A dozen years ago, Stan Koziatek took a fresh look at a problem that had forever plagued bicyclists -- flat tires. Since the root cause of the problem was failure of the inner tube to hold air, his solution was to enable riders to eliminate the inner tube and make the tires self-sealing. This idea propelled Koziatek into a series of innovations and experiments, resulting in a patented sealant that was honed over thousands of test batches.
Like many innovators, Koziatek’s ideas were initially dismissed by industry experts, but he was persistent. He would show up at the start of national-series mountain bike races and punch holes into his own tires with an ice pick. His sealant would almost immediately fill the holes and allow Koziatek to ride as low as 18psi. The world’s top riders took note, often switching to Koziatek’s products and peeling off his decals to avoid upsetting their sponsors.
In order to offer his better tubeless tire system to an expanding bicycle market, Koziatek founded Stan’s NoTubes. The company is located in Big Flats and has grown to employ 31 people.
The core product line of Stan’s NoTubes is a range of kits that enable riders and bike shops to convert an existing bike rim and tire to tubeless use. These kits include molded rubber rim strips with an integrated valve, tire sealant, and related materials, and all the kit components can also be purchased individually. The company has also expanded into new product categories, including tires, hubs, rims and complete wheels. More recent product development at the company focused on tubeless rims with short side walls and Koziatek’s patented Bead Socket Technology (BST), a highly successful tubeless rim design with short sidewalls. BST allows for lighter rims, improved durability, increased tire traction, and decreased chances of flatting. Koziatek’s rim design rolled across the line first at the Beijing Olympics, and the company’s product line is now broadly acknowledged as being the worldwide industry leader.
Stan’s NoTubes products are sold through US dealers, international distributors, and the company’s own website which incorporates extensive customer support content, both for pre- and post-sale. Their marketing program also relies on active use of social media sites. Two major industry publications have included Koziatek in their short list of the most important people in cycling.
For more information, see www.notubes.com or call 607-562-2877.
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/9413/7883/1821/2013-09.pdf
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