U.S. Built Bicycles in Titanium and Carbon-Titanium Mix
U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
This is Julie’s Mudhoney PRO, our top of the line cyclocross race bike. This one has Sour Apple Chris King disc hubs and matching headset, both the wheel and bike builds done by the good folks at Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA. This is a fast bike for a fast rider, and we think it came out great.
Tom Schneider is coming to Boston, by bike, from Chicago. There is a reason for this, but we should back up a little first. Schneider grew up in Rockland, MA on the south side of metro-Boston. Tom’s parents didn’t have a car, so he and his family rode bikes to get around. At an early age, he fell in love with physical activity, eventually doing undergrad work in Exercise and Health Sciences at UMass-Boston and then a Master’s in Sports Administration at Northwestern.
After working with kids during recess at several different Chicago Public Schools, he realized what direction he wanted his career to take.
“I saw the activity level of the kids during recess, and it’s definitely not that same as when I was their age. Most kids favor technology over movement, and they’re neglecting the activity they need every day,” he says.
Now, Tom coaches basketball and trains the athletes at one of Chicago’s college prep schools. He’s a personal trainer at the Wilmette Park District. He runs fitness clinics – both pay and pro bono – for kids throughout the city. And he spends a fair amount of time developing TRUE Fit, his education and fitness program aimed at kids of all ages.
The idea of the Chicago to Boston ride came when he and his father took a bike trip from their home in Rockland to the Martha’s Vineyard ferry and back. In total, they rode about 200 miles in 24 hours. Tom knew then that riding and conducting TRUE Fit clinics along the way would be a great way to inspire kids across the country.
That’s when our friends Tony and Julia at Velosmith stepped in to sponsor Tom, providing him a Seven to ride and some much needed expertise in long-distance riding.
Julia said, “Tom’s mission to teach kids about health and fitness is indisputable, and we’re excited to support his commitment to ride from Chicago to Boston,” said Julia. “Kids need to be active and get off their devices. Tony and I battle this with our two kids daily and we stand by Tom in his efforts to teach kids to make good decisions about food, move their bodies often, and get them pumping their muscles along the way! Tom is a motivator and mentor to adults and kids alike.”
Donate to the cause here.
This is Alex and her new 622 SLX, which, as you can see, is made for climbing, right down to its Queen-of-the-Mountains paint scheme. All the titanium is painted Dianthus, one of our new colors for this season. We built it with Mark Brone at Brone’s Bike Shop in Fountain City, WI. We finished it just in time for Alex to take to Colorado for two weeks, culminating in the Mt. Evans Hill Climb. Here is her quick report from the trip:
Hi Seven,
I would just like to give you a feed back about my new bike.
We have returned from our trip to Colorado and the bike is amazing!
I was curious how this “custom made” is going to turn out and if I was going to notice any difference in the fit/feel. I have several bikes that are all “fine”, so it had to be better than “fine” to stand out.
And it…did!! Amazing, how comfortable it is. Not just a smooth ride, but I have never had any aches or pains (with climbing I got used to a uncomfortable “straining” feel in my lower back). I thought that the strain/pressure in my lower back is simply “a deal” for me in climbing position, not avoidable.
We first did the Independence Pass, then Loveland Pass (both from the harder sides, both about 12,000 ft elevation). A big surprise: I was not even thinking about any discomfort (other then the thin air…) and later on realized that I had no discomfort of any kind on that bike! Great!!
Our main event, at the end of the trip, was Bob Cook Road Bike race on Mt. Evans, to 14,140 ft elevation and about 7,000 ft of climbing in 28 miles. I was doubtful if I would make it to the top, but I did it! It took me 5 and a half hours (my husband did in 3hrs 22 min, riding conservatively as we did not know what to expect), but who cares? The weather was great (just luck), I felt perfectly fine going my relaxed tempo, so I kept going. It was an amazing feel to go through that finish line on over 14,000 ft height. Wow!!!
I am so happy that I was able to take my new bike on that trip. It would not be the same without it, so thank you for making the best effort at the end to make it happen!
Alex
We had a lot of people write to us asking what Brad took when he rode across the country last month. It turns out that a lot of our riders are serious long distance randonneurs and bike-packers, two groups who are constantly scrutinizing every bit of food, clothing and equipment they haul on their adventures. So we asked Brad to give us the scoop on what he took, when he raced the Trans-Am Bike Race.
He said:
For a ride like this that takes in so many climate zones over such a long period of time, it is almost impossible to prepare correctly. I think the eternal question is what to bring. What do you need and what can you leave behind. I went with what I felt comfortable with having and knowing that, if something went wrong, I could fix it, or take care of it. There was the question of how often I would use the things I brought. If I didn’t foresee using them in the space of 24 hours did I really need them? I thought about that and decided having some little extra things would go a long way.
Looking at it now, with 4400 miles behind me, I can see what I could have done without, but I am totally happy with what I went with, too.
I didn’t bring much cold weather gear and got through two mornings 30s by layering up and riding until the sun warmed me. Cold nights I would do the same for sleeping. There were a lot of hot and sunny days, so sun coverage became more important overall than warmth, lots of sun screen and sun sleeves. I knew trying to ride with a killer sunburn would just be miserable.
I worked off a Garmin GPS, but having the maps to cross reference was great. Being able to see what is ahead of you for services gave me nice peace of mind, except when that one store was closed or, even worse, not there anymore.
Getting back to the question of what to bring though, here is the detail on what I packed:
2- Sea-to-Summit 5 liter dry bags.
1- Revelate Designs Viscacha saddle bag
1- Ortlieb handlebar bag
In one of the Sea-to-Summit bags I packed sleeping gear: Nimo bivy, Nimo Astro Insulated Lite Pad, Sea-to-Summit pillow, merino wool sleeping liner.
In the other Sea-to-Summit, I packed odd bits: two spare tubes, patch kit, brake pads, chain quick links, wire connectors, shrink tubing, small first aid kit, soap, baby oil, tent spikes and repair kit, cables for charging, spare batteries, and zip ties.
In the Viscacha Saddle Bag I packed clothing: 3 pair socks from the Athletic and Rapha, two kits, Rapha rain jacket, Rapha brevet vest, Rapha long sleeve brevet jersey, Ibex long sleeve merino wool base layer, Ibex wool cap, Drifters bandana, 1 t-shirt, 1 pair running shorts, 1 cap, 1 pack towel, 1 tube, 1 toe strap, a spare tire that i gave away, and my Spot tracker.
In the Ortlieb handlebar bag, I packed the stuff I wanted instant access to: snacks! maps, sun screen, sun sleeves, camera and charger, multi tool, chain breaker, chain lube, knife, spork, full finger gloves that I lost trying to dry them off from the humidity in Missouri, tooth paste and tooth brush, a tube, a pen, a notebook, matches, external battery charger and wires, and some pennies I found.
Of course, the bike is worth mentioning. I rode a Seven Cycles Evergreen SL with a SRAM Red 22 group, Velocity Aileron rims, Son 28 generator hub front and Velocity hub rear, 700×28 Ruffy Tuffy tires, Super Nova E3 front and rear lights, Brooks Cambium saddle, Thomson stem and post, FSA bars, Garmin 1000, Time ATAC pedals, 3 King Cages and water bottles.
This is Ken’s Evergreen SL, another great build from Bob at Wheel Werks in Crystal Lake, IL. It’s hard to tell how well the bike came out, because Ken more or less immediately put it through hell (see his comment below), and he sent pictures with it still covered in mud from one of the more intense editions of the Dirty Kanza in recent memory. We love it.
Ken says:
The bike is great, couldn’t be happier. Two days after I picked it up I did a 300k and if performed perfectly in terms of fit and performance. Also did Dirty Kanza 200 a few weeks later, same thing (rider, not so good…19hrs, 59 minutes).
See more of Ken’s photos here.
