photo courtesy of : www.tredz.co.ukPaul 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
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Who Says Helmets Aren't Cool?
photo courtesy of : www.tredz.co.ukPaul 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
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Halfway is the cheap way to fly.
We now have a sweet $650 folding bike. The Giant Halfway is an easy solution to bike airline bike carry on fees. The Halfway comes with a nice little black bag stored on the handlebar that you can put the bike into and put on the airplane.
The primary thing that I like about the Halfway is the world beater $650 price. $650 is about the cost on flying you regular bike to Europe 2.5 times. The second thing I like about this bike is that it's black. The third thing I like about this bike is that it's weird. In order to save space Giant has made the fork a righty and the chain stay and seat stay are also righty. By righty I mean there is no left fork leg, or left side of the rear triangle. Thankfully for you my wife had a baby this year, and I put on twenty pounds of sympathy weight which makes me the perfect test rider for this one sided concept. My 245lbs over normal street chatter and up driveway cutouts noticed no strange deflection in the frame. So I'd say I can't see a wrongness to the righty idea. I've never been a BMXer so I don't know much about how it feels to ride 20" wheels, but the Halfway wasn't intuitive for me. I've really hardly ridden the bike so I cant say much either way on it's handling. I think you should come in ride the bike and have your own opinion.
Charge Bikes Plug Grinder Review!!
Disclaimer: The following review contains some British slang/usage...if I inadvertently offend any Brits in the audience my apologies for being rubbish at your language, hopefully I don't come off as a complete prat.
Charge bikes come to us from across the pond, that'd be the U.K. for you lot too busy skiving off to learn your geography, and we've decided that our shop needs the class, style, and decorum that only our former colonial overlords can bring. All right, relax, I'm just taking the piss, no harm done.
Right then, back to it, the Plug is Charge's main single/fixed city frameset and it comes in all sorts of flavors, I'm going to be talking about the Grinder which seems to be more of a commuter option than some of the builds that they do.
Right out of the box i have to say that I like the color, pea soup green seems very English to me and the components look good. Sugino Messenger cranks and chainring, flat bars with just a bit of sweep, a pintle chain and actual real, full coverage metal mudguards. Very posh.
With spanner in hand I set out to make this into a bike, making notes as I went, the frame and fork are nice Tange steel, good quality paint and clean looking graphics, quite flash if you ask me. the wheels are pretty basic, sealed bearing 32 hole high-flange hubs laced to alex rims, toss in some 700x32 Continental tyres, a fixed cog and a freewheel and we're sorted for city riding.
The brakes are solid, nothing flash, just mid-reach Tektros with cyclocross levers mounted on the flat bars. Toss in a Charge saddle and Bob's your uncle, we've got our city commuter!
I had to wait a few days to ride her because the weather had stowed away in the box with the bike. Actually I wouldn't have cared and thought it was a bit daft to not ride a bike with mudguard in the rain, it's what it's built for innit? I got pulled up short by the gaffer though...
Finally took her out or a spin today the only thing I swapped out was the pedals, I was riding fixed and I prefer to go clipless for that. The ride is brilliant, the tyres eat up potholes, she goes where you point her and the fit is just about perfect for a city bike, low enough that you feel fast and nimble but high enough that it's comfortable and you can see easily. The gearing is spot on and the bars are a titch wider than my shoulders, which I prefer to the "digging your tie out of the loo" position narrow bars give you, feels a bit more stable when i'm out of the saddle or climbing. Overall I think the bike's brilliant, the dog's bollocks even, the only quibble that I have is that the front mudguard gives her a bit of toe-over, even with clipless shoes so toe-cages would probably be even worse. That and the pedals are a bit rubbish, I'd swap 'em for something in a sealed bearing if I was me, which I usually am.
All in all I'd say that under the flash paint it's a nails city ride with enough style to keep the chavs from thinking you're a prat but practical enough that you mum thinks you're safe as houses in the big bad city.
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.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Proposed Bike Boulevards for the City of Minneapolis
The latest from the Transportation Council:
Minneapolis Public Works is beginning the process of creating preliminary designs for three bicycle boulevards. Bicycle boulevard planning tours will be held on the following days for the following projects:
- Tuesday, November 3rd (10:00 am to 2:30 pm), 5th Street NE and 22nd Avenue NE
- Saturday, November 7th (10:00 am to 12:30 pm), Fillmore Street NE and 6th 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.
To read more about bicycle boulevards, please visit: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.
Additionally, a neighborhood meeting will be held on Thursday, October 29th for proposed bike lanes on 18th 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).
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
SWRVE Clothing
The Hub Bike Co-op is SUPER excited to add SWRVE to our apparel line-up at both stores!
Swrve clothing is stylish, functional, affordable, and made in the USA!
Milwaukee Hoodies
$120
WWR Knickers
$100
Swrve clothing is stylish, functional, affordable, and made in the USA!
Milwaukee Hoodies
$120
WWR Knickers
$100
Merino Wool Tops
$50
$50
Come and get 'em!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Save $ in the spring, come to our SS/fixed gear conversion class
So, are you thinking of joining the ranks of those whose cycling season isn't stopped by winter. If you are going to ride a standard derailleur drivetrain Then it could get very expensive, unless you clean your bike religiously ( weekly). The lubricant that you'll use to keep the rust off, will pick up salt and grit that will corrode and grind down your parts. If you wear out those parts the price tag adds up pretty fast. A list of what is usually replaced in the spring.
Chain $11 and up
Cassette $ 19 and up
2 Chain rings $42
Front derailleur $ 19 and up
Rear derailleur $25 and up
Shift cables and hosing $20 and up
That's $ 136 and I'm just quoting average priced commuter bike parts that are typically worn out in a winter of riding a geared drive train. Probably $100 dollars or more in labor if your going to have the mechanics put those parts on for you. So your putting $236 dollars into your spring cleaning. How much did you pay for that bike in the first place?
This is why most of the winter veterans recommend riding a single speed or a fixed gear. Cost of parts typically replaced on a single speed/fixed gear drive train.
Freewheel $11 or,Cassette cog $ 3.50, or Fixed cog $21
Chainring $ 17
Chain $11
So the typical Single Speed/Fixed drive train is $31.50 to $49 to replace. Sign up for our Single Speed/Fixed conversion class, cost $40, and you'll get 15% off those parts, and gain some invaluable mechanical street smarts. Total out lay $82. It's more complicated than that though. Different drive train configuations require different parts, and in some cases an additional wheel. So come in and pick our brains and we'll see what can work for you.
Some of my tips for picking parts. Anodized black or colored rims will resist salt corrosion better than uncoated aluminum rims.
Finally the best reason for having one gear, you spin like crazy which keeps you warmer and burns off that winter fat.
Single Speed/ Fixed conversion class is Oct. 5th 6-9pm at the Hubs 3020 Minnehaha Ave S location. ph# 612-729-0437
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
Sunday, August 30, 2009
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