Bike Shop Hub

Well its the weekend again, just in time.  Although to some this weekend holds a time honored tradition of eating and drinking to much and sitting in front of a large screen watching overpaid warriors of the grid iron battle it out for the ultimate prize to be had in a grass field that is 100×50 yards. Not that I’m against this tradition at all, I will be there as well on Sunday, stuffing my face and drinking till I pass out, go Colts!

That being said we are in that time of year were we are all just waiting around for spring.  I try to make it down to Sedona as much as possible, the single track is primo right now.  The other folks at the Bike Shop Hub are getting a little restless as well.  Our fearless leader Josh, has outfitted the Thorn tandem with snow tires, he’s planning on taking the GF out for a go round this weekend.

I’m sure Casey will be conjuring up the next idea to help evolve society by the resurgence of the classic road bike, society could be so lucky.  Next week will features some special posts discussing some of the great ideas that Casey has in development, so be sure to check  in for a sneak preview of the 2010 Wandertec line.

If you are doing something fun and exciting this weekend, right in and send us some pics, we would love to here about it, especially if it involves bikes or bike trailers.

Alright everybody, I hope you can hold your breath till we get back till Monday, here are some images to keep you busy.

The Bike Trailer Blog needs you!

Our sister blog, the  Bike Trailer Blog is getting a face lift.  We’re turning Bike Trailer Blog form a general catch all blog about bike trailers to a blog filled with and fueled by reader, customer and user content.  We want the Bike Trailer blog to become the peoples bike trailer blog, were the contributions of our reader, a.k.a. you guys, is the driving content of the site.  We want all your cool pictures and stories about the bike trailers you have purchased, created yourself or just the crazy trailers you have seen and how you use your favorite trailer  whether in your daily life or for special trips and loads.

You now have a place to share you stories with other bike trailer enthusiasts.  If your looking for a little inspiration then Bike Trailer Blog is the place to go.  We already have a good start thanks to some contributions form our readers.  Some of the stories are really entertaining and there are some really cool setups as well.  We will also be talking about or own Wandertec line of cargo trailers The Wandertec BONGO, and the accessories that we are developing to work with the BONGO.  We are designing the BONGO with our readers and customers in mind, the more feedback we receive the better we will be able to tailor the BONGO and its accessories to your needs .

So if you need to talk about your bike trailer, discover what other have done and are doing, need to purchase, or your just board, check out the new Bike Trailer Blog, and we would love to see your photos and hear what you have to say.

Welcome back to the amazing journey two friends had in Western New Mexico and how that journey provides a great platform for discussing the important points of preparing for and enjoying a bike tour.  Last time in part II John and I climbed up the Mogollon, a gnarly 5000 ft climb up Bursum Road to the second highest point of our trip and we discussed how to properly plan a route and the things to consider when looking at a map to pick out where you want to go.  Today we are going to continue the journey and discuss choosing the right bike gear for your trip, specifically bikes and bike setup.  I know this might sound like a fairly obvious task, but I have learned from experience, that when you are relying on pedal power and you are at the mercy of the elements having the right amount, of the correct gear, makes a big difference.

For John and I, we knew that our trip was going to consist of mostly dirt forest roads, some ATV track and some pavement, so fat tires were going to be a must. Whether you are into 29 or 26 mountain bikes, having fat tires when your touring off road makes a world of difference.  The geometry of a mountain bike is slacker then that of a road bike providing more stability off road while carrying a load.  This might be subjective, but I feel like the beefier design of an MTB also lends it self to carrying bike panniers or pulling a bike trailer.  It would be like putting a bunch of weight on a race horse when a donkey would do much better in the long run, but that’s just my personal opinion.

So pick your self out a nice MTB frame that either has pannier mounts or can pull a trailer, steel and titanium handle fatigue much better then aluminum, but aluminum is better then carbon fiber from a touring standpoint.  When choosing parts don’t think fast or light weight, think about whats gonna hold up and not need field service, you don’t want to try and overhaul a hub in the woods, trust me.  Get strong sturdy wheels, I prefer 36 spokes for extra strength, don’t worry about going tubeless, it ain’t gonna happen with a touring load.  Like in any situation, tires are you contact with the road, don’t  skimp here, I have done countless tours and have had to only change a flat when I ran lite weight tires that I knew I shouldn’t have.  I choose to go with a wide, high volume tire with low tred and a protective casing.  You might think you need some big nobbies but realize that your gonna be carrying around 50 extra pounds of gear, you’re not going to have any problems hooking up and the high volume with provide a cushier ride and help prevent against pinch flats.  And just for safety use some tubes pre-injected with sealant.

The parts on your bike should remain fairly common, things that any bike shop would carry, 9 spd drive train, cable disc brakes, hydrolics are a big no no for touring, if they brake your screwed.  The simpler the part the easier it is to fix and find replacements for.  I keep it simple 9spd xt drive train, bar-end shifters and Avid BB7 cable disc brakes, every body carries Shimano, you can’t go wrong.  Make sure your bike fit is for long hours and comfort not for racing.  Plan on spending alot of time just sitting and grinding, but the bright side is you’ll finally have time to look around.   Get a saddle you can spend all day in and maybe even a suspension seat post.  It is important that your hands and neck will be content as well, a case of numb hands or a kink in the neck can make a day of riding not so fun.

Always be sure to carry essential spare parts, tubes, cables, a few spokes, a couple of random m5/m4 bolts and some zip ties etc.  If your using a bike you already own make sure it is up to the task, if you are purchasing one with the intent of it being a touring bike, do your research and ask your self what type of touring you will be doing most.

So…. John and I crested the top of Silver Creek Divide almost 6000 ft above where we started that morning.  The great thing about long climbs is that they are followed by long descents.  It was a little misty at the top so we geared up and started down the back side of the climb.  It was amazingly beautiful up there, it was only a slight downhill at first weaving back and forth across a high ridge covered in Aspen and Spruce trees and amazing views on either side.  We were treated to a couple of mule deer sittings and other small forest critters.

The traverse across the unknown ridge lasted longer then we expected, but eventually we started to roll down hill, fast! It didn’t take long to get back into the ponderosa forests in to a badly burned area.  The camping area that we had originally chosen to stay the night at was closed due to a mud slide, no doubt from the erosion caused by the forest fire,  luckily we ran into a forest ranger and she was nice enough to point us towards another spot that she said would be quite lovely this time of year.  So we saddled back up and road another hour arriving at Dipping Vat Tank, I’ve seen alot of so called tanks in the Southwest but this was actually more like a lake.  The scenery was different on this side of the mountains then on our starting west side much dryer and more open grass areas mixed with  pine,   most likely caused by the rain shadow of the mountains.  We arrived to a nice camp ground over looking the lake and proceeded to exploded our gear all over the pick nick table and start eating and drink beer that out campground neighbor was kind enough to share with us.

Stay tuned for the next episode when we discuss and further gear selection and John and I tackle the toughest and highest point of our trip, the climb up to Bear Wallow look out!

Useful links mentioned in these posts: Adventure Cycling, Crazy Guy on a Bike, Bike Touring Tips, Bicycle Touring 101, Mountain Bike Riding.com

If you would like to catch up to where we are now, or just want to go back over the topics we have covered previously check out part I and part II

This January has been a tough one to get out on good rides, I mean it is January after all.   Yes those of us that are lucky enough to live in Flagstaff Arizona are spoiled, in the summer we get to ride some of the best alpine single track in the world and in the winter we have to drive to Sedona to ride red slick rock and twisty trails lined with juniper, rough I know.

It had been a while since I had been turned onto something new in Sedona, almost a year since I road some less then known stuff on the North West side of town.  This year the whispers were already spreading about a new section of trail to the South West of town, which is as much location detail as I’m going to go into, not that I think its cool to be all secret and covert about trails, but more to respect those that do feel that way and played a hand in making said trail.

It was a typical beautiful winter day in Sedona, sunny and 60, my best mate and I, John the “Leg” Benson headed down for a needed bro ride.  We parked at New Front-tires aka New Racketeers, aka New Frontiers as we always do and started our shred.  We road up and over Airport Mesa and headed down to Broken Arrow around to Chicken Point.  We took a moment to stare at the pink jeeps and tourists and then headed down under the hwy.  For the sake of respect I’m going to end the directional portion.

As we climbed up this new trail the views were amazing, there was certainly some exposure but nothing life threatening unless you really wanted it.  We hugged the bottom of a cliff and made our way across a ridge with a great slick rock descent.  I’m being vague on purpose.

Ultimately we popped out at Red Rock Crossing, and headed back up to the car via Carroll Canyon.  The Conditions were perfect, slightly tacky and moist, a little tricky on slick rock but the pay off on the single track was  worth it.  It was a great day, about 3 hrs of riding finished with a visit to the Wild Flower Bread Company. If you have never ridden in Sedona, you should slap your-self,  it offers some trails and views that will take your breath away.

Most people do not think of Flagstaff, Arizona as being a cycling mecca, but Bike Shop Hub’s hometown is full of cycling enthusiasm! Flagstaff has a tendency to “fly under the radar” when it comes to it’s cycling scene, but there is a lot going on in and around this city of around 60,000 people. This unique alpine city of 7000 ft elevation is at the base of the highest mountain range in Arizona (Humphrey’s Peak = 12,633 feet!) and it is surrounded by national forest. It’s cycling “scene” includes commuting by bike, mountain biking, road riding, a large selection of bike shops, bike frame builders, and in general a great group of avid cyclists.

The City of Flagstaff has made a lot of improvements over the last 10 years to make the city much more bike friendly. They have added new urban trails, bike lanes, and even a bike bridge over a busy 4 lane street. The urban trail system is a network of paved and gravel paths that are generally removed from streets and run through local neighborhoods. They provide a safe and quiet way to commute around town. In addition, most of the new streets being constructed have large bike lanes for safer riding on the streets. The annual bike to work week organized by Flagstaff Biking, is a large event that the City has rallied behind to encourage more bike commuting.

The mountain biking around Flagstaff is not too shabby! With national forest surrounding the town and an ever expanding network of trails to ride with very comfortable summer time temperatures, the mountain biking experience is a lot of fun. During the winter months many mountain bikers from Flagstaff head to the warmer desert climate of Sedona.  Sedona is a 45 minute drive from Flagstaff and offers a nice network of trails that surround the town. Take a look at my photos of trail riding around Flagstaff and Sedona.

The road riding around Flagstaff is pretty good but there are a limited number of places to ride. There is usually a Saturday morning group ride that consists of racers and recreational riders who ride the Lake Mary and Mormon Lake circuit for training/fun. The road riding is generally through the large scenic Ponderosa Pine forest that surrounds Flagstaff.  For a small city Flagstaff has a fairly large bicycle industry. The notable bike shops are AZ Bikes, Absolute Bikes, Single Track Bikes, Cosmic Cycles and the soon to open Revolution Bicycles. In addition there are two custom frame builders in town by the names of Coconino Cycles and Sendero Cycles. Steve Garro is a local mountain bike legend who specializes in custom fillet brazed steel frames (they are a work of art!) at Coconino Cycles. Joe Murray is a national mountain bike hall of famer and long time bicycle designer and he is the head honcho designer/fabricator at Sendero Cycles. And of course there is the Bike Shop Hub home of Bike Trailer Shop and Bike Bag Shop! Last but not least is the cool community of cyclists in Flagstaff. There are so many friendly riders of all types of riding.

Whether commuting through town, throwing down the hammer on a great piece of singletrack or enjoying a nice summer road ride, most fellow riders take the time to say “Hi!”, if not stop and chat about how great it is to be out riding. There are a lot of loose nit social groups that get together for a ride and then there is the highly organized Flagstaff Biking group that is involved in promoting bicycle advocacy in Northern Arizona as well as trail building and maintenance. When all that is put together it is no wonder that BikeShopHub thrives in this cycling focused high altitude environment. Flagstaff may not be large in population but it is huge when it comes to cycling enthusiasm!

What do you think? Have you been to Flagstaff before or would you like to visit? Do you live in a place that has similar cycling enthusiasm? We would like to hear from you. Let us know in the comment box below. Happy trails!

About the author:
Pete Prebus has lived in Flagstaff since 1997 and is the mountain biker at MountainBikeRiding.com.  See the website for more about him and mountain bike riding and maintenance tips.

We have some new faces here at the Bike Shop Hub,  maybe they’re not new in a time on the earth sense, well except one, but there new to us.  The great thing about a growing business is the amazing new people that we get to bring on board that continue to enhancing our little shop.

Being that most of what we do is conducted within the inter-webz we needed to bring in  a programing power house to keep all of our ducks in a row.  Lucky such a power house does exist in Flagstaff and his name is Frank.  If a computer was a a small Germanic village then Frank is an earth shaking Roman army come to conquer and enslave.  Get the point, he gets things done, and he’s a really likable nice guy, so that helps.

We have continued to develop our own in house brand of bike trailers and bike trailer accessories.  I had to move over to shipping to pick up some slack which opened a position to bring in a new manufacturing specialist.  Its hard to find someone who is versed in bicycle mechanics, manufacturing techniques and who is cool.  Many fill two out of the three but here at the bike shop hub we settle for nothing but the best, and we found it in Casey.  Casey is like a reincarnated Sheldon Brown, and Bob Villa combined into one super being. If it can be thought up Casey can make it.

We would also like to welcome back Megan, there was getting to be a little too much man around the Bike Shop Hub lately, so her return has brought balance to the force. This time Megan has brought a little something extra with her, Neva, some baby she found on the street. No that’s not true, it really is her baby, and a super cute baby at that.  We were all a little nervous about a baby at work especially Robin, because he has babyphobia, but Neva has warmed our harts over and probably gets more done around here then Robin does.

All of us and by us I mean Josh, Robin and I, are glad to have the new faces in the shop and the return of Megan. This much awesome can hardly be contained in one building.  I think it is going to be a great year for the Bike Shop Hub aka. Bike Trailer Shop, Bike Bag Shop and Bike Kid Shop.

In part one of Bike Touring the Gila Mountains,  John and I had arrived in Western New Mexico and we were preparing to start an epic weekend of bicycle touring in the Gila Mountains.  I wanted to take the time, to not only talk about how awesome our trip was, but to discuss the details and finer points that need to be taken into consideration when preparing and executing a bike touring trip.  This time we are going to talk about route planning.

Where are we going to go?  So you want to do a bike tour.  Maybe you have some vacation time or a long weekend to take a trip.  Having a successful and fun bike tour starts with route planning.  You can’t decide what to bring, what not to bring, how long you’ll be gone or anything else until you know where your going.  Whether your planning to go on or off road studying your route carefully is very important.

A classic mistake is to look at a map and say “well that doesn’t look to far or too steep, I think it will only take a few hours”  Wrong! Its seems no matter how prepared you are or how fit you are, your route ultimately takes you longer then you think it will.  Maybe not by much, maybe by a lot.  I’m not saying that every time you go bike touring this will happen but I would wager 70% of the time it will.  Unforeseen mechanical issues, course changes, Sasquatch sightings, who knows, something unplanned is always just around the corner.  So when estimating your travel times always give your self flexibility.

Research your route.  With all the information on the web finding resources about were you want to go shouldn’t be to hard.  There’s a good chance someone has already done the ride your planning or at least part of it, and people love to talk about them selves.  One resource that is key to any bike tourist is Adventure Cycling,  they have a multitudes of helpful tips, maps of different touring routes around the country and local contact information such as local bike shops.  Crazy Guy On a Bike is another useful website as well as Bike Touring Tips. A great site that has recently popped up that is a great all around resource for riding is Mountain Bike Riding.com.  I personally do a lot of off road touring, I have found that the local Forest Service office is always very helpfully in providing information about the area in question.  It is good to get an idea of the roads you will be traveling on, what is their condition? And what type of travel time will you be able to make based on those conditions?

Things to consider when planning your potential route are, where are the water stops, this should be with out question.  Where are the food stops? Am I going to carry everything I need or will I need to stop and by supplies.  If I am going to camp, where are the potential camp spots along the way? Or if you’re doing the hotel/motel thing, what towns will have places to stay. If I need help where are the nearest bike shops or hardware stores? These are all things you need to know ahead of time,  enabling you to make good decisions if something unexpected was to arise, and to make your trip stress free and fun.

Back to the actual trip. So John and I were at the real start of our tour, even though we had ridden 12 mi from the car to Alma, NM we were now at the base of the Mogollon climb, a 5000 ft vertical gain in 17  mi, with 60 lbs of gear each in our bike panniers, a large task for even ex-elite bike racers.  So we hit it, the first part of the climb was on pavement, but not nice blacktop, it was more like a poorly maintained golf cart path.  About half way up the climb we passed through the semi-ghost town of Mogollon, an old mining community, an interesting place to say the least.  On the other side of the town the dirt started.  Which took us from about 6000 ft up to 9000+.  It was a beautiful climb up through Oak and Juniper forests then through the large pine zones up to the Spruce and Aspen.

It took us most of the day to complete the climb with a couple of pit stops along the way. We reached the top mid-afternoon and even though it was cold and drizzly we were treated to some spectacular views.

This is a perfect example of knowing your route.  John and I knew the climb was going to be long, epic and at times hard, so we were prepared physically and mentally.  We had quick access with our handleber bags to different kinds of clothing as the weather changed while gaining altitude but still working hard climbing.  We made sure to constantly snack on small amounts of food to keep the energy levels up.

Eating a big lunch only puts a strain on your gastric system and requires blood to digest which could other wise be in your legs, stopping and eating lunch is fine but not when your still have another two or three thousand feet to climb.

At the top we stopped for a moment to take it all in and out on some warmer cloths.  It was all down hill for the rest of the day, so stay tuned as we continue to talk about bike touring techniques and the Gila Mountain bike tour.

Useful links mentioned in these posts: Adventure Cycling, Crazy Guy on a Bike, Bike Touring Tips, Bicycle Touring 101, Mountain Bike Riding.com

Episode I, Episode III

If you’re looking for a great bike touring trip in the southwest that has amazing scenery, great views, hot springs, and few people then check out the Gila Mountains loop my good friend John and I did last spring, and while we are re-living the trip we will also discuss the details of executing and successful, fun safe bike trip.

We planned a three day trip over Memorial day weekend 2009 that would include mostly forest roads and higher elevations.  Back in the day, John and I spent some time in the area of the Gila Mountains and Silver City in an epic road stage race called the Tour of the Gila. We always thought that it would be great to come back to the area some day and spend some time checking things out a while not killing ourselves on our road bikes; thus, a tripped was planned.

Both of us were excited to try out the new gear we had recently purchased.  I had fully outfitted my Gunnar Rock Tour with Old Man Mountain racks and a full set of Ortlieb Front and Rear Roller Classics Panniers. You can imagine how stoked I was to try out my new gear.  John recently completed his custom built Sendero touring frame, the Fogsly, a frame that he designed with the help of Joe Murry.  John and Joe are two of the three that make up Sendero Cycles.

It doesn’t take a genius to plan a great bike tour, but there are certain things such as route planning bike and gear set up, food, and the right type of knowledge that can be the difference between a wonderful time or a not so great trip.  It can be the little details that can make all the difference when it comes to bike touring.  We are going to go into the tips that I have learned from my experiences that have made bike touring a very enjoyable experience, even when the odds have been stacked against me.

We loaded all the gear up on Friday afternoon and headed out from the FLG towards New Mexico. We had an amazing drive through the White Mountains, then dropped into the San Fransisco basin.  It took about 4 hours to make it to Alma, NM, from Flagstaff.  We found a place off Hwy 180 to camp for the night and stash the truck for a couple of days…..stay tuned to hear about how our journey continues, in the next episode we will begin our discussion on how to plan for a great trip and see how the first day ends up for John and  I.

Useful links mentioned in these posts: Adventure Cycling, Crazy Guy on a Bike, Bike Touring Tips, Bicycle Touring 101, Mountain Bike Riding.com

If you want to check another employee bike tour, Megan and her adventure, check out Bike Tour Preparation, Destination.

Episode I,  Episode II, Episode III,

Well its been a great run but unfortunately we have outgrown or home at 2505 N Center Street, and it’s time to move on up to better pastures.  Don’t worry we are not leaving Flagstaff, but we are planning on moving to a larger, new space, hopefully closer to downtown.  It must be a good sign that in these times of so called economic struggle, which sounds like a self fulfilling prophecy to me, we can continue to grow our business and keep spreading the two-wheeled love.

We are excited for the change in scenery.  Soon my desk will turn into a stack of Burley Honey Bee’s if we don’t move.  Personally, I am pulling for the downtown locations.  It feels right that if you are a serious business, you should be close to downtown Flagstaff, but that’s just my two cents.  Our master and commander Josh has been hard at work searching the commercial property market to find the best spot. We expect to find a place and be moved by the end of the month. So keep tuned to the Bike Shop Hub for our latest updates on the move.  Hopefully well have a party at the new location when we move!

Are you an avid cyclist who loves writing and internet marketing?
Than we’ve got a job for you.

Have a look at our posting for the position at Craigslist:
http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/mar/1527576217.html