U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
New Seven partner shop, Belgianwerkx in Mequon, WI (just north of Milwaukee), wanted to do something special for their first floor demo bike. We think they succeeded. A steel Mudhoney, painted in their colors with Belgian flag accents, new HED Belgium rims, Cannondale crank, ENVE cockpit, the works. Nick Moroder, shop manager, said, “The handling is spot-on. SO responsive. And it’s unbelievably stiff for any bike, let alone just steel.”
For decades the conventional wisdom has held that certain steel tube sets, whether Reynolds or Columbus or True Temper, held magical, mystical properties that gave riders the exact ride feel and performance they were looking for. And while that may be true for some very specific riders, each of the legendary steel tube sets, whether Reynolds 853 or Columbus SL, is exactly that, just one tube set with a very specific diameter and wall thickness. Sometimes there is a choice of a second down tube, but that is the extent of the customizability of the tube choice. If you happened to be the perfect size match for the tube set, you were in luck, but if you were smaller, the frame you received might be far too stiff, or if you were larger, far too compliant.
At Seven, we have always built our frames from tubing specific to each rider. We take into account rider size, riding style, preferred road feel and general riding conditions. We may select a top tube or seat tube from one of the big steel tube set makers if it’s appropriate, or we may take raw steel tubing and butt it by hand, here in our factory, to craft the exact ride a customer is looking for. We butt and bend all our steel chain and seat stays in house. When the bike is custom, one size never fits all, and one tube set is never appropriate to every design.
This is the reality of building in steel, if you want a custom bike, one tuned for both performance and comfort. There is nothing wrong with the tube sets of legend, but it is true that each set is only a limited solution for a small subset of riders. When you get into custom bike building, we feel it is important to think more deeply about your materials, to see how they can best be applied in any design and to push back against convention, whenever necessary.
More about the Limited Edition Giro bike we created with our friends at Cascade Bicycle Studio here.
Issue 10 of peloton magazine is on newstands now, and in it you will find an article about the bicycle studio movement, a new wave of smaller, more fit and service focussed shops. Bicycle studios tend to have less clutter, less commodity and things you can get just anywhere. Instead they feature custom brands and high end accessories for riders who live their whole lives by bike. Think of the classic “pro” shop, then pare it down to an elegant austerity, and you have the modern bicycle studio.
The forebear of this new breed of shops was City Cycle of San Francisco under the stewardship of bike industry legend Clay Mankin. Mankin proved that you could build great bikes and make good money out of a very small space, if only you sold the right products. That shop, which continues on after Mankin’s early passing, began selling Seven when we were just a start up in 1997. Mankin’s loyalty to the brands he carried was off the charts. Though no longer, strictly speaking, a studio, City Cycle’s new owner Cory Farrer has kept Seven on the floor, even as other bike brands have come and gone.
In fact, here at Seven we were deeply gratified to see that, of the ten studios mentioned, seven of them are Seven dealers (ooooh, symmetry). In addition to City Cycle, those include Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle, owned by former Seveneer Zac Daab; Velosmith Bicycle Studio just outside Chicago, owned by another Seven alum, Tony Bustamante; Paul Levine’s Signature Cyles of Manhattan, Greenwich, CT and Central Valley, NY; Bespoke Cycles of San Francisco, Bike Effect in Los Angeles and the Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA.
In our experience, the studios are our most demanding customers. They’re the ones pushing us toward perfection. When you take the kind of time with each customer that they take, every detail has to be correct. Cascade Bicycle Studio and Velosmith in particular, because they’re run by former Seven employees, can be counted on for unfiltered, candid feedback on every bike we build for them.
Obviously, we are deeply committed to all the shops that sell our bikes. The studio concept, which has only proven viable in large urban markets up to this point, simply represents a new approach to bicycle retailing, the cutting edge of high end bike sales. To be represented by so many of these forward-thinking shops is a great validation of the work we do and an inspiration for us to keep pushing forward.
The first weekend in December found us at Get-a-Grip’s Fulton Street Fit Studio for an evening of bike chat and wine tasting. Seven founder Rob Vandermark spoke about our customization process and fielded questions on topics ranging from steel forks – we’re working on it – to full-suspension mountain bikes – we’re working on that too. Customers brought their Sevens, and we talked about all the decisions that go into a custom bike.
While we were there we met Erick Geer Wilcox, who makes custom bike shoes, and Mike Cacciabando, who rides the most Chicago-y bike in Chicago. We drank wine. We ate cheese. It was a party.
We were thrilled, but not surprised, to see three of our retailers named to the “Top Ten Best Bike Shops in America,†by Complex website.
Cascade Bicycle Studio in Seattle was lauded for its ability to custom build a bicycle for any customer. CBS aims to create a rider-centric atmosphere, as evidenced by their dedication to working with each cyclist on a one-on-one, appointment-only basis. This level of customer service creates a shop that the Seattle cycling community has come to trust as one of the most reliable and highest quality bike studios in the city.
Boulder Cycle Sport in Boulder, Colorado had a podium finish!Complex.com gave BCS high marks for its “dedication to finding the perfect ‘body-to-bike’ connection†and excellent repair service that the shop offers. Their efforts are paying off, as they have sold more Seven’s this year than ever before.
How did Bespoke Cycles in San Francisco improve the customer experience when they already had forty-eight years of combined fitting experience, customer first mentality, and an incredible selection of custom bikes, apparel, and gear? By moving into a beautiful new studio on Clay Street! We had a chance to check out the new digs a few weeks back and thoroughly impressed with the lay out and charm. We suspect Bespoke will be part of the top ten for many years to come.
Each of these Seven retailers shares a common trait: focus on the customer experience. A trait that, when embraced, has some profound effects. Making a top ten list is great press, but the real benefit is more happy customers, more evangelism, and of course, more sales. We’re privileged to work with retailers that set the bar so high.