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!

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

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 advi

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 f

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.

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).

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 cur

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 o

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 rid

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

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!

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 Banshe

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 t

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 SIT

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

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

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 b

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

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 Slaye

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 w