PB Road Trip - Tour De California Part 3
Feb 10, 2012 at 20:10
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 Little known fact - Santa Cruz local bylaw 420 frowns on cell phone use while operating forklifts. |
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| Karl gets unchained from the desk every now and then - chillin' on Roskopp's throne. |
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| One of Santa Cruz's longest serving employees, Victor is the main man responsible for the on-site powder coating that is going to catch your eye on the shop floor or in the catalog. New carbon fiber Highball hardtails hang from hooks (right) , finished in an eye catching new black and green combo. |
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| This girl rides in the rain - signal your turn mofo. |
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| Other companies have flow charts and pristine hallways, Santa Cruz is a bit more eclectic with their decor. Tattooed pin-ups share wall space with old punk rock posters, old Super 8 frames hang beside the World Cup team cast offs. |
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| Santa Cruz Product Manager Josh Kissner (on left, holding the frame) gives PB the tour of their prototyping facilities. Needless to say, there were some very interesting one-offs in this room that were off limits to our cameras. Put on your specs and see what you can see, besides the racing go-karts in the rafters. |
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| If tables could talk...we're betting that some very interesting designs, some of which the public will never see, have passed over this table. |
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| It would have been much easier for Santa Cruz to purchase their own frame testing jigs, but that would have locked them into specific tests. They feel standard tests don't do a good enough job of emulating the abuse their bikes will see in the wild. Instead, they cast their own cement bases, and designed proprietary tests that not only meet the required standards, but also take into account real world forces that the average jig simply can't produce. |
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| Moustaches are prevalent at Santa Cruz. We were on our best behaviour. |
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| The bra tree on highway 198. What compels a woman who's passing by to stop, take of her bra, and hang 'em high? We're not sure, but we wish that we knew. |
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| Blasting through Steinbeck's backyard. |
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| Pinkbike's Richard Cunningham and Marzocchi's Bryson Martin talk about the good 'ol days over an espresso. By the "good 'ol days" we mean roller cam brakes, 3 inch travel DH bikes, and Etto helmets. |
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| Marzocchi invests heavily in their robotics program, complete with codpiece. Their video conference room has the ultimate fork collection and an old school moto-bicycle. |
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| The boys in R&D are always working on something, meaning that a small machine shop is mandatory. It isn't uncommon for them to whip up pistons and other small parts to evaluate ideas on the trail. Some of those ideas are proven, ending up in production suspension units that you can ride. |
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| Myles Rockwell became the 2000 World Champ riding his ATX DH on the fast and open Sierra Nevada track in Spain, beating the likes of Nico Vouilloz and Steve Peat in the process. Legend. |
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| We met up with Danny Hart while visiting Giant's US headquarters and he signed a few jerseys - PB readers will have a chance win one of them. Stay tuned to Pinkbike for a video of Danny asking two questions that you'll need to answer correctly to be eligible to hang his jersey up on your wall. |
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| Everyone at Giant was very tightlipped - they are definitely working on something special for Danny Hart. This message will self destruct in 3.. 2.. |
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| Giant's Nate Riffle fires up the helicopter to make some low passes for Hylands' camera. RC didn't waste any time, taking the big bird up to show off his skills and do his best Air Wolf imitation. |
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| Road life is the good life. |
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| It's pretty easy to forget the comforts of your own bed when you have scenery like this to keep you occupied. Malibu beckons. |
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| After hours of driving it was time to pull in for some dinner at Duke's, a well known oceanside restaurant that serves fish, fish, and more fish. It also turned out to be quite romantic, a lovely bonus considering that we had already spent too many hours together jammed into our car. |
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| The drive towards San Diego was spent reciting Anchorman quotes that never seem to get old: ''Mmm. San Diego. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth. Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diago, which of course in German means 'a whale's vagina'.'' |
