the name is ART VANDELAY......

Circulus from machine project on Vimeo.

It's January so......

Since it is snowing and Cleveland and cold and we are not currently drinking beer and racing pugsley's we can only dream right....

So after perusing Bike magazine and looking at all the fancy pictures, KBtambo bike tours and hotel looks pretty good. Who doesn't want to Mountain Bike around Machu Picchu??

Or perhaps a bit closer to home...The Land of the Water Falls sounds pretty good for both Road and Mountain . It's been a few years since I have been there but the riding is some of the best around. Plus you get to say " I'm riding in Transylvania"

OR sit at the computer googling the Orly Owl. However if you are on a bike trip, riding your bike with friends, somewhere in the mountain, deserts, or through ruins I think it wise to relax and have a good time.....no throwing your bike !!!

Seal of Approval

Product we like: Enduro's fork seals.  A bit more info here.

For the second time, we replaced the stock seals on about a four-year-old Fox F32 Talas Terralogic that, after years of what we'd consider hard riding on a Moots Zirkel, looked like this:

Yuck!

Enduro's upgraded seals boast dual-lip seals under the wiper that keep the muck from your favorite trail, park, or landfill off your stanchions, while keeping your fluids in the fork.  We've replaced them on a dozen or so models of Fox forks.  So far, no leakage with these blue babies:

So fresh and so clean

 

Spotlight: Bikes 4 Kids

As we're in the holiday spirit of Christmas giving, we'd like to give a nod to Kim Schaefer and his non-profit bicycle donation program, "Bikes-4-Kids."

Started in 2005, Bikes-4-Kids has steadily grown as "there are always more kids than bikes...each year we are able to reach out to more and more great children," Kim says.

Customers frequently ask us what they can do with their old kids' bikes. We offer to take them off your hands, after which we fix 'em up, and donate them to programs like Bikes-4-Kids. It's a win for everyone - you don't have to worry about leaving a bike on the curb, and people like Kim repurpose used bikes for deserving kids.

This past weekend, we donated over a dozen used and gently used bikes. Kim even had to make two trips with his truck.


So next time you're wondering what to do with that old Huffy, Diamondback, or Giant in your garage, bring it on by. It's sure to find a home.

major jake...

head tube.

i just picked up the new major jake, and i wanted to put up this shot of the head tube, esp. because of our last post.

i think you are able to really see the shaping in this picture, from the larger diameter tapering to a smaller diameter.

as stated...this frame is amazingly light, and i am very excited to build it up, and get out on it.

i have recently retired my cross bike of ten years, so this will be a drastic change for me, but one i am looking forward too.

My New Orange Crush...

...comes in full carbon. Can't get my mind off of Kona's 2011 Major Jake.

We've even displayed it in a spot that you can see from anywhere on the floor.

Let's take a look at this stunning beauty that's been turning heads since it came in the door:

First impressions:

Our Major Jake is a 53cm, paired up with a carbon Kona CX Race tapered fork/carbon steerer. The massive head tube has a 1-1/8" top and bottoms out at 1-1/2" - a nice cozy anchor for the fork.

Fork and head tube aside, the taper emerges as a total necessity if not just for extra strength when you consider the fat hexagonal down tube that's almost as wide as the BB30 bottom bracket shell.


Seamlessly bound to the flared 34.9mm seat tube and topped off with a flattened top tube (not that you'll need any extra help getting Major Jake on your shoulder), the frame heralds a whole new kind of stiffness for when you're cranking away.


Throw in some internal cable routing and warrior-like orange and white graphics on black carbon, and you've got yourself one hell of a frameset. We've weighed it in at a feathery 3.1 lbs (frame+fork). Don't worry, it won't blow away in the wind.

On the wall now in Chagrin.

2010 CRC Creek Cross Recap

Do I see a new Jake The Snake there?

Hopefully everyone's caught their breath by now after Sunday's 2010 Creek Cross CX race in Solon. Results were posted early Tuesday on Chagrin River Cycling's (CRC) site.

The weather couldn't have been better for a cross race. Sunny, cool, and little-to-no wind.

Winding through the Bartels' grassy property on the southeast corner of Richmond and Solon roads in Solon, the roughly 1.25-mile course led riders through a sinuous snarl of seemingly endless switchback turns.

With mostly dry conditions and no run-ups, riders faced only two back-to-back hurdles, a 10-yard heap of deep, wet gravel, and quick narrow tree-weaving. The spiraling course initially funneled everyone into a tight squeeze around a stack of hay -- a rabbit hole, or eye of the storm, if you will -- before spitting everyone out onto the bulk of the course.

To make things interesting, each race began with a chaotic Le Mans-style start, in which riders set up their bikes about 200 feet ahead of the starting line -- and upon "Go!" everyone ran to retrieve their rig and proceed down the course.

Here's the Category A guys at the start:

Thanks again to CRC and The Bartels for hosting the race, and to Lynn Marut for officiating. Stay tuned for more race info at Northeast Ohio Cyclocross Series.