Demo SRAM Quarq

This unit has been kicking around the shop for about a year.  It's in very good condition, is perfectly calibrated, and the chainrings are in good shape.

172.5mm arms, BB30, 53/39 130bcd.

Comes with a new battery installed.

$875 as it is, $950 if you want new rings.

Sidi Shoe Closeout!

We only have a few pairs left, and at this pricing I doubt we'll have these for long!  Call or email, these are first come, first served.  You must mention this post to receive the sale price!

Genius 5 Pro Carbon, 40.  MSRP $260, on sale for $120.

 
Nevada white, 44 and 45.  MSRP $150, on sale for $70 each.

 Genius 5 Pro Carbon womens, 40.5.  MSRP $260, on sale for $120.

 Genius T2 Carbon, 45.  MSRP $200, on sale for $110.

 Sierra Black, 41.5.  MSRP $150, on sale for $70.

 Giau Black, 42 and 45.  MSRP $150, on sale for $70.

XS Lynskey Helix, Coming Soon.....

A sneak preview of a build coming next week.  X-small Lynskey Helix sporting some beautiful etched logos.  This is a killer upgrade that adds some stealth and durability.  The stock decals seem to hold up fine, but nothing compared to an etched set of DNA logos.

1-1/8" steerer tube and external headset, standard fare which will be plenty stiff for such a small rider.

Beautiful Lysnkey tubing, twisted for this Helix and finished with etched DNA logos.

ENVE fork, can't go wrong with this one.  It has quickly become that standard that builders reach for.

68mm threaded bottom bracket with asymmetrical  chain stays.

One more beautiful detail of a Helix, the clover dropouts.  These are made by Lynskey and reserved for their top models.  Want excellent shifting?  Try a titanium derailleur hanger.

Another nice little touch on the rear brake bridge: a clover carried over from their logo.

This Helix will be rolling on some 2012 Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels and Continental GP4000s tires.

A nice detail shot of the finish on this beautiful frame.  Not only is it durable, but we can care for it in house if something does somehow scratch the finish.

Great detail shot of the Lynskey DNA etched finish.

You know where this one came from.

More information and pictures coming next week....

Lynskey Cooper - XS with SRAM Force/Rival mix

Here's a sweet "little" build.  An x-small Lynskey Cooper with a nice SRAM mix of components, HED Bastogne wheels, Vittoria EVO CX clinchers, and a Salsa cockpit.

This one was built up for a rider at roughly 5' even, with the intent of beginning the journey into road riding.

Titanium frame, Alpha-Q carbon fork, 700c wheels on this x-small.  Normally on a bike this size we'd really lean toward a 650c, but if you already have wheels and want to make it work, we can.

Beautiful decals are easy to replace.  One of the great aspects of Ti and Lysnkey's finish specifically is that we can take care of it in-house.  We have a few tricks to handle scratches, though you'd really need to do some damage to leave a mark on your Ti frame.  We can also order replacement decal kits in a number of colors to customize the frame.

Lynskey uses a beautiful head badge on all of their bikes.  It's also available as a key chain, a nice touch for the cyclist in your life who has "everything".

SRAM Force, a bit of an unsung hero of the SRAM lineup.  The vast majority of the performance of Red at a much more affordable price.

Re-build: PowerTap SL+ Disc to Stan's NoTubes Crest 29

This is my personal rear wheel.  The original only lasted a couple of weeks, all due to my impatience.  I made it less than 10 minutes into a trail ride when I hit a piece of glass and cut a roughly 9mm slice in the tire.  When it didn't seal I decided to ride it back to the car flat.  That's when I clipped a rock and dented my rim.

It's held up well with a tube, actually.  But I strongly prefer tubeless, especially with a Stan's rim.  So I ordered a new Crest rim, and re-laced it.  About an hour later I was ready to roll with power on my mountain bike.

The PowerTap SL+ is laced 3x/3x to a NoTubes Crest 29 rim with black DT Swiss Revolution spokes and black DT Swiss ProLoc brass nipples.  The wheel is set up tubeless with Stan's Yellow Tape and ZTR valve.  Tire is a Maxxis Aspen 29x2.1.

New Build: Velocity A23 rims to Dura-Ace 7900 hubs

So classic.  Silver Velocity A23 rims, silver Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 hubs, DT Swiss Competition spokes, silver brass nipples.  2x front, 3x rear.

The rims continue to impress, they tension up really well, the tension is routinely very even, the rims come out of the box incredibly straight.  The weight is right, the price is right, there are color choices.

Next wheel build, strongly consider the A23.

Follow up: 2012 Giro Privateer Mountain Shoes

Another ride in, and another happy rider.  The Privateer continues to impress.

Looks like we may stock these in the near future, though most likely in black instead of white....you know, for the masses.  Not everyone is fancy enough for white mountain shoes, it takes a certain kind of lad.

2012 Niner EMD9 - 400 miles in

This bike has seen a solid number of miles over the last few weeks.  Commuting miles, plenty of trail miles, lots of gravel.

I love this thing.  Sure, carbon sexiness is still calling my name and really trying to draw me in, but until then I'm sold.  And I'll always hold a place for this alloy EMD9.

First Rides: 2012 Giro Privateer Mountain Shoes

Fearless product tester and team rider Matt McDowell hits us with his first impressions of the Giro Privateer:

I think first and foremost should be the overall comfort of the shoe.  As someone who has had consistent shoe problems, the Giro's stand shoulders above the competition.  Out of the box they're definitely snug but not in a debilitating kind of way.  From the first moment you slip them on they do feel like an old pair of sneakers.  The only caveat I would add is that folks should invest in the insoles offered by Giro to shore up any arch issues they may have.  

The second feature that I love is the ratcheting system.  It's simply the nicest shoe ratchet I've used.  I've used the shoes on both short trail rides and a couple of longer rides.  Pushing 3 hours in the shoe did begin to elicit some hot spots, this could be due to the plastic outsole (as opposed to carbon), but overall I think these shoes are a perfect younger brother to the Giro Gauge.  

For the price point I don't think you can beat them plus they're white, that alone is a selling point.   At this point I don't see myself wearing anything other than Giro shoes.  

More as it comes in, but if these are anything like my Giro Gauge, they're only getting better!

Independent Fabrication SSR - Rapha-inspired

Does it get any classier?  IF SSR, black/pink/raw Rapha-inspired paint, Lightweight wheels, SR11.  Grabbed this one from 34x18 blog.

On test: 2012 Mavic R-SYS SLR

Truth be told, I'm not the world's biggest "wheel system" fan.  Maybe because part of my job is building wheels, or maybe because I enjoy picking each and every component on my bike, or maybe hand-built wheels really are that good.

But when it comes to Mavic there's a lot to like.  Their Ksyrium line is well-known for it's durability, but the R-SYS came out of the gate with a bad rap with a couple of failures.  When something like that happens with new technology, it sticks with people.

I want to like the R-SYS, but I can't in good conscience recommend them to customers until I can feel comfortable with their durability.  What better way to get a feel for these wheels than to ride them!?

With that said, off we go on test.  What am I looking for?  Durability, stiffness, ride quality, and braking performance.  It's pretty easy to see these wheels won't be wowing anyone with their aerodynamics.  Thick spokes and a rim shaped after a brick don't add up to aero savings.  Word on the street though is that the R-SYS line is supposed to be really stiff laterally yet ride nicely.  The new Exalith braking surface is supposed to provide pretty much the best braking this side of hydraulic discs.

On with the test....

Another ride in the books on my 2012 Niner EMD9 ....

Lumberjack is only 8 weeks away at this point, and today wrapped up a pretty big (for me) 3-week training block.  Building from 10-11 hours per week up to a high of about 16 this week, I was lucky enough to get a really nice chunk of those hours on single track.

It's pretty incredible how great the trails are right now, especially Palos.  This time of year we're usually sitting around grumbling about how the trails are closed because they are too wet, but after a few trips to the trails I'm psyched about how dry they are.

This weekend as well as last weekend were about as good as they get, today had only 3-4 spots of mud in the 55-ish miles of trail I traveled.  Anyone who has hit Palos in the spring knows the lack of mud in April is very welcome.

After these three weeks I'm ready for a little time off of the bike.  A couple of rest days thrown in this week, maybe even a massage, will hopefully leave me ready for another big weekend next week.

After about 5 weeks of training on this 2012 Niner EMD9, I'm in love.  While the lust for carbon MAY overtake me before Lumberjack hits, this is the perfect bike to train on.  The least expensive frame in Niner's lineup means I don't have to sweat a dent or scratch the same way an AIR9 Carbon would probably bother me.  It's light enough, it handles very neutral, and is an absolute rocket.

If you want to get into a Niner, or maybe you've been riding a 29er but want to go with something new, this is it.  The EMD9 has a tapered head tube for perfect steering, and comes out of the box finished like all Niners: faced and reamed head tube, faced and chased bottom bracket, and faced disc brake mounts.  This may not mean a ton to you, but it means quality and time savings to me.

Niner has the geometry dialed, their fit and finish is second to none, and their pricing is hard to beat.

OK, enough of the sales pitch.  Go ride your bike.

On test: 2012 Giro Privateer

Love it or hate it, white shoes are fancy.  White MTB shoes may not stay white, but boy do they look good out of the box.  The Giro Privateer isn't a shoe we stock, though after checking this out that very well may change.  For $150 you get a killer shoe, but we'll spare the details for the next post.  For now, just look and wait for a real review.

On test: 2012 Niner EMD9

It's no secret I've been a fan of 29ers for quite some time.  My first one dates back to roughly 2006 with a Salsa Mamasita, and I was instantly in love.  That bike was built with an entry-level REBA, X9, and some cheap wheels.  I can't say I remember for sure, but I'd guess it was north of 27-28 lbs.

29ers have changed quite a bit since then.  I'm still riding alloy, though I've ridden plenty of titanium and carbon since then.  At the end of the day, I have a tough time faulting aluminum for it's killer price point, relatively light weight, durability, and great looks.

For 2012 Niner has updated the EMD9.  It may be their entry-level frame, but the specs are right.  It's ready for a tapered steerer tube, which I took advantage of with a SID XX fork.  The standard 73mm English bottom bracket was a welcome spec as I was planning a the use of Shimano cranks.

Like all other frames from Niner, the EMD9 came out of the box perfectly prepped.  Bottom bracket threads were tapped, the bottom bracket and head tube and rear brake mount had been faced.  All great touches that save us a ton of time.

The finish on the frame is a really nice semi-matte black with white logos.  Totally understated and certainly my style.  Add in a few orange touches and this becomes the perfect Iron Cycles team mountain bike, which would explain the abundance of them on our team.

Specs on this build:

Niner EMD9 frame, black, large
Rock Shox SID XX World Cup tapered fork, 15mm Maxle
Shimano XT drivetrain
Niner RDO carbon seatpost
Thomson Elite X4 130mm x 0* stem
Niner RDO carbon handlebars
Fizik Aliante custom saddle
Stan's NoTubes Crest wheelset, XTR 15mm front hub, PowerTap rear hub
King Cages stainless cages
Maxxis Aspen tires

In the first week of having this bike built, I've logged roughly 8-9 hours on the trails.  Comparing this to the Air9 Carbon I recently rode the EMD9 performed admirably.  The AIR9 Carbon's head tube MAY be a hair stiffer, and the BB junction MAY be a hair stiffer, but in all the EMD9 was right on par with the AIR9 Carbon at roughly 1/3 the price.  The EMD9 does give up to the AIR9 Carbon in the weight department, but this built built to only be 2 lbs heavier with a heavier gruppo on it as well.

One worthwhile upgrade that I can't recommend enough is the 15mm Maxle fork.  Be it a suspension fork or a rigid one, if you have the option to run a 15mm Maxle, DO IT!  The stiffness increase was immediately apparent and totally welcome.  The weight penalty is minimal, and is more than made up for on the first rock garden or errant root you come across.

I plan to put plenty of trail time on this frame and fork, and I'll be sure to report back often on it.  So far, I'm blown away that a frame that retails for $550 can be so good.  Yes, it's aluminum, so it may not be as sexy as the newest carbon offerings.  But the weight is reasonable, the ride quality is great, and the price is nearly impossible to beat.

Time to get out and ride some more....

NEW BIKE DAY! Surly Cross-Check Custom

Surly is a brand that's near and dear to us.  Bikes made to do work, flexible in design, reasonably priced, and built with quality.  The complete builds are really a steal, but what makes Surly so special to us is how easily they can be customized.  Buy any model as a complete bike or a frameset to start and go from there.

This particular one only has slight modifications from stock.  A Brooks B17S saddle, matching Brooks leather bar tape, Michelin City 700 x 32c tires, and a 42cm FSA Omega Compact bar make this bike even more city friendly than before while also adding (not a small amount) of comfort for the long rides.

The drivetrain was kept stock, and for good reason.  The bar end shifters are bomb-proof, and everything on the bike was built to last.  Since this bike was built to be ridden, a lot, the stock drivetrain made tons of sense.

The Brooks B17S saddle that was added is so subtle in black, but so absolutely beautiful.  It perfectly compliments everything this bike is about.

The Brooks Leather bar tape was a touch we took upon ourselves.  The tape of course matches the saddle perfectly, but it also adds a nice touch of class to the front of the bike.  It doesn't hurt that it'll also last forever.

There you have it.  Small touches, small changes, and the bike becomes something all it's own.