Posts
4960
Joined
6/26/2009
Location
Boise, ID
US
Edited Date/Time
1/22/2018 7:51am
Today we're stoked to have long-time friend and MTB OG, Todd Seplavy in the forum hot seat. Todd is Director of Product at GT Bicycles, but has been involved with some of the biggest and best brands and gravity race teams of the last 15 years. He's an East Coast legend with a thick Long Island accent and he's ready to answer your questions. -gordo
Todd Seplavy's Bio
Racing Age: 40 (I turn the big Four-Oh next week…ugh)
Hometown: Rocky Point, Lawnguyland, Neu Yawk, East fuggin Coast
Job History:
- GT Director of Product – 2013 to present
- GT Senior Product Manager – 2009 to 2013
- Evil Bikes – 2008-2009
- Specialized Sports Marketing Manager MTB – 2008
- Iron Horse Marketing Manager/Brand Manager/Senior Product Manager/Customer Service Manager – 1998-2008
Social Media: @ska_todd (Twitter & Instagram)
Interests: Dad of two. Bikes. Ska, punk, & indie music. NY Mets.
I am the Director of Product for GT Bicycles. I have been with the brand since mid-2009, first as the Mountain Bike Product Manager and now overseeing the GT product management team (Patrick Kaye - hardtails, Cait Dooley - pavement, Ben Ward - BMX). In addition, I am directly responsible for the model lineup and spec of GT’s full suspension models.
Prior to GT I worked for a year helping Kevin Walsh get Evil Bikes off the ground. Before that I was with Specialized for a blip of time working on sports marketing. I got my big start in the industry working at Iron Horse where I held a variety of product and marketing roles for a decade.
Additionally, I have been involved over the years with the gravity racing scene; helping to form and manage several regional, domestic, and race teams. I also was on the USAC mountain bike board for a couple years where I was generally an advocate for the downhillers and a rabble-rouser.
When I’m not working in the bike biz I’m riding a lot of bikes. The past couple years I’ve drifted away from the DH thing a bit and have been spending more time at my local BMX track and on the road bike. Since I travel a ton for work (20+ weeks a year), I also spend most of my free time with my kids, Abbie and Connor, and my wife Anne Marie. Besides family and bikes, I do my best to see a lot of live music whenever possible; mostly of the ska, punk, and indie variety. Oh, and I’m a pretty, pretty huge fan of the New York Mets.
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Todd will be here to answer your questions from 1 to 3pm Pacific time (4 to 6pm EST) today, so fire away and he'll answer the gems.
why the 2x drivetrain spec on sensor and force lineups for 2016?
I read an article with an interview from a Pivot product manager about the effects of switching to a smaller single chain ring up front, and the impact of clutch derailleurs on suspension design. I found it very informative and interesting. He discusses exclusively dual link designs (which makes sense given Pivot bikes). I was curios about the same thing in general in regards to a single pivot design.
As mentioned here, some models of the Sensor/Force, are running a 2X crank set up, while the Carbon Pro is running a 32T.
Is the suspension optimized for a 32T set up, or rather the 2X models below it?
What affect would switching to something smaller, say a 28 or 30 (perhaps in conjuction with a 42 or 44T cassette ring) have on the suspension, if any?
Does GT optimize their suspension design/tune with the effects of clutch derailleurs in mind, as they've become essentially universal?
Thanks. I love my '10 Sensor, btw. If you were involved, nice job!
As a product manager I've tried my best to put better suspension, brakes, and cranks on bikes (aka the pricey bits) over the past few years rather than drivetrain. Drivetrain has become pretty personal (1x vs 2x, Shimano vs SRAM) and it does wear out or get trashed. So, in conclusion spec the bits that make you go faster up one notch and the semi-disposable stuff as best as possible.
Oh, and range...all of us aren't 160lb XC whippets and some of us can't climb real well and some people live in places with big ass mountains. So at mid range prices 2x can give you more range than 1x.
Did you guys think you were making such a legendary bike when the Sunday was being developed at Iron Horse? What was the magic ingredient that gave that bike its cult status? And how would you go about trying to make the next one just like it today?
What's the best live show you've seen in the past few years?
Our current gen bikes' kinematics were largely designed in the 2x/3x era. But we knew 1x was coming so our bikes do perform quite well w/ a 1x 32T (+/- 2T). TBH I wasn't expecting as many people wanting to then go down to even 28T.
Clutch RD's are pretty much stock spec these days on bikes > $1500. We had already been riding these when designing the current bikes. I think we will be looking into some effects a bit more in testing of next gen platforms and see if some of the miracle runs by Neko and Gwinny had something to them, or if it's just the latest fashionable thing for riders to think is fouling up their ride.
Who decides which models are offered in different markets? Is it driven purely by dealer interest? I ask because it seems like there are always higher spec models (and some models altogether) that don't get offered in the US and it's a shame. Really digging the MY16 Sanction, it's a ripper!
Mark
1) Carbon Fury DH? Rach was testing a blue one at Lourdes last year, no?
2) 650b wheels: Further segmenting an already small niche (DH) or something that will eventually catch on once people use up all of the 26" tires they currently own? =) In other words: 650b for DH - moar harm than good?
All Hail The Toasters
Best live show...damned, they often tend to blend into one...Desaparecidos at Webster was REALLY good. Anytime I get to see the Slacker is great. I saw The Get Up Kids the past two nights and they were really sharp. My two favs though were probably seeing Texas Is The Reason play their final US show at Maxwells and bringing my son up to Boston to see the Dropkick Murphys on St Paddy's weekend.
What are your Top 5 (or however many) Travel Tips for the "frequent fliers" or "globe trotters"?
Worst thing - not being able to "just go for a ride" without thinking and analyzing in your head different parts on your bike and how to make the ride quality better.
2) The nichifying of the niche drives me bat shit crazy! But, the genie was already let out of the bottle and it aint going back in. I'd have personally preferred if DH stayed as 26", not because I'm a curmudgeon but because it was a whole lot of hassle for the brands, teams, sponsors, and average riders for a negligible gain in performance. I rode a 26" Fury for 2 weeks at WBP this past summer. To my utter surprise I had fun and smiled every run!
DLTBGYD
2. Passport - make sure it's got enough pages in it and that it's got at least 6-months left.
3. Data plan - if you're going to be using the web or social media spending a bit upfront helps vs getting a whopper bill.
4. See cool things - Spend that extra day and check out a castle or go rent a bike or go to a museum. You never know when you'll get there again.
5. Eat and drink - Try lots of things. It's amazing the different cuisines out there. This is the best way to make friends and learn about cultures.
You spend a lot of time to squeeze down the price of each and every part, but in the end it's often for only a small improvement in cost. The best thing about the Fury Elite is that you get the same frame on it that you do on the World Cup. The same frame that Brook, Sam, Wyn, and Jackson will be piloting down WC tracks next season.
A ) Worried wheelbase will be too long on the DH bike with similar reach #, given the slacker HA and longer chainstay,
B ) Actually think reach length and bike fit should be smaller on DH bikes because body position is different for DH, or
C ) Just lazy and don't care about tall guys' downhill bikes because we're 0.000001% of their marketshare.
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