TTT-NT-WT: Seven Alaris. Seven Cycles is an American bicycle designer and manufacturer based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Seven was founded by Robert Vandermark in early 1997. Vandermark was the former head of research and development at Merlin Metalworks. These are top-of-the-line bicycles. Premium goods.
And even though they take their business very seriously, in Rob’s bio on their website, the first words written are a quote from Zoolander. He does get into the nitty gritty though: “I have so many conversations about gear-inches, grain structure, glycogen levels, carbon fiber modulus, one-thousandth of an inch, and on, and on. All those conversations are worth having, and all that work is worth doing, so long as it leads to a rider with a smile. Whatever a person's reasons for having a relationship with bikes—whether it's commuting, racing, riding in the woods, enjoying the scenery, being an anarchist, saving the world one bike at a time, or a hundred other reasons—they're all good, particularly if it's done with a smile.”
One hundred percent you will be smiling on this fine piece of craftsmanship. It really is beautiful, and with a full Campy Record 10-speed gruppo, you will honestly never need another bike again.
The fabrication of titanium tubing requires special equipment and an oxygen-free environment. Depending upon how stringent the specifications for the tubing’s size and weight, purity, straightness, molecular grain orientation, surface finish, and the presence or lack of surface defects, titanium tubing can cost nearly $60 per foot.
I won’t bore you with the details of vacuum annealing, grain structures, or the difference between 3AL-2.5V and 6AL-4V, but if these are things that you are interested in, Rob wrote a great white paper about the science of titanium. I am sure that if you asked Geeves, he could find it for you.
I will tell you that this bike is tall, really nice, fully loaded, and will be 10% off on Black Friday—if it lasts that long on the floor.
- Tom Chapel
