Name: Ron Roth
Company: Eye Candy Cycle Designs
Location: Riverside, Calif.

Eye Candy is big in the custom world, offering more than 1,100 part numbers. But owner Ron Roth, a 64-year-old engineer, entered the industry relatively late in life.

Ron Roth (right) with son Jason.

For his first three decades in business, Roth designed and built laser systems. He and his business partners also used their manufacturing equipment to build motorcycle parts for their personal rides. "We would go out to bike nights," he says, "and people would say, 'Hey, can you make that for us?' Then Lockhart Phillips saw our stuff and asked us if they could carry it in their catalog."

So in 2006, they formed Eye Candy Cycle Designs with major assistance from Roth's daughter, Michelle. "Quite frankly, she and my son [Jason] are definitely going to be owners of the company because I'm getting old," says Roth, laughing.

Eye Candy Cycle Designs' custom bikes soon began winning awards and magazine covers. The shop outgrew the building shared with the laser company, so the companies split, and Eye Candy got its own building this past summer.

Some Eye Candy parts are of especial note: a 240 single-sided swing arm made of solid billet ("literally the strongest swing arm on the market," Roth says), a fully adjustable air ride that's a direct replacement, and Grip Ace grips containing hidden buttons that replace a bike's controls, cleaning up the handlebars. Similarly, when Eye Candy adds high-tech gadgets like GPS or a rearview camera to a bike (and it often does), it molds them into the bike. No bolt-ons.

Eye Candy is also known for its beautiful paint jobs, all done by renowned airbrusher Mike Vu of MVu Designs, which also builds customized Scions for Toyota. As far as bikes go, Vu works exclusively with Eye Candy.

Finally, Roth asked us to mention his new military program in which his shop will store and maintain a deployed soldier's bike for a minimal monthly fee. He also offers soldiers discounts and free pickups and deliveries. "We just feel you have to do whatever you can for these men and women who are risking their lives," he says.