A (much) younger Rob V with Seven #1, the steel Rex he raced once or twice. He can’t remember.
An Ultimate Travel Bike
Opportunities to collaborate with others who think deeply about the bike are extremely valuable to us, and one person we’ve worked with on and off over the entire history of Seven Cycles is Red Kite Prayer founder Patrick Brady. We’ve been searching for a project to work on together for a few seasons now, and finally we have it.
Patrick spends so much of his time flying around the world on cycling trips, and we spend an equal amount of time building bikes for exactly those sorts of far flung adventures, destination rides we’d all love to participate in, that the idea of collaborating with him to create an ultimate travel bike made a ton of sense. As luck would have it, Patrick was enthusiastically on board.
A week ago, Patrick stopped by to catch up, meet some new faces, and begin talks on the travel bike project. There was also time for a quick spin on an early travel bike prototype.
Those talks ended up taking hours, and all topics great and small were discussed. The result will be a bike specifically engineered to make travel as convenient as possible, without sacrificing the bike’s performance one iota.
We’ll be releasing details as they unfurl, but a few of the parameters we will focus on are:
- Versatility: Can we do a road event? A gravel ride? A dirt adventure?
- Pack-ability: How easy is it to take apart and reassemble the bike?
- Speed: How fast can we get on the bike after landing? How much time do we need to catch a flight?
- Component selection: Which parts are the most dependable, and how easy are they to repair in the field?
Stay tuned!
#TBT
We stumbled across a wealth of photos from Seven’s past, and thought we’d share them each Thursday, each Throw Back Thursday that is. #TBT
Here is our head of production, roughly 17 years ago.
Cover Model
The surprise wasn’t finding the latest issue of Bicycling Magazine in the mail, that’s like clockwork, but to find a Seven on the cover has everyone at the Seven factory abuzz.
If you look hard enough on page 63, you can make out the blurred lines of our Head of Production Matt O’Keefe and his wife Susi’s Seven Sola 007 SL tandem. Susi, #547, stands in front of it.
But the surprises kept coming! Our own Brad Smith, and his chiseled legs, can be found on page 65 standing in the Green River during the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee.
Thanks to Bicycling Magazine for making our day.
125th Anniversary
Back when the first signs of Spring were upon us, our friend Larry Burke, Mavic’s OEM manager, stopped in to show us the 2015 wheel line up. Larry makes a point to stop in every year, and each year he brings the same gusto to the unveiling. Each wheel is a little stiffer, a little more aero, and somehow, without fail, a little lighter than the year before. He can explain how each benefit was achieved with the greatest of ease. This year was a little different than normal, however, because Mavic is celebrating 125 years in the bike business, and to commemorate such a feat, they are launching a new brand communications center and Service Course in Los Angeles, CA, as well as producing a limited run of anniversary edition wheels, the Ksyrium 125’s.
Larry explained that Mavic wanted to showcase a few frame builders at the new communications center and invited Seven to participate. Seven has a long history with Mavic, maybe not 125 years worth, but if you thumb through all seventeen years of our brochures, you’ll notice more Mavic wheels than any other brand. Naturally, we were thrilled.
The parameters were pretty open. Mavic wanted to give us the creative freedom to make the bike a representation of our relationship with Mavic both professionally and personally, and hoped that the Ksyrium 125 wheelset would inspire us. They needed the bike in time for the event where it would sit on display until being donated to a Davis Phinney Foundation fundraiser in October. With that, Larry was off, but promised to drop off the limited edition wheels when the bike was ready to build.
Designing a show bike is as fun as it sounds. Sometimes show bikes end up being pieces of art and see little use. Some are far-fetched and end up more like concept bikes not for every day riding. Some end up being an exercise in aesthetics. But this bike was for Mavic. If there is one thing that comes to mind when we think of Mavic, it’s usability. Sure they look great and every cyclist is familiar with the striking yellow and black logo, but first and foremost, their wheels are built to be ridden. So when we designed the bike, drafted the paint scheme, and chose parts, we wanted each element to be as usable as a Mavic wheelset, and as attractive as the 2015 wheels Larry showed us.
The result, in our eyes, is a stunning bike that is built to be ridden all day, everyday. The titanium Axiom SL frame, stem, and seat post are as ready for the road now, as they will be in fifty years. The components, Shimano Ultegra 6800, are tried and true. The limited edition, matte black, Ksyrium 125 wheels look great, but like the Ksyriums that came before, are ready to log endless miles. The paint scheme stands out because the colors are so striking. A rich glossy black, vibrant Mavic yellow, and subtle matte black accents look racy and pair harmoniously with the wheels. The complete package is a bike worthy of a 125th anniversary party for a trusted partner, and your favorite group ride. The complete bike, as shown, has a retail price of $9,395, though the Ksyrium 125’s are limited.
We’re honored to have played a small role in Mavic’s anniversary celebration, and look forward to the next 125 years of Mavic innovation.