OH NO... I had just serviced and re-tyred this Scott, loaded it into the back of the customers land rover with her dogs. 10 minutes passed and there was a call to say the dogs had eaten through the hydraulic hoses. This stuff is pretty toxic, but the dogs are not dead yet.
Mark from Bullheart... great chap (with a heart partly made of cow due to cancer) has sent me this.... thank you very much. On the front it says... "Not now Cancer - I am busy".
Jonathan from Sustrans picks up his new Surly Steamroller, on a lovely sunny sunday... so...
... so we went to the Square and Compass where we found not only curry ale and oyster stout, but also the really rather brilliant Ben Caplan And The Casual Smokers.
And this is what Ben without his casual smokers sound like...
The single speed euro champs was ace... a better full report to follow later. But for now: duck, pork, beef, duck pate, pork pate, oysters, smoked duck, wild boar... and some bikes. Here is a quick movie... The french chap speaking is my friend Jerome. He is a frenchman, and a chef in my home town in England, and is from the region where the race was. It was his first proper mountainbike ride, first one speed ride, first race... etc..
Another nice Nimble9 is born.... this one is along the south coast, and has a really rather nice spec: Lynskey post, whammy bars (super wide), fox forks, american classic wheels, big nobby Nics... lovely...
My surly pugsley fat bike has been on work experience... and now we have sent them there first beach sampler specific fat bike.
"Officers from Environment Agency Wales are trialling a new
‘beach bike’ to help with their water sampling duties in and around Swansea
Bay.
The bike, currently on loan to the Agency, is a demo model
and has been purpose-built for cycling on sand and soft ground.
It will help officers travel the length of the beach whilst
they conduct essential water sampling as part of the ‘Smart Coasts Sustainable
Communities’ project.
Over a period of three days, samples from the sea at
Swansea, Aberafan and Kenfig will be collected every hour. The aim is to
identify potential pollution sources which might affect bathing water quality
in Swansea Bay.
The data from samples collected will feed in to the overall
Smart Coasts project, and is additional to our seasonal bathing water sampling
programme."
Charlie’s 40Th Birthday Ride & Party
10.30am Saturday 7th April 2012
I am about to hit 40, so we are having a day of bike fun down in sunny Dorset.
- Offroad ride
- Cafe
- Bakery
- Pub
- Live music
- Starting at... Brook Tearooms, Swanage Seafront 10.30am (arrive earlier if you want one of their fine breakfasts)
Geno is an original 1960’s Chicago soul act, really rather famous if you know this sort of music. A genuine 1960's Chicago soul legend. In simple terms it’s all a bit Blues Brothery.
Swanage is very much geared up for overnighters with many B&Bs, campsites, Hostels and Hotels.
- Here is a link to our local accommodation search... http://www.visit-dorset.com/about-the-area/areas-to-visit/swanage-and-purbeck
- Nice local bunkhouse... http://www.swanageauberge.co.uk/
- Tickets for Geno... http://www.wegottickets.com/event/148278 If you coming out in the evening it’s wise to book your ticket upfront.
- There are no : entry fees, marshals, insurance, permits, ambulances, marker tape, podiums, or rain clouds. Everything at your own risk etc etc.
- You are welcome to try one of our demo bikes, just get in touch before hand.
Simply head down to the coast with a bike.
Geno then....
and now...
Want to know what my customers look like and do.... this band now have a cool green steamroller with red wheels... http://www.shaketigershake.com/ Really nice bunch, and rather refeshing sound.
Little Miss Bikemonger (aka Phoebe) is in this pop video by the Maccabess, filmed in the hills behind our shop, and at the square and compass in worth matravers... best pub in the world (and home to to a 1989 kona cindercone). Phoebe is at 2.40mins beside a chimney. You may recognise another local cyclist.
John, one of our suppliers is on a 29er now and raising money for hero hounds.... https://www.justgiving.com/29daysona29er check it out
Moonlanders are landing....
This is a tour of our Nimble 9 demo bike from the Canfield Brothers... its a very cool bike, gives you tons of confidence, is an absolute hoots, rails berms... and is XC-able if you move the dropouts back
I want all you bikeheads to get up on your feet
Put your braces together and your boots on your feet
And give me some of that old moonstomping
Are you ready? Start stomping!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Team Bikemonger's youngest racer wins everything... Corey, a buddies son, borrowed the demo single speed surly pugsley for the Swanage School Biathlon... he was a few hundred meters off the lead when the running ended, but the big fat monster truck bike floated like a butterfly, barreled along like a fat chick full of cheap booze, and he crushed all the opposition under his awesome wheels of overkill. He not only won the event for his age group, but also got the fastest overall time, leaving all the geared kids wishing their dad was cool like Corey's.
The Ritchey P-29s have landed... but be quick, only three of each size arrived in the UK....
The Salsa Fargo is a truely great bike, really unique and a load of fun... and in its Ti variation its even better. This belongs to one of our customers, and no expense has been spared...
Woodchippers, lizard skin dsp tape, cane creek drop v levers, 10sp dura ace bar end shifters, thompson x2 stem, chris king headset, niner fork, middleburn chainset with 20,30,40 rings perfect gearing for 29er. royce ti bb, look qaurts ti pedals, xtr cassette 11/34, lynskey ti seatpost, fizik tundra 2 saddle, king ti cages, alligator i link cables, jagwire cable ajusters, medium cage saint rear meck xtr front meck now not shown, 180 avid bb7 front and rear, frm team urano xc pro wheelset thru axle with bolt less disc, schwalbe tyres, kmc 10sl chain, tubus logo ti rear rack not shown, all ti bolts. UB40 CD is optional.
STOP THE SUFFERING NOW...
Blimey our customers are cool... you give a guy a "one less car" sticker and he sends you a picture like this.... we are very jealous of his car (maybe not hit fuel and tyre bill)
Check this out.... one of our customers using the Surly Black Floyd fat bike tyres.... One of the nicest things with living in a bikemongery is the great and diverse people you get to meet. It cheers me up to see our products being used in unexpected ways.
This guy is true "Shed Master" Keeping the great bloke traditional of fettling machines in sheds.
Severn Cycles have named their new cross bike "Mudhoney", named after a great grunge band... BUT its carbon, big logos, titanium, racey... not one speed steel grungy... So to bring some balance back, TOUCH ME I'M SICK....
Charge Cooker 29er Review... and boy did we kick the colonial arses of Cannondale and specialized. The charge won the test with a score of 9/10. Largely because of the great handling. I have been blown away by the bike, and Crashy (AKA Sausage or even Simon) who has been riding one for about a month is equally amazed by it. Reminds us of the early Kona bikes... great bikes.
Crashy said... "
KNOW YOUR LIMITS.....
PDW takeout racks... These are awesome... just the right size for a few beers and a chinese, and it says on the label you get several chincillas in there too, maybe a small badger? Here is an odd thing £50 here... $120 usd in the states where they come from. Click picture to jump to it...
Fed up with the desperation, the shame, the browness of going for a shifter in the woods.... this product may change your life. I once used to sissy thumb wiggle, but now I am cured, and I can now hold my head up high.... thanks to this fanstatic product.
Another landmark as a shopkeeper, street fighting on a Monday lunchtime.
Short but big bloke jumped one of our nicest customers outside the shop with fists flying. Cut to his face, blood, rolling in the street, then with me diving in and kneeling on him, customer had his head in a leg-lock, and four police cars on there way. Both of us did a good job, restrained him without actually punching et...c. The neighbours helped, police were good too, cheers. Arrested but lurking around outside the shop within an hour.
CCTV and "other" security now upgraded.
Swanage and the shop are such nice places to be. It really fucks me off when a minority bring their shit to town.
I'm not only hundreds of £££s down on security, lost a day of work, a bit scuffed... But also this is MY damned shop where my family and friends work. It's a cool place, taken years and years to get here and anything other than cool can fuck off.
On the upside it's sincerely good, nice and right damn it to step in and stop this pernicious pointless bollocks pedalled by equally pointless people.
Hello European chums over the channel. Greetings from England. We are now doing FREE postage across europe on all components, and great shipping deals on frames/bikes etc...
Bonjour chums européenne sur le canal. Salutations d'Angleterre. Nous sommes en train de faire de port GRATUIT à travers l'Europe sur tous les components, et traite une grande expédition sur le châssis / motos etc ..
Hallo Europäischen Kumpels über den Kanal. Grüße aus England. Wir machen jetzt portofrei in ganz Europa auf allen components und große Versandkosten Angebote für Frames / Fahrräder etc. ..
Hola camaradas europeos a través del canal. Saludos desde Inglaterra. Ahora estamos haciendo gastos de envío gratis a través de Europa en todos los components, y grandes ofertas de envío de imágenes / bicicletas, etc ..
Ciao compagni europeo attraverso il canale. Saluti da Inghilterra. Stiamo ora facendo spese di spedizione GRATIS in tutta Europa su tutte le components, e si occupa di spedizione grande fotogrammi / moto ecc ..
SAVE £100 on your small wheels. Just found some 26" wheels in the storeroom, dead light and tubeless. And because 26" wheels will never catch on, we are clearing them at £100 off. Free uk postage too.
http://www.charliethebikemonge
Took the Salsa Fargo on a proper adventure, the sort of adventure a proper adventure bikes deserves.
We took in 100 miles of the South Downs way over two very tough days. The Fargo was the perfect bike for the job, incredibly stable, planted and secure... whilst being nimble, flickable and a damned great hoot. Some of the downhills go on and on... its a great bike.
The anything cages mounted on the forks are awesome. I got the alpkit bivi bag, terra nova tarp, snugpak jungle bag, and airbed on the forks. The Italian Merlot went in the bottle cage. Frame bag was for wet weather gear and cheese. Camelbak got the goose jacket and the titanium meths kitchen. Tools under the seat.
I should have put on the thudbuster seatpost, but it was on another bike at the time of packing... this is something I regretted. The thudbuster is a great post. The price is a bit scary, but they are worth every penny after 100 bumpy miles.
Needless to say getting the train to susses, and then back from Winchester was almost a logistical impossibility: sell you tickets for 7 blokes with bikes, despite three bike maximum on trains. The overcrowding on the way home was ridiculous, with bikes stacked on top of some smelly hippy who insisted on sitting in the bike rack?
Trade show season is tough on us, as everybody in the bike trade effs off to Vegas etc, and leaves no one in the warehouse to look after us.
But its good to see that they suffer...
80/20 = No ebay for a week. Pareto's principle, "vital few and trivial many", the principle that 20 percent of something always are responsible for 80 percent of the results, is known as Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule. Ebay is 70% of my work and 30% of turnover, and around 15% of profit due to the ebay fees. So no ebay for a week. I will be 15% poorer and 70% time richer.
Click the link above and go and see Yahuda Moon and his Kickstand Cyclery. Buy stuff from them... even though they are 2 dimensional characters, you can still buy stuff.
A surly cross check.... this one will look ace when the leather tape was become weathered and darkened up a bit. Just to let you know brown tape and saddle on a blue cross check is lovely.
Another SIR9 is born....
ooooh, these are nice... combine velcro and a roof rack style strap. Made in Dorset too.
http://www.charliethebikemonge
Salsa Spearfish 3 Complete bikes at only £1890.
Yep, save £210 on the new complete Salsa Spearfish... it's a mental deal. You get a complete full sus 29er with a £999 frame, rockshox, avid, sram etc... bargain.
Click the link.... http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/save-210---pre-order-deal-salsa-spearfish-3-complete-bike-29er-1404-p.asp
There are only a handful coming to the UK, and we have almost all of them. Size large demo bike available too.
Web Business as usual this weekend - but High Street shop closed while we go to the Single Speed National Champs. CLOSED 16/17/18/18 September
SSWC 2011 IRELAND from Mickey Regan on Vimeo.
Classic Ireland shot... ace trail with menacing weather.
Tom Ritchey P-29.... Oh boy are we exceited about these. Back in the late 80's when I started proper mountainbiking (as opposed to making trackers and clunkers and racing round the woods in the 70's) a Ritchey was a thing of exotica, US of god damn A, cutting edge steel, garnished with a great big tash. Tom Ritchey is a legend, he was there at the very start of this messing around on fat tyred bikes and his frames are legendary. This frame... dead narrow headtube (still 1 1/8"), single speed-able, classic paint job, great looks, very real steel tubes. Guess what.... I am getting a new bike... sorry I mean we are getting another demo bike.
How big would Sir like his tyres...? click the picture...
PDW: Come Ride With Us from PDW on Vimeo.
The shop will be closed all day.
A lovely Traitor Luggernaut... heading to Oslo in the morning. Upgrades are White Industries cranks, Brooks pro saddle, and leather bar tape. If this was mine the wheel graphics would be peeled off to clean up the looks. If I was to ever open a one speed branch in is Oslo I would call it "OSLO SOLO". To be honest you probably need more than a business name for a business case, but it's never stopped me before.
Let’s cycle one speed bikes to the Euro SS champs in Belgium... Yeah that sounds stupid.
- 450 miles
- 7 days on the road
- Surly Cross check on 42:20 gearing fully loaded with camp gear.
Daves's Big Dummy keeps getting better... now with stoker bars, and a a kid. He has another clid on the way, which must prove something about cycling and testicals. The local police have shown an interest in it and questioned the legality... keep up the good work.
That's it - I'm off...
to SSEC in Belgium. Simon (aka Crashy) and Michelle (aka Mrs Bikemonger) are looking after the shop, emails and all the parcel stuff. I am on the road, many roads, about 450 miles of roads... Might see you in the beer tent at the Monestry - if you have had a longer ride to the race I will buy you a beer, if you drove there, you can buy me a beer. http://ssec2011.blogspot.com/
How did the bivy ride go... it was good, ate well, slept well, rode well. Had wild garlic and steak for supper in my Ti mug on a 38g Vargo Ti meths stove. The bike rode very well on singletrack, I was surprised to find with the weight well distributed it remained nimble and fast.
Woke up to a cloudy day, but still a nice view. All in my bike weighed 35 pounds, and my camelbak was 10 pounds.
Roll on Belgium.
Getting ready for the big ride... Prep'd the Surly Cross check for the ride out to the Euro One speed Champs. Gone with a "bikepacking" setup.
Not leaving for a week so this is a trial run to see how it rides, and how the kit performs. Going to rough camp somewhere near Studland. In those bags you have: Islay single malt, Aberdeen Angus steak, Titanium kitchen, coffee, sleeping bag, bivy bag, airbed, goosedown jacket, wooly hat. Looks cold tonight... wish me luck.
Not very bike.... but... hey... you know yo gotta fight for your rights.
I like waves... and pretty patterns.... but this is just amazing.
We love singetrackworld... not only becuase its the best web and print MTB magazine, but also because they love us straight back. They were kind enough to review one of our new shirts, and some stickers.... but not brave enough to review the fancy smoked oysters.... http://www.singletrackworld.com/2011/04/fresh-goods-90/
VAYA-adventures... Paul P a Vaya and Niner customer has been in touch to let me know how he is getting on with his Vaya and Niner... he's very happy. He has also enjoyed (endured) the WRT (Welsh Ride Thing, Bivvy race thing). Heres the link for the article... http://www.alpkit.com/daring-deeds/welsh-ride-thing-part-1
Carbo-loading... is an important part of a cycling diet, especially if you are cycling every day. When you are touring you never stop eating, and if you do, you curl up and die. But who has given Carbo-Unloading any consideration? Why spend £1700 on a dead light Titanium frame when you can knock off a couple of pounds carbo-unloading?
Tubeless... had my first tubeless puncture / fart last night. Sharp roacks, going too fast, and heard a weird repeating sound which stopped after about 8 revolutions. Turns out that was the sealant plugging the hole. Lost a lot of air, but pumped it back up and rode on... Amazing stuff. Check out the video below, truely amazing.
Salsa Ti La Cruz..... aka project overkill, has started. The frame weighs almost nothing and the graphic detailing is fantastic. An incredibly nice US made titanium frame. Its a cyclocross bike, being built by Crashy as the ultimate commuter aimed as gravel, road, dirt, sandy heath and promenading (showing off on the seafront). The American Classic Huricane wheels arrive in few days - we searched hard for a real world tough, light, not too graphicy wheelset £430 if you want some.
Will keep posting pics so you can witness its slow and glorious birth.
Shop was closed on wednesday... but for a good reason. Lovely weather and quick blast round Cwmcarn in Wales. This is Crashy about 5 meters from a near crash/tree interface scenario.
Another pair of jeans are sacraficed to the bike gods...
Another Niner is born... this one is enjoying the early season sun in the Channel Islands...
Sunday at Puddletown.... was a blast. Myself, Beardy Marvin and Crashy rode drop bar one speed crossers (surly cross checks), and Olive The Dog just used her legs. I accessorised Olive (a Purbeckian Sandwich Hound) with a cattle bell and fluro neck buff. This was so we could see and hear her in the dark forrest single track, worked well at first...
... but then... Olive positioned herself on the exit of some singletrack. I assumed Beardy Marv would spot her, and grab some brakes... and he did, but grabbed too much... and ...
You can just about make out part of his snapped seatpost. He carried on tumbling for quite some way.
The salsa woodchipper bars were great. The socks performed well too. The full face jumpy kids could not figure out: who, what or indeed why?
This is solid advice... only take 29er advice from me, or a rabbit.
Its not all hard work at the bikemongery... we also go for a ride every now and then. The tide was super low, the reefs were showing, and there was no need to jump the groynes (that could be taken the wrong way). the sun was out, and the blue festival was about to start. Great 5 mile spin, attempting to bunny hop pools, and then off for a swift ale under a patio heater, as the sun cleared off and the beards came out to play. Great way to wind up the week (swiftly followed by seafood poisoning and a closed shop on saturday... sorry, but hey on the upside I am racing weight now)
Another Vaya option... salsa in their wisdom (we know the truth) have "decided" to add a black frame option, only as a frameset and not as complete. let me know if you fancy one, due soon.
Vaya complete.... Not sure if I am meant to tell you guys this yet. But what the hey. Frame and forks are £499, Completes are £1599. Call me if you want to pre-order and get a hearty discount. Due with us at the end of March. The demo bike will be back in a 58cm size.
The new Vaya colour has been leaked... mmmm orange. You wont lose that anywhere other than a Dale Winton or Judith Charmers look-a-like convention. Give us a shout if you want to pre-order one. This color will be available as both a frameset and a complete bike based around the awesome SRAM APEX kit. Gonna be cool. Framesets expected to be £500 and complete bikes £1400.
Raw Niner... yet another lovely niner has been born. We are loving the raw finish, which will be available in glow in the dark soon.
I bloody love my job... Yesterday: I had a Welshman threaten to come down and sort me out. He had already been rude, so I told him he was banned, won’t entertain him as a customer again. But we recorded the conversation and logged it with the police. Its my damned shop and life is too short to tolerate crap.
Today: Just quoted on a three seater tandem, just like the goodies (which was filmed locally on Portland) - My Bill Oddy beard is coming on well. My knowledge of birds is poor. Also sold a Surly Big Dummy cargo bike to lovely Local Dave Furmage
Tomorrow: We take delivery of our Surly Pugsley snow and sand bike with maaaaaasive tyres. New bike fever.... ooo its exciting. Me and Olive the dog are going straight to the dunes of Studland.
A Finer Niner... This is Paul's Niner SIR9 (medium) with the lovely carbon fork. What a stunningly understated bike. Wonderful. Initially I had reservations about the chunky carbon fork on the slim tubed frame. Not performance reservation, just thinking of the looks... but this proves that they look great together.
NEW DEMO BIKE... We have a complete salsa El-mariachi here, its a large 20" with 100mm of RockShox. Very nice with quality parts all round: Avid Elixir, stans rims, WTB tyres... and a X9 2x10 drive (its just like ten single speeds apparently). £1899.
Salsa Anything cage... Salsa have just delivered what could be the best product in years. This is something that could change your life, sweriously. Its a fat cage, that can hold stuff... so what's so special about that? Pop two of these £18 cages on your bike, bivvy bag in one, sleeping bag in the other, camelbak for bits n bobs... and you are a one man flyweight cycle touring machine. Offroad or on. It has three mounts for freaky Salsa Fargo / Facilitator forks, but can be used on regular bottle cage mounts too.
Surly Vodka bike courtesy of Joe Ball on Flickr. Joe if you read this, email me and I have a gift for you.
Something to look forward to...at this time of year its great to have an event to look forward to, and this one should be ace. Its being sorted by our T-shirt guy, and he is following an awesome event recipe: bikes, cider and sun. Link is www.heavenofthesouth.co.uk
A nice picture of Olive the Trail hound... and me, and crashy.
