Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
I do lots of thinking about what makes a brand a brand. The thoughts and the ethos behind the brand that influence every decision of the brand and ultimately; the end product. I think if you want to get a good idea of what a brand stands for, you can start from the top. In this interview I talk with SERK co-founder Shannon Bufton about starting a bike brand in China, the pros and cons of working with Titanium and a bunch of other topics.
Shannon is a smart guy and has been living in China for a long time. He's one of the people at the core of Beijing's cycling community. This talk is really interesting, so you can either watch the video or just listen in the background as a podcast.
Hope you enjoy it.
Links:
SERK on Panda Podium: pandapodium.cc/brand/serk/?ref=2
SERK website: serk.cc
SERK Instagram: instagram.com/serktitanium
Chapters:
00:00 SERK: Frontier Cycling
00:50 Introduction
02:08 Who are you? Who are SERK?
02:35 The SERK Product Line
03:16 Why Titanium?
04:45 History of the brand
06:36 The beginnings
07:57 Bike fitting
10:11 Customization
11:32 Why China?
19:12 Riding in China / Frontier Cycling
21:50 Racing Roots
24:32 Sustainability
27:20 The size of the brand
27:50 SERK owners
29:05 Design Ethos
31:45 If you could ride any bike on any road...
33:00 Getting in touch
34:08 Outro
I do lots of thinking about what makes a brand a brand. The thoughts and the ethos behind the brand that influence every decision of the brand and ultimately; the end product. I think if you want to get a good idea of what a brand stands for, you can start from the top. In this interview I talk with SERK co-founder Shannon Bufton about starting a bike brand in China, the pros and cons of working with Titanium and a bunch of other topics.
Shannon is a smart guy and has been living in China for a long time. He's one of the people at the core of Beijing's cycling community. This talk is really interesting, so you can either watch the video or just listen in the background as a podcast.
Hope you enjoy it.
Links:
SERK on Panda Podium: pandapodium.cc/brand/serk/?ref=2
SERK website: serk.cc
SERK Instagram: instagram.com/serktitanium
Chapters:
00:00 SERK: Frontier Cycling
00:50 Introduction
02:08 Who are you? Who are SERK?
02:35 The SERK Product Line
03:16 Why Titanium?
04:45 History of the brand
06:36 The beginnings
07:57 Bike fitting
10:11 Customization
11:32 Why China?
19:12 Riding in China / Frontier Cycling
21:50 Racing Roots
24:32 Sustainability
27:20 The size of the brand
27:50 SERK owners
29:05 Design Ethos
31:45 If you could ride any bike on any road...
33:00 Getting in touch
34:08 Outro


![$200 12-Speed Groupset: Sensah Empire PRO
Sensah are back with the Empire groupset and this time its gone 12-speed.
// Links:
Screenshot prices from AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/
11s version on Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3bRvW34
11s version on Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3bNWsdx
ZTTO 12s Cassette on Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2V7AImm
ZTTO 12s Cassette on Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3aJQM42
//Info:
The Sensah Empire PRO is an updated 12 speed version of the Sensah Empire groupset. As well as the extra gear in the rear, the groupset now features carbon fibre shift levers and the front shifter issues of the 11speed version have been fixed. There are various versions available on AliExpress, many of which are kits put together by the individual sellers, so check carefully before ordering. The rear mech supports upto 34t rear cassette and the front mech has 4 different positions to avoid chain rub when cross-chained.
//Music:
Track: Razihel - Power Up [NCS Release]
Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds.
Watch: https://youtu.be/8K877veHuI8
Free Download / Stream: http://ncs.io/RPowerUp
Hip Hop Rap Instrumental (Crying Over You) by christophermorrow
https://soundcloud.com/chris-morrow-3
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2AHA5G9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/hiYs5z4xdBU
//Disclaimers & Thanks:
All opinions expressed within are the personal opinions of the presenter and the presenter alone.
Many thanks to Sensah for supplying the groupset. Many thanks to Winspace for lending me the frameset.
I wont recommend any individual sellers on AliExpress, because I have no experience with them and cannot vouch for their customer service, etc. Im only reviewing the product, not the channels to buy it.
The above Amazon links are affiliate links. If you use them to buy something on Amazon, I get a little kickback to help support the channel.
If this video was useful, consider supporting me on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/chinacycling $200 12-Speed Groupset: Sensah Empire PRO](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MiBTEOAuMKk/mqdefault.jpg)







