The NCC Blackboard Series will be an ongoing series of informative photos of bikes we’re excited about and think you should be excited about as well.
The first one is a custom Trek Cronus CX Ultimate we built with Shimano Ultegra, Bonty RXL and XXX Lite components, and RXL TLR (Tubeless Ready) Wheels. It came out very nicely and will no doubt be a very fast, very fun, and shockingly comfortable cross bike.
You can see more pics of this bike on Facebook.
Stay tuned for more Blackboards.
Evidently there are MANY crazy people who want to ride bikes in winter.
We hosted our Winter Clinic & GORE Bike Wear Release Party last Thursday night and we were humbled, astounded, and greatly encouraged by the turnout. Over 60 souls were in attendance and only one came for the free beer (that I can prove). We were happy to see so many old and new faces, coming from so far as the Far East (Bolingbrook), the Great White North (Roscoe), the Wild West (Sterling), and the Dirty South (Plano).
We know a thing or two about the crazy people who like to ride bikes in winter, so we had the bar stocked and an in-house blazito going. The indoor s’mores were a hit – especially the ones made with Honey Stinger Waffles.
It’s one thing to say you buy local when you get honey at the co-op. It was another thing entirely having marshmallows that were made 3 hours before the event. Local and freshly harvested marshmallows – only at NCC (Thank you, Lynn!)
Our generous vendors had given us a pile of reasons for people to come. The door prizes for the winter clinic were the nicest we’ve ever seen. We handed out goodie-bags at the door, so everyone was a winner. Some people just happened to be big winners. Especially the ones who walked away with a new GORE jacket or a Lazer Snow Dissent helmet. Thank you to our wonderful vendors – GORE, Knog, Salsa, Lazer, 45NRTH, and GORE, again.
No, the Beargrease was not a doorprize.
We set it up town-hall style, with a panel of “professionals” (put “bunny ears” on those quotation marks) up front – consisting of Brendan Gecik from GORE, Brian Mark from Knog, Eric Frederickson from Salsa, Legendary rider and all around great guy Paul Carpenter, NCC Chad, and myself. Our goal was to keep the night upbeat and engaging instead of just listening to one person talking the whole time.
The format was very successful. We had great participation and it was evident that we had dedicated riders and new riders in the crowd. The most exciting element of the night was seeing how many people were excited to keep riding into the winter. We weren’t just preaching to the choir, we were equipping new riders to keep going with their fitness, their commute, and their excitement.
We covered the mind-blowing technology from GORE and Knog, the new bikes from Salsa, and shared some of our personal techniques for staying comfortable in all sorts of conditions. Paul Carpenter’s stories from riding 320 days a year, down to temps of 20 below, made us all feel like chumps and inspired us at the same time. He had sprained his ankle on Tuesday night, but still rode to work (30mi), to the clinic (2mi), and rode home afterwards (30mi). I got a papercut on Wednesday and called an ambulance…
We spent some time talking about Fatbikes, including the Beargrease (special order yours today), and talked about some of the new products coming out from 45NRTH, a company dedicated to equipping winter riders for the harshest conditions. The Wölvhammer boots are their pièce de résistance – a game-changing SPD-compatible winter cycling shoe.
After an intermission, we had Brendan share a few demonstrations of GORE technology. The most amazing was the “comfortability” test – proving that Gore-tex products will be comfortable and continue to breath even in the wettest conditions. Check out this quote from Riding Against the Grain:
“They had a demo where you’d get your hand wet, and stick your wet hand in a goretex gloveliner. You’d then put your wet hand, in the glove, in a bucket of water. You would then move your hand around vigorously.
I kid you not…when you pulled your hand out, it was dry. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Brendan had set up a Rain Booth for the full-body Gore-tex experience. Here’s a video from RATG of our friend Mattias putting it to the test:
The stuff works, I tell ya.
The clinic was the informal release of our “Fat Pack” program for fatbike buyers this year. We wanted to introduce a way to make people aware of the most common items that go along with fatbiking that may or may not be obvious if you’ve never done it before. It’s not always apparent that you’ll need a digital air gauge, but when your riding quality can be affected by 2 lbs of pressure, you’ll need something that can read individual units. The Fat Pack offers a discount on the best sellers and hottest products, divided into 3 tiers: Needs (10% off), Wants (15% off) and Desires (20% off). Stop in today to take a look at the program.
Thanks again to everyone for coming out. I think we’re going to have a great winter!
At this point of the year, we lose about 2-3 minutes of daylight everyday.
To look on the bright side, that’s about 15-20 minutes more night riding every week.
We’re excited about this. Riding at night can be like finding a new road. As long as you are prepared, night riding can be a really good time, especially with friends. It’s at this time of the year we eschew the normal road routes for less-traveled roads and gravel.
The Night Bison last weekend was somewhat of a farewell to sunlit evening rides – It was pitch black by 8pm. We were proud to roll 60 bright cyclists through DeKalb on a Saturday night. It was a sight to behold. Once we got out into the country, you could see the light train forever in the distance. Good lights make a difference.
And that’s why we’re here today; to tell you about lights. We’re not those types of retailers that use fear to move product. Nope, not us. But if you don’t buy good lights, you’ll probably die. It’s a fact. If you ride at night without lights and reflective gear, it is more probable that you will get killed. It’s not a scare tactic, it’s a statistical fact. So, that leaves you with two options: 1. Don’t ride, or 2. Get good lights. We vote for the latter.
We’ve got a better selection of lights than ever this year. We have new and exciting models from Gemini, NiteRider, Knog, and Bontrager.
Gemini Lights is our brightest and newest brand. The Xera and Olympia models are extremely bright and extremely versatile lights for the dedicated night rider. These have the most lumens and longest burn times for the dollar. The Olympia is the flagship model.
From their website: The OLYMPIA LED Light System is the most powerful all-in-one package we’ve ever made. Pushing 1800 lumens out-the-front, it uses a custom-made optics to form a cool white beam with plenty of throw and width. Inside this monster are 3 x CREE XM-L U2 LED emitters – the most efficient high power LEDs on the market. Power is refined and controlled in the form of a compact, lightweight housing - coming in at only 78g. The size, weight and power make it to be the ideal racing light. Few headlights on automobiles are brighter than 1800 lumens!
The Gemini lights come as a complete package, with handlebar, helmet, and headlamp brackets included.
The Xera model is going to be a hit this year. It’s tiny and brilliant. I had it on my helmet during the Night Bison and was pretty impressed with how light and how much light it was. I can generally feel my neck ache after a few hours of riding with a headlight on my helmet, but that wasn’t the case with the Xera. It’ll burn at 800 lumens for over 2 hours on a single charge.
We also have Gemini’s simple and brilliant handlebar brackets for adding lights or accessories without taking up h-bar real estate. Their uber-simple and affordable – available in nylon or carbon.
NiteRider has been a great brand for us for years. They continue to raise the bar on lumens per dollar. Their MiNewt and the new Lumina series lights are best-sellers. The new Solas USB tail light is terribly bright.
The new Knog Blinder tail lights are a stylish alternative.
And they do quite well in the rain…
Our best sellers for everyday riders are the Bontrager sets. They’re the best bang for your buck and are simple to install.
As you can see, we leave you no option. Whether you’re riding home from work or riding endurance events, we’ve got something to keep you safe and happy.
Come in and see for yourself, but don’t look directly into the light.
Trust me.
We’ve been scrambling to keep up with the shotgun spring we’ve had, so we stuck around last night to get some builds done for some lucky customers and for the floor. Here’s a taste of what we accomplished.
Our Ladies’ Night at the bike shop this year was a wonderful success.
Our definition of success here is not measured by attendance or by how many bikes we sold. We gauge success by seeing our customers get more comfortable on their bikes and get more connected with the cycling community. It was great to see such a range of ages and interests represented (and satisfied).
Lindsay from TrekWomen was fantastic. It was refreshing to all of us “backstage” to hear all the good advice coming from another voice. She is great at her job – you could tell her presentation was salted with personal experience from start to finish.
And, being a woman herself, was able to connect with the audience better than we ever could.
Thank you to all the ladies who came out, to Lindsay and Josh from Trek Bikes, and huge thanks to Chrissy Deming for the wonderful photos.
Click here to view the rest of the photos.
