Phil Zajicek bike in VeloNews

Check out Phil's bike on VeloNews after bringing it into our shop. We do not sell Parlees, but I got to admit it is a sweet looking ride.

Team Bike set up:

Frame: Parlee Z4 carbon
Fork: Edge Composites 1.0
Wheelset: Edge Composites 38mm all carbon clincher
Brakes: TRP 960
Drivetrain: SRAM Red
Bar: Edge
Stem: Thompson (temporary—will be Edge Composites by Tour of California)
Seatpost: Thompson (temporary—will be replaced with Edge Composites by Tour of California)
Saddle: Fi'zi:k Antares

Pedals: Speedplay

Here is the complete interview with VeloNews about the bike. Click here for the article

Trek's Soho - First Review

The Soho will be available in March, but we got a chance to check the bike out...

Trek's Soho is a great commuter bike for the hills here in North County San Diego. With tons of features, these deceptively simple bike are still somehow chock full of the little touches that add up to the top bike on the market today for those urban riders who use their bike for getting around town.

Almost inch by inch up and down this bike, Trek's engineers have built a number of commuter specific items into the Soho to make this ride both comfortable and practical for getting you around town.

The first and most obvious touch is almost a comedic one to show you're a serious commuter. What is it? A coffee cup, of course! You need your joe in the morning, and so with the Soho bike you can get a stainless steel commuter coffee mug designed specifically for it that goes in your watter bottle cage complete with Soho label. The mug itself is a high-quality insulated container that is self-sealing to keep dirt out and your drink hot or cold for a long time.

Another brilliant and highly visible design element are long rubber bumpers implanted in either side of the top tube. The people at Trek who put these in are people who know the reality of riding in an urban environment. These strips, in addition to just looking cool, serve as a cushion when you lean your bike up against stuff, keeping your bike free from dents and dings in the paint. Also, if you've used a sign or another type of post as a bike rack, you know it's easy for your bike to slide and scoot forward and flop over. The rubber bumper helps keeps the bike in place because it's a better gripper than bare metal.

Belt-Drive - Durable Components and Easy Maintenance

The Soho ($989) has an intriguing belt drive set-up paired with the internal gearing of the 8-speed Shimano Nexus 8 rear hub. Using a Gates C-Drive carbon composite belt, Trek bills it as "brutally tough yet cleaner than any chain you’ve ever owned." The Belt drive is super quiet and easier to maintain that traditional chains, and the range of gearing will allow you conquer the steepest hills as well as max your pedaling for all-out speed on the flats.

The Soho uses an internal Shimano IM50 roller brake, again contained in the hubs, making maintenance a snap as your brake parts aren't continually subjected to dirt and moisture. Bontrager Hardcase tires with integrated reflective sidewall comes standard for safer night riding on the Soho; matching fenders are another nice plus for people who have to count on their bike to get them around in all types of weather.

The Soho is built on a lightweight Alpha Black Aluminum frame with built-in dropouts that allow mounting of a rack and fenders without special mounting hardware.

The Soho is the true commuter bike, it is going to appeal to most people who are thinking about the decision to buy a bike like this much as they would analyze a potential new car purchase. What kind of features does it have, and what do I need? The Soho has all sorts of terrific features that will appeal to commuters and urban riders for their true convenience and benefit they offer. Despite the fact that the nearly thousand dollar price tag is going to be a deterrent to many cyclists, the fact is that the Trek Soho is a great value at this price point given the innovative engineering built into it. The cutting edge belt drive and internal hub and brake system should save you a lot on maintenance, repair and replacement over the years, even with everyday riding in all sorts of elements.

Blackburn Flea comes out on top for Bike Couriers

Hugo Giron, Bike Courier did a review of bike light for the NY Times. Here is what he said about the Flea.

"The Flea was definitely my favorite light," Mr. Giron said of the ultracompact Blackburn. "The design was small, the lights were super bright, and they were convenient because they would attach to anything." Mr. Giron said the Flea's hook-and-strap self-mounting system was secure but easy to remove, and the lights would fit in his pocket when he dashed into a store for a delivery. But "the really rad thing" was the Flea's charger, which uses a 1.5-volt battery to juice the front lights for 3 hours steady (6 hours flashing) and the rear for 6 hours (12 hours flashing). "These lights were the bee's knees," Mr. Giron said. "They were so small and ridiculously bright."

Click here for the rest of the article

PVC Surf Rack for Bike

If you do not have the money for a Carver Surf Rack, but you know your way around PVC check out this rack for your board.

Click Here for more info

Surly Long Haul Trucker in Winter

Saw this - Daniel LeLievre & Derek Marshall are traveling from Seoul, South Korea to Sagres, Portugal on Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bicycles. goal of this ride is to raise $50,000 for the fight against world hunger.

We do not see much winter here in San Diego, so I thought it would be good to relay their thoughts about their bikes and riding in winter.

Some things they learned from the ride:

1. SKS Fenders, or fenders in general, really make for a cleaner ride. Derek doesn’t have fenders and was covered with mud after about 2 minutes on the bike. I was perfectly clean, although my front Ortlieb panniers were covered in mud.
2. Adding some extra inflation to your tires increases speeds while under heavy load. I was rolling pretty heavy on the ride and my speed was down about 2km per hour. I stopped and pumped up my tires with my Topeak Road Morph up to near max capacity. I was rolling with the wind and got an extra 4km per hour out of my bike.
3. A simple 3-layer clothing system seems to keep us warm. I’m wearing a pair of synthetic moisture-wicking long underwear (tops and bottoms), a think wool jacket on top, and a Gore Wind-stopper Jacket on top of that. For my legs, I’ve got the long underwear, a regular pair of boxer shorts, and wind-protective pants. Add some wool socks, a pair of cycling gloves, and waterproof shoe covers, and that’s it. We were riding in light rain, 34 degree weather, and a 20mph wind. No problems. I really think the addition of the Wind-stopper jacket has solved my problems.
4. The Surly Long Haul Truckers are holding up nicely. I have over 900km on my bike while Derek is still breaking his in. I have had no problems thus far with any part of the bike. So far, all of my racks, panniers, and water cages are holding up just fine.

The Haro Z20

Robin's daughter, Kelly has been coming into the shop since her mother started. She is a great kid and we talked her into giving her perspective about bikes. Kelly will be blogging with us as "girl on Wheels". She will soon be writing under her own byline... But here is her first blog for ECBS......

Kelly's first entry...
A cross of mountain-meets-street bike, the Haro Z20 can handle rough terrain as well as hard concrete making it perfect for all freestyle and BMX fans. Some of pros include a hand brake plus coaster brakes so you can use whichever your comfortable with, a smaller more compact frame for maneuverability in those tight spaces we sometimes find ourselves in, gets great air, and comes in stunning colors like this neon pink that are sure to get attention.

Bontrager Race X Lite shoe review: pezcyclingnews.com

Check out Pez Cycling's review of the new Race X lite shoe. Looks like the prefect shoe for our warm, mild San Diego weather.

........One of the best things about the roomy inside is a really good ability to accommodate orthotic inserts. I have ESoles top line (full custom) insoles and they are double+ the thickness of the inserts included with the shoe as standard. The RXL swallows em up and leaves room for a foot in each shoe too, which sounds logical but simply ain’t the case with a lot of other shoes…

Then comes the venting…

This time of year, these things just flat freeze my feet (that’s a good thing). I did an hour on the trainer and then, with sweaty feet, went for a road ride at 50 degrees and you could feel the venting in a BIG way. These are some of the best venting shoes I have ever used. No trouble at all putting on overshoes for winter, but come spring and summer these will be dream shoes…...

Click here for the complete Bontrager Race X Lite shoe review

Win a Gary Fisher SS 29ER

Saw this on my 29er alerts

The Fat Cyclist and Eldon, aka “Fatty” is helping his wife Susan in her battle against cancer. Eldon has convinced Fisher Bikes to step up and commit to an awesome raffle opportunity for all the rest of us.

Not only will the lucky winner recieve an exclusive, not for sale to the public Fisher Superfly single speed frame, but Fatty has arranged for SLC Bikes to kit it out as a complete rig. All you have to do is enter, win, and pedal!

In addition, Eldon has a goal of raising more money than any other team in the Livestrong Challenge. Travis Ott, Fisher Brand Manager put it best, I think:

Elden at Fat Cyclist has the audacious goal of raising $1 million and have the largest team at the 2009 Livestrong Challenge. I like the idea of a bunch of mountain bikers helping to punch cancer in the mouth.

You know what? I couldn’t agree more! Go here to donate to Fatty’s Livestrong Challenge fund. For more details on the raffle and how you can win the Superfly SS frame and components donated by SLC Bikes, go to Fatty’s page here.