Seven Racers – Page 16

Seven on the World Cup Circuit

We recently built new Sola 650b SLX race bikes for Mike Broderick and Mary McConneloug and had them delivered to Germany where the pro mountain biking power couple are working their way around the World Cup circuit.

Mary said:

The frames turned out beautifully!

The care you all take with your work, the attention to detail and finesse is second to NONE! Rob – your design, is again, masterful! We know so many hands played a part in this project! Thank you guys for your artful work in planning, crafting and shipping these incredible frames to Mike and I over here in Europe!! Mike spent the majority of this past week carefully building the frames up at the SRAM headquarters in central Germany. Having access to a real shop (and not some outdoor RV camp spot) to build the bikes up was very much appreciated. Thanks to our awesome crew of supporting sponsors who helped with the various components – everything came together perfectly.

We feel so lucky to be backed by the best in the industry and we are honored to represent you all out in the field!

We got out on our first ride in the forests of Schweinfurt yesterday and instantly were both SMILING! The fit and balance of the frames are impeccable. My first impression of riding the 27.5 wheel size was the ease of acceleration. I could feel the relation of the pedal stroke efficiently translate my power to the smaller wheel size and it seemed easier overall to push and maintain a smooth cadence. The complete bike is also a little lighter and easier to maneuver through the tight turns of the trails…

We can hardly wait to RACE our new 27.5 Solas at the World Cup in Italy this weekend!!!

Thank you all again!!!

We are truly honored to represent Seven Cycles and ever grateful for your continued support of our team.

Yours truly,

Mary and Mike

Seven’s McConneloug Wins Pan American Championship

Last week, Seven-sponsored mountain bike racer Mary McConneloug took the overall title in the elite women’s field at the 2013 Pan American Continental Championships. The race was held in the high mountain valley basin in the small town of Tafi de Valle, Argentina. Both Mary and teammate/husband Michael Broderick, who also competed, arrived 10 days early to acclimate to the higher altitude and prepare for the challenge as best as they could.

This is Mary’s 4th Continental Champion Title in the past 10 years riding a custom Seven.

Mary reported to us after her win saying:

“My IMX 29er was incredible once again… and especially fast as she lost a bit of weight (over a pound) when we installed SRAMs XX1 components… It was surely a team effort! THANK YOU all at Seven Cycles for your commitment to building the best bikes on the market! We are honored to represent!”

For pictures check out their blog.

Congratulations to Mike and Mary for another amazing win. We are proud to have you as representatives of the Seven Cycles team.

Video – Green Mountain Double Century 2012

The Green Mountain Double Century is a singular sort of endurance event. The 2012 version was 215 miles, 80% on dirt roads, with 26,500ft of climbing. There is a time cut off of 40 hours. Theoretically, it is a race, but such is the challenge that many ride just to finish.

The inaugural event, in 2011, saw about a dozen riders start, and only four finish. Three of them were from the Ride Studio Cafe Endurance Team, John Bayley, David Wilcox and Matt Roy. They finished in just short of 19 hours. The 2012 version saw the RSC team, all on Ti Sevens, “win” the overall again, shaving three hours off their previous best time. These guys are all randonneuring legends who keep raising the bar for the endurance cycling community. We were incredibly honored to have them all on our bikes.

Natalia Boltukhova of Pedal Power Photography, who shot most of our Love to Ride brochure as well as the photo above, traveled with the winning team in both 2011 and 2012, putting together this photo set and this video, which captures the brutality (and humor) of the event beautifully.

GMDC 2012 from Natalia Boltukhova on Vimeo.

Dan’s Steel Mudhoney

This is Dan’s new, steel Mudhoney with a paint scheme he designed himself and we liked so much we made it one of our standard offerings. We call it ‘Antsy,’ because once this frame got to the paint team, Dan checked in on it every fifteen minutes or so until it was done.

It is safe to say Dan is the fastest guy in the building, and he built this bike to race, not just to embarrass us all on the regular Wednesday night Battle Path ride. The basic idea here was to build a light steel racer he could go hard on during the season, but would keep on the road year round. The 44mm head tube and integrated head set give the bike a modern look, and the paint feeds that same vibe.

So this is really a balance of traditional materials and design with a more contemporary aesthetic. The geometry is “American cross,” with a lower bottom bracket and slacker head tube angle. The paint scheme says, “I’m probably faster than you.” And he is.

Team Kenda Seven No Tubes at 2012 USA Cycling MTB CC National Championships!

Mary McConneloug and Mike Broderick took the 2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho by storm last weekend!

On Saturday, July 7, Mary raced to a podium finish taking the 5th position in the Women’s Pro Cross Country race. Later in the afternoon Mike put in a solid performance finishing 17^thoverall in the Men’s Pro Cross Country field. On Sunday morning, Mike raced to a 12th place finish in the Pro Men’s Super D and returned in the afternoon to take 19th place in the Pro Men’s Short Track Cross Country race. Mary raced in Sunday afternoon’s Women’s Pro Short Track Cross Country field and took a podium spot and bronze medal in her race!

Here is what Mary had to say about the races in sunny, parched Idaho:

“It is high and super dry out here with little chance of badly needed precipitation. The XC course consists of a single steep fire road climb that sorts everything out before dropping us into a no passing single track descent. It makes for some hard racing at this altitude but it was a good weekend and we are both stoked to be healthy and fit!”

At Nationals, Cycling Dirt interviewed Mike about his IMX SL 29er. Mike raced all of three races on this bike, and we are happy to hear he’s satisfied with its performance.