Connect
To Top

Meet Will Montague of Guerrilla Gravity in Jefferson Park

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Montague.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Founded in 2011 with a mission to “make mountain biking more awesome,” we founded Guerrilla Gravity with ideas on, what we believe to be, a better way to be a mountain bike manufacturing company. The core tenants of this mission are building the community, advocating for trail access, and building innovative mountain bikes right here in Denver, Colorado. The most recent and significant innovation is Revved Carbon Technology.

Revved combines a new bike frame material and a new, patent-pending manufacturing method. This new frame material is over 300% more impact resistant than traditional carbon fiber bike frame materials while maintaining equivalent weight and stiffness properties. The new manufacturing method reduces labor times by over 80% compared to traditional carbon bike frame methods by introducing automated fiber placement techniques. This reduction in labor hours means that our bikes are the first US-made bikes to be competitively priced with overseas-made counterparts.

Staying true to our Colorado manufacturing operation, all Revved frames are made in-house at our  facility next door to Mile High stadium. The State of Colorado is also a proud contributor to the development of Revved, awarding Guerrilla Gravity an Advanced Manufacturing grant of $250k. This was significant as it marked the first time the grant was awarded to an outdoor recreation company, as most recipients are in the aerospace, bioscience, and renewable energy fields.

When we’re not busy making bikes out of the next generation of frame materials, we like to have fun and ride bikes. We host several events throughout the year, from the MegaCookout at our Denver facility to our camping weekends in the mountains to local trail fundraisers.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To date, our biggest challenge every year has been to scale production with increased demand. Every year we’ve needed to approximately double our capacity, so it has been an ongoing challenge to time infrastructure growth, headcount, and cash flow in concert with each other. When trying to grow as a manufacturing company at the pace we’re trying to do it, challenges are the norm. Whether it’s a broken machine, a sick employee, or an errant supplier, the only constant is problem-solving.

With the launch of Revved Carbon Technology came an additional set of new challenges in that we’re pioneering a new material application and technology. This means there is no “road map,” no best-practices guide for many of our needs and problems that arise. Many of our suppliers and partners have no off-the-shelf solutions to the challenges we’re seeing. But if there’s one thing we pride ourselves on at Guerrilla Gravity, it’s the ability to figure it out and make it happen.

Please tell us about Guerrilla Gravity.
Guerrilla Gravity bikes have a number of unique characteristics and options available. The first and most obvious is our proprietary Revved Carbon Technology, which is 300% more impact resistant than the other frames on the market using the traditional carbon fiber materials. Our aim is build durable bikes that are also lightweight and high performance, Revved represents the most compelling combination of these characteristics.

Next is our Modular Frame Platform, which, like Revved, is only available on Guerrilla Gravity bikes. The Modular Frame Platform gives our riders a new level of flexibility in kitting out their bike for the varied terrain available to mountain bikers. Instead of having to purchase multiple bikes for different types of terrain types and riding styles, our riders can now simply purchase a frame subassembly kit, called Seatstay Tuning Kits, to easily transform their bike for different purposes. The swap is designed to take an average home mechanic less than an hour to complete. Also part of the Modular Frame Platform is the GeoAdjust Headset that allows riders to adjust the length of their bike for different terrain (longer for faster trails, shorter for twistier trails).

To go along with the versatility of the Modular Frame Platform is the ability for riders to customize the build kit of their bike for their personal preferences, riding style, and local terrain. Many mountain bikers have preferences on the suspension, brakes, and wheels equipped on their bike. Our online “builders” allow them to dial in this spec quickly and easily. Typically, mountain bikes come with a set build kit spec that can only be changed using aftermarket parts.

Lastly, our bikes are proudly made in America at our facility in Denver, Colorado.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Stay focused.

Pricing:

  • Revved Framesets: Starting at $2195
  • Revved Complete Bikes: Starting at $3595

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
JMV Digital

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in