International shipping: Deja Vu

I am sure we have been here before.........

USPS have just hiked their International rates by around 200%, this issue has been hidden somewhat by the fact our check out system is tied to PayPal and they seem to have subsidized or at the very least held off the price increases for as long as possible.

Issue now is that we can no longer rely on our shipping rates supplied via Paypal.

We are working as quickly as possible to fix this issue on our systems in order that accurate shipping rates can once again be available at checkout, without the need for shipping quotes to be requested from us.

In the short term if you think the shipping rate is incorrect at checkout, please contact us via one of the many methods we offer: SKYPE, IM, E-Mail, Toll Free and we will get an accurate freight cost as quickly as possible

We appologise for the issues this is raising with the checkout process, but this is our current main focus and we hope to have a fix in place very soon.

Bike trail Haiku

Suicide squirrel
Psycho baby jogger mom
Ipod deaf menace...

New Products at InterBike

Its that time of year again, just got back from the annual pilgrimage to Vegas for the industry shin digs (IXS protection optional) product launches and general one upmanship results.

Top of our list was the launch of some new and exciting Grammo products.

First: The dates for the Carbon 29er launched at Sea Otter, these frames will be with us very shortly, so get you Santa list ready.

Second: And completely out of the blue and all new steel 29er based on the geometry of the carbon frame. Featuring a common retro look with its carbon cousin, the new steel frame stands out from the crowd.

Don't take our word for it check it out on Dirt Rag and MTBR

Third: Another new frame from the boys from down under, this time the much anticipated Grammo CX carbon cross frame.

Seen here at Cyclocross Magazine

Fourthly: (is that even a word?) The Orange folks were there with cool looking RAW demo bikes. New for 2011 were modifications to the Alpine and Five featuring Taper head tube, and 30.9mm seat tubes. New frames included the R8, the Reynolds 853 tubed hardtail and the new Crush aluminum XC hardtail.

Fifth: Coming our way very soon, we were super impressed with the new IXS line of body armor and helmets. Distributed from Switzerland these are some of the best designed and manufactured safety products we have seen in a long time.

More details to follow soon, but check them out IXS Sports Division

For the skinny on the latest and greatest..... you know the drill

Tim Mangini: Going Back to Cali Cali

After all the traveling and racing its nice to be home for a few weeks and ride the local spots.

The Benicia X Park is barely 5 minutes from my house and is a go to place when ever i'm home in between races.

I headed out with a couple friends to shoot some pictures and get in some good ridding.

The park ended up being almost completely empty and it was ours to shred.

Matt, a close friend of mine, just built up a Unreal Junior for himself and is killing it on it.

My Junior is set up for racing with a front brake and gears on it but handles the skatepark better than my old dirt jump bike did.

The adjustable drop outs make it real easy to shorten the bike up for this kind of ridding. The bike performed amazing and have still yet to have a single issue with it.

The sun was breaking through the clouds and the lighting was perfect. A close friend Jonathan came out to take some sick pictures of the action.

With no one in the park we were free to do many lines that are impossible when the park is crowded.

This is why I love coming home in between races to ride places like this and hang out with old friends.

I will be going to the Fam Jam dirt jump jam up in Folsom at the Folsom Bike park this friday.

After that Ill be home for another week or two before I head down to Las Vegas to the Interbike show and then immediately head up to Mt. Hood, OR for the final round of the 2010 Fluid Ride series.

After that is the Golden State Championship in Fontana, CA and that will end off my 2010 racing season.

Id like to thank all my sponsors again for all the support: 661, One Industries, Sunline, Unreal Cycles, Fox Shox, Leatt Brace, Go Pro, Kenda USA and WTB.

Carbon Cross Bike!

I got to touch the new Carbon Cross bike from Grammo at the Dirt Demo in Vegas on Tuesday. I couldn't/wouldn't take my hands off it. I would have licked the top tube and claimed it for my own if it hadn't been covered in toxic Vegas dust. Almost did it anyway :-) Look for this bike at the Sacramento Cyclocross Series, Folsom Rodeo Cross, Bay Area Superprestige, and Cross Nationals in Oregon, cuz it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine!

A different kind of Time Trial

So just before my trip to Whistler at the end of July, Mr. Unreal blessed me with an amazing Genius Cronometro TT bike to race and review at the weekly South Canal Time Trial here in Sacramento. I was so excited I even bought myself one of those crazy aero helmets and real roadie shoes and pedals. Yes, I was all over the dark side like road rash on the 2010 Tour. The need to prove I didn't suck at TT was high and I went right from my DH bike to the Cronometro the day after returning from Whistler to practice (that was an odd feeling - talk about two different bikes!) Yeah, I was ready to slice the wind! Then the phone rang.

For some time I had known that I was going to get to help set up the "Race from Folsom Prison" MTB course for the 3rd Annual Folsom Cyclebration Stage race; really all we had to do was some scraping and bench reclamation on the Folsom Prison grounds, nothing to get in the way of training.

Right.

The course was going to be very cool. For the first time, the public was going to get to ride on the historic Folsom Prison grounds, along with some sweet trails through the Folsom Rodeo grounds and the State Park which had never been raced on before. The only not so cool part of the course was going be getting from the Prison Grounds back to the Rodeo Grounds. As it was, the last bit had to involve parking lots and public roads which was just not going to be fun for anybody. Then the phone call. Brian, the race director called me and said "Guess what!!! We are going to get to build a trail through the deer pen in the Folsom Zoo!!!" Well, "we" turned out to mean "me". I had a Mcleod, a Maddox, a Rake, a Shovel and Month.

I'll tell you, P90X ain't got nuthin' on the "Build a Trail by Hand in a Month" training plan. Tony Horton would have been crying like a little girl. Yes, I had a some volunteers, but very few of them came back for more after a day of Deer Pen Plyometrics. The exception to this pattern was Ryan Wenker - he is crazy and I sincerely appreciate his help. Needless to say, my riding got put on the back burner. 6 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week put a serious crimp in my racing plan and I knew right away that my bikes were going to be lonely for a bit.

I wasn't lonely in the deer pen though, even when I didn't have any volunteers, I had my little inspectors. They inspected my tools, my lunch box, my pockets and my trail work every day. Who knew that deer could be so friendly? I had no idea. They were like playful puppy dogs, and it was difficult to work when they wanted to be scratched behind the ears or to play head butt. They also have no concept of the danger of swinging tools, and would constantly get in the way. Even so, Cutest Thing EVER!!!

I won't bore you with the details of trail work, let's just say I was sweaty, dirty and tired every day. All I wanted to do when I got home was collapse on the couch with a beer and a LOT of food. TT race? No way. Just the thought of riding my bike made me cringe. By the last week of building before the race, it was all I could do to get out of bed. My back ached, my fingers could barley grip, and I had blisters on my callouses that survived so long they developed their own personalities. By the end I had Madeline Kahn in my head singing "I'm Tired" all day, which reminds me, I need to rent Blazing Saddles. I was really hoping all this was going to be worth the effort, since unlike Lilly Von Schtupp, I didn't have a squad of burly soldiers to carry me off stage when I passed out.

Turns out it was worth it. Since I knew I was not going to be able to race my own trail, I asked to course marshal the Zoo Trail. It was the smiles on the faces of the racers that made it worth it. I was moved by how many riders knew that I had built that section and they all spared enough breath in the middle of the race to say stuff like "thanks Asa" and "awesome" and "holy crap!" - that last one is a direct quote :-) Afterwords, I was surprised by the cheers and applause when the announcer gave me props - the warm, fuzzy feeling overwhelmed the aches in my body and I knew that I had done a good thing. The free beer didn't hurt either. On top of everything, I found out that the trail is going to be used by children visiting the zoo to hike in the deer pen and pet them up close, not through a fence. Before, the small canyon where the deer live was way to steep and treacherous to let children experience the deer up close. Now they will be able to hike the length of the deer pen in safety and interact with them in their own environment. How cool is that??

That's all for now. I will be back on the bike soon. It is almost Cyclocross Season!!!

I would like to thank:

The Folsom Zoo

Brian

Robert

Jonathan

John
Hank
Alan
Nick
Eddie
The Morin Girls
Randy
George
Rich
Kelly
and Ryan

DoubleCross: Soma's latest best seller -

A story about a tough, gritty road and trail master, a genuine multitasker, not simply a Jack of all trades.

Steeped in history with classic lines and features. Developed with the experience and knowledge that comes only through a lifetime of hard miles and big smiles.

It's all about Old vs New, a tale of passions of the past meeting the new generation.

Watch the trailer HERE

To arrange for it to come to a garage near you, Order HERE

You know who to call

On One: The Red, White and Blue

On One have done it again.

Just when we thought black was the new white, its all about the Red , White and Blue.

The latest carbon 456 blends years of experience into an unshakeably surefooted, highly responsive frame with massive tyre clearance for use on any terrain, and as a long travel (up to 160mm) frame that can be built into a complete bike weight of between 23 and 26lbs, it's an absolute steal.

Launched earlier this year, it has been selling so well we have already sold out of the first shipment, but fear not more are on the way and this time we have color options!

White will be available first, with Red and Blue hot on the heals

Watch for a special offer this weekend on the White frames.

You know who to call for On One