Photo Ride

This past Sunday several riders showed up for the second installment of The Bicycle Escape’s Photo Ride. The 18 mile ride was very casual with several stops to take photographs. We enjoyed the country roads in Walkersville and Thurmont. As you might note from the bike pictures the ride was somewhat of an unintentional Surly fan club ride. Afterwards we ended up a Cacique for some delicious Mexican/Spanish fare.

Dark Chocolate

A couple days ago I finished my latest project bike- Dark Chocolate. I wanted this bike to be striking to look at but with mellow styling and colors. We chose black and brown to accomplish the desired aesthetic. The Velocity blunt rims, Spot bash guard, Oury lock-on grips, Salsa seat clamp, and Thompson stem parts were all powder coated gloss chocolate brown. We also had the Shimano XT crank powder coated in a high gloss black. The headset and hubs are Chris King and the Avid Juicy brakes were outfitted with Straightline levers. The complete bike weighs 23.54lbs.

Thanks to Final Touch Powder Coating for the great job!

The next step is to get this beauty dirty!

HELP! Local Parks in Danger

It has come to my attention that eight Maryland parks are under immediate risk of closure. Gambrill and Greenbrier are on that list. It is imperative that we as riders, voters, and activists contact our local officials to let them know that this is not acceptable. A good way to find out who your officials are is to visit this website: http://mdelect.net/electedofficials/ It is too late for letters to be sent so use email and phone calls instead. Please do this TODAY as there is a lot at stake for anyone in the area who loves the out-of-doors.

BMX Parts-a-Plenty

Over the last week we have received several shipments of BMX goodies. We got stuff from Fit BMX, S&M, Animal, Fly Bikes, Primo, Haro, The Shadow Conspiracy, Odyssey, We The People, FBM, SNAFU, and more. As I was unpacking the parts I was reminded me of my skateboard days. Not that I was ever any good on a skateboard but I use to sell skate stuff in a previous life. Like skate stuff the packaging is cool and all of the parts are highly stylized. One thing you will instantly notice about the current 20 inch scene is colors. You can get nearly every part in a wide array of colors. This can be fun when you are dressing up your rig but good luck if you want to do the same to a mountain or road bike- black and silver is still the order of the day.

If any of you BMX fans stop by the shop ask for an Animal poster and we will hook you up.

Bicycle Commuting Clinic

Today we held our second bike commuter clinic. Basic bike commuter tips were covered as well as winter commuting tips. Once again John Gorham (Single Speed Outlaw team member) headed up the discussion. Everything from proper planning to safety and equipment were discussed. We look forward to seeing more bikes being used as transportation. It is the best way to fit cycling into your busy schedule. Happy riding.

Iron Cross on a Fixed Gear

Not that many people would consider competing in a 62 mile cyclocross race on a fixed gear, especially one with 6300 feet of elevation gain. But one of our racers, Kevin Clark, was up to the challenge. After a little over 5 hours of mud, sweat, and non-coasting-bliss, Kevin took 6th place. If you think Kevin took it easy the day before- NOT SO! He raced his bike to a 2nd place finish in the Monster Mash. Congratulations RacerK!

Jamis is Triathlon Crazy in 2008

The 2008 Xenith T2 is the new super slippery Tri bike from Jamis. The company has had super competitive road and mountain bikes for years but 2008 seems to be the year that they make major waves with the multi-sport community. The company hid the front brake behind the fork to reportedly improve aerodynamics. The $6300 dollar bike is not cheap but when you dissect the build kit one will realize how reasonable this elite race bike is. Triathlete Magazine did a write up which is available here.

2008 Breezer Bikes

It looks like Breezer has a new bicycle for the 2008 model year. The bike will be called the Finesse and looks to be billed as a high end commuting bike or just as a super versatile road/fitness machine. In classic utilitarian style the bike is all dressed up with a rack, fenders, generator lights, and a multi position handlebar that I’ll call a “Joe-bar” which was custom made by Ritchey Logic.

This new ride is spec’ed with the Shimano Alfine components. The hydraulic disc brakes coupled with an 8 speed internally geared hub are sure to offer low maintenance and reliability. This ensures good stopping power and reliable shifting even on foul weather rides. The bike is equipped with a carbon fiber fork to smooth out the rough roads.

I hear that the final price of this bike is not yet determined but it should fall somewhere in the $2000-$2300 price point.

Check out our stock of Breezer bikes frequently and you can bet on seeing a Finesse in the line up soon.

2008 Titus Bikes

Here is the latest information that we received from Titus regarding their 2008 line of mountain bikes.

New profile to the Racer X Aluminum and Motolite Aluminum top tube saving weight adding an aesthetic appeal and further optimizing the ride based on the axial shaping of the tube.

RACER X and MOTOLITE 2 made in the USA, the two high-end aluminum frames were brought back the United States for manufacturing, partnering with SAPA in Oregon we were able to get the performance we wanted and further improve our production processes. Now we can have all of our frames in production at once through the best manufacturing partners in the industry SAPA in Portland, OR and Kinesis in Taiwan.

The complete frames are still manufactured by Kinesis and all of the tolerances are better than ever, the additional manufacturing partner will improve delivery times and mean more regularity to inventory receipts.

New color schemes and additional complete package option, the Motolite Complete gets a complete new graphics package with three color blocking and a new more aggressive logo.

New Racer X Complete, to follow in the success of the ML1 from 2007 a price pointed complete Racer X.

The colors are as follows: “descriptive color names to follow”
-Racer X- Steal Grey anodized, Black anodized, and a deep red metallic powder coat
-Racer X Carbon- Raw under clear continuation of color
-Racer X 29er- Red Powder coat continuation from 2007, and an additional Silver Anodized
-Racer x complete- Royal Blue painted with white graphics and accenting component package
-Motolite 2-Dark Graphite Grey Anodized, Blue anodized, Mango Powder coated
-Motolite Complete- White base with three color WHT/BLK/SILV graphics and paint package, as well as complimenting components
-El Guapo- Black Anodized, Gold Powder coat
-Fireline Hardtail 26” or 29”- lighter sexier hard tail that breaks the barrier between lightweight performance and all around frame, new seat stay and chain stay configuration.
-Vuelo- new graphics to accent the Exogrid materials, in addition to the Titus log tubes being used on both top tube and down tube to further maximize weight savings
-Ligero- High polished finish with new Red/Yellow Graphics and high gloss clear coat finish
-Solera- satin polished titanium with red/blue graphics and high gloss clear coated down tube
-Oseo- Continued Raw/Gold/White graphics for 2008
-Estrella- all new green paint scheme with polished rear and fresh graphics package
-FCR- packages will mimic the production frames in aesthetics

As always check back for the latest updates. Also check out the shop site as well as Titus' website.

Single Speed Worlds 2007

Several members of our single speed clan were lucky enough to head to Aviemore, Scotland for the 2007 Single Speed World Champs. We would like to give the Outlaws a warm welcome home. Maybe next year we can come along. Check out this video of part of their adventure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFj4BIM81Cg

And as always read more details on the Outlaws here: http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/issue5/blog.shtml

And check out some more pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/singlespeedoutlaw/sets/72157601937940928/

The Photo Ride

Today The Bicycle Escape and the Single Speed Outlaws sponsored a very unique group ride. It was a casual paced road ride led by S.S.O. team member and photographer, Maili Godwin. The cool thing about this ride was that we stopped at different points of the ride to shoot photos of the beautiful countryside. During the 20 mile loop through Walkersville and Thurmont we came across some peaceful scenery of old barns and silos, horses and cows. We also passed through a covered bridge where we sat and feasted on PBJ sandwiches and Gatorade. The weather made this ride even better with the sun shining and a light breeze blowing.

If you missed today's ride don't worry because we will schedule another one in the near future. In the mean time you and your pals can download the cue sheet of the very ride we did this morning called the "One Covered Bridge Loop."

Thank you to everyone who participated in the ride. It was a blast!!

National Champ Mara Abbott to Race Old Glory

Mara Abbott (Team Webcor Builders) will be racing a custom painted Orbea Orca at the 2007 World Championships this month in Stuttgart. While 21 year old Mara is only in her second year of cycling, she recently won the National Championship race by beating veteran and favorite Kristen Armstrong. You can read an interview with Mara Abbott at Velonews.com.

World Class Commuter Bike

As some of you may know Danielle and I recently relocated to a home closer to the shop. Part of the reason we moved was to make it easy to cycle to the shop. A few days ago I had the pleasure of commuting on an Independent Fabrication SSR Equipped with Sram Force components. This was my second ride on the Stainless Steel SSR and I enjoyed it as much as my last ride. This frame also has the Fulcrum Zero wheels which previous to my commute I have never ridden.

This bike was also fun because it was reviewed by the folks at Bicycling Magazine. Matt brought it to our IF party and agreed to leave it at the shop as a demo bike. If you would like to test ride this famous bike stop by the shop. We will have this beauty through mid September.

An Evening with Independent Fabrication 2007

The 2007 Independent Fabrication party was a blast! Matt Bracken gave a great presentation to a full house. He touched on everything from custom fittings to material selection. As promised the shop was full of exceptionally beautiful handcrafted bicycles. In addition to the bikes, Mamma Lucia keep our bellies full of top notch Italian eats.

The following morning about 16 of us ventured out on a 35 mile road ride with Sir Speedy himself, Harlan Price. We cycled on some of the beautiful back roads Frederick County has to offer.

We would like to offer a special thank you to Mamma Lucia, Lara Bar, Hammer Nutrition, Park Tools, and of course Independent Fabrication. Their combined efforts help make this years Evening with IF one to remember.

More Pics here.

Single Speed Steel IF Deluxe

As I mentioned in a previous post the single speed fever is now an outbreak. Here is a single speed Independent Fabrication Steel Deluxe that I just had to share. For you gram counters she tips the scale at 24.11 lbs. as she sets.

Harlan Price will joining in the fun!

We are excited to announce that Independent Fabrication endurance racer Harlan Price will be joining us on our Sunday morning road bike ride the day following our IF party. For those of you who have been on the moon with your fingers in your ears singing “Bang, Bang, Bang Went the Trolley” and are unaware of our event here it the low down:
We will have IF bikes available for demo from 10:00-6:00 on Saturday, August 25. You can take a spin on the award-winning XS, the SSR stainless steel frame, and even some of their bikes that debuted at the 2007 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
Saturday evening at 7:00pm the president of Independent Fabrication, Matt Bracken and CFO Joe Ingram will give a presentation.
On Sunday, August 26th at 10:00am there will be a road ride with Matt, Joe, and Harlan. Riders should bring their own bike but may have the opportunity to ride an IF demo bike if they so choose.

White Brothers & Origin8 29er Forks

Recently I had the opportunity to compare two carbon 29er mountain bike forks, White Brothers Rock Solid and Origin8 Black Ops. I have not ridden either of these products for any length of time so this is not an evaluation or ride report. What I noticed was based on appearances these two forks are identical. From the crown to the drop outs every detail (except graphics) appears the same. The Origin8 fork sells for around $249.99 and weighs 784.2 grams. The White Brothers costs around $359.99 and tips the scale at 821.5 grams. The difference in weight could be with in the range of expected variance.

With this information it is clear that both companies are using the same Asian manufacturer. It is possible however, that the forks are made in the same plant but different materials and carbon weaves are used. I can not assess the materials used in the forks or construction methods. This post is not intended to be discouraging and I make no claim as to the quality of either fork. I simply found it interesting and wanted to share. I should also note that I have no fundamental problem outsourcing and view it as sometimes necessary. I, for example, am not even typing this entry myself. I have a contract with a firm in Asia that I let pound the keyboard for me ;)

Tom Rinker Dictated but not read

Single Speeds and a Lazy Blogger

Single speeds seem to be the order of the day here at The Bicycle Escape. Two of the newly released Specialized bikes, a super slick commuter recently went out the door and we have an IF on the way. Things have been really busy here so I am sorry for falling asleep on the blog. I will get my act together and post again soon.

2008 Specialized StumpJumper FSR 29er

Here is a sneak peek of the brand new 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 29er (Green Bike). This is a sample of the new Stumpjumper platform. The frame has about 4 inches of travel and should sell for around $4100 dressed up with top end components. The full suspension 29er also has a Brain Fade which seamlessly goes from 20% locked out to full travel. There is still a wait for these bikes to hit showroom floors but it is great to see that when Specailized jumps into something they do so head first. Expect big wheel bikes to play a strong roll in 2008 for The Big Red ‘S’.

Check out the Specialized fork with Fact carbon crown on the 26" wheel Stumpy! This bike has 5" of travel and tips the scale at 23lbs.

16 Years on the Road for MS

The other day a man on a very loaded bike stopped by the shop. For the past 16 years Thomas Beasley has been riding his bike around the United States to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. Thomas stopped by asking for assistance. The shop and a representative of the Frederick Peddlers (the president in fact) made donations to help him along the way. Good luck Thomas we wish you a pleasant journey.

Frederick's Finest

On the 4th of July The Bicycle Escape had the misfortune of having a Specialized bicycle stolen. We called the Frederick Police Department and with in 6 minutes Officer R. V. Brown Jr. took my report. A few days later I learned that the individual had also stolen a pair of shoes from The Trail House. I called to notify Officer Brown of this latest piece of information. Today Officer W. H. Milyar Jr. came into the shop and told me that he had arrested the suspect on an unrelated theft. Officer Milyar recognized the suspect from my description and got him to confess to the bicycle theft. The Officer was even kind enough to return the bike to the shop. We would like to publicly thank the Frederick Police Department for the hard work throughout the year. Job well done!

Q Ball and Quiring Mountain Bike Frames

We recreantly added Q Ball and Quiring frames to the list of fun stuff that we stock. The Q Ball pictured is a USA made steel 29er mountain bike. It has a horizontal dropout, derailleur hanger, and sliding disc mount which means it can be built as a multi speed or single speed without adaptors. A large Q Ball frame tips the scale at 5.42 lbs. www.qballbikes.com

Industry Nine

I just wanted to share this beautiful set of custom Industry Nine Wheels that recently arrived. As you can see the wheel was built with blue and black spokes laced to a polished silver hub. The wheels have Industry Nine's super smooth bearings and their near instant engagement freehub. To broaden their offerings the company has also started to manufacture their hubs to accept a traditional j-bend spoke.

Make sure you enlarge the picture to check out the attention to detail.