Chris from Slapshot and Ted Wojcik Bikes

For our second installment in the bikes and music series, we've got Chris from Slapshot who also works for Ted Wojcik bikes. Ted is an OG New England bike builder and Slapshot are of course "old-tyme hardcore" so it must be a good partnership. For local heads Ted Wojciks will be on NH Chronicle this Friday. Thanks to Chris for his time and longtime WWDIS supporter Ur Trommler for hooking it up!


WWDIS:What are you riding now?
CL:I don't have a road bike at the moment so most of my
riding is MTB. I get to use the TW demo bikes: The
Monkey Butt 29er and Solution FS and I have my 95 Ted
26in. We are building a demo Rensport CFR soon and
that will be fit for me!

WWDIS:-How did you get into MTBing? Did you start out on
the road or dirt? Any BMX roots?
CL:I started out in BMX, like most kids do and I got into
Motocross racing for while.

WWDIS: Campy or Shimano ?
CL:SRAM! (and some shimano). I really like SRAM and
Shimano's business practices leave a lot to be
desired. Campy stuff is like Rolex, Ted has it on his
ride.

WWDIS:Hardtail or suspension?
CL:I'm a total weight weenie so I like hardtails but I am
enjoying our Solution FS.

WWDIS: All time favorte piece of gear or bike?
CLL:My 95 Ted is my favorite ride mostly for sentimental
reasons.

WWDIS:With all the choices for builders in New England
(IF,Seven, Fat City,Merlin(depending on how old you are ,etc) what
made you go with Ted Wojcik?
Cl:When I was buying my first Ted, IF had only made a few
frames, so I went with someone that had the experience.
I had Wicked back in the 80's, I bought it used from a
friend.

WWDIS: Do you race?
CL: I raced a few MTB races back in the 90's, no racing
for me anymore. But if I were to get back into it I
would hit the road.

WWDIS: Favorite rides?
CL:I spent most of my heavy riding years at the Fells and
Lynn Woods. The trail I built behind my house is my
current favorite, because I made it and any complaints
go right to me!

WWDIS: What makes an ideal MTB for New England conditions?
CL: That seems to have changed quite a bit over the past
decade. My choice would be a 26in hardtail.

WWDIS: How did you get involved with Ted Wojcik?
CL:I knew him from buying my bike and heard that he was
having some business issues so I stepped in and got
things under control.

WWDIS:What is your role at TW?
CL:I help out Ted with marketing and scheduling. Ted is
the only one building frames from scratch.

WWDIS:Any chance of you building frames?
CL:Someday. I am a welder and machinist but making frames
takes a much more than that.

WWDIS:How many frames per year do you produce?
CL:Not enough! LOL, We have the capacity to do around
10-12 a month. This is exactly where we want to be.
The math does not add up to produce more frames, you
end up losing money on each one and that's whats
going on with a lot of these companies, they think
they are going to make it up in volume, but it just
can't work out

WWDIS: What's on the IPOD -do you have a workout mixes?
CL:Lots of HC, I still listen to HC and metal all the
time. I do have a specific workout mix that is mostly
techno, LOL!

WWDIS: Have you had a chance to check out any races while on
tour in Europe?
CL: I went to a Worlds after party back in 94, we didn't
get to the town until too late in the day to see the
race. That was a pretty wild party, I had no idea!
It would be awesome to follow the TDF around someday.

WWDIS:What is up with Slapshot? Any tours?
CL:Yeah, we are doing 10 shows in Europe in July. Maybe a
couple of shows in the states later in the summer.


WWDIS:Is it hard to balance the band and the job?
CL:We do the band so infrequently these days that it's
not really a problem. Back in the 90's when we were
touring a lot it would get real challenging.


Thanks Chris!