Mic Williams was racing as a privateer when Covid hit and racing went on hold. But instead of binging Netflix, he used his free time to start a very unusual bike company — Williams Racing Products. Mic has a whole lot of ideas for how to make bikes better and WRP has offered a lot of out-there products, including what can only be described as the reincarnation of the Honda RN-01 downhill bike. So we sat down with Mic to talk about all the big ideas he has for WRP; the Privateer Parts Program and privateer racing in general; and much more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- The origins of WRP (1:27)
- Mullet links (8:24)
- The heyday of garage-built bike parts (14:21)
- Centre Hub (20:12)
- The return of the Honda RN-01? (28:04)
- Privateer Parts Program & racing as a privateer (38:36)
- Custom stems & future projects (50:54)
- Mic’s (next) Big Idea (58:42)
RELATED LINKS:
I didn’t get William’s rationale behind stem length vs fork offset (54:50). First he says that the bar should be set so that the hands are in line with the steerer. Then he says that the stem should be the same length as the fork offset, “the arc of … where your stem’s grabbing your bar and the arc of where your fork grabs your axle … when you turn, their radius is exactly the same”.
Once you constrain the position of the hands to be in line with the steerer, the stem length is tied to bar sweep and roll. Following that up by picking a stem that matches your fork offset just introduces extra constraints that shouldn’t matter. What am I missing here?