Articles – Page 57 – Seven Cycles

Seven’s McConneloug Wins Pan American Championship

Last week, Seven-sponsored mountain bike racer Mary McConneloug took the overall title in the elite women’s field at the 2013 Pan American Continental Championships. The race was held in the high mountain valley basin in the small town of Tafi de Valle, Argentina. Both Mary and teammate/husband Michael Broderick, who also competed, arrived 10 days early to acclimate to the higher altitude and prepare for the challenge as best as they could.

This is Mary’s 4th Continental Champion Title in the past 10 years riding a custom Seven.

Mary reported to us after her win saying:

“My IMX 29er was incredible once again… and especially fast as she lost a bit of weight (over a pound) when we installed SRAMs XX1 components… It was surely a team effort! THANK YOU all at Seven Cycles for your commitment to building the best bikes on the market! We are honored to represent!”

For pictures check out their blog.

Congratulations to Mike and Mary for another amazing win. We are proud to have you as representatives of the Seven Cycles team.

Terry’s Resolute SLX with Custom Paint

Terry is a co-owner of Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Studio. This is Terry’s new Resolute SLX. The custom paint scheme is designed by a good friend of the shop’s, Derek Blagg.

Terry says:

I wanted to keep a steel bike in my quiver as I really like the feel of a steel bike. The bike was designed to be road bike ready for fenders. As the project and the paint evolved I realized that steel bikes are really where my passion for bikes is. I truly believe a steel bike can ride beyond the expectations of any material. Now the bike is MY ROAD BIKE and might see fenders for a few months a year while my Mudhoney SL is devoted to cross season.

Can you please let everyone involved with my new bike it is the most wonderful bike I have ever owned. There is no reason in the world not to ride a Seven. You get just what you want. The welds and paint are so perfect. Thank you.

Ambi’s 622 SLX

This is Ambi’s new 622 SLX with integrated seat post (ISP), 44mm headtube, and Di2 shifting perched against a guard rail in the Marin headlands looking down over the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. We built it with our friends at City Cycle.

Ambi says:

My bike is finally completed and she had her first 40+miles today up and down SF hills and the Marin Headlands, even saw family of deers too. She rides as mean as she looks, and as good, as fast…super stiff, awesome downhill, uphill, cutting corners..you name it! That over-sized head tube looks insane!

Effortless! Now i need to be in shape all the time to keep up with this bike.

Thanks again for all your help and please thank Jordan and all Seven crew who helped made my dream bike. Can’t wait to ride again. You guys are awesome! I am eyeing a Ti Axiom or Cafe Racer in the future. But in the meantime this bike is so awesome!

Crossing Categories

In the beginning (1997) we were known as builders of custom road and mountain bikes, and certainly of the more than 25,000 frames we’ve turned out, many of them fit neatly into one of these two categories. But as we’ve gone along, we’ve expanded our line to include more models than any other custom builder. Today we build cyclocross race and adventure bikes, urban commuters, track bikes and tandems.

Another thing that has happened is that the basic constraints of traditional categories have broken down, so that today, even though we are still building traditional road and mountain bikes, a very high percentage of our work is on bikes that cross categories or even combine them. Cyclocross race bikes that convert to bad weather commuters are common. Road bikes that convert easily for touring. Monster cross machines.

What our riders are beginning to understand is that a custom bike can be designed to serve multiple purposes simply by incorporating some features not commonly available on production bikes. Often, when they are thinking of buying two bikes for two different aspects of their cycling life, we can build them just one.

Categorization can be a good way to understand a bike’s basic functionality, but it can also be a constraint, and when you’re in the business of building dream bikes, no one wants to be constrained. That’s why we do what we do.

Melinda’s 650C Axiom S

This is Melinda’s brand new 650c Axiom S. We built it in partnership with our friends at Podium Multisport in Atlanta. The challenge here was to find a good, balanced design and fit for Melinda, who is both diminutive in stature and aggressive in riding style. Working around a 650c wheel size, Podium gave us positionals to work from, and we came up with this bike, which seems to be just what Melinda was looking for…

She reports:

My first real ride didn’t occur until yesterday! We went about 53 miles, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Here is my first impression: All the the ‘hot spots’ where I felt uncomfortable on my other bike were nonexistant..The pinch at the ankles, tweak in the knee, hip; ache in the back, etc….all gone. It felt like I could be on the bike and actually relax my entire body. Like sitting in a “stressless” chair (if you know what those are).

From a power perspective, on my old bike I always felt that I couldn’t pull up on the pedal stroke efficiently and I was correct! I was missing about half my power in the stroke because I couldn’t get the pull. On this bike I felt like I could utilize muscles and power that I never had access to. Rather than feeling the crunch at mile 20 and hanging off the back and thinking I couldn’t possibly go another 30+miles, I stayed toward the front most of the time, was able to fly up the hills, and even had energy left over at the end of the ride. It was beyond anything that I could have imagined!

Needless to say, I am pleased! I felt the road but not all of the bad things that come from the road like uncomfortable bumps, etc. It absorbed those nicely. It was incredibly responsive and ZIPPY! There is no better term for it! I don’t think Alan is very happy though because I smoked him up the big hills and had to hold back to fetch his sorry ass at the end of the ride. Oh well, can’t please them all!