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

Hubs and Such

Talk about fully custom! We got Phil Wood to make a custom tandem hubset for a customer. 40H 145mm disc rear with the 'special' flange that they used on their limited edition track hubs, just slightly smaller in diameter. Front much the same without the disc rotor mount.


We've made some pretty wacky requests to Phil Wood and they've come through with amazing results. So if you're looking for something that no one else has, Phil Wood will most likely deliver!

Earl

I Want...

This...

Via CWMD
(Fun for four!)

and this...

Via Whoa
(If you don't know what this is, you're too young.)

...but I can realistically have this...

Serfas True 250

With the light dipping out at around 6pm, having visibility on the road is essential. Here's another 250 lumen compact headlight! Serfas is stepping it up and competing with NiteRider in the small-sized-big-light arena. Even though the Serfas is a bit smaller than the Niterider, both are lightweight and shine a whole heck of a lot of light. It also comes in a 150 version too.

Some of us here testing it on some night mountain rides; we'll let you know how it holds up.

Lastly, don't know where you live but it's been above 60 deg here in Milwaukee for the last couple of days when it should be low 50s/high 40s. It's nice that I can still feel my toes after a ride. But when that winter hits...

Bond
(Oh I loves you internets.)

Earl

Look

I've owned my beloved Bridgestone Keirin track bike for 4 years now. Since then I've accrued more bikes of different styles and every time I've gotten back on the Bridgestone, something just didn't feel right. So for the first time I measured the top tube and found that it's a size smaller than all my other frames.

Bummer.

Kind of sucks that something I"ve loved just doesn't fit me anymore. Well, at least there is no shortage on amazing frames out there. So if you're like me and are in the market for a new frame we just got in some Look 464s in! Oooo they look sweet. We also have some Bianchi Super Pistas and Cinelli MASH frames in stock too, swoop em up!

Earl

You the Whoa

Sorry for the lack of posts. Even though we're creeping into the slow season of cycling, for some, it's actually a busy time of the year. This is when we order product for the Spring and there's a lot (almost too much) Interbike product to filter through.

So there will be a lot of new and exciting items in our inventory. Totally geeking out on all this stuff!

But for now, here are some sweet toys that we just got in...

Shimano Alfine hubs

Great versatility for commuting and strong enough for mountain biking. I have a friend who hauls hundreds of pounds of beans for Just Coffee on this hub. He has no doubt that they are very strong!

Nitto Bar End Plugs

Within a day of posting these they were sold out! It's great to see some high quality bar end plugs for your road bars. More in about a week.

Honjo Fenders

Ok, there are a lot of these fenders; but variety is good. From hammared to fluted to smooth, they will definitely add some style points to your ride. We also carry every small part that Honjo has to offer.

More on touring items soon!

-------NiteRider Cordless 250

Light technology has been expanding very fast in the last couple of years. The 250 has the light head and battery integrated into one. No cables to get tangled and more compact than it's older brothers. This thing packs a punch; with 250 lumens of output, don't shine it directly in anyone's eye!

Nitto B123 SSB

The classic Nitto B123 now comes in a 31.8 clamp to fit more modern stems. These bars are already stiff as it is!

MKS Twin Deep Toe Clips

Another classic piece now with an added loop for all those double toe straps out there.

-------

Bicycling has been expanding in recent months and it's no secret that Mountain Biking is blowing up. A lot of us here at Ben's are avid mountain bikers and want you to get in all of the fun. If you haven't tried it, you have to at least give it a chance!

So we've responded to this expansion and are stocking some key items to get you started on (or upgrade) your off-road bike.

Shimano SLX Shifters

Shimano SLX Hubs - 32H and 36H

Even though this is the lowest denominator in Shimano's mtn line, it is in no way 'cheap.' Built to be a more an all-mountain groupo it's big difference to the more cross-country/pricey XT cousin is weight. But for the price and it's strength in burliness, you can't deny it's worth! Other bits and pieces here. We also carrying XT and XTR products as well.

Whoa, that's a lot of stuff and guess what? We have a lot more to come!

Earl

MKE/Megabolt

We now carry some limited edition MKE/Megabolt hoodies and shirts! Check them out on our Milwaukee page under t-shirts and hoodies.

Earl