Six Olympic athletes to compete using Minnesota company's bike spokes
HOPKINS, Minn. — When it comes to biking, Charlie Spanjers knows a thing or two.
"IWe first had the idea for this bicycle spoke company," he said.
Three University of Minnesota students wanted to change the future of cycling.
"We created the first prototypes in my apartment," Spanjers said.
It started with removing the typical metal spokes in the wheel.
"People say it looks like spaghetti until you get it into a wheel," Spanjers said.
Berd spokes are made out of something called "Dyneema" — a high-performance material that is 15 times stronger than steel.
"It's a braided fiber and the braided fiber goes around the stainless steel rod. As that braided fiber pulls, the harder you pull, the stronger that connection is," Spanjers said. "If you have lighter weight components on your bike, you can accelerate faster, you can ride further."
That's why Olympic athletes are relying on Berd to win big.
"This year we have two professional teams that have picked up our spokes," Spanjers said.
Six athletes, including French bicyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, will be hitting the trails on these spokes.
In total, Spanjers' team-made 30 sets of wheels for the Olympics
"I don't think we'd imagined the success that might come when we first started the company nine years ago," he said.
This weekend, Spanjers will have a front-row seat in Paris
"To be able to see these athletes on our spokes in person for the first time will be super exciting," he said.
It's a big moment for a Minnesota kid who hopes to continue moving full speed ahead