preferences. There is something special about being able to jump onto a brand new bike and just know that nothing needs to be changed or adjusted.

A special thanks to both of you for making this experience a reality. The service that I always receive at Spin City is truly second to none, and I am convinced they have found a perfect partner in Seven Cycles. Each and every question throughout the process was answered and even the smallest request you both worked together to make happen.

There have been a lot of beautiful bikes that I have admired and owned, but this one will now forever be on top of my list as the first one designed and built to meet my specific needs. A special thanks to the both of you for what I know will be years of enjoyment.

Matt B

Matt B's Graphite Gravel Evergreen SL

Omar B at the Etape du Tour – Axiom SL

We had a nice note from Omar B, who has just been in France for the Etape du Tour, on his Axiom SL. This year’s route, based on Tour Stage 10, took the riders around Lake Annecy and packed in more than 4,000 meters of climbing. But, one thing we noticed in the photos Omar sent was the big smile on his face. Regardless of how fast you’re going (and he looks pretty fast), that’s the right look.

Omar said:

Just finished my first Etape du Tour ( de France) on 8 July on my Seven Axiom Sl. Bike did great. A big thanks for a great bike.

Omar speeds down a road on his Axiom SL Omar at the Etape du Tour on his Axiom SL

Mike Bybee – From Above Payson

It’s always good to see Mike Bybee‘s name in the Seven inbox. It means we have good tidings (and great photos) from one of our favorite Seven riders out in the expansive American Southwest.

Seven Sola with custom racks on a rugged mountain road

Mike says:

Rode out from Payson AZ and up a mix of trails to a ridgeline and a summit about 5k’ that overlooked Tonto National Forest and Mazatzal Peak (in the back there).

Cleaned up some trail trash on the way back, and found a buddy with a pickup truck who’s going to come help me remove a couch and a CRT someone chucked along the way. The ride down from the little summit was a blast, with a couple 3′ + dropoffs and lots of stuff that was more fun to go *down* than *up*.

He also sent along this summit panorama.

Mike rides a Sola SL 29er.

RAAM – Racing Blind

We build a lot of tandems. A custom builder is a natural fit for tandems, because the challenge of fitting a tandem is doubled. Both the captain and stoker need to be comfortable for the bike to work at all, and making two people comfortable is much harder than making one comfortable.

We’ve been building tandems for 20+ years, and we’re one of the few (if not the only) custom builder to offer road, gravel, and mountain bike tandems. That explains why so many pairs come to us for a new bike.

What we didn’t expect to happen is to be contacted by so many blind riders, looking for tandems they could stoke. And even though, over the years, we’ve built a fair few bikes for blind riders, we certainly didn’t expect Team Sea to See, the first visually impaired team to take on the Race Across America (RAAM).

A blind cyclist stokes a seven Resolute in the Race Across America

We built a tandem for Dan Berlin with our friend Rick at The Phoenix Cyclery in Fort Collins, CO back in 2013. This year, he and his captain raced RAAM with Team Sea to See. These guys are demonstrating that visual impairment doesn’t mean life impairment. They are also, we would add, demonstrating that they’re amazing cyclists.

Dramatic image of a backlit sunrise shines on two hard-working tandem riders

There was an excellent news story on them recently, and something from the Today Show, too. We’re proud to be involved, if only as a (literal) vehicle for the message.