North Park Bicycle Shop

Schwalbe Protection

This bike came in today with a completely worn out Schwalbe Marathon tyre. The nail has gone into the tread and out of the sidewall without touching the inner tube. The Kevlar really did it’s job.

echo

It was gently brought to our attention by a kind customer that we have been lagging in the update department (thank you, Ian!), and, lo and behold, upon checking back it’s been nearly two months since our last morsel.  Sorry to deprive our loyal readership of four!!

April has brought many things:

Hiring of a new young fella, Maya, who has just come back from recovering from a broken femur incurred whilst wrestling with a large tree at high speed while snowboarding in Revelstoke.  The tree won, but he’s back with a vengeance.

Also, we’ve just had the return of Marcel for about 8 weeks, helping us out while we experience our Spring Crunch (everyone wanting to get their bikes happy now that spring seems to have settled in nicely).  After that, he’ll be off to Iceland for a month in July (consequently, with our oldest daughter on an international flavoured month of culture and peace-keeping goals through CISV), after which he hopes to get his career as a mechanical engineer off to a great start, either here or in Vancouver.

We get to start testing out our new repair depot in the back, now that things are picking up.  We acquired a micro-apartment behind the shop where we’ve set up two additional repair bays.  Hopefully that means we can get repairs in and out more quickly, to get you back on your ride faster.  We’ve taken out a repair stand from the front to make room for our ordering/shipping/receiving ‘department’ and to have more space for customers and their bikes.

We also have seen the newest Scrap-it changes take effect as of April 1st.  Check out their webpage for the latest bits of info.  Not nearly as lucrative as it used to be, but still cool to get ‘free money’ towards a spiffy new ride.

We finally received our 2010 shipment of Electra Townie 7D and 21D’s!  Some gorgeous colours this year on the as-always perfect bike.  Starting at a lower price this year of $569.  We also have gotten a shipment of 2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker complete bikes in stock – going for $1549.

Also worth a mention, someone was in the shop last week and mentioned the cause of his friends… four guys on one bike – The Tandem Tour – they’ve had a great ride built up in Seattle, and are cross-Canada riding to support four different charities that have affected them.  Pictured above, giving their heidi-ho’s to us on their way past the shop the other day.  Go on over and give ‘em some lovin’.

Take a peek at some fine photos of a Partridge Hill ride that Joe went on yesterday with Chris and wonder dog, Buster.

I hope this inspires you to get riding and enjoying the glories of Victoria!  Until next time.

Brompton!

Our Bromptons arrived a bit ago, and we must say we are mighty impressed!  They are everything they are cracked up to be.  I’m pleased to say that they have even exceeded my expectations of a bike, and a folding bike at that!  Incredibly zippy and solid in handling, they are a joy to ride, easy to fold and unfold, and even look impressive.  Handmade to boot.  No Chinese factory stuff here, and you get every bit of quality you pay for, and then some.  Come on by and try out our lovely ‘apple green’ Superlight demo model.  Sweet and sassy with 6 speeds, it’ll be sure to woo you as it has done us.  Stay tuned for a video on Joe folding and unfolding it…

spring?

Perhaps it’s here… and perhaps not.  But, we can’t complain after the stellar, mild winter we’ve had… at this rate, what’s another 6 weeks of ‘winter’ here in Victoria??

Winter or not, we keep getting more bikes rolling through the door… a few Electra cruisers have been perking up the days with their jazzy colours, the 2010 Long Haul Truckers are looking great this year in an amazing blue and a little less expensive, and the Electra Ticinos are sublime.  We should have our Bromptons walking through the door in the next day or two – Joe is so excited, he can hardly contain himself!  If you see a streak of British flying by shouting ‘wheeeee!’, that’d probably be Joe taking our demo for a test ride.  You should come by and check ‘em out, they are pretty amazing how well and smooth they are put together.

The KHS Urban-X is my bike de jour right now – $499 and well spec’d for the price.  With cassette rear wheel and cartridge bottom bracket, which is not so common in bikes in this price range.  Looking simple and clean in white or a ‘chocolate brown’.  They also sport fenders, a rack and a kickstand…. dyn-o-mite!

If you haven’t already, consider the HST and the impact it will have (not just) on bike purchases.  There was a rumour that they could possibly be implementing it this spring, and not in July as promised.  Check out www.squeakywheels.ca for more info.

It’s also time to consider a spring tune-up.   Beat the crowds and give us a call before it gets crazy-busy.  A well-maintained bike works better for longer, and brings you more satisfaction while riding (and more value for your dollars spent on it).  We can assess brake pad wear and chain wear before they get ‘too far gone’ and the pads are wearing your rims out (much cheaper to replace brake pads once or twice a year instead of a wheel!) and the chain is too far worn to replace just it (changing your chain before it wears out too much is a much cheaper, easier alternative to getting a new drivetrain (chain, cassette in the rear, and chainrings in the front)).  Think of it as preventative maintenance.  We’re always happy to take a quick look at these two things free of charge.  Just swing by on your way past, and we’d be happy to check it out for you.

Keep riding happy,

Christine

always wear your helmet

skuuts are back

We have Skuuts again!  After a long hiatus, due to supplier and distributor issues, we now have access to them again.

KHS Bikes

We are very excited to be carrying KHS Bikes now.  The bikes are made in KHS’ own Taiwanese factory and quality is great. Many of the frames are made of Reynolds double butted steel which is rare these days, giving a nice ride and an elegant look. All the bikes are well spec’d and their price is really competitive.

Electra Ticinos are here

We received our first three Ticinos (ti-chee-nose) yesterday and built the first one this afternoon. It’s a Pistachio men’s 18D and sells for $1999.  The attention to detail is really impressive even down to the leather fender washers and leather covered toe clips and straps. A quick test ride was really comfortable. We also have another men’s 7D in Portobello and a Ladies’ 8D in Wintermint.

Fall Riding

Well I can’t stay off my bike for very long!

On another adventure, however this one involves more clothing and more food. On November 1st I left Calgary with the most loaded bike I have ever pedalled and headed south. No real plan other than to ride my bike. So for the last 5 days I have been zig zagging my way south through Alberta’s farm roads. I am now in Pincher Creek having a rest and re-coupe break at the Stuckey’s; Dale and Diane are the parents of Kati whom I shared a house with in Calgary.

I will be jumping on a late night bus this weekend and heading to Midway, I will then ride along the TCT to Kelowna. I have opted to ride a greyhound through the rockies as it will be safer than my bike.

Enjoy the pics,

-Marcel

autumn shift

So, with the change in weather comes the impending excitement of the 2010 bike line-ups!

We are particularly excited about Rocky’s new Metropolis line that pays homage to different Canadian cities (via the model name which is that city’s airport code!), with a new custom ‘commuter’ tube set.

Joe and a few of the guys went to Delta a month or so ago to tour the factory, visit the Rocky crew and check out some of the new bikes for ‘010 (it just sounds more right to say “oh-ten” instead of “ten”, doesn’t it??).  They have added a 29er to their line up called the Altitude, as well as a new Vertex and Flatline.

Also brilliant news is Electra’s decrease in prices.  They had two price increases over the last year which we couldn’t help but reflect to the customer as the increases were significant.  We are thrilled that they have lowered the prices of our most popular bikes, the Townies and the Amsterdams.  They have a new bike this year called the Ticino, which looks amazing; a blend of mid 20th century cycling and Hand Made Bike Show, with modern geometry. Prices range from around $700-$2500 for these beauties.

We will be doing our booking orders within the next few weeks, so should start seeing our 2010 bikes come rollin’ in in October/November, as they come off of production in Quebec (Rocky) or into port (Electra).  Feel free to stop by sometime and check out the catalogues to see what tickles your fancy.

Joe and Gary hosted the tech support for the Blackberry Ramble this year, on September 13th.  The weather was great, and they had a good time, and were kept busy with repairs and drinking coffee.  Thanks for having us again, Blackberry Ramblers!

Not much else is new as we ride into fall… the shop is busy with folks getting ready for the unavoidable rainy season; there has been a notable increase in fender sales already.   We’re going to help the folks that bike to the Ministry of Health on Bike to Work Day, on October 7th, by displaying some winter options: rain gear, tires, safety gear, etc.  If you’re in the MoH lobby between 12-1, come by and say ‘hi’.