I’m watching the Red Sox
go into the 12th inning… This is a guilty pleasure, I have always loved baseball. I love wiffle ball more, but we are having a hard time finding opponents to play our unbeatable team.
Sorry for the lack of posting, but I’ve been making sure the bike shop is exactly what it needs to be, and making sure it doesn’t look like a vacant crack house
By the way, what is that exactly? It seems like I’m always forgetting to order something.
I have many 29ers on the floor. I’ll have even more when Fisher gets their act together. Word is getting out locally that I am the 29er store, which is awesome. A couple of folks have found their way into my lair looking for the 29er goodness.
Considering that I haven’t yet done any local advertising, I count every visit as blessing.

Today was a great day at the shop. We went from being overwhelmed with boxes of stuff we need to sell to having a clean and organized bike shop. I wonder how long it will last…
This weekend was also new for the family, normally we all go to visit the grandparents at Easter, but this time I had to stay and man the shop. Traditionally this is the weekend the wife and I get our first ride of the year in, down in Jim Thorpe PA. The trails are very tame by VT standards, but you can get a decent long ride in, plus it involves some “orienteering”. We always have a blast.
Not this year though…
I spent today making the store clean and organized, so when the next batch of product hits, we can look like crap again.
New bikes coming soon.
(of course they are 29ers!)

OK, so I haven’t posted in a while. The bikes came, I ran out of room not once but twice, and had to rethink the layout of the entire store. Plus, 31 bikes needed to be built. So enough of the excuses…
The weather is turning for the better. We got a pretty good ride in tonight, despite the rain that wouldn’t wait for us to finish. Last fall, a good friend of mine had the silly idea that he was going to resurrect his Schwinn Homegrown into a 2 speed. We laughed, but he actually did it, and we dragged him out for his first ride of the year. He was sad, but I think it was because he was riding a bike with tiny little wheels. Another one in our group had his first 29er experience tonight. I put 3 people out for a test ride on a Fisher Cobia at the store this weekend. I love seeing the smiles when they come back in. It’s just going to be a matter of time before we have a local 29er movement.
It’s on.

…winter is back.

At the same time we got 6″ of wet heavy snow, I got 30 bikes. Looks like I’ll be able to get them all built before they can be ridden outside. The first shipment of Fishers, Lemonds and Kleins is here.

I don’t know, but the name just struck me as kind of funny.
Today was an awesome day. When we started the ride, it was 45 degrees, about 10 minutes into it, it was almost 60. A short out and back this morning, from Waterbury Village to Jonesville on River Rd. Normally you might see a moose down there, but alas, not today.
It is really beginning to smell like spring. The winter ice is receding, and you can smell the good earthy loamyness rising up from the ground.
Five Hills is rolling right along too. I am now officially a Gary Fisher, LeMond and Klein dealer. I’ve had numerous locals discover the store, drop off tunes, so it looks like we, like the daffodils, are starting to make our presence known.
Bike 29 is about to launch here. There is no mistake we waited ’til April Fool’s Day. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get that seed started too.
Here are a couple more ride pics. More updates on the way, when we get our new Fisher 29ers.
Let the big wheels roll!

Another beautiful frame from Niner.
This build features DT singlespeed hubs laced to Salsa’s Delgado rims with Shimano Centerlock disc brakes, Race Face SS cranks, Endless Bike Kick Ass 18 tooth cog, SRAM PC-68 chain, Thomson bits, a Niner Flat Top bar, WTB Rocket V SLT seat, and a Chris Bling headset.
2.3 ExiWolfs are a tight squeeze in the stays, but the rim is also 29mm wide.
The weather is changing for the better here. The sun is out, the ground is drying out and the sap is running.
More cool stuff to come!

I’ve been reading some of the ride posts on the MTBR 29er forum, and have been pretty jealous of the folks in Oregon and the Southwest, and all the really nice dry singletrack they get to ride. I bet it’s warm too. It is not warm here. Hovering in the high 30s, warm enough for the frozen ground to give up the frost and turn everything into mud.
This is what happenes to every dirt road here. Sometimes the ruts get so deep, they swallow cars. I’m not joking. We have some friends that we don’t even visit because they live up on some of these dirt roads.

Paved roads aren’t immune either. They get heaved up in all manner of ways.

As bad as it sounds, it really is a great time of year here. Because when the water starts running, so does the sap.
mmmmm MAPLE SYRUP.

no single track was ridden/harmed today

Really freakin’ awesome that is. Especially this one. The guys at Niner are on point when it comes to making frames. I wish they lived closer, I’d take them out for beers. This is the S.I.R.9, a stunning example of what intelligent bicycle design can do without breaking the bank. This bike is probably one of the most versatile frames you can get. It has a replaceable derailleur hanger, which can be changed into a single speed mount with the included piece (?), and an eccentric BB (more on that in a future post) so the whole world is your oyster. It’s made from Reynolds 853, one of the nicest steel tubesets you can get.
I was listening to some really excellent music when I built it up, so I think it will rock the way it was intended.
We went with the 1×9 format, using SRAM X9 shifter and derailleur, Magura Marta brakes, our Bike 29 Stock Wheelset, a Reba set to 100mm, Race Face cranks, the usual Thomson bits, and a Niner Flat Top bar. We went with skinny WTB Mutanoraptor tires, so DA could find the bottom of the mud we have now. I’m sure he is really going to enjoy his new steed.
And speaking of new steeds, we have another Niner in the stand…

…Stay tuned!

The very first Salsa Dos Niner frame that we received so long ago, is finally a bike. While I don’t have a scale yet, I estimate that we are right around the 24lb mark with pedals. The build is as follows:
Reba Race 80mm fork with lockout, SRAM X0 shifters and derailleurs, Magura Marta SL brakes, FSA Team Carbon cranks,SRAM PC990 cassette, DT hubs, Stans ZTR 355 rims, DT Super Comp spokes, WTB Motoraptor tires, Thomson seatpost and stem, Easton EC90 handlebar and WTB SLT Race saddle. Nice stuff.
We are going to upgrade the wheels to the Bike 29 Ridiculite Wheelset, which will be even lighter than the 1600g wheels that are already on there.
We are getting pretty excited about spring here. And it’s official too, the first little pieces of green have poked their little heads out of the ground. About an hour after I took this picture, they had some friends. I have no idea what they are, but I will post follow ups on their progress. YAY spring!

Our very first Niner arrived this morning. I’ve had my eye on this company for over a year. They have been making serious waves in the 29″ wheeled bike world, as they only make 29ers. How cool is that?
Judging by the first real example in my hands, pretty cool indeed. Check back for a picture of the whole bike built in a few days.