Who says February is a slow time for cycling? Our shops were hard at work running clinics, supporting rides and otherwise getting more people excited about cycling in their communities. We’ve got over 100 stores all across the country, so let’s take a moment to find out what a few of them were up to last month. Remember, you can always check your local store page for regularly scheduled Spin Doctor clinics & group rides.
We thought that a good way to start this recap was with this shot of the Spin Doctor mechanics from our Colorado stores at SRAM Technical University in Colorado Springs. You can read more about their training in a previous blog post - but our guys were able to get some advanced hands-on training on SRAM suspension and component technology, and they’re excited to apply their advanced skills back in their home stores.
These next photos chronicle a special project in our Santa Rosa, CA store. The owner brought in this classic 1986 steel Fuji and wanted it rebuilt for the modern era.
As you can see, our team brought this vintage ride back to life with brand new Forte components, and we think that the combo looks awfully good!
Now this quarter-century old ride is ready to turn some heads at the next group ride or local crit!
Speaking of racing, our Woodland Hills, CA store volunteered to run some neutral support at the “Carson Crit” in Ontario, CA.
Our guys helped out the local racers, and also got a front row seat for a day of racing action.
This next event is slightly more laid back than the Carson Crit, but how could you not love a ride called the Tour De Cookie, in Tucson, AZ! The managers from our Speedway Tucson and Broadway Tucson stores led the charge in helping out with this great event (come on, bikes plus cookies is two of our favorite things).
But the Tour De Cookie is more than just a fun ride for people to eat cookies and ride bikes. This fourth annual event is also a fundraiser for Wheelchair Athletes and supports the kids try-athalon. Our Broadway Tucson store was one of the ten stops on the Tour. Our Performance team was there to support the riders, and Matt, one of our sales associates, brought along his entire family to help out.
Matt brought along reinforcements, since his family is involved with the Girl Scouts. Thanks to them, our store stop was well-stocked with Girl Scout cookies ready to give away to the riders! The riders each had a sheet attached to them and at each stop they got the spot number marked out and were allowed to take as many cookies as they wished.
At the end of the event the person that stopped at every stop with the shortest time won. But just to keep things fun, there was also an award for the last person, first female and best cookie stand.
Our store was the farthest away from the start/finish line, but they still had a huge amount of people stop by (having Girl Scout cookies on hand didn’t hurt)! So a special shout-out to Matt and his family for making our store’s stop such a success!
Our Peoria, AZ store was active last month in support of the 207 Miles Between Poverty and Hope Ride, a non-profit fundraiser dedicated to raising money for housing for those in need. Our store team was busy right up to the start of the 2 day event, and probably worked on about half of the bikes from the 32 riders!
The route of the ride stretched from Peoria all the way across the border into Mexico, and the riders raised over $31,000 with the efforts – great job guys!
Of course our stores also support many regular group rides right from their doors – like this picture from the first group road ride of the year at our Bonita, CA store. Check with your local store to find out more about local group rides.
Our store teams were also busy supporting indoor events last month, like our Columbus, OH store, who participated in the Endurance Sports Expo at the Athletic Club of Columbus. It was a great turnout, and over 400 people come through our booth to talk bikes – all under the elegant lighting of some fancy chandeliers.
Of course it didn’t hurt that our friends from Diamondback donated a bike for a giveaway! We had a ton of entries for the giveaway which generated a lot of excitement at the expo, as the winner would be riding the bike home that day!
Here’s the moment when our winner was announced and came bounding out of the crowd – needless to say, he was excited. Our team met a lot of new people, and even recruited many new faces to attend their in-store clinic the following weekend.
Speaking of clinics, last month’s Basic Bike Maintenance Clinic was a busy one across all of our stores. Attendees got a quick lesson on the basics for keeping their bikes in prime condition, plus were treated to a special discount on our Spin Doctor tools just for attending. The shot above is from the clinic in our San Antonio, TX store.
Here’s the crowd in our Oceanside, CA store.
Attentive clinic-goers in our Chandler, AZ store.
There was a big crowd for the clinic in our Long Beach, CA store.
And here in our Oxnard, CA store.
Our Columbus, OH store was standing room only during their clinic.
While our Boise, ID store had more of a comfortably seated crowd.
Of course our stores also put on more specialized clinics for smaller groups, such as this bike maintenance clinic for a local Cub Scout group at our Oceanside, CA store.
Or this interesting Safe and Confident Urban Commuting Clinic in our Seattle, WA store – moderated by local cycling advocate David Smith of BicycleDriver.com.
Indoor cycling classes are also going strong in many of our stores, including this group in our Novi, MI store. In front on the right is sales manager Roger, leading the class.
Our Speedway Tucson, AZ store has also got a strong group going with their indoor cycling class, lead by Brandon from our store team. Two of the three participants in this class were new to road biking, but Brandon pushed their limits. They had a great workout and are looking forward to more cyclists joining the sessions in the coming weeks.
Finally, we thought we’d share some pictures from a trail-building event that took place near our home office here in North Carolina.
Cisco and Jaime from our Raleigh, NC store pitched in to help build a new trail at the popular Lake Crabtree trail network.
Every year, the North American cycling world gathers in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the annual Interbike trade show. This year we were there to check out the latest gear and cycling trends, and these are a few of the most interesting things we saw. Check out our photo album on Facebook for even more shots from the show.
And a whopping 11 speeds in the rear cassette, new XX1 promises to be a simpler, more durable and lighter setup for a range of riders:
And for those that are nostalgic for SRAM’s first product, there is also the return of GripShift, this time with high-end and smooth turning ball bearing internals:
On the road side, SRAM has expanded their lineup of WiFli extended range gearing to include SRAM Red, Force and Apex groups – with up to 11-32 cassettes, these 2×10 systems actually offer a wider range of gearing than most triple setups:
Shimano: Not to be outdone by their American rivals, Shimano was busy showing off their updated top-of-the-line Dura-Ace 9000 series road group. Beyond refinements to the clean aesthetics, the big news is that Dura-Ace now goes to 11 speeds in the back:
Other updates include improved ergonomics on the STI shifters, dual-bolt brakes, and a lengthened lever arm on the front derailleur:
Another interesting change, from both a design and practicality standpoint, is the new 4-arm crankset, which allows for the use of compact or standard chainrings on the same spider:
Dura-Ace Di2 has also been tweaked, incorporating advances made with the Ultegra Di2 system that allow for a more compact and efficient design:
Shimano developments weren’t just for their high-end products, as the affordable SLX mountain bike drivetrain received an overhaul, including a brake upgrade to match the short-stroke Servo-Wave levers of pricier XT & XTR groups:
Keeping on the mountain bike front, there are also updates on the way for hydration packs. Camelbak has made changes to their 2013 packs with an improved NV ventilation system on their high volume packs, like the M.U.L.E. and H.A.W.G., while the brand new Volt packs feature a lumbar water reservoir that keeps the weight supported around your waist:
Watching the favorites battle each other up the Plateau de Beille in stage 14. And hoping there is more battles like this in the Alps!
2007 when Marcus Burghardt 
