The light and stiff carbon frame, 150mm of VPP suspension and impeccable trail manners are what make the Bronson a class leader. The wheel size is perhaps the least interesting aspect of this carbon wonder bike though. They were the first two models in a six-bike 650b (27.5in) salvo that was launched by Santa Cruz Bicycles this year. But for now the "New Face of Manufacturing" is my placeholder.The Bronson is offered in both carbon and aluminum versions. Luckily, SCB has them in spades and that’s why Outside magazine rated them as one of the best places to work in 2013.Īs the New York study found, manufacturing is on the mend, but perhaps the changes brought about by technology and new machines will yield a new industry, a new way to look at making and creating that we haven't yet considered or named. Add into the mix two other important qualities: ingenuity and passion. While exploring the new face of manufacturing, you can find companies of all kinds using technology to upgrade a manufacturing process to fit their ideas, but let’s be clear, the future isn’t so much about tech alone. Or, in layman’s terms, soup to nuts design software that lets Santa Cruz Bicycles iterate on their designs, add in new parts from partner manufacturers based on detailed specs, and generally keep the innovations spinning faster than the competition. The technology that makes the operation hum is in big part thanks to PTC – the 3D software company that focuses on product lifecycle management. A new design can be computer drafted, and a prototype built and tested in a matter of weeks. Sounds like a traditional high-end craftsman working with the world’s highest tech materials, just quite a bit faster than the old world. This method is extremely expensive to do, since each size has to have a lot of dedicated tooling, nothing is shared between each size.” “By laying up and curing the front triangle all at the same time, and not assembling together pieces, we're able to decrease the amount of material used by eliminating overlapping joints that have to be bonded or wrapped with carbon. A combination of high tech material and technical prowess, built in a proprietary way explained on their website: The carbon fiber frame is what sets Santa Cruz at the top of the bike world – extremely lightweight and incredibly durable. It wasn’t a question of what was best today, rather what could be. When they began to crank out world-class mountain bikes meant to be ridden at high speeds down rugged mountain trails, they decided to launch with a full suspension bike when the traditional “hardtail” (no suspension on the rear) was the norm. In his recent Harvard Business Review post, Can You See The Opportunity Right In Front Of You?, Berger is essentially asking what Rob Roskopp and Rich Novak must have asked when they started SCB in 1993. Santa Cruz Bicycles (SCB) exemplifies this new paradigm shift. While it includes new machinery, such as the 3D printers we read about nearly every day, unlike the industrial revolution in the 1800’s, this new revolution in manufacturing is arguably a revolution led by designers – more the craftsman, rather than the engineer, aided by advances in software technology. Some talk about changes heralding in a new industrial revolution, a new face of manufacturing, in America today. The transformation of American manufacturing is wide ranging. Santa Cruz Bicycles is not your traditional bike maker, and their passion and design approach are transforming the industry and influencing others. Other manufacturers “stress test” their bicycles, but this is a bit insane. The frame bounces off the post without a dent. An employee picks up another of the expensive carbon fiber bike frames and swings it like a baseball bat into a steel post. It seems sure to break the bike as it just bounces on the carbon frame, but it does not. A heavy 85 pound stack of weights comes crashing down on the mountain bike frame.
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