New Shop Hours: Closed Mondays Again!

After much deliberation, we have decided that we will be once again changing shop hours to be
closed Sunday and Monday, starting with Monday February 6th.

We have gone back and forth on this for quite some time, really agonizing over the pros and cons.  Obviously being open for business as much as possible, and being as convenient as possible for our customers is very valuable.  However, we feel that it is better to be closed on Mondays rather than hire a less than perfect employee just to be able to stay open.  So we will continue our hunt for the perfect employee, the venerable mechanic or awesome salesman that can fit into the shop.

In an effort to still be as convenient as possible, we will be often available for bicycle pick ups, drop off, etc. on Mondays by appointment.  Just give us a call, we will do everything we can to take care of you.

Thank you very much, we hope to see you soon.

The Bikeworks Crew

Bikes, and bike food, and bike races, etc.

Sadly, our favorite racer boy Alex Leonard moved away today. Off to Flagstaff to work his big boy job and put all them brains in his head to good use solving the worlds chemical engineering problems (and making dollars).

But, on the bright side, we got to build him a sweet bike before he left town:

This picture doesn't do it much justice.  It is a Traitor Ruben, sweet Columbus steel tubed disc brake cross frame, a commuter worthy build, 700x29c tires, and some killer fenders.  Nice touches to the frame like the seatstays gently curving downward to the dropouts, the disc brake cable routed through the chainstay, and the awesome blue paint.  Check it out some more...

http://www.traitorcycles.com/Bikes_Ruben.cfm

Hopefully the new bike will help take the edge of the extreme sadness that Alex is surely experiencing now that he won't be able to see us on a daily basis anymore.

Moving on, can you think of the most disgusting thing you have ever eaten that was supposedly food?

Consider this a warning.  This energy bar is so bad tasting, that several of us literally could not swallow even one small bite.  A lot of words were thrown around when trying to describe the taste of this bar, none of which had anything to do with food (dog poop, bong water, bong water that somebody was smoking dog poop through).
 The problem seems to be the "magic root elixir" additive, which contains every single item found in your typical Whole Foods wellness aisle.  I can only assume that this is the healthiest single piece of food ever created, because you know, the worse it tastes the healthier it is.

Speaking of energy bars, who's going to do some racing this summer?  We are definitely in for the 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest.  I'm planning on a 4 man team with my Dad, Alex, and his Dad, however I don't know if either of our Dad's have been told about the plan yet.
I think if Grover comes out this year he is going to need some ventilation mods, because last year got a bit hot...

Also, in case you haven't heard, the 12 Hours in the Wild West race has been rescheduled to May 12th.  While this is unfortunately the same date of the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde, that won't be a problem for most everybody since that race has a fairly low # of racer limit, and is full.  I personally won't be attending either event, as May 12th is my son Oliver's 2nd birthday, and apparently I'm supposed to be around for those sorts of things.

Basically, I'm excited for all of the Zia Rides events this summer, and if you like fun, then you should be excited too.
http://www.ziarides.com/

That is all. Thank you.

Unsolicited advice...

I have been noticing some trends this winter, and thought I'd pass on some advice, even though you didn't ask.

Firstly, Stans sealant doesn't seem to work as well when it's cold out. I'm going to pick a number, and say that around 40 deg. and below it looses some effectiveness.

Secondly, a whole lot of people who are mountain biking with tubeless tires (which should be everybody) haven't checked the sealant in their tires since the late summer.

Thirdly, you haven't had a flat in a while, a long while, on the trail because you are wise and ride tubeless. However, that spare tube that has been kicking around in your pack is now useless. It has worn through along the sides where it is folded and stuffed into a pocket next to your multi-tool (or worse yet, packed tightly in a under-the-saddle bag).  

Fourthly, that sweet new wheelset you just got has kind of deep rims, deep enough that your questionable spare tube's valve stem barely protrudes out of the valve hole, leaving not quite enough valve stem to be grabbed by that questionable hand pump that you keep in your pack.

Fifthly, that mini pump in your pack kind of sucks (see "Fourthly").

What do all these things add up to? A 20 something minute long flat change, in the dark, when it's barely above freezing out.

Danny learned not to get a bunch of sealant inside of your glove during an epic flat fix when it's freezing outside.  Apparently that makes for a cold hand.

Mike wasn't amused...

But everybody else was...

I learned that night riding shots with a camera phone don't work so well.  But Kip Maloneythemaloneboneyponey assured me that if I had a really expensive camera my pics would have still sucked, and then I would break my camera as well.

I also learned that I need to get my lights sorted out, as I started the ride with approximately 48,000 lumens of light power, and finished with just one lonely lumen of lighting.  My light was so dim it didn't even reach to the end of the visor on my helmet.

Thursday night was a great time. We ended up with a crew of 8 riders (and one, just one useable spare tube between us).  Hope to get out for another night ride soon, and I will definitely let everybody know when.

That's all, there's a box of wine and some bad television calling my name.  Yeah, I keep it pretty classy.  

Riding Thursday Night....

We will be getting out Thursday night this week after work for a little South foothills romp. Plan on being ready to ride at about 6:45pm at the Copper trailhead. Typical loops around the south foothills, nothing serious.

Afterwards we will be heading somewhere for a delicious beer or two, most likely one of our many fantastic local breweries.

Everyone is welcome to join, the more the merrier. The riding will be casual, the drinking however may get serious.

Hope to see you there!

Send me an email, get $5!

We are long past due to collect email addresses from customers for the purpose of sending out coupons, specials, etc.

So, it's time to start, and I'm going to give you $5. Here's how it goes:

1) Send us an email at bikeworksabq@gmail.com
2) Include your name and phone number, and a sweet little message to us, or a picture of your cat, or something.
3) I am going to add you to our customer database (if you aren't already in it), along with a $5 credit on your account at the store.

Thats it.  Next time you are in, we will see the $5 credit, and ask if you want to use it. You don't even have to remember about it, or print a coupon, or anything. Bang, easiest $5 you will make today.

We won't bombard you with emails every day, or even every week. I'm thinking once or twice a month, and only when we have something pretty special to offer, or want to share info about an event or ride going on.

Thanks, and hope to hear from some of you!