Simply Beautiful

As your stroll the streets of downtown Frederick make sure you check out Simply Beautiful Boutique (43 E. Patrick). They are borrowing our Batavus bicycle for their beautiful window display. While you are there stop in and check out their shop. They have plenty of great home, baby and personal items.

2010 Specialized Langster

For 2010, Specialized continues the city themed Langster fixed gears. On the menu is a Moscow Langster and a Los Angeles styled bike. The LA Langster is the one with the white wheel and tire combo.

Perseverance!

As a bicycle mechanic I get the opportunity to see all sorts of home-brewed attempts at bicycle repair. The tube pictured is one of my favorites. The reason I like this botched repair so much is because of the determination and love behind it. As I held the tube in my hand which had more holes in it than a car parked in downtown Frederick, I could feel the frustration of the father. I also sensed his determination as he tried desperately to fix his son’s bike. This kind of determination could only exist when a parent is trying to be a ‘hero’ for their child. It is a determination I have been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of countless times. At the end of the day daddy solved his son’s problem (with a little help). Today is Father’s Day and to all the fathers out there that happen across this blog I wish you a very happy day. Keep on fixing those bikes but remember we are here when you need a hand.

2010 Giant 29er

Twenty Niner fans worldwide have been asking the same question: When in the hell is the World’s largest frame producer going to address the big wheeled market? Well my friends they finally have... well...almost. The pictured bikes are Giant’s answer. The XTC 1 29er (approximately $2125) and XTC 2 29er (approximately $1350) will be available within the next few weeks. The higher end Giant 29er will be adorned with a Fox fork (with thru axle) and a mix of Shimano XT, SLX, and Deore components. The XTC 29 2 will be dressed in Shimano Deore and Alivo bits with a Marzocchi Forty-Niner TST2 fork with a 15QR thru axle.

YiPsan All-Road Bike

I recently had the absolute pleasure of building the pictured YiPsan all-road bike for Catherine. The frame is hand crafted in the lugged tradition. I refer to this bike as an “all-road” bike because it is designed to accept wider cyclocross tires, but has road bike geometry. This style of bicycle is very practical as it allows the rider to explore asphalt and dirt roads on the same well designed machine. Accompanying the frame is a custom stem, fork, and seatpost made by the same builder, Renold Yip. This level of customization and attention creates a beautiful, flowing, and timeless aesthetic. This YiPsan all-road bike rides as good as it looks! I am lucky enough to own a YiPsan (or two :) ) and I can attest to the fact that YiPsan’s are incredible machines! Happy trails Catherine, you’re going to love this ride!
As always more pictures on our Flickr site.

QBall Frames

With Big Bear just days away, many of you have come to the same conclusion: 1) It is a wonderful time to break the frame you planned on racing and/or 2) it is a wonderful time to replace your old frame/bike. Here are two of the frames you might see being raced in WV. Both are QBall 29er frames crafted by our friend Scott Quiring in Michigan. But that frame is only available in black..... well yes, this is true but occasionally we can sweet talk Scott into a different color option. Good luck to all of you making the journey for this year's race! More pictures on our Flickr site.

IFy Week

Here are two fun builds we just completed. The very first Independent Fabrication to sport the damn cool HammerSchmidt two speed crank and a well set-up IF Independence. One bike will pick its way through east coast rocky single track and the other will pick its way through villas across Europe. Both are beautiful in their own right and we were honored to work with both Jody (mtn) and Robert (touring) to make their dream bike a reality. Thanks guys. As always more photos here.