Women’s Appreciation Night : Rescheduled

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

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!

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?

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!

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

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“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
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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.

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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

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

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.