After visiting Eugene's Bike Friday, I hopped on my Inter5 and headed straight south.
I finally arrived in a small town called Chico, California, before the sun went down. There was only one reason for stopping in Chico.
PAUL COMPONENT. That's right, I was there to visit them.
First and foremost, we spent time together in the saddle. Riding is a shared language that allows people who speak different tongues to connect.
Travis, the owner of the legendary San Francisco shop FreshAirBicycles, which is no longer with us—needless to say, FreshAir was a long-time SimWorks dealer—moved to Chico after closing his shop and is now thriving at Paul.
No sooner had they warned me about poison oak than we encountered a rattlesnake. It felt like a true welcome to California. You can reach a trailhead within 30 minutes of downtown, and there are countless routes to enjoy depending on your bike—gravel or mountain bike. In the summer, temperatures often reach nearly 40 degrees Celsius, so it’s standard practice to head to the river for a swim after a ride.
Paul Component has been making bicycle components from this wonderful base since 1989. They have repurposed what was once a Texaco oil distribution garage into a compact, yet very well-organized workshop.
The era when the Paul brand was born was the dawn of the mountain bike, and back then, there were many component manufacturers. Many of them have since disappeared or moved their production bases to Taiwan or China, but I realized that the reason Paul remains at the forefront today is simply because of their essential goal of "creating things that can be used for a long time" and the passion they have to carry it out.
They source high-quality materials carefully selected for each part and machine them out. At first glance, it may seem like they rely on machinery, but human hands are involved in every step of the process.
The machined parts are carefully polished before being anodized. Polished finishes, in particular, go through additional steps beyond the standard polishing process.
Most Paul parts are designed to be as modular as possible, which is crucial for long-term maintenance and any partial repairs that might be needed. Naturally, these small parts are all carefully finished by hand, and it is only after assembling them piece by piece that a component is finally complete.
There is such a story behind every single part, and the people bringing it to life are all, in their own various styles, people who love bicycles. For instance, even when developing a new product, they move the project forward while actually using the prototypes themselves to aim for the final product.
It is not easy to insist on "Made in USA" production. The finished product might just be an object, but it is imbued with the work of many hands and the wish that it will be used for a long time to come.
Yes, in the end, it’s all about the people.
Of course, Paul products aren't exactly cheap. But there is a firm reason for that, and I believe that beyond the criteria of cheap or expensive, there stands a solid, unwavering answer to the question: "What is important when it comes to using things correctly and for a long time?"
I have always loved the Paul products I use and have used them without them ever breaking, but visiting them in person really drove that feeling home.
【PAUL COMPONENT】
While many bicycle manufacturers have moved their production bases to Asia, such as Taiwan and China, Paul Component has consistently insisted on [MADE IN USA] since its founding. With the essential goal of creating products that can truly be used for the long haul, and an attitude of making what true cyclists desire, their philosophy perfectly aligns with the worldview we strive for.