Rob Wesson Senior Product Engineer

My earliest cycling memory was Christmas morning when I was eight. I awoke to a bright orange AMF Renegade 20” bike complete with banana seat. It didn’t take long before I stripped it down to the frame, repainted it, swapped out some parts I found in the metal pile at the local dump, and turned it into my new BMX bike. I constantly tinkered with it, always interested in how each part worked. I delivered papers with that bike and rode it all over town.

By age 12, I wanted to go faster and farther. The first bike I bought with my own money was a Huffy 10 speed. Now I could actually ride to the next town. Wow! That was freedom. This spurred me to learn all the intricacies of adjusting and maintaining a bike with gears and rim brakes. Soon, I made friends with other guys that were interested in longer rides. It’s funny how that happens. We decided to do a 50-mile round trip to watch the Stowe Bike race in Vermont. I watched in amazement as the racers climbed up the steep and winding roads of Smuggler’s Notch and descended in packs at over 60mph. That’s all I needed to see. The next year I was racing as a junior and dreaming about the Tour de France. I also worked in bike shops, trying to learn as much as I could. While the pro ranks never materialized, I had the opportunity to race both road and mountain bikes throughout the United States and Europe. I still enjoy jumping into an occasional race and have introduced my wife and two boys to the action as well.

Throughout all this, I took my love for tinkering and understanding how things work, and went to school for mechanical engineering. After eight years as a design engineer with Toyota, I landed this job with Civia. I’m a year-round commuter and love to ride regardless of bike, weather, or distance. As a part of the development team, I enjoy bringing new and innovative products to market. I hope you can see my passion for cycling and engineering when you look at our Civia bikes and accessories.