The Hub Bike Co-Op Blog

Bike ride or man-date?

2012-01-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Its 8 am Friday morning, the temp is about 5 below and there is about an inch of snow on the ground. I'm sitting in my little house drinking a latte and watching my fireplace spew warmth all around the fake pile of wood; waiting to see if anyone will show for my weekly bike ride, The Bad Espresso Ride. Five minutes pass until Rupert's excited barking alerts me... BenE is here! My co-worker, fellow riding enthusiast and beard buddy. Him showing up always means we are in for a great ride.

Ben on the swing

We found a swing! This one is by the Sibley house in Mendota. When you are this jacked up on espresso a swing is always a great idea.

Me on the swing

The wonderful thing about our bike trails are that we get to avoid most auto accidents... This Friday there were over 130 in the metro area, this is one of them on the Mendota bridge. We got to pass all sorts of cars on the bike path.

BenE confused by the autos

Down past the Cedar bridge BenE shows his regal pose. I felt it was appropriate given the snow storm, river and prairie grass.

BenE looking yonder

The amazing thing about the river bottoms is how much the sand firms up when its this cold and snowy. Last summer this stretch of trail was tough on a fat bike through the sand, now its a quick zip through and just a tad bit of sliding through the corners... perfection!

Our path awaits

We ended up with several hours of riding, some of the thickest ice beards we have experienced and where able to keep most of our fingers and toes.

I have a crush on Orbea!

2012-01-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but this July when I went to Utah to see the new 2012 Orbeas and walked into the display room I was dumbfounded by the ridiculous beauty of the new Orbea bicycles. The people from Orbea were talking to me and I could barely speak and my heart was racing. I go to trade shows, and see everyone’s shiny new stuff, but I've never had this kind of reaction before. Sure, the Hub is an Orbea dealer so some of the thrill was that we get to stock these exceptionally stunning bikes, but like I said I see lots of new bikes. We are getting our first shipment of new 2012 Orbeas this week so I'm a little giddy again.

Coming Attractions to our 301 Cedar Ave store!!

A New Orbea Road Bike……..

The 2012 Orbea Aqua TTG: $1259.99

The Orbea Aqua TTG is all about racing at a price that is often ignored when a company tries to make a bike fast. The much improved new Shimano Tiagra 10spd shifters and crankset are coupled with a 105 rear derailleur that performs like serious race equipment at a fraction of the cost. The Aqua frame encourages you to jump on the pedals push it, and the Shimano R500 wheelset spins up quickly and rewards the effort.

Coming Attractions to our 3020 Minnehaha store!!

A New Orbea Hybrid Bike……..

2012 Orbea Carpe H10: $1529.99

The Orbea Carpe H10 is a versatile urban speed machine. The frame is steep and agile like a road bike and the Orbea wheels and excellent Vittoria Randoner 32c tires say go anywhere without fear. When it comes time dial back the speed, the Formula RX brakes will be up to the task even if you are fully loaded touring and hauling a trailer. The wide range Shimano 10spd XT drive train will get you up that hill fully loaded also.

2012 Orbea Carpe H60, Hub price $549.99

An affordable Orbea. The Carpe H60 at $549.99 is alloy single speed hybrid that even at such an affordable price still comes with Orbea's lifetime frame warranty. Simple, fast with reflective side wall puncture resistant tires that will keep you rolling worry free to the places you need to go.

What we are still waiting on from Orbea!!!

Photos from Dealer Camp at Park City Utah.......

The Orca Bronze BPX and T105.

Orbea Rallon SX30

The elegant Orbea Diamond Link suspension design and Fox’s RP23’s Boost Valve expertly set up by Lonnie at Orbea was a blast, plush, but with virtually no pedal induced bob when ascending I had a moment of feeling out of my depth at the of the chair lift, and stopped to take this picture, then the Rallon made me right at home.

More Pics

-Chuff

The Giant Giant's winter rampage

2012-01-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Ramen Noodles, water, bananas and cheep beer. To me these all equate to my nice bike. The one that killed my bank account, murdered my social life and destroyed my spare time. Its the one in the stable that screams out to you every time you look at it... Take me! Take me! The one you have to tell "NO" far too often in Minnesota, Im sorry nice bike its too rainy out for you to play outside... Its way to snowy... That salt will kill your beautiful look.

But not Today!!!

Yes! Nice bike! You can play outside...

I ride slowly out of the alley like a balding man in his $250,000 Ferrari. We glide down the neighborhood streets in no hurry, gotta warm this fella up. Soft pedaling is all we need till we get to the river, no need to show off speed when you look like this.

You must listen when on this one, not for the engine but for that soft warm road noise that only a high end bike can make. Its a light drone of the road echoing through its full carbon frame, a soft whim from the tubular tyres, and a light vibration from each shift barley pulses through it. You feel none of this... only the contours of the road perfectly hitting your body. The curves of the street ahead of you taken with no effort, like the bicycle already knows your plan of attack.

Now for some throttle... Like a race horse in the starting gate this guy is fidgeting and stomping, let me out! I need to move!

You let it go and everything becomes a blur. The road noise gets drown out by the engine. The feel of the bike becomes one with the burning in your lungs and legs. You loose track of which one is in charge... the bike or the human.

Where's My Winter!?: Coping with Seasonal Unexpectedness Disorder

2011-12-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

So, if you're at all like me, winter isn't just another season to ride in- it's an exciting, challenging time of year that raises many questions.

Among them are "How much snow will we get!?", "Should I put on studded tires!?!", "Is it cold enough for long underwear!?!?", and "Will my beard and/or hair freeze up so I can take an awesome picture for the facebook!?!??!?"

So far the answers are "hardly any", "nobody knows!", "no", and "not in the foreseeable future", and to me it's all a little unsettling, but everything's gonna be okay.

How're we supposed to have fun in a snowless winter!? you ask.. well, I'm still trying to figure it out, and I think it has to do with what I'd call an "attitude shift". For example, I was really excited to do some of this:

but since there's little to no white stuff on the ground anywhere, I tell myself, "Cool! Guess I'll do some riding in this!":

"and heck! maybe I'll even ride this thing, which I wasn't expecting to bust out again 'til April or May at least":

"Gee whiz, that thing sure is fast."

See what I mean? Just like charging headlong into a blizzard requires a shift in attitude, expecting that and getting 40 degree weather and the occasional flurry can really throw you for a loop if you don't step back and adjust the way you take it all in.

Another, more immediate example- Instead of being toe-numbing icefests that are fun in their own regard, both this and this have the potential to be downright moderate in temperature and conditions. Dig it.

Now quit reading and get a good ride or two in before 2011's gone forever, mmkay?

Monster Machines Issue #1: Chinatown NYC

2011-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

A few months back I was in NY for a spell. It was hot, muggy and stinky as the city is in the summer. Also, our toddler was along, complete with nap and meal schedule regimen. So for the most part we hung around our hotel near Wall Street, observing the early days of the Occupy movement and the ongoing reconstruction of the area known as ‘ground zero.’ One day we took to foot on a journey to secure sustenance.

The walk featured some excellent examples of Chinatown delivery bike customization.

Ahh, ingenuity! Note: I never saw any of these in ‘action’ so cannot comment on their utility and/or safety.

Also spotted this clever fix of a 26” mountain bike with suspension fork replaced by 700c fork and wheel. Weird looking, may not handle great, but thanks to the bmx bars it features upright posture and with that wide and somewhat knobby rear tire a fat skid patch!

The donuts were good, too.

-Albert

The Tale of a Boy and His Pugsley

2011-11-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Around one year ago, I decided I would finally give in to the temptation of the Surly Pugsley, and my life has never been the same. It was a long, arduous decision process (I don't really need it), but as I look forward to another snowy four or five months rather than dreading the limits the white stuff puts on my riding, it's one I don't expect to ever regret.

At first it was pretty much a humble stock bike. Swapped housing, shifters, saddle, and bars. Nothing to sneeze at, but nothing special, really:

Many miles, much cassette cleaning, and a few snapped chains later, I decided to build the Alfine hub I had used on another bike into a fat wheel, and that worked pretty well for the sand and other soft stuff this past summer:

Only problem was, the Alfine requires a pretty significant 'hiccup' in the pedal stroke in order to downshift. While this hadn't been an issue in commuting, it became a real pain when riding offroad. I'd have to sort of 'pre-shift' into a gear suitable to a climb or sandy patch, push a high gear, or get off n' walk. I don't like getting off to walk, so I decided I'd try something completely different:

Ain't no gaps between the gears of the NuVinci hub. Just a 360% range of continuously variable goodness. So far, I've been very pleased with the hub's performance. One needs to let up on his or her pedal stroke a bit to upshift, but downshifting is crazy-smooth.

At first, I found myself constantly messing with the shifter, keeping my cadence perfect. Now I think I've come to a good balance of appreciating the exactness of gearing the hub affords and just ridin' the damn thing sometimes.

I've heard varied reports of the transmission fluid's viability in winter, so I'll be curious to see if there's any issues this year. I know of at least one fellow 'round these parts who rode one pretty extensively through last winter, so I'm hopeful.

If you're curious about the Nuvinci hub, fat bikes, or both and would like to try this thing out, call me at the University Bike Center or shoot me an email at bene@thehubbikecoop.biz and we'll make arrangements. See you out there in the snow!

Bike Generator for Occupy MN

2011-10-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

This was the result of our donation of a used trainer to the cause of the downtown occupation. Lewis from a moto repair shop built a bike-powered generator for the folks to recharge the batteries they have been using to power the village. woo!

Me, Myself and Masi

2011-10-06T15:18:00.001-07:00

Summer is coming to a quick close which only means one thing... Amazing bike rides are here! Top of Ohio on my trusty Masi Special.

Red leaves and Tree covered roads down by Lillydale.

Yellow, red, green and orange. There is nothing like riding in the fall.

Serial numbers are important!

2011-08-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Every year we hear about dozens of bikes getting stolen. Many of these can be prevented, some of them can not but what always remains the same is that a serial number can help you get your bike back.

Your serial number is usually placed on the underside of your bike frame (also known as the bottom bracket shell). Flip your bike over, write it down, email it to yourself, be thankful you have it if your bike gets stolen. If your bike does get stolen make sure to file a police report and give them your serial number, this will throw up a red flag if the thief tries to sell the bike to a shop (like ours) or any pawn shop. It also gives you proof if you see it pop up on Craig's list that it is indeed yours. If you see it pop up on craig's list then contact the police and let them take care of it. This also holds true if you see it out in the real world, you need to remember that you probably really want to have your bike back but the thief wants to avoid getting captured even more.

Keep your bike from getting stolen in the first place! A Kryptonite lock will keep your bike safe and warm, Locking skewers will help with the wheels staying on and the Abus chain lock is a flexible sub for a u-lock but not quite as secure.

Avoid Cable locks (example below) for any in-the-city locking.

Many times they can be cut faster than using a key or combo.

Is my helmet still good?

2011-06-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Helmets are great! Helmets are amazing! Helmets can save your life! But helmets also have short lifespans!

We have many customers come in and ask a similar question "Is my helmet still good?". This is one of those questions of the philosophical nature, the one that you probably already know the answer too, much like "should I take a shower today?" or "am I really in love with that person?". No, your helmet is probably not still in proper working order. This is kinda a big thing since proper "working" order means still having that life saving ability.

How can you really tell? Me and my co-workers favorite test... The hand break test!! If you can break a helmet with your hands... get a new one!!!

Picture: Spanish snapping a helmet in half with her mighty do-good arms

So what is a helmets life-span? Most manufacturers recommend replacement after 3 to 5 years depending on your climate. If your on a coast next to a sea think 3 years max, here in MPLS we usually get around 4 years sometimes 5 if your lucky and store it somewhere proper. There are also many things that reduce the life expectancy of a helmet. Some of those being dropping it, crashes (you should replace after even a single crash), puppy dogs eating it (this happens a ton!) and outside storage.

Picture: This is a helmet being locked to a bike, if you do this on a regular basis you should start thinking of replacing the helmet yearly. The sun is a helmet killer!

Why do helmets have such a short lifespan? They are Styrofoam, not a very environmental material but the best to make helmets out of. Styrofoam breaks down and gets brittle at a very quick rate (remember those Styrofoam coolers that would break after a month or three?). The reason they use it is because of the nature of the material. A bike helmet sacrifices itself to save your head. It is meant to crack and compress when your head hits the ground in order to slow the impact down. This also means that once that helmet gets squished and broken it is no longer good. This can also happen by simply dropping it (usually more than once at the same spot or from a high height).

Northside Bike Fest

2011-06-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Hub Bike Coop working with partnerships in North Minneapolis, held the Northside Bike Fest even though North Commons had just opened. The North Commons Park had been a shelter for residence displaced by the tornado.

Bike Fest 2011 North Commons

Many kids were happy to win a new or used bike, and raced around the parking lot with their new free helmet on their heads!

There are two more Northside Bike Fests left.

Fowell Park 1615 Dowling Ave. N 4-7 p.m.
Glen Gale Park 2448 Llion Ave N 4-7 p.m.
(Rain Cancels)

2011-06-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

MplsBikeLove interviewed Chris Huff to find out more about our great new mural. Read more here:
http://mplsbikelove.com/news/the-hub-co-op-mural-an-interview-with-the-muralista/

Bike Walk Week is Coming!

2011-06-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

...and it is going to be the best ever. Not only because bicycle use in Minneapolis is growing, but there is going to be a grand finale. A street fair and cyclovia running 20 blocks of Lyndale Ave!

The week starts on June 4th and there will be events throughout, and ending with a cyclovia. Originally started in Bogota, Columbia a cyclovia turns an auto filled street into a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly festival. It involves taking auto traffic off the street and providing space for people to congregate, share food and music, and get some fresh air. The Minneapolis version will be on Lyndale Ave between between 22nd St and 42nd St, going from 10-2PM on Sunday June 12th. Find out more at Open Streets Minneapolis.

Photo: Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

How Internally Geared Hubs Work

2011-05-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder just what was going on inside your internally geared hub?

Here are some photos of some the hubs we have recently had the pleasure to tear apart, clean up, overhaul and reassemble.

For starters, here is very quick summary of the function of planetary gearing (that's the magic inside your internally geared hub). For the sake of simplicity, there are three main components to gearing of 3 speed hubs: the driver, which is attached to the sprocket, the planet cage, which houses the planet gears, they use the stationary sun gear fixed to the axle the increase their rotational rate and interact with the third main part, the gear ring. This all just means that the sun gear is held stationary in relation to the bike and as the planet gears revolve around they rotate faster individually than the planet cage does as a whole which in turn causes the gear ring to rotate faster than the planet cage. Both the planet cage and the gear ring have pawls which can drive the hub body and allow for coasting.

So, if you want your hub to spin slower than the sprocket (low gear) you have the sprocket drive the gear ring while the planet cage drives the hub. If you want your hub to spin at the same rate as the sprocket (middle gear, or direct drive) you have the sprocket drive the gear ring which then also drives the hub. If you want your hub to spin faster than the sprocket (high gear) you have the sprocket drive the planet cage while the gear ring drives the hub. Simple! Want more speeds? Add more sun gears and/or planet gears in a similar manner and you get more than 3 gears. These changes inside the hub occur when you use your shifter to position the clutch which sets up whether the driver interacts with the planet cage or the gear ring and you never even need to think about it. On to the photos...

We begin with the classic. The Sturmey Archer AW for use with rim brakes. This one happens to be from 1959 and it still runs smooth.
These hubs are fairly easy to disassemble completely for servicing. replacement parts are available.

Now for one of Sturmey's current offerings. The new X-RD5(W). Its a 5 speed hub with a drum brake.

You may notice how many fewer parts there are in the X-RD5(w) than in the AW. This is representative of the new standard for internally geared hubs; modular design where many of the main components are meant to be broken down only so far (that, and we didn't photograph the drum brake, sprocket, axle nuts, etc.). This makes servicing simpler and eliminates the possibility of installing parts in incorrect positions. On the flip side, you also need to replace entire components groups, and often the entire internal assembly, if one small part wears out or gets damaged.

Shimano has been making internally geared hubs for decades and this is one of their newer models. The SG-3D55. It's a 3 speed hub with a disc brake.As in the newer Sturmey Archer hubs, Shimano has simplified things with modular design. If you look closely you can see that some of these parts are rusted out from a harsh Minnesota winter. Though these hubs are relatively low maintenance, if ridden in extreme conditions, moisture can work its way into the hub where it will wreak havoc on the assembly. A new internal assembly and now it's ready for many more miles of happy riding.

Another of Shimano's internally geared hub offerings is the very popular Nexus 7 speed. This one is the SG-7R40, set up for use with a roller brake (not pictured).

As with most internally geared hubs, very little is recommended in the way of maintenance. Get your hub cones adjusted well and properly set up your cassette joint and shift cable, then ride. That being said, don't ignore your hub. You can have the internal assembly removed, cleaned and re-lubed to keep things running smoothly and to avoid unnecessary wear to the expensive parts inside.

Last, but not least, we've got another new hub, this one from Sram. It's the S7, this one has a coaster brake, and it is by far the most complicated hub out of this bunch...

The operation of this hub is just as smooth and simple as the Shimano offerings. Sram uses a modular design as well, but many of the sub assemblies can be broken down to their smallest parts. In practice there is no need to ever take one of these apart to such a degree.

If you are interested in learning more about internally geared hubs, and the bikes they are available on, then stop into our Minnehaha shop. You can test ride bikes with different types of hubs or talk to our service staff about one that you are already riding.

Look for The Hub at this years North-side Bike Fests

2011-05-09T17:06:00.001-07:00

The Hub will again be providing mechanical support for the 2011 North side bike festival events. The events will be packed with bicycle-fun for both kids and adults. Below are the times and dates. Hope to see you there!

Saturday May 21 is the big kick-off to the summer; this event will take place at the Special Operations Center on 41st and Dupont in North Minneapolis. We will be staged across the street at the Salem Lutheran Church Parking Lot from 10am - 2pm.

Other event dates include:

Thursday, May 26 Harrison Park 503 Irving Ave. N 4 - 7pm
Thursday, June 2 Creekview Park 5001 Humboldt Ave. N 4 - 7pm
Thursday, June 16 North Commons Park 1801 James Ave. N 4 - 7pm
Thursday, June 23 Farview Park 621 29th Ave. N 4 - 7pm
Thursday, June 30 Glen Gale 2448 Ilion Ave. N 4 - 7pm

The Hub at Last years Festival

Earthday 2011

2011-04-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Hub Bike Co-op joined the School of Environmental Studies (SES) for Earth Day 2011. The day was packed with activities including an opening speech by Governor Mark Dayton. The Hub staff rode to the event pulling a loaded “Bikes to Work” trailer with a bike fitted with a Bionx electric assist. It was inspiring to meet with SES students who are committed to environmental causes. While riding back from the Apple Valley school we passed a group of SES students working to rid the Minnesota River area of invasion buck thorn. Way to go SES! Thanks for a great day!

Spring EXPO!

2011-04-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

That right folks its that time of year again! The birds are chirping, the sun is screaming and the cyclists are happy! This weekend The Hub will again be collaborating with Midwest Mountaineering in their Spring EXPO. We will have tons of killer deals just for you!

Select 2011 bikes on sale
Get a $50-100 gift certificate with any new bike purchase over $650
All remaining 2010 bikes on closeout
10-15% off select apparel

Sale prices are only active during the EXPO so hurry down! If your not in the market for new goodies, fear not, The Hub always provides! We will also be offering 3 free seminars for your enjoyment.

Top-10 places to mountain bike in the metro area.
What to look for in buying a new bike.
How to be more efficient in your next bike tour.

2011 Spring EXPO - April 15-17. Our Cedar location will have extended hours, see our website for more details.

2011-01-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

Starting Tuesday, January the 11th, the Hub Bike Coop’s winter spin training will resume at the Hub's 3020 Minnehaha Ave. South location. We are offering spin training two nights a week.

Tuesday nights, we will be suffering to performance training videos. On the 11th , we will be watching “Cyclops Race Day”. In this video, we will be riding with coach Robbie Ventura in an Elite level National criterium, via a POV camera. Experience the strategy, the failure, and the effort required to climb back to the top. This video is thrilling to watch and uber motivating.

On Thursday nights, we will be Zombie Interval Training version 2, or Z.I.T. v2. Z.I.T. v2 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 with zombies. Based on feedback from the last season of Z.I.T., version 2 will include a bit more coaching to guarantee a good workout and to ensuring participant’s RPMs are matching the intensity of the film’s brain hungry undead. We will begin, January 13th , training to outrun undead Nazis, by watching an Official Selection from the 2009 Sundance film festival, “Dead Snow”.

Dead Snow trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-KQh87_V2Q

We will have 12 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.

Giant Anthem X 29er 2

2010-11-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

The other day I was fortunate enough to spend some quality time with the hottest new bike in Giant's 2011 line-up. Before I get too much into it I would like to describe this bike as what you get when you mate a howitzer with a razor blade. The 2011 Anthem X 29er has all the design features that previous 29ers simply didn't provide. The combination of it's tapered head tube and QR15mm front thru-axle give you razor sharp stearing and a BB92 bottom bracket to ensure stiffness clearly shows that Giant went the extra mile in producing their first ever full suspension 29er. Giant also uses their Maestro suspension system which gives you a single floating pivot point to increase your pedaling efficiency. The frame was designed using Giants very own ALUXX Aluminum, a light weight grade of aluminum created to withstand the highest tolerances, not to mention it is molded at Giants in-house foundry.

If you're looking for a bike to pound the competition into a fine powder, look no further. This bike has already been proven a race winner as Carl Decker of Giant's pro race team won the 2010 Sea Otter Super-D in California. I feel confident in saying the Anthem X 29er will far exceed all expectations, don't believe me? Come on down to our 3020 location for a test ride,we've got a medium in for limited time as a demo, so come in and ride it!

2010-11-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

The best season for cycling begins now. Nothing is automatic. Step out the front door,
throw your leg over the bike for your commute and the sleepy winter mind comes alive.
A quick trip for groceries becomes a complex adventure. The ride to often becomes the
event of the day, and some of the best conversations are the ones a winter cyclist has with
them selves and the environment. Should I ride the off camber ice transition next to the
parking lane, or the sidewalk? How are the cars doing with these conditions? Wow! I
made it down that whole block of tire ruts without putting a foot down. Now that was a
little bit of hell. So hard core. I’ve never seen snow do that. I’m sick of the wind.
My god that’s beautiful. Cars are so filthy. I didn’t know it was possible. I’m going to be
so strong come spring and my skills are growing like mad. The list goes on and on.
Sun., Nov. 21, 2pm David Meyer and Chris Huff (me) will be presenting a talk
on Winter Biking at the Midwest Mountaineering, Expedition Stage. I started winter
commuting 17 miles at midnight to my job sorting at U.P.S. in Eagan the winter of 1987.
My first winter bike was a Schwinn Varsity, and my gear was well suited to deer hunting
at that point, but also worked for cycling. I’ve had many winter bikes since. I rode a
Centurion Ironman down Franklin Ave. the morning after the Halloween blizzard in 30
inches of snow. I’ve run various MTBs geared and single speed. I’ve had everything go
horribly wrong and gotten some good lessons from that that I can help you not repeat.
I’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t and I’m still learning every year. David
has run fixed and this year is running a kick back brake and has an impressive resume
himself. So come to Midwest Mountaineering on Sunday if you want some of this frost earned wisdom. It's free.

Hubsters annual retreat!

2010-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Every year at the shop we close our doors for a day or two and assemble ourselves for some dedicated Hubster time. This year we were fortunate enough to land at the beautiful Lily Springs Farm just east of Osceola, Wisconsin. Go there! So we had two days to cram in as many trainings, workshops and bottles of wine as possible. I tell you what, mission accomplished! One of our good friends, Celia Kutz, was an amazing presence as our all-star facilitation trainer! Many thanks Celia! Will was on point with the food, the vegan cuisine machine. Lily Spring is set on Mud lake, a modest sized body of water best seen early in the morning hours. I have never seen such dense fog, amazing! All in all, it was a great way to spend a pair of days with The Hub Family. Thanks to eveyone, espeically Lily Spring Farms!

Women’s Appreciation Night : Rescheduled

2010-09-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

To our wonderful women customers:

We would like to say thank you. Please join us for our first annual Women’s Appreciation Night on October 9th, 2010* from 7pm to 9pm at the Hub Bike Co-op (3020 Minnehaha location).

You may have participated in our Women’s Weekly rides, maybe you rode your first Triathlon with our neighbors at the YWCA, rode RAGBRAI across Iowa for 7 days, braved the weather at the Twin Cities Tour de Cure, raced in an alley cat or hit the trails by the lakes. Or maybe you started commuting to work by bike.

We want to thank you for doing it with bikes and gear from the Hub Bike Cooperative, so we invite you to come have some eats and drinks and hang out with us. There'll be a line of 2011 women-specific bikes for demo and new women’s cycling apparel on display, too. The Hub thanks Zipps Liquors and the local vendors and artists in partnership with us.

Please bring friends and RSVP at rsvp@thehubbikecoop.biz.

*This is the new rescheduled date for the event! Please disregard any previous information about this event happening on 9-26-10.

Speedhound Bikes Now at The Hub

2010-09-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

We have partnered with local bike company Speedhound, and now have a demo bike and framesets available at our 3020 store. These bikes rock! They are made in Minneapolis and have all the flair you would expect on a custom frame. These are unique framesets that allow for almost any drivetrain option due to their patent pending drop out system. Allowing for a super tough belt-drive is the focus of the system, but singlespeed, geared, and fixed gear also work.

However, there are a lot more bells and whistles to the bikes than just the drivetrain. For example: there is an investment cast double crown fork with inset badges to add the bling, multiple brake system options (caliper, canti, coaster, or v-brake), and 8 color options. Nice!

WE want YOU to race cyclocross!

2010-09-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Want to start cyclocross racing but don’t have a bike or any
experience? The Hub wants to fix this for you with a serious sale featuring big discounts on race-ready cyclocross bikes and free cyclocross technique clinics led by 2008 Cat 4 Cyclocross State Champion Jeanette Sample and David Meyer, 3rd place in the 2008 Single Speed Cyclocross National Championships.

The free cyclocross clinics will be every Monday from September 13 through October 4 at 6 pm in Matthews Park on the corner of 27th Ave. S. and 25th St. E.

What's that? Now that you've got your skills dialed you need a bike? That's cool, we've got you covered:

2011 Redline Conquest Pro, Cyclocross Sale price $1522.93, normally $1849.99

Redline's Conquest Pro gets key upgrades to the frame with an integrated headset, BB30 bottom bracket and a slightly tighter rear end. All of these improvements create quicker handling and makes this one fast racing machine. Component makeovers include the quality Mavic Aksium wheels, aggressive Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires and easy to adjust Kore Race+ brakes. The sure shifting SRAM Rival combined with the FSA BB30 Gossamer crankset handle gear changes flawlessly. While the frame has features like the Dirty Mudders Power Stay to eliminate chain suck, it also sports a full compliment of braze-ons for rack and fenders that make this bike a blazing fast commuter when it’s not 'cross season.

2009 Bianchi San Jose Pro Cyclocross Sale price $699.99, normally $1049.99

Looking to race Single Speed 'Cross this year? Want an exceptionally refined high quality steel frame? We have an amazing deal for you! The San Jose Pro frame is disc-brake ready and built with Bianchi Chromo Lite heat treated steel and comes with a disc-ready carbon fork. This build
gets the extra Italian touches like a Fi?zi:k Pave CX Sport, cyclocross specific saddle and Deda Elementi Big Logo stem, and Deda Elementi Big Piega handlebar combo. Light, agile and race ready the San Jose Pro also has fender and rack mounts to make this single speed an ideal year round commuter.

Does cyclocross sound like it might be your style?

How about now?

Then go check out the Minnesota Cycling Federation for info on your local races. We'll see you in the mud!

Want to See the Future?

2010-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis just came out with the latest iteration of their Bicycle Master Plan. There are several meetings coming up that allow for public comment.

On the first quick read there are a few items of note. We're excited to see that Minnehaha Ave will have its current bike lanes extended all the way to Franklin Ave. There are a grip of other cool bike lanes and boulevards too. For example, Franklin Ave may get bike lanes all the way from Hennepin to Riverside.

There is also a goal of cutting bike theft in half by 2015. The method to doing this is either missing or hidden somewhere in the document. Given the level of incidents we are hearing about, they will hopefully start on this ASAP.

For our future bikers, there is a goal of fully funding Safe Routes to School programs for all schools. This includes having bike parking at all schools too.

All in all there is a lot of good plans in the works, there may be some details that need to be worked out however.

bike stuff at the mn fringe festival!

2010-08-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

All I had to hear was bicycles powered musical instrument and I knew I wanted to see this play. Feminist history and circumnavigation of the globe sealed the deal.

Minnesota Fringe Festival
At The Ritz Theatre Proscenium 345 13^th Ave NE

Thursday Aug 5, 10 pm
Saturday Aug 7, 1 pm
Sunday Aug 8, 7 pm
Thursday Aug 12, 8:30 pm
Sunday Aug 15, 2:30 pm

About SPIN

Part concert, part theatrical performance, SPIN is an innovative musical show that investigates The Bicycle as muse, musical instrument, and agent of social change.

Through a series of songs played live on a vintage bicycle, award-winning Canadian songwriter and actor Evalyn Parry welds social history, social commentary, song, monologue and projections. From the amazing true story of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to ride around the world in 1895, to Igor Kenk, Canada’s most notorious bicycle thief; from 19th century feminism to corporate sponsorship to the end of oil, Parry pursues her theme of two-wheeled freedom in a four-wheeled world. Engaging, funny, personal, political and thought-provoking: SPIN will make you love your bike more than you already do, and if you don’t already ride a bike, you’ll want to run out and get one.

Directed by Ruth Madoc-Jones
Featuring Evalyn Parry, Brad Hart and Anna Friz

_________________________

“part theatre, part musical gig, part spoken-word poetry and part documentary…whatever it is, it is brilliant.” The Toronto Star

“…spectacular. A great story with smart writing, innovative music and visual presentation made for one of those performances that will be remembered as a Sound Symposium classic.” Sound Symposium 2010, Newfoundland

“This extraordinary production not only connected me with a deeper understanding of why I do this cycling advocacy work, but also reminded me again why I’m so passionate about it. The bicycle as musical instrument was also thoroughly enchanting and beautifully played. Thank you for this inspirational and much needed work – long live bicycles!“ Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director, Toronto Cyclists Union.

“Music, image and story blend seamlessly in this funny, smart work and Parry’s extraordinary skill as both musician and storyteller are the foundation of the show’s magic. The music is catchy and memorable, the lyrics and stories are clever, rich and personal, and that bike-musical-instrument invention is fantastic… Spin was undoubtedly the hit of the 2009 Hysteria Festival” Moynan King, Hysteria Festival Director
___________________________________

SPIN can be performed in a variety of settings, from theatre, to music club, to festival stage. It can be performed in its full (80 minute) length or abbreviated versions.

____________________________________

For bookings and more information contact:

info@evalynparry.com

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of The Ontario Arts Council, The Toronto Arts Council, The Banff Centre and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in the development of this project!

Around Town

2010-07-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Bike Night at the MIA

Join 5,000 bike lovers for this second annual Bike Night. On Thursday, July 15, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts will be host to an evening of biking-related artsy stuff, including Bike Film Festival screenings, bike safety checks* from The Hub, bicycle poster-making stations and local custom frame builders discussing their craft. You can also enter a drawing for a Traitor Luggernaut track frame and a Giant Women's Via 2 being provided by The Hub, Traitor Cycles, and Giant Bicycles! Optional bike ride starts at Gold Medal Park in Downtown Minneapolis at 5 PM, Event starts at 6PM at The MIA.

pics of bikes for the drawing donated from The Hub, Traitor Cycles, and Giant Bicycles
Giant Women's Via 2 (left) and Traitor Luggernaut (right)

* mechanics from the Hub will be on-hand to give bikers quick repair diagnoses and do some minor on-the-spot work. If your ride needs some tweaking, stop by our tent for a free quick safety check.

Extra room for rent

2010-05-11T15:16:00.001-07:00

Just got to test out a new Mission Workshop backpack. I have to say it arrived at an opportune moment, just in time for my equivalent to moving day.

The Vandal, their larger bag has a serious number of pockets and expansion sections (6 separate sections total). At first sight you might wonder why. Before filling it, it stays a relatively sleek backpack that doesn't feel like a parachute. Once you've hit your 5th supply stop for the day it quickly becomes a happy addition to the family. Unzip the middle expansion section and find a smile inside. Keep adding stuff, keep riding, no worries about how to carry the next add-on.

It, and it's slightly smaller version (The Rambler) are designed by the founders of Chrome. It's also made in the US by a contractor that also specializes in military equipment. If we could get all the defense contractors to start making bike stuff instead of war stuff we would really have a win win situation.

I carried everything in the pic above minus the table and chairs*. It was heavy, but stayed well balanced without the feeling of being pulled over backwards. The weight stayed in line with my center of gravity and the reinforced back eliminated all jabs from sharp cargo.

As for things I would have added? A quick loop or easy to reach pocket for stashing a U-lock (mine fits where the belt loop would go, but it is a bad spot when loaded). There is a lot going on with the bag though, so maybe I missed it. Also the compression straps have a locking mechanism that work great, but are a little difficult to release.

All in all a great bag to have when you are ready to carry a bag that adapts from medium to XXL, when you need the extra room, or unexpectedly encounter lots of extra stuff you really want to take home. I also plan to take it on future train and d. diving missions. It's tough, waterproof, and adaptable.

*that is my old backpack (Ortlieb Packman Pro) I dropped right inside the new backpack, all the clothes and rain gear for a camping trip, old skool trainer, 7lbs misc food, 12 pack misc beer, book, and u-lock. There was still room for more.

Mission Workshop has some messenger bags in the works as well. Look for them soon.

Bike events this weekend!

2010-04-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Not enough bikes in your life? Try some of these events this weekend.

The Hub's Spring Bike Expo and Midwest Outdoor Expo
You'll find hundreds of free seminars on all things outdoor, have an opportunity to meet and greet with vendors, and find huge discounts on gear! Midwest Mountaineering has been doing this big top event for 25 years and it draws thousands of people from across the state. The Hub joins in the celebration with a seminar on international bicycle non-profits and a sale on bikes and gear. Goes from Friday April 23rd through Sunday April 25th.
Find details at: thehubbikecoop.org and www.outdooradventureexpo.com

Minnesota Bicycle Expo
Brought to you by the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) the expo is Friday April 23 (3-9 pm) & Saturday April 24 (9am-6pm), at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. We'll have a booth there too, so stop by and say 'hi'! According to their site "the Bike Expo will showcase some of the newest information for bicyclists. Throughout this two-day event find tips on bike rides and destinations to explore, new equipment to ride, road and trail safety guidelines, contests & prizes and more." Info at: www.bikemn.org/

Ironman
The Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride (MIBR), established in 1967, is the longest running century bike ride in Minnesota. They have other distance options with 30-65 mile loops too. This ride is Sunday April 25th and you'll need to register before 9:30.

Will The Government Bike?

2010-03-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

A few interesting updates from the governmental side of things:

From the City of Minneapolis, "As of this Monday, March 22, Nicollet Mall has reopened for bicycling 24/7. Since 1997 the Mall has been restricted to bicyclists Monday through Friday, 6am to 6pm. As part of the City’s effort to express buses are moving off Nicollet Mall to the new bus lanes on Marquette and Avenues. This paves the way for elimination of the Nicollet Mall bicycle restriction."

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced his new Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations. The LAB thinks "It is simply the strongest statement of support for prioritizing bicycling and walking ever to come from a sitting secretary of transportation." While it doesn't have concrete proposals in it, this is good language to start with. Reactions have spanned from people cheering in the streets to predictions that this new policy will cause “economic catastrophe"(quote from The National Association of Manufacturers).

Winter Carnival Pugsley Demo Rides FREE!!!!

2010-01-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

This Saturday January 30th in conjunction with the St Paul Winter Carnival the Hub will be hosting the Surly Pugsley Demo Fleet for your test riding pleasure. Come to the Lake Phalen boat house, and experience a joy of humongous tire snow flotation. Demo will run from 10am to 4pm. Rides are free, but we will need to hold on to a State issued ID and a credit card during the demo.

Really we're piggy backing on the main event which is the Lake Phalen Ice Boat races. The Winter Carnival says these boats on skates will do up to 60mph. So come out for a Pugsley ride and watch the fast boats too.

A description of things Pugsley straight from the Surly web site follows. "Who should ride Pugsley? Hunters of all types (animal, mineral, or vegetable), beach/desert riders, snow/ice riders, wilderness explorers, and anybody else in need of a bike that will provide extra stability, traction, and floatation when the terrain gets loose and unpredictable. If you fall into any one of those categories, you should ride a Pugsley. The premise behind Pugsley’s design is the allowance of tires with a larger-than-average footprint. It was created to go where other bikes may flounder. Our frame and fork will accept 4" tires on 26" rims. The flotation and traction gained by using large volume, low-pressure tires (we highly recommend the Surly Endomorph 3.7 tires) can get you over and through otherwise unrideable terrain: ice, snow, sand, mud, wet rocks and roots. In many conditions, bigger is better."

no half steppin' on the big block

2010-01-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

All I have to say about the All-City Big Block complete is that it may be the best complete to come down the pipe in a long time. I mean that, I’ve been a long time fan of the venerable Surly Steamroller but the Big Block is a whole lot of bike and is my new favorite complete, hands down. As I type this, a legion of beer-sodden demon monkeys have been loosed from the bowels of Surly HQ to hunt me down but it’s a risk I had to take.

Let’s start at the bottom, the frame, double-butted chromoly tubing, a straight-blade lugged fork and stainless steel investment-cast dropouts with integrated chain tensioners. Did I mention the dropout has the silhouette of the Hennepin Ave bridge? Or that the frame clears a 700x32c tire easily? Or that the bottom bracket height is track-legal? The folks over at AC topped it off with a simple, classy paint job too, a subtle red metal-flake with white fork tips, nice. Oh yeah, it’ll barspin with a 25 in it too if that’s your thing.

The heart of a track bike is the drive train and there’s no half-steeping here either. A TH Industries cartridge bottom bracket with real steel cups, no Shimano plastic crap here, nice bearings and 100g lighter than other square taper bottom brackets in its class. From there we step out to the cranks, All-City 612’s with a 46 tooth, 1/8” chainring. You want stiff, here you go, the stiffest 3 piece I’ve found under $200. An All-City 17 tooth cog and a KMC chain round out the package nicely.

Next up we have wheels, a bike can’t roll without something to roll on, right? All-City standard track hubs laced 3x to Alex R540 rims, a fixed/free rear, cartridge bearings, a shouldered axle, triple section rims, these are ready for some beating on. They even threw in a pair 700x25c Vittoria Zaffiros to ice the cake.

You’ve got to have something to hold on to right? Right, how’s about a pair of 30mm rise bars a nice 9 degrees of sweep (my personal sweep of choice) on a 4 bolt stem for you? Not enough you say, well that’s cool, the kids over at AC tossed in a Cane Creek S-3 headset to sweeten the deal. Why throw such a nice headset into a factory complete? Because it makes the bike ride better, it’s a subtle thing. Bars, grips and stem length are all very personal but if you’ve already got a nice headset to roll on you’re more than halfway there. The last little touch is that they give you a pair of cyclocross levers and mid-reach brakes, want to run it as a freewheeling singlespeed? No worries, just strap a nice bmx freewheel on that rear wheel and you’re ready to rock.

All in all it’s a sweet ride, sharp handling, smooth ride, stiff in a sprint and it goes where you point it. A lot of track bikes feel really squirrelly on the street, lots of toe-overlap, oversteer at low speeds but the brain trust over at AC have managed to get around all of that and make a killer bike for everything from gunning for your local alleycat crown to running to the grocery store. Nice work guys.
All images stolen from All City site and blog.

Limited Edition Chrome Bag

2009-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

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!!!!!

2009-12-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T12:33:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-11-14T13:44:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-11-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-11-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-10-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-10-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have a new bike line!

Not...

Bike Club

2009-08-13T14:52:00.001-07:00

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

Square Lake Festival, August 15th

2009-08-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-07-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tour video

2009-07-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-19T11:07:00.001-07:00

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

new bike taken home an old friend.

2009-04-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-31T03:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-02-16T15:53:00.001-08:00

VIMBY - Bilenky Junk Yard Race

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

2009-02-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Getting a sweet ride closer to go time!

2009-01-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-30T07:50:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-12T14:10:00.001-08:00

...and recycled water slides.

lest we forget...

2009-01-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

Electric bikes

2008-12-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

There has been a growing amount of media attention on electric bikes in the US. Public interest has grown too judging by the number of inquires we have gotten. What does the future hold for electric bikes here in the US? Who knows? Here is a taste of what is happening elsewhere.

1) VietNamNet Bridge - Electric bikes sell like hot cakes as petrol price soars
Sales of electric bicycles are surging like the price of petrol as they are far cheaper to run and their riders don’t need a license or helmet. Electric bikes have been on the local market for a few years but failed to take off until 12 months ago. Now that high school kids are no longer allowed to ride motorbikes and the price of petrol has soared, the electric bike shops are seeing hordes of customers.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the bike shops along Vo Thi Sau and Cach Mang Thang Tam streets have switched to selling electric bikes. “Most of our customers are after electric bikes, though once in a while someone asks for a straight bicycle. Since before the Lunar New Year, we have sold 15-20 electric bikes per week, sometimes double that number,” an employee of H-M said.

2) USA Today - Europe's latest craze: Electric bikes

More than 10,000 electric bikes were sold in France last year, up from 6,000 in 2006, according to the Conseil National des Professions du Cycle, an association of bike professionals.

And the trend is hitting all of Europe. Sales of power-assisted bikes in Germany this year[2008] are expected to double the 60,000 sold in 2007, according to Hannes Neupert, manager of ExtraEnergy, a nonprofit organization promoting light electric vehicles headquartered in Tanna, Germany.In the Netherlands, sales of electric-powered bikes increased from 45,000 in 2006 to 89,000 last year, according BOVAG, a motorized vehicles industry association, which expects that the meter will read 121,000 at the end of 2008. That compares with an estimated 10,000 units sold across the U.S. in 2007.

Well, all this leads up to the announcement that The Hub will be carrying the Giant Twist Freedom in 2009. The Twist is not a pure electric bike, but is a hybrid that still requires pedaling and has a computer and electric motor that assist the rider. The Twist incorporates state-of-the-art technology developed in conjunction with Panasonic. It is designed to assist the rider by measuring the pedaling pressure of the rider and providing an equivalent amount of assistance. It has a range of 70 miles and is one of the smoothest riding electric/hybrid bikes available. More info at: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/backoffice/_upload_us/bikes/models/brochure/2009/6-08hybridbroch.pdf

All types of bikes for all types of people

While I have some personal reservations about electric bikes I try to weight them against some of the benefits. For example, while electric bikes are still generally plugged into a power plant, they do present a more efficient form of transportation than most other motorized vehilcles. They also open the door for folks that face physical restrictions.

signing out Fair and Balanced

This Just In....

2008-12-22T14:29:00.001-08:00

A few late additions to the inventory, just in time for you last minute shoppers

The Continental UltraSport HomeTrainer Tire

Designed specifically for use with indoor trainers this tire has a special cold-running compound and stiffer casing to provide longer wear.

Perfect for the trainer. Just don't run 'em on your street bike.

Also...

Classic Brooks Saddles

What can we say about Brooks Saddles that hasn't already been said before.

It's one of those "If you have to ask, you'll never know" kind of things.

Fresh selection at both stores for the hard to please retro-grouch in your life.

Happy Holidays from your friendly neighborhood full-service bike shop.

Big Changes Downtown

2008-12-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

The Minneapolis Transportation and Public Works Committee has approved the conversion of both Hennepin and 1st Ave. from one-way to two-way traffic.

The stated purpose was to improve the flow of traffic and to increase safety.

Safety was the primary driver as the project team evaluated all elements for the project. Bicycle
operations and bike lane placement became a main focus for safety. It also generated the most
comments through the public engagement process. The safety issues described here led to the
staff recommendation with respect to bike lane placement:
• Bike lanes located along the center of Hennepin Ave combined with the introduction of
southbound traffic created a significant safety concern. Conflicts between left turning
vehicles and bicycles made up 84% of the recorded crashes over the last 4 years. The
introduction of southbound traffic would result in an increase of this type of crash if a
center running bike lane was incorporated.
• Dedicated bike lanes along the curb lines of Hennepin Ave would result in conflicts with
the extensive curbside activity on Hennepin Ave including busses.

Traffic operations, although secondary to safety, was an important factor. Safety is directly
linked to traffic operations; congestion and delay create safety risks. The traffic analysis led to the
following conclusions:
• Hennepin Avenue requires left turn lanes. Without left turn lanes vehicle delay would
more than double from what is currently observed.
• A three lane configuration (2 – thru lanes and 1-center left turn lane) would result in 17 of
26 intersections operating at a failed level of service in the PM peak period.

You can view the complete layout HERE

As someone who has lived in a number of major cities, both here and abroad, I'm confused by a movement away from the typical grid of one-way streets that dominate American cities.

A close friend of mine, who attended all the public meetings to discuss this matter says it's clear that Minneapolis is looking to rejuvenate the downtown commercial district and feels that two way traffic on Hennepin (the theater district) and 1st Ave. (the bars and clubs) will help draw suburbanites who are confused by one-way traffic and a lack of street parking on Hennepin Ave.

I say, let's do what London did, and kick all the cars out, and charge exorbitant fees to bring a vehicle into the downtown area.

In The News....

2008-12-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

GOOD NEWS:

Transportation chief says Americans' travel habits are fundamentally changing.

By JOAN LOWY , Associated Press

Last update: December 12, 2008 - 8:11 AM

WASHINGTON - Drivers clocked 9 billion fewer miles on the nation's roads in October even while gas prices were dropping, suggesting a downturn in driving that began a year ago is attributable to more than just energy costs.

Federal Highway Administration data released Friday show the number of miles driven dropped 3.5 percent in October compared with the same month a year ago. Between November 2007, when the driving decline began, and October, Americans drove 100 billion fewer miles. That's the largest continuous decline in driving the nation has experienced.

BAD NEWS:

Minneapolis Midtown Greenway robbery spree: Bikers beware

By STEVE BRANDT and DAVID CHANEN , Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: December 11, 2008 - 11:39 AM

Minneapolis police issued a warning Wednesday after several bikers were robbed -- some at knifepoint and one with a gun -- on the popular Midtown Greenway and a connecting route.

The safety of greenway users has been a concern since before it was even built because the middle third of the 5 1/2-mile route paralleling Lake Street lies in a former railroad trench. So extra features such as 911 call kiosks, security cameras and extra lighting were installed.

But that hasn't prevented about 10 attacks in recent weeks aimed at bikers on the trails. Typically, police said, they involve several men who block the trails and take backpacks, wallets, electronics and purses, but not bikes.

The robberies prompted police to step up patrols and some riders to ride without lights to avoid detection by assailants. A grassroots, Web-connected group has organized a Saturday afternoon ride called "Take Back the Greenway."

This is particularly troublesome, as a great many of The Hub's customers rely on the Greenway on a daily basis.

The portion of the Greenway where these attack have been occurring is right next to the entrance that I personally use everyday. I've got a pretty good dialogue with my neighborhood hoodlums (bike theft in my neighborhood has always been a problem with the youngin's), so I'm going to see what I can do to to get an intervention going.

Until then be careful.

Don't travel that section alone at night, and if you must, go REALLY fast from where the path crosses 28th St. until you get to Chicago Ave., wear goggles and pack some Mace.

Celebrate International Human Rights Day at The Hub

2008-12-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Make The Hub your hub on "Day Without a Gay"

Hello beautiful gay, lesbian, bi, trans, queer, allied straight-ies
community! The Hub Bike Co-operative would like you to join us on
December 10th in honor of International Human Rights Day to celebrate
the first national "Day Without a Gay."

WHERE:
The Hub Bike Co-op
3020 Minnehaha Ave S.
Minneapolis MN 55406

WHEN:
Wednesday, December 10th 2008
11:00am to 8:00pm

ALL DAY EVENTS:
- Meet and greet at The Hub. Join up before and after your
volunteering for snacks, music, GLBTQA info sharing, and bike related
activities. Bring your instruments and play along.
- Get 10% off your Hub purchases (does not include bikes or labor)
when you bring in a business card thank-you from the GLBTQA
organization at which you volunteered on this day.
- Organize and schmooze at the information tables of OutFront
Minnesota, and other local GLBTQA organizations.

SCHEDULED EVENTS:
- 11:00am to 4:30pm D.I.T. (Do It Together) bike maintenance.
(with Chris, Sean, Mary, Ashley, and Richy)
Bring your bike for free Do-It-Yourself stand usage anytime between
11am and 4:30pm. Mechanics will be on hand to help teach you how to
do your bike fixing.

- 11:00am to 4:30pm Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Workshop
(with Chris and Seth)
Request a 1 hour tutorial on a basic bike maintenance subject of your
choosing if you gather 3 or more people for the class and submit your
request in advance to Ashley@thehubbikecoop.biz. (requests will be
granted according to order received, project scale and tool
availability).

- 5:00pm to 6:15pm Workshop: Fix a Flat
(with Mary)
Never be at the mercy of the rusty street nail again – learn how to
remove your wheel, take off your tire, patch that flat tube and put it
all back together again.

- 5:00pm to 6:15pm Workshop: How to make your wheel "Straight" (true)
(with Sean)
Learn to steady out those wobbles by lubing and tightening nipples –
the spoke nipples.

- 6:30pm to 7:30pm Workshop: Winter "Trans"portation
(with Mary)
Find out how to prepare your pride ride to commute through all
seasons. Tell Jack Frost, "We're here, we're…" (you know the rest).
- 6:30pm to 8:00pm Seminar: How to make your bike "Gay" (happy)
(with Chris)
Practice basic maintenance on your bike. Learn how to center breaks,
adjust derailleurs, lube chains and pivot points, and other empowering
tidbits.

- * pre-workshop* Mobilize!
(with Kelly and OutFront Minnesota)
Spend 5 minutes before each workshop becoming enlightened on how to
get involved with GLBTQA organizing – actions, lobbying, legislations,
calibrations.

*RSVP: rsvp for scheduled events to ashley@thehubbikecoop.biz so that
we can be sure to prepare enough space for you. Bring your bike, your
friends and your allies. (walk-ins welcome, but rsvp's encouraged)
*Donate: these classes (up to a $60 value) are free; however,
donations will be accepted, all of which will go to support a local
GLBTQ organization, OutFront Minnesota. Your financial contributions
would be a much needed and appreciated support for OutFront Minnesota
at this time.

BACKGROUND:
December 10th is International Human Rights Day. Human Rights day
celebrates the universal human right to live and to do so peacefully.
Some of the world's occupants have this right suppressed [e.g. the
right to equality]. This day was declared to raise awareness of human
rights and those who are deprived of these rights.

On December 10, 2008 the gay (lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, queer,
and straight) community will take a historic stance against hatred by
donating love to a variety of different human rights organizations
that need our help.

The GLBTQ community invites us to fight the "H8" by joining in
solidarity for "Day Without a Gay": "On December 10, you are
encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in
'gay'--and donate your time to service!"

Visit the website at http://www.daywithoutagay.org/ for more information.
For more information on local GLBTQA organizing, visit the OutFront
Minnesota website at http://www.outfront.org/home

New Hotness-The Chrome Cobra Hoodie

2008-12-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

Along with our latest shipment of fresh Chrome-age, came these ultra-fabulous, limited hoodies.

100% Merino wool means you are warm and dry regardless of what the Minnesota winter throws at you.

Features include; thumb loops (smart), hidden front hand warmer pockets, full-length rear stash pocket, high neck collar and a three panel hood.

It could very well be the smartest piece of outerwear you ever buy. Move fast, cause they won't last long.

Have a kickin' FestiSolstiChristmaKwanzukkah

2008-12-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Fancy '09 Surlys in the mouth-watering new colors? That's right, we've got 'em. Creamrollers and a Truckaccino, who loves ya baby? And just in time for all those midwinter gift-giving holidays...

-- DROOLING GAWKERS WELCOME, Minnehaha store

2008-12-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

We've got some sweet '09 bicycle eye candy at both Hub locations available for your gawking right now. We ordered a few of the fun to look at bikes that we will we carrying this year early so you would know we have'em and so we could gawk at them all dark winter long. We've also tried to provide equal opportunity gawking by stocking some very cool women's bikes. Up in the window now at the Minnehaha store is the Bianchi 928 mono Q C2C 105, which is much prettier than it rolls off the tongue. This bike is carbon all day fast, bladed spoke, 105 black and vibration damped with kevlar. If that leaves you saying "Who? What?" go here for answers.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/09_c2c_928_105_comp.html

In the other window at the Minne store is the Giant Aeryn2. Yellow, white, black and aero all over. It's a women's specific tri-bike. Giant has done a ton of work on their women's specific design, not only in geometry and components, but also in tube rigidity. The Aeryn is a serious tri-bike in entry level clothing. Aero bars, aero seat post, deep fat 42mm aero rims, aero carbon fork, aero tube set, aero dual bottle cage holder behind the seat. Stand outside the Minne store and imagine summertime gawking at it's yellow sunshine paint, swimmers leaving the water and jumping on their bikes. sweating into the open air. just 6 months from now.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/women/2283/32109/

Getting down on the floor is the Bianchi Vigorelli. Steel, black metal flake, classy, sexy I need it bad. Classic graphics and Ultegra love ride off in to the sunset and never look back. I ain't got the words. come look at it yourselves. Test ride with proper detachment, or you may be locked for ever on the cycle of death and rebirth, Vigorelli, out damn spot.

http://www.cyclelicio.us/2008/08/2009-bianchi-vigorelli-steel-is-realb.htmlh

Pearlescent white Bianchis look gorgeous leaned up against street lamps at night. The Dama Bianca SheAlu 105 will sprint like mad through the twilight. The thick hydeoformed downtube will jump forward with every thrust of your thighs. The carbon/kvid fork and seatstays will take the edge off the bumps you miss as the light dims and further stars illuminate your way. Stop at a streetlamp down by the river rest your bike on the poll.
Pearlescent white Bianchis look gorgeous leaned up against street lamps at night. Don't worry you've got a triple chainring in case you fade coming back over Ramsey hill.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/09_dama_alu_c_105_mix_trpl.html

Next up gawkables At the 301 cedar store.

The Iceman Cometh...Part II

2008-12-02T02:10:00.000-08:00

So here we go again, Minnesota has plunged into the kind of weather that Norwegian black metal bands sing about; unending darkness, primordial elemental cold, howling winds. Weather that strips the trees bare, leaves skin raw and eyes watering. Yes Virginia, Winter is here.
So let's go ride!
Yeah, you heard me right, let's go biking. There's absolutely no reason not to, in fact some of the things that I love about cycling are even more present in the winter. Like the absolute silence of going on a night ride while it's snowing or just after, the way the city takes on this other-worldliness when all of the angles and man-made structures are rounded out and disguised by the snow. The air is sharp, crisp and clear. It's effing beautiful out, what, you going to spend the whole winter on the trainer or catching up on Gilmore Girls? Off your duff!
There are a few things that hold most folks back. First, you're absolutely right, it gets so cold that your friends and relatives in other, wimpier parts of the country think you're insane just for living here. This is easily dealt with with a bit of snappy dressing which is, incidentally, most of what I'll be talking about on this one but I'm going to touch on lights and some bike handling tips too.
Alright, let's start with your feet. This is the big one that makes most cyclists miserable in the cold months, they just get cold, it's probably the temperature or something. There's a few things you can do though so let's start right on your skin. Wool, I can stress this enough, wool is the best thing to wear on your feet, bar none. It wicks moisture, and more importantly it will keep you warm even if it's wet. Let me repeat that in case you missed it, wool will keep you warm even if it's wet. I've been a big fan of the smartwool stuff personally but I've had good luck with thrift store argyle scores too. When it get's really cold or for longer rides I'll toss some polypropylene sock liners in there for extra wick-age. Most important is to make sure that you're not compressing your feet though, a lot of folks make this mistake. You've gotta let those toes wiggle here kids, if your can't squidge your feet around a bit you're going to cut circulation off from the outer layers of tissue which will then tend to freeze. Frostbite is no joke, you can straight up LOSE toes to it. Yes, lose. If they freeze badly enough the docs will have no choice but to snip those little piggies right off in order to stop you from getting gangrene.

On a lighter note let's talk shoes. You're smart folks or so it would seem, so a few of these will just be review for you. First off, I know you love those Sidi's but stow 'em for the winter. Even with booties road shoes will not keep you warm enough, and that goes for all road shoes. Road shoes are made to keep your feet cool...you're quick, do the rest of the math. Mountain bike shoes tend to fare a bit better but the main problem with them is that you have this little SPD mounting plate hanging out on the ball of your foot which becomes a heat sink connected to the sub-freezing air, slush and whatever other nastiness old man winter has in store for you. Fortunately, the good folks at Lake, Shimano, and Northwave all have lovely offerings for winter specific kicks. The good news, you want 'em we'll get 'em. The bad news, they're a bit pricey, expect to drop about $170 at the least but if you want to run clipless in the winter and stay toasty they're the way to go. I've known quite a few courier types over the years that swear by the Lakes, our very own Neal has a pair of them Northwaves that he's all gooey over and I've been thinking about a pair of them Shimanos myself. For all of you non-clipless types the same rules apply, as far as setup I used to run Power Grips and my Redwings in the winter but basically a grippy platform pedal and a decent hiking or work boot will do the job well. Toss those Sorels on if you want to go fully gung-ho or if you just can't stay warm.
Next up let's do base layers, most cyclists are going to be more worried about wind and wicking than insulation, we can spin to stay warm so the expedition weight stuff will most likely be too much unless you're sub 2% body fat and have a low body temperature to boot. On the legs I go with a pair of standard cool weather cycling tights under my pants and toss a pair of long underwear over those when it's stupid cold out. I had a pair of the Pearl-Izumi AmFib winter tights that I got on closeout a few years back but I have since handed those down to my lady, they're too warm for me. For the upper body you should think like you do for your feet, you want to stay dry and warm, again wool is great for this and there are a ton of good long underwear type base layers on the market. Think thin, easily removable layers. No big sweaters here people, and I would stay away from cotton long johns like you can get at target or fleet farm or wherever, they are fine for hanging out but for active stuff like riding they tend to get sweaty and then they suck heat away from you. Again with the no fun.
Hands tend to be subjective, I tend to get away with fairly thin non-insulated gloves in all but the coldest weather, then I switch to some snowboarding type mitts with merino wool glove liners. Here's the basic rules; your hands are one of the leading edges of your body and are therefore very susceptable to wind, your hands will sweat if they overheat, and they are very like your feet in that they will get frostbitten of they are deprived of circulation. For keeping warm it goes like this, mittens will always be warmest because your fingers can share heat through contact and shared air, lobster or "ninja turtle" gloves are the next warmest for the same reasons as mittens but with the added dexterity of a split finger, gloves come last with the most dexterity due to all of the fingers being separated but will be the least warm for the same reason. Stuff with a water/wind resistant shell with a removable liner is ideal in any case because then you can use, you guessed it, wool glove liners. They're like $3 at Kaplan Bros, go get 'em tiger.
For your cabesa there's a ton of different stuff, there's even winter specific helmets. A bunch of different companies make little windtex/lycra/microfleece cycling yarmulkes that fit snug to your melon so they can slip under a helmet or maybe you're just into the whole medieval look, it's not my call. As usual, wool is a rockin' option, Grovecraft makes some awesome winter cycling hats, they're local, recycled and run by a woman, what's not to like?
Face-wise I'd recommend keeping your breathing holes uncovered, the condensation from your breath will soak a bandana or facemask and make it hard to breathe through and give you a nice clammy, wet drape over your face. Neck gaiters and scarves are my fave, wool rules and polarfleece is a good option as well, Alicia uses a silk scarf because she can pull it over her face and it stays pretty dry and breathable. For the eyes any standard ski/snowboard goggles will do for windy days and snowstorms, stay away from the military surplus sand/dust goggles though, they're totally worthless in the cold.
Finally we get to outerwear, along with shoes it's usually the big-ticket item when your setting up for the winter. Fit-wise, cycling specific jackets tend to have longer sleeves and tail, armpit zips for venting and will have a convertable hood if any at all. Wind and water resistance is the big deal here, not insulation so those big down parkas are probably a bad idea. Endura makes truly badass shells in a variety of flavors and they do women's specific stuff as well, I've got one and it rules, 'nuff said. Pants are a personal choice (no matter what the cops say!), some folks swear by rain/wind pants in the winter but I've never found them to be necesary. Again Endura does some sweet gear here and we've even got a bit of the also badass Burley stuff left that they don't make anymore.
All things considered it takes it bit of practice to get things dialed-in, staying warm and layering is very subjective and there are no hard and fast rules. There's no setup that's going to work for everybody but something to consider is if you do other active, aerobic type activities in the winter how do you layer up for them? I'm particularly thinking of cross-country skiing here as the aerobic level is very similar, they both demand freedom of movement and over-layering will make you soggy and miserable at the least and hypothermic at the worst. Don't be afraid to mess around with your gear, remember, practice makes perfect.
Remember way back when you started reading this, when I said I'd touch on lights? Well here goes...it's winter, there's less daylight, if you don't already have a headlight get one, and a tail light too. Are you eyeballin' me punk?!
Seriously though Cateye does some slick stuff in the headlight department, Planet Bike makes a retina-searingly bright tail light called the Superflash, and rechargeable trail lights will light your way and blind other cyclists all the way home.
Lastly we're going to talk about some bike handling stuff, then you can go do important stuff. I promise. Riding in the snow takes a little bit of finesse but I have faith in you, dear readers, and I think you can do it. Just remember keep your upper body loose, don't tense up, it will make your movements jerky and probably wipe you out. Snow has a tendency to pull skinny tires one way or the other, especially if it has that windblown crust on top of it but don't panic, just countersteer a little and keep a little power to the pedals and you'll be sailin' on with no problem. Fat tires don't really have this problem as much since you float up over stuff more than cutting through but fat or skinny ice is the enemy. Studded tires are the only way to be 100% on ice but they're kind of pricey and give you a lot of rolling resistance on pavement. If you're one of those aforementioned studly types you can relax for this bit but for this rest of us here's the rules, if you're on ice DON'T make sudden turns to get off of it, lock your brakes, or panic and tense up. Any of those can wipe you out, even on a pugsley, so stay loose, keep your weight even, and use those brakes lightly. Same goes for us fixed gear folks, as much as you may be tempted to lock it up half a block out and yell "check my wicked skidz b!", avoid the temptation. Falling down on a fixed gear still hurts and you might eff up your skinny jeans b. Finally, try to hold your line in slippery snowy icy conditions. Weaving around is a bad thing, for one it puts you off balance and for two it can make dangerous weaving ruts when that slush freezes. If you are worried about going too fast just drop to a lower gear and spin a bit more, it'll keep you more stable and keep you a bit warmer. Common sense is the rule here kids, if it's slick out cut your speed a bit, don't brake through your turns and whatever you do don't bank into them. Lastly, don't ever be afraid to put a foot down if you have to, if one of them trials snobs says something hit 'em with a snowball at the next red light.
Stay frosty.

The 10 Most Dangerous Intersections in Minneapolis

2008-10-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

By C.C.

As a shop that prides itself on it's support of those who ride their bikes for transportation, we like to make certain everyone can ride safely, and get to where they are going in one piece.

With the recent spike in cyclists being injured, and even killed, by automobile drivers in the Twin Cities, local media has finally come forward, recognizing cycling as an increasingly common mode of transportation, and a greater need for drivers to be aware of cyclists when driving.

This week, City Pages posted a story calling out the 10 most dangerous bike intersections in Minneapolis.

Fellow Hubsters and I went through them one by one, every time, at least one of the group was in full agreement on the sketchiness of each particular intersection.

A good friend of mine was just hit at the Cedar/Riverside intersection a couple months ago, less the a block from one of our locations.

I myself was involved at a hit and run at the Portland intersection.

Personally, I think the intersection at Lyndale/Hennepin and 15th Ave. is where a cyclist is always taking their life into their own hands. For years I successfully avoided it by taking the private serviceway of an adjacent church, but recent renovations to the facility have closed that off, and now I'm forced to once again roll the dice as I head north toward downtown.

Enjoy the article.

And be careful out there.

Live to ride another day.

The first Critical Mass in Minneapolis

2008-10-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

By The Chuff

I rode in the first Critical Mass in Minneapolis. Nobody is talking about Critical Mass right now, but when they were, the so called experts said they knew how it started, but they didn't have a clue. I first heard about Critical Mass in some cycling rag. The details are fuzzy. What I think the article that I read said, was that Critical mass started in Rio De Janero. Something about Masses of Cyclistas in Rio taking over the roads on the bay front every Friday afternoon. The enlightened Rio authorities gave in to the will of the Cyclistas and blocked off the bayfront roads to all but bikes. BOOYA!!!! Then the Mass moved to San Francisco. Hundreds, maybe thousands of riders participated. I don't know if it was before or after the first Mass in Minneapolis, but in Frisco they tried to ride the freeway. CHAOS, COPS, CRAPSTORM. Later we tried the freeway Critical Mass here, same results as Frisco. Back to the the original subject. Some time in the early 90's in January I was working in a millwork shop listening to Radio K, and someone announced "Critical Mass 5:30 Hennepin County government center" over the radio. BOOYA!!! The first Critical Mass in our town. You didn't have to tell be twice. Nine of us showed up for the first Minneapolis Mass. Hurl "freak in charge at carsrcoffins" was there, and some punk gurl named Justine who I haven't seen in years. The revolutionary 9 original Critcal Mass riders rode about 15 MPH in the slush, three to a lane. We rode a loop up 7th, and down 6th. We screamed at the striking Union Peoples outside the Ritz-Carlson. They screamed back at us. Lazy wet snow fell. It was a great buzz. The cars were annoyed, but not violently so. The 1st Mass in Snowtown rode a good clip and a few people just honked. That's what I know, and what's fuzzy. I guess my lack of certainty doesn't make me a quotable expert I can live with that. Go ask Hurl his story.

Reflections from BikeBike!

2008-10-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

By Jason

Last week, I had the privilege to travel out to San Francisco, California for BikeBike – the national conference of community bicycle collectives and cooperatives. I was not there as a Hub representative – I was there mainly for Sibley Bike Depot (www.bikeped.org), a not-for-profit community bike program in St. Paul. However, the experience was insightful and relevant to our work here at the Hub as a worker-owned bicycle cooperative trying to promote bicycling within our community.

While at the conference in San Fran, I was able to take a tour of Box Dog Bikes, a worker-owned bike shop in the Mission district. Like the Hub, they are a fairly new shop – opening four years ago. They employ eight people: Five are worker-owners, two are on the path towards ownership, and one is only part-time. (Compare this to the Hub, where we have seven worker-owners and, during Spring/Summer, over 30 workers!) Their space is significantly smaller – roughly the size of our West Bank location. I think retail space is way more expensive in the dense, overpriced market of San Francisco.

Another interesting point: Box Dog Bikes formed with significant influence from people who were volunteer mechanics at the Bike Kitchen, San Francisco’s collectively run community bike shop. The Hub had a similar experience, with the original coop founders being mechanics at the Grease Pit who wanted to both receive monetary compensation for their work, as well as expand their ability to promote bicycling in our community.

And other exciting news: BikeBike 2009 is coming to Minneapolis! Keep an eye out around August/September for hundreds of community bike shop enthusiasts from around the country to descend upon our fair city to converse, share, and organize stories on how to better promote bicycling. The Hub hopes to have a role in discussing the ways that volunteer collectives and worker-owned shops can work together to promote bicycling as a sustainable means of transportation in our community!

The Ice Man Cometh or Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Winter Riding But Were Afraid To Ask

2008-10-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

Willis here to drop a bit of science as to how to keep your ride happy during those sloppy, salty months ahead.
First off there's a lot to go over but I'll try to keep it quick and dirty for you and stick to mechanical and set up stuff, we can pad your sartorial resume later.
The big evil that you are going to run into is salt, it's EVERYWHERE in the winter and will eat your bike alive. "But wait Will" you say, "MY bike is made of aluminum", it's a valid point and good thinking but your axles, chain, cogs, and most of the pivots and fasteners are still going to be steel and will be devoured by the ravenous monster unleashed by the DOT every year. Luckily for you and your bike there are quite a few ways around this.
First off, bring that bike inside. This will give your ride a chance to shed the days accumulation of crud and dramatically decreases the likelihood of this. It's best to toss some cardboard on the floor to catch the lovely mixture of salt, snow and exhaust soot that will drip off of her. If you feel really frisky, toss your bike in the shower for a minute and let the fresh water rinse the salt and slush off.
A good, if labor intensive, steel bike solution is frame saver which requires stripping the bike down to the bare frame and then spraying down the inside of all the tubes and then stopping them up with rags, rotating the frame every now and again to ensure an even coat. You'll have to let the frame cure overnight so plan ahead for this one.
Next up comes the drivetrain. My personal preference for winter riding is the fixed gear but single-speeds in general have a huge advantage over multi geared bikes for snowy, mucky, salty riding. There's just less to get mucked up, fewer moving parts and generally less parts that you'll have to replace if you don't get all the salt out of 'em. I don't change my gearing for the winter, some folks gear down a bit but regardless of your set-up the choice of lube is vital. NEVER use parrafin based lube in the winter, ever. I don't care how awesome white lightning has been for you during summer cruising, don't even think of putting it on your chain in the winter. There are two ways to go here folks, I like a light weight oil generally and triflow in particular because teflon isn't affected by cold and it doesn't pick up as much grit and salt but the drawback is that you'll have to apply it more often. The other way to go is a heavier weight synthetic oil like pedro's synlube, it's thick and hangs on really well but a heavier oil will attract more crud into your chain, no free lunch. Either way check your chain, wipe it down with a rag after sloppy rides and oil it about once a week for the average commuter and every 3 days or so for all of you long-haulers.
Speaking of triflow make sure to hit those spoke brake pivots and cantilever posts. During the corrosive season it's vitally important to keep all of those pivots, cables and housing well lubed but hey, they're your brakes do what you like, it's a free(ish) country.
And finally we come to the wheels, they're a big deal, they're what let you roll around the city as the picture of cool instead of standing astride a metal bar looking dumb. First off as a carry over from the last paragraph, hit those spoke nipples with some triflow. Put a drop at the base of the nipple where it goes through the rim and one at the top where it meets the spoke, do this all the way around the wheel starting at the tire valve (it's easier to keep track of where you've been this way) and then give the wheel a good spin. It's a good idea to let the tires dry out before you do this but hey, don't let me stop you from learning by doing. Next up let's talk hubs, sealed or cartridge bearings are ideal because the sealed bearings don't let as much, if any, crud into the moving parts and the cartidges are easily replaceable even if they do get crapped up.
Last but not least we've got tires, tires are a religious argument among winter cyclists but it breaks down into four main cases with a rider with basic bike handling skills in mind;
-Skinny, smooth tires will cut through snow to the pavement beneath and have the least rolling resistance but don't do as well on ice.
-Cyclocross tires are about as good on ice as skinnys, still get a good amount of "cut" and have a little knobbiness for extra traction but will cost you a bit of rolling resistance for the extra grab.
-Fat, knobby mountain bike tires have a lot of grab and will "float" you above the deeper snow but still aren't that great on ice and can get snow impacted into the treads which ends up with you rolling on some ice donuts.
-Studded tires have the best grip on ice bar none and usually have a tread pattern designed to shed snow but they are heavy, have serious rolling resistance on pavement, and cost about $45 to $70 a piece.
Personally I ride on 700x25 panaracer t-servs all year round because they rule and panaracer doesn't give me anything to say that, they're just that good. Like i said it's a religious argument. No matter what tires you ride slap some fenders or a mudguard on that sucker, your butt will thank you.
Next time we can go over that winter couture thing for you and maybe even toss out some snow and ice bike-handling tips. Cheers, -willis

The CC Interbike Report

2008-09-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hey there Interwebbers. CC here, with a report from the 2008 Interbike convention in Las Vegas.

I arrived a day before the show in order to participate in the Outdoor Demo at Bootlegger's Canyon. Interbike has been doing this for a few years now so that shops get a chance to ride the bikes that they intend to stock in the store for next season.

I, along with two other Hubsters, got on the first shuttle bus out to the venue. Even though it was still quite early in the morning, the sun was already high in the sky, and from this Midwesterner's perspective, really hot.

Nearly ever domestic bike manufacturer was on hand with the latest and greatest. The focus, given the location, was obviously on off-road equipment and bikes, but there was also a sizable road loop set up to test ride road and commuter bikes.

We made a beeline for the Marin booth, and secured a number of their mountain bikes for our first test ride on one of the dusty loops.

I took out a Pine Mountain 29'er Single Speed. There have been some adjustments to the geometry based on feedback from last year's model and I have to say, this bike was awesome. It rode incredibly smooth, and the spec'd Reba fork handled the rocky terrain with ease. I also fell in love with the new model WTB saddle on this and the other bikes from Marin. I'm not fussy about saddles, but this was the best off-road saddle I've ever ridden.

Next up was the Nail Trail 29'er. Basically the aluminium, geared version of the Pine Mountain. Also a superb ride.

Then I tried to get on the Giant Anthem. but every bike in my size had already been check out. I went back a number of time to try to get a ride on one, but they were always checked out. I'll take this as a good review of the bike ("Chuff" rode one the day before and said it was a nimble bike that rode extremely well).

Since I was at the Giant booth, I took out one of their new pedal-assist bikes, The Freedom DX. There has been a lot of buzz about this, and pedal assist/electric bikes in general, and it was time to see if it lived up to the hype.

The bike has three settings that allow the rider to adjust the amount of power the battery provides to "assist" you as you pedal. I started in the middle setting, and rode out on the flat section of the road loop. The way this works is, the rider must pedal in order for the battery to engage it's "assist" mode. There is no throttle to help kick in power, the bike just intuitively provides power to the front wheel based on the effort being put into the standard drivetrain. Although it was difficult to gauge by feel just how much assistance the lithium/ion battery was providing on the flat section, I was keeping up with people on high-end road bikes on what is essentially a 50 pound hybrid bike. I'd say that's pretty good.

When I came to the long hill back to the venue, I clicked the battery into it's most powerful mode. It was here that it was obviously providing a great deal of assistance. Getting this bike of this weight up a hill would be very difficult under normal pedal power, but the pedal assist got me up with little effort.

Next up, a Surly "Big Dummy". I've had my eye one these for a while, but couldn't ride one until this day. The steel frame has a nice ride quality, essentially like a normal bike. The long wheel base gives confidence to a descent and rides smooth in the flats. The ride back up the hill was surprisingly like a regular bike. Yes, it's obviously heavier then a normal bike, but given it's carrying capacity, the perfect alternative to pulling a cargo trailer.

I rode a few other bikes as well, just to see what else was out there, but eventually the heat began to take it's toll, and I retreated back to my "quaint" downtown hotel to get ready for day two.

The next day was the first day of the actual "show". The size and scope of these things can be a bit overwhelming. Nearly every vendor from around the world wants to showcase their wares at Interbike; The Good, The Bad, and The Completely Ridiculous.

I'll sum it up briefly:

The new Bianchi bikes look outstanding

The 2009 Bianchi Dolomiti
(Lugged Steel Frame)
Beautiful!
A New Pista
(Flat-Bar w/brakes)
hell yeah!

Also sweet was what will be offered by Knog, the company that brought us the extremely popular Frog light system.

If I told you all the cool stuff that they are bringing on next season, I'd have to kill you, but suffice to say, this stuff is DOPE.

Also look for new track/fixie bikes and gear coming to The Hub. There are awesome new things in the works for you fixed gear junkies (hint: it's all about matching anodized parts, and some really sweet wheel options, not to mention some new frame options as well. Stay Tuned).

But the highlight of the show this year was the Cyclocross race: CrossVegas.

Held at a soccer field in the foothills outside of town, this was sure to be blast.

They started with "Wheelers and Dealers" race, which our own SeanO participated in (after riding 6+ uphill miles to the event, in 98 degree heat, and nothing in him except for a couple beers consumed on the convention room floor).

SeanO suffered, but finished strong, doing The Hub proud.

But the big news was all about "Lance".

It had been rumored all day that the seven time TDF winner was going to be on hand to take place in his first ever cyclocross race, and sure enough he arrived just as the pro men were staging.

Cameras swarmed around him. The crowd surged to get a glimpse of him. It was quite a circus.

But once the race began it was all pro.

My best photo of the eventual winner: Ryan Trebon

Lance, being the consummate racer that he is, did his best to stay with the lead group, and to his credit, did so for most of the first lap.

Ten seconds after I took this picture, Mr. Armstrong took his first of two falls in the race.
This first time was a simple slip out caused by too much tire pressure, a common mistake made by roadies who try to race cross.

The second time Lance went down, I saw his face hit the pavement. When he went on Letterman a couple days later, you could see the bruise on his forehead. Glorious.

But despite these two hard falls, Lance never gave up, or even slowed down. He got right back on his bike both times and wound up finishing strong in the middle of the field.

The crowd went way crazier for him then they did for the actual winner, the same pro who won the race the previous year as well: Ryan Trebon.

But judging by this official video, no one really cared about anything but Lance.

Lance Armstrong Returns - Las Vegas Cyclocross from CYCLEFILM on Vimeo.

Well, that's all I've got. Stay tuned for more news of all things Hub

The Huff Bike Review

2008-09-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

So, we've got some '09 entry level Giant road bikes in, at both
the Minnehaha store, and the west bank location. The women's all
bike we have is called the "Avail3", and the men's bike
is the "Defy3". The price for both bikes is $750.00 These bike are
kind of amazing to me in the frame technology available at this
price, and the questions about gender, and marketing that they invoke.

AVAIL:
intransitive verb: to be of use or advantage: serve transitive verb: to produce or result in as a benefit or
advantage: gain
— avail oneself of also avail of
: to make use of : take advantage of
WOMEN?

DEFY:
archaic : to challenge to combat2: to challenge to do something
considered impossible : dare3: to confront with assured power of
resistance : disregard 4: to resist attempts at
: withstand
MEN?

What goes on at Giant marketing meetings? Another marketing decision
to wonder about is the feminization of paint schemes. Giant has got a
lot of color choices for both genders. The men's road bikes are the
bright side of earth tones with gray accents. The women's colors are
fruit candy with silver accents. In the defy/avail3 bikes that we have
in I think that the avail3's teal/white/silver with paisley like
tracery wins, over the defy3's blue/black/white "I don't look right on
this bike without spandex" scheme. Of course paint is subjective. So
come in and, have your own ideas, and test ride these bikes.
Erika and I took these bikes out for quick first impression
rides. Being people with bodies at opposite ends of the size spectrum,
I feel that we are a good test of how these fit.
Erika is 5'0" and 100lbs. rode the Avail3 X-small size. Her feedback
is that it fit well, and was comfortable, but that the 8 speed
shift/brake levers were large for her hands. Do they make road levers
for smaller hands? Googling "women's road components" I was unable to
find any road levers for women. Don't blame Giant for that one, they
don't make brake/shifters.
Giant has 38 women's specific models in the '09 catalog. Giant
for women, designs bikes according to their '"5 point" plan, which is
concerned with, styling, geometry, sizing, construction, and
components. It will be joy to be able to sell these bikes to women
without having to swap out stems to make them fit. Women specific
bikes, with shortened top tubes, shorter cranks for the the small bike
sizes across almost Giants entire bike range is something I haven't
seen any other bike company do. Maybe women actually like fruit candy
colored bikes, what do I know I'm a man.
I test rode the large size Defy3. I am 6'3" and 230lbs
and, I prefer bikes smaller than the size most people would put me on.
For those of you who follow giant bikes, the Defy/Avail series is
replacing the OCR line of bikes. These bikes are the relaxed side of
road geometry. The Defy3 is somewhere between a racing bike and a
touring bike in it's agility although it is definitely lighter than
your typical touring bike. A medium size Defy3 weighed 22.01 lbs. This
bike feels like a comfortable all day bike. I found the frame to be
very stiff laterally at the bottom bracket, but I have a qualifier. I
am recovering from fractured ribs, and am quite weak right now.
Probably best that I just describe the technology that goes into
making these frames stiff, rather than reviewing the results.
The entire Giant '09 road line now has frames with conical head
tubes. The top of the integrated headset is 11/8th inches, and the
bottom is 11/4 inches. It's all about having a wider more stable base
at the fork/frame, head tube/ down tube juncture to resist flex. All
the front end tubes on the Avail/ Defy frames are heavily shaped
through hydroforming to improve ride quality. This frame has also
received a lot of tube manipulation to soften it's aluminum ride. The
top tube and seat stays are curved to act like a spring to keep the
sting off your butt. This is a lot of work done to a frame on a bike
that only costs $750.
So, here's the skinny on the rest of the components on these
bikes, that I feel are worth mentioning. A 3x8 Sora drive train that
would climb anything, composed of a FSA Vero crankset 53/42/30, and a
SRAM PG 850, 11/26, 8 speed cassette. The drive train is nothing to
rave about. It worked, which is all you can expect at this price
point. The carbon composite fork is the same one you get on all but
the top of the line Giant road bikes. The wheels are 32 spoke, 3 cross
in the rear, and radial in the front. The rims are ALEX, DA22's, which
at a claimed 435 grams are only 20 grams heavier than the lightest
aluminium rims I could find on the web. The wheelset is what I really
like about these bikes. The 3 cross spokes on the rear wheel makes
the Avail/Defy3's
functional commuter/light touring bikes. The frame also has eyelets for
racks, or fenders, that also make it good everyday rideable bike.
In conclusion I feel that these are a great choices for an entry
level road bike. The frame and wheels could be the base of a more
expensive bike. So if you wore out these components the frame and
wheels would support a component upgrade. You could also improve your
motor keep the same components and embarrass people who spent a lot
more on their bikes।
After some research, I almost feel गिल्टी complaining about Giants marketing towards women. Giant has more women
specific models than any other builder that I could find, and a
women's cyclist web site with a lot going on.

http://www.giantforwomen.com/

Next I think I'll review The 2009 KHS flight 220 another entry
level road bike we now have that also comes in a men's and women's
model.

peace, chuff

P.S. Shimano road levers are converted to women's levers by inserting
a shim that shortens the reach. Shimable levers are not available at
the Avail's component spec. level.