For Bike Month, we’re bringing you a series of conversations at the intersection of cycling, art and design. We spoke with Mike Spriggs and Brett Cleaver of Gage + Desoto, who specialize in marketing, branding and design services for cycling companies.  Catch Mike out ahead of the chase group while fashion blogging for Rapha's Survey.

This Friday night, check out G + D's new location, shared with Trimble Racing, at Trimble's Red Hook Criterium Photography Exhibition Benefit! 70 Van Dyke, Red Hook Brooklyn, 7-10pm.

3rd Ward: What is Gage + Desoto?

Mike Spriggs:
G+D started as a design outlet for me. And where else to start but with t-shirts? I've always had a love of typography and logos, and I was able to bring a little of that to my friends in the cycling community.

Brett Cleaver:
Mike and I met at a bike shop, hit it off and have paired up on cycling related projects since. By pooling our resources we've turned his T-Shirt company into a unique marketing, branding and media experience.



3W: Why bike?  Do you think cycling has changed you physically, psychologically, or philosophically?

MS:
I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, and biking was just something we did, we didn't even think about it. My friends and I would map out routes all over the city.  Cycling connects you to a place unlike any other mode of transportation. You can certainly get that same benefit from walking, but in a city this size it would take you forever.

BC:
It’s certainly changed me in many ways, the most obvious being mentally and physically due to the hours and miles I log each year from training and racing. Also, the cross country honeymoon journey my wife and I undertook last summer saw us both overcome numerous tests of will on a bike. It's been a true progression that is more for me than anyone else.

3W:Tell me about cycling and design.  Does design bear a new relationship to cycling right now?  Has there always been a strong nexus?  Why?



MS:
Cycling and design have always been intertwined. From an industrial design perspective, cycling is constantly evolving. Newer, faster, lighter, more efficient - that has been the dictum since the invention of the safety bike.  And that draws in a certain type of individual - the tinkerer, the inventor. As bikes become more lifestyle-centric, it makes sense that there's a new wave of products to fit a new user group. Whether it's the perfect mini-pump or the brightest flashing light or the sleekest helmet, people will always want to update the look (and hopefully the functionality).