An assortment of amusing fodder....

Even though it is November, we still have some stuff and some things to report on.

Danny hit up the two day cross race in Las Cruces last weekend, and managed to take the win on Sunday in the masters race.  Good work Danny.  It was a muddy weekend, as proven by his bike post race..

That's a properly dirty bike right there.

Earlier today, our good friend and potter extraordinaire Richaround brought us a new tip jar, which is, how do you say.... bad to the bone...

What is "Algol" you may be asking? Have a few strong drinks, then say it out loud, it will all make sense.

I (Lucero) spent the better part of last week in Colorado Springs attending the Sram Technical University, a three day hands on clinic of all things Rock Shox, Sram, and Avid.  It was time well spent, something I've wanted to do for a few years now.  I learned a lot of useful tips and tricks, which I can share with the other guys here and we will be that much betterer at fixing your bikes.

When we started Sram school they told us no photos in the building, because it houses their R&D and all prototypes and such.  But I ignored them and took photos of Herbold's old race bikes that they had sitting around...

 I told everybody that I found one of these at Goodwill for $10, and people freaked out. I felt bad, but it was funny.

Hmmm, other news... In keeping with our MO of lots and lots of demo bikes, we have a few new demo bikes in.

The Rocky Mountain Instinct 29er, in carbon, and a love it or hate it green of some hue.  I personally love it.

And the new Turner Flux 27.5.  120mm of made in America, DW Link tuned goodness.  Our demo has their Expert Build Kit, with XT components, and a very reasonable MSRP of $5195.

Last but not least, I had a fun time riding in the Bosque last weekend, with the previously mentioned Richaround. We happened upon a whimsical road sign post, which made me happy so we took a pic.

All right, that's all I have for now. Til next time...

Thanksgiving 2013... We're Closed!

It's that time of year, we get an excuse to close up shop and be gluttons for a day or two.

Of course we will be close on Thanksgiving Day.  As per usual, we will also be closed on Friday.  

We know, it's un-American to be closed on "Black Friday" since we are a retail business, but we just can't force ourselves to do it.  Despite being Capitalists by definition, the whole Black Friday spectacle just grosses us out.  When people start fighting each other over $38 TV's, we can't take it anymore...

http://blackfridaydeathcount.com/

We will be riding bikes, drinking beer, and not shopping on Friday.  We encourage you to not shop as well, but if you do decide to join the madness, please don't kill anybody, it's just stuff and there will always be more of it.

We will be back for normal hours on Saturday, fat and happy.

Happy Thanksgiving. 

Introducing Ground Effect Clothing, a Bikeworks ABQ Favorite

Listen up customer people! For many years now, we have been quietly using cycling clothing from a New Zealand company called Ground Effect. They have a fairly large line-up of clothing with some unique qualities and features that aren't found on apparel over here in the US of A. They make most of their clothes at home in New Zealand and we can wholeheartedly say that they make great stuff. We particularly appreciate that their gear is very durable and long-lasting- I think every piece that any of us ever bought (going back 6 years now) is still in service and looking good. 

So, Bikeworks is excited to announce that we are teaming up with Ground Effect to create a, unique to the US, program that gives Bikeworks Albuquerque customers incentives to order from Ground Effect. In the not too distant future, we will have some size-runs of a number of their products so you can try them on to ensure a good fit. In the meantime, we have a variety of tops and bottoms that we are all wearing on a daily basis- so  if you see something on the Ground Effect website that you would like to put your hands on, give us a shout and we probably have one that you can check out.

To check it out, click on the Ground Effect banner to your left.  That will pop open a new tab, with a $30 coupon. Click on the coupon and their website will open. Create an account with them, receive $30 off your first order, and earn 5% rebate towards future orders.  Pretty awesome deal on some pretty awesome clothes!

http://www.bikeworksabq.com/p/groundeffect.html

November is here...

November has kicked off to a great start at Bikeworks.  We have some exciting stuff in the works and a whole bunch of new stuff rolling in every day. Such as...

(we ripped that box open like a kid on Christmas morning)

The Devinci Troy Carbon frameset.  We have these in stock now in Medium and Large sizes.  This frame weighs in at 6 pounds, has 140mm travel, 27.5 wheels,and a lifetime warranty on both the carbon and aluminum models. It sells for $1600 in aluminum, and $2000 in carbon.  And my favorite feature is that the internal cable routing is completely sheathed, so no fishing for cables when building it!
Check it out:
http://www.devinci.com/bikes/scategory_103

Next up, a Canfield Brothers Yelli Screamy frame:

Canfield Brothers are one of many smaller companies that we don't stock in house, but we are able to order for customers.  The Yelli Screamy is an aluminum 29er hardtail with a super short rear triangle and built around 120mm travel fork, for aggressive riding.  And Dirty Mike really likes it. I can't wait to build this up for our buddy Brandon and see how it rides.

Red monkey found a cool multi tool made by Origin 8 that has a built in C02 inflator, which is really clever...

We picked up an awesome Ritchey Ascent to add to our vintage mountain bike collection:

A favorite feature so far has been the Shimano Deore XT chain stay protector with the high tech "Shark Fin" anti-chainsuck feature.  And of course it has an XT under the chainstay U-brake, that doesn't slow you down at all.

Mountain bikes sure have come a long way.

Have you ever eaten juevos rancheros? Of course you have! Have you ever eaten chicken fried steak? I thought so.  Have you ever eaten juevos rancheros that uses chicken fried steak in place of the tortilla?  Well you should, because it will blow your mind..

(yeah I'm posting food pics, what are you going to do about it?)

Our good friend, and fellow mountain biker Jay Wolf is the owner of the Greenside Cafe in Cedar Crest.  Everything I have eaten there has been fantastic, and he has a proper local beer selection on draft.  AND it is conveniently located near all our best mountain biking trails in the Sandias and the Manzanitas.  So go there after your next ride, and eat twice as many calories as you just burned on your ride.  

http://www.greensidecafe.net/

Speaking of pimping out local businesses, I was on the radio this weekend, with Keep it Querque, a local business advocacy organization.  I haven't listened, because I have no interest in hearing my own voice on the radio, but you should totally listen, because I'm sure I was amazing.  And thanks to the glory of the internet, you can listen anytime by clicking here...

https://soundcloud.com/querque-1/sets

If your are interested in leaning more about the values of supporting local, or own a business yourself and might want to become a member (I highly recommend it), then go here..

http://www.keepitquerque.org/

We have some cool projects in the pipeline as well. You may have noticed the new ad on the left for Ground Effect clothing.  We are working with them to become an ambassador shop for them of sorts, as they don't have any U.S. importers.  The clothes are awesome, and indestructible. We have been buying their stuff for years now. More details to come soon.

(our real goal is to have a place to crash in New Zealand, because it looks unbelievable there)

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/

And last but not least we will be unveiling a new customer rewards points program.  I know it sounds kind of corporate cheesy, but we will do this Bikeworks style, don't worry.  Basically, we have a ton of super loyal customers, and we want to build in some discounts to say thanks.  It will be nearly zero effort on your part, and we will give you store credit as a percentage of what you spend. There will also bee extra incentives available if you facebook about us, refer people, etc.  

So, lots of details about that coming very soon!

Thanks for reading!

This week at Bikeworks....

Fall is always a fun time of year in the bike shop.  The franticness of summer has finally passed, and we can all catch our breath a little.  The weather right now is perfect for riding, there's nothing better than sneaking out for a mid day fall ride.  We probably have a few more weeks of mountain biking in the Sandias and the East Mountains before the snow and mud starts, so get it while you can!

Also, this is the time of year that all kinds of new goodies start rolling in the shop.  Our 2014 models have begun trickling in, and it's pretty fun.

Most importantly, I got a new bike....

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/trance.advanced.sx.27.5/14832/66294/

It's the 2014 Giant Trance Advanced SX, 27.5.  It has them new fangled inbetween size 27.5" wheels, and one of them fancy carpet fiber frames, and a whole bunch of squishy suspension, and it makes you go fast and look sexy.  It's amazeballs, and you should be jealous.

We actually have quite a few of the new Trance 27.5's in, ranging from the $2125 "3" model, to the $3500 "1" model (which we are demo'ing).

Our demo fleet.

And for the ladies, we have the new Giant Lust, 4" travel, 27.5" wheeled model in stock and available for demo...

Have you seen the new Troy Lee A1 helmet in blue?

This picture doesn't do it justice, it's one good looking helmet. And it's sooooo comfy, it feels like it is giving your head a gentle hug.

We've got new jerseys in the works.  Much like the old jerseys, but much more black.

We have a lot of new bikes in the works as well. Next week I will have a Rocky Mountain Instinct to show you (which we will be demo'ing), and we are anxiously awaiting the Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt to show up, which will also be available for demo. 

Our new Turner Flux demo bike will be ready to ride next week as well.

And the hot new Devinci Troy is en route to our shop as we speak.  We will have frames at first, and then completes in December which will be joining the demo fleet.

Are you seeing a trend here? We are demo'ing everything, and we have a lot of badass bikes going on this year.

Have you heard of Detroit Bikes?

Useful, attractive, made in Detroit city bikes for $550.  It's an awesome shift towards manufacturing in the US of mass production bikes for everyday riders.  We aren't a dealer, but I'm thinking about it.  What do you think? $550 made in the US? Help save Detroit?  Ride your bike more, drive less?  I think we're gonna have to get some.

Thanks for reading!