Category: Blog Posts

I Love New Bikes.

I recently traded my (first) Eddy Merckx in for two new bikes, a road bike and a track bike.  Here they are:

This is my new Specialized Tarmac.  It is the Comp model, with SRAM Rival components, but with upgraded Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels and Continental GP4000S tires (my favorites).  I kept the old wheels (Mavic Aksium Race) as back-up wheels in case of a mechanical at races or if I have to service my Ksyrium SL’s.  I switched out the saddle to a Specialized Romin SL, which I’ve been riding for the last few months, and upgraded to the Look Keo2Max Pedals.  Also added to the bike is a Mavic WinTech Ultimate USB computer/heart rate monitor.  I’m testing it out, and after I run it through the paces, I’ll give it a proper review.

Next up…

… the Jamis Sonik track bike.  It’s not a really huge picture here, but you can still get the basics out of it.  7005 aero aluminum frame, carbon fork/seatpost, American Classic Aero420 track wheels, FSA Carbon Track crankset, and Deda bar and stem.  I put on a Specialized Romin SL saddle, once again, to keep things normal.  It’s a track racing machine… and I’ve never raced on the track before.

I’ve been dying to get on the track since the first time I visited the Dick Lane Velodrome in 2003.  My former boss, Jeff, was calling races down there, so a bunch of us guys from Clemson made our way down to Atlanta to check out the festivities.  Ever since the first night I banged the boards, over six years ago, I’ve been wanting to get myself onto those banked turns.  Heck… I’ve even officiated track races at the velodrome as a USA Cycling Official, but never been on the track myself!  Looks like I’ve got the right bike for the job.  Now, to make use of it…

I’m planning on taking the Beginner’s Class at the velodrome at the end of the month.  My buddy Jeff Hopkins (former World Junior Track Champion and former Jittery Joe’s rider), is the director of operations at the track, so it’ll be good to head down and get some pointers from him as I start racing this discipline.

Stories and pictures to follow…

Escapade Sports Marketing – New Sponsor

I’ve got a new sponsor for my blog, Escapade Sports Marketing.  They do private label branding for bike shops and businesses, and have got some cool marketing materials for PROBIKEWRENCH.COM on the way.  Check out their site at http://www.escapadesportsmarketing.com and take a look at all the top notch custom label accessories they have to offer, especially for bike shops…

Team Kenda Weekend Recap

Please forgive the long hiatus from the blog.  There’s been too much going on to keep track of, and I just haven’t had time to write.  I’ve been going nuts lately, and since I use this blog to scribble out my thoughts and keep track of everything, I’ve been kind of discombobulated as of late.  Hopefully, typing tonight will help me regain some semblance of sanity.

It’s been a few weeks since all the festivities with Team Kenda p/b GearGrinder, but I’ve finally got a chance to get to the laptop to jot down a few notes and highlights from those few days.  Here’s a  rundown of what happened:

  • I went down to Macon, GA for two days to help Team Kenda’s ace mechanic, John Columbus, assemble some bikes for the team.  It was a good couple of days.  We had a lot of goodies from Masi, SRAM, Thomson, Jagwire, and Look to make the job a lot easier.  We had to fashion a couple of homemade tools to get the job done, but it got done.  We built around 12 team bikes in a day and a half, which also consisted of unloading and rearranging the team trailer and work area.
  • I got to FINALLY meet the MasiGuy, Tim Jackson (brand manager for Masi Bicycles) in person.  I have chatted back and forth with him on Twitter/blogs for the past several years, interviewed him for the VeloReviews Podcast, and I’ve got one of his bikes at my house as a demo, but had never actually met him in person.  Good times.
  • The following Sunday, as a favor to me for working on the team bikes, Tim and Team Kenda p/b GearGrinder’s Team Director, Frankie Andreu (former US Postal Service rider, Versus TdF Commentator), stopped by Out Spokin’ for a meet and greet with several customers who decided to stop by.  They hung out for around an hour, and afterwards, we all rode over to LifeTime Fitness to join the rest of the team for…
  • A great group ride with the team and a lot of LifeTime Fitness regulars.  We rode around 20 miles or so through Roswell and Alpharetta’s most beautiful subdivisions… and some hilly ones.  The guys from Team Kenda were really cool and I think that the team gained a few more fans over the course of the weekend.  I also got the chance to meet several Twitter-buddies in person, like Team Kenda p/b GearGrinder PR man, @ricktillery, and Super-Fan/Diva @BGreene1.  It was a great weekend for everyone involved.

It’s been a busy few weeks since then… don’t even want to catch up on a lot of it.   Last night I did a presentation at theRAMBO (Roswell-Alpharetta Mountain Bike Organization) monthly club meeting.  I spoke for 15-20 minutes about bike fit, and I think the group was at least slightly educated in the process.  I finished up a pretty sweet bike build yesterday, too.  It took a few weeks to get everything together, but I was happy with the end result, and so was my customer.  Here it is:

Tomorrow’s the last ride on my (first) Eddy Merckx.  I have enjoyed this bike thoroughly, but it’s time to move on to something different.  I’m actually taking my rig down a notch in order to pull off a two-fer.  I’m trading the Merckx in, fully loaded, for two bikes.  Which bikes, you ask?  I’ll let you know when I get them rolling.  More on that later…

I’ve got more pictures from the Frankie Andreu shop visit and Team Kenda p/b GearGrinder Fan Ride.  I’ll post them when I can, as they’re still loaded on my phone.  You can also find Tim Jackson’s report about the team’s training camp and a few bits about the shop visit HERE.

Testing Out The Droid Eris

If the content on my blog increases dramatically over the next few days/weeks/months, it’s because the new Droid Eris has a pretty cool app for WordPress. Just warning you up front…