Last week I had the opportunity to swing by the new HQ of Portland Design Works for a shop tour. While there, I figured it would be a great idea to hit Dan up for round two of our new industry insider interview series. Past the jump you’ll find some great answers to our questions, as well as a photo tour of their “mothership.”
Photo from the collection of Rustybicycle. If you think you know what this is, post your answer in ‘comments’ section– the answer will be posted there on Tuesday!
To send in your own Mystery Pic to be considered for the Monday feature, click here and attach your photo with all pertinent information.
2011 reigns as wettest year in recorded history. That was the headline of the the local news site the other day, and I wish they were lying. This of course is referring to my home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, along with adjacent Northern Kentucky and Eastern Indiana. When I set out to perform this chain wear test I had really planned for it to take less than a season, as almost everyone involved typically rides 1000+ miles per year off road. Boy, was I wrong.
When we first set out to do this test, we tried to control every variable we reasonably could in order to have the most worth while real world test our resources would allow. The one element we couldn’t control? The weather, of course.
To be fair, the photo above is actually from Versailles, Indiana, but at only about an hours drive away, it is a favorite destination among locals due to the great trails. From information gathered from trail building professionals, carnage like that pictured above isn’t necessarily due to poor trail construction, rather underground seepage of water. The water saturates our nearly 100% clay soil from the bottom up, leaving a soggy, sloppy mess. CORA, HMBA, and KYMBA do a great job of keeping up the local trails, but sometimes you can only do so much (to see the repairs to the trail section above, click here). I suppose this is payback for the long drought and perfect hardpack trail conditions we had almost all summer long in 2010.
In spite of the huge amount of rain, trails have been rideable at one point or another (just not as much) so keep reading to check out where we are in the test, and what group has the early lead. (more…)
File this under time wasters. Cyfac has recently joined the likes of Parlee and NielPryde by launching their custom paint configuration website. You will find seven templates to choose from, and they have provided 25 colors to use so you can pretty up that bicycle just how you like it. There’s even an option for those who prefer an ISP (integrated seat post). This all adds up to over two million different possibilities.
Should you choose to buy a frame from Cyfac, you will find they use real paint, stencils instead of decals, and the details can include the rider name, personal logos, and even the builders signature.
Pic found here.
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
Photo submitted by Max Melnyk, “Taken [this] past summer, riding through one of the most beautiful mountain trails in Ukraine – Polonina Borzhava”
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
Mission Workshop has just released a limited edition waxed canvas Sanction rucksack in three colors and a big, new “Advanced Projects” Fitzroy backpack.
Available in natural, brown and charcoal, the waxed Sanction is made in the USA and guaranteed for life. As with the standard issue Sanction it features multiple weatherproof pockets, urethane coated zippers, and an internal frame sheet. The large zippered pocket fits most 15” laptops. Retail is $219.
The Planet X crew are making a full-fledged assault on the ‘States. In addition to snapping up Titus (and now shipping new US-made frames) and setting up Planet X and On-One distribution in Portland, the British company are now the North American importers for Italian road and ‘cross powerhouse Guerciotti. Jump the barrier for more images of frames currently in stock and the full release!
Corima has posted their first ever mountain bike tubular wheelset online. Technically, we think it’s their first ever mountain bike wheelset, period. Called the Winium XC 26, they’re tubular only and for 26″ tires. Our snoop has uncovered plans for a 29er model coming later in 2012, though.
The rims use Corima’s trademark 12K weave pattern, which is gorgeous, as well as their 12/8 spoke pattern. They are 24.5mm wide and 19mm deep. They’re laced with CX-Ray spokes in a 3-cross 12-spoke drive side and 2-cross 8-spoke non drive for the rear. That pattern and count is flip-flopped on the front, putting more spokes on the disc rotor side. The hubs use a CenterLock rotor mount.
Claimed weights are 560g front and 700 rear without the included skewers.
Hat tip to Dan W. for the info!
Pure Fix Cycles, an online direct sales purveyor of fixed gear bikes and only fixed gear bikes, has added several new colors and broadened their component offerings to include bits from Neco, Radius, Kenda, KMC, Lasco, Oury and Zoom. You can choose your frame color, wheel color, handlebar style, grip color and a few other options. Complete bikes are $325, with some options adding a bit more to the price.
When I first heard I had the chance to test-ride the 2012 Specialized Crux Comp Disc I wondered if it was even worth my time. I’ve been riding/racing on a traditional cantilever equipped Crux for the last ten weeks or so – but I soon realized this was my chance to check out disc brakes on a cyclocross bike and be ‘that guy,’ the over-equipped Cat CX3 racer with a complete pit bike, so I jumped on board.
My test model arrived the week before Thanksgiving, finding me with my family in town thus skipping the Hendersonville NCCX and no racing otherwise for at least a few weeks. Nonetheless, I got it assembled, then adjusted and began studying the small details. Soon after, I began putting in some miles, both CX training/racing and good ole fashioned dirt road riding. Of course I started with some photos and checked in with the scale, so keep on reading for weights, more details and my first impressions…
