SEA
OTTER RECAP
April 22, 2008
 There
is a difference between northern California
and southern California. SoCal is nice and hot
this time of year. NorCal is like IOWA this
time of year. Not knowing this, we planned on
rocking t-shirts and shorts all day and night.
But the jet stream had different ideas, and
so we enjoyed pretty much the same weather we
left behind in Minnesota. Despite that, it was
good to get out of the office, very cool to
see meet so many new T6 fans, and worth the
effort to continue to preach the good word of
cycling fashion.
SEA OTTER
CLASSIC \\ APRIL 17–20
April 15, 2008
We have been holed up in our cinderblock
cell for the longest winter this neck of the
woods has seen in quite some time. But despite
our ashen faces, our weak legs, and winter weight,
we are packing up shop and heading west for
the 2008
Sea Otter Classic. It's time to meet some
new people, ride without baselayers, and hock
some goods out of a tent. Swing by if you're
in the hood. We'll be rocking some greatest
hits, as well as brand new prototype stuff no
one has yet to lay eyes on. NOTE:
We are going to be out of the office from 4/16
through 4/21. Online orders placed after 4/15
will be delayed a day to three.
ART
April 7, 2008
Twin Six art inventory is now running
on all cylinders. Marathon printing sessions
have filled our flat files with hand-pulled
beauties. Check out the bottom of the STUFF
page, and stock up.
ARTCRANK
v2
April 3, 2008
If you've got nothing going on this Saturday
night (April 5), and you just happen to be in
Minneapolis, come down and visit us at Artcrank.
We are debuting two new works of bike art, which
will also be available soon on our STUFF page.
Make bike art, not war.
SPRING
MEANS GEAR IS SHIPPING
April 1, 2008
Despite the eight inches of fresh snow,
we're still packing and shipping as fast as
ever. Dealer orders have been shipping out for
the last few weeks, and gear should be landing
in your neck of the woods very soon. Check US
dealers here.
Online and international dealers here.
Happy Spring!
TWO HEDS
ARE BETTER
February 24,
2008
Minneapolis is somewhat of a mecca for
bicycling. Great culture, cool shops, and industry
leading companies. One of the most respected
companies is HED. Steve and the gang have long
been revered as pioneers of all things aero.
But they asked for some help in the clothing
design department, and we were honored to lend
a hand with two new men's t-shirts. The first
features the iconic H3
wheel, proven time and time again as the best
aero design on the market. The second showcases
the brand new I-can't-believe-it's-not-a-tubular
Ardennes.
All the feel, without the hassle and cost. HED
has it figured out.
NEW ADDITIONS
February 15,
2008
Last week was a big one around Twin Six
World Headquarters. First, we have officially
hired some help at the shop. Very happy to say
that Kaveh Rahimi, jack-of-all-trades and master-of-most,
will be heading up the shipping situation from
now on. Bless you good sir, and thanksomuch.
Second, we finished up the art for two new tasty
t-shirts last week, done in collaboration with
a local (to us) company
that knows a thing or two about bike wheels.
They'll be on the site soon. And finally, we
are very excited to announce an addition to
the Carlson family. Ryan and Jess welcomed their
first son Ryder into the world last Friday night.
Mom and junior are great. Ryan is still recovering.
FEEL
THE LOVE
February 4,
2008
Great sale. Thanks for the support. We
raised a ton of money for Jenny's
Light. More info after we pack everything
up and ship it out.
SHARE
THE LOVE
January 31,
2008
People, it's time. It's time for a spring
sale. It's time to get ready for warmer weather.
It's time for us to clean out some boxes around
the shop, and it's time for you to save some
coin on righteous cycling fashion. It's time
to pick up a little something for the love in
your life, and pay a little something forward
for a great cause.
Starting January 31, and running
though February 3, pretty much everything will
be marked down. Some items more than others.
And we've recently added a few new things, so
please dig around and make sure you see it all.
MEN'S
& WOMEN'S
JERSEYS from $40
MEN'S
& WOMEN'S
T-SHIRTS from $12
SHORT 3" & TALL
6" SOCKS from $8
ALL BOTTLE
DESIGNS from $5
FITTED HATS from $14
Also check out the T6
Sack, Track
Jackets, Beer
Glasses, and Posters.
We are donating 10 percent
of all sales from this sale to Jenny's
Light, a newly formed nonprofit foundation
dedicated to building awareness, detection and
treatment for postpartum disorders. Twin Six
recently lost a dear friend, Jennifer Gibbs
Bankston, and her son Graham, to postpartum
depression. Jennifer was a joyful spirit who
was loved by family and friends with the same
intensity that she showed in her love for others.
We have been friends with her and her family
for over 20 years, and we will always remember
her for the bright light that she was.
If you would rather send donations
direct, they can also be mailed to:
Jenny's
Light, 5021 Vernon Avenue, Edina, MN
55436 USA
BLOGGIE
AWARD
January 23,
2008
Our good buddy Elden
and his blog
were recently nominated for a 2008 Bloggie
Award. So take two minutes, burn approximately
45 calories and exercise your right. Voting
ends at 10pm EST on Thursday, January 31.
LOOKING
BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
January 6, 2008
As far as years go, 2007 was tops. Of
course, it was only competing with 2006, but
still. Looking back, it's a blur. With an ambitious
to-do list, we began the year by slowly transitioning
into our new
home. Cold days filled with swinging hammers
and trips to the city dump were a nice reprieve
from holiday order packing. Still, progress
on HQ was slow, as the random sheetstorms continued
to pound us on a regular basis. We were stuck
in the purgatory of more legitimacy for longer
than we would have liked. A large part of the
daily grind could have been averted had we picked
up the phone and called in reinforcements, but
that's just not our way. Pain before pleasure
makes the pleasure more pleasurable.
Before the dark days of winter
offered any sign of remorse, we were inundated
with our spring shipment of jerseys. This day
always comes with anticipation, fear, excitement,
and dread. Grab the box cutter, find a calculator,
and start counting. Inventory management is
old skool. "145,146, 147, what did
you say?... Crap, I lost count. 1, 2, 3."
This is how we roll. For now.
The initial shipment of 2007
dealer stock was sold out before we even received
it. October deadlines meant little as shops
continued to place orders throughout the winter,
despite us not guaranteeing the availability
of said orders. Upon realizing the state of
things, we dug deep and funded another round
of jerseys to be delivered late spring, or so
we were told.
Once the goods did come in,
they didn't stay for long. Marathon packing
sessions left us red-eyed with papercuts and
reeking of cardboard. Our shipping
friends
marveled night after night at how much we crammed
into each carload.
Eventually, the last of it
was out the door and on the way to our dealers,
just in time for the spring thaw in our neck
of the woods. Inspired by the team
and other
genetically
gifted
hard
working
hard
playing
friends,
we started to put together a plan for the summer.
2006 was all about working race
support. 2007 would be the year of getting
in the
game.
Fitness was elusive at first. Desk jobs never
seem to provide the right kind of stamina. We
mustered up the courage to leave the shop during
normal business hours to do some work in
the field, some R&D, some
product testing. Crisp spring mornings
at Leb
turned into five plus hour efforts by June.
So this is what months and months of 18
hour days gets you...
Reality came back quick as
the pink
jerseys arrived. Immediately, we returned
to envelope stuffing mode, squinting out the
front window, wondering who was fortunate enough
to be outside enjoying the sunny afternoons
and life on two wheels.
Early June began with guys
from
the
team
doing quite well at the Mohican. Mid June we
moved from dirt to asphalt as the Nature
Valley Grand Prix came to town. It's worth
noting that every winner of every stage was
wearing Twin
Six.
(Sorry about all those logos.) And
late June was about the time when the date of
the show
began to affect life at the shop. Game faces
were donned, music
was cranked, and families were notified of our
soon-to-be extended extended hours. A couple
rounds of adult
beverages
allowed enough time to hatch a meticulously
detailed plan of attack for the remainder of
the summer, and some random bullet points for
the months of October through December.
But the fun was far from over.
A four hour drive without air-conditioning can
only mean one
thing. And we were stoked to be haulling
the steel steeds with us for a good reason this
year. Plus, it's always worth going to support
the crew and rub shoulders with the pros.
August was all about interbike
prep. Outgrowing the entry-level booth size,
we upgraded to something that could meet our
needs. With MacGyver-like ingenuity we (ok,
Brent) used the interweb to order a smattering
of fence supplies which he combined with some
slabs of maple to engineer a not-even-close-to-homespun
merchandising
masterpiece. The new booth, coupled with
the tasty lineup for 2008, made our third trip
to Sin City as good as could have been expected.
This years three-day talk-a-thon included much
more of "hey, nice to see you again",
as opposed to "so who the hell are
you?" A change of conversation we
were glad to indulge. Order
forms were handed out, hands
were shaked, fives
were slapped, hugs
were given, shots
were had, annual meals
were eaten.
The trip home was full of speculative
discussion on how we thought things went, and
some loose planning for what the next few months
were going to hold. We fantasized about taking
time to decompress and enjoy some serious autumn
riding. In our heart of hearts this was something
that we'd surely have time to do. But the reality
of running a two-man operation soon reared it
teeth, and a T6.com four-day sale was all it
took for us to cement our place indoors for
the remainder of the decent riding season.
In November the dark days were
back again, but the guilt of sitting inside
and working was gone. Productivity was ramping
with holiday on the horizon, and a handful of
side-projects began to take shape.
With an ultra-marathon packing
session through mid-December, and some days
spent working on the shop between the holidays,
we're not sure how 2007 could have been any
better. The list of thank you's is as long as
this post is so far. But we quickly want to
acknowledge our family and friends who have
put up with us for another year. We would also
like to sincerely thank our dealers
for investing in the brand, our team
for pimping the 6, our customers
for supporting the movement, and the rags
for spreading the good word of Twin Six. Global
domination is not far away.
Best to all of you in 2008.
Ride with pride.
T6
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