The fixed gear scene is well-known for being creative, rebellious, and doing things different. Part of this are the daring designs in kits, bikes, caps, that pop up every year and bring in that edgy vibe to the scene. One of the companies that has the biggest collection bike caps is Wingedstore.com. In their collection you can find a variety of caps ranging from retro to the most futuristic designs. If you look well you will also find our FGC cap as we are a proud partner of Wingedstore.com (Update: currently sold out). We spoke with Wyatt Wees, one of the founders of Wingedstore, to get to know more about their philosophy, how the company came about, their goals, and of course to talk about cycling caps!
Text: Brian Megens
Italian Simone Toso (CEO) and American Wyatt Wees (Digital Marketing WingedStore SRL) founded Wingedstore.com together in October 2013. Up to today they both run the company. On the question why they picked Cinelli products Wyatt replies “Simone Toso began producing official merchandise for Cinelli and Columbus in 2009. In 2013, Simone brought me in to do some copywriting work. With an extensive background in Information Technology I saw an opportunity to create an innovate web platform that could make Cinelli products available to people from all over the world. Along with Simone’s knowledge of the brand and strong marketing background the team had all the components necessary for success.”
Today, Wingedstore is a company owned by Cinelli President Antonio Colombo. However, up until 2016 they were independent from Cinelli. “Since the beginning the growth has been strong, there really wasn’t anything quite like Wingedstore at the time of it’s debut and and people that are passionate about Cinelli immediately embraced the concept. Cinelli is truly unique in the cycling world with it’s history of innovation and design oriented products therefore a single point of reference to showcase the full range of bicycles, components, and merchandise was an immediate success. After several years of growth Cinelli President Antonio Colombo began to take notice of the savvy upstart company that was selling truckloads of Cinelli caps, shirts, and components on the internet. In 2016 Colombo acquired a majority stake in the company and turned Wingedstore into the Official Cinelli online store.”
Wyatt on the aims of Wingedstore, “In the 80s and 90s Cinelli owned and operated a series of cycling stores under the name ‘Gran Ciclismo’ based in Milan. These stores, originally conceived by Antonio Colombo, were revolutionary and a forerunner in what would eventually become high-end sports retail. The cutting edge ‘Concept Store’ format dedicated almost entirely to a single brand was unheard of at the time. Wingedstore is the evolution of this idea, a single point of reference in a truly expressive environment available for the world to experience. Wingedstore was initially dedicated to the Merchandise range but over the years but has progessed to encomass the entire Cinelli line including a brief time as the official store of the Red Hook Crit (2014/2015). Wingedstore.com is now the Official Cinelli Online Store that sells the entire product range including frames, components, merchandise, and even spare parts.”
On the future goals Wyatt is clear “To make Cinelli and Columbus available to the widest possibile audience. These are truly global brands and Wingedstore aims to make them available to any rider, anywhere on the planet.”
On bike caps “All of the caps are designed along side the Cinelli design team and produced locally in Italy. One of the first projects that we did as wingedstore.com was the Rider Collection series. The Rider Collection allowed riders to create their Cinelli cap design interpretation. Some of the highlights include: 1984 Track Gold medalist Nelson Vails, Lucas Brunelle, Chas Christiansen, and Alfred Bobè Jr. My personal top 3 cap designs that we had are Chas Christiansen, Red Hook Milano 2013, and Ana Benaroya Eye of the Storm.”
Our FGC cap design, by Sue van Gageldonk, is currently completely sold out but should become available in limited numbers soon on the Wingedstore shop and will also become available in our own webshop to be opened as of 2018!
