Petaluma’s peddlers of pedals

Petaluma has a long history of innovative companies that have revolutionized entire industries, from growth hormone-free dairy to the advancement and proliferation of the fiber optic technology that makes the modern Internet possible.

Yet there is another wave of innovation that has been going on in the city for decades, where craftsmen, precision manufacturers and designers have been revolutionizing the practice, purpose and pleasure of cycling.

“Some are new. Some are old. Some are big. Some are small,” said Ingrid Alverde, economic development manager for the city of Petaluma. “They are all different, but there is a common thread. They are all innovating the way bikes are used.”

Petaluma today is host to at least seven bicycle industry companies. They range from the 110-employee Camelbak, whose products include the eponymous backpack-based hydration system, to one-man shops producing pricey custom frames and parts.

Among the earliest to set up shop in the city was Bruce Gordon, who moved his frame building business from Eugene, Ore. to Petaluma in 1988. At a time when mountain bikes were charging into the mainstream, Gordon, himself an avid rider, maintained that the larger-diameter wheels of road bikes were better suited to negotiating rough terrain.

“It made sense to me - the greater diameter wheel, the less angle of attack,” he said from his recently remodeled and well-organized Petaluma Boulevard South workshop that belied the years of building bikes by hand. “It’s the same reason stagecoaches had six-foot-diameter wheels in the 1800s.”

The problem was, however, that no company at that time was producing a suitable high-volume, off-road tire. Gordon faxed a pencil sketch by early professional mountain bike racer Joe Murray to a tire manufacturer in Taiwan, which resulted in the first run of the tires he dubbed “Rock n’ Road.”

While Gordon said the tires performed exactly as expected, the concept fell flat with consumers. He only ordered one batch, and the original mold was destroyed after 20 years.

“You couldn’t give them away,” he said, laughing.

It was essentially an afterthought when Gordon dusted off a 25-year-old pair of Rock n’ Roads for a bike bound for an industry trade show in 2011. The decision generated unexpectedly positive results.

“People were more interested in the tire than the bike,” he said.

In what some argue is a direct result of Gordon’s original concept, the popularity of larger-wheeled mountain bikes, known as 29ers, had exploded in the years since the first Rock n’ Road tires were produced. Stacks of the tires now stand several feet high in Gordon’s Petaluma shop, with sales becoming a growing part of his business since he resurrected the tire through a new manufacturer in Japan.

“All the innovations in the past 40 years have come from little tiny companies,” he said.

Another industry company in Petaluma is Yuba Bicycles, which designs purpose-built rigs for carrying bulky loads and moved from Sausalito in 2013.

Benjamin Sarrazin, founder, described the seven-person company as the first in the United States to focus exclusively on so-called cargo bikes.

“It’s an alternative to a car. We’ve added basically a trunk and a back seat,” he said. “What’s unique compared to other cargo bikes is that they ride like a regular bike. Our design philosophy is centered around making something that’s solid and safe.”

Sales have doubled since Yuba’s move to Petaluma, Sarrazin said. The bikes are designed, warehoused and often assembled in Petaluma.

Some of the most popular markets have been urban cities with robust cycling infrastructure, and Sarrazin said he was enthusiastic about promoting Yuba ownership and bike routes in Petaluma.

“This town is almost 80 percent there. It could be like a Mecca,” he said.

Also in Petaluma is White Industries, which manufactures high-precision, premium bicycle components at a 16,000-square-foot shop on Ross Street, said founder Doug White.

“When I first started, people said, ‘You can’t do that here. You can’t manufacture hubs in the United States,’” he said. “The people I knew in the bike business thought I was nuts.”

The company today sells around 20,000 made-in-Petaluma hubs every year, in addition to thousands of pedals, cranks and other items. The high-quality wheel hubs can cost as much as a basic bicycle, and remain very popular with enthusiasts.

“You’ve got a 25-year-old hub? No problem. We’ve got parts for it,” he said. “What I’d say, the most important thing is customer service.”

The local manufacturing facility, which White purchased in 2003, has allowed White Industries to quickly pivot around changing hardware standards in the bicycle industry and capitalize on new and niche consumers, he said.

Zander Nosler, founder of premium mountain bike apparel company Kitsbow, also cited domestic manufacturing as an advantage. The company moved to Petaluma last year, and contracts with various manufacturers in western Canada and the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Doing it in your own time zone is great,” Nosler said. “By building it closer to demand, you can preserve cash and preserve quality.”

He described the company, which has six full-time and three part-time employees in Petaluma, as the first brand to pursue premium mountain bike apparel. Kitsbow could branch into other outdoor apparel in the future, and also recently hired staff for some limited local production.

“We’re starting a journey to manufacture in Petaluma,” he said.

With over 100 employees, Camelbak is the largest of the bicycle industry-related firms in Petaluma. The company moved to the city from Texas in 1999, and contracts with both domestic and foreign manufacturers to produce a variety of products.

“We were born in bike, but have grown to produce products that cover home water pitchers, insulated coffee mugs, military packs, glass and stainless steel bottles and more,” said Seth Beiden, a company spokesman, in an email.

Camelbak became famous for its backpack-based hydration system, which delivers water to the wearer through a hose affixed to a shoulder strap. The company was itself sold to a private equity firm in 2011 for more than $250 million.

As the company grows, Camelbak maintains close ties with the local cycling industry, Beiden said. The company recently hosted representatives from several Petaluma bicycle companies at its corporate offices, part of an informal gathering to discuss common issues and desires.

“There are a bunch of us that are avid cyclists at Camelbak. We’re close friends with a lot of the guys here,” Beiden said.

Another local industry gathering occurred at Acre Coffee’s upcoming coffee shop, roastery and bicycle “showroom” on Petaluma Boulevard, said owner Steve Decosse. The location is anticipated to open in August, seizing on Petaluma’s cycling culture and history.

“We’re going to be a showroom for what’s happening here locally,” he said. “We want to showcase them as art.”

Among the attendees at those gatherings was Sean Walling, who builds high-end bike frames in Petaluma for his company, Soulcraft. The company is considered something of a spiritual successor to his former employer, Salsa, which produced frames and accessories locally before sale to a larger company in 1998.

Walling, who also once built frames as a Bruce Gordon employee, said Petaluma’s niche bicycle companies had a competitive advantage in an age when Internet sales made it easier to reach customers.

“Rarely do I even meet the people I sell bikes to,” he said. “Whether food, shoes, bikes -- people like to buy things from a small producer.”

Having joined Petaluma’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, he echoed a common refrain among those in local bicycle business.

“The riding is great,” he said. “I have a real sense of pride living here.”