Gerard Vroomen on Rubbing Paint, Road-X, and the OPEN U.P.

If you have any type of affinity toward tri bikes, aero road bikes, or even gravel bikes, you have Gerard Vroomen to thank. The enigmatic engineer started as one half of Cervelo, a company that pushed bicycle aerodynamics into the mainstream. Over his time, Cervelo became the first bike manufacturer in the modern era to have its own cycling team at the highest level of racing, and fundamentally redefined how road bikes are designed. Today, Vroomen co-owns both OPEN Cycle and 3T Cycling, brands that we proudly carry.

Since his time at Cervelo, Vroomen left to co-own OPEN Cycle and 3T Cycling, two brands that push the envelope on bikes. The OPEN U.P. and 3T Exploro were the leap into fat tire gravel and road bikes that broke the mold, and the OPEN ONE+ is the lightest 27.5" hardtail mountain bike on the market. More recently, the Vroomen-designed 3T Strada road bike combines wide 30c tires, aerodynamic design, and a 1x drivetrain into yet another genre-busting speed machine.

Gerard Vroomen might dabble in the weird and fringe of bicycle design, but it is clear that these unorthodox bicycles will continue to push the envelope amid a long and changing history of bicycle development. We were lucky enough to have Vroomen here for an informal Q&A at the shop, and we sat down for a one-on-one interview before the event. (The "It's gold, Jerry! Gold!" OPEN ONE+ )

Alvin: First of all, thanks for making the time to come to the shop.

Gerard: My pleasure, I’m happy to be here.

Alvin: I read in an interview that you didn’t think that there would be a market for a bike like the OPEN U.P. I remember thinking, “man, the U.P. is exactly the bike I’ve looked for.” Why’d you think nobody would be interested?

Gerard: Well, we really didn’t know. It would be presumptuous to predict what the market thinks of it, but I knew there was a market of one. Pretty similar to you, I was always using my road bike, and I was always trying to find the biggest tires that fit, or even ones that didn’t really rubbed off some paint until it does fit. But of course when you do that, you get stuck in mud because a 28mm road tire really isn’t that big, and you get flat tires too. So the idea was to keep the road feel, speed, and positioning but fit a bigger tire to take care of whatever you might come across. (The OPEN U.P.P.E.R. Assos Edition)

A: Totally. It makes perfect sense for what I and people I knew wanted to do. At the time, I didn’t think a mountain bike was necessary for where I lived -

G: Right. Obviously, there are plenty of times where a mountain bike makes more sense, but for where most people live and how most people ride.. Most people don't live where they take the photos for mountain bike magazines. You guys in Utah are a bit of an exception, but even then you live in the city, the first ten miles or so are asphalt. It can be annoying on a mountain bike, but fully engaging on a road bike because you have the speed. And once you’re off road, even on really really difficult sections, you might go, “hey, a mountain bike might be faster, but it wouldn’t necessarily be more fun or more engaging.” Because you're fully engaged if only to make sure you stay alive. *laughs* It might not be the appropriate bike at the time, but it is definitely a fun bike.