Overnight Success

If you live outside of Australia or if you’re not familiar with the whole bikepacking or adventure racing scene chances are you may not have heard about the small bike and wheel brand called Curve. It’s run by a few mates of mine here in Melbourne Australia and started way back when I was first starting the cyclingtips business and we were all similarly young, ambitious, and blissfully ignorant. So needless to say I’ve taken a keen interest in the growth of the Curve business throughout the years.

It all started in around 2010 when Curve’s earliest founder, Steve was working in a bike shop and got asked all the time for wheel upgrades. At that time the only thing available for after market carbon wheels were basically ENVE, Zipp, and a few others which were a major price leap from high end alloy wheels. Steve started asking himself why a more accessible carbon wheelset wasn’t available, so he started looking around the internet at sites like Alibaba, and eventually found an agent in Taiwan who could connect him directly with open mould carbon wheel manufacturers. He ordered some, tinkered with them, ordered some more, and eventually came up with some wheels he quite liked and was using Jesse as his guinea pig.

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You could very well argue that Bonnie Tu is the most powerful woman in cycling, although she wouldn’t think of describing herself that way. She’s best known as the face of the LIV brand she created back in 2008, but more than that she’s the Chairperson of the largest bike brand in the world: The Giant Bicycle Group. What does that mean? Quite simply – she runs the entire show.

Giant Bicycles is a $2.1B per annum publicly traded company that produces millions of bikes per year, not to mention being the manufacturer for a number of other largest most reputable bike brands in the industry.

Giant was founded in 1972 – that’s 48 years ago, and Bonnie was one of the founding shareholders and as you’ll hear, very influential in many of the companies foundations and pathway during its history.

This is the growth story of Bonnie Tu and not necessarily the story of Giant Bicycles or LIV. But they’re so intertwined that it’s hard not to tell one without the other.

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As we continue our theme of individual icons within the sport, in this episode we hear the story of Matthew Keenan - a man who is slowly but surely becoming the new voice of cycling, taking over the highest job in cycling commentary just three years ago when he and Robbie McEwen replaced Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett as the host announcers for the Tour de France.

The word passion can often be used as a shortcut for people to describe how strongly they feel about something, but true passion, the kind Matt Keenan demonstrates for cycling and commentary, is build in increments - decades of it - ensuring everything he does goes towards what he’s trying to achieve.

For those who know Matt personally, they’ll tell you that while he's never short of works, he’s incredibly humble and deflects away from talking about himself. His story from aspiring pro cyclist, to local venue commentator, all the way to now being the Tour de France’s anchor commentator is surprisingly well documented, so in this episode I reached out to various friends and people who influenced Matt throughout his career to add some other perspectives.

I’ve known and worked with Matt in various capacities for 10 years now and have always looked up to his professionalism, his knowledge, and his relentless, but patient pursuit of his craft.

This is his story.

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This week we continue our theme of individual icons within the sport. This time we speak to Graham watson, the most prolific cycling photographer in perhaps the world. Like other pioneers of their  professions, some might argue that it was easy back in the day and there were more opportunities. But everything is obvious in hindsight, and as you’ll soon hear from Graham, it was anything but easy. I’m a big believer that you make your own luck to open the next door, and that’s precisely what Graham did over the 5 decades he covered the sport. And whoever came up with the saying ‘nice guys finish last’ certainly hasn’t met Graham.

Now, today’s episode is slightly longer than the rest because there’s no way I can do justice to Grahams remarkable 40 year career in an hour. So buckle up and get in for the ride with a man who has documented cyclings most historic moments.

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Over the next few episodes of From the Top I switch gears to speak to iconic individuals within the cycling industry to better understand how they got to where they are. First up, I speak to Phil Liggett about how he got his start in commentating, how he met Paul Sherwin, how he’s been doing since Paul’s untimely passing, his relationship/fallout with Lance Armstrong, and the cutthroat nature of his position at the top of his profession.

Liggett is undeniably the most recognisable voice in cycling and has brought the sport we all love into the mainstream through his ‘Liggetisms’, descriptions of chateaus and his dulcet tones with co-commentator the late Paul Sherwin.

Many enthusiasts say that Phil is long past his prime and should retire. There’s no denying that we’re in a new age from when Phil started commenting before many of us were even born, and the media landscape is a very different place now than it was then. But Phil has witnessed and called so many of cyclings most significant and historic moments and made us all jump out of our chairs with excitement, and you have to thank him for being part of those memories. Personally, I bookmark my years by who won the TdF in that particular July, and Phil and Paul’s voices are part of that.

Phil is now 76 years old and has been commentating since the late 70’s. Think about that. His impact on the sport and his pioneering role has been tremendous. These days while he might get some details wrong while calling the race in front of millions of people, I call tell you firsthand through many interactions with him that he’s still sharp as a tack. And while as much as you don’t want to hear it, his commentary isn’t really for you or me, the hardcore cycling fan - it’s for the people who immerse themselves into the Tour de France once a year, and they still love him.

From starting as an aspiring pro bike racer, to a journalist, to commentating with the late Paul Sherwin for 33 years, now in the twilight of his remarkable life and career. I sat down with Phil to hear how he got started, and some of his struggles along the way.

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So many of the businesses we’ve discovered in this show have been ‘happy accidents’ so to speak, and Scratch Labs embodies that very same organic build and hustling spirit. Founded by two longtime friends, Allan Lim and Ian McGregor as both were sidelined from the sport, they both described themselves as  initially too ‘lazy’ to actually sell their ‘secret drink mix’ they were making for pro cycling teams at the time. But as one thing led to another, they found themselves in their kitchens making their products, mixing drink powders in paint shakers, and throwing pizza and beer parties with their friends to fulfil orders.

In an absolutely crowded market of nutritional products, these two, with no business experience were able to work their way to become one of the biggest little brands in the sports nutrition world.

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Apidura is a brand you may not be familiar with if you haven’t ventured into the world of bikpacking, touring or adventure racing, but they’re pioneers in rackless bike bags category, and support the community of ultra cyclists and bike packers. They’re a brand at the heart of this rapidly growing community and are enabling a whole new wave of this type of cycling.

Tori Fahey is the founder of Apidura and never set out to create a business out of her homemade packs and bags. She did it to satisfy her own needs with how she loved balance her hectic life by  doing long rides, tours and adventures.

What I find inspiring about what Tori has done with Apidura is not necessarily the business she’s created (although that is pretty remarkable in its own right), but the foundation she’s build the company on, and the values she holds and follows through with. She’s been outspoken about consumerism and the culture of seasonal discounting. She is concious about the footprint the business leaves on the environment. She focuses her resources on making their products better, rather than new colorways or seasonal changes. She made a deliberate choice at the start not to be a growth led business, but to be a product led. That’s one thing to say when you have a hobby business, but something completely different when you have employees, a supply chain, and a customer base who depend on you.

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SRAM is credited with having three co-founders, but Stan Day is the man who planted the seed. And you could very well are argue he’s where the brand’s culture and values stem from. At least that’s what I got out of speaking with him in this episode while listening to his polite, humble and understated approach when sharing his story.

SRAM all started with Stan taking on a triathlon challenge back in the 80’s and thinking that there has to be a better way than this whole down-tube shifting method. Twist-shift was his answer and he was able to convince a few friends to leave their good jobs, move across the country and start a business in Chicago and sell their better way. But as successful as the company is now, it certainly didn’t start out that way. If it weren’t for one pivotal moment, SRAM might have been only a side-note in our cycling history books.

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Josh Poertner isn’t your typical cycling industry personality. In fact, he’s not your typical anything. He’s one of those people that when you meet him, you’re taken back by a man who is filled with enthusiasm, curiosity, positive energy, and intelligence that really makes him stand out from most human beings.

These days, you may associate Josh’s name as the man who reinvented Silca, the Italian tyre pump brand founded over a hundred years ago. But as with most of these stories, it was far from a straight path, and anything but easy. He started as a keen and talented cyclist, who later became a brilliant engineer who got his feet wet in motorsport and later went on to be an enormous influence in making the Zipp wheel brand what it is today.

Josh’s story is nowhere close to being finished and dare I say we’ll see so much more from him and Silca in the next decade and more. Josh is a fairly regular guest on our weekly show and nerd alert podcasts, so check back regularly to get his clever insights, and to keep up with what he’s doing. Also, don’t forget to support Josh by going to Silca.cc when thinking about a new pump, a set of alenkeys,  a titanium anodised drinking straw if that’s your thing, or whatever he’s cooking up next. 

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Zipp is an indisputable icon in the wheel business and they have a long history of innovation. They were one of the very first brands who though about wheels differently and pushed the envelope to what wheels are now today.

An engineer by the name of Leigh Sargent is the founder of Zipp way back in the late 80’s, but it’s a gentleman by the name of Andy Ording who was Leigh’s first employee, bought the company outright in its early days, and built Zipp during its formative years. 

Zipp now belongs to SRAM and its family of products and continues its legacy of innovation, but the origins of this pioneering brand started over 30 years earlier.

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