The Somerville Connection

Funding

IF received its first funding from the Somerville Economic Development Partnership in December of 1995 in the form of a $25,000 loan. IF received a $30,000 equity grant from the Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Catholic Conference in January of 1996. These funds were used, in part, to lease our own space at 86 Joy Street, Somerville, the purchase of machine tools and for leasehold improvements.

A major accomplishment was the acquisition, installation and acceptance by local officials of a state-of-the-art paint booth and drying chamber for the painting of our frames. It was not until October of 1996 that the booth and machinery were fully installed and the City signed off on the booth and the leasehold improvements and issued an occupancy permit. At last, Mike no longer had to risk his life in his wreck of a car traversing the Mass Pike to Worcester to use the Hot Tubes paint booth.

Racing - Spring, 1996

In the Spring of 1996, IF came to the rescue of pro rider Gretchen Reeves when her sponsored ride failed to get to the race on time. Steven was able to provide Gretchen with a bike in her size for the race. With little time to practice or adjust the bike, Gretchen went on to place in the top 15. She continued to ride the borrowed bike for two more NORBA National events until a new bike could be built for her by her team.

Expanding the Line

The strength of the company is that all but me are very active riders. I do most of my 2-wheel service on a motorcycle. Our R&D takes place every day on the streets and on the race course and these hard-earned lessons are incorporated into the design and fabrication of every frame and fork we make. We have used the services of a testing laboratory to augment this solid base of practical experience.

Because the workers own IF, every frame is viewed as a personal expression of the owner and great care is taken in crafting the finest frame possible. Interestingly, one of IF's appeals to our customers is that when you call the factory, you speak to an "owner." This contrasts to the large conglomerates who gobble up smaller companies and homogenize the products, depriving them of personality and subjecting the products to the limitations of mass production. Quality in design and execution and exquisite attention to detail differentiate IF frames in the market place.

The Crown Jewel & Planet Cross

During 1996, the company developed 3 new models. The road bike was called, "Crown Jewel," and is sold as a frame set with a matching fork. The CJ was designed by Lloyd based on his many years as racer and mechanic. It was an immediate success and has achieved success in the marketplace and on the race course. The cruiser was called, "The Roadster," and was a general fun bike which has since been discontinued. The cruiser was developed by Mike Flanigan as his urban assault vehicle and was essentially a Deluxe with a second top tube and track dropouts. Decked out in an, "Easy Rider," red-white-and-blue paint job, it was the talk of Interbike.

The cyclocross bike is called, "Planet Cross," and is a bike used for specialized racing called cyclocross (very popular in Europe and growing in popularity on this side of the pond). It was designed by Lloyd to address some of the frustrations he had experienced as an active 'cross rider. It was designed with a taller head tube to provide more shoulder clearance when being carried, no chain stay bridge to maximize tire clearance and to help prevent mud buildup, and derailleur adjuster mounted on the seat tube to keep it clear of the mud.

Improving the Line

After much internal dispute, we decided to change the head tube on our mountain bikes from 1" to 1 1/8". The dispute involved the fact that there was no engineering justification to increase the size of the head tube. What drove the decision was what was happening in the market. Suspension forks were being designed increasingly around the 1 1/8" format. At the same time, Reynolds came out with 853 which offered the promise of increased strength and lower weight. Thus, the Deluxe and Special were changed for 1997 to include the 1 1/8" head tube and the main triangle made from Reynolds 853. Our new models were made with Reynolds 853 main triangles as well.

The Casualty List

Following some frivolity at a local watering hole in March, 1996, Jeff became our first bicycling mishap when he crashed, breaking his collarbone. Lloyd became our next contributor to the full employment program for orthopedists when he broke his collarbone in June of 1997 in front of Dunkin' Donuts. In August of 1997, Jeff went off to Botswana as part of a trip put together by Habitat for Humanity to fix bikes and build houses. He was hit by a car and returned with his leg in a cast.

In June of 1998, Steve tore his rotator cuff while racing downhill at Mt. Snow. Not to be outdone, Jane broke her leg in several places in August of 1998 and has been setting off metal detectors ever since. Riding across Las Vegas at Interbike in October, 1999, Tyler crashed, breaking his collarbone. About the same time, Lloyd dislocated his elbow in a mishap at the barriers during cyclocross practice. The most recent casualty was Jane's ACL which gave up the ghost during the last race of 1999 - the Second Start Enduro which was the end of her most successful season. Current Score: 2 legs, 3 collarbones, 1 ACL , 1 rotator cuff and 1 elbow. Jeff just edges out Lloyd and Jane with two definitive breaks whereas Lloyd only has 1 break and 1 dislocation and Jane only 1 broken leg and 1 ACL failure.