Brake pads for carbon cross rims

If you use Spooky or Empella cantilever brakes and also like to use carbon rims, smooth-post-canti-style-carbon-approved brake pads might be a thing you wish you had. Now you can.

Swisstop is now selling these, look for them at a retailer near you or contact the North American Distributor, a tipster sent me this:

The not so spy photos

If you want the catalog pro shot of the bike pictured in the previous post, its here:

Trek spy photos

One of my loyal readers went 007 and sent me some photos of the new Trek X02.

He said: "Went to the trek show last weekend, here is the all new xo2, with full ultegra, race xlite wheels, and a mixture of bontrager components. As well as a carbon bontrager fork. Bike will retail at $1700."

Thanks Ty

Kelly cross frames for $499!

Get the Kelly you've always dreamed of, or just get one for cheap. Chris is closing out everything he's got. $25 stems, $99 forks and $499 frames. Worth a look.

Link.

How to bunny hop

This is a really good video tutorial of how to bunnyhop. Even if you dont aspire to get over regulation barriers, its a good skill to jump a curb or a small log in the middle of the course.


Link.

note: above picture unrelated to the video tutorial. I just thought it was a funny picture of a bunny.

Portlanders: lets get muddy!

Cross Crusade dates:

October 1 Crusade Series Race 1 Alpenrose Dairy
October 15 Crusade Series Race 2 Hillsboro Stadium
October 22 Crusade Series Race 3 Horning's Hideout
October 29 Crusade Series Race 4 Flying M Ranch
November 5 Crusade Series Race 5 Barton Park
November 12 Crusade Series Race 6 Estacada Timber Park

Link


photo taken from www.crosscrusade.com

Stolen Gunnar Crosshairs

Look out for this guys stolen Gunnar in Portland:

Another goodie that was forcefully taken from my home today: '05 Gunnar Crosshairs, 'monarch orange' I think it is called, mostly 105 components, black WTB Rocket V saddle (silver and black) with Ritchey WCS post, FSA cranks (175), Time Atac pedals, Shimano wheels with Ritchey Excavader tites, Ritchey bars with blue bar tape, Frog blinkie light, gray Pearlizumi saddle bag.

Please call 503 701 6485 if you see any of this or preferably the whole bike.

A reward of dinner for two anywhere in Portland if I can get this bike or my Pegoretti Duende or my Kelly Knobby X single speed back.

Link

Branford bike burned to the ground, closed

Unfortunately, a long time bike shop and resource, Branford Bike (www.branfordbike.com) burned up in a Montana wildfire recently.

From their website:

A Massive Wild Fire engulfed our community in Emigrant, Montana on Sunday, July 30th. Our shop was completely destroyed.

We tried to save our inventory by placing it in an on site bomb shelter. The intense inferno melted glass and aluminum and turned concrete to powder. Our retail store, warehouse, our home and the homes of several neighbors were little more than piles of white ash and twisted metal on a black and barren landscape. Fortunately no lives were lost. On Monday morning we visited our home with an official escort and saw how severe the fire was. We came back on Wednesday and opened the smoldering bomb shelter. A small fire was still burning inside. All that was left of our inventory was hot pile of white ash and scorched metal.

We decided not to try and rebuild; Branford Bike is closed forever. We will leave the web site up for a few months but cannot accept orders. All orders placed but not filled will be cancelled. You may still return items to us and we will credit your card. Our phones no longer work so please contact us by e-mail with questions or comments.

Thank-you for your support for the past 30 years. Your support allowed our business to grow and move to the beautiful state of Montana. We love living here and will eventually build a new home in the mountains.
Tim and the crew at Branford Bike

Verge MAC 2006 series info

VERGE MAC CYCLOCROSS ANNOUNCES 2006 CAMPAIGN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 9, 2006; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The 2006 Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Series has announced its 2006 campaign. Verge MAC, the East’s largest cyclocross series, will once again span some of the world’s largest media markets, including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

An exciting new venue is n the arts and tourism Mecca of New Hope, Pennsylvania, where races will be held on two consecutive days on a private estate. The series also returns to the “Amphitheater of Pain” in Bridgeton, NJ -- where last year the sports pages of the Press of Atlantic City gave the race top billing over NASCAR and Michelle Kwan’s attempt at another National Figure Skating Championship at the nearby Atlantic City Conventions Center.

One of the biggest topics of conversation leading up to the new season is MAC’s introduction of the “Elite Masters” class, one of 14 amateur and professional individual championships (and one team championship) on the line for this year’s campaign. According to Verge MAC Series Director Mike Hebe, “With the inception of the new Elite Masters class, Verge MAC is recognizing the depth of talent that toes the line for our races. At any race last year, there were nine different riders in the Masters field who had won at least one event in the greater Mid-Atlantic region in the previous year. With that high level of talent , we as a series, want to recognize and highlight what is a very deep and fast field and hopefully the addition of a deeper prize list for the fastest 35+ racers will meet that end. The other positive off-shoot of this category is that we are also running a B Masters race. This category should allow a better racing experience for beginner riders, or those who race for fun and may not be up to the speed of an Elite Masters class that is laden with top five & top ten National level finishes. We are trying to meet the needs of two groups of riders that have very different goals and fitness levels.”

With Verge MAC’s Elite, International orientation, it’s only fitting that the series starts with an international classic -- the UCI C1 “Cyclocross @ Granouge” on October 21. All told, six of this year’s Verge MAC races are on the UCI’s International Calendar. Every Verge MAC races will start at 10:00am with the combined race for C-Men, B-Women, -Masters 35+, Masters 55+ and U19 Juniors. 11:00 am will see the “Killer B’s” take center stage followed by the exciting new “Elite Triple-Header” -- Elite Masters at 12:15, Elite Women at 1:30 and Elite Men at 2:30

For more information, see Verge MAC’s new website, www.midatlanticcross.com, or e-mail Ken Getchell, MAC Media Director, at kenmacpr@yahoo.com.

2006 VERGE MID ATLANTIC CYCLOCROSS SERIES
:

10/21/06 Wilmington, DE (Philadelphia Media Market): “Cyclocross on Granouge Estate” UCI C1

10/22/06 Ludwig’s Corner, PA (Philadelphia Media Market): “Wissahickon ‘Cross” UCI C2

10/28/06 Bridgeton, NJ (Philadelphia and Atlantic City Media Markets): “Beacon ‘Cross” UCI C2

11/11/06 Camp Hill, PA (Harrisburg Media Market): “Lower Allen Classic” UCI C2

11/12/06 Highland Park, NJ (New York and Central New Jersey Media Markets): “Highland Park Cyclocross” UCI C2

11/18/06 New Hope, PA (Philadelphia and Trenton Media Markets): “Guy’s Bicycles Cyclocross” USAC

11/19/06 New Hope, PA (Philadelphia and Trenton Media Markets): “EVO Cross” (Verge MAC Series) USAC

12/3/06 Reston, VA (Washington, DC Media Market): “Capital Cross Classic” UCI C2

Rumor mill: Carbon Specialized bikes for 07

So, the word on the street is that Specialized is releasing a carbon Sworks Tricross for 2007. No word on price or weight yet, but should be more and less, respectively. Pretty sweet that it copies +1lap color scheme.


Also, below is the pic of the Comp versions, notice the carbon rear triangle.

Georgia Cyclocross

More races for the folks in the South. The Georgia series has a lot of races this year, a total of seven. Link.

Bay Area racers...

...here's some races for all those in Northern California.

Central Coast Cx
Bay Area Super Presitge
Peak Season Cx

The calendar is starting to fill up with those races, what a great thing!