Breezer Zag8 Winner

Well folks the winner has presented herself! Today a very excited Jennifer Eberhardt of Frederick came in to pick up the Breezer Zag8 folding bike that we raffled off to promote Bike to Work Day. We are equally excited to see our little folder go to such a great home. Enjoy the bike Jennifer and thanks for participation in Bike to Work Day.

My Trip to Specialized

The first week of May I traveled to Morgan Hill, California. For the second year in a row I attended Specialized Bicycle Component University (SBCU). These are classes put on by Specialized to educate their dealers. It is an intense 3-day program that crams your brain full of Specialized Propaganda. It's great!

I went to bed the first night before my roommate showed up. Around midnight I was awoken to the sounds of someone dropping their bags on the floor and closing the door. Ahhh…my roommate…was a guy! I was half asleep with drool on my pillow. After an exchange of awkwardness we decided they must mixed my name up with the name Daniel and it would be best if he got another room. The situation was weirder than a dude walking into the girl's bathroom. I ended up getting my own room complete with cable TV…what a treat!

During the class we learned about the newest products like their soon-to-be released 29er mountain bikes. We also met several of the engineers behind some of the coolest bikes like the Roubaix and the Enduro Pro. Another cool part of the course was company tour. They walked us through their testing areas, and the museum of crazy bike ideas.

The test rides are a big part of theses seminars (well, that and the good food). Everyday we got to test ride different Specialized bikes. This year I rode the women's specific Ruby, a carbon Roubaix, a carbon Tri-Cross and a women's specific Epic mountain bike.

My two favorite test ride bikes were the Roubaix and the Epic. I was anxious to compare the Epic to that of my Stumpjumper Expert. The Epic was great on the climbs, some of which were wretched, but it definitely felt a little more XCish than my Stumpy. I like my mountain bikes to be on the beefy side.

I really enjoyed my time in Morgan Hill.

Frederick Bike to Work Day

Danielle, Roger and I had a lot of fun at this past Friday’s bike to work celebration. The event attracted riders both young and old atop all sorts of bicycles. We were offering free coffee and bagels to warm up the slightly chilly riders. The transit folks did a great job. This year’s event was the best attended in Frederick’s history. After the event we randomly select the winner of the Breezer Zag8 folding bike that we are giving away. We are still waiting to hear back from the lucky winner… Thanks to all of the participants, we hope to see you on the road the other 364 days of the year.

2008 Specialized Bicycle Sneak Peak

Ok, don’t get all excited just yet these bikes will not be available for some time but I wanted to share some pictures with you. In 2008 Specialized will be offering increased options for riders who prefer one gear. This includes a single speed cross bike as well as a whopping 6 versions of their fixed gear/single speed road bike, the Langster. They have modeled all but one of these bikes after various cities: London, New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. The sixth is variety their general Langster. The bikes designed to reflect the different cities have colors, handle bars and accessories to reflect the style of each region.

Specialized is also releasing at least three 29er mountain bikes: Stumpjumper Comp 29, Rockhopper Comp Disc 29, and a Rockhopper Disc 29. These bikes have been much anticipated bike big wheel fans everywhere.

The “Big Red S” also has a supper slippery tri bike in the works. The bike, Specialized Transition Pro, offers very aggressive styling has an integrated brake system in both the front and the rear. If this bike is half as streamlined as it looks Specialized might just be onto something.

Bicycle Commuting

It is always fun for me to talk about bicycle commuting. The benefits are many and I would encourage everyone to use a bike as basic transportation at least once. We kicked off bike month with a commuter clinic. The clinic was lead by Single Speed Outlaw team member and area blogger John Gorham. He covered the basics of bicycle transportation and offered some valuable tips. An important point to remember is that any bike can be used as a transportation vehicle and it is not hard to do. Maybe it is impossible for you to cycle to work. If so try to pick something local that you can do by bicycle: go to the Post Office, the grocery store, etc. If you give it a try I firmly believe you will have fun in the process.

Greenbrier Challenge UCI Mountain Bike Race

This past Sunday was pretty exciting. Greenbrier State Park hosted the Greenbrier Challenge UCI mountain bike race. Much has been written about the racers and the final results have been posted. I will focus on the experience of attending a mountain bike race that attracted some of the best athletes in the sport.

Bike racing is great because the novice and Pro can compete on the same course in the same day. It is great because the superstars of the sport are so easily accessible. I was however, a little disappointed in the lack of spectators at the race. Mountain bike racing is not the greatest spectator sport but one would expect that there would be a decent sized crowd for such a high stakes race. On the flip side if there were tons of spectators the pros mentioned earlier would be sheltered behind barricades and bodyguards. My hope is that cycling popularity will end up somewhere in the middle.
Race Results: http://www.prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r04_29_07Final.htm

MTBR Single Speed Press Release

Being the hams that we are we can't seem to stay out of the news! A couple of days ago we were featured on MTBR. They posted a press release about our sponsorship of the world famous one speed wonders aka The Single Speed Outlaw Factory Team. If you did not catch it on the site here is a link: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=291217

Frederick News Post Article

Well kiddies I made it into the Frederick News Post today- complete with goofy grin. The article was well done and tons of fun to read so check it out! For those of you who had your paper stolen by your neighbor here is a link.

Titus El Guapo

Like a doting father I just had to share with the world the birth of a new bike, we call him Titus El Guapo. After a 4 month gestation period the bike was finally delivered yesterday. Tipping the scale at 32.14 lbs he is one of the lighter bikes in his class. Our readers with keen eyes may have noticed our El Guapo was born with an upgraded shock. That’s right a Fox DHX Air 5.0. For a big boy he pedals great (due to good FSR stock and selective breeding I assume). Thanks for sharing in our moment of joy- now come on in and test ride!

IRD 11-34 10 Speed Cassette

Finally wide range 10 speed cassettes are on the market. IRD (Interlock Racing Design) is the forward thinking company that is making randonneur, tandem, and touring cyclists everywhere smile. The new rear cluster will require a long cage (mountain bike style) rear derailleur and will shift smoothly with Shimano 10 speed STI shifters. The downside of this modification is that the pricey cassette ($155+/-) does not shift very smooth. This is a worthy aftermarket purchase if having a wide range of gears in more important than a butter smooth shift.

Single Speed Outlaw Factory Team

The Bicycle Escape is proud to announce that we are sponsoring the Single Speed Outlaw Factory Team. The club initiation meeting took place at the shop on Sunday April 15th. We are excited to further our support of single speed bikes as a legitimate option/alternative to the shifty bikes (which we love too!). The team members are comprised of riders, racers, bike advocates, and more. All of the members are passionate supporters of bike culture and advocacy which made SSO and TBE a perfect match! Welcome to the family Outlaws!

Bottle Cap Bar Plugs

Call us crazy…call us mad…but we can’t seem to stop finding cool and exciting ways to recycle those colorful bottle caps that typically get tossed in the trash bin. This idea was inspired by a request made on our online photo album hosted by Flickr. It took a little experimentation to get the technique down but with the help of brew-master RiderX we finally figured it out!

Baker Park Garrett’s 5K Run

This past week winter has made a reappearance here in Frederick. Saturday Danielle and some TBE groupies (Aaron and Sarah) helped to support the Garrett’s 5k Run in Baker Park. Two were on wheels and one on foot. They helped to ensure all of the runners safety and acted as communication with the run officials. They also helped to cheer the shivering runners down the road. In spite of a few little snow flakes the event was a great success and helped to raise money for the Garrett Petronchak Memorial Scholarship.

Thanks to Bill Smith for snapping this photo.

Bottle Cap Head Tube Badges

Several months ago we started a special project at The Bicycle Escape. We reshaped bottle caps to turn them into bicycle head tube badges. At first the result was rather primitive but as weeks turned into months we honed our technique. Now we are able to turn discarded caps into beautiful cold-forged works of art. They are suitable for any round tube (bicycle tubes, walking sticks, etc.) and are compatible with both foreign and domestic bike frames. At this point we have amassed quite a collection so stop by and see if we have one to compliment your bike. At just a buck and a half you can’t go wrong!

"The New Guy"

My name is David and I am a recent hire at The Bicycle Escape. I am new here, but I am the “old guy” in the shop… I have been around bikes riding seriously since 1986. I have worked at two other bike shops in Frederick over the past 15 or so years.
Being older, I have had my time riding and racing and then “falling off the horse” so to speak… Life gets in the way. Marriage, having children, career choices, injuries, and the list of excuses can be long. I haven’t quit riding or being active, I am just not the zealot I once was. I ride with my wife and kids, coach soccer and play other sports with my family. We go camping and take the bikes on every outing.
Being back in the shop has given me the itch to get back on the saddle and get back to riding more miles! Even though my mountain bike is somewhat out dated, (can’t be upgraded to disc brakes!) I still want to get back up in the woods as well. Working with the younger staff at The Bicycle Escape is very inspirational to an old dog like me. I am having a lot of fun getting to know everyone and working there.
Riding is an activity that everyone can enjoy at any level, or at any age. Whether it is tooling around the neighborhood with the kids, riding towpath to Harper’s Ferry for ice cream, enjoying the scenery of the watershed, pounding the pedals on the roads, biking around here is greatly rewarding. I don’t think you need to get a job in a bike shop to remember the joys of riding so get back out there and ride! Maybe I will see you out on the road or in the woods!

Deller Cycling Hats

A few weeks ago we received a shipment of Deller hats. The initial order was instigated by Mike who wanted one for himself. After seeing the hats (and grabbing one for myself) I was glad we placed the order. Shaun Deller hand makes cycling caps out of recycled fabrics (mostly wool). His hats offer high style without the billboard look usually associated with cycling caps. Hats-off to Shaun for making recycling look so good.

Meals on Bicycle Wheels…?

This past Saturday was the Meals on Wheels Charity 5K Run in Baker Park. If you participated in the run or happened to be in the area, you probably saw a few cyclists cruising throughout the course. Well, if you did, it was me and some other TBE employees assisting with the run. I led the lead woman runner along the 3.1 mile course. My cohorts rode back and forth between the athletes to make sure everyone was headed in the right direction and not passed out in the street. We carried water for thirsty runners and walkie-talkies to communicate from our different locations.

We helped with this event for a number of reasons. For one; we think this organization provides a necessary service to the housebound and elderly in our community. Number two; the event allowed us to support the community which so graciously supports us and our bike shop. And three; any day we get out on a bike is a good day!

I enjoyed reliving my former days as a cross country and track runner. I can remember running in similar races, in a pack, behind a bicycle leading our way. I was able to cheer for the runners and encourage them to push it to the finish line (something that is easy to do when you are peddling a bike at 3 miles an hour). It was very nostalgic for me to be out in the frigid cold weather watching the runners try to keep themselves warm and relaxed before the race started.

The Bicycle Escape will be assisting with the Garrett 5K run next month. This run is also located at Baker Park and is the same course as the Meals on Wheels run. If you want to participate in the Garrett 5K run swing by our shop and pick up a registration form.

Titus Envy

A gauge of how cool a bicycle is might be the level of jealously experienced by the mechanic who assembles the machine. I recently built a Titus Eleven all dressed up with Shimano XTR bits for a local rider named Adam. Now, I work in a bike shop and have done so for well over a decade now. I don’t get jealous about that many bicycles. I mean come on... I light my cigars by burning custom bicycle frames. After building up Adam’s new ride I found myself wishing it was my own. The Titanium hardtail had flawless welds and the new XTR equipment shifted fast and precise. The bike, as pictured with XTR pedals and Ti cage, tipped the scale at 23.03lbs. Oh well, this bike my not be mine but at least it was fun to assemble and share with the world!

Fixed Gear Gallery

I recently found out about a neat fixed gear site called www.fixedgeargallery.com. Mike posted his Montarino on their photo gallery. His bike is proudly listed as #4651. If you are into fixed gear bikes you should check out the site. They have lots of photos, a forum, and direct-drive friendly links too.

Rebirth

A few months back a customer brought an old road bike into the shop looking for someone to take it off their hands. Although very old and beat up, Tom took the bike thinking it might make a good project bike for someone. After looking at the ugly beater hanging from the ceiling for months, I decided to pull it down and measure it. It came in around 58cm which wouldn't you know...would work just fine for me. The bike is a Montarino, which sounds Italian but it's not, the sticker on the seat tube proudly proclaims that it was made in West Germany. From the little bit of information I could find regarding the Montarino brand on the Internet and using the components as a gauge, I estimate that this bike was manufactured during the early to mid 70's. I decided to strip the old busted components off of the bike and make it a fixed gear city cruiser. I tried to keep it as original as possible yet still make it safe and comfortable. New wheels and tires were a must since I was unable to locate tires that would fit the original wheels. Besides that, I flipped and chopped the handlebar, gave it a fresh wrap of Cateye cloth tape and added a new seat and chrome toe clips. I've taken it out a few times so far and it's a great ride. It feels good breath life into and ride something you saved from the landfill.