DENVER (BRAIN) — Gates Corporation has hired Boo Bicycles' former chief technical officer, Ben Castaneda, as a technical support specialist in the company's bicycle division. Castaneda will oversee OEM support, service, warranty and special projects for Gates Carbon Drive's North American market.
Castaneda, 27, worked at Boo from 2014 to 2017 as operations manager and chief technical officer, managing all U.S. production, ordering, warehousing, assembly and distribution for the bamboo bike brand, as well as overseeing the design, prototyping, testing and production of new frame designs.
"While at Boo I worked on many bike projects that integrated Gates Carbon Drive and I gained a respect for the durability and low-maintenance qualities of the Gates belt drive," Castaneda said. "As a hands-on bike builder, I was also impressed by the high-quality support that Gates engineers and technicians provided. I plan to carry on that work by assisting designers and builders in their projects integrating Gates belts on their bikes and e-bikes."
Todd Sellden, the global director of Gates Carbon Drive Systems, said, "Ben is a take-charge guy with a deep knowledge of all the technical aspects of bicycle fabrication, component sourcing, testing and development, plus all of the day-to-day aspects of operating a small bike brand. He will be a great asset to our team as we grow our North American business and add more brands to the list of those specifying Gates Carbon Drive."
Prior to Boo, Castaneda worked as a mechanical engineer at Modus Engineering in Iowa City, Iowa. An avid bicyclist since childhood, Castaneda began his bike business career as a mechanic and salesman at World of Bikes in Iowa City, where he worked from 2011 to 2014. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.
