SoCal Style: From Lost Boys Bridge to Hollywood and Venice Beach!
Jared Worth | 21. November 2025
With Las Vegas sparkling in the rearview mirror, it was time to look forward to the next stop of the trip: Southern California, where a flurry of awesome visits awaited our riders around the Los Angeles area!
The first customer visit in California was with Yoshimura Cycling, a manufacturer of sleek bicycle parts like cranks, stems, and pedals. Fun fact: the company actually started in Japan as a motorcycle exhaust manufacturer before expanding into the worldwide cycling brand we know today! iglide® bushings are used in Yoshimura pedals, giving riders a silky smooth and delightfully maintenance-free experience.
Next up, Chris and Philip zipped straight to DVO Suspension in Santa Clarita, CA. DVO manufactures high-performance components for mountain bike suspensions and, naturally, uses igus® bushings in their premium rear shocks.
The guys met with the entire DVO team — from the engineering group all the way to marketing and finance. A few employees couldn’t resist taking the igus:bike for a spin, and they all came away genuinely impressed by the bike’s innovative design and industrial feel.
The fun didn’t stop there! A few engineers even joined Philip for a brief, 15–20 minute ride, and they took him over the semi-famous “Lost Boys Bridge.” Yes, it’s the bridge used for a scene in the iconic movie The Lost Boys! Thankfully, no vampires were around to interrupt the ride, just great views and even better conversation.
With the day drawing to a close, it was back to the road for Chris and Philip. But they didn’t have far to go — their next leg would bring them right into Los Angeles proper, where they’d hit the streets on the igus:bike and meet an igus customer right on the legendary Venice Beach!
The ride through Hollywood brought the igus:bike right into the spotlight, where it could join the biggest names and stars — literally! Chris and Philip proudly rode the bike straight down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While the bike might not be getting its own star any time soon, its big Hollywood debut certainly garnered plenty of attention from curious onlookers!
After the trip through Hollywood and facing the steep inclines of L.A., it was time to hit the beach to bring the bike back to (almost) where it all started. While this wasn’t the same beach Frank first came up with the idea for the igus:bike, it felt appropriate to cap off the day with a ride along the same type of environment that served as his inspiration.
And here’s where the magic happened: right there on the boardwalk, Chris and Philip ran into an actual igus customer in a perfect moment of sheer coincidence!
This customer knew all about igus due to his work in the machine tool industry, where our e-chain® cable carriers are a popular, maintenance-free, and vibration-damping solution. He instantly recognized the classic orange color of the bike and eagerly approached our riders to learn all about the tour and the plastic bike itself. It was the perfect, organic moment to highlight our diverse impact.
With another wonderfully busy day checked off, it was time for Chris and Philip to embark on the long trek up to Santa Cruz to meet with the last customers on their leg of the tour and make even more fantastic local connections!
Chris Sandven has been with igus® nearly nine years as a Territory Sales Manager for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. He started as the Bike Industry Specialist in 2024, and as an avid sports fan and outdoor enthusiast, the opportunity to join the igus:bike tour was too good for him to pass up.
Philip Pauli started with igus® in 2022 in International Sales for iglide® bearings, and by September of 2024 had become the bike industry manager at our headquarters in Germany. He loves the outdoors, whether it’s hiking, climbing, or mountain biking, and knew he couldn’t miss out on the igus:bike tour.
