Blackstone Bicycles

Holiday Party Saturday, December 17th!! And our upcoming Vacation Schedule

2011-12-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

Howdy,

This is already all over the interwebs, and is likely old news to you if you peruse Facebook, but we're hosting a small get together on Saturday the 17th to celebrate the close of season number 2. Join us from 3-7pm for some beer and pizza and take advantage of our "we're going to be away for a little while so a bunch of stuff is on sale" sale! We have a whole bunch of winter riding gear from gloves to tights to pants and jackets, as well as lights for your early AM or night time riding pleasure. All in stock bikes, parts and accessories are 10 - 20% off.

Now on to our winter vacation schedule...

X-Mas break:

12/25 - 1/1

Open again with regular business hours from 1/2 through 1/14.

Winter break:

1/15 through 2/6 returning on 2/7.

So, that's it. All the news that's fit to print! If we don't see you before we take off have a great holiday season!

29er sale time!!

2011-12-05T13:20:00.001-08:00

That's right folks, it's time for a sale on mountain bikes of the big wheeled variety. Just in time for prime late season riding. The deals below are really, really good and might not last long so if you're thinking about snagging one swing by and check them out!

Banshee Paradox 2011 1x9, medium frame - NEW. $1650.

Banshee Paradox 2011 Demo model, $1700 ($1900 with the Reverb). Call or check it out in person for full specs. It's a really nice build.

Surly Karate Monkey 2011, Medium - NEW. $950.

Redline D440 2010, 19" - NEW. $400.

Redline Monocog 2010 17" upgraded to Tektro Mechanical Disc Brakes - NEW. SOLD!!!

Fat bike bliss!!

2011-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Pugsley is here! Swing by and check it out! Get yourself sized up and order one before the snow falls because once it does these will be hard to get your hands on!

Lincoln Woods Fun Ride flyer

2011-11-10T16:35:00.001-08:00

Print and post it somewhere, preferably where mountain bike types gather...

Lincoln Woods Turkey Slayer Fun Ride - November 27th!

2011-11-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

We're going to host this year's RI NEMBA Fun Ride to benefit the RI Food Bank on Sunday, November 27th (rain date 12/4). This will be an arrowed 10 + mile ride featuring most of the myriad of trails in Lincoln Woods. As always there will be some longer climbs that pay off with some fun descents and plenty of technical rock features to go around. We're including many of the more technical trails this year.

Also, please note that there will be a "climb and descend" led ride that will hit some of the gravity oriented lines that are NOT going to be a part of the arrowed loop as well (time/details to follow).

The cost of admission is some canned goods/non perishable foods. If you can't make the ride feel free to swing by the shop with some food! We'll be collecting all month to add to the pile at the ride itself.

Registration opens at 9:00 and runs until 11:00. Arrows will start to come down ~ 3:00. Directions are simple, find Lincoln Woods State Park on the map of your choice (digital or otherwise) and enter via the Twin River Road entrance. Take a right and follow the signs to the double parking lot on your left. Easy.

Post ride hang out and enjoy Stacy's mostly world famous chili, beverages and snacky cakes. Mike may even make corn muffins infused with bacon - yeah, bacon. Who could ask for more?

Hopefully the weather is as nice as it was this past Sunday at Bluff Point in CT. Here's Mike's Ibis Mojo HD relaxing on the beach...

Worth noting - East Bay Bike Path construction

2011-11-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Cross post from the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition - worth reading in case you have plans to use the EBBP. Link to the article and full text below:

http://ribike.org/2011/11/03/ebbp-closed

We are getting reports that barrels are up blocking the East Bay Bike Path and cyclists are being told to turn around if they ride past them. The sewer project has officially started on the bike path.

Unfortunately, it appears that East Providence is concurrently ripping up the portion of Veteran’s Parkway near where the end of the pipe will come out. They have the road closed down to a single lane, just wide enough for cars to pass through, one side at a time. If you are planning to ride through this section, it’s a perfect time to TAKE THE LANE. As a cyclists, you have every right to do so and this is the safest way to pass through a one lane section like this. Ride in such a way that cars can not squeeze by you. The section is short, assert yourself and most importantly ensure you keep yourself safe.

If you are nervous about riding through the detour, we have a few people who are willing to ride with you, at your pace. If you contact us, we will put you in touch with someone to ride with and you can arrange a time and location to meet.

Summer clothing and armor sale!

2011-09-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's time for a clothing sale! All in stock summer clothing, gloves and armor are 20% off!! We have Endura, 661, Twin Six and Kali in stock!! Gear up for the best riding weather of the year, or simply save some cash on some new duds! Like ZZ Top says, every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man! Well, since we also have a bunch of women's Endura clothing I suppose that could go either way.

On a related note the fall and winter gear just arrived from Endura! Swing by and check out the goods that will keep you warm in the woods, on the road and during your commute during the cooler months. We have Endura's Thermolite tights, arm and knee warmers, training caps and the much loved Singletrack pants (theses things are awesome trail pants as well as amazing cold weather road/commuter pants).

Oh, you could always grow a winter beard to keep warm as well. Just ask these guys...

Hakkalügi!

2011-09-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Singlespeed Paradox!

2011-08-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

I hear these 29ers are really fast and stuff. I also heard that singlespeeds are really cool. At least that's what the cool kids keep telling me... With that said we went ahead and built up our own version of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on wheels. Behold, a singlespeed 29er that doesn't suck!

Thanks to the nice folks at Yess for making such a slick tensioner.

The Geax Gatos seem pretty darn nice too! Gearing is hill friendly at 32x21 and yes, the fork is convertible to 120mm for all your gnar dog needs.

IBIS!

2011-08-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Come order one, you know you want to. We'll even keep this guy from groping it if you ask politely!

Oh yeah, we are now a GO PRO dealer as well. Expect some local riding footage in the next month or so...

New shop is open!

2011-08-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

And, it actually looks like a bike shop and not some dank cave that smells of rubber and coffee. How awesome is that? We're real happy with the new space and fairly surprised with how many folks walking in never knew that the old shop was located only a mile away. I know it's Rhode Island and all but still... Oh, and the trails at the Monastery are less than a 1/2 mile away, offer a great workout and they are pretty damn fun to boot. How about that?

On the service front we're firing on all cylinders once again and staying on top of our goal of getting people back on their bikes in a few days. On the bike front we're psyched to let people know that we can now help them go big (and maybe deep into debt?) with IBIS. We're looking forward to seeing the new Mojo HD when it gets here later this week. I'm guessing the guy who bought is as well.

Other notable bikes that have been built/will be arriving shortly:

Banshee Paradox custom singlespeed build. We built this with a Yess ETR-B tensioner, X9 hubs laced to Arches, a Recon Gold, Surly cog, BB7s and a Truvativ Stylo 1.1 crankset. Pics to come shortly.

Surly Crosscheck Singlespeed . We sold our completes and we're itching to build the 54cm frameset. Expect to see it built in the next week or two. It'll be simple, sturdy and pretty darn affordable.

All City Nature Boy SS 'cross bike. Most of the parts are going to the Surly build above but the frameset is going to yours truly so I can build it up and rip around the local trails on it.

Rocky Mountain Solo CX 2012. We'll have a few of these in the shop as soon as they become available. No pics I can share yet but the spec is solid once again and the pricing is pretty aggressive. These will be great bang for the buck 'cross bikes.

The Lincoln Woods ride is still happening every Monday night. Meet at the park ready to ride @ 6:15! We're meeting at the covered bridge entrance off of 123 (Breakneck Hill rd.). Feel free to ride over from the shop with Mike and myself as well, we leave promptly at 6:00.

The Wednesday night bike path ride is still on as well, leaving from the shop at 6:00.

'Cross season is right around the corner but there are still a few MTB races on the calendar. I'm hoping to make it out to the Treasure Valley Rally on August 28th, if you're there say hi or at least heckle with enthusiasm.

New shop is almost there - open on 8/6!

2011-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

The title pretty much sums it up, but in case you missed it the new shop will be open on 8/6. If you need something in the meantime feel free to give us a ring towards the end of the week as we'll be up and running by then. The Lincoln Woods ride for 8/1 is off, it will resume on 8/8. Ditto for the Wednesday bike path/road ride. OK, enough blogging, back to work...

Mini vacation (sort of a working vacation)

2011-07-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Is it vacation if you're working some of the time? Maybe not, but the point is this; whether or not we're actually working all you need to know is that we'll be unavailable to breathe life into bicycles on both July 5th and 6th. Tuesday will be spent at Highland Mountain while Wednesday will be spent getting a bunch of things done up at the new shop. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Speaking of the new shop it looks like Saturday, August 6th is going to be the official opening of the new place. It's really, really nice. It's so nice that even we can't mess up it's niceness. The new sign is up already and it is HUGE (well, it's huge compared to the old one anyways). So, if you miss it, it really is you and not us. See the post below for directions to our future home in case you're wondering how to get there. We'll probably be open a few days before the 6th as well so keep an eye on this here blog or the facebook page.

Thanks for being understanding, and the kind of kick ass customers who will put up with us!

News to peruse!

2011-06-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since the blog was updated for sure. Part of the blame lies with Facebook for being such an effective communicator of the regular goings on around the shop. The rest of the blame could be laid on how busy we've been, but really we were waiting to tie up a few loose ends ahead of officially announcing that we're moving the shop to Cumberland.

The shop will be open at the new address, 391 Mendon Rd., starting the first week of August. The hope is that we will not be closed for than a day, or two, at most. In the meantime the shop will be open in Lincoln. You may be wondering where 391 Mendon Rd is, and that's a good question. Thank goodness for the interwebs, huh? Click here for a map of the new location.

The following is for those of you who are directionally challenged and/or afraid of maps and prefer your directions in RhodeIslandese. Simply head east past the current shop and take a left on Mendon road. Go past where Blackstone Valley Outfitters used to be, past where Zippy Lube was, past where Ann & Hope used to be and up past Angelo's and Del's Lemonade. For good measure there's a D&D on the way there as well.

We are on the right across from Royal Panda and next to J Gray's. There are roughly 700 nail and hair salons in this neck of the woods but we're next to Salon Deniz. If landmarks don't do it for you then you should know we're at the intersection of Marshall Ave. and Mendon Road. Whew, I think I covered all the possible ways to give directions to the new place. As per usual if there are any questions feel free to call the shop.

What else is going on? We have a bunch of Banshee bikes and frames in stock including a large test ride Paradox as well as a Spitfire. We're working on a Rocky Mountain demo day out at Lincoln Woods (we may have a Banshee or two for this as well) for later this summer, and the Monday mountain bike rides are in full swing. On that note there's a new "bonus" trail that was just cleared out at Lincoln that should make everyone happy! The Wednesday night bike path/road rides have been great too, at least when we haven't had bad weather or tornado warnings.

In lieu of our impending move we'll be having a sale good for 10% off all in stock bicycles (except the Banshees, sorry!) during the month of July.

On a side note I'll be resurrecting my personal blog to brain dump all my thoughts on the bikes and equipment we've been lucky enough to beat up over the last year or so. So, I'm sure everyone is super excited about that, just be sure to contain your enthusiasm...

2011 Weekly Bike Rides!

2011-04-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

The below was copied from the page of the same name. So, if you already read that and now you're reading this feel free to stop!

It's that time of year again! The weather is finally nicer and it's time to get out and ride! Below you will find all the pertinent info with regard to our Monday mountain bike ride, and our Wednesday bike path spin.

Lincoln Woods Monday night advanced trail ride:

If you've considered joining our weekly mountain bike ride this is the time to do it. The earlier season rides (April into May) will be a bit slower and more user friendly. After the middle of May things will get faster with less stopping, and we will incorporate more of the technical features that the park is known for.

* The first ride is on 4/11.

Please note that we moved it to Mondays! (I know it states this above but still...) For the month of April the start time is 6:15 at Lincoln Woods (park off the Twin River entrance) to start. Mike and I will likely ride over from the shop, if you want to join us just be at the shop by 5:45 ready to ride by 6:00.

After May 1st all the Monday night rides will leave from the shop at 6:15!

* Please, please, please make sure your bike is in proper running order and that you have the basics (an inflation device, a tube, a patch kit and some rudimentary tools). As much as I love fixing bikes I like to ride a lot more, and we may leave you to the mosquitos and the notorious Lincoln Woods Sasquatch. The decision to leave you to the wolves is at our discretion and may be swayed by bribery (read: good beer).

Wednesday Night Bike Path spin:

Feel free to join us on Wednesday nights for a spin on the Blackstone River Bikeway. We'll leave from the shop at 6:15 and ride for a little over an hour to spin up to Woonsocket and back. We'd really like to keep the pace to right around 15mph. This is not a hammerfest but rather a chance for some to work on their fitness and others to spin out their tired legs. If it's raining the ride is off.

If you really want to haul ass feel free to go for it. It's the bike path, you can't lost! If you really want to suffer one of us can drag you around (or, more likely, you'll drag one of us around) the hillier locales north of the shop accessible from the Bikeway.

* The first ride is on 4/13.

The lights are still on? Sweet! Let's have a sale then!

2011-03-15T12:52:00.001-07:00

Hey folks,

To celebrate the fact that the lights are indeed still on, and that we're still here, we're having a one year anniversary sale. Swing by this Friday and Saturday and take 10% off any in stock item (bikes and tune up parts are included!). NEMBA members might even be able to sweet talk us into a better deal if they are smart enough to ply us with adult beverages.

So stop by, say hi, and check out all the new bikes and buy something to help finance my next haircut. As you can see below I desperately need one of those...

After something that downright frightening I'll leave you with an object of beauty to behold in the form of Mike Rosendale's new Banshee Paradox.

Blackstone Bicycles is now an authorized Elka suspension dealer!

2011-03-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, we now carry Elka suspension! Custom tuned nitrogen charged suspension goodness. Treat your bike right and ride with an Elka Stage 5 rear shock. Also check out their new Stage 4 fork cartridge. Fits all 2010+ Rock Shox Boxxer models, Fox Racing Shox 40 models and 36 models (160mm travel only) Read the review on Pinkbike.

Swing by and order yours today!

Finally!

2011-03-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Get out and ride it this weekend, OK?

This snow..

2011-02-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

Needs to go away soon! We have a few new rides kicking around (such as the Rocky Mountain Slayer 30 and Banshee Spitfire below) with more to come over the next week or so. We'll even have some demo road bikes as well as a CX bike. Now all we need is about 5,0000 less inches of snow and some decent riding weather...

Winter Repair Classes and Winter Gear sale!

2011-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Some news to peruse...

Winter Repair Classes start next week!

Some of you might be wondering why we waited so long to schedule the classes. With all the snow we figured the nearer to the actual riding season the better. Learning how to change a flat and fix a chain, and then not using those skills for a few months, seems a bit silly. With any luck we'll all be riding regularly again in no time!

Many people ride with a kit full of tools and tire levers they purchased with their bike but never really learned how to use them. A little knowledge goes a long way, and learning how to get yourself out of a jam can be an empowering thing and is essential for all cyclists.

Flat repair classes:

These classes will focus on teaching the skills to avoid the dreaded walk/cell phone call of shame! Practice diagnosing flats and properly reinstalling your tire and tube.

*Please bring your own wheel/tire combo. All tires and rims are a little different with some being easier to seat than others. Practicing on the wheel you will be riding makes the most sense. If this isn't feasible we'll supply a wheel/tire for you to practice with so you can learn the correct technique.

Dates: 2/9, 2,16, 2/23

Chain and Drivetrain repair classes:

Just like the title says, learn how to repair your chain on the road, path or trail to get yourself back home. If time allows, and there is interest, we will also cover how to perform an emergency singlespeed conversion in the case of a mangled chain. We will provide the bikes and chain tools.

Dates: 2/10, 2/17, 2/24

** Anyone attending the classes can take 15% off all in stock tools, tubes, lube, chain master links, inflation devices (pumps, CO2) and saddle bags.

**Please RSVP for the classes! We'd like to limit each to ~ 6 people. We can always accommodate anyone else interested by hosting another night.

Winter Gear Sale!!

Everything winter related is 25% off. That means riding pants, lights, tights, gloves, booties, arm, leg and knee warmers socks, base layers, winter cycling caps and more. This runs until the end of February or until the gear is gone!

NEMBA, RI Bike Coalition and NBW members can take an additional 5% off. For the math challenged among us, that's 30% off - in season. Who loves ya baby?

A different perspective

2011-01-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

While it's true that iPhone pictures aren't the best I bet you get the drift (get it?). Lincoln Woods this morning, 1/13/2011. Deep snow cover and great snowshoeing to be had. Get outside and enjoy it because who knows how long it will stick around.

Singlespeed 29er sale! Just in time for the snow...

2011-01-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

We find ourselves in possession of a few SS 29ers that need to find a good home this winter. All are steel, rigid and ready to go for the rest of the sloppy season. The V-brake bike can be converted to disc, and gearing needs can be accommodated - we have the technology! Heck, we can even apply a nice coat of frame saver if you're the kind of rider to fret about rust and exploding frames.

The bikes:

Redline Monocog 29, 2010 size 17". $450 With Disc Brakes (not pictured)

Surly Karate Monkey Complete 18" 2011. Call us to discuss pricing on this one. They ain't easy to procure at the moment, but we'd like to get this out in the woods before too long.

Happy Holidays! And, closed for a few days..

2010-12-24T15:12:00.001-08:00

Hey all,

We're going to be closed for a few days after the holidays and we'll be open again on 12/30. We already started some reorganizing and the shop should look a little different. Now that we are NOT switching places with Honey Dew we're trying to maximize the space we have for the next year or so, or until the move does take place. The new layout should free up some space and help make things run smoother around the shop.

Once the dust has settled we're going to hammer out a winter repair class schedule. We're going to offer some free repair classes over the course of January and February, starting with the basics and moving into some more advanced wrenching as we progress deeper into the icy season. The emphasis will be on practical repairs to help get you riding again should something bad happen out on the road, path or trail.

Anyways, have a happy holiday and a safe new year!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Lincoln Woods Fun Ride is canceled!

2010-12-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to posting this here. The ride is off due to the rain and temperature up swing tomorrow. The potential to completely wreck the trails for the rest of the winter is the main reason we called it off. That, and no one really wants to ride in a cold rain. And who can blame them.

There is no immediate rain date (the 19th was too close to the holidays) but we are going to look into an event in the early season before the park is officially "open". It sucks to have to cancel but it's the right thing to do. We are still collecting food at the shop as are most (if not all) of the bike shops in RI. When you visit your favorite shop please bring some canned goods or other non-perishable food items! We'll be accepting food until the end of next week.

Depending on the weather this winter Mike and I (and some fellow LW regulars) will likely hold a show and go ride at the park. While it won't have all the bells and whistles of an official fun ride it will be fun. We'll probably host a little after ride get together at the shop with beverages and grilled meats. Let's hope for some nice frozen hard packed singletrack this winter! The last week or so has been great, we just apparently have some lousy luck...

Winter Fun Ride, it's that time of year again!

2010-11-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks,

It's high time I mentioned the annual Lincoln Woods Fun Ride. This year's ride will take place on 12/12 at Lincoln Woods State Park, registration will be from 9 - 11:30. The permits are in, a bunch of lines have been leaf-blown and the route is taking shape in our tiny little minds. As per usual there will post ride chili, burgers and hot dogs. There is NO cost to attend and ride, we simply ask that you bring some canned goods for the RI Community Food Bank. Also, please note that the aforementioned post ride eats will be sold for $1 each to help raise funds for the Food Bank as well.

If you cannot attend the ride but would like to donate canned goods please stop by your local bike shop. Most, if not all, of the local shops have a big blue bin in the store for food collection. Any non-perishable food will work!

If you bring a couple of food items (snacky cakes, cheezy poofs, soup, etc.) in to the shop we'll hook you up with a nice discount, some friendly advice and we'll even let pet the shop dog! How awesome is that??!

In other Fun Ride related news we may have a few of the Rocky Mountain demo bikes available for test rides, assuming they aren't sold by then. If the shiny new Paradox is still here it should be around to be ogled and fondled as well.

If you have any questions about the ride swing by the shop or give us a call!

Got Twin Six?

2010-11-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

If not, no worries. We've got you covered! We just received our 2011 Twin Six threads today and they look pretty darn nice. These jerseys, and T shirts, make great holiday gifts for the stylin' rider in your life. We also still have good stock in Endura winter clothing (merino training caps, booties, gloves, jackets etc.).

Stop in and check out the new stuff or just swing in to drop off some canned goods (or other non perishable food items) for the annual RI NEMBA Winter Warmer Fun Ride. Mark your calendars because this year's ride is going down on 12/12. All the local shops were given a big ass blue bin to fill with food courtesy of RI NEMBA. Feel free to help us fill ours!

This years ride will be laid out by Mike and myself and will feature ~ 10 - 12 miles of singletrack out at Lincoln Woods. Post ride chili, burgers and dogs will be there for you when you get back. We're also collecting food items the day of the ride. Even if you can't make the ride but you find yourself in the vicinity the day of the event please consider dropping some items off at the registration table.

Also, don't forget that our Monday night bike path rides are ongoing! Join us for a 15 mph spin up the Blackstone Bikeway. Road, 'cross or fixed gear bikes are encouraged but MTBs are cool too as long as the pace is cool with you.

Karate Monkey!

2010-11-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist the new Karate Monkey frameset, I just couldn't do it. I tried and all, but it's been a year since I sold my '03 and it was time. So, we brought in a complete 2011 Karate Monkey in the 18" variety, and I bought a frame and fork. Ride #1 was last night down at Big River before the RI NEMBA meeting. I had almost forgotten how much fun these bikes were to ride. The memory came back about 1 minute into the ride flowing down DNA trail. Like most Surlys it rides like a bike, nice and neutral and all around fun to ride! Swing by and check out the in stock complete and if it tickles your fancy we'll let you buy it, or we'll order you one in your size. Whatever works for you. See you then.

We are all softies, the lot of us!

2010-10-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Seriously, this looks a cross between the UK Tough Guy race and something possibly more awful. I don't want to hear anyone complain about a 'cross course being too hard ever again. Check out the guy on the proto-29er.

The best part about this video is that, given the timeless cycling attire, at the beginning I wasn't so sure that I wasn't viewing some sort of rural hipster get together held last weekend within riding distance of Brooklyn, San Francisco, Providence or Portland. (I'm just kidding, don't get your tight pants all in a bunch).

Weekly Late Fall and Winter Night Rides - Bikepath and Trail

2010-10-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hey there! You may have seen this and thought "who is stupid enough to ride in the cold weather?". Or, maybe you're a die hard rider who will ride in pretty much any weather and you detest riding a trainer. Either way you're welcome to join us for some regularly scheduled night rides during the colder months. We're going to host rides on the local bike path as well as delve into some of the local trails here in the Lincoln area.

If you're looking for a reason to ride outdoors when the temps are low, the bugs are gone and the masses are warm and cozy inside (and not encumbering forward momentum on the bike path) then maybe this ride is it! Riding alone in the cold sucks, riding with other people dumb enough to freeze their butts off doesn't. It's just that simple.

If you need some durable and warm riding gear we can help you out. We carry Endura cycling gear and they happen to produce some of the nicest technical clothing on the market. We currently have their Dexter Windproof Glove, Singletrack pants, Techpant Overtrousers, Gridlock jackets, booties, wool training caps, and assorted tights and baselayers. We also have decent stock of Pace arm and legwarmers as well. The Singletrack pants are perfect for those real cold woods rides and make or stellar commuter garb as well. I'm actually itching for some cold weather to check them out for real.

If you need a helmet (and you do to ride with us. Sorry, you may think you look cool riding without one but you just look dumb and a lot like a future tragic head wound victim).... We have a bunch of Kali Amara helmets on sale for $59 while supplies last (retail is $80)! Our resident helmet model below shows us all just how cool you can look in one of the Amaras.

Below you will find all the details, the when the where and what to bring.

Monday Night Bike Path Rides:

These rides will start on Monday, November 1st. Bring a bike (duh), a light, a helmet and weather appropriate clothes. The pace will be fairly casual, topping out at ~ 15 mph. We'll ride to Woonsocket and back to the shop for some cold drinks, (or hot beverages from Honey Dew - your choice). We'll leave the shop at 6:15 with the intention of returning before 8:00. Too much snow and or ice on the path cancels. If it rains/snows on Mondays we'll ride on Tuesdays.

Wednesday Night Trail Rides:

These will start on Wednesday, December 8th. This ride leaves from the shop at 6:15 and hits local trails for up to two hours returning to the shop by 8:00 for post ride beverages. Lights powerful enough for trail riding at night are a MUST, as is a helmet, warm enough riding clothes and a mountain bike! A rear blinky light is a good idea as we will be on the road for a short stretch as well.

If the weather looks questionable be sure to call the shop. Hope to see you out there!

Here are some pics of Mike sporting the stylin' new Endura stuff:

Rocky Mountain Demo Bike Sale!! (Some new bikes too)

2010-10-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

So, we find ourselves in possession of a handful of really, really nice demo bikes that need to find a new home. The Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er and the Altitude 50s below made the rounds at the NEMBA MBAS rides this year. Each bike has under a dozen rides on it. All of them have been tuned up here at the shop and are ready to get under your ass out onto your local trails. Stop by the shop , or call, email or send smoke signals for more info.

18 and 19 inch 2010 Altitude 50. The Altitude 50 is a great 5.5 inch travel enduro/all mountain bike. I've been riding one of these all season and I like it enough to keep it for next year as well.

These retail for $3500, you can snag yourself one for $2000. I don't think I need to do the math for you, it's what is known as a "good deal".

18 inch 2010 Altitude 29er. Mike rode one of these all year and is holding onto his for next season if that tells you anything about this rig. These retail for $4000, you can pick this one up for $2600.

NEW BIKES:

2010 Rocky Mountain Vertex 29 SE, size 20.5. MSRP is $2600, we're asking $2100.

2010 Rocky Mountain Element 10, size 18. Retail is $2000, we're asking $1500.

2010 KHS Alite 2000. Retail is 1100, we're asking $850.

Ronde de Rhody and NEMBA Fest!

2010-10-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Man, I gotta get some pics from NEMBA Fest. Photo evidence or not, it to say it was a really good time! The long loop was great and it started with a beautiful mix of fast and swoopy singletrack that turned into a nice long technical bony challenge around mile 14. One of the rock staircases was rough enough to knock Joe H's Brooklyn bottle cap off his You are What You Drink headset cap... After the ride we scarfed down some BBQ and beers and headed back to RI thinking that we might not have the energy for yesterday's on/off road tour of RI known as the Ronde de Rhody.

Waking up at 8:00 on Monday was a bit rough but the weather looked promising so we met up with 20 or so other riders at the RI State House and headed out on one really fun, and really unique, tour of the greater Providence area. The route included some out of the way spaces like the old railroad bridge that spans Interstate 95, some trail at Roger Williams Park and the abandoned stretch of old route 195. This ride was maybe best ridden on a 'cross bike (or a road bike with fatter tires) but everyone who rode it, regardless of the bike, had a great time. We unfortunately had to skip a few miles to make the time cut, but it was for great reason as there was great food and drinks awaiting us at McFaddens in Providence. Eric Weis, the ride leader/coordinator, passed out swag and also held an auction full of great prizes from Thule, Thomson, Princeton Tec, Ryders, etc.. This was my second ride on my Hutchinson Bulldog cyclocross tires set up tubeless. They were a blast the other night at Chase at real low pressures and they held up just fine over the varied terrain yesterday.

Anyways, I bored everyone with too many words in the last post. Here are some pics from yesterday's ride:

Catching up and NEMBAFEST 2010!

2010-10-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

After catching our collective breathe post Big River Fun Ride we found ourselves deluged with service work and some pretty good days here at the shop. Now that the weather is craptacular I find myself with some time to type and recap, as well as announce a few things of importance to local cyclists.

The 2nd annual Tour De Big River came and went, and all we heard was that this was one of the better rides most of the riders had participated in, ever. While there were a few casualties along the way the loops were fantastic and the volunteer army that is RI NEMBA pulled off a pretty damn amazing event. After two rides (one just to "ride", and the other to pull down arrows) we were pretty cooked. Speaking of cooked, the multitude of hot dogs consumed between outings proved to be just the ticket to keep the engine stoked, and the spirits high, through two flats and a ton of pine sap laden arrows. A couple of folks also test rode Rocky Mountain Altitudes and an Element or two and came back with some positive reviews which was nice to hear.

On the subject of Canadian bike companies we're really happy to announce that we are now a stocking Banshee bikes dealer! This is pretty sweet and we'll have bikes in as early as next week with local ripper Anthony K rockin' a Rune. Watch out for this BMX guy turned mountain biker...
Some other guy will be riding a nicely appointed Paradox as well, though he's getting old and slow so no need to watch out there.

Unfortunately the new bikes won't be here in time for NEMBAFEST but we'll be up there on Sunday with Kevin from Rocky helping to get the Rocky Mountains out in the woods, and hopefully partaking in another long ride at a great trail system NH. If you've never been to NEMBAFEST, or you've just never been to Bear Brook, get yourself up there for at least one of the days! The list of demos and supporters is huge and the loops are a blast with a great mix of classic flowy singletrack and technical riding.

In more local news, the NBX cyclocross training races have already started. What this means is you need to get down to Wakefield, RI on Wednesday nights for some CX racing, swag and a good excuse to ride your bike in the middle of the week. Matt's training races (and I use the term race loosely, this is a go at your own pace kind of thing) are the perfect venue for anyone interested in trying 'cross and a great workout for the seasoned racer. Expect to see us down there often, and hopefully my Redline will be sporting a new tubeless setup after this coming weekend. We're pretty interested to get some first hand experience with this setup. More traction sounds pretty awesome to me... On that note if you need some new kicks for your 'cross bike swing by and relieve us of our cyclocross tire collection! We've got some Small Block Eights, Crosswolfs, Speedkings, Excavaders and they're all on sale and looking for a good home. Our 2009 KHS CX200 also needs a good home. Come snag it for $900 and go race your face off, OK?

Speaking of racing bikes there's some big 'cross race thing happening in Providence this coming Saturday and Sunday. If you're up at the ass crack of dawn and find yourself at Roger Williams Park in Providence on Saturday morning (and you look real closely) you might, might see either Mike or myself flailing around like a cracked out monkey performing a piss poor rendition of cyclocrossing. That will be one us, proudly putting the amateur in amateur bike racing. But,then, like most normal humans, you likely have far better things to do than race, or attend said race, at 8:00 AM on a Saturday. At least I hope you do anyways. The chances of either of us actually racing are slim but who knows, maybe one of us will find the urge to suffer before breakfast.

I know this post is getting long but since we were talking tires earlier, I need to let it be known that my new favorite all 'rounder in the woods has to be the Maxxis Ardent. It could be that I've been fighting forward momentum all year on these classic standby aggressive NE tire and anything would feel great - including a set of bald Velociraptors. But I'm going with my gut on this and it says that the Ardents rule.

That about wraps this post up, on the horizon expect to see a schedule for our fall and winter free repair classes. News about the impending December 2010 Lincoln Woods Fun Ride and RI Food Bank Fundraiser (what's this, the third or fourth year? I've lost count...), and night rides. We'll be riding in the dark and scary woods and on the path all winter (snow cover permitting) and we'd like to have some company. We've got lights in the shop, and winter riding gear from Endura will be rolling in relatively shortly. Sure, you can hang out at the gym and ride a trainer all winter long, but we humans love a challenge and some real miles in the darkest days go a looong way come those first happy sunny weather days in the springtime. Just keep pedaling and repeat after me; "The night time is the right time, the night time is the right time"....

New hours!!

2010-09-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Howdy,

After some serious number crunchin' and deliberatin' we done decided to be closed on Sundays and open Mondays from 12-6. Sundays have mostly consisted of us staring at the walls, catching up on busy work and changing a few flats. That, and the fact that we have been busier on Mondays when we were supposed to be closed, prompted the change.

Also, in case you were looking for something fun to do on your mountain bike tomorrow, the 2nd annual RI NEMBA Tour de Big River is taking place this Sunday, September 26th. There will be arrowed loops for all ability levels, demo bikes courtesy of Rocky Mountain Bicycles and Niner bikes as well as post ride burgers, dogs and wings. Registration runs from 9-11 AM, click on the link above for more info like directions and ride distances, etc. Hope to see you out on the trails!

NEMBA MBAS Ride Report - Foxboro 9/19

2010-09-21T09:12:00.001-07:00

So, we went to the NEMBA Foxboro MBAS ride on Sunday and all we came back with were some pictures... If we weren't having so much riding we might have stopped to take some out on the trail. The weather and trail conditions were great, and the loops that the SE MA NEMBA crew laid out were a perfect mix of the trails and terrain in the forest. We rode with a few folks from RI and hit all of the intermediate loop with some "hero" sections and a custom route back to the event HQ. The post ride BBQ was, as always, excellent and was the perfect afternoon snack. A whole bunch of people checked out the Rocky Mountain demo bikes and got a chance to try them out on the trail (the best way to demo a bike for sure). Overall it was an awesome event and we're looking forward to hitting the trail at the RI NEMBA Tour De' Big River next Sunday. Below are a few pictures from the event.

The Rocky tent:

The BBQ Master:

The yellowest bike you've ever seen:

Bart's Banshee Paradox (expect to see one in the shop by year end):

Come ride a Rocky Mountain and eat some sweet BBQ!

2010-09-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Be sure to head over to Foxboro, MA this Sunday for round number eight of the 2010 NEMBA MBAS ride series. We're going to be there helping out with the Rocky Mountain demos and of course riding some of the trails in the forest. It looks like there will be a few Altitude 29ers, Altitude 50s (26er), the Element 50 we have in the shop and a couple of road bikes as well. This ride was a blast last year and if you have never been to Foxboro you need to go and check it out. It's a great place to ride roughly 30 minutes north of Providence. The SE MA NEMBA gang did a great job plannign the loops last year, and the BBQ courtesy of Harpoon brewer Jamie Schier (and family + friends) is excellent and not to be missed.

In case anyone out there is wondering, our Tuesday night NEMBA ride at Lincoln Woods is still happening. We're now meeting at the park at 5:30, be ready to ride as close to 5:30 as possible! Call the shop for details regarding parking if needed but we are meeting in the same double lot we used for the last few years (the one nearest to the Twin River road entrance). We'll ride until the lack of daylight catches up to us, then we may switch over to night riding in Foxboro or somewhere else nearby.

Speaking of night riding we just received some of the affordable lights from Serfas. We snagged a few of the TSL-250 and TSL-150 lights. They are both USB chargeable, come with helmet and bar mounts and are self contained lights with no battery cables to worry about. I rode home with the TSL-150 model last night and it's a true 150 lumen light with a flash mode, as well as three steady beam modes in varying intensities. The 150 lumen light retails for $100, the 250 lumen model is $130.

In other shop related news we're having a sale until the end of the month. 10-20% off most bikes, 10-15% off all cyclocross tires and 10% off all Twin Six and other assorted T Shirts.

For a list of sale bikes click here!

Trail Work Day in Burlingame 9/11!

2010-09-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

We just received the below transmission from planet Burlingame, direct from the Czar of Burlingame... Lennon Schroeder:

Hi all,

If you haven't responded and think you are able, please come out! It
is a great day and we do a great deal to help the park.

It also goes a long way in keeping good relations with the AMC.

If you want to come at an odd time, take my cell phone # and call me
on your way in, so I can direct you to one of our work sites:
401-212-6694.

There is free camping for helpers Friday and Saturday night, but
please tell me if you are camping so I can let the park know.

Along with the camping, there is a pot luck dinner with the AMC
Saturday evening at 5:00. Myself and a couple of others plan on
camping and attending the Pot Luck.

We are going to try to put together a ride after the work, so bring a
bike, if you are interested in that.

No tools are needed, but if you have a cordless drill or hammer, you
might toss them in the car, just in case.

WE MEET AT SITE 492 AT 9:00 A.M.

***Be sure to go to the campground entrance, which is about 2 miles
past the Picnic Area (beach) exit, on Rt. 1 South.***

I hope you can make it, it really is a great day!

Thanks,

-Lennon

Fasty McNasty

2010-09-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's some seedy, low down and dirty bicycle pictures for the more XC racer types out there.

We're heading on down to the wilds of Big River tonight to have some fun riding this beautiful and purposely built go-fast bike. It's been a while since I've been on something so unabashedly XC oriented. Mike and I had the chance to ride the Team version of the Element last year and it's enough to make me want one simply so I can ride less and still go faster. It's that quick, and it's fun to ride in an ass up, head down kinda way.

Speaking of Rocky Mountains it looks like the demo mobile will be making it's way to the NEMBA MBAS ride at Foxboro on 9/19. Mike and I will be there as well, riding and helping out with the demos. There will be quite the spread with some Altitude 29ers, Altitude 50s (26er), the Element seen above and various others including a road bike or two. These same bikes are likely to make an appearance at the Big River Fun Ride a week later so if you miss one ride you can check them out at the other.

In other exciting news we're having a big ass sale this month! Up to 20% off all bikes in stock. This means 'cross bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, etc.. you get the picture. We're also doing 10% off all higher end tires ($40 or more) and we have a bunch of 'cross tires and MTB tires kicking around so come help us clear 'em out, OK?

Three weeks!!??!

2010-08-23T17:13:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know. We're seriously slacking with regard to our interweb communique responsibilities. Three weeks is weak. But.... we did want as many people as possible to see the last post and this being a blog I needed to leave it at the top of the page for as long as possible. It seems to have worked out as quite a few folks did see the post, as well as Joe Hozempa's request for support via Facebook. And thanks to his efforts, and the generosity of local cyclists, the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland has some more funds to help support this fledgling program.

As well as providing wrench support Mike and I have been riding with the group at Chase Farm the last two weeks. We had some plans for tomorrow but the lousy weather led to the ride being called off. I managed to snap a few pics of the kids at Chase, and Bill Boles of NEMBA/Dirtrag fame took some photos last week as well. Hopefully those surface on the NEMBA page soon so we can share them here as well.

Maybe not the best pics but I was riding so cut me some slack...

Below photo courtesy of Bill Boles:

On the mountain bike front there are a bunch of notable things going on in our area. The 2nd Annual Tour de Big River is coming up on September 26th. Last years event was a blast and featured many of the best trails Big River has to offer. Be sure to hook up with some locals to add on some fun trails not featured on the official loop.

Just over the border in Massachusetts, on September 19th, NEMBA is hosting one of their super popular MBAS ride at Foxboro State Forest in, you guessed it, Foxboro. If you live in RI but have never ridden Foxboro, go to this ride. In fact I'm commanding you to head up there and ride. It's a great place with all the rocky and techy singletrack you could ever wish for and the post ride BBQ courtesy of Harpoon brewing superhero Jamie Schier is downright amazing.

While we're talking about riding bikes in the woods it's worth noting that our weekly NEMBA ride will begin meeting at Lincoln Woods starting next week, 8/31. Plan on being ready to ride at 6:00 sharp. This way we can eke out a bit more riding before it gets dark. We'll meet near the Twin River road entrance, take a right when you enter the park and head down to the double parking lot on the left. If you get to the beach you went too far. We should be able to ride Lincoln Woods for a few more weeks before having to make alternate plans (night rides in Foxboro anyone?). I'm going to see if we can get the OK to night ride on the trails behind N. Cumberland Middle School over the winter months. From what I hear the town is very pro-trail, hence all the trail building going on at Diamond Hill, so here's to hoping we get the thumbs up.

And, last but not least, we are going to host a no drop beginner ride at Lincoln Woods at some point in October. The ride will likely take place on a Sunday morning, and the idea is to show people around the park at a mellow pace. Details will likely be posted soon with a rain date planned for as well.

Northern RI Kids Summer Mountain Biking Program!

2010-07-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Boys and Girls Club of Cumberland and Lincoln, and RI NEMBA's Chris Nichols, we now have a local mountain biking program for kids in our area. Needless to say we're pretty psyched to see this come about and we're more than happy to lend a hand. Getting more kids outside, away from TV land, and into the woods is always a great idea and it's nice to see some local folks working together to make it happen.

More info on the program from the Boys and Girls Club site:

Summer Mountain Biking Program

Action sports are a great alternative to the typical recreation program. It is our hope that the Summer Mountain Biking Program will be the first of many of its kind. In association with Chris Nichols (Vice President of the Cumberland chapter of the New England Mountain Biking Association ) we will offer both intermediate and advanced levels. Participants will receive instruction in bike maintenance, trail blazing and safe riding habits all in an environment based upon strong teamwork. Volunteers from NEMBA’s Explorers Program will assist Chris as guides and help provide a safe riding experience. The program will run for a total of 10 sessions on Tuesdays August 3rd - 24th and Saturdays once school is near starting August 28th and going until Saturday October 2nd. Our program leads up to the Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day event that Chris is holding as a fundraiser Saturday October 2nd.

Important details

Program Fee: $25

Intermediate Co-ed division is intended for 9-11 years old, exceptions are a possibility.

Advanced Co-ed division is intended for 12 to 14 years old, exceptions are a possibility.

Location: There are various trails in the Cumberland/Lincoln and Southern Massachusetts area that we will ride. We will provide a trailer for transportation if needed and a week to week schedule when the program starts, Diamond Hill is an example.

Times: Each time we meet will be an hour and a half long. Intermediate group will meet from 9:00-10:30 and the Advanced group will meet 10:30-12:00.

For any additional information please email Evan Hanson at evanh@bgccl.org

Mike went to Highland...

2010-07-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

And he didn't take any pictures, that I know of, so you get to read this update instead. People riding big old squishy fun time bikes and jumping off of stuff and having a good time would be a fun thing to read about, right? Right. Well, buckle up and get ready for all that type of stuff to decidedly not happen in this post. You get hot and dusty dirt road riding and other cyclocross bike related stuff for now. Sounds like a blast. Let's go!

On that note, if you're into racing 'cross or you just feel vexed by front derailleurs in general then check out the Paul Components Chainkeeper. Mike installed one on his personal 'cross bike and it works! Who would've thought something called the Chainkeeper could do just that? This device really doesn't do anything more than a Third Eye Chain Watcher and a bash can do, but it's lighter than said combo and looks about one million percent more elegant. And it's made in the USA by a guy who rides. Did I mention it just looks pretty darn nice to boot?

We also picked up a leftover medium 2009 KHS CX 200. It's pretty sharp and would make a great starter racer, or a super nice commuter/dirt road rider for someone out there. This bike listed for $1400 last year, we'd like $950. Tell your friends. No really, if you know someone looking for a 'cross bike for short money run out into the streets and shout it out loud! Or, just call them or text them or something quieter like that. That's probably a better idea as you don't risk getting run over by a bus, and they'll likely get the message.

Ok, now for the part we've all been waiting for. The hot as hell dirt road riding segment of our program! Woohoo. I won't bore you anymore than is absolutely necessary I promise. I revisited a beautiful part of the state of RI today when I went out to George Washington State Forest. Yeah, I know it's far from Providence. It's even farther from Cranston. You'll get over it. I wanted to torture myself with a MTB ride on the Walkabout Trail again, but I didn't really have 4+ hours to kill so I grabbed my Redline Conquest Pro and planned to ride for 2-3 hours on the fire roads and double track. As it turns out this wasn't the worst plan I've had. Having a decent handle on the network of dirt roads out in this neck of the woods (thanks to a suffer fest of a ride 2 years ago that involved some serious lostness on my part) I planned for 3 hours at worst 2.5 if I did right. I figured the Turkey Vultures would clean up if I did it all wrong.

So, it was hot and it was dusty and the conditions on the dirt roads ranged from hard pack to real nasty deep sand at all the wrong times (long descents), and there were some long sections of fist size loose rocks. It basically felt like a long power line ride on a mountain bike without the super steep climbs. I managed to do it really right and found a super fun and long rolling descent on a stretch of road in great condition. I didn't stop to take too many pictures as the horseflies were the size of small children and they were relentless in their pursuit of my blood. Seriously, those things are scary and will mess you up. Just ask Mike why he looked like a lopsided Popeye last weekend, it wasn't all those one armed pushups.

Just a quick note, the Tuesday night NEMBA ride is still going on until we run out of daylight! The Advanced/Intermediate pace slackens a bit when the weather doesn't cooperate, like when it rains a bit or it's 50000 degrees.

On the trail again

2010-07-01T18:11:00.001-07:00

Local mountain biker type guy Joe H. managed to break himself another bike... So we fixed him up with a new whip in the form of this sweet black and blue combo Redline Monocog Flight frame and Surly Karate Monkey fork (an appropriate color scheme given his bicycle abusing track record). It turned out pretty nicely and should be up to the frame detonating riding he seems to dish out. At least we hope so anyways.

Speaking of bikes, we have a slew of Banshee bikes in the shop right about now (a Spitfire, Rampant, Scythe, Wildcard and something else I can't remember right now) . If you feel like checking them out then by all means swing by and arrange to demo one. While we aren't a Banshee dealer we are operating as a um, liquidator, if you will for the old Banshee rep. These are all demo bikes and they were ridden so, you guessed it, this is a good chance to snag a great deal on some nice bikes for all your aggressive riding needs.

I'd hold out for a 2011 Rocky Mountain Slayer but hey, that's just me... Speaking of Rockys we should have some 'cross bikes in the shop for demo rides as well. We'd really like to turn some of you mountain biker only type folks to the dark side of riding more than one type of bicycle. I know, it's scary stuff. With that in mind a 'cross bike is like a small step towards being a well rounded cyclist, not to mention it allows you to try something new related to bikes. And, I'm assuming you dig bikes if you've read this far. Good for you. Thats step one. Step two is realizing there's more tricks in the bag. And besides, we really want to keep the Tuesday night rides rolling through the fall the winter months. 'Cross bike (or fixed gear) rides on the bike path, and over at Lincoln Woods, are a great excuse to ride in the cold and drink beer afterward. We won't even mention actually racing 'cross. Baby steps, remember?

Now for some pictures of Joe's Redline. It looks nice.

Borderland; AKA Boulderland... and some NEMBA ride news.

2010-06-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Mike L, Jeff, Frate and myself hit up Borderland State Park in Easton, MA on Monday for some hot and rocky riding. For a small park this place packs plenty of techy NE riding in spades. I'd try to recommend some standout trails but really they are all great fun to ride, with the NEMBA trail showcasing the talents of the local trail builders in the SE MA area. The long rock armored section of the trail is one of the most fun features to ride in the park.

Other standouts include the aptly Granite Hills trail and the Split Rock trail. We spent around 3 hours out there and managed to completely drain our Camelbacks and eat all of our food, and we only had one crash. Frate was really digging the Altitude 29er and crushed some of the technical climbs and longer rock gardens. Big wheel bikes do perform well in Borderland due to all the gaps and techy rock gardens. The rocks in Borderland are generally pretty grippy, and even with some humidity sticking around in the woods the traction was really good. This ain't Lincoln Woods with it's icy slick green hued rocks of doom. More like Foxboro but with more rocks in the trail than dirt.

The RI NEMBA Arcadia ride series starts this coming Sunday down at the Browning Mill lot at 9 AM. Beginner to advanced welcome, figure on a 2-3 hour tour of the trails in Arcadia courtesy of the nice folks in RI NEMBA.

Don't forget that every RI NEMBA ride you attend (including our Tuesday night ride) enters you into the NEMBA raffle for a Moots, as well as the RI NEMBA raffle for whatever bike it is that Peter chooses (likely a SS 29er). Just remember to sign and date your NEMBA waivers and you're all set.

Speaking of 29ers, and Singlespeeds, we find ourselves with a couple of each. The deal of the bunch is a really nice 2008 KHS Solo One Se (Verus HT tubing and disc ready frame/hubs) for $625. We still have two Redline D660s left as well.

Rumor is we may have some Rocky Mountain 'cross bikes in the shop for demo come the next few weeks. If you have yet to ride a 'cross bike in the woods swing by and take one for a test ride over at Chase Farm or Lincoln Woods. I could go on and on about the benefits of choosing a 'cross bike over a road bike as your only "skinny tire" bike but I'll save it for later...

Big Rivah! And some tasty BBQ and bikestuff...

2010-06-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

A lot transpired in the last week or so since the last transmission from planet Blackstone. One half of the shop made the trip "all the way" up to the Redbones Bike Party in Somerville. This event was a blast with a ton of bike minded people of every ilk and vice imaginable making an appearance. It was great to see so many familiar NEMBA folks and a host of others in attendance. The raffle prizes were ridiculous; an ANT bikes complete bike, a $500 gift certificate from Geekhouse bikes, Highland Mountain Bike Park prize packs and a whole lot more. The good folks at Harpoon were there to compliment the super awesome Redbones BBQ. Check out the pics from the event, you might see a few people you know here and there. Consider heading up to this event next year as it is a great time, and it is one of the few events where all kinds of cyclists come together in one spot for a few good causes (Massbike and NEMBA).

Now on to the Big River segment of this report... Mike Iafrate, myself and Mike Leblanc headed down to Big River yesterday for some hardtail 29er riding in the hot sun. We rode from the Big Pickle out to I see dead people and Elephant before stopping atop the ridge for some sweet and salty treats. Thanks for the food stuffs! Next time we head to Big River we'll replenish the snacks we hastily scarfed down before hitting up the Burnt Sawmill side of things. The rest of the ride was fun and the post ride burritos at Cilantro were even better. Ride to eat, or something like that...

Seriously? 'Cross bike babble in June?

2010-06-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so, we're sorry about this. Not to sound too much like the non-stop cyclocross daydreamer that is Gewilli, but I just took receipt of a new Redline Conquest Pro and I felt compelled to post a few words about it here. I'll try to keep this brief so we can all go back to our regularly scheduled summertime cycling escapades.

Simply put this is the nicest 'cross bike someone such as myself should be allowed to ride. One as ill equipped in the fitness department as I am should probably be relegated to singlespeed 'cross bikes (for the convenient poor performance excuses), or really low end bikes that can handle stupid human tricks. That said the first few outings on the Conquest Pro involved plenty of dirt, some mountain biking inspired stupidity and some real random "trails" north of the shop in the vicinity of Cumberland and Manville.

The bike comes with some tubeless ready Hutchinson Bulldog 34s that are pretty comfy even with tubes, and they sport a nice wide footprint with some well spaced knobs. These are rolling on some frighteningly light (for me) Alex wheels that make me feel legitimately fast. Notice that the word fast is in italics, that's how fast I thought I was going! The tricks that technology can play on our feeble minds, eh?

Here are some pics of the bike, notice that I took the in line levers off and added the Harpoon bottle cap. This was to satisfy Mike and Jim Grimley, for making fun of me for even considering keeping the levers. You may be wondering just how that Harpoon cap is stuck on there. I'll tell you how; it's magic . That, or it was the Niner "You are What You Drink" top cap I installed. I can't be sure though. We have a couple in stock so if you feel the need to share your affinity for a specific brand of beer swing by and grab one. Sorry, screw tops don't work so well though they can be jerry rigged to work. All the more reason to try some good beer anyway! There's magic all up in the good beers, trust me on this.

Riding bikes

2010-05-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we made the trek down to Arcadia for the annual RI NEMBA Spring Fun Ride. The early wake up call was worth it as Jim G laid out a great loop(s) for all to enjoy. We also had a rare opportunity to ride bikes with the legendary Travsquatch of Thule fame. Try as he might he didn't even manage to break anything on Mike's D660. We rode the first 9 miles and then improvised our own loop at the end finishing with a ripping descent back down to Arcadia Rd. While the 95 trail is not to be missed time constraints led to the unfortunate decision to skip it.

We picked up a bunch of RI NEMBA T shirts at the ride, they are for sale for $15 with all the cash going to RI NEMBA. I hear it's so they can buy a big screen TV for their palatial club house... Seriously, they are great shirts and the blaze orange shirt might save you the hassle of not riding somewhere when you arrive at the trailhead and realize that you forgot your blaze orange vest. Buy one and throw it in your trunk, your backseat, your gear bag or whatever. A ride in a cotton T shirt is better than no ride at all, right?

No pics of the ride because I completely forgot to grab the camera on the way out the door Sunday morning. Here's a pic of the RI NEMBA shirts.

The weather looks great for tomorrow nights ride and trail conditions at Lincoln Woods are pretty darn near perfect right now. Maybe we'll remember to bring the camera along this time.

Nailed!

2010-05-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

Watch out for nails, eh? Maybe I should ask Mavic to warranty my ancient hard anodized rim... For what it's worth it didn't make it all the way through so it's still rideable.

On that note, happy Bike to Work Day kids!

Redlines are back in stock!

2010-05-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

D660's are in stock in both size 17" & 19". These 29ers are the best bang for your buck with how they come spec'd. So come get 'em before they ride on out the door under someone else. If you fit a 19" you're more than welcome to swing by and take my personal D660 out for a spin on the local trails to experience how sweet they ride. Redline really has their 29er geometry nailed across the board. And, not to be forgotten, we do have a D440 in stock as well.

Also new in the shop this week is the Redline Device D26 frames. They're not supposed to be out until June but we got a couple early. DJ, street or park... these things are dialed. They sport a 100% post-weld heat-treated Sanko chromoly frame, 100% ED plated and painted for maximum corrosion resistance, a Mid BB and an integrated head tube. They also feature suspension ready geometry that feels just right.

Here's my own personal D26 I built up for myself. Yeah... I love it.

Blue Hills Part II

2010-05-10T19:15:00.001-07:00

The shop was closed and it was beautiful outside today so I opted for another solo ride at the Blue Hills. I rode nearly the same loop from last week backwards and added some trails into the mix before heading up Coon Hollow for the observation tower. Today couldn't have been any more different than last Monday in terms of humidity and temperature. It's amazing how much more fun it is to ride when you can actually breathe! Who knew? I climbed an assload and even broke down and tried out the 22t ring. This almost immediately made my left leg all crampy (probably because I never, ever spin and usually ride a 1x8, or a singlespeed) but I figured out how to use the damn thing anyhow. The new bike was great, lots of fun on the descents and I was digging the all the neat noises it made when oddly shaped rocks slammed into the downtube at speed. Did I mention all the loose rock up there?

Speaking of trail obstacles, we have nothing to complain about when it comes to horse poop at Lincoln Woods. Little mountains of horse dookie abound and it's kinda nasty, that's all I'm sayin'. Keep those eyes peeled if you pedal around in those woods...

Don't forget our weekly Tuesday night NEMBA ride is on for tomorrow because, as you may know, tomorrow is Tuesday. Unless you read this tomorrow and today is Tuesday. Anyways, come by the shop for the ride and post ride Harpoon and general bike dorkery.

Oh yeah, two more things. Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day is May 23rd. If the recent posts have you wondering where to ride in the park then head up and check it out. RI NEMBA is also hosting their annual spring Fun Ride on May 23rd so if you live in Southern New England you have two great MTB events to choose from. Get out and ride somewhere new!

It's not dead yet!

2010-05-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

The 26er singlespeed that is. So many have been quick to announce the demise of this style of bike, but it's not quite ready to be relegated to the annals of MTB history. Case in point, the Surly 1x1 we just built for a customer below. After killing his previous steel hardtail (that shall remain nameless) the Surly was an obvious choice. We think it turned out pretty nicely. We can do the same for your derelict old beater if you'd like.

We snuck out to ride the Rocky Mountains again after work yesterday. Here's the only decent picture from the lot. Mike looks like a psycho killer and all but that's just because he's concentratin' real hard. No pics of me as I usually just look like a spaz on whatever it is I'm riding anyways...

Canadian Invasion

2010-05-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Our Rocky Mountain demo sleds are finally here and have been test ridden over the last week by Mike and myself. What this means is they are now officially broken in and ready for real live test rides. We brought in an Altitude 50 and an Altitude 29er (sizes 19 and 18 respectively).

The deal with the demos is pretty simple. If you're interested in either bike (or any of the Altitude 26ers, as the platform is similar through the line) you can take one of these demos out for a real ride, wherever you want, as long as you get it back to us by the end of the day and you're OK with us taking a $50 deposit. The deposit is converted to store credit in the off chance you don't fall head over heels in love with the bike and order one for yourself, your neighbor and each member of your family. If you are in the market for a longer travel 29er or an all mountain rig these bikes are worth checking out in the flesh and on the trail.

Sorry for the lousy pic of the Altitude 50, I tried to focus the camera but I was busy collecting little bits of my lungs at the Blue Hills during an especially humid ride on Monday afternoon. I fear may have left several pieces of them on the Coon Hollow trail while wheezing my way up the climb. I'll post some more pictures of both bikes and maybe one or two of Chris Friel's super gigantic 60cm Rocky Mountain Solo CXR cross bike.

On the non-Rocky Mountain front the newest batch of Redline D660s will be here early next week. If you are interested in a D660 swing by and check them out before they're gone, apparently we weren't the only ones to see the value in this bike. If you snooze you lose and this may be the only view you get...

And for those left wondering; yes, this week's NEMBA ride did indeed happen as the weather cleared up just in time. Basically if it isn't pouring we're riding. It's that simple, but give us a call if you feel the need to confirm before heading out. The pic below is from Chase on the way back to the shop. The pollution influenced sunset at Chase Farm was real nice. Thank you unhealthy airborne particulate matter!

Also, for those of you who haven't already heard the great folks at Harpoon Brewery have supplied us with post ride beverages for the season. Their generosity manifested itself in the form of 10 cases of beer, 5 UFO and 5 IPA. So, yeah, the post ride beers are on us.

It can't rain all the time

2010-04-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

So yeah, the ride was pretty much a bust. Even Mike didn't want to head out into the nasty weather at 6:00 so I went out solo. I figured things might clear out when I spotted the western edge of the storm and saw a hint of clear sky. About an hour in things improved vastly on the weather front and by the time I was cutting back through Chase Farm things were downright nice. It was one of the few times I've had the park all to myself as it was completely devoid of people and dogs. Pic below courtesy of the magical i phone

Spooky in the shop

2010-04-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Matt Green swung by the other day after the Massasoit Lung Opener with his pimped out Spooky Darkside race bike! Don't hate on the old school set up (I think his stem might be 250mm long) because the boy is fast! He showed off his E-Thirteen XC guide and Edge rims laced to King hubs as well. Tough life, right?

Speaking of tough lives we made the trip up to the always awesome Harpoon Brewery in Boston to pick up 10 cases of IPA and UFO. These fine beers are for the upcoming season of Tuesday night rides. Sorry Leblanc, no PBR... you're on your own! Big thanks to Jessie Cox and Jamie Schier for lookin' out for thirsty mountain bikers in our neck of the woods!

Check out their latest year round offering, a hoppier version of Belgian style Pale Ale.

Not a bad post ride sight to see:

Rootin' Tootin' Shootin'. Or, it's that time of year - again.

2010-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Wear your blaze orange kids! Lest you get taken out in the crossfire between the wild turkeys and the hunters. Those birds are crack shots, or so I hear.

From the RI NEMBA folks:

Please note that blaze orange vests are required on Rhode Island state
lands between Sunday April 25 and the last day of May.

So, that's about it. Wear your orange and don't rile the nice DEM officers or the hunters we share the woods with. Pretty simple stuff. Now get out and ride!

Foxboro State Forest Trail Work!!

2010-04-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

FYI - South East Massachusetts NEMBA is doing some much needed trail work in Foxboro!

On Sunday April 25, 2010 SEMASS NEMBA will be holding our fourth 2010 Spring Trail Maintenance day in F. Gilbert Hills State Forest in Foxboro.

The projects we are planning to do have been approved by the DCR Park Management.

All volunteers who attend, will be eligible for the TREK BICYCLES drawing held at the end of the season!

The funding for materials we will use for this project are all from the Foxboro MBAS ride we held last summer (2009).

Meeting Location/Sign In:

We will meet at the Mill Street Dirt Parking lot at 8:30 AM across from the headquarters building. There is parking here and next-door at the Foxboro Community Center. Volunteers can come early to sign in and have a cup of coffee care of SEMASS NEMBA.

Start Time: Work will start at 9AM.

Project Over-view: Sunday's work will include work in two separate areas of the park (depending on volunteer turnout). The 1st major trail work site is a 10 minute walk from the Mill Street Parking lot. Our (2) projects include constructing a large bridge on one very wet trail, and a re-route & closure of an eroding portion of trail in a different section of the park. SEMASS NEMBA will provide lunch FREE for all volunteers.

Estimated Project Time:
We expect both projects to take 4+ hours to complete. We may have a group ride after the trail day, but this is weather and or time dependent. Bring your bike & riding clothes JUST IN CASE!

What to Bring/Wear:
Please bring water, work gloves, & bug spray. The bridge work will be in a muddy section of trail, we recommend long pants and work boots.

Weather/Cancellation Notice:
We'll try to work on Sunday regardless of the weather conditions. If inclement weather such as heavy rain or storms come through, please check www.semassnemba.org for updates/cancellations.

Tools: SEMASS NEMBA will provide tools for all of the work being performed. If you have your own personal tools you rather work with, feel free to bring them, but you are responsible for your own property.

For questions, please email: cpatrick@semassnemba.org

Foxboro, 4/20 Monday Road Trip

2010-04-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

A few pics from yesterdays ride in Foxboro with Steve Rossi and Juliana (and trail dog)from the hinterlands of Western Ma. Conditions were near perfect with temps in the 60s. Can't think of a better way to spend Monday morning...

Bluff Point trip!

2010-04-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

We took a road trip down to the coast of CT for some fast flowy singletrack and plenty of rock garden goodness. We didn't stop to take too many pics but here are a few to whet your appetite for riding...

KHS 650b Demo bike in the house!

2010-04-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

Super KHS rep Derek Griggs dropped off his personal 650 606 and we should have it in the shop until the middle of next week. Swing by and check it out and if it's nice out take it for a spin on the trails over at Lincoln Woods. The bike comes pretty decked out fresh out of the box. SLX, Hayes Hydros, Nevegals (with room to go bigger), an FSA cockpit, WYB Silverado and an X Fusion Velvet R round out the package. Having personally ridden an X Fusion last season I can say it's a pretty nice fork and works well with the 650b wheels. The bike is a medium and sports a fairly long top tube and should work for most folks somewhere between 5'7 and 5'10 tall.*

* That is unless you are built like a monkey or something. In which case we can't help you, though we can sympathize with your plight.

Big River Cleanup and Arcadia Trail Work Day

2010-04-08T12:00:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. The buds are popping out on the trees, the grass is turning green and the rusty detritus of past human encampment in Big River is just begging to be pulled from it's rest! Guess what that means. It's the 80000th annual Big River Cleanup in West Greenwich, RI.

Swing on down on Saturday morning and work together with other people who, like you, enjoy pulling old tires, refrigerators, lawn mowers, bed springs and beer cans out of the woods. Think of it like American Pickers only with a land stewardship angle.

The message below is from the man with the plan. Mr. RI NEMBA himself, Pete Gengler:

Big River Cleanup is Saturday April 10th, 8:30 at the 6a Park & Ride off 95 in West Greenwich. 5 dumpsters to fill up with crap.

Also:

Lots & Lots of trail work to do to fix Arcadia from the flood of 2010!

RI NEMBA is looking for volunteers to clean up Arcadia with AMC.

Sunday April 11th, 9am at the entrance to Frosty Hollow Rd across from the White Church on rt 165.

Go get your trail work on.

NEMBA ride is finally happening tonight!

2010-04-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

I hope so anyways... When I awoke this morning it was sunny and warm like the accu-weather forecast stated late last night. Now it's raining. Way to go local weather people!

If it's pouring the ride is off. If it's just drizzle and/or light rain we ride. Simple enough, right?

Meet at the shop at 5:30 to be ready to ride promptly at 6:00!

Shop Whip

2010-04-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

Because we need to ride in style... this is how we roll.

Another cog in the machine

2010-03-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Before we received the 100,000 inches of rain that threatens to submerge all of RI we managed to spin the new Monocog over to Chase Farm for a shakedown ride. Yeah, I know. Singlespeed 29ers are so 2005. Whatever, we do what we want.

The sweet paint job and the Kenda Nevegals come stock with this whip and it still weighs under 30 pounds, if I take the reflectors off... Seriously, this bike offers a whole lot of woods riding fun for $500. Slap some discs on there and it just gets better. The frame even has room for the gigantic WTB Weirwolf LT 2.55s we have in the shop. Monster Truck 29er for real!

NEMBA ride is off this week

2010-03-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

With things looking a lot like the below we're going to have to call this week's ride off in advance. We might shoot for Wednesday night though so keep an eye on this blog or the NEMBA forums.

Stay dry out there kids!

Redline D660 action shots

2010-03-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

A few pictures from todays ride through Chase Farm and Lincoln Woods. I'm too tired to type so I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Spring has sprung...

2010-03-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and I'm still slaying forks. The photo below is broken spring # 2 from a Minute 29 fork. The fix was simple enough and after a call to Hayes a heavier weight spring was installed. A ride over to Lincoln Woods confirmed that the heavier spring was a huge improvement as it made the fork feel far less linear.

On the shop front we have our sign and window decal! We're officially a bike shop with actual living and breathing customers already. Crazy, I know... Mike took receipt of a sweet new Redline D660 the other day and took for it's maiden voyage on the ride today. This thing is pretty sweet and it's a bargain racer right out of the box at $1500 (msrp). I may pick one up as well so we can rock the wonder twin dork vibe this season. Or, maybe I'll get a Rocky Mountain Slayer and see how that goes.

Mike will be racing on the Redline next Sunday at the King of Burlingame Time Trial and I will be attempting to hobble my way around the course as well. It should be a great event as usual, and it's always a nice chance to catch up with friends not seen often enough. Here's what it looks like all brand new and shiny with a MRP Mini G installed as well.

On the NEMBA side of things the Tuesday night rides are supposed to start this week but the rain looks like it may ruin those plans. We've been riding over from the shop via Chase Farm which is a nice change, and it adds a little extra distance to the ride as well as a change of pace. Feel free to call and check to see if we'll be riding but generally speaking if it's really raining we're not riding. We're also working on getting the OK from the park to extend the NEMBA bridge at Lincoln Woods in the mud bog. This project will be scheduled for National Trails Day, June 5th.

Our "official" open date is April 3rd but we're pretty much open now so feel free to swing by. We're working on establishing our hours but right now it looks kinda like this:

Tue: 12-5:30 (NEMBA ride at 6:00)
Wed - Friday: 11 - 7
Sat: 10 - 6
Sun: 12-5
Monday: Closed

If you swing by don't forget to be wary of the guard dog, she's vicious...

NEMBA Tuesday night rides!!

2010-03-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! The weekly NEMBA rides at Lincoln Woods are starting next Tuesday 3/23. We close at 5:30 and the rides will leave at 6:00 from the shop (179 Front St. in Lincoln, 02865) so we can ride over through Chase Farm. This will add some variety to a loop that we all know so well. We'll probably eke out around an hour or so until the days get longer. Remember, if it's raining the ride is off. The ride is an intermediate ride with some technical features and a bunch of climbing.

As always bring a bike, your helmet and a pleasant demeanor. Your on your own for post ride beverages but you are free to stash them in our fridge.

Hope to see you there,
Brendan
401 335 3163

We're Legit

2010-02-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

We're now officially a Rocky Mountain bicycle dealer. Just thought I'd share the good news with the two people who have visited this blog.

If you haven't checked out the new lineup you can click here and drool over the latest offerings from our friends to the north. Expect to see Mike and I out on the trail (and maybe the roads) on Rockys this season. I'm thinking an Altitude 50 is going to make an ideal all 'rounder for those early morning escapades in Lincoln Woods and Foxboro.

We're almost there...

2010-02-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

Since we last visited more than a few things have transpired and Mike and I are going at this full blast. We hope to be open in a few short weeks with a focus on service with bikes, parts, T shirts, jerseys and other bicycle riding paraphernalia soon to follow. An official sign and some advertising are next on the agenda, and today we joined NEMBA as a supporting shop. Yeah I know, that's a shock...

Maybe you're wondering just where we are located? The address is 179 Front St. in Lincoln, RI. Feel free to swing by and drop in for a visit. We're in there often getting the place all spiffed up and whatnot. Our "official" website is in the works and we'll have a phone number shortly. The shop is a few hundred yards from the Blackstone River Bikeway and roughly one mile from Lincoln Woods. Since we already spend an inordinate amount of time doing trail work, and riding, at Lincoln Woods this shouldn't be too surprising to anyone who knows us. And, as an added bonus, there's a Honey Dew Donuts next door. How Rhode Island! This should make giving directions real easy...

Below are a few pics of the shop in no particular order. I'll leave up to you, dear reader, to figure out the chronology. More to follow as the service area is finished over the course of the next day or so. The bench is pretty darn nice and we're actually a little scared to get it dirty.

Now, here's the part where I could launch into some long winded manifesto like spiel detailing how we plan to dominate the world and make everyone happy with bicycle riding good times and tasty snacks. I'm not going to bother. The long and short of it is we like bikes, a lot, and we're going to try like hell to get more people into them as well. Whether you're riding to work, in the woods, on the 'cross course or just for pure recreation (and I hope you all do this now and then, even you serious types) you should find something of interest at our shop. If you don't then I guess we're not doing our jobs.

And now, some exciting bike shop interior pictures:

It's almost that time....

2010-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

when things go from 0-100000000 mph. If all goes well Mike and I will be pimpin' bikes and pumpin' tires in no time. I need to start drinking more coffee....