Axiom SL

We talk about customization a lot, but the word itself means so many different things to so many different people it becomes sort of meaningless, another bike industry buzz word that flies around but seldom lands.  We thought it might be a good idea to explain how WE customize a bike using the Bicycling magazine test bike we built for Joe Lindsey as an example.

The truth is we didn’t want to send Joe an Axiom SL, initially.  When he got in touch with us we were just putting the finishing touches on the 622 SLX, and the opportunity to put our newest creation into a big magazine was exciting.

But Joe didn’t want a purpose-built speed demon.  He was more interested in versatility and timelessness, so we arrived, together, at the Axiom SL.  It’s light, but not the lightest.  It can race, or it can tour.  And it showcases our double-butting process, one of the ways we tune ride characteristics to the rider.

Joe filled out our Custom Kit, a small pamphlet we developed to capture all the ideas a rider has about his or her new bike, and also to learn some things the rider might not mention otherwise.  It starts with personal information, name, age, and weight, but also occupation and geographic location.  We ask about what people do, so that we can get a sense for their everyday ergonomics.  Do they sit at a desk all day or are they more active?  Clues like this tell us a lot about how a rider will approach their new bike.  Where they live gives us some idea about the roads they’ll ride, the hills or the flats, the quality of the surfaces.

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Patrick Brady wrote a brief history of  New England bicycle manufacturing in the latest issue of Peloton Magazine, “New England Genesis”, and Seven was lucky enough to be included in it.  In his blog, Red Kite Prayer, Patrick elaborates on the interconnectedness of the region’s bike building companies, and created a family tree to illustrate some of the relationships.

We are honored to be a part of this thriving and expanding community, and we wanted to clarify a few aspects of Patrick’s illustration that might be confusing to readers.  Here is a list of framebuilders and bike-building industry people of which we’re aware that started businesses after working with local – primarily Massachusetts – framebuilders.  For example, King Cage is not a framebuilder, but Ron worked at Fat City Cycles so we included him on this list.

A Long History of Photo-Taking

Each company mentioned is a framebuilder, unless otherwise indicated:

Updated 23 December 2011

Seven Cycles

In addition to Red Kite Prayer’s list, here are some companies started by Seven Cycles employees and alumnae, and clarification regarding some of the companies relationships to Seven:

• Zanconato, Mike Z. was building frames before working at Seven and continues to build frames since his tenure at Seven.
• SCUL, Skunk.  SCUL is more of a chopper gang than a framebuilder.  Currently works with Seven.
• Sketchy Cycles, Mike Salvatore.  Currently works with Seven.
• Banjo Cycles, Ahren Rogers.
• Rack Lady, Leah Stargardter.  She builds custom bike racks.
• 333fab, Maxwell Kullaway and Bernard Georges.
• Icarus Frames, Ian Sutton.
• Royal H Cycles, Bryan Hollingsworth.  Currently works with Seven.
• Honey Bikes, Beekeepers.
• Kualis, Yoshi Nishikawa.  Currently works with Seven.
• Saila, Lauren Trout.  Currently works with Seven.
• Bike retailers that originally worked at Seven Cycles and later started or owned bike stores and studios:
• Grace Bicycles – Holliston, Massachusetts, Roy Cervantes.
• Cascade Bicycle Studio – Seattle, Washington, Zac Daab.
• Ride Studio Cafe – Lexington, Massachusetts, kids – lots of them.
• Velosmith Bicycle Studio - Chicago, Illinois, Tony Bustamante.

Fat City Cycles

Here are some additional companies – beyond what’s mentioned on Red Kite Prayer – started by Fat City Cycles alumnae:

• King Cage, Ron Andrews – he makes water bottle cages.
• Igleheart, Chris Igleheart
• Bomber Cycles, Dave Blakney
• S.R.P., Jeff Federson – no longer in business; he used to make small parts for the bike industry.
• Jane Wear, Jane Hayes – no longer in business, she used to make clothing for the bike industry.

Merlin Metalworks

A couple of additional companies not mentioned in the Peleton article:

• Arctos Machine, Gary Helfrich – no longer in business; Arctos was based on the west coast.
• One-Off Titanium, Mike Augsburger – he used to make custom bicycles.

Independent Fabrication

Additional companies started by Independent Fabrication alumnae:

• A.N.T., Mike Flanagan
• Sputnik Metalworks, Jeff Buckles – he makes framebuilding tooling for the bike industry.
• Firefly Bicycle

Alternative Needs Transportation – A.N.T

A company to include in A.N.T.’s family tree; more to come, we’re certain:

• Geekhouse, Marty Walsh.  In the article, it may come across that Geekhouse was born out of Marty Walsh’s work with Seven.  Marty started Geekhouse prior to working with us, ran Geekhouse while he was working with Seven, and continues to operate Geekhouse today.

Serotta Competition Cycles

Yes, we know that New York is not in New England, but Serotta and the Boston bike building scene are connected – at the very least by Whitcomb.  Here are a few additional companies started by Serotta alumnae:

• Kirk Frameworks, Dave Kirk-Bozeman, Montana
• K. Bedford Customs, Kelly Bedford
  
• Ellis Cycles, Dave Wages

Local Builders

Here are a few framebuilders that didn’t start at a local bike company, as far as we know:

• Peter Mooney Cycles
• Hot Tubes, Toby Stanton.
  • Circle A Cycles, Chris Bull.
  • Maietta Cycles, Tony Maietta.
• Dave Weagle
  • E.thirteen
  • Evil
• Ted Wojcik Custom Bicycles
• Rhygin Cycles, Christian Jones – no longer in business.
• Parlee Bicycles, Bob Parlee.
• October Hand Made Bikes – no longer in business.

We’re sure we’re forgetting a bunch of people, so please let us know whom we’ve left out!  We thank Patrick for including us in this terrific article.  We hope that after reading Patrick’s work you’ll have a better understanding of the unique history of New England that helped launch so many amazing and innovative companies.