Back and Backed Up

The blog has been idle for the last week because I was on a very important recon mission in California Wine Country and Topanga Canyon. I’ll dedicate a post or two to the trip, but I will summarize with these two statements:

Topanga Creek Bicycles + North Central Cyclery = BFF

Trek Travel is everything they boast it to be… and more.

I am back at the shop and have a stockpile of posts to get out. If you don’t RSS the blog, you may want to start now.

Before I left, we finished an incredible build that will deserve a post of it’s own: A Surly Big Dummy with Rohloff Speedhub, handbuilt wheels, custom sewn leather bar covering, and other tasty bits from Salsa, Nitto, Chris King, and Surly.

While I was gone, the Slender Fungus movement began and is now in full swing. Weekly blends (mixed terrain rides) on Wednesdays and Sundays covering big miles. Ari, Russ, and Rich are the steadfasts, with other characters spotting the attendance. Ari explains Slender Fungus ethic on his blog here. Rich’s here. Be prepared, scouts.

The shop is humming with change. We’re working on some special renovations, physical and metaphysical, to launch in the new year. Stay tuned and stop in.

Stay movin.

t

 

 

Rainy Day Update

It seems we’ve skipped all the pretty parts of Autumn and slid into that bleak and ugly pre-winter, post-fall season that has none of the benefits of either season. And yet, there is action.

We’ve had a handful of very fun and very intricate projects present themselves to us over the last month and we’re working on those as the components arrive. Stay tuned for updates on those.

Ari and Russ have been rejoicing (like the madmen they are) for the early and frosty evenings with almost nightly mutant rides on gravel and road. Ari will take any excuse to bundle up to the eyeballs and expirement with at least 4 light systems at a time. This is his element.

We’re still seeing a nice flow of new goods come in. Here’s a smattering:

A little help

B43 on Surly New Disc Hub for Rich’s Rat Ride

It really works. Soy-based, Local(sorta), great.

New DT 465 Rims for Tim’s custom Gunnar

DeKalb County tires – Bonty All Weather tread

New Blaze 2, yes 2.

Abuse friendly Black Label pedals

Bonty Node 2

FrankenCivia

It’s gonna be big… and dumb…and black… and red…

A decent staff must be matured like tubular tires – down in the dark and damp.

 

whew. wow. ok.

It’s all a blur at this point. The Hopkins Cross Cup race has come and gone again. We had a truly stunning turnout of racers and spectators.

that's a lotta people

 

A good chunk of the fun was out of the way even before Sunday, too. Spending a couple days in my new muck boots, walking around Hopkins, marking the course, staking the course, taping the course, all with the great help and comedy that comes with my staff and the Half Acre crew was a reward I hadn’t anticipated. And the Pag’s pizza we had afterwards… let me tell you. They say hunger is the best spice, but some other good spices are 5 hours of misting rain, walking in heavy rubber boots, 3 miles of caution tape, and a really overworked cook taking his SWEET TIME on our pies. All that led to the best pizza i’ve ever tasted.

NCC and HAC BYOB at Pag's

Those Half Acre people are top notch folks. We couldn’t have done the race without them the last two years. Thanks again, all, for your hard work, your computer savvy, your baked goods, and your comforting shade of blue.

The course was fun, if I don’t say so myself. There were a few points in the race where I actually apologized to the guys around me for making the course just so. Especially the barriers in the woods…

Everyone we saw on the course looked like they were having a good time, that or having a heart attack. Either way, we took it as a compliment.

For a bunch more pics, click here.

Thanks to all our incredibly generous sponsors: Trek, Surly, Salsa, Schwalbe, Twin Six, Yojimbo’s Garage, and Hammer Nutrition.

t

 

305

DeKalb is in for a veritable cyclocross stampede on Sunday.

We have over 300 racers pre-registered for the Hopkins Park race.

Race-Day Registration opens at 8:30am for the rest of you. The 4A race is full. The 4B race has 22 spots left. Be there early.

Course Briefing: 

The course is long, really long, and pretty fast. There are sections through old oak trees with surface level roots so those of you with clinchers should beware. The finish is pretty fast, but getting close to it will be slow. I’d also say a fifth of the course is off-camber. It’s going to be fun…

 

Dyno-Might.

As daylight rapidly fades, we’re talking more and more about lights around here. There are so many lights to choose from that it gets dizzying to have too many options. We’ve been stocking a range of LED options from $25-99 for a while, and now we have a dyno option in stock. Dynos are a great option for the commuting cyclist riding through the seasons. No batteries, no hassle. It’s on, and it’s on.

Ari and I (finally) put together an economical dyno kit. He laced a Shimano dyno into a Salsa Delgado Cross rim and connected the Shimano LP-R600 headlight. The built wheel and light package is $239, $250 with a Schwalbe Advancer tire and Schwalbe tube.

We even have an “interactive” (cutting edge, really) display. Come in and give it a spin.

 

Ladies’ Night at the Bike Shop

 

Last week we hosted a Ladies’ Night Bike Clinic in coordination with the NIU Women’s Resource Center.

We had a great turnout. We had set out a nice spread of wine, cheese, and chocolate which was perfectly consumed by the end of the night. We did the clinic in our round-robin style with 3 stations: Wheels & Tires, Brakes, and Gears. The groups were small enough to answer all the questions and we appreciated eveyrone’s willingness to ask.

Thanks to all the attendees, the WRC for the opportunity, and my wife, who shocked us all by helping all of our customers that night (I think my employees were worried about their job security) (and they should be).

Check out photos here, and here, and press here

 

Cross Season Approacheth

Some people read tea leaves. Some people read coffee grounds. I read the grass clippings clinging to the side of my bathtub; and you know what they say?

Cross Season is upon us.

We’re getting a bunch of stuff ready for our Hopkins Park Cross Cup Race coming up Oct. 4th. It’s gonna be a blast.

New sludge boots are on order for the whole crew.

Limited Edition Hopkins Park CC Tees are on order. These aren’t the final colors, but let us know if you want one.

 

and our cowbells have arrived.

hup.

 

SURLY SALE SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY, and every day this month, actually

It feels really weird to put Surly stuff on sale, but here goes.We’ve had 3 days of cold rain and it’s put me in a November mood, so here are some November prices.

We have a handful of framesets, complete bikes, and even some knickknacks marked down.

Sale Sheet: www.northcentralcyclery.com/SURLYSALESHEET.pdf

All instock framesets: $320 – LHTs, CCs, SRs, and KMs available.

Surly hardgoods and softgoods instock – 19% off.

We’re blowing out the 1×1=11 Rat Rides at 1/2 price. All sizes available.

Big Dummies are also marked down to $1899 COMPLETE.These prices do not include shipping.

 

 

Get’em while they’re hot.

Shipping is available for all products. Call 815.758.2403 for more information. Ask for Gabe.  

Fine print: Sale ends 10.1.09. No returns on shipped merchandise.

 

Rad Rat Ride

Enter the 1×1=11.

This is Surly’s Eleven Year Anniversary bike, embellished, slightly.

fun.

I could try and expound on the experience of riding this bike, but I won’t. It’s just a really yeah ridin bicycle. We have this one in the shop for everyone to play with, so come and take it for a spin. The stock wheels are 24×3, but it’s a regular 1×1 frame so the normal 26″ clearance applies. We set this one up with 26×2.7 tires, so you can see it’s really just a rad singlespeed in disguise.

 

Trek Trek Trek Trek Trek

Every year in August, Trek invites a number of dealers up to Madison for the unveiling of their new product and programs. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting “Trek World” for the last 4 years and it’s always stunning. They earn their place at the top of the American bicycle industry. They are a smart company that works incredibly hard to make their dealers do well; and I’m not just saying that because they gave us free beer. \

We like Trek. Many people can stand back with their arms crossed and say something jabby about them. It’s easy, they’re winning. We as a shop are not always fond of big bike biz bikes, but I will say that Trek works hard for our business, and we sell them because they are great bikes. Trek makes a bike for almost anyone, and that is what keeps us in business. They also make a little shop like us very solid because they offer us resources that would have otherwise been totally unattainable with our budget.

This year’s new product was pretty impressive, and the new stuff dovetails well into our store. We like creativity, utility, and overall value. The new Eco line (Belleville and Atwood models) are an excellent addition to the Trek brand and our selection in DeKalb. The Belleville comes stock with a 4130 steel frame, rack, fenders, internal 3spd, and dynamo lights – all for $599 – watch out. The Atwood is stripped down with more gears for $499. Impressive.

Trek expanded the District line with 4 new models. The carbon version is ridiculous. $4k for a ss belt drive bike. We’ll probably only sell a dozen or so. shea.

The buzz all over the world (or lack of buzz) is electric and electric assist bikes. Trek is on top of it in Europe, but stateside the demand is not so high. They released 3 models with E-Assist that are pricey, but impressive. The assist gives back what you put in and is surprisingly smooth.

I can’t cover all the new stuff, but I mention 2 more things about the new Fisher stuff. The new road bikes look great and are FINALLY coming with enough clearance for 28c tires and skinny fenders. Even the carbon frames come with a detachable fender eyelet. The other hit was the new Gritty model. It’s the bike that answers the rising demand for grownup BMX bikes – stocky, BMX parts, FG/SS, with extra beef.

Belleville for Her

Atwood for Him

Atwood for Her

New 2nd District

Belleville for Him

Amazing Project One Madone – got 9 G’s?

The Fisher Gritty.

Gary and Goober

And, Trek, thanks for the beer.

 

fin