History – Page 6 – Seven Cycles

On the Road: Palo Alto Bicycles

It’s good to get out. It’s really, really good to get out to the Bay Area where we work with some of the best shops in the country. Last week we visited with our friends at Palo Alto Bicycles. PAB has been open since 1930 right on University Ave in the middle of town, a real institution in the local cycling community. It’s a big shop with plenty of natural light streaming in at the front, and we’ve been working with them since our first year in business, 1997. Since then we’ve built nearly 300 bikes together, with more coming every day.

General Manager Jeff Selzer has been a champion of our brand for a long time, and his decades in the bike business, coupled with a larger leadership role in the industry, make him a valuable partner for us. When he tells us what’s going on in the world of bikes, we try to listen.

We believe that the local bike shop is the center of cycling culture in any community, and PAB typifies that belief. We are proud to work with them.

#TBT

Here is the bike Seven friend and sponsored-rider Mary McConneloug rode at the Beijing Olympics. It’s the same frame she rode at the Athens games four years earlier, making it the only mountain bike ever to feature in two Olympics. We are so proud of this bike, and Mary of course, because it proves that well-made things can last, even at the absolute top of the sport.

#TBT

Our own Rob V, taking a last spin around the shop floor at Merlin Metalworks where he had been the first full-time employee. This is roughly a year before he founded Seven, and gave us all a place to pursue our maniacal bicycle dreams.

We do NOT, as a rule, ride around the shop floor here at Seven, not because we are so much wiser and more mature now, but rather because titanium shards will flat a tire faster than you can say, “Hey, you can’t ride that thing in here!”

You also don’t need to crash a bike into a giant mill or lathe too many times, before you decide you’re safer on the road, in heavy traffic.

This is a particularly amusing photo for us, because it predates all the work we’ve committed to building Seven. At this point, Rob hadn’t even decided to stay in the bike business. There’s no telling what was on his mind as he spun around the Merlin shop floor, and conveniently, he maintains he can’t remember.

Poorer for His Absence

Sadly, Robin Williams has left the stage. The whole world has lost of one of the great entertainers of our time, but we are also sad as cyclists to have lost a passionate rider, collector, benefactor and friend. We were fortunate to build a couple of bikes for him, to interact with him the way we do with all Seven riders, as a collaborator in the bike building process. Our brief experiences with him suggested he was down-to-earth, humble and looking for the same things we were, the simple joy of cycling, some freedom from life’s cares. He appreciated the finer points of design and craftsmanship. He was a bike nerd.

And because of the way we work, we find that we almost always get more from our customers than they get from us. They teach us to build better bikes. They give us the opportunity to continue practicing our craft. Among the thousands who ride Sevens though, Williams gave us something unique. He taught us how to take ourselves less seriously. As people, and as bike builders, it is an invaluable lesson. We are all a little poorer for his absence.

Editions of One: Project Pioneer

What are the Editions of One?

The Seven Cycles’ Editions of One bikes are special projects aimed at pushing the bounds of our creativity and ability. Like every Seven, built for the person who will ride it, each is one of a kind. Each is meant to inspire. Each is meant to celebrate the craft of bike building and the freedom cycling affords us all.

We will release three Editions of One this year. The first, built back in March was the Ever Changing Evergeen. The second is currently underway, and will be completed in time for an adventurous ride this weekend. We’re calling this second Edition of One, Project Pioneer.

Project Pioneer Design Details

Eugene Christophe was leading the 1913 Tour de France when his fork broke on the descent of the Tourmalet. Prohibited from accepting outside help, he hiked 10km to the village of Ste-Marie-de-Campan with his bike on his shoulder. Once there he repaired his own fork at the forge of Mssr. Lecomte and then continued on to the finish even though the entire field passed him while he toiled and the race was lost.

The Project Pioneer bike is a tribute not only to Christophe, but to the pioneer spirit of cycling’s early decades, to the self-sufficiency that cycling fosters and to the joy of building and riding your own bicycle.

Seven built this bike in collaboration with Rapha Performance Roadwear, the Rapha Continental Team and Ride Studio Cafe for the June 7^th, 2014 Pioneers Ride, designed as a tribute to the pioneers of early cycling. Details on the ride can be found here. All are welcome!

Design Details: Paying homage to the cycling era from 1900 through 1940.

Frame: Carbon tubing with titanium lugs and chain stays.
Tubular Truss: harkens back to bikes of this period.
Derailleur: Three-speed, designed and built from scratch, in house. Inspired by the first derailleur ever allowed in the Tour de France, the Super Champion.
Chain tensioner: Customized, in house.
Shift lever: Modified in house for three-speed use.
Gearing: 42 front; 14-18-24t cluster.
Handlebar: Wide flare drop bar.
Stem: Adjustable â€“ track style, built from scratch.
Wheels: Rims and hubs painted to match frameset.
Skewers: Modified wing nuts.
Paint: Logo designs and details based on the style of the era. Gold leaf logos â€“ real gold leaf. Unpainted chainstay â€“ reminiscent of chrome plating.

The Editions of One bikes are not for sale, but some design elements can be incorporated into our standard offerings. Each of these special bikes will remain in the Seven Cycles factory show room at the conclusion of their intended usage. For behind the scenes action of the creation of the bike, follow our Instagram feed, Twitter page or Tumblr.