ZIPP to expand operations

ZIPP made an announcement yesterday that they will be expanding operations in Indy and moving from their Speedway location to a space on the northwest side at 54th and Guion. The expansion is slated to open up 105 jobs in the *cough*local!*cough* cycling industry (Huzzah!).

From the Indiana Business Journal:

Zipp Speed Weaponry, a maker of high-end bicycle components, said Wednesday that it will invest $12.4 million in a new manufacturing and customer service center in Indianapolis, creating 105 jobs by 2013.

The company will begin hiring by June, prior to the expected July completion of the 70,000-square-foot plant on Indianapolis’ northwest side near 54th Street and Guion Road. The company will leave its current location at 1180 Main St. in Speedway.

Full story here.

Wonderful gifts from wonderful people!

So, I've been blessed with awesome people in my life, and I want to say a public thanks to them for being awesome and in my life. And, making sure I am not nude.


First off, the bad ass wool jersey you see there is from my good friend Anna at ZIPP, as a wedding/consolation gift for making a fool out of me with her brilliantly executed Zippecelli stunt back in April. This thing keeps me warm and toasty, and devilishly handsome. I wish I could wear it everywhere all the time, because without it, I'm simply devilish.

Secondly, thanks to Mike Fischer from TwinSix for the Fat Cyclist tech shirt. There was a weird gliche that caused my credit card to not be charged and some misunderstanding when I ordered this shirt, which resulted in an email exchange to figure out what happened, wherein I mentioned my wedding in passing. A few days later, I open my mailbox to find this shirt. Seriously awesome dudes over there creating some seriously awesome designs and cycling clothing.

And, another thing about this Team Fatty shirt is that normally, proceeds from Fatty apparel go to the Team Fatty Livestrong group. But, since this was a gift and subsequently, there were no "proceeds" from it, I've gone to Fatty's Livestrong page and donated, which has the added bonus right now of every $5 donated gets you entered in a drawing for a new Ibis! So, check out TwinSix because they're awesome, and go donate to Fatty, if not for cancer relief, for the chance to win a sweet prize package!

ZIPP Rules.

The second part of a really informative (and actually incredibly interesting, even if you aren't a gearhead) series about Indy-locals, ZIPP Speed Weaponry, and what makes them so incredible:

Editor's note: VeloNews Technical Editor Zack Vestal visited Zipp Speed Weaponry's Indiana factory this spring and reported on the company's history in part 1 of this article. In part 2, Vestal gets behind some of the company's philosophy and practices in product development and production.

Zipp Speed Weaponry's story might be summed up in a tale about a drill bit. During a tour of the facility, engineer Josh Poertner stopped at the spoke-hole drilling station. Holding up a bit, about 3 inches long and maybe a quarter-inch in diameter, he said, “It took us almost four years to design this.”

Poertner told of another tour he guided a few years ago, for SRAM upper management and investors prior to SRAM’s purchase of Zipp. “(SRAM) brought their head composite guy in from Hong Kong, and he didn’t say a word for the whole factory visit. We got to spoke-hole drilling, and he’s watching the drilling, and he pulled out his magnifying glass and looked at this bit, and says, ‘We should buy you for this drill bit.’”

Full story here.

Officially NOT an April Fool's Day joke--ZIPP Speed Weaponry

From VeloNews, some history and detail about ZIPP Speed Weaponry that isn't an April Fool's Joke:

Born in the shadow of the Brickyard, Zipp Speed Weaponry has a history like no other company in cycling. Headquartered within sight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Zipp design, production and testing facility is deeply rooted in both motor sports and bicycle racing. Folded into the carbon laminate of every part that leaves the factory is knowledge gained from years of trial, error and wind tunnel testing.

We recently we had the opportunity to tour Zipp’s Speedway, Indiana, facility. Today, the company employs a fascinating blend of old world craftsmanship and new world technology. Painstaking, labor-intensive handwork combined with sophisticated tooling and machinery results in some of the most advanced components available.

Full story here.

Buy! Sell! Sell! Buy Zipp!

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Magnus Backstedt cursed as his $2,300 carbon-fiber Zipp bike wheels hit a cobblestone and shattered, destroying his chances of victory in the Paris- Roubaix cycling race last April.

“There was a loud bang,” Backstedt, the 2004 race winner, said. “It was a very painful story. I saw the leading group I was with disappearing.”

It was also bad news for closely held SRAM Corp.’s Indianapolis-based Zipp, which is among the North American bicycle and component makers trying to marry the latest aerodynamic design with the rigors of the 113-year-old “Hell of the North” race. This year’s event is April 12.

The likes of Zipp are seeking more of Europe’s high-end bike market. In Europe, sales of bikes costing more than 1,600 euros ($2,123) doubled in the two years through 2008 to 1.47 billion euros and may remain steady this year even amid the worst recession since World War II, according to Jack Oortwijn, an industry analyst for Euro Bike magazine.

“Cycling is good for your wallet and good for your health,” Oortwijn said.

Full Article at Bloomberg.com

Bamboozled! I am a Zippicelli April Fool.

I won't even try to cover it up--I totally fell for the Zippicelli article. Even as I was reading, I was noticing what seemed like inconsistencies to me with dates, but brushed them off with an unassailing want to believe. Anyway, just found this over at cyclingnews.com.

Note, while the facts of this story may be subject to the whims of the date, the sweater will actually be on offer, and will be manufactured by Earth Wind and Rider using period appropriate stitched felt lettering, on a 100% merino wool knit body and will have a zippered rear pocket.

Now that I've been suckered, I don't feel I have the right to engage in any of my ideas for an Indy Cog April Fool's story. Ideas included a Christopher "cbanks" Banks memorial obituary, a press release regarding the closing of Major Taylor Velodrome, and/or a scathing article about President Obama calling cyclists "a menace" and looking to strike the Bike Commuter Benefits from the stimulus plan.

Touche, good sirs and madames at ZIPP.

Valentino Zippicelli--Founder of ZIPP

Great article over at Bike Radar about Valentino Zippicelli (that's zip-pi-CHEL-li; make sure your fingers are up in the appropriate, stereotypical fashion of Italians) and his innovations in cycling over the past century. It's actually a plug for a limited-edition sweater ZIPP is selling, but the information about Zippicelli is the forefront of the article.

Zippicelli went on to dominate mountain stages of local races and ultimately dominate the 1929 Tour de France with his groundbreaking 110mm deep balsa wood rim, made by laminating balsa wood with epoxy resin, which had been invented only two years earlier in the America.

However, this advance in technology triggered a firestorm of controversy during the 1929 Tour after Zippicelli gained over one hour on his rivals during the 366km stage from Perpignan to Marseille.

The final straw was Zippicelli’s shattering of the hour record during the weeks following the Tour, where he used his super wheels to break the record in only 52 minutes, stopping along the way for a glass of wine.

Word has it, the French were more upset that it was a Napa Valley wine, not that Zippicelli made them look like punks in their own tour.

Read the full article here.