25Seven

Planet Luxury

A few months ago a television program called Planet Luxury visited Seven Cycles.  The producer of the program thought Seven’s custom bikes would be a good fit for the show.  Of course, I was excited and flattered.  I was also a bit nervous because we would never want Seven to viewed as a luxury item.  But, I thought it might be fun to do because, at the very least, I know that Seven’s employees would probably find it fun to have a camera crew around to see the awesome work that each of our artisans—in production and in the office—provide.

The producer and the director arrived and they began filming everything.  They spent the entire day at Seven and shot at least four hours of film.  I know that an hour of film edits down into one to two good minutes—or at least when I’m involved it seems to.

R&D in the Fall

People often ask me how we perform research and development at Seven Cycles.  It’s pretty simple—and more easily described visually.  

So, here’s a photo to help explain.  By the way, I’m the one all the way on the right—in case that wasn’t obvious.

Here you can see us working on our special Halloween limited edition.  It's coming along nicely, doncha think?

Interview: Tutto Mountain Bike, Italy - Part II

Here's the second installment--of a few--from an interview I did with an Italian mountain bike magazine a few years ago.  You can read the first part here.  Since it was never published in English, and probably no one from the US saw it, I am posting a bit of it here; I'll post more of it later.  

Keep in mind that I was trying to communicate in language designed for non-English speakers.

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"What does it mean today be one of the most important American frame designers? Most of all a designer like you, who still believe in light cross country frames.”

Thanks for considering Seven to be one.

By ‘light cross country frame’ I assume you mean ‘hardtail’?  If so, we believe in the properly designed titanium hardtail.  A titanium—and to some extent, steel—hardtail can provide impressive ride characteristics.

The way in which Seven designs hard tails provides a unique ride.  There are four unique elements to Seven’s hardtail:

Commuting Conspiracy

Just a short post today; it's been a very good and very long day--lots to post about when I'm not exhausted.

A few words about my commute.  I have had a Toyota Prius for about four years now and I love it.

Not only is it just about the best hybrid available, I can get really good mileage on it, particularly if I work some of the tricks.

Now, I know that I shouldn't be driving--that would get me the best mileage of all.  However, when I do drive to work, and if I pay attention to maximizing mileage, I can get over 80 miles to the gallon.

Here's proof.

Lean Rememberance

I received a call today from the owner of a high end bike manufacturer.  He called to ask about Seven’s approach to lean manufacturing and how we have applied it successfully.  He is looking for ways to improve his business and feels that Seven has accomplished some of what he is striving to do.

This might not sound like an unusual call—business people discussing strategies.  However, anyone in the bike supplier world will recognize this situation to be pretty unusual.  The high end bike industry is very competitive; there are a growing number of suppliers looking for larger slices of a shirking pie.

I am flattered that he called to ask for advice.  Before today, I never stopped to think about the fact that I and a few others at Seven were present during the beginnings of the coining of the term ‘lean manufacturing’.  Jim Womack—author of the 1990 book, The Machine That Changed the World—coined the term in the mid 1990s.  'Lean' is essentially an Americanized expression for the Toyota Production System (TPS) that began in the 1940s.

Zara Sounds Familiar

I was reading in October 20 BusinessWeek about the Spanish fashion retailer, Zara.  Zara is the world’s second largest clothing retailer.  The article is titled, “Zara Thrives by Breaking All the Rules”.

The article explains how, in this challenging consumer and retailer environment, Zara is succeeding by doing business differently.  And that they are changing the way retail is done.  I was struck by how every one of the ‘break all the rules’ strategies BusinessWeek described are nearly identical to the way in which Seven has always worked. 

It’s gratifying to see that Seven’s counterintuitive business model is beginning to be accepted as a legitimate and powerful strategy to help retailers and customers.

Here’s a comparison table.

Yogi Berra and the Seveneers

I love the term ‘Seveneers’.  Unfortunately, most of the folks I work with at Seven Cycles don’t seem to like it, so I keep it to myself.  I tried to sneak it into a document the other day and, again, someone noticed and told me to redact it.  Darn it.

I was just thinking about where the term came from.  Every time I write it I remember that Ted Costantino—of Velonews fame and currently the publisher of VeloPress—used the expression in an email he sent me long ago; it must have been over a decade ago—when Seven was just starting out.  I believe he used the word as a term of endearment, and it has always stuck with me.  I mean it as a term of endearment, too.  The word, to me, is part fun Mickey Mouseketeer, part family, and part underdog—I guess from the similarity to the word ‘buccaneer’.  Apparently, no one else sees the word that way.

Ted is an amazing person and he’s on the short list of influencers on my career path and on the way I think about the bike industry.  I first met Ted in 1988 when I was working at Merlin Metalworks and he was running Bicycle Guide magazine.  This magazine has not been published for a number of years now, but back in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s it was the most important bike periodical in publication.

A Visit from Chris King

I think Seven might have a mutiny next week…

Today Seven Cycles had a visit from Chris King, Chris DiStefano, and Jeremy Dunn.  Jeremy was kind enough to bring Chris and Chris—from the company King Cycle Group—to see Seven during their East Coast trip; Chris King is located in Portland, Oregon.

I’ve always respected—as pretty much everyone does—Chris’s business, product, commitment to quality and durabilty, and their very clear and steady value proposition.  At least 99% of all Seven’s get a Chris King headset.  Without question, King headsets are the benchmark for quality and durability in the bike industry. 

I cannot think of another product that I could compare with King headsets; seriously.  For example, when Seven is determining the parts kit for a test bike, magazine, bike, prototype, or show bike, the only part that we never evaluate is the headset; it is always a King.  Period.  Every other part on the frame is up for debate; every part.  The only debate regarding King is, “what color?”

So, when I heard he would be visiting, I was curious.  When the three arrived at Seven Cycles, Matt O’Keefe gave them an extended tour.  Chris was interested, more than most people, and he asked insightful questions that most people don’t. 

Interview: Road Bike Action - Part I of III

Back in January of 2008 Zapata Espinoza of Road Bike Action Magazine interviewed some frame builders about the future of frame and component design.  I was fortunate enough to be included; it turns out that I was also lucky enough to be the only builder in the article.  

Here's the first part of the full transcript.  The magazine edited the interview in order to fit into the magazine--and probably to keep people from falling asleep.

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Zapata:  What do you see in the new world of frame design, materials, and components and where are we heading?

Rob V:  That’s a big topic.  I've tried to think about the question from ‘a ten years down the road’ perspective.  Here goes:

Sponsorship: Investment or Insanity

"You know what you should do?  You should sponsor one of those Tour de France teams.  It's great exposure."  

So said the unsolicited marketing genius.  Sounds like a great idea.  Lots of press; lots of prestige; lots of great stories about crazy racers.  Oh, wait, I think I just woke up.  For some, a dream; for some, a nightmare. 

I was talking with a great friend of Seven Cycles today about a sponsorship opportunity in which we were mentioned.  I have to keep his name out of this post because it is an ongoing conversation--although it will probably not be ongling for long.

This opportunity is about a ProTour team, meaning one of the top 18 teams that races in the 15 most challenging road bike races in the world.  A team that is all but assured to be invited to race in the Tour de France, for example.

Every few years it seems we get an opportunity to talk with a team of this caliber.  Of course, it's a real honor to be considered as a brand worthy of sponsoring a ProTour team.