8:25 am – 8:10 pm || Location: HomeBase | Seven | Studio
Skunk working on a 622 at Seven Cycles. Photo by Skunk.
- Exhibit: Mass MOCA has two bikes from Seven Cycles on display this past weekend. I was excited when we were given the opportunity to exhibit at MOCA because it may be the best contemporary art museum in Massachusetts. It’s always gratifying when a museum expresses interest in our work. We exhibited two commuter-centric bikes: my original commuter bike with blue and white fenders, and a limited edition bike that Seven offered a few months ago.
- Press: Seven Cycles was in The Boston Globe last week in an article about the resurgence of manufacturing in Massachusetts. While I don’t agree that there is a resurgence yet, I believe there is an opportunity for this. However, the business environment will change first. For example:
- Boston is the fourth worst state in which to run a business.
- “California and Massachusetts in league of their own for anti-business regulatory environment.” – CEO Magazine
- “Taxachussetts” has one of the highest corporate income tax rates in the nation at 9.5%.” – Mainstreet.com
- Small Business Survival Index: 72.515; ranked number 44 out of all states.
- It’s getting better – than the absolute worst; in 2006 and 2007 Massachusetts was ranked 49th in both years.
- Product Design: Road Bike. Working on a private label bike frame project: The CFG-Bike Project. With one of my favorite companies that’s not located in the US. Nothing large but it will be fun. Sportif style bikes. More to come.
- Product Design: Mountain Bike. Working on a private label bike project with a US mountain bike builder: PAC-Bike Project. Very interesting. Have to carve out more time for this project. Deadline looming. Pricing is the challenge – it always seems to be the challenge. It seems that we’re receiving more and more interest in private label work. We’ve never searched for this type of work because we’re very focused on continuous improvement for our customers and retailers for the Seven Cycles brand. However, we have had a few private label relationships for a number of years. We’re very selective about the brands with which we’ll work. And our private label capacity is very small.
- Product Design: Working on a Honey Hup singlespeed cyclocross bike Special Edition for Hup United. It’s going to be as cool as the bike we did last year. But totally different. Up against the deadline of end of this week. Great.
- Design: Working on a custom rain cap. A new design that would have come in handy on yesterday’s all-rain commute. The design I’m thinking about I haven’t seen before. Red Dots has been a great partner with which to work. I’m hopeful they might be up for this.
- Design: Sketched out a sleet cap design, too. Similar in concept to the rain cap but will work better in sleet. Can’t wait to test it out.
- Project: Working on a major overhaul of the Ride Studio Cafe’s pedal system matrix for determining ideal system based on rider type. Simple but very helpful. Including stack height info that translates to road and mountain bikes – and for multiple bikes, pedals, and shoes.
- Project: Updated Ride Studio Cafe’s cleat fitting methodology. It’s a system we designed about two-years ago and it’s been really successful. I’m working on improving the documentation and speed of implementation.
- Humor?: I can tell that I’m a bit too busy when I need to go to the bathroom but I don’t because, “I don’t have time.” How odd.
Post title taken from Passenger Seat by Death Cab For Cutie.
“Then looking upwardsI strain my eyes and tryTo tell the differencebetween shooting stars and satellitesFrom the passenger seatas you are driving me home”
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