Limited Edition Chrome Bag

This unique collaboration with Upper Playground features embroidered artwork by Jeremy Fish and Sam Flores. Very Limited Run.

Available at both locations of The Hub Bike Co-op

Retail price $195.00

The Hub Bike Co-op's everyday price $185.00

Z.I.T. Zombie Interval Training

Starting Monday December 14th the Hub's spin training nights will resume at the Hub's 3020 Minnehaha Ave S location. We are changing things up this year by offering spinning two nights a week. Monday nights we will be suffering to performance training videos. On Mondays we will try and get what ever type of training regimens that the attendees would like to watch. Wednesday nights will be Z.I.T. or Zombie Interval Training. Z.I.T. involves watching movies from the extensive zombie genre and cranking up the RPMs when ever the still living on the screen are running from or fighting zombies. We will begin, December 16th where it all began with George Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead",from there who knows.
We will have 8 trainers available for attendees to use with your own bike, and 8 storage spots for spinning bikes. Call the Hub to reserve your space 612-729-0437. If you are not at the Hub at 7pm the night of your class your reserved spot will be forfeited to Spinees who are waiting. Please bring your own trainer if you own one so more people can participate.

Solar Powered Bike Lights!!!!!

The popular Blackburn Flea lights are now available with a solar panel recharge option as well as the versatile USB recharge kit.

The Solar Powered Flea Lights come in both a front and rear option; $39.99 each

These lights also come in a USB only option for $29.99, and the front lights come in a variety of colors.

Solar recharge kits will be available for previously purchased Flea lights in 2010.

Winter Service Special

Those of you who ride through the winter months (we love you) may not want to invest $65-$80 for a complete/deluxe Tune-Up for your winter ride, but still want to get it running as good as possible before the snow flies.

Have we got the perfect deal for you.

Our Quick Tune (which includes full adjustments with special consideration to bottom brackets and drivetrains) is now at the special price of $35!
Just what you need, and a great price.
Quick turn-arounds are available at both Hub Bike Co-op locations.
And all our service staff are bona-fide Superheros

Fresh!

On this, Black Friday 2009, I give you the latest and greatest at The Hub Bike Co-op

Wire Bead Vittoria Zaffiro Tire in WHITE
$15.99

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Our best selling tire now comes with a white rolling surface!

The sidewalls are black on these. Should you require the all white Zaffiro Pro (pictured above) we have those in stock as well $29.99

GroveCraft Winter Hats
$40.00

Handcrafted from recycled materials (no two hats are exactly the same), these have become a local favorite.

Available in two sizes at both Hub Bike Co-op locations.

Bern Winter Liners
$24.99

Now available at both Hub locations for the Watts, Brentwood, and Berkley style helmets. Black only (sorry, but the plaid ones only come in audio versions, which is fine for snowboarders, but biking with headphones just ain't safe).

Fixie tricks from a German Gymnasium

Stay with this for a little bit to see some pretty amazing stuff.

http://wheelgirl.typepad.com/web_log/2008/11/fixietrix-food-for-thought-in-november.html

A FEW MORE BIKES TO DREAM ABOUT

SO, SOMETIMES THINGS GET A LITTLE STRANGE WHEN YOU BLOG AND DREAM. cLICK ON ANY OF THESE IMAGES TO SEE THE BIKE. SEE'EM ALL AT THE HUB'S 301 CEDAR AVE LOCATION THIS WEEKEND FOR THE FALL EXPO SALE, NOV 19-22.

TOP TO BOTTOM....

high above GIANT TCR ADVANCED2
above ORBEA ONIX TRV
below ORBEA ONIX TLT
further down GIANT DEFY ADVANCED2
getting way down MARIN LOMBARD

Peacock Groove speaks at The Hub!

The Hub Bike Coop will be hosting a seminar by frame builder Erik Noren of Peacock Groove. The topic: frame building with steel. Erik, in spite of his seven years of being the only engine of creation behind his highly acclaimed brand, Peacock Groove, expects that you will to come to this seminar and disagree with him. Erik knows how to keep the dry details entertaining, and given Erik's years of experience with Croll and his own business there will be plenty to talk about. Erik will be speaking on his favorite tube sets and their applications, frame construction techniques, and why you should get a custom hand built frame. A Q&A session will follow Erik's presentation. Seminar will be at the West bank location, Saturday, November 21st @ 3pm. Check website The Hub website for more details.

Bianchi SOK 29er, SLX/Deore... Closeout!

So you want a sweet bike for not a lot of money? Look no further.

Bianchi SOK 29er, SLX/Deore

Was: $1799
Now: $1089!!!!

For more information contact: chrish@thehubbikecoop.biz
Special orders only, no returns and limited availability, when their gone their gone.

Bike Glow Safety Lights-Now Available!!

In our ongoing effort to provide the latest and greatest in safety gear, The Hub Bike Co-op is now stocking Bike Glow safety lights.

They come in eight different colors and provide a dramatic increase in visibility, particularly from a side view.

5 hour run time on steady and 20 hours on flashing, powered by 2 AA batteries.

Available Now!

Who Says Helmets Aren't Cool?

photo courtesy of : www.tredz.co.uk

Paul Frank has designed several graphics for the Bell Faction helmets
and we have them in stock right now
$40.oo

Also new, and super cool, are the new Glow-In-The-Dark Citi Helmets

Halfway is the cheap way to fly.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Halfway is the cheap way to fly.

We now have a sweet $650 folding bike. The Giant Halfway is an easy solution to bike airline bike carry on fees. The Halfway comes with a nice little black bag stored on the handlebar that you can put the bike into and put on the airplane.
The primary thing that I like about the Halfway is the world beater $650 price. $650 is about the cost on flying you regular bike to Europe 2.5 times. The second thing I like about this bike is that it's black. The third thing I like about this bike is that it's weird. In order to save space Giant has made the fork a righty and the chain stay and seat stay are also righty. By righty I mean there is no left fork leg, or left side of the rear triangle. Thankfully for you my wife had a baby this year, and I put on twenty pounds of sympathy weight which makes me the perfect test rider for this one sided concept. My 245lbs over normal street chatter and up driveway cutouts noticed no strange deflection in the frame. So I'd say I can't see a wrongness to the righty idea. I've never been a BMXer so I don't know much about how it feels to ride 20" wheels, but the Halfway wasn't intuitive for me. I've really hardly ridden the bike so I cant say much either way on it's handling. I think you should come in ride the bike and have your own opinion.

Charge Bikes Plug Grinder Review!!

Disclaimer: The following review contains some British slang/usage...if I inadvertently offend any Brits in the audience my apologies for being rubbish at your language, hopefully I don't come off as a complete prat.

Charge bikes come to us from across the pond, that'd be the U.K. for you lot too busy skiving off to learn your geography, and we've decided that our shop needs the class, style, and decorum that only our former colonial overlords can bring. All right, relax, I'm just taking the piss, no harm done.
Right then, back to it, the Plug is Charge's main single/fixed city frameset and it comes in all sorts of flavors, I'm going to be talking about the Grinder which seems to be more of a commuter option than some of the builds that they do.
Right out of the box i have to say that I like the color, pea soup green seems very English to me and the components look good. Sugino Messenger cranks and chainring, flat bars with just a bit of sweep, a pintle chain and actual real, full coverage metal mudguards. Very posh.
With spanner in hand I set out to make this into a bike, making notes as I went, the frame and fork are nice Tange steel, good quality paint and clean looking graphics, quite flash if you ask me. the wheels are pretty basic, sealed bearing 32 hole high-flange hubs laced to alex rims, toss in some 700x32 Continental tyres, a fixed cog and a freewheel and we're sorted for city riding.
The brakes are solid, nothing flash, just mid-reach Tektros with cyclocross levers mounted on the flat bars. Toss in a Charge saddle and Bob's your uncle, we've got our city commuter!
I had to wait a few days to ride her because the weather had stowed away in the box with the bike. Actually I wouldn't have cared and thought it was a bit daft to not ride a bike with mudguard in the rain, it's what it's built for innit? I got pulled up short by the gaffer though...
Finally took her out or a spin today the only thing I swapped out was the pedals, I was riding fixed and I prefer to go clipless for that. The ride is brilliant, the tyres eat up potholes, she goes where you point her and the fit is just about perfect for a city bike, low enough that you feel fast and nimble but high enough that it's comfortable and you can see easily. The gearing is spot on and the bars are a titch wider than my shoulders, which I prefer to the "digging your tie out of the loo" position narrow bars give you, feels a bit more stable when i'm out of the saddle or climbing. Overall I think the bike's brilliant, the dog's bollocks even, the only quibble that I have is that the front mudguard gives her a bit of toe-over, even with clipless shoes so toe-cages would probably be even worse. That and the pedals are a bit rubbish, I'd swap 'em for something in a sealed bearing if I was me, which I usually am.
All in all I'd say that under the flash paint it's a nails city ride with enough style to keep the chavs from thinking you're a prat but practical enough that you mum thinks you're safe as houses in the big bad city.

Proposed Bike Boulevards for the City of Minneapolis

The latest from the Transportation Council:

Minneapolis Public Works is beginning the process of creating preliminary designs for three bicycle boulevards. Bicycle boulevard planning tours will be held on the following days for the following projects:

• Tuesday, November 3rd (10:00 am to 2:30 pm), 5^th Street NE and 22^nd Avenue NE
• Saturday, November 7th (10:00 am to 12:30 pm), Fillmore Street NE and 6^th Avenue SE
• Saturday, November 14th (10:00 am to 12:00 noon), Bryant Avenue S

If you are interested in attending, please contact Shaun Murphy at shaun.murphy@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or 612.333.2450 to receive more details. Please leave your e-mail address and a phone number. Residents, neighborhood organizers, bicyclists, and motorists are all invited to participate.

To read more about bicycle boulevards, please visit: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/ntp.asp. To see a map of these bicycle boulevard projects, please visit: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/MinneapolisBikewaysExistingFundedPlanned.pdf.

Additionally, a neighborhood meeting will be held on Thursday, October 29th for proposed bike lanes on 18^th Avenue NE. The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm at the Northeast Recreation Center (1615 Pierce Street NE). For more details view the meeting postcard (pdf).

SWRVE Clothing

The Hub Bike Co-op is SUPER excited to add SWRVE to our apparel line-up at both stores!

Swrve clothing is stylish, functional, affordable, and made in the USA!

Milwaukee Hoodies
$120


WWR Knickers
$100

Merino Wool Tops
$50

Come and get 'em!

Save $ in the spring, come to our SS/fixed gear conversion class

So, are you thinking of joining the ranks of those whose cycling season isn't stopped by winter. If you are going to ride a standard derailleur drivetrain Then it could get very expensive, unless you clean your bike religiously ( weekly). The lubricant that you'll use to keep the rust off, will pick up salt and grit that will corrode and grind down your parts. If you wear out those parts the price tag adds up pretty fast. A list of what is usually replaced in the spring.

Chain $11 and up
Cassette $ 19 and up
2 Chain rings $42
Front derailleur $ 19 and up
Rear derailleur $25 and up
Shift cables and hosing $20 and up

That's $ 136 and I'm just quoting average priced commuter bike parts that are typically worn out in a winter of riding a geared drive train. Probably $100 dollars or more in labor if your going to have the mechanics put those parts on for you. So your putting $236 dollars into your spring cleaning. How much did you pay for that bike in the first place?
This is why most of the winter veterans recommend riding a single speed or a fixed gear. Cost of parts typically replaced on a single speed/fixed gear drive train.

Freewheel $11 or,Cassette cog $ 3.50, or Fixed cog $21
Chainring $ 17
Chain $11

So the typical Single Speed/Fixed drive train is $31.50 to $49 to replace. Sign up for our Single Speed/Fixed conversion class, cost $40, and you'll get 15% off those parts, and gain some invaluable mechanical street smarts. Total out lay $82. It's more complicated than that though. Different drive train configuations require different parts, and in some cases an additional wheel. So come in and pick our brains and we'll see what can work for you.
Some of my tips for picking parts. Anodized black or colored rims will resist salt corrosion better than uncoated aluminum rims.
Finally the best reason for having one gear, you spin like crazy which keeps you warmer and burns off that winter fat.

Single Speed/ Fixed conversion class is Oct. 5th 6-9pm at the Hubs 3020 Minnehaha Ave S location. ph# 612-729-0437

We have a new bike line!



Not...

Bike Club

The first rule about Giant: don't talk about Giant.

Square Lake Festival, August 15th

This Saturday, ride with us to Square Lake! Meet at The Hub (3020 Minnehaha location) at 9:30. Ride leaves at 10AM. We'll bike to the Sibley, pick up folks there, and then onwards to Square Lake. Register by August 13th at http://www.squarelakefestival.com/bike.htm

We'll also have our smoothie making bike out at the festival so there will be refreshing drinks after we arrive.

Out of Gas

In a new report, Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) criticize non-highway transportation spending, calling bicycle paths "extraneous". Their statement, called "Out of Gas", considers bicycle and pedestrian projects unnecessary "pet projects". At least the report is kind of aptly named. Read commentary from LAB here.

Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine

Tyler E. Boudreau, the author of "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine" is biking from Seattle to Massachusetts while protesting the Iraq War. He will be stopping in Minneapolis on August 1st and discussing his book at Mayday Books from 3 to 5PM. Stop by and show your support, tell your associates, let's make some noise!

Find more info at: www.tylerboudreau.com
Email: tyler.boudreau@gmail.com

Fresh Bike Gadgetry

Not quite happy with your dual sided platform/clipless pedals? Tired of having to search and fumble for the right side to ride on, but still want to have the option to wear different shoes? MKS has solved your problem. The EZY pedal system allows for tool free pedal removal and swapping. Also great for traveling and shipping.

First the clipless:



Then the platform:




All that stays in the crank is the coupler seen in pic #1. Switch at will, the coupler works just like an air hose chuck.

Tour video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQz-CZvkY8k&feature=player_embedded

Yep, it's just around the corner. Watch The Tour de France at Glaciers Cafe across from the Minnehaha Hub. They are going to be playing it throughout the day, everyday!Get discounts on food too, coupons at The Hub...

The Hub in Motion

Local production company 612im made a little video featuring the Hub. It's the first video on the page.
Check out the cameo by Seth!

Look at them hot wheels!

Now it is complete, and chase can rule the streets!
Sean 'o'

new bike taken home an old friend.

We had a customer come in and after much hoopla we discerned he had a damaged head tube. Well as you might suspect a bad head tube on a bike with an extra cycle could be a scary thing with the kind of loads one can haul. After a little discussion we set him up with a new marin muirwoods. i switched out the extra cycle and then loaded up his old friend into the extra cycle to take home.

sean-o

the queen of the classics

the hell of the north is this sunday. paris-roubaix is simply the toughest road race ever and the the crown jewel of the cobbled classics. 260km of wheel-crushing, frame snapping punishment at 100% full speed. it looks like there might even be live coverage here, so grab some frites and some good beer and scope it out. or if you really want to get a feel for it you could throw your bike on the trainer and have your friends alternately hit you with a hose, fistfulls of mud and pound on your back while you sprint as hard as you can for a couple of hours.
the photo is of sean kelly, because he's the man.

two classics and the new guy...

well kids, spring is here (i'm sure it will stop snowing any day now) and we all know what that means...
it means it's time to get on your bike and ride! not just those blue lipped, white knuckled, dr. zhivago commutes through the arctic wastes but actual rides where you can, you know, enjoy yourself. crazy right?
here's the skinny, we've got three no-drop rides to pick from this year;
first off there is our always popular women's casual ride, ride what you brung, the idea is fun. every monday evening at 6:00pm starting april 13th, meet up at the minnehaha shop and bring a helmet.
next up there is our long running women's road ride, 15-20 miles, faster paced and road bikes are recommended. same deal as the casual ride, meet up at the minnehaha shop 6:00 pm every monday staring the 13th of april and bring yo' brain bucket.
last up is the new kid in town, we're calling it the "quiver picker". here's the idea, over the course of the next few months we are gong to try to build fitness, skills and confidence for you wonderful folks by offering a set of rides that get longer and more challenging as the season gets on. we call it the "quiver picker" because the early rides will be pretty flat and about 15 miles or so so if you want a challenge on 'em pick a non-road bike from your quiver (that's nerdy cyclist slang for your bikes). the rides are open to anyone and are no-drop but the emphasis is going to be on longer rides at a brisk pace, cruisers are not recommended unless you're an ex-pro who likes to show off. these are going to start the week of the 13th, go here for more.

Comment on The Minnesota Statewide Transportation Plan

Act fast! Minnesota needs to hear from you about funding bicycle friendly infrastructure. We should have gotten this up early, but better late than never.

A slightly amended repost from The City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program:

Bicycling Update Subscribers,

A draft of the Minnesota Statewide Transportation Plan is currently available for public review. MnDOT will be taking public comment on the draft plan through next Monday, March 30^th. To view the entire plan, visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/stateplan/download.html. Directions for commenting on the plan are available at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/stateplan/comment.html.

The purpose of the Statewide Transportation Plan is to establish a transportation vision, along with supporting policies and strategies, to focus investments and services over the next 20 years. The plan is redrafted every 5 years.

Bicycling is addressed throughout the plan; however there are specific areas that may be of interest to bicyclists. On pages 10-13 (or 12-15 of pdf readers) of the Introduction/Executive Summary, 10 policy areas are described. Details on each policy are described in Chapter 7. Bicycle travel is explicitly described on pages 28-30 of Chapter 3 – Transportation System Description. A Metro District Highway Investment Plan is also available for review.

Happy Riding,

City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program

The 2009 National Bike Summit

I recently returned from the National Bike Summit in Washington DC.

As a first timer, the Summit was a great learning experience. First there were the stories. The cycling community is amazingly creative and motivated. I heard about building mountain bike trails in downtown New York and Seattle, kids riding their bikes to school en mass, and how people around the country are finding effective ways to spread the word that bikes are a part of the answer (to virtually every problem society faces). There were seminars that spanned a huge array of current issues and many were hosted by sympathetic aids working in Washington and the staffers of nationally recognized non-profits. The last advocacy training was based off American Idol. Naturally it focused on what not to do.

The big day on capital hill was an interesting attempt by everyone to dress in business formal. I did my best with a thrift store suit that I altered at home with the help of friends. There were a fair number of interesting interpretations of business formal and many included the ubiquitous Cordura attache bag. We met mostly with staffers, all of whom were polite. The one legislator I met in person was Michele Bachmann, go figure. She told us about how much she liked the Gateway trail (it's in her district so watch out). At each stop we made our presence and issues known, hopefully to lasting effect.

Possibly the biggest challenge of the week was finding the secure bike parking in the underground parking garage of the monstrous Ronald Regan Building (visualize an unmarked door amid a multilevel garage of unmarked doors and unknowing staff). I figured it was the summits way of keeping it real.

Overall, The League of American Bicyclists put together a good summit. The seminars covered the spectrum, the food was great, and they kept it fun and to the point.

Check out some of our issue papers below:
Complete Streets Bill: Transportation infrastructure for everyone = revolutionary
CLEAN-TEA: Clean Low Emission Affordable New Transportation Equity Act
Congressional bike Caucus: Encouraging other legislators to join the bike partisan caucus. We almost have a majority!
America Bikes Agenda for the 2009 Transportation Bill

Find more info and followup at The League's website: www.bikeleague.org

See ya on the streets,

Ben

who's got a scrapyard we can borrow...

VIMBY - Bilenky Junk Yard Race

Snowball's Chance In Hell (and The Snowy Dash For Cold Hard Cash) 2009

It's "that" time.

This year, Hubsters took charge and have made the course with the goal of making it "Pugsley Proof".

Whatever that might mean.

Bring your derby bike, a good sense of humor and your beverage of choice.

Until then, enjoy this video from years past

The helmet owns all!

Getting a sweet ride closer to go time!

Here's a little somethin' somethin' for you all to check out. We will be putting some orange Aerospoke wheels on this baby in a month! - sean 'o










We also got a little funky with some Paul 100% Pure's.

VitaMN Plugs

The spin-off entertainment rag of our now bankrupt local daily dead tree news source gave double props to local cycling culture today.

'Stupor Bowl' time in Minneapolis

January 29, 2009

Cyclists flock this weekend to the coldest two-wheeled race in the nation.



The Surly Pugsley: This bike kicks ass

January 29, 2009

Surly's Pugsley is an invincible winter ride.

It's gonna be a great weekend. Ride Fast and Take Chances

Nice Use of Real Estate

...and recycled water slides.

lest we forget...

From our friends over at the surlyblog:
"...And that in turn made me think about the topic on everybody's fear-makers, the economy. People have asked me How's Surly going to weather this? Again: Like I know. But I will say this: we're not only at the crossroad of a darkening national and global economy, and as well national governmental leadership change, and natural and man-made disasters aplenty, but also we're at a point of greater than ever before environmental and social awareness and action on the part of nearly every person reading this.

We at Surly are sticking with our plan to design good stuff that's built to last and not cost you a ton of cash. People need a decent value on quality stuff that makes their lives easier. Our goods fit that bill pretty well I think. Aren't you worried people say. You make bikes. Bikes are luxury items. No they aren't. Cars are luxury items. And I don't mean trucks, not working vehicles, but cars. Not for everyone, but for a lot of people. Enough to matter. Enough that convenience is killing us. Single use plastics are luxury items. Try going a week without using any plastic that you can't use more than one time. Go on, I dare you. Our world is awash in plastic at all levels. Plastics cause physical and, we're understanding more now, chemical changes in an already stressed food chain. And it doesn't go away. All cheap disposable crap is a luxury item, and there's a lot of that around. But Surly doesn't do that, never has. And you people know it. So let's all take a deep breath and start in. I look to the future with optimism. Or at least optimism as much as a person like me has squirreled away.

Will the coming days be easy? Well, they won't all be great. It might be messy going or it might be fine. Just like always. But it'll be change, and lord knows we all need some of that. If a small, independent business like North Central Cyclery (or One On One, or Speedgoat, or Free Range, or a hundred others) can become a destination shop for a brand of bicycles that make so much sense they don't even look good to hipsters, I think things will be o.k. They did it through hard work and observation and being human beings. That's how we try to do it too."

There's a lot of high quality brain kibble in that stuff despite the fact that they didn't mention us but s'ok, we still bust our collective(ist) humps to bring you the sweet stuff. Speaking of durable, high quality goods we've got our hot little hands on a full size run of the Creamrollers a couple of Long Hauls in "Truckaccino", a trio of the new Crosschecks and a Karate Monkey complete hanging out over here on the West Bank. All they needs is some folks like yourselves.
More of a speed freak? Hows about some '09 Orbeas? We've got the Orca, the Onix TDF and TDA and we're giving a screaming deal on the '08 Orca with Campagnolo Chorus AND a Mavic Kysrium Elite wheelset.
You want Giants? We're closing out the '08 TCR A0s with Mavic Aksium Race wheels and a Sram Rival group on 'em but that's not the half of it. Not enough? We're closing out ALL of the Giant '07 and '08 bikes. All of them. Every last one. Swing by and take a look and while you're here scope out the '09 Defy 1 and 3 and Avail 1 and 3 roadies.
Are you particular, finicky even? More into the custom build scene than the stock setup? That's cool too, we do Orbea's "Made to Order" and QBP's "Dreamcycle" so if you can think it up, we can build it up.
I know all of that is a lot to digest so just keep this in mind, AT PURCHASE you get about 25 times your money on a bike as you do on a car. You don't pay for tabs on a bike, you don't need "bike insurance", you don't have to buy gas or oil or antifreeze, in short you dodge all of the hidden costs of a car. Even if you have no desire to work on your own ride maintenance on a bike for a year fits comfortably inside of what most folks pay for a month or two of car insurance. That's what I call recession proof.
-cheers