Tag: Waterford Precision Cycles

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Show #635 – August 24, 2023

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Guests: Richard Schwinn; Sergio Bravo

EOS – End of summer… and what a strange summer it has been, especially when we look at what Mother Nature threw at us. 

But we still want to feel a sense of normalcy and so, today I welcome two guests to the show.

First up is a name that is synonymous with bicycles – I would venture to say that no one who listens to this podcast doesn’t know the name OR hasn’t had a bicycle with that name on the downtube at some point in his or her life.

And after a lifetime of living and breathing bicycles, Richard Schwinn has decided it’s time to retire and at the end of June, his Waterford Precision Cycles stopped taking new orders and prepared to close the business – which he did the following month.

Richard and I have been friends and business colleagues for decades.  I am always interested in what he has to say and how he thinks about things and today, he shares his thoughts about his decision to retire and close Waterford,  who – if anyone – might fill the gap in what was a unique place in the custom bicycle business, and what the future might look like, including his ideas on eBike and what he calls “electronification.”

I made him promise to speak with me as soon as he and his wife returned from a well-deserved vacation and today, he fulfills that promise.

Then, I speak with Sergio Bravo, the producer of the Master Bike Builder’s Show that will take place September 16-17th in Bentonville, Arkansas.

With the absence of shows such as NAHBS and the NE Bike Builder’s Show, some regional options are beginning to fill the void and today, we speak with Sergio Bravo who decided that it might just time for a new Bike Builder’s Show.

The MBBS will take place September 16 and 17th Bentonville, Arkansas and Sergio is going to tell us all about it.

Here is a written transcript of the show.  August 24_Transcript 

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Show #326 – December 17, 2016

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Special Guest: Richard Schwinn

With only a couple of more weeks until 2017, I thought it would be a good time to bring back one of our most interesting and well-received guests for a one-on-one show.

Richard Schwinn grew up in our industry, took a leave of absence for college, and came back when the company needed a guiding hand to navigate the changing waters of the 90’s.

Out of the sale of the company in the early 1990’s, Richard Schwinn and Mark Muller retained the Paramount name and factory in Waterford Wisconsin and Waterford Precision Bicycles was born.

Today, in the midst of a carbon fiber frenzy, Waterford Precision and its companion brand Gunnar, are a bright and shining star in the custom bike world.

Richard and I discuss a variety of topics from the current state of the business to the future of the independent bike dealer and more.

It’s a fascinating conversation and I hope you enjoy it.

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Show #208 – August 23, 2014

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Guests: Encore presentation of interviews with Ross Shafer & Richard Schwinn

This week we bring you an encore presentation of interviews with two of my all-time favorite people.

Our first interview, which took place August 27, 2011 is with one of our industry’s true Renaissance Men – as Greg puts it. Ross Shafer has done a bunch of cool things in his career, including launching and running Salsa Cycles from 1981 to 1997. These days, Ross runs his own design, fabrication and consulting company called Six-Nine Design from his home base in Petaluma, California.

After a quick break, we’ll be back to bring you my conversation from August 13, 2011 (see a pattern here?) with the venerable Richard Schwinn from Waterford Precision Cycles. From the economics of transportation to bike polo, there is no part of our business that goes unturned when we talk with Richard.

Even if you’ve heard these two interviews when they originally aired, I know you’ll find them fascinating with something you missed this time!

We will be back next week with a brand new episode of The Outspoken Cyclist when we talk with super-star Katie Compton!

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Show #174 – December 21, 2013

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GUESTS: Richard Schwinn and Anna Schwinn

If you were living in the United States at any point in the 20th century, the name Schwinn needs no further explanation, and likely evokes some fond memories of a time when the bikes everyone wanted were made in Chicago, Illinois. Whether it was a Varsity, Continental, or Sting-Ray, Schwinn was the coveted brand. Although Schwinn-branded bikes are still being produced, our guests today are two members of the Schwinn family who are making their mark in a different way on cycling in the 21st century.

First up is Richard Schwinn, great-grandson of Ignaz Schwinn, who founded the eponymous bicycle company. Richard is a frequent flyer on The Outspoken Cyclist, and we always look forward to his insights and opinions (of which there is no shortage). Richard of course, is the proprietor of Waterford and Gunnar, and has recently been busy making frames for a new bicycle company called Shinola (which bought the name from the now-defunct shoe polish company). Richard holds forth on this and many other topics, including the dubious benefit of disc brakes on road bikes.

After a break and the news, we continue our “Schwinn-derful” show by welcoming Anna Schwinn (Richard’s daughter) who is making a name for herself as a bike designer. She started her career with Zipp Speed Weaponry, and is now the Head Engineer at All City Cycles, a QBP brand. Anna is also involved in promoting women’s racing in her new home of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some of us have the “bicycle gene” and then others really have it.