A Photo Tour of the Competitive Cyclist Headquarters
posted on March 9, 2009
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The Competitive Cyclist global HQ is 25,000 square feet devoted to the blisses of bike riding, bike racing, and gear-obsessing. The location of our building -- on central Arkansas’ traffic-free Millenium Trail loop, alongside the trails at Burns Park -- is a daily dose of temptation to ride more per day than we really have time for.
Take a video tour of our headquarters.
We’re often asked the question, ‘Do you have a showroom?’ Yes! It’s a great place to see amazing bikes for sale; about to be fit to their new owners; or assembled-and-waiting for a photo shoot. Bikes move in and out of here every day, so each day it looks a little different. Also, Hard Rock Café-style, we display our Competitive Cyclist clothing, water bottles, and such. Behind the frosted glass is our Retul-equipped fit studio.
Another view of the showroom, from the second floor . The far wall is where we show our flair for the obscure, including a signed Team 7Up jersey (Oh where have you gone, John Lieswyn?) and an autographed Prime Alliance jersey circa 2003. And, yes, there’s the requisite US Postal jersey, plus a signed Saeco Maglia Rosa and a glued-and-framed 500 piece Eddy Merckx jigsaw puzzle that I assembled in one 3-hour spasm of godlike hand/eye coordination.
In the parlance of MTV Cribs, this is where the magic happens: Our warehouse. In an ideal world if we show something on our website, we have it in stock. This means we have over 400 frames in stock at any given time, not to mention enough Assos to cover up the state of Rhode Island twice. Bikes, frames, clothes, components, accessories: If you see something on Competitive Cyclist and you order it before 5:30pm CST on a weekday, our mission-from-God is to get it in a UPS truck the same day. Our receiving and fulfillment staff are freaks for organization & efficiency and we love them for it.
Do we make a mean crème brûlée? Actually, no. But we do fabricate our own fixtures. Our overall sense of self-sufficiency allows us to live up to our own set of standards. We’re fanatics for quality control—something you’ll appreciate as your new bike or wheelset arrives flawlessly built.
Our heated, fully outfitted indoor bike wash is a godsend. On nice days we can open up the garage door to work in the sunshine, and on lousy days we can work undeterred to overhaul thrashed bikes.
Where the magic happens, part 2: Our shop. We have a total of 8 mechanic bays here, plus two bike-packing stations. Each bay is its own autonomous universe. And even though each mechanic can do their work in total autonomy, they work together as a team to QC every frame prep, bike build, and wheel build.
“Office Space” has been lovingly quoted more times in this area -- where our CSR’s take your calls and answer your emails -- than anyplace else in North America. In the foreground is an argyle Team Garm*n cycling cap that is not long for this world. In the background you can see a corner of our employee parking, where bike commuting employees store their bikes..
Quick snapshot #1: Upstairs offices, i.e., accounting, IT, and other People Who Require Silence.
Quick snapshot #2: Our lunchroom, which we show here with the purpose of providing you a valuable tip: We don’t discount product very often, but if you visit us in person bearing sandwiches or Shiner Bock you very well might find yourself with extraordinary pricing at your disposal.
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