BOTM: OPEN X KANDIE GANG - PART 2
As quickly mentioned in last week's blog, the Kandie Gang contacted me end of December last year. The time line was a challenge as they wanted to ride some spring cyclocross races as well as some qualification races for the UCI Gravel World Championships (Congratulation to Kathi and Lea, as I write this blog they actually did qualify...). The very cool and unique design took another 5 weeks to finalise. So the pressure was on...
A project like this one can only be realised in such a short time frame if you have strong and long term partners. It often takes only a phone call to share the idea with the involved partners and to motivate them to go the extra mile. For this colab this has been SRAM for the drivetrain, Schwalbe tyres, DT Swiss wheels and most importantly our magic paint partner Tony Spray. When it gets complicated Tony is the right one for the job. He already made the very beautiful Tecta bikes, probably one of the most difficult and amazing paint jobs we ever did.
DT Swiss lead-times have been astronomically long but we were really lucky. They just were about to launch their new CRC 1400 Cross wheel sets and we could get some quantities reserved for their marketing launch.
Colabs like this one are purely driven by the love for cycling. From the first minute I could feel that the Kandie Gang shares the same values like we do. Yes, you could say it's a story about inclusion which I think is super important but in the same time also gets totally misused in marketing campaigns those days. I think it is much simpler: we should have more respect for each other and accept us the way we are. Riding a bike is always a good thing and doing that with like-minded people is one of the best experiences you can have.
Looking back at my personal life I think it would be pretty empty without the adventures I had on two wheels and the people I have met during the 35 years in this industry. They all have their special place in my memories and I don't want to stop collecting more of those moments.
Here comes the gallery. It's separated in action and beauty shots off the bike. So for the bike pics you have to scroll to the end. If you want one of these bikes just contact me... Its not an official limited edition but if you have a bit of patience we want you to have the same smile in your face as the Kandie Gang members riding their bikes.
