What's hot in Berkeley right now? At Wrench Science, local riders are loving Pinarello, Henry Chen has his eye on an Eddy Merckx EMX-525 with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, but its the diverse and passionate community of cyclists driving the retail operation that specializes in online custom builds.
Wrench Science certainly has a brick-and-mortar location, where high-end road and mountain frames adorn the walls, but many riders know the retailer for its online bike builder. When on WrenchScience.com, you can select every last detail of a bike, with a running tally of price and weight floating in the right-hand column as you go. The bike builder includes compatible choices for every single part you need, from saddle (with choice of width and color) and bar tape, to additional things you might want like an SRM crankset or special tubes or tires. The price and weight tally adjusts for every size and width change, too, and Wrench Science ships bikes built to a rider's exact fit specs.
Henry Chen helps drive the Wrench Science team
For this week's Three for Thursday, BikeRadar asked Chen three simple questions.
1. What's the coolest thing in your shop?
The coolest thing in the shop would be the diversity of the guys and gals here. We’re all cycling enthusiasts in our own way. Some of us like road bikes more, some mountain, some cyclocross, some track, and even with those general categories, there are certain aspects that one would prefer over the other. I feel like this creates a very well-rounded source of information, allowing each of us to learn from one another just like how our clients would.
Coolest thing in the shop? The people
2. What's your current bestseller?
Current bestselling road frame would be the Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2. We’ve been taking pre-orders since the first news of the release back during Eurobike 2012. The sale just continues to boom when people realize that we’re very experienced with building these frames to fit all sorts of riders. I’ve been privileged to ride a Dogma 2 for the last year, and that experience has been very helpful when people inquire about ride quality or setup.
Pinarellos are hot sellers that, like most bikes at Wrench Science, are built from the frame up
3. What product are you personally loving or lusting after right now?
I’m currently in love with the Eddy Merckx EMX-525. We had one put together here with Campagnolo Super Record EPS group and it was just amazing. The bike had zero issues during the build, wiring was super easy, the bike is unique looking, and boy it is stiff! I’d build it with the new Dura-Ace Di2 9070, though; after my interview with Shimano and trying out the group at Interbike, I’m sold!
Chen has his eye on the Eddy Merckx EMX-525
