One of the fun things about working at Serotta, a company that has been around for forty years, are the stories. Some are more myths and tales, and yet some can reflect the heart of the company.
“It’s the tubing damn it!” is one of my favorites…
In my first week at Serotta Fit Lab I went on a ride with Ben. Looking at his MeiVici SE the way one would look at the Presidential Limo I saw “it’s the tubing damn it!” painted on the inside of the chain stay.
When I asked, Ben explained… He was speaking to a cycling group about the differences in frame materials and what distinguished Serotta frames. Ben discussed the ability to fine tune the ride and performance of a Serotta by double and triple butting tubes. He explained how he developed the Colorado Concept Tubing and how the shaping and modifications to the tubing make his frames the best.
After his presentation there was a Q&A session and he was asked over and over again what made Serotta bicycles so special. The usually calm and collected Ben Serotta exclaimed, “it’s the tubing damn it!” and the somewhat shocked audience had no more questions.
I always laugh when retelling this story but it also demonstrates Ben’s vision for building the best bicycles and how that vision has continued to this day. The Serotta tubing is still shaped and modified to enhance
performance and ride characteristics. Steel has been sourced exclusively from Columbus in Italy for over 25 years, titanium from only US mills and carbon fiber fabricated at Serotta Composites in California. To preserve the company values Serotta has never followed trends or fashions of the day.
My colleagues at Serotta share that vision and the pride of making best bicycles in the world.
Steven LeBoyer is Director of Fit Lab Services at Serotta and a contributor to this blog
