Seller of the Week: Kirk Pacenti

Welcome to another edition of Seller of the Week! The blog series where we ask our favorite sellers five easy questions!

Kirk Pacenti was another early supporter of BikeList, listing both his fine art prints and Rivendell lug sets. Recently he listed the first production 650B mountain bike, which he designed and then displayed at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show back in 2007. We are truly grateful to have the founding father of the 27.5 mtb involved with BikeList!

How did you get into bikes?

When I was 11 years old I decided I wanted to be a “bicycle designer.” From that point on I did everything I could to build a skill-set geared around bicycle design and fabrication - metal / machine shop and drafting through Jr. High and High School, followed by a machining apprenticeship with an aero-space manufacturer. A couple years later I took a framebuilding class at UBI and was offered a position at Bontrager Cycles in Santa Cruz, California just a few months later. I spent the following 24 years in the bicycle industry working for many top-tier brands in both fabrication and design, including my own company.

What bike do you ride the most?

My 27.5” x 130mm trail bike. It is set up more as a long-travel XC bike, but suits the riding I do these days.

What is your favorite bike ride?

Any of the local Chattanooga trails are great, but mostly a 15 mile loop a few miles from my house. If I could ride anywhere, Santa Cruz is hard to beat… and Winthrop, WA holds some great memories, too. I guess any ride that puts me on the dirt and in the woods is my favorite ride.

Campy or Shimano?

As a mountain biker, Shimano always seemed to work best for me. I’ve always preferred components that were affordable and easy to get. In fact all of my mountain bikes have the same exact build-kits. It makes maintenance easy and I can always pull a part off one bike to install on another in a pinch.

Any big plans for the next year?

I’m considering starting a bike-centric side business in the coming year. I’m not sure what I want to do, but it will be small and primarily serve as a creative outlet. My poster design was a start, but I think I might do a few castings for lugged framebuilders. I’ve always considered framebuilders ‘my people’ and making stuff that helps them make their stuff is really gratifying.