25Seven

Rapha Continental with Seven

Recently, Rapha invited Seven Cycles to be part of the Rapha Continental team.  Rapha just posted their 2009 East Coast rider information on their site.  They posted pictures of Seven's Continental bike, an interview with me, and some photos of our shop.  It makes for interesting viewing.

Jeremy Dunn—soon to be expat of the Boston area—connected us with Rapha for this project.  Jeremy also connected us with Continental rider Steve Francisco.

Here are some of the puzzle pieces—and some links:

Local Cycling History – A Conversation about Charles Metz

And now for something completely different; a video post.  Here’s a brief interview excerpt I did a few weeks ago for Seven Cycles.  Jesse Cates, a grad student at Brandeis University, is working on a project for the CyberArts Festival in Waltham, MA.

The complete interview covered a number of topics, focusing on a bit of the history of local Massachusetts manufacturing, contemporary cycling culture, and the intersection of art and bikes.  In this excerpt we talk about one of the earliest bike builders in the United States:  Charles Metz.  He was a local bike builder—based in Waltham, MA—and a bike racer in the late 1800s.  He was also the inventor of the American motorcycle.

Brace for Impact – Part III of V

An Interview with Ghostride Magazine

A while back I posted the first and second parts of a conversation with my friend—and coworker at Seven Cycles—Skunk.  He interviewed me for his world renow magazine Ghostride.  This part of the interview won’t make much sense without reading the first two installments—actually, even if you did read them it probably still won't make sense.  I won’t retell the story here.  You have to read the first parts, if you care.

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A Ground Clamp and a Safety Squint

An interview with Rob Vandermark by Skunk at Ghostride, Part III

To ease us into this installment, we were previously talking about the first Donut Race back in 1987 and some other racing type events, like "Get in the box"...

Interview: Road Bike Action Magazine - Part III of IV

Back in January of 2008 Zapata Espinoza of Road Bike Action Magazine interviewed some frame builders about the future of frame and component design.  Seven Cycles and I were fortunate enough to be included.

I posted the first and second parts of the interview already.  Here's the third part of the full transcript.  The magazine edited the interview in order to fit into the magazine—and probably to reel in my rambling. 

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

The Future of Fit – An Interview with BRAIN - Part II

A while back Bicycle Retailer and Industry News Magazine asked me and others in the industry about the future of bike fitting.

Here I will reprint the entire transcript in three parts.  I reprinted the first part already.  Of course, it was edited down significantly in the magazine.  I preceded my answers to Sean Hong’s questions with a disclaimer.  It went a little something like this…

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It is always dangerous to make generalizations regarding topics as complex as ‘fit in the bike industry’.  Generalizations become more difficult when the outcome is so important to so many constituents and interested parties—retailers, large bike suppliers, small bike suppliers, and customers, to name a few.

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BRAIN:  What is a bike company’s responsibility to making sure a customer has a well-fitting bike? What is a retailer’s responsibility?

Interview: Tutto Mountain Bike, Italy - Part III

Here's the third installment from an interview I did, for Seven Cycles, with an Italian mountain bike magazine a few years ago.  You can read the first and second parts, too.  Since it was never published in English, and probably no one from the US saw it, I am posting a bit of it here.  

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

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Tutto:  “How is the American mountain biking evolving. In the past it was leader:  the top riders, the most important races and events, the best frame designers were American. How is the movement today?”

Interview: Pez Cycling - Part I

Pez Cycling is a great pro racing website and they've been a good friend to Seven Cycles over the years.  A while back Charles Manantan inverviewed me about Seven Cycles, our history, product line, philosophy, and Seven's future.

The interview is a long one--in its unredacted form.  I'll post the first question here and subsequent questions later.  My answer to Charles' first question feels a bit self promotional but I am printing it anyway.  I am asked this question not too infrequently; so, here goes...

The Future of Fit – An Interview with BRAIN

A while back Bicycle Retailer and Industry News Magazine asked me and others in the industry about the future of bike fitting.

Here I will reprint the entire transcript in two or three parts.  Of course, it was edited down significantly in the magazine.  I preceded my answers to Sean Hong’s questions with a disclaimer.  It went a little something like this…

______________________________

It is always dangerous to make generalizations regarding topics as complex as ‘fit in the bike industry’.  Generalizations become more difficult when the outcome is so important to so many constituents and interested parties—retailers, large bike suppliers, small bike suppliers, and customers, to name a few.

______________________________

BRAIN:  Why is proper fitting so important? Is it any less important with lower end bikes, compared to the higher end stuff Seven sells?

Brace for Impact – Part II of V

An Interview with Ghostride Magazine

Recently I posted the first part of a conversation with my friend—and coworker at Seven Cycles—Skunk.  He interviewed me for his world renown magazine Ghostride.  This part of the interview won’t make much sense without reading the first installment—or at least the introduction to the interview.  I won’t retell the story here.  You have to read the first part, if you care.

______________________

A Ground Clamp and a Safety Squint

An interview with Rob Vandermark by Skunk at Ghostride, Part II

To ease us into this installment, we were previously talking about the first Donut Race back in 1987.  Skunk asked why we raced both indoors and outdoors during these events…

Interview: Road Bike Action Magazine - Part II 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.  Seven Cycles and I were fortunate enough to be included.

I posted the first part of the interview already.  Here's the second part of the full transcript.  The magazine edited the interview in order to fit into the magazine—and probably to reel in my rambling. 

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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: