Do Yourself a Favor....

...and get these socks. I'm not one to demand a sale, but seriously, buy these.

I've been using the Swiftwick Four Merino Crew Socks everyday during these fall/early winter weeks and I feel naked without them. They are perfect for mountain biking and commuting at above 35 deg dry conditions without any shoe covers or boots. Since the sock is thicker and is made with a mix of merino wool, they have been the best wicking and insulating socks that I've owned. Everyone that has tried them says the same thing!

More items here and here. Swiftwick sells great products and they're made in the USA!

Earl

Nitto Lugged Stems and Seatpost

Oooohhhh sweet sweet beautiful lugged bits from Nitto. Quill Stem, Threadless Stem, and Seatpost...get into it.

Earl

Cinelli MASH

We just replenished our stock of both green and grey Cinelli Mash frames. My Cinelli rep says that the grey version will not be available for 2011 so get them while you can! They will continue with the green as well as release the new 'histogram' frame (pictured below) around March. The new version will have a slightly more aggressive geometry and is priced at $1000 while the green will be unchanged and offered at $850.

Via MASH
Definitely on my birthday wish list.

Earl

Get Pumped...

MACRAMENTO from MACAVISION on Vimeo.

Race Across The Sky 2010 from Citizen Pictures on Vimeo.

...to ride.

Earl

Milwaukee Is Steppin It Up

After a bit of morning single-track out on the Tosa Trails, I decided to bop on down through the Hank Aaron Trail to check if the new bridge was up and running. Lo and behold, it was complete. The Valley Passage is now open!

This leads west and continues past 84th st.

Freshly painted.

This maybe the cleanest piece of Milwaukee Bike path that I've seen.

I don't know about you but this make me really really excited. This is a great alternative for commuters and recreational riders.

From Hoyt Park in Wauwatosa, the Hank Aaron trail bypasses me from 43rd to 6th st. without crossing a single stoplight. Apparently, there is also a new trail that goes west of this Valley Passage and takes you beyond 84th St. Their is also talk of construction to push the path further west to 124th st where it will intersect with the Oak Leaf Trail, but I'm not completely sure on that. Imagine 120 blocks without riding next to a car!

Another thing that Milwaukee can pride themselves on (other than all the great beer we have) are all the wonderful parks that are available. I hope with the shift in our political climate that preserving these parks and trails will continue to be a priority. If you use the Greenway River Trail on the East side of Milwaukee, take this survey. I know a lot of people ride their bikes, fish, and walk their dogs down there. It's a really beautiful part of our city and any effort to preserve, clean it, and make it safe for the users would have my vote.

There's nothing like exploring or commuting by bike. Hopefully all these improvements in our cycling infrastructure can benefit the people, businesses, and local bike shops of this great city.

These are exciting times to be a bike rider in Milwaukee. Now go out and ride!

Earl

Cranksgiving Milwaukee - 11-6-10

It's a great race and it's for a good cause. Details here!

Earl

Do What You Love

For many of us here at Ben's, it's riding our bikes. For some of us, it's specifically mountain biking. Jim, Eric (congrats on another bike polo victory in Austin!) and I rode out to the Cudahy trails that butted up against Lake Michigan (well, first a deep ravine, a beach, then the lake). With a mix of risk, exploration, and an immense intentness on our safety, we blazed through trails rarely trodden in hopes to find another great place to do some cross-country trail riding.

With winter approaching, light didn't creep up until 730am. There's nothing like riding next to a 30 foot drop in the dark. Eric tested his Serfas True 250 this morning and it performed quite well. He mounted it on his helmet and was able to maneuver around without any problems. This thing is light, charges with a USB port, and sheds a ton of light!

I've been trying out a Light and Motion Stella 200. It's my first endeavor into rechargeable 'big' lights and I am impressed. It too is very light, charges fast, durable, and a big plus for me, it's waterproof! We'll be carrying their line soon so keep an eye out for them. They are a bit pricey but honestly, they might be the last lights that you purchase.

I think these were made by aliens...or a drunk person.

This is my ZR Cycles (unfortunately he doesn't build frames anymore) lugged 650B couplered mountain bike. If you have any questions on 650B type things, I think I can answer some if not most them. I like the wheel size but even though tires are available, it's still slim pickings compared to it's smaller brother. I'm also going to race on a 29er next year, I'm sure I'll love that size too!

Waves were heavy this morning. It's worth it to wake up early to witness things like this.

Jim and Eric enjoying every freezing second.

Long way down.

Jim and I ride the same size frames. Not the best angle for comparison but here is my 650b next to Jim's 29er.

In the end, it was a frigid 30 mile morning. Found about 6 miles of awesome trails (we rode to the trails and did them twice), hit a 15 deg 20mph headwind, rode through the dark and light, and it wasn't even 9am. It was a good day. If anyone wants to join us on any 6am winter mountain bike rides, we are always down!

Earl

Antonyo Bike Check

Antonyo dropped by the shop a couple of days ago and it gave me an opportunity to snap some shots of his whip. He tears it up on this thing and it's got all the sweet dents and scrapes to prove it. With all he puts this thing through it's holding up damn well. There is something to say about a bike that is well kept. But, for me, bikes are supposed to ridden and not pampered.

We still have some of the old Burro Premium Straps which are being changed with their new Chronic straps. They are constructed a bit differently with improvements that anyone can appreciate. Swoop them up!

Antonyo only has good things to say about his Continental Top Contact 26x1.95 tires. He claims that he has never blown a sidewall out on them. The top contact series is part of the elite group of tires that Continental still makes in their home country of Germany. With the use of carefully picked materials and a sturdy construction, these tires will not only ride well but last you a long time.

Tire Clearance

Frame/Fork: Milwaukee Bruiser M
Handlebars: Breakbrake17
Grips: Milwaukee
Stem: Odyssey V3
Headset: Cane Creek S3
Crank: Profile Racing
Sprocket: Tree
Pedals: Animal
Toe Straps: Burro Chronic (New!)
Hubs: Profile
Rims: Sun MTX 33 26”
Saddle: Animal
Tires: Continental Top Contact 26x1.95

There are so many things about this bike that I love; from the parts to the wear and tear. It helps that it's being ridden by such a swell dude. I'm glad you're enjoying the bike!

Earl

Resist Relapse Cranks

Resist is another off-shoot under the illustrious Demolition/Volume umbrella. These will be replacing the Demolition Medial 2.0 cranks. They were structurally reinforced to withstand more abuse. We got them in Black, White, Chrome, and Blue. All are available in 165 and 160mm! More to come from Resist...

Earl

Globe in Milwaukee

Ha! I forgot about this; a couple of months ago Globe came down to our neck of the woods and took some product shots of Ben's employees on their commuter bikes. We had a blast during the shoot! You'll catch a Milwaukee Bicycle t-shirt in there and a view of Palominos. It's pretty much worth it to come to Milwaukee just for their food. Some of the greasiest/greatest vegan food I've ever had.




We carry Globe and a big chunk of the Specialized line in our brick and mortar stores, so come through and check them out! Thanks to Garrett, Kathryn, and Chris for the great hangouts. Hope you all loved Milwaukee enough to come back!

Earl

Too Hot to Handle

Oh Jeez, Dave's (Ellis Cycles) at it again with another ridiculously clean build. This one's his personal do-all Road/Rando. Here's his steed in all sorts of sexy poses...

Removable cable guides for a clean look when it's in single speed mode.

Internal cable routing

Now that's what I'm talking about. Stainless Velo Orange fenders with Nitto M-18 handlebar bag rack and modern Campy/Sram bits. He also claims using 10 spd Campy shifters work flawlessly with Sram derailleurs. I'll have to ask if there was any tweaking to get it to work.

My Banjo Rando
(btw Gilles Berthoud Saddles are amazing!)

So that means you're doing some 300k brevets with me in 2011? Oh it's going to happen.

As per usual, we're getting some more sweet product in so updates soon!

Earl