All we can say is thank you to our loyal customers.

We are having a “Retirement Fund Sale” starting August 20 through the end of September. All inventory is 25% off, on a first come first served basis.

I remember when Hunter, Michael and I would work on Saturdays, wishing we could ride more as we would help customers and repaired bicycles. Since the shop opened its doors back in 1991, we’ve seen trends, fads and innovation happen all around bicycles. But what remained true to this day was everyone who stepped through our doors had one thing in common; it was the love everyone had for riding a bicycle.

Thank you for making us a part of your bicycling adventure!

If you’ve never done the Noon ride, aka Nooner, you need to try it once. At least once. Mondays and Fridays are easier. Wednesdays the pack climbs OLH, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are when the strong pulls the pack to whatever pace they please. 

Noon Ride by jeong.kim at Garmin Connect – Details.

Lynskey is made by the same family who launched Litespeed and was sold to a bicycle conglomerate. After serving its non-competitive clause, the Lynskey family returned to what it did best, building one of the best titanium frames in the business under their family name.

I ordered a R230, with a spec weight of 1202 g (2.65 lbs). The first frame came in at 1356 g (2.98 lbs). I called Lynskey up to inquire about the weight difference out of curiosity, and they ended up offering to take the frame back and rebuilding one for me to match the spec weight. Few months later, I got my replacement weighing in at 1251 g (2.75 lbs) which was their new spec weight for the model I ordered. One thing they clarified was the weight of the frame is without the derailleur hanger, seat post collar, head badge and bolts, etc. Bottom line, I appreciate bicycle makers to own up to their own standards they set. Lynskey did that.

Here are photos of the build followed by my ride impressions. 

The Lynskey frame is ready for the build. I know it will be at least a pound lighter, since the Gunnar comes in a pound heavier than the ti frame. Only the build will tell.

The Gunnar will do it’s part and become the donor bike to the Lynskey. Drivetrain, shifters, brakes, wheels. The rest are new parts. Time to build. The requisite King headset is already installed.

All the necessary parts are transferred to the Lynskey. Now cables and housing, necessary adjustments and I should be good for the morning. It’s been a long night.

But Paul came over and watched and kept me company. He took pictures of the entire build. If you want to see, check the links below. Lots of photos.

The Lynskey build is cometed at 5am. Yes. I know. But I had to finish.

Gunnar weighed in at 18.98 lbs. Lynskey weighed in at 17.18. The difference is 1.8 lbs. I knew I was at least going to lose a pound minimum, but the actual weigh in was a pleasant surprise.

At the intersection on Redwood Gulch and HWY 9. Initial ride impressions: the Lynskey has a nice ride, softer than my steel Gunnar, yet not forgetting it’s still on the road. Ti comfort is quite an experience. The connection from handlebar to head tube to down tube is superb. Now the front end feels like one piece, moving without delay. Easton SLX bar has a nice dampening effect on road vibrations and the ergonomics is just right. Lastly, pre-lubed Dura Ace housing and cable set works wonders for Sram. Descent was very stable and well controlled. Didn’t push the speed since HWY still had wet patches.

I say you drop by, oogle at it for a minute or two.

The family came, sans Olivia who napped at home. Joshua had an awesome (safe) race. His crash at Sea Otter dictated his strategy, nice and easy. Elijah got into the mix after the kids all asses by, got on his scooter, powered by yours truly and got a medal, too.

I will follow up with more picts and vids soon.

I got an advance from Esther, for my birhday, father’s day, wedding anniversary, Christmas presents, and got some parts.

My new parts consist of Shimano Dura Ace 7900 chain, Ultergra 6600 10 speed cassette, Sram Force shifters, rear derailleur, and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheel set.

My old Ultegra shifters started to stick, refusing to up/down shift. Since the Mavic wheels were 10 speed ready, I thought why not take advantage of this and upgrade to Sram’s excellent DoubleTap shifters. I read last year the pros were running Sram shifters with Shimano cassettes, and I wanted to give that a try. The new Dura Ace chain was entirely new, with a master link and perforated plates.

As I slowly took off the older parts, 9 year old drivetrain, the new parts installed easily enough. After positioning Sram Force RD, I turned the crank and shifted through the rear shifter with unimagined ease. Sram and Shimano is a marriage made for road riding.

My older ride came in at 19.90 lbs. The new ride came in at 18.98 lbs. Mavic wheels alone took off 0.6 lbs!

Enough talk. Ride impressions right after the build was impressive. I read Sram Rival shifted as good as Force. I beg to differ. Force feels a lot closer to Red. Rival is solid but Force is refined. Mated with a high end Shimano cassette and shifting performance is clock work. It’s like butta’ without the fat.

I took the new ride on a Monday nooner earlier this week. Shifters worked as promised, no gears dropped, no gears missed. And the Mavic Ksyrium Elites roll so much faster than my 32 spoke wheels. There is no replacement for reducing rotating mass. It could have been the easier Monday ride, me being well rested or the upgraded bike, but I rode with he group until the 17 mile mark in 22 mile loop. I got separated on Whiskey Hill and Sandhill due to a full stop. The pack made the left turn, and cars were coming in both directions. Live another day to ride again.

Suffice it to say, I think the upgrade works quite well. There were definite performance gains. Great shifting, faster rolling wheels all work together harmoniously. But I am sure losing 50 lbs also had something to do with it.

Yes, another year, another AToC. But unlike last year where I misssed the prologue in downtown Palo Alto, this year I made it to the second stage. This time one of the two climbs was in Woodside, so I took the opportunity to watch the action live.

Suffice it to say, the pros are FAST.

Awesome photos were taken by Ken Conley and you can check out his AToC race photo gallery.

It was cold, raining and people in the hundreds came out to watch a wonderful race. And guess what? I got video! Yes, now you get to share the entire experience of watching the race beginning from the build up of spectators to the actual race, where the pros are just hammering to the first KOM.

Bonus points for whoever spots Lance!

Wow. President Obama in in the Oval Office, and we get another earth shattering news from our local mountain bike company Santa Cruz! Okay, this news might not be as monumental in scale, but all things being relative, this is still breaking news from Santa Cruz, well known for full suspension mountain bikes made in aluminum.

For the new year, the Blur XC will sport an entirely new frame material, carbon fiber. All being said and done, the frame with shock will come in at a pound less than the previous gen Blur XC. Now, don’t get me wrong. I personally ride a Blur XC ’03, and it is no slouch at 25.5 lbs. But this new carbon fiber Blur XC with stock XTR trimming will get you under 23 lbs. (In spirit of full disclosure, I run v-brakes, while the XTR kit has disc brakes.)

I talked with an industry insider and no ETA on the new rig, but rest assured you will see it on our shop floor before it hits the trails. Reviews and impressions will come once we get a chance to ride it. 

Until then, you will just have to live with our new site for the latest news or with other cycling publications from Velo News and Cycling News.