Posted by Charles
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:41:00 GMT
Filling my Camelbak with ice and water before I leave the hotel in the morning is key to survival in the desert for this coastal climate primate. Clif, Camelbak and Powerbar have all been kind enough to set up hospitality tents around the outdoor expo, where they are giving away huge quantities of premixed replacement and recovery drinks. As my reservoir runs low, I am able to top if off with electrolytes over ice.
This morning with John and Daniel’s company, we started again at the Turner tent, this time with much better results. We rolled out with two 5 Spots and a Sultan for an orientation lap and a stab at some of the trials features at the top of the course. We were all pleasantly surprised at the ride quality of the new DW Link equipped Turners, and after a lap, I handed my Sultan off to John so he could have a go at it as well.
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Posted in Bikes | 9 comments
Posted by Patty
Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:19:00 GMT
Charles is getting ready to take off for Interbike next week, where manufacturers will be showing all the new product for 2009. This is that awkward time of year when we get all starry-eyed over NEW! SHINY! product, even though a lot of it is not really available yet. Pictures in magazines, one-off samples on the trade show floor… what is vapor ware and what is for real??? We don’t know. We do know that we do need to make space so that once product starts to ship we have parking spaces and some cash to pay for it.
If you’ve been jonesin’ for something that’s been in the store for a while and you’re weren’t sure you could talk yourself into paying full price for it, or maybe your just biologically allergic to paying retail, whatever the itch, we have some stuff on sale that will look real good in your bike rack when you load up on your way to Skeggs, Pacifica, Demo, UC, Downieville or Northstar. And all with our famous PTB new-grease build, custom fitting, all that. Ahhhh. Sometimes scratching feels so good!
2008 Specialized SX Trail 1—a DH/Freeride bike with a burly frame and a whole lot of travel. Size medium.
Was $3500, now $2800, you save over 20% and keep $700 in your pocket.
2008 Specialized SX Trail 2—like the one above but with a much fancier component spec. Size medium.
Was $5100, now $4000, you save over 20% and keep a whopping $1100 in your pocket. Cool!
Posted in Bikes | 1 comment
Posted by PeterD
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:53:00 GMT
MTBR is about to choose their best of 2008 products, and will be basing this on the reviews on their web site. Here is your chance to help them choose the best products of the year. Announcement below:
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Posted in Bikes | no comments
Posted by PeterD
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:05:00 GMT
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Posted in Bikes, Trails | Tags singlespeed, SSWC | 1 comment
Posted by PeterD
Wed, 21 May 2008 22:30:00 GMT
Got our first set of Crank Brother Cobalt wheels in. Pretty cool looking.
I think we got 2 sets in the door, but one has been sold already. Come check out the remaining one while it is here.
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Posted in Bikes | no comments
Posted by PeterD
Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:48:00 GMT
A piece of good advice I once heard was that you should avoid debating about religion and politics, as people hold strong feelings on these that they rarely will change. I think that Mountain Bike Suspension design could be a third area to add to the list.
That being said, here is the second part of Berry’s report from the Giant Training he and John went to a few weeks back. This will be on various suspension designs…
The most interesting part of the talk was given by Andrew Justaitis (sp?), which contained a lot of basic and useful info on all the various kinds of rear suspension designs, how they work and their characteristics, both good & bad. He called it a Suspension Rating Report Card, giving ratings for Activity, Efficiency and Independence; how well the rear suspension works separately from the rear brake, whether they influence each other or not. Below is his Report Card, which I found very informative. He went to great lengths to be fair and neutral and didn’t bad mouth any other brand or design type.
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Posted in Bikes | 1 comment
Posted by PeterD
Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:16:00 GMT
John and Berry went to Santa Cruz a few weeks back to attend the Giant Maestro Suspension training event. Here is what Berry had to say about the event:
They had sales and tech info in the morning, the lunch & dirt demo in the PM at DeLaveaga Park, where they had Anthems (3 1/2” Race bike), Trance Xs (5” trail bike), and Reign Xs (6.7” freeride bike) available to ride. I rode a Trance X and a Reign X. Loved the Trance X, the rear suspension truly worked very well; if it had had a Vanilla RLC on it, would have tried to take it home. It weighed 26lbs.
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Posted in Bikes | no comments
Posted by PeterD
Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:56:00 GMT
Being Halloween season, I thought I would post something scary today. Charles dropped this honking big Chris King headset on the counter in front of me. It comes wrapped with a black instruction sheet, so to me looked like a can of Guinness (and about the same size).
To show the size of this 1.5” headset, the photos show it next to a standard (1 1/8”) size that we are all familiar with.
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Posted in Bikes | Tags 1.5, Chris, headset, King | no comments
Posted by PeterD
Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:24:00 GMT
Ok, when you are a new shop (as we are), you almost have to beg to get bike manufacturers to let you carry their lines. Most manufacturers already have dealers in place, who they don’t want to annoy by adding another dealer.
Charles had an advantage, being well known in the industry (which he got for working at shops for over 20 years now). And Berry, John, Sterling, Patty, and (most recently) Brett have been building on this rep, and it is paying off…
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Posted in Bikes | Tags Ibis | 4 comments
Posted by Patty
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:19:00 GMT
Actually, Berry sampled Bikes at the Dirt Demo at Interbike. Here’s his cool report:
On Tuesday I rode the Dirt Demo at InterBike, actually out at Bootleg Canyon. Great weather, not too hot. Plenty of bikes, trails & other entertaining riders.
My main goal was to ride the three main 29rs I was interested in to compare them, & also ride whatever else Charles wanted me to, or was available.
I went for the Specialized Stumpy 29r first, as I felt that would make a good baseline; I was familiar with that suspension & ride quality.
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Posted in Bikes | 3 comments
