KIRKLAND, Wash. (BRAIN) — Gerard Cycles is a road bike brand with a story.
The eight-year-old brand run out of Washington was founded by John Gerard Sheehan, an Irish-born ex-pro who can share stories about racing on the Continent and elsewhere with the likes of LeMond, Roche, and Kelly, back in the day.
The brand offers carbon road and gravel bikes with component options that allow consumers to customize their fit and parts desires, from wheel choice to stem length and cassette size.
Gerard recently re-launched with a fresh look and new D2C website, and Sheehan said it's looking to partner with more bike shops for fulfillment. The company also is aiming to sell its "rolling chassis" (frame-fork-headset-through axle-etc.) to shops that want to custom build bikes. The chassis retail for $3,900-$4,100.
"We are one of the few companies that has bikes in stock," Sheehan told BRAIN. "We upped our game when the pandemic came in; we upped our production so we have bikes, equipment and frames in stock."
Sheehan said the brand is hoping to work with brick-and-mortar dealers in major markets like San Francisco, Dallas, New York, South Florida, Portland and Seattle.
Gerard frames are made in Asia using an EPS mold process the brand calls G-Spec CarbonProcess. The frames have lifetime warranties and Sheehan said the brand has never seen a frame failure in seven years in business.
Sheehan began racing in the 1980s in Ireland, later moving to the U.S. where he was on New York City's Toga Bike Shop team, where a young George Hincapie was a teammate.
After his racing career, in the 1990s Sheehan worked with Softride, selling its unusual beam bikes and suspension stems. He also coached collegiate teams and athletes and maintained a one-person bike fitting and bike-building business on the side.
More information: gerardcycles.com.
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John Sheehan (left) and friend in 1989.
