New Things Fer Yer Bum

San Marco Concor Supercorsa WCS - Green

We have four new styles from San Marco. Classic style, this one is vegan friendly.

Kashimax AX-2A - Snow Tiger

New nutty styles from Kashimax! Same Aero saddle, but (like the WCS) made out of synthetic material. Flowers! Bam, that just happened.

San Marco Regale - Black

Geared more toward the road racing crowd, but this is still a sweet saddle. This San Marco is held together by Carbon Rails, weighs in at 220 g, and comes in White as well.

Gilles Berhoud Classic Saddle - Men's Natural

Ooo this thing is hot! Removable rivets if by chance the rails break, it's easily replaceable. You can even spread the saddle butter pretty evenly without the rails getting in the way. Ha! Butter for your saddle. It's held together with a plastic skeleton with saddle bag loops. The leather is thicker than Brooks, I'd say it's about 1/4" thick. Different colors and come in women models too. Another great leather saddle!

Isn't it time to treat yer bum to a new saddle?

Earl

Morning Mountain Ride

Jim, Steve, and I did 2 1/2 hours of the Tosa trails before work. 50 deg while riding, 67 deg when I rid home tonight. Couldn't be happier. Gotta give it up to Bubba and the Metro Mountain Bikers for doing a fine job of maintaining the trails. The miles are a piling!

Earl

Ben's Cycle - Shop Bikes

Here's a collection of bikes from some Ben's Cycle employees. These are work horses that take the daily grind through scorching summers and even the nastiest winters, but end all be all they take us from point A to point B...

My Trek 560

Originally an Olympic bike in the early 1980's (can't seem to pinpoint the exact year), it's been everything from a fully geared touring bike, three speed, fixed, and now it's my single-speed commuter/trainer. The front rack (as mentioned many-a-posts ago) was built by my friend Leah in Madison. Now, instead of riding with a backpack or riding home to drop it off, I just strap it on to the top part and do my training rides after work. The fork is even big enough for a 35c studded tire. A lot of time and work has gone into this thing and it is probably my favorite ride. Made in Wisconsin!

Gatorskin 700x25, Deda Bars, Nitto Technomic stem, Old Sugino Mighty Crank, Campy Veloce Brakes, Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders, PDW Radbot 500, Formula rear hub, Velocity Razor rim, American Classic Seatpost.

My beloved B17 Honey Special. All laced up and feels amazing on long rides! 4 years old and still doing it's thing.

Jim's Lemond Fillmore

This is the last production run of Fillmores that used True Temper OX Platinum tubing before they went with lower end cromo. This is a very light and stiff frame. It is painted, or should I say coated, the same way guns are treated. It's a very thin paint and ridiculously scratch resistant (not 'scratch proof,' but it'll take a lil bit more to put a mark on this thing). It's done here in Wisconsin by a company called KG Coatings. They also coat the inside as well, thus limiting possible rust that may occur. You can get this option with any color on any of our frames! Jim rides this through most of the year. He's a strong rider (one of the fastest I know) and does a crap ton of miles on it. Just try and keep up with him.

MBC Hubs, Vintage Araya Aero Rims (he drilled the rear one himself!), Campy front brake, Paul cross lever, Deda Crono Nero Low Bullhorns, SLR saddle, Vintage Campy Crank, Sugino 75 Chainring, Planet Bike Hardcore Fenders, Panaracer Ribmo 700x25c Tires, Wipperman 1G8 Chain

He also customizes his saddles with some sort of leather/hide. The hair is worn off on this one, but he makes some sweet customizations (check out his TT protector).

Eric's Bruiser

This thing turned out super sweet! I rode it around and it is one smooth ride. I know this guy rides a lot and he deserves a great bike, and a bruiser is just that. It's quite beastly with the B43s but it just looks so darned good! Even the fender lines are slick. Bravo Eric. Check out the lacing on the hubs.

B.17 Black Saddle, Black B43 32h, MBC Hubs, Ribmo Tires, Andel Black Cranks, B123 Bars, Planet Bike Hardcore fenders, Selcof Seatpost, Toshi Bar Wrap.

Bar end lights!

New B17, still stiff but it'll break in.

More to come...

Earl

700x25c Vittoria Randonneur - 130 PSI Max!

Vittoria Randonneur 700x25

To me, this is a great tire for skidding. There is quite a bit of rubber on there to blow through. These new ones now go up to 130 psi compared to 80 psi on the 700x28c. Swoop them up and skid happily!

Earl

More From Taiwan! Pt.2

Lasco Cranks

I am not one into extravagant things. I'm happy with toast and cheese for dinner, I'll throw in a banana for nutritional filler. However, I do enjoy my Dura-Ace and Campy bits. These Lasco Cranks are a bit on the excessive side, but they look pretty kick-ass. Leather and polished lug-like arms! Nice touch. I like the black chainring too, those simple cut-outs add some nice flavor to the mix.

Earl

New Mavic Wheels

Mavic Crossmax 29er Wheelset

Mavic Ksyrium SL Black Road Wheelset

Mavic Ksyrium Elite Black Road Wheelset

Now go one and get some miles! It's gonna be well above 60 deg next week!

Earl

More Chukkers - 48H Black MSW

Velocity Black Chukker 48H MSW

I like how the sticker is longer than the distance between the holes. Sweet.

Earl

White 36H MSW Chukkers Now in Stock!

White 36H MSW Chukkers

Earl

New Profile 30t Black Sprocket!

Profile Racing Sprocket - 48 Spline - Black 30t

Looks very low key and sharp. There's a lot less machining than it's bigger 36t silver brother (which are back in stock too). Go and swoop em up!

If ya'll didn't know, I'm kinda super into that Predator Movie...

Holy crap! New Predators Movie! You see that? Predator-s, yes plural. A whole mess of these aliens kicking-ass. Dude from the 70's show, Adrien Brody, Danny Trejo, and Laurence Fishburne? Crazy/Awesome line-up. My life just got exponentially sweeter.

Earl

Innovations - Fixed or Not

Fixed/Free ambiguity

Another one from Taiwan! Again, you don't have to be into the whole fix-free with the turn of a knob, but it's just great to see things being tried out. Just like how all these great BMX companies are coming out with stuff for big wheels.

In related news...

Sram Torpedo
Fixed or freewheel with the turn of a screw

...and the greatly anticipated...

Sturmey Archer 3 Speed Fixed Hub!

Now whether or not this is strong hub, I cannot tell you. I really want to try it just so I can try and break it! I've broken old Sturmey 3-speeds, but with that price tag, this thing better be bullet proof.


Mr. Chris Igleheart was one of the test guinea pigs for this hub. He even told me at NAHBS that he broke a version of it! However, with the new improvements, he swears by it. Rides it on his daily Rando/Commuter, it also endured the Oregon Manifest 77 mile race. Only time will tell. I also discovered this sweet little feature (here's an excerpt from our listing)...

Another special feature about this hub is that you can run either a single freehub cog, like one that Surly makes, and run it fixed or through on a freewheel, like a Shimano, and have the ability to coast! I think you can even put both on and be able to coast or be fixed with the move of the chain. You may have to work with the chainline, but regardless it should work.

Man, the more and more I think about this thing, the more I want it. Sucks I have to pay for rent first. Ha!

Earl

More From Taiwan!

Just got these from Drew...
I call shenanigans! I started to post this long winded entry about bamboo when I realized that this is hydroformed aluminum tubing made to look like bamboo. Sneaky stuff. That's what I get for not reading the whole email. Regardless, this is still a sweet looking ride. That looks so real!


Now I leave you with pure sweetness...

Just take it in for a second. It actually deals with some pertinent issues. This addresses the problem of smaller frames having a wonky front end because the triangle is so compact. Here, the seat tube is shorter but allows the top tube to be a respectable length. Or maybe some frame builder just wanted to build something crazy and I'm looking into this too much thus making me look like an idiot. Whatever it is, it still fulfills my dream of having a shiny silver saddle bag. Finally, a convenient way to store my Hello Kitty candy.

Earl

Super Pista!!

Oh man, what a glorious day! Super Pistas in 49, 51, 55, 57, 59, and 61 cm are now available! 53cm to come soon. If we sell out soon, don't fret, Bianchi states that there will be a pretty steady production of these, but we'll see about that later. Remember the days when Emi and Massan of Mash were killing it on these frames?



This movie still gets me all pumped to ride.

Earl

From Taiwan With Love

So Drew and Vince in Taiwan to see what they're producing for the cycling world. Here are a couple of gems, pretty excited for some of them...

Affix Ceramic Bottom Bracket - this thing must be smooth.


KMC Knight - been creeping the internet for awhile, think it'll be out soon.
Wow.

Affix Fix/Free Hub - we're seeing a lot of hubs like this, it's exciting to see that companies are trying new things. More on these type of hubs! MSRP about $270.

Just for the hell of it. I want to see the fixed version!

More to come from our guys from across the seas. I hope their having a blast!

Earl

TREE Sprockets back in!

36t and 42t black back in stock!

In the works...new profile sprockets soon.

Earl

New Products - 3ttt/Priest-ish Bars

Photo by Map Cycles

So, one of my personal favorite handlebar is the Arc Bar. It puts you a little upright so it's a chill position but if you need to crank, its shaped to allow a lot of torque. I came upon the Nitto Jitensha Bar perusing though Mitch Pryor of Map Cycles' flickr site, one of my favorite frambuilders (good dude too).

Photo by Map Cycles

I have been searching for this bar for years until I came upon it this last month! So long story short, we are carrying them. Here's a little history on the bar.

I also found a similar bar coined the Map Ahearne bar. They are a nice marriage between the Jitensha and Priest bar. It was developed by Map and Ahearne Cycles with improvements to the original Priest bar, which was made for Pope John Paul II (thanks John, again!). Longer grip area to allow more room for brake levers and shifters as well as not having a wonky 26.4 clamp.
The main differences between these two is that the Map bar has a little bit higher degree of sweep and a rise while the Jitensha bar is flat. I'm trying to find an excuse to build a bike with these bars, yeah that's right, build a whole bike around these bars. I'm a glut.

Lastly, recently posted were the Cinelli Valencia Bars. Black and 31.8 clamp. So many options!

Kind of a long post but whatevs. I'm happiest when I'm just commuting around, not going super fast, just enjoying the ride. This style epitomizes the idea of a city bar.

Earl

New Products - Foes Street Rods

When we got a sample of these, I thought they were weapons. However, I'm sure with my obsession with Predator and Aliens movies, I want to think everything is a proton gun or ninja star. Here are Foes Racing handlebars. All pieces are color customizable. The end plugs even come in different shapes. The grip area is also knurled so grips are not necessarily needed.
Swoop em here! These are some tough bars.

Earl

Antonyo MKE 180

Photo By Rick Anderson

Our Milwaukee man Antonyo doing what he does best. Spring 2010 is in full bloom! 50 Deg outside my window. Thanks John!

Earl

Flickriver

Photo By Adam A

Not that I need to look at more bike things all day, but a friend just introduced me to Flickeriver. Just typed in 'randonneur bike' and magically got like 5000 pics, including this sweet Pelican available at Box Dog Bikes in SF built by Banjo. On top of all the blogs out there, this is how I actually order things for the store, I get to see what ya'll are setting your bikes up with. So no matter how narcissistic it can get posting glamor shots of your steed(s), keep them coming!

Earl

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Bike Polo Tilt-Shift: Boston Spring 2010 from Gustav Hoiland on Vimeo.

Trippy Bike polo video from Boston for you on this day of green.

Earl

City Lights

Funny how much an hour makes. After a weekend of being off the saddle, I was excited to enjoy an hour's worth of sunshine after a full day's work. For some reason, today was the day. The day I start to ride harder. Today I start training for the H8tr 100; a glorious race of 60ish miles on gravel road through the country side of Madison. Albeit a race, it is a wholesome event to meet up with friends and partake in some healthy competition. A great way to start the season of riding. Last year's race put me in a level of pain I sure do not want to endure again.

This year's going to be different, I've collected quite the miles through Old Man Winter. The 50 miles last week on the Banjo fixed rando/porteur has left me aching for more. 45 deg today, in a hoodie and my Levi's, I set to do a quick 20. In that span, I regressed to moments on long mountain rides. Huffing and puffing up steep Wisconsin terrain, thinking what can I do different this year? I suddenly feel the need to tackle a ride out to Holy Hill, a grueling, hilly 80 miles. I even contemplate mashing the H8tr fixed with cross tires. I feel ready to endure the WEMS series; I believe my teammates in Haymaker are ready too. Then I feel the air get cooler, the sun is almost down. I spin up the bike path to Oakland Ave and a top, the city lights snap me out of my trance and I'm back to reality. A smile creeps up on me; I'm excited for the season to come, the long painful rides, the beers, the cheers, and the good times. So come ride with us and have some fun.

Nicolay City Lights Vol 2
Here
Nicolay & Kay

Earl

Lookey What We Have...

Profile 36T Splined Drive Sprocket

SOLD OUT!

Earl

Things We Like - Panaracer Ribmo

We have all sorts of riders here with all sorts of bike set ups. However, the one item we all praise is the Panaracer RibMo. From commuting, skidding, touring, to tricks (hope they make a bigger tire soon for this); this is one tough tire. A little on the heavier side, a 700x25 Ribmo weighs in at 330g while a Continental Ultra Gatorskin Folding rolls in at 250g, it makes up for how puncture resistant it is.

Now, there is no such tire that is impermeable to flats, but with this tire, you get not only a reinforced center tread (you can tell by the pic how it's thicker in the center) but this is one of the few tires that I know of that has sidewall protection. For me, I like this tire because my 700x28c can run up to 110psi and that it just grips the road. Try them out for yourself! Some sizes in wire, but all in Kevlar/folding bead.

And for our shop pups...

Photo by Dog-Milk via Swiss Miss

Unfortunately Emma and Hannah are ladies, but whatever. In today's age, a moustache is ironic anyways.

Earl

Bruiser Pre-Order

Just received word......Bruiser's are hitting the water this Monday! That means 3-4 weeks until they land. We put the up ability to pre-order, you can follow your appropriate links below.
We have more frame coming pre-painted, those will be able to ship right away (well, as soon as humanly possible) once they arrive. Gloss black frame and fork, Matte black frame and fork and a Painted polish chrome with black fork (it's not chrome, but paint).
There is still the availability for custom colors, but there is the standard 2-3 week turn around (could be longer for gun kote).