Ginther Exhibit Opening Tomorrow!

The official opening for the Kara Ginther Saddle:Works Exhibit is tomorrow night from 6:30pm-8:30pm.  

Kara sent me a preview of a few of the new saddles debuting at the exhibit:

See you there.

t

 

Shufflin and Shakin

We’ve been tackling a few of our winter projects this month and starting so see some results.

We added a fancy flat screen so we can help design Project One and custom Gunnar bikes in the store. We’re connecting our Tacx Bushido to it so we can virtually escape to Mt. Ventoux pretty soon. We shuffled some of the bikes around to give the different categories their own space and, in the process, added some wall space for other fun stuff. The BMX basement was in desperate need of some love, so it got a makeover. We also planted some wheatgrass in the Civia Loring so we could be reminded that all of life is not grey and slushy.

see…

 

Pardon Our Dust

 

it lives…

It’s all in one piece. It rides noticeably better than our shop Pugsley. We believe the Larry’s are responible for that. It may be a geometrical difference. We’re probably just saying that to sound smart; we’re not even sure there was any change in the geometry with the new frames. We could probably look into that, but we’re too busy looking at the Pugsley. It’s here until Thursday, so come take a look.

more pics here.

t

 

Alright, who Pugsley’d on the floor?

 

Very few people will appreciate this spread. It’s taken some retail acrobatics to get it all in one place.

G. Sherck is happy. So happy, in fact, that he’s packing the dog and hitting the road to drive here from Ohio to pick it up in person. He’s been waiting since September and only in the last two weeks have all the parts become available. We will take this pile and make it functional over the next few days.

yep.

[Amendment: the build is now done... see complete build pics on the Flickr album.]

 

New Surly stuffff – Pugs, Larrys, and Brit Pacer

We just received our long-awaited arrival of new Pugsley frames.

They went back to the drawing board (which for Surly, is a slab of concrete where they draw with (lit) charcoal briquets) with the Pugsley and made a few changes. We’re excited to get them in and get them out. Come get one.

The color is something. Surly, depending where you look, calls it Split Pea Green or Grampa’s Jammies. Both are close. We know Surly makes it a point to bust all trends with its color choices, but this is the new champion for unique bicycles colors. Both of my mechanics are color-blind, which left me with the difficult task of describing this color using other colors – a difficult task. Brown family? Yellow based? Inbred Green relative? Other names that come to mind are Bung Khaki, Vomit Comet, Pugly, and Harvest… something.

We also received a pair of Larry tires for G. Sherck’s Pugsley project. Nice tires.

The new Pacer complete is a smart bike. We’ve been fans of the Pacer for years and I think having a stock complete will help spread the love. The complete comes with Salsa Short and Shallow bars (nice bars) and 700×28 Conti tires (nice tires). We added the Brooks Pro and brown tape to finish it off (makin it nice).

Nice stuff.

 

SaddleWorks Exhibition – Opening February 6th

North Central Cyclery is proud to announce an exhibit of the exquisite work of artist Kara Ginther opening February 6^th, 2010. The exhibition will include an array of custom carved leather Brooks bicycle saddles and a few other rare Brooks Saddles owned by North Central Cyclery.

Kara Ginther is a leather artisan based in Madison, WI and while her work has been widely shown on popular cycling and bike culture websites, this will be the first physical exhibition centered on her saddles since she began carving them a few years ago. The exhibit will include 2 saddles from Ginther’s Mobile Museum of Material Culture, a tandem bicycle modified to be a mobile art exhibit. Also on display will be a few never-before-seen saddleworks Kara has been working on this winter. One saddle is being commissioned by NCC specifically for the exhibit.

Kara Ginther studied textile design at the University of Wisconsin and her work was born from a love of all things vintage. Much of her creative process stems from that inspiration. Her embellishments to Brooks Saddles add to their beauty without diminishing their purpose.

Along with Kara’s saddles, we’ll be displaying our tidy collection of rare Brooks saddles as well. We have

 the White Swallow, the Shaggy B17, A Bicycle Fim Festical Green Swallow, an Alpe de Huez Team Pro (designed by Dan Funderburgh), and the brand new White Team Pro.

The exhibit will be at NCC until the 13th and can be viewed during our normal store hours. The exhibit will then be packed up and sent to Denver where it will be on display at Salvagetti’s Bicycle Workshop and then on to our friends at Topanga Creek Bicycles in LA.

Click here for full tour info

Our Opening Night will be Saturday, Feb 6th at 6:30pm. Wine and cheese will be provided… and it would be safe to assume there will be some New Glarus there, too.

If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to call us at 815.758.2403 or email tobie@northcentralcyclery.com

 

The End of the Barre Era

Jay Barre worked his last day at North Central Cyclery on Saturday, Dec 19th.

It’s with a proud and heavy heart that I post this tribute. Jay’s been with me since the fall of 2004 and stands as the longest serving member of the NCC crew to date (barring me, who, by glorious shackles and chains, is bound to stay here forever). Jay was hired based on a nice t-shirt and a mutual distaste for the high school we both attended, years apart. He was also the first person to trip “The Nudge”. The Nudge is an inexplicable inner push I feel when I meet someone that I know I should hire. It’s been 99.9% accurate and Jay was the first person to trip it. (side note: another NCC Crew Hall of Famer, Joe T, was hired before he crossed the threshold of the store. My back was turned when I heard the door open, and I knew I was going to hire whoever just walked in. He walked up and immediate asked if we were hiring.)

Back to Jay.

Almost immediately after I hired Jay, he helped me to establish a fierce policy against showing up hungover to cycling events by showing up to the Cornfest Bike Rally extremely late and horribly hungover. (You’d think I’d have already had that policy, but in 2004, I was pretty new at this stuff, too). Since that day, Jay has made right from his wrong by always showing up on time, if not early, to our events (which often require painfully early starts). No matter how late the night was, he was here first. And I cannot remember a time that he bailed last minute on a group ride. He’s been the standard to which others must align.

It’ll be strange to have no one left on staff who remembers the periods Jay and I lived through. There is an entire portion of my humor that will no longer land on knowing ears after he is gone. To this day, he continues to bring me music. He knows what I like and what I should like. Jay’s responsible for at least half of my current music selection – without a doubt. 

Jay’s grown up a lot in the last 5 years, as have we all, but it’s been my pleasure to know him and be a part of this formative part of his life. He’s a brilliant kid and has my recommendation for any level of employment or friendship.

Here’s a little collection of memories involving Mr. Barre:

God Bless you, Max Power.

t.

 

Salsa Cycles introduces Ti for 2010!

Hot off the presses!

Salsa Cycles will introduce titanium versions of their Mariachi, A La Carte, and La Cruz frames in 2010.

Ti Mariachi Complete

The bikes will be built in the USA by Lynskey. Pre-orders are available for first shipment in March 2010.

Ti Ala Carte Frame

The frame will be $1750 and NCC will have a suggested complete package available before January.

Ti La Cruz frame

Callers are standing by…

 

It’s really a Velvet Blue

We just received our first of the new “Velvet Blue” Surly Long Haul Trucker framesets.

Velvet Blue

Mammoth Headtube – 258mm

Tall Boy

This one happens to be one of the new 62cm frames that accommodates a 26″ wheel.

The hotly debated “Velvet Blue” replaces the Olive Green color.

Evidently there aren’t too many of these puppies available. We snagged a few (56cm, 58cm, 62cm) before they were gone.

If you want one, give us a buzz.