As usual, the shop will be closed this week for ragbrai.
The one exception is today, however, with regular open hours from 12:30pm to 6:00pm!
Speaking of ragbrai, check out one of a few bikes that was shipped to us from afar for the ride.
It arrived in pieces in these two hard cases. You’ll never guess what comes next!
A Da Vinci tandem all of the way from Portland, Oregon jam packed & jelly tight in that little case.
We’ll be back open again on Tuesday, August 3rd!
Here is a Salsa Mamasita that was brought in by a customer who found this bike to be a little too big for her.
Presto, change-o! A red bike turns green!
I ordered in a better fitting Niner AIR9 frame for her & swapped it with the Salsa. The seatpost & stem were upgraded to the Thomson variety. The handlebar got some love as well, moving on up to an Easton Monkeylite SL carbon bar.
Best of luck to the many adventure races this bike will be a part of!
Here is a Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike that recently came out of the shop.
Built like a tank, it is ready to go pretty much anywhere!
It has been equipped with Surly Nice Racks(front & rear), a Brooks B-17 saddle, Cinelli Gel cork handlebar tape, MKS touring pedals, & Planet Bike Cascadia fenders which have been upgraded with SKS front break-away mounts.
With all of this rainy weather we’ve been having, thoughts quickly focus on wet riding gear.
Welcome the first group buy-in at The Broken Spoke.
The featured product is Showers Pass clothing out of Oregon.
Any regularly priced items will be discounted 15%.
Just email spbuyin(at)thebrokenspoke.com with what you would like by May 21st.
Feel free to email me with any questions about their products as well.
Here is a custom frame-up build of a Voodoo Soukri 29’er built up as a rigid single speed.
This is one seriously cool bike.
The frame is 631 Reynolds steel, matched up with a Niner rigid steel fork. Avid BB7 disc brakes, Kona Wah Wah pedals, & Thomson Elite stem & seatpost are a few of the component highlights.
The wheels were lovingly hand-built by me. They are comprised of Paul singlespeed hubs, DT Swiss Revolution spokes, DT Swiss X470 rims & huge 2.35″ Panaracer Rampage tyres!
Here is good news for all of you that always had notions of creating your own “Sometimes Shirtless Pete & the Ute” tales of glory, but wasn’t sure if ponying up for a cargo bike would actually be worth it. From now until May 21st, you can buy a raffle ticket at the shop for $5. Each raffle ticket purchased will enter you to win your very own Kona Ute cargo bike! All proceeds will benefit the Iowa Bicycle Coalition & the newly formed Think Bicycles Coalition of Johnson County!
Here is Pete & his Ute taking two bicycle donations to the Iowa City Bike Library.
Past adventures:
https://bikesarethesolution.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/the-continuing-adventures-of-pete-the-ute/
https://bikesarethesolution.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/shirtless-pete-the-ute-win-again/
https://bikesarethesolution.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/kona-ute-in-action/
Here is a light & stout rear mountain bike wheel that I most recently built up for a customer.
It is comprised of a WTB Laserdisc Superlight rear hub, DT Swiss X430 rim, & Wheelsmith straight-guage spokes.
Action Man approves!
Have you always wanted to more about how your bicycle works?
Saturday, April 17th, there will be a two hour class(4:15pm to 6:15pm) taught at the shop for derailleur & brake work.
You will gain in-depth knowledge of derailleur installation & adjustment along with the adjustment of different types of brakes.
Interested individuals should email or call to reserve a spot, as attendance must be limited due to the small nature of the shop.
The cost will be $30.
KCRG is having their A-List Best Business contest again.
http://kcrg.cityvoter.com/contests/kcrg-tv9-a-list/4763/health-and-fitness/bike-shop
It would be much appreciated if you could go and vote for us & help show those who are unaware of “the little bike shop that can” what you already know!
from http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/3856.html
BAXTER, IA (BRAIN)—Phil Wood, the man responsible for sealed hubs and bottom brackets, died on March 14 at his daughter’s home in Roseville, California. He was 83.
He started the Phil Wood Company in 1971 as primarily a hub maker, though he offered other components. He sold the business to Peter Enright and a group of investors in 1991.
“I feel so lucky to have talked with him about a week before he passed away, and he mentioned again that he was so lucky to sell the business when he did,” said Enright, Phil Wood Company’s president.
“We talked off and on over the years, usually to catch up on news about his friends in the bike business. But he was quite happy to return to the farm after selling the business to help raise his granddaughter,” Enright added.
Wood was a problem-solver working at Food Machinery Corporation. Had he not been bothered chasing bearings for a hub he was rebuilding for his daughter, sealed-bearing hubs might have taken years to hit the bike market, Enright noted.
“He was complaining to Spence Wolf about why no one offered a sealed bearing hub and Wolf told him to make his own hub. A little while later he asked Spence how many he should make. It took Spence a bit to remember what he was talking about. He said make 50 hubs and the business was launched,” Enright said.
Wood’s family is deciding on funeral arrangements at this time.
“I’m glad he and I were able to have that last chat. He was a little bothered he wasn’t as ambulatory as he once was but he was content to move on,” Enright said.
A memorial service for Phil and his wife, Vada, who passed away December 18, 2009, will be held on April 17, at the Calgary Baptist Church in Los Gatos, California, at 11:00 a.m. Phil is survived by his six children.
—Matt Wiebe
The Broken Spoke 