Suddenly, we have about two weeks to finish our bike and make all of the last pieces fit. We've settled on a name: The Fremont. Also known as The Great Pathfinder, John Frémont was an early settler of California and led the expedition to build a railroad from St. Louis to San Francisco. We think he personifies the bike. The name Frémont holds local significance too, one of Portland's bridges is named for him. As we type this, our frame is off being painted, and one of our designers is hand stitching our foldable canvas bags. With the end in sight, we spent some time reflecting on our time working with Signal to create the ultimate utility bike—and asked them to do the same.
Ziba: When we started 9 months ago, we really did not know what to expect. At Ziba, we're used to our projects being meticulously planned down to the last hour and deliverable. This project gave us unprecedented freedom and autonomy, which had its up and downs. On one hand, we were able to take the project to creative heights that we are incredibly excited about. The story of the bike—The New West, the Urban Explorer, and Fremont—manifested itself in a final bike that each of us wish we could own.
On the other hand, a creative blank canvas meant a lot of work. A lot more work than we imagined it to be. When you look at the final product, we hope you see the beautiful craftsmanship, the attention to detail, and just a generally cool bike. But inextricably, we look at it and see late nights spent refining the sidecar, or Saturdays spent fabricating an LED light housing.
Don't mistake this for regret. Honestly, this bike became something more than work for us. We put in the time because this project was something we genuinely believed in from the start, and that we grew to love as it came to life.
We also had a new partner in Signal. We were mostly unfamiliar with bike building and the way we do things wasn't the same as they way they do things. It was an interesting process to see some of our workflow evolve more towards their style and some of theirs evolve more towards ours. In the end, Signal couldn't have been a more skilled or gracious partner. We put them through the ringer and we're very grateful for both their
partnership and their friendship.
The Oregon Manifest project was really hard, but more of each of our team members ended up in the bike than just about anything else any of us has worked on. Each person's individual voice is apparent, and at the same time they've all meshed to create something collectively bigger and so much more cohesive than any disparate vision.
Even if we've struggled at times during the process, we love what we have made, and we think The Fremont truly is the ultimate utility bike.
Signal: The Manifest project was a lot of fun and really difficult. When we first heard that we were being considered to work with Ziba, we were excited and hopeful. When their crew came over to our shop to meet us, we figured there was no way they would want to work with two guys with hacksaws in a dirty garage. And then they picked us. As the months went by we realized the huge scope of the project.
It was eye opening to see into the world of product designers and to listen to their language. Trying to engage with it all was new and exciting and at times confusing. We never have the need to dig as deep with our customers. We are trying to make the best bike for one person, not a bike that a target group will want.
This final push has been a real challenge. There is so much to do. We had no idea it was going to be so much work and take as much time as it has. We've been focusing on the bike build and trying to adapt our build style to the new challenges of a frame that is unlike anything we've ever made. The sidecar linkage and the steering of the sidecar provided a lot of head scratching moments.
The bike has really grown on us. We love the look of it's lines. It has a gesture of speed that is really appealing. The package really came together to become so much more than the sum of its parts.
Ziba has been a great partner. They provided us with everything we needed to make this project happen and helped push us and our ideas out of our comfort zone a bit.
In the end, we're looking forward to the ride. It is all about the ride.
