Inside The Nest

Zipp’s base in Indianapolis in the heart of America’s Midwest is known as the home of speed. With the legendary Indy 500 raceway a stone’s throw from Zipp HQ, along with a wealth of engineering and design talent from automotive, aerospace and…

composite (carbon) production, it seems apt that this pioneer of aerodynamic bicycle parts should hail from the region. With a few days to have a sneak peek at Zipp’s processes, my first port of call is with advanced development engineer Ruan Trouw. Ruan’s background is in carbon composites for the aerospace industry, but a love of bikes led to him joining Zipp (a common theme in Zipp’s advanced engineering team). Ruan heads up Zipp’s special NSW facility within Zipp’s factory. NSW stands for ‘Nest Speed Weaponry’, so called because it was housed on a mezzanine floor above the factory production line. It has now expanded to a larger engineering lab, complete with its own tooling, carbon production and rapid prototyping. Only a few staff have access to the Nest, where the secret development of new products happens.

The way in which the Nest works is all a bit more