21 December, 2017

Happy Holiday Wishes, 2017 Recap, and 2018 Plans

by Igor

We wanted to wish all of our customers, suppliers, and readers a Merry Holiday season and a Wonderful New Year.


We've had another prosperous, fun, and very busy year here at VO. In 2017, we released several products that have quickly become favorites!

Removable Faceplate Quill Stem - The removable 31.8mm faceplate allows for a seemingly endless combination of cockpit setups in a simple and elegant package.


Klunker Bars - These take a long time to make and both runs sold out really quickly, but fear not! We're getting lots in our January container.


Redesigned Randonneur Front Racks - For today's rough and tumble touring lifestyles, we updated our front racks to be more stout while including more flexible mounting options.


New Website - What an undertaking! Thanks to everyone who provided us feedback when we went live. We're continuously working on dialing in the site.

On a personal note, Adrian and I welcomed our first son, Theodore, into the world in October. He's one super rad little dude and a heck of a looker. I can't wait to start outfitting my Polyvalent as a #dadbike for family adventures once he gets a bit older. I'll welcome any and all suggestions for build ideas!


We've worked on a bunch of projects and are looking forward to seeing them through in 2018! Here's a quick snapshot of what's to come:

Polyvalent and Piolet frames - These have been the works for two years and we're ready to get them in April. They're available for pre-sale now!



Nouveau Randonneur Handlebars - These have quickly become a favorite bar of mine. Ovalized tops, 31.8 clamp, a bit of backsweep, and nice flare.


Made in USA luggage - A cohesive design for randonneuring and touring. Can't wait to work on a few more accessories for the line!


650b x 58mm Wavy Fenders - The perfect fit for 650b tires ranging from 42 to 48mm. Ultimately, they will be polished, but I kind of like the raw look (they'll patina nicely).


Curvy One and Curvy Too Bars - Handlebars that walk the line between classic and modern. 31.8 clamp, generous width, and long grip area for modern components. They'll be available in flat and riser (with more sweep), and in silver and Noir finishes.


11 Speed Compatible Hubs - With 11 speed configurations becoming more and more popular and affordable, we've had customers asking for them. These will be available early in the year in rim brake and disc brake varieties. Don't worry, for those still running 7 and 8 speed cassettes, you'll still be able to use them with spacers, just like our current 10 speed freehubs.

Additionally, I wanted to thank our team here at VO for being continuously amazing. I'm lucky enough to work with a small but hard-working and devoted group that likes to design and ride fun bikes.

Finally, as we do each year, VO will be closed starting December 25th and re-open on January 2nd to give our staff time off to visit family and enjoy the outdoors. If you needed to get anything sent out before then, place your order before 3pm EST on December 22nd.

Happy Holidays and see you in 2018!

7 comments:

John Byfield said...

Best wishes to the entire Velo Orange family! Sounds like 2018 is going to be an awesome year for VO!

John & Kate

Agustín said...

Thanks for this summary!

Back when you redesigned the randonneur rack, I think you also said you'd be redesigning the front campeur rack to be stronger as well. Is that right? Is that still in the works?

VeloOrange said...

That's correct. The new version has the same uprights as the new Rando racks.

-Igor

Agustín said...

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I like the Raw look on the Wavy fenders as well!

Anonymous said...

When will the Wavy Fenders be available?

Anonymous said...

You guys need wide hammered 26" fenders! You've already got hammered 700c. Just copy/paste that design over to 26"!