'Making Our Bikes Right Here In Colorado': Guerrilla Gravity Revolutionizing Mountain Biking
DENVER (CBS4)- A local business is revolutionizing a popular sport in Colorado. Guerrilla Gravity is hoping to keep the cost of mountain biking at an affordable rate for those who want to hit the trails.
At Guerrilla Gravity across from Broncos Stadium at Mile High, they are hard at work filling orders for carbon fiber mountain bikes.
"There was certainly a few days where it was like staring down a tsunami," said president and co-founder of Guerrilla Gravity Will Montague.
In January, the company started making carbon fiber bikes. The top of the line style in the sport.
"They're typically a little bit lighter weight and a little bit stiffer and have a slightly more damped ride quality to them as well."
The only problem? They are traditionally expensive, plus they tend to be brittle, meaning your brand new expensive toy could be wiped out by a hard fall.
"They are certainly not rock friendly."
He and his company decided to make a tougher more affordable bike. They use high tech materials used in airplane manufacturing and developed their own automated manufacturing process called the Frame Maker 3000 to keep everything local, prices down, and turn out high-end bikes quickly.
Will chuckles when he admits, "Yeah, it's hard! You know, there's not a road map. We're seeing things that no one has ever seen before."
Luckily going a little off road has never stopped any mountain biker and will has seen his business take off.
"It's cool. It's rewarding. Especially when you don't know the people. I remember the first time that started happening, when you would see people you don't know and just be like, 'Sweet bike' and they are like, 'Thanks we love it.'"
It was also important for Will to make all his bikes in Denver, Colorado, USA. Most manufacturer rely on overseas labor. Will says he wants to become one of the biggest bike makers in the world but no matter how much they grow, they will always be a local company.
"We're dedicated to making our bikes right here in Colorado."