Ice Bike 2014 - Parts and Accessories

There where just a few new and exciting things this year, but the shoes are a great opportunity to remind us of all the great products that are available at just a click. 

Some tidy POS to illustrate the actual size differences between the three sizes. 

Shimano only make a few wheel models :-/

There are some interesting documents listing part codes by Groupset. Could come in handy I'm sure. 

MPart have rebranded and have a nice range of products. They have a great list of problem solvers that can be hard to find. 

Really really small Allen key set. Nice and thin and lightweight. This one is the starting point starting at only £7.99. More sets are available in the range and I can see these being popular. 

Mudguards to replace SKS. Quality guards. 

Bike storage can offen be a problem but Gear Up have a large array of solutions from single hooks to hoists. 

Continental have launched the GP4000s II and in colours. These will be popular come the spring. 

Shimano's new shoes are looking well this year. But as a colour burst, expect nothing less from Pearl Izumi. 

Lazer had some interesting products to talk about. These large variety of covers will be trending this summer I imagine. 

Jason was looking rather smug for some reason..

But not quite as happy with this lid. I'm not sure why, it's a top dog lid and the glasses are part of a clever integration idea. There are magnets on the straps so the glasses can be attached. (This is still RULES compliant as the glasses attach on the outside if the straps). Another cool point is that there are two more magnets on the back of the helmet so you can store them if you don't want to wear them. 

Thule racks and bags arnt all that new. But they are stunning quality and the ideas behind every design point is justified and well executed. Not the cheapest equipment but the best never is the cheapest. Bar mounted and rack mounted bags, perfect for touring and bike packing. 

Not a current bike but black and yellow, just awesome. 

This has been a long time coming. From Kryptonite Locks, this mounts on the bottle cage bosses and allows you to transport a chain lock securely. Simple, but clever. Ones if those products that should have been around years ago.. 

And as promised, some more images of the Garmin Vivofit Band:

Very nice little product. Simple with only one button and the unit will set targets on your behalf. It's got loads of adjustment and two band sizes included. There are many colours to pick from and they will be in stock very soon. 

There are so many brands and products from Madison that a small write up can't do it justice. We can't wait to have these new products in store!

Ice Bike 2014 - Bikes.

Another Ice Bike show has come and gone. Biggest show ever this time around. So big it was over two locations. Bikes in one venue and parts and accessories in another. 

Starting off at the bikes. The brands are Ridgeback, Saracen, Genesis, Ridley and Adventure. Some exciting stuff to be seen, most of it the same as at the model launch back in September. 

Kinda cool looking Ridgeback graphics, stepping away from the matte grey look - even if it is for gloss grey on some models.. These momentums look nice anyway. 

Similar colours to be seen on this commute machine. £999 flat bar, Alfine and disc brakes.

And they do a black one with mechs for a few hundred less. 

Always some colours for the kids. Tidy graphics too!

Genesis text and font design hasn't strayed since day-one (get it..) but it's still a great look. Loving some of the new colour ways. 

Rocking the Reynolds colours. 

This is going to kick off for next year. So popular this year, you were lucky to get one, 3x the ordering for this year to meet demand. As a result the price is set to drop despite some improvements. 

The bags were also a hit, check back for some more info on these.. 

Word of these being fitted on 2015 bikes. Twin piston mechanical brakes, TRP Spyke. 

Clever. 

Saracens are looking good as always. Loving the brash colours and great finish. I think you will be seeing a lot more from Saracen this year. Really stepping up to the plate and making great bikes. 

That's the commute covered.

And sub £1000 road bike covered. 

And the 'hack' bike covered. So fitting that they called them Hack. 

Before we had a chance to really look around the bikes we were guided to a not so secret, secret room where we presented with 3 rather tasty bits of news. I am sure they will be all over BikeBiz by the time I publish this blog but like I said, I think you will be seeing some more of Saracen this year. The guys have really been working hard and the outcome is pretty. 

Just after taking in the Saracen goodness, we found ourselves in another side room with a nice man who's been set a task and wanted our feedback. Cool stuff to come from Sportline next year. 

And that's just the bikes.. 

Katie's Genesis Track Bike

Just a quickie, wanted to share some info on the track bike. 

We had the track bike in recently and a customer asked about the weight. 

And here's the answer:

8.1kgs with pedals. 

Personally I think that's pretty impressive for a £500 bike. 

This bike is proving popular with beginners and more experienced riders alike because it's a great UCI legal bike. 

And as we have seen, it seems to be doing fairly well with Katie powering it. 

Garmin Vivofit Band

As part of our staff training on Wednesday, we will no doubt be taking a good look at one of Garmins latest offering. 

The Vivofit band may be a little late to the game and there are quite a few other bands in the market but the Garmin has a few interesting things going for it. 

Vivofit has come simple but clever features. Steps, distance, calories and time. The band allows you to keep track of your steps and tells you how far away from your target you are and even tells you if you have been inactive for too long. 

There are two models of Vivofit. The basic model and one that come with a heartrate monitor included. 

The band will always be on, this means it will be tracking certain body parameters even while you sleep. So you can see how many hours you sleep and how many of those are restful. 

Regular syncing will secure your information locally with your computer and you then have the option to share this information via the normal social media outlets and via Garmin Connect. 

Some of us in store have already pre-ordered these bands and we will be getting them in stock as soon as they are available. I am sure there will be more images and information to share after Wednesday. 

Watch this space. 

Half Term Holidays

This half term I've been really busy, since Saturday I've been training and racing and of course socialising while on a bike!

On Saturday I was in Newport on the track racing the elimination, scratch and  the points race for a second time this year.

Then on Sunday I went out on a road ride with youth members of Solihull cc, club rides are a great time for a good chat with your friends as well as training at the same time.

Monday was a much needed rest day after a hectic weekend!

Tuesday I was back on the bike and this time it was a road RSR (regional school of racing) which British Cycling coaches organise and take control off.

Wednesday was another training session but this time indoors on the turbo which isn't my favourite thing but needs to be done.

Then on Thursday it was back on the road for another long ride with Solihull cc again. Thanks to Alistair for putting my mud guards on under 15 minutes just before I left for the ride in pouring rain - much appreciated!

Friday was also a hard session but this time on the track bike on my rollers.

Thanks to the shop for my new shimano shoes which they ordered in and also I hope you enjoyed the cakes I made, but personally I think I should stick to cycling and not become a chef :)

Katie Clements

Our Look 566 Custom

Well isn't this a pretty bike. 

Large 56cm frame, Ultegra Groupset, 3T carbon wheels, bars and stem. 

We have totted all this to a RRP of £4499. We can offer this one off bike for £3499! Because we built this bike, we can play around with the spec. 

Come in and have a look. It's already causing heads to turn!

Saracen Ariel 151

Just a few little pics of this little stunner. Great value for money, carbon rear end, dropper post, Fox forks, clutch mech, all standard. 

This one is sold but check back later as we may have one of our own..

Core Show and The Bike Place - ESI and Carbon-Ti

ESI are a silicone company that create a tidy little range of grips and bar tapes. For MTBs they make a standard and a thicker grip. They are impressively light at only 50g and are available in a large range of colours. The grips are very shock absorbent and comfortable but may not be ideal for those who prefer a more consistent feel. The conventional style of ESI grip are perfect for XC and single track / trail riders but for anything more demanding, a traditional grip may be better. They also produce longer tubes for drop bar bikes but they don't exactly look the part. Great news is that now ESI have released a tape. 

I quite like the tape, it's rather clever. It's the same deal as the other grips, all the colours, doesn't weigh much and is comfy. Unlike other tapes, there's not stickiness and it's versatile. There is a chamfer cut from the tape. This means it can be wrapped around the bar so it's flush and there's no ridges, or it can be used the other way up and will appear ribbed just like in the picture. 

Because it's made from silicone, it's super stretchy so it is easy to wrap but also you can vary the thickness depending on how tightly you wrap the bars. Variable thickness if you like.. Again due to its material, it won't hold water and remains grippy. At £39.99 it's not cheap, but consider the fact that you can reverse it when it's tatty and all of the other benefits as mentioned. 

On the same stand we turn away from the stunning Cielo frames and the Chris King bling-ness to find the rather spectacular ELS mule. (Points for those that know what ELS stands for in the bike trade). This bike was so light it needed to be tethered down. Dripping in Carbon-Ti products, this bike was made just to show off. 

From the new hubs to the one piece Ti replacement SRAM XX1 chain ring, it's designed to be less than light.. So if you want to shave the grams off your bike, think about Carbon-Ti.

Core Show and The Bike Place - Adventure Bikes and Accessories

Planning on riding off into the sunset? Or planning on doing a 'Kevin' and heading out to Scotland for a few weeks? There is a certain American brand that is becoming the default option for adventure cycling. 

Surly and Salsa are the genesis of all the snow / fat bike trends but unlike some, they remain functional. Many fat bikes are being released to fit with the trends. 

But at the top of the game is this full carbon Salsa. If you have over £4k and you need to ride over snow or sand in the middle of nowhere then I think I have found your bike. 

The Salsa Fargo set up with the bags was right up my street. Steel frame, 29" wheels, drop bars plenty of bags and it's YELLOW!

The Bike Place Show also had some Fat bikes to offer

Extreme brand 45NRTH are now available in the UK via a major distributor so you can now get such awesome-ness as these SPD boots for the worst of weathers. 

It's got furry insides..