Seven Cycles – Page 3 – U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix

Holden Hudson from Bike Doctor Arnold

Holden from Bike Doctor Arnold had his first ride on his new Axiom SL at the Hincapie Grand Fondo in Lehigh Valley over the weekend. He felt super comfortable and was able to tackle 53 miles of punchy climbs and gravel descents. These are the before and after photos of Holden with his bike. He says it’s exactly what he wanted and he felt right at home on it immediately.

If you’re in the Arnold, Maryland area, contact Holden if you’re interested in hearing more about having this kind of experience for yourself!

#sevenaxiomsl #sevencycles @hincapiegranfondo

Public Service Announcement: The Midlife Cyclist

Read The Midlife Cyclist.

This is not a review. It’s a strong recommendation.

When I first heard about the book The Midlife Cyclist, I thought, “Oh no, not another storybook with goofy anecdotes about getting old on a bike. I already live that every day.” Fortunately, I couldn’t have judged the book by its cover more incorrectly. I read a few early reviews and was surprised by descriptions of the content. I picked it up and was happy to be completely wrong in my presumptions.

The Midlife Cyclist is filled with easily understood and digestible data, research, and smart thinking about riding longer and healthier far beyond midlife. The book’s tagline, “The road map for the +40 rider who wants to train hard, ride fast and stay healthy,” is precisely correct. It is indeed a contemporary map and compass for our riding future. If you’re 40 or older, reading this book is in your best interest.

In this relatively recent era of easy access to too much information, perceived comparative stats, and online competitive riding with real-time data, some of us become captives. Cavell’s book provides a path forward to sustained fitness and sanity. After reading Midlife I expect you’ll have more fun on your bike. You may reevaluate your goals. You’ll rethink your relationship with your bike. All of the questions and answers in this book are worthwhile.

The writing has stuck with me. I keep coming back to it in my head over and over. For me, that’s the sign of a valuable book.

In Cavell’s words,

“the Midlife Cyclist is my attempt to square the holy triumvirate of age, speed and good-health, using the very latest clinical and academic research.”

He has accomplished this seemingly impossible task.

Who is Phil Cavell? Why read his writing?

I don’t think anyone has a more overlapping Venn diagram of skills for this topic. He’s been working on these themes for many years; his performance-based cycling knowledge is second to none; he is technically adept. Cavell’s circle of confidants is among the best in the world for this subject, too; he’s been working with world-class athletes for decades; he has access to the most progressive and cycling-aware physicians and doctors on the planet. And, oh yeah, he’s an excellent communicator and the founder and CEO of Cyclefit.

The book has only one flaw: Cavell didn’t write it fifteen years ago when I was just starting on Team Midlife.

I look forward to the next book Cavell says he’s working on (I hope): The Twilight Cyclist. It better happen soon if I’m going to benefit from it. For now, I’ll reread The Midlife Cyclist.

Read it and ride on.

Tools of the Trade Part Three: Duff Vertical Mill

Duff’s were made in Haverhill, MA, just up the road from us. They are smaller than most mills of that vintage, and many of them went to hobbyists half-a-century ago. We like them because they’re more easily moved than their larger cousins, and they take up less floor space. Their distinctive green paint also livens up the shop a little. Our favorite Duff bores our titanium stem tails to perfect roundness.

The 622 XX

We had been thinking about the 622 XX for 14 years before we built the first one. In 1998, it just didn’t seem possible. There wasn’t the breadth of carbon tubing we have today, and the design was maybe too far over the edge from what we were already doing at the time. We wondered if the market was ready.

We put away our sketches.

We came back to them in 2005. Carbon fiber had come a long way, and we were thinking about how we could incorporate the material of the moment into a great, custom bike. Instead of building the 622 XX then, we poured our energy into designing a custom carbon platform, a whole new way of building bikes, from the ground up, and we built those bikes for seven years before returning to our original design idea.

The key to the whole project is the lugs. Lug work has a long heritage. There was a time, when all bike builders were still working exclusively in steel, that the quality of a builder’s lugs was the measure of their skill. A lug had to be beautiful, but it also had to serve its purpose. Form had to follow function.

The titanium lugs in the 622 XX are as thin as they can be while maintaining durability and compliance. They take the edge off the frame’s carbon tubes, which on their own provide more than ample stiffness. We added some aesthetic flourishes, too. A tapered 7 at the head and seat tubes, geometric cut outs at the other junctions. When people first see the bike, these are the things they notice.

The carbon tubing in the bike comes from a partner in Utah and is filament-wound to our exclusive specification. Each layer of material has been chosen to produce very specific ride characteristics. Filament-wound carbon, as opposed to its roll-wrapped equivalent, provides a consistent, accurate quality.

The name for the bike comes from the Periodic Table. 6 is carbon. 22 is titanium. And, by merging them into one number, we are expressing exactly what we want the bike to be, a true union of the materials, a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The 622 XX is either a carbon bike that doesn’t feel plasticky, or it’s a Ti bike that is lighter and stiffer than any that came before it. Or maybe it’s a new bike, a bike that makes use of the best materials, that borrows something from the heritage of bike building but leverages the technology of the moment to produce a ride that is at once light, stiff and comfortable.

Summer Miles

Summer miles happen on the road. The early roll out catches the crickets and the heavy dew that settles just before dawn. Voices seem loud before cars join the party.

We meet at the coffee shop, as if there is any other place to meet, warm light spilling from the windows. And we mill in the parking lot and adjust our sleeves, retighten our shoes. Continue reading “Summer Miles”