Argent has received an order from an Illinois injection molding company to coat plastic parts in silver and is in discussions with one of the largest injection molding companies in Wisconsin to do the same. He is also working with a European bicycle maker to negotiate the rights to the first chromed carbon bicycle for sale to the public after its Tour de France debut.

But it wasn’t until January that Griffith and Elmer began to really understand what they had accomplished. That’s when a friend sent a photo of the ‘chrome’ bike frame to Cycling Weekly in England, one of the world’s leading cycling publications. The story went viral, prompting inquiries from around the world. It also has Griffith and Elmer facing major decisions in the weeks and months to come after more than 20 failures at $ 400 each.

“We kept making changes each time and improving ourselves a bit,” Elmer said. “It was worth it because we knew we were going in the right direction. “

Griffith, 60, grew up in Racine and, after graduating from UW-Oshkosh, spent seven years selling medical devices and equipment. He spent the next 18 years in print sales at Badger Graphic Systems, which brought him closer to the bicycle industry.

For almost 20 years Griffith lived in a Victorian house in downtown Verona, filled with antiques and his own paintings. The property also had garages filled with car lifts and its vintage vehicles. He sold the house and some of its cars to help fund his share of Silver Brothers, which has so far raised around $ 200,000 in start-up and research and development costs.