A e-tailer gripe

I recently bought a new front derailer from Performancebike.com. This is the kind of thing that an experienced cyclist who does his or her own mechanical work does all the time. You know what you need, you find it for the lowest price you can get it, and you order it. I checked the specs, and really, there aren't many parameters on a thing like this. Make and model? Clamp diameter? So it arrived, lo and behold, it's a braze-on model. Not the 31.8mm clamp-on model I expected. I emailed customer service, with a PDF printout of the page from their website showing that what they were advertising was different from what they were shipping and got this response:

Performance is not responsible for printing errors or other errors appearing in our catalogs or Web site. All orders are subject to acceptance by Performance, Inc.

Rad. So, if you advertise that you're selling a pair of cycling shoes and I order them and get only one in the mail, you can blame it on a printing error and I'm just screwed?

Great reading

If I were working for a great internet bike shop and getting paid to do this blogging stuff, I'd aspire to write blog posts like this:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/the-two-sweetest-words.292.html

Each post is hours of cycling entertainment. Racing news, classic bike stuff, tech info, intrigue, it's all there.

Molly Cameron

Cross racer, Belgian pilgrim and Portland bike shop owner Molly Cameron was at Sea Otter.  Molly handed me one of these cards.  Apparently the Belgian fans love to get their hands on these:

 Here's Molly, sporting a sponsor's logo shirt, helping out as a wrench at one of the racing team's tents.

I promise, if you go to the Veloshop, your headset will be installed correctly.

Mountain Town Bike Shop

All the famous bike bloggers like to pump up their favorite shops, and we here at nippleworks are no different. Take this example from Belgium Knee Warmers.

Here's a mountain town shop that is sure to impress. Paco's Bike and Ski.
Now, there are plenty of bike shops in ski towns that switch to renting mountain bikes in the summer and can sell you a pair of gloves or a helmet if you forgot yours. But, how many can do this:

That's real selection. In the dead of winter, they had three complete Campagnolo brake/shifter cable sets. Does QBP even have that? Even when most people have snow on their minds, they can still help you out. And speaking of snow, they're one of the most complete nordic skiing shops I've ever seen with real expertise, clothing and gear for cross country and back country skiing. The best way to stay in shape when the ground is covered in snow.

Also, they've got a good selection of local trail maps which point out great mountain biking or skiing routes.

Check them out if you're ever passing through, or enjoying Truckee, CA.

Ride Test - '08 Specialized SWorks Epic

During the Passion Trails Fall Demo, I also got a chance to ride the 2008 Specialized SWorks Epic. It's no longer advertised on their web site, and the 2009 is suspended differently, but I thought I might still share my findings. Prior to this bike, I had only ridden one other carbon framed dual suspension bike and that was the Yeti ASR Carbon. That thing had such a steep effective head tube angle it was shocking. It taught me something though - carbon framed mountain bikes are aimed at the racer crowd. Expect them to act accordingly. With the Specialized, it was little different.
-The bike had precise steering, but not as twitchy as the Yeti. I could really carve up the trail with this thing in a race, but it would probably become fatiguing on a recreational ride.
-The suspension was not very intuitive, and would require some learning and dialing in. The rear shock bottomed out during my test ride, negatively coloring my impression of the bike.

-The thing was fast and didn't mind being thrown off the occasional jump in the trail
-The bottom bracket - seat tube connection was nice, keeping me in a power position at all times
-The Magura brakes faded at one point, bottoming out on the handlebar. I tested them with a few quick pumps and they came back. Wonder what that's all about?

I'll be honest, I'm not in the market for a bike like this, but the Specialized demo fleet was offered up so I had to try it. The Specialized folks were very friendly and knowledgeable and fun to ride with.

Passion Trails is the same. Very cool little shop in Belmont, CA. They specialize in mountain bikes and have even obscure parts. If I ever need my suspension fork serviced, this is probably where I'll take it. They had enough general bike equipment to help you with your road machine, but were really focused on being experts with off road riding. They also had a cool Tom Ritchey original frame hanging from the ceiling:
Ritchey headquarters is only a stone's throw away from the shop.