The Rodeo Labs Podcast. Episode 1: Cycling Photographer Natalie Starr
On episode 1 of our Rodeo Labs podcast we invite our guest Natalie Starr to share the story of how she got into both cycling and photography.
Continue readingFlaanimal 5.0 // Production update
Let me start with my intro:
Hi Y’all. How’s everybody doing? That’s an absurd question of course. The world is crazy right now. But that is also a question we also get a lot from all of you:
“Hey guys! How’s it going at Rodeo? You hanging in there?”
I definitely appreciate people asking and checking in. For the record Rodeo is doing well. We’re here, or more accurately we’re not here, we’re mostly working remotely whenever possible but we are “here” in the abstract sense of the word. And yes, we are actually doing well. Not so much in the breaking sales records and taking over the bike industry sense of the phrase. Rather We’re doing well because we seem to be weathering the circumstances better than most, and it seems that the community of owners and customers that we’ve built in the last six years is in fact still ordering bikes and generally supporting what we do. For that, and on behalf of all of us at Rodeo, I say a very heartfelt Thank You! We are so grateful to still even now be able to do what we love to do for a living and we couldn’t do it without your trust and support.
Continue readingRodeo Labs on the Bicycle Media Podcast
Where do Donkeys come from? Where does Rodeo Labs come from? How do we know if our bikes are good? Why are there so few reviews of our bikes out there? What types of customers do we try to collaborate with? What makes Rodeo successful? @_bicyclemedia_ just posted a podcast with Rodeo’s founder Stephen Fitzgerald where we talked through these sorts of questions and other topics from our history. Look up the podcast on your favorite podcast client like iTunes or Spotify or it is embedded here below for easy access.
Production / Covid updates
Let’s talk product status. Communication with our customers is a top level priority as we navigate present circumstances. Read on to see where we are at as of 3/20 on various projects:
1. We’re still working. This week the office has been either completely remote or visited one by one per necessary tasks like mechanical work and shipping. We haven’t been ordered to do this by law, we’re just being careful. We are only accepting visitors by appointment.
2. We are small so we are agile. Customer service is easy to manage remotely if need be. Builds are already done by a single person and he can take his operation mobile if need be.
Rodeo labs frameset production is done in Taiwan which has handled the current challenges arguably better than any other country so here’s an update on our main products.
1. Flaanimal 5.0: on schedule still for late April / early May as stated on the pre order page. Scaling from prototypes to production had some unique challenges but we stepped up our game to meet them. We had planned on CNC machined sleeved head tubes for instance but we changed to multi axis laser cutting for volume production. Have you ever seen a multi axis laser precision cut a steel tube? It’s awesome. #humblebrag
3. TD3.1 is about 2 – 3 weeks delayed from initial mid march estimates and this is due to forks, not bigger issues. Once forks are ready frames and forks go to paint together and then 3.1 is done.
3. Spork 3.0. We are getting more emails and questions about this lately from retail customers, bike shops, and builders. We had planned to do small batches of forks so that we could prioritize and ship forks and bikes quicker but had to pivot and produce in one large batch at scale for the sake of production partner efficiency. Scale saves production costs and we had to cooperate with our partner on that. Making bikes is a business but it’s also about relationships. Spork 3.0 was due mid month but we think it will be end of month / first week of April before we receive the first batch of retail forks. All things considered that isn’t far off!
Could any of this change? Yes. The world is so unpredictable right now. Outside factors could affect us. But even if that happens we will troubleshoot and push forward in any way that we responsibility can. We’re committed to our customer and we are excited about what we are contributing to the world of bikes. We’ve added our global Covid 19 information to our Policies page for easy access. We will keep that page updated as necessary.
Questions? Fire away!
Coming Back to the Rodeo
For those unfamiliar with me, my name is Drew. I recently came back full time to Rodeo after a couple year hiatus working elsewhere in the industry. When I originally worked at Rodeo in 2016 and 2017, I had enjoyed working here and contributing to the products and culture. But until recently I never noticed how important this brand and community actually are to me.
The Gravel Ride Podcast
Craig Dalton of The Gravel Ride podcast invited Rodeo founder Stephen Fitzgerald to the show to talk about Rodeo’s origins and the evolution of the Traildonkey from 1.0 to 3.0. We’ve embedded it here after the break. If you don’t know where Rodeo came from this covers most of it.
Header photo by Greg Besaw.
Hall Pass Friday – Mount Antero
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines absurd (ab·surd  \ əb-ˈsərd) as, ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous. The summiting of Mount Antero on June 8th of this year, was absurd. That is why looking back on it I am happy to have done it.
Flaanimal 3.0 custom build gallery
This 3.0 frameset started life the same way all Flaanimals do: With a full dip of anti-rust coating inside and out. Instead of painting this frame after the dip we set it aside for a special project and its day finally came. We added a layer of matte clear coat over the ED to protect the coating then applied the blue graphics with custom cut vinyl decals. We also took the time to match our 2.0 carbon wheels, putting the decals into the debossed graphics that are molded into the surface of the rim. The end result is an incredibly unique look and build, and if the new owner ever gets bored with his colors he can completely redo the graphics with very little effort. How’s that for flexibility?
Flaanimal 4.0 update
We’re getting quite a few inquiries about Flaanimal 4.0 so we thought we’d give an update. We actually were trying not to really announce 4.0 very loudly because we didn’t want to create a situation where the bikes would be considered late and everyone would flood our inboxes for updates. But you know… word leaks out.
Flaanimal 3.0 // Rapha Brevet build
The kind folks at Rapha Boulder asked us if we’d like to display a Flaanimal 3.0 in their store with their Brevet collection.
Instead of sending a stock frame build over Rodeo designed and painted this one-off graphics scheme to compliment the Rapha aesthetic while at the same time trying to keep it “us” as well. We worked within the Rapha palette and hinted at shapes in play in their collections, but we also included distinctly Rodeo queues such as the trees from our 4.0 kits and 2.0 wheels as well as our Ride / Explore / Create iconography. The Flaanimal and Rodeo Spork logos also got unique treatments in the overall design.
It’s a really cool opportunity and an honor to be asked by a respected brand like Rapha to show what we do in their space. We had our own little Monster Garage, jammed on it almost non-stop for 3 days, and finished with zero time to spare.
We decided to keep the build functional, not stratospheric so our parts selection was intentional. Sram Rival 1 is a perfect gravel / brevet grouppo to work with, having a huge gear range and simplified shifting. Brooks C13 saddle and matching rubber bar tape provide ultra durable and compliant contact points. Clement Xplor MSO tubeless tires mounted on our proprietary 2.0 carbon wheels offer versatile, strong, and light rotational performance. Fizik Cryano controls match the aesthetic of the build. A Chris King i7 headset will provide endless performance up front and the Praxis Zayante hollow forged 1x crankset will due likewise in the propulsion department. This build is balanced, functional, dependable, and attainable and those are Rodeo qualities.
This build will be on display at Rapha’s Boulder Clubhouse in the coming weeks and can always be seen in our Flickr gallery. For purchase inquiries please shoot us an email. This Flaanimal is a size 58cm. For inquiries on custom paint and custom builds on any of our bikes always feel free to get in touch.
