A Wealth of Industry Experience

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I was back racing in Ireland and sponsored by Softride, a bicycle company in the U.S. that specialized in bikes that featured an innovative beam suspension system. After I retired from professional racing, Softride offered me a position as technical director, so I moved to Washington State in 1991.

Using my expertise in frame geometry and knowledge of bike handling characteristics under all riding and racing conditions, I helped design and engineer a range of bikes that could stand up to the unique stresses of the Softride suspension system. I also used my first-hand understanding of the riding attributes of carbon fiber to get involved in the production of Softride’s carbon-fiber frames and parts, including foam-core molding, layup, and the entire resin-transfer molding process. In addition, I was consulting for Aerotech Sports on their carbon-fiber bicycle frames and components. This is where I got a lot of experience working directly with the overseas factories sourcing carbon-fiber products.

I learned a lot about quality control in my early days working with carbon fiber. It’s something we take very seriously today at Gerard Cycles.