Dec
16
Here’s a video that was posted recently showing some fun footage of BikeHugger’s Mobile Social ride down the Strip in Vegas during this year’s show. Love the guy on the John Deere bike, by the way.
Nov
13
BikeHugger and Russell the Nippletwister
Filed Under Gear, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 2 Comments
Arriving back at my cube yesterday morning after a trip to visit a client, I was pleasantly surprised to find a box with the Sun-Ringle logo on it waiting for me. I guess I knew the wheels were coming, I just didn’t know what model to expect. Turns out that the wheels I won at BikeHugger.com’s Interbike Mobile Social raffle are a set of Sun-Ringle Accelerator X2.0 wheels. In swanky gold, no less!
I’ve always had good luck with Sun’s rims, so I can’t wait to throw a cassette and some tires on them this weekend and take them out for a spin. SR’s website describes the intended use of this model as “cyclocross or performance commuter riding conditions.” From the tough looking design and build and the kind of riding I do, I’d put them in the “spring classics riding conditions” category. I don’t race any more, but I still like to ride like I do. I also don’t plan on running with a bike over my shoulder anytime soon, so the cross use is out the picture. And having a tougher set of wheels on the bike for when I commute will be very welcome, too.
I can’t say I’m familiar with their hubs, but they look solid and feel smooth.
While I don’t consider their just over 1,800-and-change gram weight unreasonable, I think most reviewers today would fall into the trap of calling them heavy because of the seeming abundance of sub 1,500 gram aluminum rimmed wheels on the market. The X2.0’s look like they’ll be able to take anything you throw their way without complaint: wide rim, eyelets, 32 14gauge db Wheelsmith spokes in a classic reliable lacing pattern. And while I can’t confirm this at the moment, from the hand-written sign included in the box, it looks like the wheels were built by one “Russell the Nippletwister.” A wheelbuilder with a name like that guarantees a quality build, right? Anyways, I like the personal touch, Sun-Ringle.
And that’s the kind of component I like on my bike: reliable, reasonably light, attractive and tough. I also like having some insight into the people behind the brand and design (like Russell here). I drool over the cool high end stuff as much as the most passionate bike geek (I still have to post my review of Shimano’s Di2 that I rode at the OutDoor Demo), but I’ve been pretty good at reigning myself back in to what I should be riding. Oh, and it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg (I have two kids and a mortgage, you know?). Come to think of it, before I get a bruise from patting myself on the back too much for my practicality, maybe economics play the biggest role in the selection of parts that I ride.
On a fun note, you can see in the photo that Sun-Ringle include a bunch of stickers with the wheels. This is a nice unexpected touch that I’d recommend to all manufacturers. It’s a small gesture, but adds to the overall experience of buying something in a not too expensive way. They’ll be going right up on my tool chest at home.
Much to my surprise, I was the lucky winner of one of the many raffles that the BikeHugger crew held at their tent at the USA Crits Finals, part of their Mobile Social ride down the Strip from the Sands Expo Center to Mandalay bay. By the time I realized I was free to do the ride, it was too late to secure a bike. I ended up just watching and photographing the start of the ride and then meeting up with them at the crit. Someone handed me a raffle ticket, and lo-and-behold, they called out my number. Can’t rememebr the last time I won anything – much less something as nice as a set of wheels!
Byron and his team at BikeHugger had some great schwag to give away and I came back home with a Breezer Bikes t-shirt and cool mini Swiss Army Knife/USB flash drive along with the promise that they would ship me the wheels I had won. I felt a little funny as the “Interbike Guy” winning a prize, but everyone good naturedly insisted that I accept. As the host of the event, I don’t ask for or get much schwag (everyone there is my customer, essentially, and it’s best reserved for the retailers in attendance), so to actually come away with something like this was a real treat and definitely appreciated. I also remember seeing a set of Hed wheels and a Novara bike raffled off that night to happy attendees.
Despite the somewhat bewildering summary of Interbike 2009 in theirwrap-up story, I like what BikeHugger.com is trying to do and had a lot of fun the crew at the Mobile Social this year. You should visit their site and read up about their M.S. MoSo events that they piggyback off of various trade shows and conferences around the country like Interbike and South-By-Southwest. As the intersection of social media and riding, they’re a blast and a great way to bring passionate cyclists together.
I’ll end by saying thanks to Byron and the BikeHugger team once more for a great event and a big thanks to Sun-Ringle for supporting the Mobile Social with these wheels – I’m really looking forward to enjoying the fruits of Russell’s handiwork!
Feb
26
City and merchants want ATOC to return
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Interbike, Rides | 2 Comments
In what can only be seen as a positive comment on the impact that last week’s Amgen Tour of California had on the communities it rolled through, the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper today ran an article that described the City of Escondido’s and its merchants’ desire to have the race return next year. Having worked with promoters in the past on organizing local amateur bike races, I know that appeasing the local businesses that are affected by the road closures and logistics is a big part of being able to hold an event. Typically, businesses argue that despite the larger than normal traffic that a race brings to a shopping district, much of this traffic is not there to buy and the inconveniences to their normal customers brought on by race logistics can have a negative effect on their businesses.
So this is great news for the ATOC that the business community in at least this host city was happy with the course of events and wish to have the race back again. I’m sure that this demand will cause some competition from other regional municipalities and – no knock on Escondido here since they stepped up to the plate – am I wrong in thinking that such a significant race as the ATOC should have a grander finishing locale?
On a casual level, a friend of mine from New England who stays with us for some some warm weather training each Spring, rode up to the top of Palomar on Monday and chatted with some people from the general store and restaurant up there that hosted ATOC festivities about their thoughts. After joking about those “crazy people who race their bikes up the side of a mountain like this,” they sincerely commented that they were very impressed with the race and the fans. While they had some great (stellar?) business as a result of all the fans lining the climb, they also were surprised how little litter was left behind. Nice job leaving no trace besides good memories, fellow fans!
I’ll leave you with a photo of me climbing up Palomar the day before the race on a group ride organized by the team at the San Diego Trek Superstores. I’d guess about 200 people participated including the mayor of Escondido. (I’m in the Interbike jersey with the red shoulders). Have to say, though, that while reaching the top was satisfying, the screaming descent with all 21 switchbacks was awesome – after the first few switchbacks where I kept silently repeating to myself “I have faith in my Campy brakes and my ability to set them up properly… I have faith in my Campy brakes and my…”
Nov
17
Final Day of the SoCal Bike Dealer Tour
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 5 Comments
Last day of the Bicycle Retailer & Industry News SoCal Bike Dealer Tour was a big one. Just about 15 riders on today’s route including Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles who had flown in from Taiwan. A few more Giant staffers joined us for the ride from the BRAIN offices to dealers in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, California. It’s been a great week of riding, chatting with fellow industry members and hearing insightful comments from retailers. I took some notes, but so far have just had time to post photos and quick comments about the shosps we’ve visited and some of the people I rode with and met on the tour.
This has been a great concept and all of us basked in the neutral BRAIN glow as dealers opened up to us and expressed their hopes, expectations, results and experiences of the past and future of the bike business. And it was a good excuse to get out of the office and ride a really nice bike for a week…
At Interbike in 2007, I was walking around with a camera crew from Cycling.TV looking for footage of interesting sites and events to capture. I led them over to the MirraCo booth where bmx legend Dave Mirra was supposed to be wrapping up an autograph session. Since the booth looked quiet, I walked up to the guy standing near the entrance to the booth and ended up asking Dave Mirra himself if “Dave was coming back to sign more autographs” later that day. Mr. Foot, meet Mr. Mouth. Without saying a word, Dave pointed to his head with both hands and smiled. Now, I don’t think I can be faulted for not recognizing fellow-bmx kegend, Perry Kramer, he of PK Ripper fame, last Tuesday on our tour, but I was darn happy to see him in the BRAIN office again on Friday so that I could properly introduce myself and express my excitement in meeting the Man. Turns out we’re almost neighbors and he offered to show me some trails near my house. The fact that he is PK would explain why he was jumping every curb and bunny-hopping sewer greats the whole ride on his flat-bar road bike.
Another very familiar face (and new ex-coworker) getting ready for the day’s ride was Robert Roman, now in the employs of Bicycle Retailer. After 9 years serving Interbike exhibitors, Robert decided to make a change and move a few exits north on the 5 freeway to our industry’s trade mag. We’ll miss his wit and sense of humor here, but will hopefully still get to experience his powerful turn of the pedals on a regular basis as BRAIN’s lunch rides frequently go past Interbike’s HQ.
Nice to see Fred Clements, executive director of the NBDA, working from the saddle of a bike. This is why we all work in this industry, right?
Mr. Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles. Guest of honor on today’s ride and inspiration for the whole tour itself. Tony’s industry tour of Taiwan last year planted the seed for this Stateside version. Tony is an avid cyclist and rides with style and class.
Nov
12
Day Two on the SoCal Bike Dealer Tour
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 1 Comment
Setting out for day two of our tour of SoCal bike dealers, we made a friend. One of the best parts of road riding is running into other riders along the way and then spending the next few miles chatting. I forget this rider’s name, but when he heard we were all from the industry, he told us that he used to work for GT back in the day.
One constant at all but one shop we’ve visited so far is that fixed gear bikes are firmly entrenched in their shops. Most had a special section devoted to fixie gear, but even traditionally mountain bike focused shops like The Path in Tustin have seen fixie cultire become an important catgory and visible presence on the show floor as evidenced by the MKS and Nitto caps for sale.
Here’s part of The Path’s fixie parts and accessories section that was typical of most shops on out tour. And remember, this is Orange County – not New York, San Francisco or even LA. The fixed gear phenomenon has hit suburbia pretty hard.
Nov
11
Day One Visiting SoCal Bike Dealers
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Events, Industry News, Interbike, Photos, Rides | Comments Off
Great first day riding to shops in Orange County here in Southern California. Saw a real range of business models and shop types. Just a few brief notes and photos sonce time has been tight and at the end of the day I was just exhausted. Happily, we haven’t heard any gloom and doom stories related to the poor state of the economy and newly low(er) gas prices. Although, the OC is not exactly your typical demographic when it comes to the economy.
Here’s the gang at the Bicycle Retailer & Industry News world headquarters before we set off. We’re all on very nice Giants and are sporting Giant and Pedro’s jerseys courtesy of the ride sponsors. Thanks! Left to right: Chris Zigmont of Pedro’s, Jason Norman, Megan Tompkins and Marc Sani of BRAIN, An Le of Giant, Lynette Carpiet of BRAIN, myself, and Nicole Formosa of BRAIN.
First stop was Ladera Cyclery in Ladera Ranch. Nice higher end shop with a range of family to high end road and tri gear. Jeff is the owner and is passionate about cycling.
Very different and up next is the classic shop Bicic Sports owned by Marcel Calborn. BS is in the vein of classic road shops. They definitely speak Campy here. I remember first seeing him almost 10 years ago at the ol LA Bike Expo selling Mapei team bikes since he was friends with someoneo on the team. Very cool. Still has tons of classic bikes and gear in the shop. Endless trove of stories to go along with them.
Marcel has made his own brand of frames for over 20 years including this old school time trial bike with the Silva aluminum disc wheels. I love this stuff. The counter displays are full of old cranks and Delta Brakes.
How many shops have Colnago and Pogliaghi tandems in stock?
Any shop can have a shop-brnaded water bottle, but how many have shop pantographed cranksets?
If you’re ever in the shop, ask Marcel about his Jacques Villeneuve Vespa. If you don’t know who Villeneuve was, don’t bother.
Edge Cyclesports in Laguna Woods is a contrast to Bici Sports: high end boutique road and tri shop. Only the latest bikes and gear, all super high end. Most striking, though, is how nice and welcoming co-owner Mary Ann is. Maybe it’s because she’s from Ohio. One of the niceset and most fiercely knowledgeable people in the bike industry I’ve met. I’ve been to many high end shops in my life, and unfortunately, many of them come with a high dose of arrogance. Not so at Edge.
Mary Anne made sure to point out the (hard to miss) Ridely Dean – one of the only that have made their way into a shop in the US so far. This was one of THE hot bikes at Interbike this year.
They love Made in USA (and Canada) brands like IF, Calfee and Guru. This IF fixie is beautiful.
On our way to the next shop, we came upon this group of OC fixie hipsters. There’s even a Bianchi Pista in there to complete the look. It’s amazing to me how much fixies have infiltrated suburbia. Where are suburban kids seeing them to get the influence?
When we got to Jax Bicycles in Irvine, we were welcomed by this nice display of balloons, snacks and cool drinks (hope the rest of our tour stops are reading this…).
Dave Hansen, the owner, is passionate about his business and gave us a great presentation on his business philosophy. Jax is a Trek concept store and is very nicely laid out and designed. He’s really focused into the numbers of his business and should be an inspiration to all retailers in that regard. “What gets measured gets done.” He’s very open about his business with both employees and his suppliers. He’s also very willing to help out his fellow retailers as it will elevate the bike retail business for all if all are stronger and doing better. amen.
We’ve got four more shops on the schedule for today. Weather looks good again this morning. Ride on!
Sep
24
OutDoor Demo Day Two
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Events, Exhibitor News, Gear, Industry News, Interbike, OutDoor Demo, Photos, Rides | Comments Off
Day two of the OutDoor Demo started in the most glorious way that any day could: with a beautiful bike ride with over 300 of your closest industry friends. Left the hotel at 6am to head out to Boulder City with an awesome Felt AR2 (with new Dura Ace group) in the back seat. Ride started easy with police rolling closure and then turned onto the insanely fast downhill to Lake Mead Park. Happy to say i wasn.t dropped on the descent like last year. Stayed with the lead Wayne Stetina (of Shimano) group to the turn around at the lake. They just spun around and headed right back but I stopped to have a drink and mingle with other riders on the ride. Good times. Refreshments at the turn around courtesy of Hutchinson Tires.
Camelbak was serving up their Elixir hydration drinks to attendees in a fun loungy tent with great music all day.
One of the big stars of this year’s show will definitely be the new electronic Dura-Ace. While we were setting up to film a video presentation of the new group by Shimano’s Wayne Stetina, Zap and the guys from Road Bike Action stopped by for a demo. Prediction: the (very) cool sound that the front derailleur makes when shifting to the big ring will be one of the reasons people will buy it. It sounds like a high tech Star Wars sound effect and just screams “I’m riding electronic Dura Ace” to your riding buddies(for you geeks out there, think AT-AT leg moving sound in Empire Strikes Back). Big crowds in the booth at the Demo for eDura-Ace.
You’ll see tons of photos of the new DA group all over, but I had never seen one of the control panel under the bars. Monitors battery life and allows you to trim the derailleur ala normal barrel adjusters.
The DA group is great, but the SRAM Hammer schmidt was awesome. Really wasn’t expecting to be be floored by it but was convinced after a test ride. The planetary drive system (don’t ask) allows for 2 “virtual” chainrings with just one small cog. What you get is near instant shifting even under pressure. Shift speed and eases felt like shifting to a smaller cog in back. The small cog allows for much better ground clearance. You have to check this out if you haven’t seen it yet.
Michael Zellman of SRAM showing off the new SRAM wheels for our camera crew. Look for our videos soon on the site.
Wandered the show floor at the Sands for a while doing final setup at the Media Center. Saw all the exhibitors doing their final building and decorating of booths. Noticed that Campagnolo have a totally new (and huge ) booth this year. Met with Cervelo guys and they said they will be having a big product launch ceremony in their booth today at 9:30.
Good Morning Interbike show kicks things off this miorning at 8:30. If all goes well with our systems, it should be live on interbike.com’s Media Center Live page for all to see around the world.
Gotta go to the Sands now. I’ll leave you with the Michelin man (did you know his name is Bib?) welcoming all to the show. Hope you enjoy following along back home if you’re not here!
Jun
27
Spotted: BR&IN Publisher on a Bike
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Photos, Rides | 1 Comment
Look who I spotted today on my lunch time walk to get a burrito:
That’s Marc Sani, the publisher of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News out for a ride at lunch on a Friday. He said he was feverishly trying to catch back up to Jason of BR&IN who had dropped him a little earlier. (Note: you’re not supposed to drop the boss, guys).
Always nice to see an industry insider on a bike. Also like the uber-insider “A-Team” jersey he’s wearing.
May
16
It’s Bike to Work Day in SoCal
Filed Under Advocacy, Deep Thoughts, Rides | 4 Comments
As if you didn’t know, bike community members, today is Bike to Work Day in Southern California. I guess other regions have it on different days. Judging by the number of bikes on the train platform this morning, I going to guess that its will be a pretty successful BTWD. The ongoing challenge, of course, is to keep everyone going beginning Monday. MasiGuy’s blog had a comment this morning that describes this well here.
A side effect of BTWD is the crowded trains. I guess it’s a positive sign for cycling, but the 2 racks per car on Metrolink here don’t cut it. There were 5 bikers on my train home last night. Can’t wait for tonight’s crowds.
On a positive note, there happened to be a “market research” person from Metrolink on my car. I commented to her about the need for more racks. She smiled and handed me a survey to fill out and suggested that I use the comment area to mention the problem. Also was able to put down that the bike is my mode of transport pre- and post-train ride. Bonus.
Along with the four other bikes there were four other bikers on the train. Had a nice conversation with one who was on a really nice carbon road bike. He’s definitely one of the industry’s “VIP Customers.” So much so, that after he found out that I worked for Interbike (did the jersey and socks plastered with the logo give it away?), he mentioned that he loves Interbike and goes every year. When I asked him how he gets in, he said that he’s a very good customer of his shop and they get him into the show. Now this volatile topic is worthy of a whole other post, but suffice it to say that if any type consumer should be let into the show, this is it. He doesn’t ask for price lists or deals or sponsorship, knows that the show is for the dealers and manufacturers to conduct their business and he buys everything he sees there from his local shop.
I’m not advocating at all that it’s ok for retailers to do this. They still need to respect the exhibitors and those other retailers who are uncomfortable with this and have expressed a desire to keep the show for the trade only. I do have to admit that this guy’s passion and love of bikes and cycling is strong enough to get him to drive 5 hours each way to Vegas and pay for his own hotel and expenses just to ogle cool new bike gear.
Continuing the trend of interesting conversations that happen when you bike and train to work instead of driving, I met the publisher of Skateboarder magazine this morning (they’re also based in San Juan Capistrano and are the sister mag to Bike magazine). He bikes to work most days of the week. Great talk about the future of traditional media and the web and also nuances of the various core “tribes” within the skate world. Good stuff. Would never happen in a car by yourself.
Finally, here’s one more pic for Carlton Reid (congrats on your award, btw!) who enjoys seeing where people live, work and ride. I was bit early this morning to the train and rode a couple of blocks over from the station to the beach. Another beautiful day to ride.
May
15
Scenes from a Bike Commute
Filed Under Cycling, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 6 Comments
In the spirit of Bike to Work Week, I thought I’d show a few scenes from my bike commute. I live in northern San Diego County and my commute is multi-modal: 14 miles by bike to the Oceanside (California) train station and then a 25-or-so minute train ride up the coast to San Juan Capistrano in Orange County – mostly through the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. I try to leave the house by 6:15 when I commute by bike. I can be showered and ready to go by the 8:30 start of our work day.
For simplicity’s sake and to protect my nice camera, I just used the camera on my cell phone. Not bad, but not exactly stunning color repro – there was actually beautiful blue sky this morning that doesn’t come out in these photos.
That’s my bike in front of a piece of sculpture in Oceanside. This is near the start of my own version of the “Stupidest Bike Lane.” It’s seperated from the street (as you can see in the photo above), is perfectly paved and striped, has nice signage but it is only about 500 feet long through a residential neighborhood and has 2 stops signs along its route. At either end of this path there’s nothing more than some of those “Bike Route” signs. Not lane, no path. This is just a random piece of bike facility that lives in a vacuum.
This is my local shop. It’s not the closest to me by any stretch, but it’s the one I chose to frequent. I have two bike “super centers” – one that I can even walk to – and while they’re nice and all, I still prefer the old- school independant shops like Pacific Coast Cycles in Oceanside. Chuck, the owner, used to work for Masi Bikes years ago and is a great guy to chat with and he’s got a bunch of cool classic bikes and parts in the shop. He’s also very opinionated about what he likes and dislikes in bikes and the bike industry. Worth a visit if you’re in the area. I try to make a point of stopping in to say hi on my ride home.
The Oceanside train station is near the beach and pier (visible in the background). Also near the station is this blue house that you may recognize from a little old movie called TopGun that took place in and around San Diego. This is where Charlie (Kelly McGillis) lived and was visited by Maverick (Tom Cruise). It’s in pretty bad shape and is scheduled to be torn down, the last I heard, to make way for a big resort complex. Pity. Not exactly a significant piece of American heritage, but a neat part of American pop-culture.
There’s my bike on the train now. The Metrolink trains have room for two bikes on each car. Not a problem in the morning as I get on at the first stop, but it can be a problem going home at the end of the day since the train comes down from LA with lots of commuters. I have to guess which car will be emptiest and hope for the best since there’s no time to “browse” all the cars to see which has room for me. More often than not I’m stuck holding my bike the whole trip in a crowded car. No telling what Bike to Work week crowds will be like.
Here’s a little nod to our friends at Timbuk2 bags. I love this backpack they made for us with the Interbike logo. It’s a nice change from the messenger bag I usually use. This is also a nod to the guys at Bike Hugger that recently had a discussion about the best bags for laptops and bikes. This one holds a MacBook Pro very nicely, by the way.
This is a typical view out the window of the train during the commute. What you see here is the pier in San Clemente and some nice waves. I tried to catch some of the many surfers in action, but the phone camera makes them look like specs. Suffice it to say that this is probably one of the most beautiful train rides you can do: along the beaches and coastline of Southern California. Dolphin sightings are common, too.
We’re there! Waiting for the train to pull away so I can cross over the tracks to roll to the office.
This what’s on the other side of the tracks: the Los Rios district of San Juan Capistrano. I believe that it’s the oldest neighborhood in California going back to the time of the missions (don’t quote me, though). Very cool old neighboorhood that feels more like something you’d see in Disney World’s frontierland – but it’s authentic.
From the station, I hop on the San Juan Creek bike trail for about a minute. I runs along a small canal that looks like the ones they always had car chases in in 70’s police shows and the movie Grease. Being a non-native Californian myself, I always enjoy seeing this type of Hollywood-inspired California imagery. Along the same lines, I still chuckle when I see CHiPs officers on motorcycles.
That’s our office as seen from the bike path. If you keep heading down the path, you’ll hit Doheny beach in a couple of miles. That’s the way we usually head during our lunch time rides.
So door to door, it’s about an hour and forty minutes. At 14 miles of riding each way, it’s a decent enough workout. And the shower at work helps make the commute more enjoyable for my co-workers.
What’s your commute like?
Update: Per Carlton’s request in the comments, here’s where my bike I live between commutes:
The bike lives just around the corner from my cube during the day. Jennie, our art director, keeps her Electra beach cruiser on the other side of my cube. During any given week, you can see a Fuji (mine), an Electra, a Giant, a Burley, a Ridley, a Trek, and a Felt. Sometimes I break out the old Bridgestone RB-1 with Campy C-Record and Delta brakes for fun and style on the commute. Downstairs in the bike rack are a couple of rusty cruisers that a couple of people use for running errands or getting lunch.
My cube. Not much to say about a cube. Actually, looking at it in this photo, it looks pretty sparse – even for a cube. We moved cubes earlier this year, so there’s not much decoration other than the Eddy Merckx being interviewed in the Interbike Media Center poster on the left and the Bikes Belong musette hanging on the wall. Up on the shelf there’s a team High Road/Shimano/Giant pint glass that I got at the Tour of California, a Trek shot glass and cowbell from Sea Otter and a travel mug from the Interbike/Bikes Belong coffee giveaway at last year’s show. That’s about it. Feel free to send me some schwag to help decorate the cube…