Gear Profile: RockyMounts
RockyMounts headquarters in Grand Junction. Photos courtesy of RockyMounts.
“When you absolutely, positively can’t ride it there; we’ve got you covered.” This was the ideology Bobby Noyes had when he created RockyMounts in 1993. It still guides the business today.
After becoming known as the “rack guy” at a friend’s bike shop, Noyes saw the need for better bikes racks with more capability, racks that could work on both round and square vehicle roof bars. The first racks were sold out of Noyes’ trunk and quickly started gaining traction, laying the groundwork for what has become a leading name in the car rack industry.
After three moves and a few different employee families, the RockyMounts team and headquarters is now in the Riverfront at Las Colonias River Park in Grand Junction. The focus has not wavered. RockyMounts strives to make solid, well-designed and dependable racks to give you the peace of mind when you absolutely, positively “can’t ride it there.”
RockyMounts moved into their new location in July 2020 and has been riding a lot of waves since, ranging from insane growth to shipping and logistics issues during a pandemic.
“It was hard,” shares Joey Early, marketing manager. “We lost employees and moving a company is never easy. But it is all worth it.”
Three of the current 14 employees moved from Boulder to Grand Junction to continue working with the team. Early says the move has connected RockyMounts back to a place where community involvement is easier and supported rather than expected.
“Being in Boulder for 27 years is hard on a company, especially if you are not a tech company. It is hard to feel like you are gaining roots,” says Early. “My wife and I just bought a house. We would have never been able to do that in Boulder. It was still a stretch but in a place like Grand Junction it is more approachable, and it feels like we bought in a place we have a future in.”
Being in Grand Junction has brought back the vision Noyes had that his employees would always be able to live close enough to ride their bikes to work. In fact, the team is encouraged and rewarded for commuting on their bikes. Each employee’s commute is weighed by distance and time to calculate their points to make the system fair.
Bobby Noyes then.
Bobby Noyes now.
At their new location, RockyMounts has expanded research and development, as well as product diversification. They are now designing and making bike rack for commercial use. They are making it easy for a building or municipalities to add bike racks at any time.
“We are going to have them on hand with all the hardware to make it easy for a city or business to install racks for their employees,” Early explains.
The finishing touches of the new RockyMounts building at Las Colonias River Park are nearly done, including a space designated for the cycling community. This will include a new showroom space with a bike mechanic area, big screen TVs and a bar to watch races and host events and clinics. Early says they look forward to supporting local non-profits like The Cycle Effect in this space.
“It gives us a feeling we are able to give back to the community,” Early says. “They are not just asking us to do cool shit, they are involved.”
Originally published in the Spring 2021 issue
