Passion Trail Bikes, Belmont, CA - specialists in quality bike service and custom-built mountain bikes: Category Service

2nd Anniversary Demo Days are almost here: March 15&16

PeterD — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:56:00 +0000

We will have bikes for you to ride. We will have food for you to eat and beverages for you to drink and a store full of stuff on sale. And it’s gonna be good!

Come on down to the store on Saturday and Sunday, March 15th & 16th, and help us celebrate our 2nd anniversary. Whooda thunkit? We made it through our second year and we need you to help us kick off our third!

We are lining up a whole stable full of bikes for you to saddle up and take out for a nice ride. Scroll down for more info on the Demo Days:

Specialized Pitch in Small, Medium, Large
Specialized Epic in Large, XL
Specialized Enduro in Small, Medium, Large
Specialized Stumpjumper in Small, Medium, Large, XL
Specialized Saphire in Small, Medium, Large
Specialized Era in Medium
Ibis Mojos in Small, Medium, Large, XL
Maverick Durance in Small
Maverick ML8 in Medium and Large
Santa Cruz Blur LT in Large
Giant Trance 1 in Medium
Giant Reign XO in Large

Rumor has it we should have some Versus Bikes also – stay tuned…

We are taking reservations for test rides, which will go out in groups at 10am and 1pm, or possibly other times (depending on availability) during the day. You can also take a bike for your own ride, so long as you stick within the time frame you signed up for (we need it back for the next person who reserved it).

We will also have the BBQ going from noon until 4pm both days, along with a nice spread of yummy side dishes, snacks, and of course, the all important brews and EANABS.

Party Saturday Night:
The side dishes, brews, and EANABS will continue on into the Evening on Saturday, as we have one of our world famous parties. Probably do some sort of green theme, as there seems to be some green-related holiday that day…

To reserve a bike, follow these instructions:
Send Charles an email and list your preferred test bike model and size, and ride time. If you are unsure what size, put what size and model bike you are already riding in your email. Or you can just show up and take whatever hasn’t been reserved, but there may be slim pickings…

Please note: Test rides will require a credit card and photo id card (there is no charge for the demo ride – we just want these to make sure you ring the bike back to us). You should come with your riding gear including shoes, helmet, and CamelBak. It’s a good idea to bring your pedals with you, though we do have some Shimano ones and flats available for loan (feel free to just bring your bike and we will swap the pedals over for you).

We are hiring (again!)

Patty — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:20:00 +0000

We have two positions open starting soon:

Mountain Bike Mechanic and
Mountain Bike Customer Service and Merchandise Specialist

for details, clicky on the linky below.

Mountain Bike Customer Service and Merchandise Specialist

We are thriving! This important new position in our sales department offers an exceptional opportunity to help a young business grow, if you are a motivated, self-directed, problem-solving person.

We need someone with a combination of bike knowledge, customer service, sales, and visual design skills.

Bike knowledge:
This position requires that you know a lot about mountain bikes. Some mechanical aptitude is required; you should have the ability to make fitting adjustments, minor tune-ups, assembly, etc. You should be adept in discussing both big-picture topics such as different riding styles and ride characteristics of different bikes, as well as the finer points of various mountain bike suspension types, pros and cons of various parts, accessories, equipment, and clothing etc.

Customer service skills:
You should be able to intelligently talk with avid mountain bike enthusiasts to determine their specific background, goals, needs, wants, budget. Your job will be helping people select and buy the right bike, the right gear. You will need to be able to manage the sales floor and work as a team with other sales and service department staff to satisfy customer service and sales needs.

Visual design aptitude:
This position also requires that you have excellent visual merchandising skills. You will be required to identify opportunities to improve our merchandising and execute amazing visual displays. You will design and update our point-of-purchase fixtures and signage.

Other:
We have a lot of other needs. What skills do you have?

Bicycle Mechanic/Mountain Bike Mechanic

The mechanic position has been filled.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits, and opportunities for training and advancement. These are full time permanent positions.

To apply for either of these this positions, please email your resume with a cover letter to Charles at Passion Trail Bikes dot com

Shop Shorthanded for Interbike

Patty — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:17:00 +0000

This week the shop will be shorthanded while most of the staff is at Interbike test riding cool new bikes for 2008, and wandering through a tradeshow with over 3000 vendors of bike goodies.

Bret, Sterling and Peter will be here to assist customers as best they can, while Charles, Berry, John and Patty are in Vegas. If the phone rings and goes to voice mail, or you come in and find your self in line for customer service, please accept our apologies. We considered being closed during the week but decided open and shorthanded would be better.

If you’re curious about interbike, you can check out the link above, or check out MTBR’s photos from the show. On Monday and Tuesday, the boys will be riding in Bootleg Canyon where there is some awesome rocky technical goodness to put bikes through a real trail test. Between the three of them, they should be able to ride about 15 different 2008 bikes.

Wednesday thru Friday they do the indoor part of the trade show. Wandering through the conference center, they get to pick up and fondle new parts, ask questions and try to stump the techs, and meet up with other movers and shakers in the bike industry.

Look forward to a couple writeups after the boys return. Until then, happy trails, and enjoy the lovely California weather.

Who will be our newest mechanic?

Patty — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:18:00 +0000

It had to happen sooner or later.
We need another mechanic, and we need one now.
Actually we needed one last month too, but we are just now getting the word out.

If you think you would like to work here, or know someone who would, please send them our way. We will be accepting resumes for about another week or so. Here’s the ad we posted on craigslist:

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
Passion Trail Bikes in Belmont is seeking a mechanic for our high-end mountain bike service department. This is a full time, permanent position in the newest and best mountain biking shop in the Bay Area.

The ideal candidate is someone who:
—is passionate about mountain biking and trails
—has extremely high standards for precision mechanical work

—is intelligent and wants to learn
—has excellent interpersonal skills

We are looking for someone who either has experience working as a bicycle mechanic or who would like to transfer their skills from another industry and work in a bike shop. Ideally you would be confident in your ability to take apart, troubleshoot, and reassemble components such as forks, shocks, suspension linkages, and hydraulic brake systems. Although we prefer someone with experience working on mountain bikes, we are willing to train the right person. Most important is that you have really good problem solving skills, you have a good touch with a wrench, you can handle working in a demanding environment, and you can work with customers from all walks of life with respect and a high level of customer service. Sales experience is also helpful.

To apply, please send your resume to Charles by email. Include a cover letter explaining why you want to work at our shop.

For information about Passion Trail Bikes, please visit our website at http://www.passiontrailbikes.com or see our reviews at MTBR.com at http://bikeshops.mtbr.com/cat/united-states/california/california-bayarea/PLS_6221_912crx.aspx

Compensation: depends on qualifications; competitive salary for the bicycle industry

Park Tool Distinguished Service Award

PeterD — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:01:00 +0000

Park Tools has a quarterly award they give out called the “Park Tool Distinguished Service Award.” And they just announced that Passion Trail Bikes is the recipient of the award for this quarter!

Congrads to Charles, John, Berry, and Sterling for all the work they have done to earn this award! Passion Trail Bikes is the first shop in Northern California to receive this award.

Special thanks to those who submitted us for this award. And for those who wrote reviews on us at MTBR, Yelp, and other places! It is good to see this feedback that what Charles is trying to build in Passion is coming through.

I can’t wait to see the real plaque – for now all we have is the online image (looks like they even have our logo engraved in to it).

Interesting set-up

PeterD — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:15:00 +0000

One of the interesting things about coming in to Passion Trail Bikes is that you never know what you will see there. Last week was no exception, with an interesting track bike in the shop. Take a look at the photo at the right (feel free to click on it to see a higher resolution version) and see if you can figure out what is unusual about it?

Saddles

PeterD — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 20:19:00 +0000

As one of the contact points on your bike, choosing the right saddle is very important. But choosing a saddle is a very personal choice, and one that works for one person may not work for another. How do you get around this?

One problem with choosing a saddle is that the best way to determine which one works is to ride on it for a while. But this may cause some wear and tear on a saddle, which may limit the ability to return it to a bike shop.

One solution is to get rid of your saddle all together. This definitely prevents you from getting saddle sores, but unless your name is Jay and you like hopping up and down off of walls, this may not be right for you…

Ah, but all is not lost. Now there are 2 other options to help this process…

Specialized has come out with a product they call the Body Geometry Saddle Fit System (which is unofficially called the “Assometer” around the shop). This device determines how wide apart your sit bones are, which then tells you what width saddle is right for you. We have this at the shop, if you want to get fitted (or would the appropriate term be “assometerized?”).

Don’t like this new fangled technology stuff and want to do it the old way? That also works, as we have also picked up a fleet of 5 bright yellow trimmed demo saddles from WTB, which can be loaned out.

Interbike, Passion Socks, Darkness, and More

PeterD — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 19:07:00 +0000

In this message, I will talk about:

Interbike
Passion Socks
Darkness

Interbike:
Next week (Sep. 25-29) is Interbike, the annual trade show in Vegas where bike shop employees get to see what is new and exciting. It is important for us to know the latest and greatest, so Charles, Berry, and John are all heading out. Passion will still be open normal hours all of next week, but unfortunately we will have limited ability to service bikes next week. Sorry for any inconveniences this may cause.

Passion Socks:
Want to show your passion for Passion Trail Bikes? We have the first of our branded items in stock now. We are starting small, so have socks as our first item (actually, we had coffee first, but I guess that doesn’t count). Sock Guy wove us up some great socks. Look for them on the Sock Guy rack in the shop (hairy leg not included with sock purchase).

Darkness:
With Interbike next week, we won’t be having a ride on Wednesday. But because daylight is waning, it is very possible that our Wednesday night rides are done for the year, as the trails are not legal to ride after dark.

Adjustable Seatposts

PeterD — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:54:00 +0000

Do you know what this is? Click on the picture to see a larger version of this contraption.

This is called a Hite Rite and was made about 20 years ago. The metal loop at the bottom attached to your seat quick release (QR) and the band attached to your seat post. The goal was to give you a way to change your saddle height on the fly. You reach down, open your QR, push the saddle down, the close the QR. When you want to bring the seat back up, you open the QR and the Hite Rite spring would push the seat back to its original height. This all was nice in theory, but it actually didn’t work well.

But accessories to help you change seat heights have shown up from time to time, with varying success. Technology has continued to improve, and there are two products on the market now that work well. Both work basically the same way – to lower the seat, you hit a lever or button, push down the saddle, and release the button to lock the new position. To bring the seat back up, hit the lever when no weight is on the saddle, and the spring mechanism inside the seat post pushes the saddle back up.

But there are differences between these products:

Gravity Dropper uses a magnetic latching system which you control from your handlebar. There are fixed locations that the height can be adjusted to. Weight 450 grams, price $275. Pros: Can be ordered in various saddle drop distances (up to 4”), is controlled on the handlebar, and available for many different size seat posts. Cons: makes the bike hard to put into a work stand, both heavier and slightly more expensive than the Speedball, and has limited positions that the seat post locks in to (full drop, optional 1” drop, and full up only).

Maverick Speedball – the Speedball is a hydraulic shock, similar to what you find in your office chair. It has a lever that sits under the nose of the saddle. Available in 30.9 and 31.6 mm sizes, weight: 396 grams, price: $220. Pros: lower weight and cost than Gravity Dropper, fits in a work stand Cons: not as convenient to activate on the fly because there isn’t a handlebar mounted switch, only available in 2 seat post sizes.

We have some of both of these in stock in the store right now. Charles even has a Speedball installed on one of his bikes, so you can give it a try next time you are in the store.

PS - I am not sure which is scarier – that people recognized the Hite Rite, or that I had one sitting around…

What's this?

PeterD — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:02:00 +0000

Can you figure out what this is used for? It may not look like much, but it is actually pretty useful for some people…

This little piece of metal is a spacer, used on the Maverick DUC (dual crown) forks for taller people. In the picture to the right, I added a yellow arrow to point out an installed one (click the picture to the right to see a larger version).

The Maverick DUC forks use stems made just for them, and the options provided are somewhat limited for taller riders (greater than 34” inseam). Over the years, Charles has figured out that adding a spacer between the stem and crown was an easy fix.

But it didn’t come together until Charles opened the shop and found that that one of our good customers has a machine shop. So, these spacers are made custom for Passion (thanks Steve!).