Floyd A. O'Reilly Blog: This ‘Spirit of ’77’ dream bike is awaiting a Trail Blazers player

Thursday, February 9, 2017

This ‘Spirit of ’77’ dream bike is awaiting a Trail Blazers player

Introducing the “Seven Spirit of ’77,” on sale now at a local bike shop.
(Photos: River City Bicycles)

Portlander Dave Guettler is a huge Trail Blazers fan. He also happens to own River City Bicycles, one of the best bike shops in the country.

And now River City (located just a mile from the Blazers’ home court) is probably the only bike shop in America with a high-quality custom bike made specifically for a tall person who happens to play for the Blazers.

Yes that is the same leather used on basketballs.

In a video released today (watch it below), Guettler explains that the bike was inspired not just by his love of the team; but by an unannounced visit from a Blazers player last year. When that player (who will remain anonymous) walked in, shop staff was caught a bit off-guard. Because it’s River City, the nearly seven-foot-tall player left with a great bike. But Guettler wanted to do better. “We thought it would be a great thing to have a bike at River City,” Guettler says in the video, “that just about any of the current Blazers could come down and at least test ride and get a feel for what a quality bike – that would fit them – would feel like.”

The bike is made for someone about six-foot, nine-inches. And it’s a doozy. Dubbed the “Seven Spirit of ’77” (after the year the Blazers won the NBA Championship), it features a thoughtful assortment of high-end parts based around a Seven Cycles Evergreen S model frame. The parts list includes: Wheels with extra-strong DT spokes laced to Chris King hubs; top-of-the-range Shimano Dura-Ace components; a carbon Enve Composites fork; powerful disc brakes; and more. Aesthetic touches include a paint scheme that pays homage to the Blazers and handlebars wrapped with basketball leather (sourced and cut by Portland’s own Walnut Bespoke Leather Designs, now based in Nehalem). Even at its size the bike still weights just 22.7 pounds — making it nearly as athletic and fast as the athlete who its intended for.

Of course the bike isn’t being set aside specifically for a Blazers player, but we think it’d be pretty cool if one of them took the bait. And keep in mind River City and Seven would probably be happy to put together more of these in different sizes if there’s a demand. Once one player gets this one, we have a feeling a few others will want one too. That’s often how cycling goes.

And because this is Portland, this isn’t the first custom bike someone has built for a Blazers player. Remember back in 2010 when Signal Cycles did a gorgeous bike for former player Joel Pryzbilla?

So who’s it going to be? Is CJ ready for a step-up in performance from a Biketown bike (which weighs three times as much!)? Or how about Meyers Leonard? He’s been known to use bike share and ride around Lake Oswego on his own bike.

Actually, it might be most fitting (pun intended) if Bill Walton bought this bike. After all, he not only famously rode his bike to practice when he played for Blazers on that 1977 championship team, but he still rides today.

Whoever ends up getting this bike (or one like it), they’ll have to part with a cool $7,400.

For more, check out the video below: