For those of you new to this channel, I am a brand ambassador and test rider for a company
called Box Components, and yes that means I'm heavily biased.
I won't be reviewing their products or trying to sell you on Box in this video.
This is simply a look at where I've been for the last week and to some extent, a discussion
on why I chose to work with Box in the first place.
I recently got to visit Box's office and warehouse in Southern California, where their
entire team is based.
I got to experience their day to day operations, ride downtown for a Box components lunch break,
hit their local trails, and finally travel 5 hours North to attend Sea Otter, one of
the largest bike trade shows in the world.
Before I had any affiliation with Box Components, I knew they were facing a lot of challenges.
The year prior they brought to market a new drivetrain, the Box One.
It launched with a clutch that lagged behind competitors, and even some problems with parts
breaking.
But early adopters jumped on it as a long needed third option.
With well established competition and a minefield of patents to work around, Box didn't really
expect to hit a home run on their first attempt.
There had been no significant entrants to the high end drivetrain market for years—for
good reason.
Box learned some lessons, and made changes.
They switched up their manufacturing process, totally redesigned their clutch, and even
stood behind the early adopters who rolled the dice with their hard earned dollars.
With a better product, more wisdom, and plenty of reasons to be optimistic, Box is forging
ahead with a downhill drivetrain, ebike derailleur, and lower cost box two 1x11.
The rest I'm not liberty to talk about.
Toby is an ex pro BMX and downhill racer, who made his mark when both sports were young.
His nature as a risk taker is prevalent both on and off the bike.
Throughout his career, Toby saw a lot of products come to market, some of which went on revolutionize
cycling, and others—not so much.
Toby's experience riding and testing products is what inspired him to eventually go into
business.
When Box or any company makes a physical product it starts as an idea first.
I had an idea for an action camera mount that would replace my stem cap.
Apparently this wasn't a totally original idea, but Box agreed to make a custom one
for me to demonstrate their prototyping procedures.
3D Printers have revolutionized product design by facilitating rapid prototyping.
The machine works by printing thin layers of plastic one by one, laying each one directly
on top of the other.
In just a few hours, the 3D printer poops out whatever part you had on your computer
screen.
These relatively cheap plastic parts are only used for fitment and proof of concept.
Now that we
know this stem cap will fit my bike, we can make the same thing out of metal.
This is a CNC machine, which stands for computer numerical control.
It works in sort of the opposite way a 3d printer does, as instead of building a part
layer by layer, it actually removes or mills material away from a solid block of metal.
The main advantage of a CNC is flexibility.
A machine like this can make almost any shape you can imagine, and it'll come out more
than strong enough to use on an actual bicycle.
At a few hours per part CNC is not practical for mass production, but for companies like
box looking to test products before bringing them to market, it's an indispensable tool.
I originally thought this stem cap would only be practical for mounting a light, and it
did work great for that.
As for an action camera I didn't expect much since handlebar footage is usually unwatchable.
I was wrong.
This is footage from my Rylo camera, mounted directly to my custom stem cap.
It might end up getting some good use after all.
In spending a few days at Box I got to meet everyone in person and see how they develop
products, but that wasn't the main purpose of my visit.
On Wednesday we made the pilgrimage North to attend Sea Otter.
Sea Otter is an event in Northern California which includes quite a few races and an enormous
trade show.
Industry insiders have a love hate relationship with Sea Otter.
It's an amazing opportunity for exposure, both for your company and for your skin.
4 straight days in the California sun is no match for sunscreen or tents.
In battling the sun, you'll also battle crowds.
Sea Otter was the first event that I had been to having gained so many subscribers.
It was a surreal, inspiring, and absolutely joyous experience meeting so many of you.
But every once in a while, I needed to take a breather.
I also didn't even know autographs were still a thing.
Without having practiced one beforehand, I needed to invent an autograph on the spot.
This could change in the future, so if you got the Drama head at Sea otter you may have
a collectors item on your hands.
Amongst all the chaos that is Sea Otter, quite a few memories were made.
Like meeting Ali Clarkson in person, and almost dying on the Drop and Roll setup.
I also got to ride with Eric Porter and Mikayla Gatto, two Diamondback riders who I've never
met in person.
There were a few instance where I got to horse around with the guys from Box.
Attending Sea Otter was a memorable experience, and
I have box to thank for inviting me out there.
Any compliments I give Box or their product line will be tainted in bias—I acknowledge
that.
I'm not telling you to rip your derailleur off and switch to the box one, or even that
supporting a smaller company for its own sake is virtuous.
I will say that as a partner, Box makes sense for both me and this YouTube channel.
To show you in real time a company trying to disrupt the drivetrain market, seems a
bit more interesting than making dollar shave club ads.
I hope you agree.
Thanks for riding with me today and I'll see you next time.
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