55 Main Street :: Coming Together

We're getting settled into our new home, working out the kinks and building bikes again. It's been a long time coming, so here are a few pictures of the space.

First up is the showroom space. As I type, Jonathan Rummel of Hand Forged Iron Works is hanging his custom bike holders on the posts.


This is the "tree" that Jonathan built to hold bags and other merchandise.


From the showroom you can look through windows (actually the old windows that we replaced on the outside of the building) and see bikes being made on one side, and bags being made on the other side.



These are shots of the tacking and welding area. Its nice to have all of the big windows to let the light and breeze in, but it's not ideal for TIG welding, so we have some new custom curtains on order for the welding cells, kind of like what you'd find in a hospital room on tracks suspended from the ceiling. It'll let us open the area up when we want, and protect the welding when necessary.



Next up is our new paint booth. Chris just can't stop saying, "this thing is amazing". It is amazing; down draft, heated make up air, bake cycle, fully programmable logic controllers, integrated mixing room, and oh yeah, it's white and bright.

You couldn't make a painter any more happy.

Unless of course, you also add in an extremely well lit and clean prep area...

On the happiness note, it was extremely important to me that our new home reflect a real team spirit, so that meant adding employee amenities like a well equipped break room, lockers and clean showers.

We've got a ways to go to get everything dialed in and ready for a grand opening over Labor Day Weekend, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you find yourself in 03857, stop in and check out the new place.

Cheers,

G.

Meet The Neighbors: Part 2

This week's neighbor is Panzanella's, a local (and very delicious) pizzeria. Almost directly across the street from our new location here in Newmarket, Panzanella's is the perfect spot to grab a quick afternoon slice (or 2. You'll definitely want another). Feel free to get creative; they'll add any topping(s) you want to a single slice.

 Neighbor: Panzanella's Italian Pizzeria and Restaurant - 72 Main Street

Type of business: Italian-American pizzeria

Years running: 10

Owner: Jared Ernest Woodman Sr.

How did you get into this line of work? I began working as a dishwasher at another pizzeria when I was 12 years old. Over the course of 8 years, I went from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the barrel. I knew I could do it myself, so I did!

Something special your business does (weekly/monthly events, community service, etc.): We sponsor local youth sports teams and donate to many local organizations, on top of providing top notch service to our many loyal customers.


What's your favorite thing about Newmarket? I'd have to say the restoration of the Newmarket Mills. I like what it's doing for business, and it's doing wonders for the downtown landscape.

If you could add any type of business to Main Street, what would you choose? Easy. I'd choose a single screen movie theater that plays classic movies like My Cousin Vinny.

You find a genie's lamp and he grants you 1 wish. What do you wish for? I would wish for my son to make it into the NBA.

Do you own a bicycle? If so, what kind? Yes, I do own a bicycle. It's a Schwinn. My wife and I love to go for rides together around our home town.

Meet The Neighbors: Part 1

Greetings! There's lots happening here in Newmarket, NH. We're still slightly under construction and getting settled into our new space (It's beautiful!). So far everything is exceeding our expectations.

We'd like to introduce you to a few of our new friends in town, through a short series called "Meet The Neighbors". Here we'll share with you the people and places that make Newmarket such a fantastic town to live and work in. Read on and stick with us – you'll feel like a local in no time.

Our first neighbor is Crackskull's, a local coffee and used book store. Delicious coffee, fresh baked pastries, and good music (masters of Pandora radio), all in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Neighbor: Crackskull's Coffee & Books – 86 Main Street.

Type of business: Used books and coffee.

Years running: Almost 11.

Owner: Michelle Graves

How did you get into this line of work? I was working at a brokerage firm, and I saw the shop for sale online. It was always my teenage dream (it was the 90's) to own a coffee shop...so I went for it!

Something special your business does (weekly/monthly events, community service, etc.): Aside from free counseling? We host a monthly open mic night and a monthly game night. Currently looking to start a chess night...and later a movie night.

What's your favorite thing about Newmarket? Newmarket's sense of community is one that I've never experienced before. Neighbors helping neighbors, people supporting each other's causes...all that jazz. It's wonderful.

If you could add any type of business to Main Street, what would you choose? Definitely BURRITOS :) Newmarket has been waiting for a burrito shack for years...yummmm.

You find a genie's lamp and he grants you 1 wish. What do you wish for? Seriously? This is tough...probably to open a second Crackskull's...in Paris...with a tattoo shop in the back.

Do you own a bicycle? If so, what kind? Unfortunately no. I was born with the balance of a child on stilts. Do they make tricycles for adults?

Cycling Across America :: V2.0 18 Years Later

New York Times reporter Bruce Weber on his new custom IF that he will be riding across the country. His bike was fit and built up by Andrew Crooks and the team at NYC Velo.

Bruce first rode a bicycle across America 18 years ago and is setting out to do it all over again. Read his story here and follow his progress on the links inside the NYT article.

Godspeed Bruce!

On the Move :: Dark Side of the Moon

Happy Birthday America, and wishing you all a great 4th of July full of bikes, barbeque, family, friends, and sun.

We are now officially on the move, and have entered the zone where we are between factories... a bit like being on the dark side of the moon.

Our equipment has been picked up by the amazing folks at Cote Riggers. These guys were a pro act, operating like a precision machine. They came in and picked up our heavy equipment and placed it on their trucks like it was no big deal. Here's a video of their loaded trucks departing:



It turns out that the heavy equipment was the easiest part of this stage of the move. Sorting, packing and cleaning out 16 years worth of accumulated stuff was a far more challenging job. The crew worked non-stop to get it done. Along the way we hosted a "give-away" of excess materials and equipment for our friends in the local frame building community. Marty at Geekhouse did a nice shout out blog post here.

Despite giving away as much as we could, we still ended up filling two 30 foot roll-offs with scrap metal and equipment, not to mention having our normal dumpster tipped daily throughout the week.

Chris and Brian came up from Circle A to dismantle our old Binks spray booth and haul it back to their shop over the course of two days. It was a dirty and hard job performed by two of the nicest guys in the business, and it feels good to know that they will put the booth to good use painting many more frames in the years to come.

After we closed the door on the last load in the box truck, we took one final look around the old shop and said our goodbyes.

I'm incredibly proud of the team. They worked extremely hard to pull off an epic task, even after the paint and shipping crew had worked for the past 25 days straight, doing their best to complete as many orders as possible before we shut down to move.

After some much needed rest over the holiday weekend, we'll be working hard to get our new home set up and running.

We'll be dark for the next few days as we get our phone and computer systems up and running on 55 Main Street in Newmarket, so please be patient with us.

Cheers,

G.

Studio Velo Mill Valley California :: PicFest

Studio Velo in Mill Valley California is one of our best dealers. Scott, Colin and Chris are great representatives of IF given both their passion for, and participation in, the sport. They provide unrivaled customer service and fitting skills, contribute to the community, and they design some fine looking bikes.

Scott recently sent me a link to a Picassa photo gallery that features some of their complete builds, including a few of their personal rides. It's full of serious bike sweetness, and here is just a sampling.

Titanium Factory Lightweight:

Steel Factory Lightweight:

Titanium Deluxe 29er:

A Belgian flag paneled steel Planet X:

Di2 equipped XS:

SSR with polished panels:

Scott's personal Planet X with disc brakes and S&S couplers that he rode across Cuba:

There's lots more to ogle in the complete Picassa album here.

Thanks Scott, Colin and Chris for doing what you do... you make us look good.

Cheers,

G.

Good Wood :: Salmon Falls Woodworks

I made a field trip late last week to visit Fred Loucks at his Salmon Falls Woodworks shop to see a number of the pieces that his crew is working on for our new facility.
He's got an amazing shop, full of every kind of modern and traditional wood working tool that you could imagine. Among the many things that he is working on for us is the 24 linear foot curved bar that will be the centerpiece of our showroom.
Our build station and service area will be behind the bar, and the top will feature built in windows to showcase our favorite components.

My personal favorite is the way that Fred is incorporating our logo into the doors of our custom team lockers. The lockers will be pro-sports style (see the example below) with a large open area topped by lockable cabinets. He is CNC routing our logo into the cabinet doors to provide ventilation. Pretty trick.

Some might think that its silly to spend so much time and resource on stuff like a bar for folks to simply hang out at and pro-style team lockers.

I say nay... one of the most compelling reasons to move out of the hood is to be in a place where we can actually make the audio match the video of our brand.

The locker room and other employee amenities are there to acknowledge that our folks are in fact pros, and part of a very special team. We've rebuilt much of our team over the past six months as a necessary part of this move, with some skilled veterans coming back to IF and some fresh young talent signing on. As a result, the clubhouse atmosphere is vastly improved.

We want our new home to be a welcoming place where folks can come in, pull up a seat in the metaphorical kitchen and watch us bake cookies. Folks like Fred and his crew at Salmon Falls Woodworks are helping us set the table.

We look forward to hosting you in our new digs.

G.