Monday location: Seven || 11:10 am – 9:15 pm
- Product Development: Working on the final details of Mary McConneloug’s and Mike Broderick’s new 650b bikes. New chainstay design, a few details on the tubeset, seat post integration, and some head tube work. Going into production this week for a race in late January. Holidays got in the way.
- Time Marker: Seven Cycles has a rare holiday today. Nice and quiet at on the factory floor. Just my nose blowing to break the silence – and Eight-Ball.
Sunday location: Studio | 7:50 am – 5:40 pm
By hand. An old trick; sometimes looking inversely helps me find flaws.
This is an unusual post but I wanted to put this information somewhere. For a project on which I’m working I’m pulling together 12 cool randonneur bikes that Seven built recently. It’s a bit of a Gravel Road Calendar.
Three Seven randonee bikes together
Image from video: Natalia Boltukhova
1. Randonneur Traveler
- Frameset: Axiom SL with Seven Carbon mid-reach fork
- Kit details: S&S couplers; a custom mix of parts – optimized for 400k rando riding; 700c wheels with up to 28c tires.
- Owner: John B.
- Why this bike? This bike has ridden some of the toughest roads in the world – with aplomb. Recently raced the Mount Washington Hill Climb. Oh yeah, and threw in a good portion of the Dolomites, too. This bike defines the toughest bike category.
- What is unique about this bike? Custom Seven titanium rack: this rack folds up for easy traveling.
- More information: Photos.
- Frameset: Axiom SL with Seven Carbon mid-reach fork
- Kit details: SRAM Red 2012 kit. Custom wheels with generator hub.
- Owner: Matt R.
- Why this bike? This bike is built for speed. Both light weight and durable, this bike takes its design cues from Matt Roy’s randonee philosophy. Nothing extra on this bike. And it’s definitely built for the long ride.
- What is unique about this bike? Pushing the limits of light weight 400k riding.
- More information: Video of this bike in action.
[click to continue…]
Saturday location: Studio || 6:35 am – 6:10 pm
- Ride Project: Derick Lewis and Richard Bravo from Rapha visited for a chilly 100k road ride this morning. It was a great ride with good turnout. The group stayed ahead of the snow storm. Pamela put together another great ride – adjusted at the last moment because of weather. It was great to see Derrick and Richard. We’re working on a couple projects I look forward to seeing in 2013.
- Breakfast: We had oatmeal again at the studio. As Derrick put it – in a tweet.
Looks like that outlet isn’t charging very well. Maybe she threw the breaker. Too much power required?
Friday location: Seven | Studio || 8:00 am – 9:40 pm
- Press: Just alerted that Seven was included in Inc. Magazines “Trends to Watch 2013.”
- The Business of Bikes: Another local bike frame builder just closed up shop. I was surprised about this outcome. Framebuilding is a very tough business. Very few can maintain it as a part-time business. Very few can generate enough business to do it full-time. To make a living wage you have to build somewhere around one frame per week – at a true price; that’s a lot of customers. M.B.
- Framebuilding Myth: I was talking with a local framebuilder about how difficult it is to run a business – not actually related to the framebuilder closing I mentioned above. One of the many reasons it’s difficult is that the first one or two dozen frames are the “easy sales” because they are typically for friends and family. These people are psyched to get a bike from you – no matter what it looks like and how it’s designed. Then you start getting customers you don’t know – friends of friends or collectors from NAHBS. Their expectations are a lot more personal and maybe a lot higher. It’s no longer, “thanks for making me this awesome frame that you made by hand” that you might have heard from your cycling crew. Now you have to decide if you’re building bikes for riders or building bikes that you want, with hopes or expectations that people will like what you like. Both paths are very difficult and they get more difficult before they get easier. Why do you build frames?
Seven Cycles was included in Inc. Magazine’s list of trends to watch in 2013.
(Some) manufacturing is coming back to the U.S.
The rising cost of manufacturing abroad and new technologies like 3-D printing are combining to spark a resurgence of small manufacturing in America. Not only are consumers hungry for the unique and customized, but physical-product start-ups can also now work anywhere—see Seven Cycles, which produces high-end bicycles in Watertown, Massachusetts; Artifact Bag Company, whose leather and canvas goods are handmade in Omaha; and Shapeways, a 3-D printing “factory” in New York City.
Thursday location: Seven | 8:50 am – 8:15 pm
- Product development: Rear rack design for Seven Cycles. We’ve been making more heavy duty racks – for carrying 80 lbs type of riding. This is very different from a 30 lbs rack. We’re seeing more and more serious riding happening.
- Business Development: I was talking with someone about growing business and he mentioned an article I read a while ago by Jay Forrester titled “The Loop You Can’t Get Out Of” from MIT Sloan Management Review a while back. I’m a big proponent of growing business – that’s it’s a requirement if you’re interested in a sustainable business. Sustainability and growth are inseparable. Jay has begun arguing that that’s no longer possible in a ‘nongrowth’ world. I have a lot to say on this. Not enough room here to describe nuances. In my conversation with the Jay agreer I talked about the parameters of growth: the speed of growth – sustainable vs. step function. Also, do you define growth only as revenue? There are certainly other measures that are equally or more important to define growth – particularly if you’re interested in sustainability Not many people really are.
Wednesday location: Seven || 8:40 am – 6:40 pm
- Product Development: Been working on a set of next generation steel bikes for Honey. Not stainless. Hoping to have the first production bikes out in early February.
- Business Development: Working on closing some aspects of the 2012 calendar for Seven Cycles. I’m way behind, only bay about two months. Time off this week to get that done. Seven hit many of the goals we set for the year. We missed a couple, too, but overall a fantastic year. Summary to follow in January.
- Business Development: I’ve been working on the second five year plan for Honey Bikes. It’s a lot simpler than Seven’s plan so that’s nice. And it’s pretty interesting. A lot of great opportunity in steel, the evolving specialty market, and the US in general. Too many opportunities.
Tuesday location: Home
- Time Marker: Christmas day.
- Time Marker: The dogs continue to bark, and I continue to stumble-run.
Photo: The candies are a gift from David Nanian. Thank you Dave!
Journal title: “Quite a heavy frost in the night, everything white this morning & a little cat-ice on the pools. Curious sight of oranges & lemons on the trees frosted over […] at the moment there is a wave of cold all over the world. The mountains have for sometime past been covered with snow even on the lower slopes.” – George Orwell – Christmas day, 1938
Monday location: Studio | Home – in and out of consciousness
- Ride Project: Rapha Festive 500 hosted by Ride Studio Cafe began today. I guesstimate that there was about 40 people riding this morning! Pamela Blalock put all the rides together and is managing pretty much all of it. I headed out with Pamela, Patria, Matt & Susie, and a few others. I had to come back early. It was fun while it lasted. Totaled about 50k for me. “I kill bears.”
- Product Development: Nella Neve – working on a gearing challenge: how to get road ratios on a top pull front derailleur I think Dan and I have it figured out; and I’m sure something will go wrong. Ordering parts this week.
Monday location: Seven || 11:10 am – 9:15 pm
