Bike Biz Babe

Cycling into the Sunset...

2009-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm probably a little off the back with the timing of this post...but I'm probably the only cyclist who also reads Sunset Magazine from time to time, too. Last night, I was thumbing through the March issue (yes, a little late hence the apology at the start for poor timing) and picture of a bunch of people riding bikes with baskets down the street stopped me from turning the page. Not only was it a picture of people on bikes, it was an entire article devoted to commuting by bicycle entitled "Reinvent Your Wheels" with a byline that read "Reach for the handlebars instead of your car keys. Here's how you can smoothly roll into the new two-wheeled lifestyle".

This article does a fantastic job at showing just how easy and fun getting out on a bike can be and gives readers the resources to get started. The article has a brief bike buyer's guide as well as some suggestions about what bags and baskets are suited best for hauling your stuff in. There are also some short stories from real-world people about why they have chosen to ride their bikes instead of drive their cars.

My favorite quote was from an architect in San Francisco who sold his car 9 years ago in favor of riding one of his 12 bikes back and forth to work. Sunset asks, "How do you manage to look so put together when you've commuted to work by bike?" The architect answered, "I have two Dutch bikes--they are what I ride around the city because they are very dignified. The 'Old Dutch' Batavus has a fender, a chain case, and a guard so you don't get your pants or scarf caught in things. The Dutch want to wear regular clothes when they cycle, and so do I".

The very last sentence is the best part because I think it sums up why more people don't commute by bicycle. Many people envision "taking a bike ride" as this complex activity that requires special clothing, equipment, and might even involve loading up bikes in a car to drive them to a destination. Think about it...isn't that what most of us do when we go for a ride? Isn't that the perception many people might get when they go to their local bike shop and see all the related gear dripping from the walls of the shop?

What was so refreshing about this article was is was simple. It painted a picture about how simple taking a bike ride can be. It didn't tell you what kind of shoes you needed to buy to look cool on the bike path or what tire pressure you should run for optimal performance. It was more of an editorial suggestion about how cycling can improve your health, help the environment, and put a smile on your face.

Kudos to Sunset Magazine for devoting space to an article such as this one. We need more articles just like this one to appear in other non-endemic publications to encourage people to get out and ride a bike.

Unfortunately, Sunset does not have this article available online to read, but they do have the bike and bag buyer's guide that appeared in the print article on their website. I'll see if I can get the article scanned and posted here for everyone to see.

(In case anyone was wondering, Sunset Magazine has a readership of about one million people. That's a huge!)

Today's ride: cactus, cows, and climbs

2009-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

When I woke up this morning after sleeping in till about 8am, it was sunny. This was a nice surprise since the weather forecast said it was supposed to be raining on an off all weekend. After I made my habitual "weekend breakfast" that consists of scrambled eggs and toast topped off with peanut butter and honey, I decided to go for a ride.

OK, truth be told, I puttered around the house for a little longer and tried to talk myself out of riding since it was a little on the chilly side. I'm really glad I ended up talking myself into going for a ride because it ended up being one of the best rides I've taken for a long time.

There's a lot of reasons why this ride was better than most. I ended up riding one of my favorite loops..a forty-ish mile loop from my house that winds up through Fallbrook, Rainbow, Valley Center, and then back into Bonsall. I've ridden this loop a million times on my motorcycle, but since I don't have a street bike at the moment, I haven't ridden these roads in a while. And since there's a good amount of climbing in it, I don't ride it on my bike all that often either.

Another reason why this ride was so good was my iPod was cueing up some really great music today. Lots of Johnny Cash, Shelby Lynne, and Paul Oakenfold for some reason. Three very differnt artists, but three I really enjoy (duh, I guess they wouldn't be in my iPod if I didn't like them). Good music sure makes a good ride even better. It was like a little soundtrack for my ride.

And the icing on the cake from this ride was the weather and lighting was just so pretty. Since it's been raining all week, the air looked and felt so pure. As a result, the sunlight looked extra pretty on the surrounding scenery. It really made me wish I had my digital SLR or at least my smaller digital camera. Despite not having a decent camera, I did snap some pics with my iPhone. So rather than just ramble on about the ride, here are some of the photos I took today.

On Rice Canyon Road, there's a cactus farm that has cacti growing for as far as the eye can see. There must be a million cacti of all shapes and sizes. I've always wanted to stop and take some pictures of this place, so today I did.

After exited Rice Canyon Road, I crossed Hwy 76 and headed east so I could ride up Couser Canyon. Couser Canyon is a grunt of a climb, but it's beautiful. Whenever I'm on this road, it doesn't seem like I'm in San Diego. There's a cattle ranch at the base of the valley. Today, there were a bunch of calves in the pasture that were so cute. I stopped to take some pictures. These little guys were really curious...one came over and stuck his head through the fence. Pretty soon, a few others sauntered over and I had about 8 little calves at the fenceline staring at me.

Here's a shot about 1/2 way up the climb looking back at the cattle ranch.At one point when I was grinding up the steepest section of this 4-mile climb, Johnny Cash's "Hurt" came on. How appropriate!

At the Couser Creek Ranch, a Morgan horse farm, there's a big black horse sculpture that the owners always decorate with whatever the prevailing holiday theme might be. With today being Valentine's Day, the horse was decorated with red lights, ribbon, and a big heart.

I assume this is Couser Creek. Due to all of the runs, it had a bit more water running in it, so a pretty little waterfall formed right beside the road.

This is the view from West Lilac Road looking east towards Palomar Mountain. Yes, that's snow in them thar hills!

Sneak Peek of the Haro Sonix 650B

2009-01-29T12:22:00.001-08:00

Despite all the buzz about 650B mountain bikes fluttering about the bike industry over the past year or so, it seems like many bike manufacturers have been a little slow on the uptake with getting complete 650B bikes to market. One of the benefits of being a small bike manufacturer like Haro is being able to produce cool niche bikes relatively quickly. We don’t have to run our ideas past layers and layers of corporate committees in order to get the green light. If we come up with an idea for a niche bike and think there’s a market for it, we more or less just start working on it.

Since our Beasley 650B hardtails have been so well received, it was pretty much a no-brainer to start developing a full-suspension bike that would specifically accommodate 650B wheels. It was also a no-brainer to base this new bike on our proprietary Virtual Link System that we use on our popular Sonix and Xeon full-suspension bikes. With 120mm of rear wheel travel, it made the most sense to add a 650B wheel-equipped bike into the Sonix series given the fact that there seems to be more demand for cross country trail bikes in the 4” to 5” travel range.

If you hit the fast forward button, a few months later we finally have our first batch of rideable prototypes of the Sonix 650B we’ll be introducing into our 2010 line. When we get prototypes in, it feels a lot like Christmas…we tear open the boxes and look at the treasures held within with wide-eyed wonderment. After we’ve had our fill of just looking at the frames, we build them up and hit the trails to begin testing…that’s the fun part!

This wasn’t my first rodeo aboard a 650B full-suspension bike. About a year and a half ago, we put a set of Velocity Blunt 650B wheels on a stock Xeon equipped with a Fox Talas fork and found that they fit…it was a close fit, but a fit nonetheless. I actually did a side-by-side test that compared the 650B-equipped Xeon to a standard 26” wheel Xeon and wrote about it here on my blog. What I found in that test was 650B wheels did everything that was promised they would do…and that was they would give you many of the same benefits a 29” wheel will give you without that “big bike” feeling.

The Sonix 650B is proving to offer that same level of performance I experienced in the Xeon test. It combines everything I really like about my 29er with the nimble handling characteristics of a 26” wheel. You might be asking, “Well, why not build a 29” wheel full-suspension bike?”. 29” wheel full suspension bikes handle sort of like a freight train…they rock on the descents but on tight switchbacks and on climbs, they feel as sluggish as a wet sponge. If you’ve ridden one, you know what I’m talking about.

The beauty of the Sonix 650B is the fact that it’s nimble and quick. It negotiates the tight stuff with ease and precision. In fact, I don’t even notice I’m on a bike with bigger wheels. Where the bigger wheels become evident and are a huge asset is on the climbs. It feels like the bike has endless traction. In fact, our MTB product manager, Patrick Crosby, commented that “having a 650B wheel and Virtual Link pedaling efficiency is like adding four wheel drive to your bike!”.
The larger 650B wheel size also rolls over trail obstacles like a monster truck rolls over a row of cars at the county fairgrounds. It’s pretty amazing to just sail through technical rocky sections that would usually bounce me around on my 26” wheel bikes. Pat said could really feel how the larger diameter wheel would just coast over roots and rocks that would normally swallow a standard wheel.

Another nice feature of the Sonix 650B is how easily the wheels spin up to speed. On a 29er, as much as I love them, it does take a little more effort to get the wheels rolling and up to speed. The Sonix 650B wheels spun up with little more effort than a 26” wheel.

I’m really looking forward to getting these bikes into production and into dealer’s stores, but that’s several months away. Realistically, we won’t see these in our warehouses until late summer or early fall. Good things come to those who wait…

My sister-in-law kicks butt!

2009-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

A month or so ago, my sister-in-law Jen asked me a question I never thought I would hear come out of her mouth: "Will you take me mountain biking?" I have to admit that I nearly fell on the floor. Given all of the bumps, bruises, flesh wounds, and broken bones my family has seen me get as a direct result of mountain biking, it's not every day that one of them will ask me to take them mountain biking to see what it's all about. And it's because of all my injuries that my brother's stern warning to me right after she asked me to take her riding went something like, "Please don't kill my wife!"

Of course I jumped at the chance to potentially convert another willing soul to the dark side of dirt. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Jen has been taking spin class for the past year or two, so I knew that physically she would be fine. What I was more worried about is how Jen would do riding over rocks, down hills, and up steep descents on the dirt. For those of you how have taken a noobie out on the trail for the first time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a whole other ball game than spin class or cruising the neighborhood streets.

I decided to take Jen to Lake Hodges; it's a fairly mellow out-and-back trail with a variety of terrain. There were still a few little sections that would likely freak her out, but for the most part the trail is beginner friendly.

The day before our ride, I grabbed a Sonix Comp from my demo fleet at work so she'd have a nice, full-suspension bike that would make her first ride more comfortable and fun. We met at the trailhead in the morning and had a little pre-ride lesson about shifting, braking, body position, trail etiquette, and basic riding skills.

When it was clear she was catching on pretty quick, we took off towards the trail. The first 1/2 mile is pavement, so that was no problem. We hit the dirt, and I fully expected Jen's pace to slow as she negotiated the uneven terrain. She took to the dirt like a trooper and kept up just fine. About a mile or so up the trail, there was a stream crossing. I coached her about just keeping her momentum up and looking ahead as she crossed the stream. Again, I sort of expected to see her to slam on her brakes and walk across the stream on the rocks...but she sailed right through it. Right after the water crossing is a fairly steep hill strewn with baby-head rocks...she just motored right on through it all without blinking an eye. Wow, 2 miles in to the ride and I'm already impressed!

We kept cruising along and chatting away. The weather was just wonderful (about 85 degrees), so it was a perfect day for a ride. Ever since the hill we just climbed, the trail has been pretty flat but we had a little descent ahead. Nothing major, but for a new rider, it could be intimidating since there were a few little ruts in the trail. I looked back and Jen was cruising right along as if she had ridden the hill a dozen times before.

As we meandered around the lake, the trail eventually turned to singletrack. A few little ups and down, but really fun. As we approached a little rock/root section, I warned Jen that she might want to walk the section. But I also gave her a little coaching on how to negotiate the section if she wanted to try it. I rode rode down the section and looked back...and Jen rode the section like a champ! I was shocked...I have seen beginners eat it on this section ot get off and walk. Wow!

It was pretty clear that Jen was completely "getting" the whole mountain biking thing. On our way back after the turnaround point, we stopped at the rock section and I made her ride down it a few more times so I could take pictures. We took a slightly different way back to the trailhead that invloved a really steep hill that's not easy to climb. It straight up sucks...I have seen many experienced riders walk the entire thing. Jen made it halfway up the hill before getting bounced off line and having to put a foot down.

We definitely took the harder way back to the trailhead, and Jen rose to the occasion. At one point, as she just sailed down on off-camber descent with some ruts in it, I told her, "You don't even need my advice anymore...you already know what to do!" It was really cool to see someone who have never ridden off-road before take to it so easily.

To make a long story short, we had a great time. Jen didn't crash one time and walked very few sections. She at least tried to ride everything before deciding that maybe it was a little too soon for such advanced terrain. I fully expected at least a couple of crashes...and possibly some scraped-up knees or elbows. But that never happened. I am so proud of her!

So is Jen hooked? I think so. I got a text message from her this morning asking if we can go riding again on February 1st before the Superbowl. She wants to meet at 8am...I can't remember the last time I was on my bike before 9am. But of course, I said yes. It's great to have a new riding partner!

2010...but it's not even 2009 yet!

2008-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

It seriously seems like the bicycle product development cycle just never ends. Just when you wrap up one year, it's time to start on the next year's line. With lead times on mountain bikes in the 6-month range, it really presents a challenge for us since we're more or less planning a new year's line of bikes well before the current year's bikes have even hit dealer's floors. It's challenging for sure.

Most all of our 2009 bikes are in stock and we're wrapping up the 2010 line as I write this. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is seeing bikes go from the idea phase come full circle to production bikes sitting in a dealer's shop. It's also been really rewarding over the course of the eight years I have been employed by Haro to see the bikes get better and better. The 2009 bikes look amazing...and the 2010 bikes are positioned to knock the socks off of the 2009 line! My product manager, Pat Crosby, and graphics guys Pete Demos and Rick Ortiz have just done a killer job on these bikes.

I don't have any spy photos to show you quite yet, but I can give you a little rundown on some of the stuff you can expect to see next year.

We're going to be introducing a 650B full-suspension bike based on the Sonix suspension platform. This will be a 120mm travel bike using a White Brother Magic 650B specific fork. We're shooting to have this bike retail for about $2,600.
The Mary 29er bikes are getting some significant changes. The frame will get a bent top tube along the lines of what we use on the Beasley 650B hardtails; this will help provide some added standover on those beasts. They will also get a whole new graphic treatment...if you like the looks of the Masi steel bikes with classic panels, you're going to love the look of the new Mary graphics.
The Ally series won't get the frame redesign that the Mary's are getting, but they are going to share the same classic panel graphics.
The popularly-priced Flightline series is getting a graphics facelift. I am SO excited about the new look of these bikes. These are going to be the most expensive-looking inexpensive bikes on the market.
We're introducing a $550 fixie with riser bars and all the fashion-forward details the fixie crowd has come to expect.
No more On-One Mary bars on Mary 29ers or Beasleys. We've been using that bar for a few years now, so we felt like it was time for a switch. Ritchey has a new 10-degree sweep bar that's pretty damn cool we're going to use instead.
Think purple...yes, purple. Purple is a hot color this year and we're using in as an accent color on several bikes.
We're introducing a slopestyle-specific 4.5" travel full suspension bike called The Porter...named after our slopestyle superstar, Eric Porter. As this is Porter's signature bike, it's going to be spec'd just like his personal bike...with Fox suspension, Hayes brakes, Kenda tires, and a slew of Gravity components.
The Shift bikes get a new frame...this frame is lighter and sleeker.
Due to recent price increases, we're bringing in some new sub-$300 Heartland comfort series bikes with entry-level spec so people will still be able to buy a comfort bike at an entry-level price.

So there you have it. All the news you can use about our 2010 line. I'll be sure to post some pics of the new graphics and frames soon. In the meantime, you'll just have to rely on that vivid imagination of yours.

Happy trails...

I don't know you, but I hate you.

2008-12-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

Consider this scenario:

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. You and your friends just got with an epic ride on one of your favorite trails. There's a mixed bag of banter going on between the group as you change out of your riding clothes, load bikes onto bike racks, and take swigs of beer from the stash of cold ones someone was thoughtful enough to bring along. Pretty soon the random chatter becomes a little more focused as the discussion turns to where we should ride tomorrow. You pipe up and mention, "Hey, I think I'll give John a call to see if he wants to join us."

Your friends suddenly stop in your tracks and look at you like you're nuts. One of your friends says, "Why in the world would you want to ride with John?"

"Well, why not?" You ask, puzzled. "Besides, I don't even think you know John that well, so why would you say such a thing?"

Your friend rolls his eyes and says, "John's Asian. Why would you want to ride with an Asian? We don't want him or any other Asian on our ride."

Flabbergasted by what's just come out of your friend's mouth, you blurt out, "But you don't even know him. How can you say you don't like him?"

"And I don't want to get to know him either," he says. "Besides, we all know that Asians can't ride a bicycle. They aren't real cyclists. They are just a bunch of posers!"

To your horror, the rest of your friends are nodding their heads in agreement with your friend. One of them even goes as far as to say, "He's right. I wouldn't bring John if I were you. You have a lot of other white friends who ride...why don't you invite one of them?"

At this point, you don't even know what to say. Your friends all start to walk towards their respective vehicles, leaving you confused and alone at the trail head.

Of course, this situation never happened. It's a story I just made up. But if this were a true story, chances are you'd be outraged, right? You'd feel compelled to speak out against the bigotry and insensitivity of the situation. You'd forward this story to all your friends and co-workers. You might even demand to know just who these creeps are who refused to ride with someone simply because of the color of their skin and their perceptions of that race.

Although I have never heard of anything like this happening that involved a person, I can tell you that this "bigotry" happens with bicycles all of the time. I hear it at the races and on the trail. I read it in the forums. And since my brand is one of the proverbial "minorities", it breaks my heart. Here are just a couple examples taken from a thread on MTBR.com:

"Why so many Haro haters out there??? I just finished the build of a x7 and I really like this bike but guys on the trails and forums seem to dis the Haro! What is up with that? I don't care as I like my bike but it gets annoying. HARO was the shiznit in the bmx world when I was a kid!!!"

"I have had a bike mechanic comment that my [Extreme]X2's suspension design wasn't "real". I have also had a guy comment that 'it certainly wasn't the bike' the first time I made it up Heart Attack hill at Phoenix's South Mountain."

The biggest challenges I have faced as a brand manager for the Haro MTB line is overall lack of awareness for the Haro MTB line and the perception that Haro MTB line can't be taken seriously since we also make BMX bikes. The awareness issue is turning around thanks to increased marketing efforts in that area. However, convincing some of these folks that Haro does indeed make a legitimate mountain bike has proven to be more of a challenge.

However, I don't want to turn this into a Haro problem. It's not. I see many, many other bike brands..good bike brands...falling victim to the same form of brand bigotry. It sucks. While I have met some of the coolest people ever through cycling, I have to say that the biggest downfall cyclists have as a group is their closed-mindedness to certain brands.

This isn't an issue with brand loyalty. I encourage people to be loyal and become true "fans" of the brands they enjoy. The biggest issue I have is with people who feel the need to bash other brands in the wake of their loyalty without having any direct experience with the brand they're picking on.

Consider this situation:

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. You and your friends just got with an epic ride on one of your favorite trails. There's a mixed bag of banter going on between the group as you change out of your riding clothes, load bikes onto bike racks, and take swigs of beer from the stash of cold ones someone was thoughtful enough to bring along. You say to your group of friends, "I'm thinking about buying a new bike so I can keep up with you guys. I think I am going to go with Brand X".

Your friends suddenly stop in your tracks and look at you like you're nuts. One of your friends says, "Why in the world would you want to buy a Brand X?"

"Well, why not?" You ask, puzzled. "Besides, I don't even think you've ever even ridden a Brand X, right?"

Your friend rolls his eyes and says, "Brand X is a road bike company. Why would you want to ride a mountain bike made by a company that makes road bikes? We don't like Brand X mountain bikes."

Flabbergasted by what's just come out of your friend's mouth, you blurt out, "But you never even ridden one. How can you say you don't like them?"

"And I won't ever ride one," he says. "Besides, we all know that Brand X isn't a real mountain bike company anyhow."

This, sadly, is a story based in truth and propagated by ignorance. Pretty sad, right?

So here's where I'm speaking out against the bigotry and ignorance of this situation. To those of you who participate in this sort of bike brand bigotry, take the time to ask yourself why. Does it make you feel better about the brand you bought? Does it make you feel like an expert? Are you just a hater? I'll tell ya, life is too short for those types of head games. Next time, try giving the person seeking your opinion information based on your experience with certain brands. And if your friend shows up at the trail head on a bike that's not on your "A" list, keep your opinions to yourself. Be grateful he/she in on a bike.

To those of you looking to buy a new bike and are thoroughly confused by all the opinions people have of the brands you are considering, just remember...buy what YOU like. Buy what you can afford. Buy the bike YOU feel will perform the best for you and meet YOUR needs. Take test rides, do your research, and buy what you like...not what people say you should like.

OK, rant over. :)

Haro in Kenya!

2008-11-13T16:21:00.000-08:00

As you can probably imagine, we got a LOT of sponsorship requests here at Haro. I think I could practically fill the bed of my truck up with all the proposals that roll in this time of year.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a request that really caught my eye. Here's the e-mail I received:

Haloo,

My name is Nickson Mwaura and resides from a small town(Gilgil) in Kenya,East Africa. Have been doing mountain bike racing for the past 5 years and have had the national title for two years 2004 and 2005.I recently got a Haro bike V4 SERIES, which I rode at one of Kenya's greatest mountain bike races. The news is it felt so balanced on climbs and descents which resulted in me winning the event in a time record.My query, is it possible to get sponsored by HARO.Attached herewith are some photos of me at the event.

Thanks,

Nickson

I have to admit that I wasn't aware that organized mountain bike races even existed in Kenya, so this was a pretty cool request.

With his sponsorship request, Nickson also sent a race report from the prestigious 10 to 4 Bike Challenge on the slopes of Mount Kenya where he mentioned racing his V4 to a course record. What he didn't mention is not only did he win this race in record time, but he did it after breaking his chain at the beginning of the race.

We decided that Nickson has a lot of potential, so we're sending him a brand-new Flightline Expert to race on and a Haro jersey so he can keep representing Haro in Kenya. One of the stipulations of giving Nickson this support is he must give his V4 he's riding now to a fellow racer who is in need of a new bicycle or to someone who would like to start racing mountain bikes but is unable to because they cannot afford a bike.

Once Nickson receives his bike, we'll be posting more pictures and his future race reports.

Here's a little more information about Nickson:

Name: Nickson Mwaura

Age: 27

Birthplace: I was born in a small town in Kenya called Gilgil

Years mountain biking: I have been mountain biking for 5 years now

Profession: I'm a second hand clothes dealer in my home town. I'm also involved in volunteer jobs ie conservation. We(my team) recently took part in a self sponsored tree planting activity in a town far away from my town where we have had mountain bike races since the year 2000.

Goals: My goal in biking has been to improve both in standards and performance and to once ride in the international scene among other world top mountain bike riders. My goal in life has been to be successful in whatever I do and to become a mentor to whoever may want to follow in my line. I have been thinking of what i can give back to mtn biking and how I can improve the levels of competitive mountain biking in my country.

Check out the zebras in the background of this photo. How often do YOU get to ride among zebras?

(X-Post from Haro Bikes)

Send this man a bike that fits...

2008-11-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

I got a good chuckle out of this picture. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail with "Send this man a bike that fits" in the subject line. Here's the message that followed:

"44 looks like a bear on a unicycle.

Send this man a free Masi coffee house bike, L or XL size/ throw in a pump if you've got one laying around (his rear tire looks a little flat).

Here's his address:

1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC

Ship it Jan 10. He doesn't move in until 1/20/09..."

Come on Trek...you can't do better than this for our President-Elect? I mean, I didn't vote for the guy, but he at least deserves to be riding a bike that fits.

Mr. President-Elect Obama, if Trek won't set you up with a bike that fits, please let us know and we'll send you either a nice Haro Metro bike or Masi Caffe Racer. And we'll also gladly send you a pump so your secret service guys won't be fixing so many flats for you.

ODDE is history

2008-10-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

The first annual Interbike On Dirt Demo East is officially in the history books. Held October 21st and 22nd at Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI, this event was about as far on the East Coast as you could possibly get.

I have to admit that given the fact that this was the inaugural event and the list of suppliers attending was a bit on the short side as compared to its sister event held during Interbike Las Vegas, I really didn't didn't know what to expect from ODDE.

There was only one way to find out, so Tim "Masi Guy" Jackson, James Ayres (our Eastern Regional Sales Manager, and I made the trip out there. Luckily, we didn't have to drive the rig out East like we originally thought we were going to have to do...we were fortunate to secure the services of rig driver extraordinaire, Shannon Troglia. Shannon's a former BMX pro who makes his living driving and setting up for events like this, so it was so nice to have another crew member who was familiar with the drill.

We had a fairly early wake-up call for the first day since we had bikes to unload and get the pit area all set up for the dealers who would (hopefully) be flocking to the event. The event started at 9am...and unlike the On Dirt Demo held in Las Vegas, there were not the busloads of people salivating liked caged tigers waiting to bust through the gates to get to the bikes they wanted to demo. But nonetheless, even though the event got off to a slow start, the crowds started to build by about 10am or so...and pretty soon we were shuffling bikes in and out of the booth.

Day One wasn't complete chaos like the Las Vegas On Dirt Demo never fails to be, but it was just busy enough to keep us on our toes and never really let us sit down. Our new Beasley 650B bikes were a HUGE hit...they seemed to go out as fast as they came in. Everyone seemed to really love them; getting the positive feedback on a bike we've worked really hard on to get right was really rewarding.

Day Two wasn't quite as pleasant. It was really cold (like 45 degrees...and by my candy-ass California standards, that's COLD!) and it drizzled on and off all day. Needless to say, we didn't get a ton of traffic through the event so we really didn't send out all that many demos. There was a couple of guys from Upstate NY who braved the weather and took out Beasley SS bikes; when they brought the bikes back, they commented about how much fun the bikes were and headed off to ride more bikes. A few hours later, these guys made a point to come back and tell us that they were awarding the Beasley bikes they rode "Best in Show"...they said they were the best bikes they rode at the event. So that alone made standing in the cold, wet booth all worthwhile!

The biggest difference I noticed with the East Coast crowd as compared to the Las Vegas event is all the dealers seemed much more focused on what they want to accomplish. Most all of the dealers we spoke to had some sort of an agenda. Some weren't happy with one of their current brands, so they were exploring their options. Some were already Haro dealers who wanted to try what they just put on their preseason orders. Some wanted to meet their respective sales reps to see the line. There seemed to much less of the "joyriding" you often get at the Las Vegas event.

It goes without saying that the venue at Roger Williams Park was beautiful! The park is huge with lots of greenery, lakes, and gardens. The demo trail loop was short, but really fun. Having a shorter loop like this one was nice since it kept the bikes flowing in and out of our booth nicely.

I'm hoping more suppliers support ODDE next year. I'm sure many took on a "wait and see" approach where they'll wait to hear some feedback on the first event before committing to it next year. Everyone from Haro that attended felt like we got good value out of the event, so we'll likely be back next year.

I'm also hoping that Interbike will possibly consider moving the event to an earlier date so we can be a little more guaranteed of better weather. The second day of the event was poorly attended; I think the crappy weather played a big role in that.

Overall, I was really impressed with ODDE and I'm glad Haro could be a part of it. We'd like to extend a big "thank you" to all of the folks at Interbike for all of your hard work! (And I'd like to personally thank you for the really cool special ODDE/Interbike wool jersey made by none other than the great Earth, Wind, and Rider!)

Happy trails, ya'll...

(Below are some pictures taken from around the venue at Roger Williams Park)

Heartland Love

2008-10-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

It's not all that often that people take the time to review a comfort bike, so I was nonetheless intrigued when my co-worker Tim "Masi Guy" Jackson, forwarded me a review that somebody wrote about their Haro Heartland Express LE.

The post came from a blog simply called "Jon's Bicycle Blog"...so I would assume the owner of the Heartland Express LE is named Jon. Jon's relationship with his Heartland Express LE started when he decided he needed what he described as a "Florida Bike": a bike he could do decent mileage on, was zippy, and was comfortable. Based on his love for his Masi Gran Corsa, Jon decided to check out what Haro had to offer (for those of you who don't know, Haro and Masi are "sister" brands...we share the same ownership and same building). After doing his research, Jon headed to one of our dealers called The Energy Conservatory where he purchased his Heartland Express LE.

Jon goes on to describe his first ride about his Heartland. He set out for a quick 10-mile ride without any water, tools, or tubes. As he headed down the Pinellas County Trail, he soon discovered that he was doing more than just cruising along on his new comfort hybrid, we was flying along at 20 mph. As he continued along at his brisk clip, thoughts about being "deceived" by his perception of his Masi road bike entered his head. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd be able to pedal so smoothly, quickly, and comfortably on a comfort bike. He pedaled onward until he realized that it would be getting dark soon, so he reluctantly turned around and pedaled home, basking in the "I love my new bike" glow.

At the time he wrote the review, Jon had put on over 500 miles on his Heartland Express LE. In his own words, Jon says, "And I still love the bike. 500+ miles later, it’s my weapon of choice here in Dunedin. It’s not comparable to the Masi, but that’s not its purpose. I can roll out, do 20 miles, and roll home, or roll into work and back. Or just pick up groceries, or toss a tent in the saddlebags and head out to camp".

I couldn't have said it better myself.

It's great to hear feedback this good about a bike that we put a lot of effort in "getting right". Since the comfort category represents a large chunk of Haro's business, we really wanted to make sure the new Heartland series was spot on. We looked at lots of different comfort bikes and examined what other manufacturers were doing right and what they were doing wrong. We looked for ways to improve the common comfort bike. In fact, we even went as far as purchasing a very popular comfort hybrid that one of our competitors makes just so we could analyze how it rode. The brand will remain nameless, but underneath the flashy looks and big brand name was a bike that had such poor handling, it's a wonder anyone buys them.

Once we had done all of our homework, product managers Pat Crosby and Wayne Doran set off to make what we feel are the best darn comfort bikes on the market. Here are just a few of the things that make Heartlands superior:

We steepened up the head angle so the rider wouldn't feel the dreadful "wheel flop" our competitor's bike had.
We got the seat angle right...it's just slack enough to be easy on your back, but not so slack to where you can't pedal efficiently. The super-slack seat angles that some of our competitors use that put your feet too far in front of you just isn't efficient. Once you start to pedal up any sort of an incline, you'll see why.

We welded the seat stays higher up on the seat tube; this provides a better platform to mount racks and child carriers. We noticed many of our competitor's bikes welded their stays too low on the seat tube, making rack mounting difficult or impossible.

We added extra water bottle cage mounting holes: 2 pairs on both the standard and step-thru frames. Having an extra mount is nice if you want to mount an extra bottle for longer rides, lighting system, or a tire pump.

We use sealed bottom brackets and cassette rear hubs for longer life and less maintenance.

We use nice tall bars to put you in a comfortable, upright riding position.

And above all, we use the most comfortable seats and grips we can find.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. I guess one of the points I'm trying to make is we're not all that surprised that Jon loves his Heartland Express...a whole lot of "love" went into making those bikes.

So Jon, if you happen to read this...thanks for the kind words and taking the time to write up a nice review of your Heartland Express LE. And for the record, the Haro MTB and Asphalt line does have a Tim Jackson...that would be me. I just don't blog as much as I used to. But who knows...that just might change here real soon.

Happy trails, ya'll...

Jon's Heartland Express LE

Just a few of my recent "peeves".

2008-04-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

We all have our little pet peeves. Sometimes pet peeves are with us for life. Some just come and go. Right now, the top three things that really frost me (in no particular order) are:

1. Bike dealers who continue to drink the Trek (and Specialized...but not to as big of a degree) Kool-Aid despite the fact that they get bikes rammed down their throats they don't need or want, open competing dealers a stone's throw away, and threatening dealers to pull their dealership if they don't kick brands X, Y, and/or Z out of their store.

2. My neighbor, who despite being a really smart gal, is allowing her normally indoor cat roam the neighborhood in effort to get it pregnant so her 10-year-old daughter can witness "the miracle of birth". Huh?!? Why do smart people do dumb things? With our local shelters filled to their respective brims with homeless cats, this is one of the most irresponsible things I've heard of lately.

3. Trail poachers! Yes, it seems like every trail system has them. One of my local trails, Lake Hodges, was ravenged by the fires this past October. It was closed for a few months, but is now re-opened for the most part. There are a few trails that have remained closed due to the sensitivity of the areas the trail passes through. At every trail entrance around the lake, there are signs that make it very clear that the trails will remain open while the landscape heals if...and only if...people stay on the designated trails. If people don't respect this, the trails will be shut down.

The trails that are closed are clearly marked that they are closed. So what do people do? They just make a new trail that circumvents the "closed" signs 10 feet down the trail. Or, they just hop over the caution tape to access the closed areas. This is evidenced the many tire tracks you see going right on past the closed signs...right over the caution tape in some cases. I tried to take a couple of pictures of this, but they didn't come out all that great.

What's up with this poaching BS? Do the rules apply to everyone but you? Do you have such little respect for the fragile environment and your fellow riders who might lose Hodges as a trail system because of your selfishness? Last weekend, I saw a couple guys go around the closed signs and ride away on a closed trail. Lame.

The signs at the trail entrances that mandate people stay on the designated trails also ask all trail users to help educate others about the importance of staying on the trails in effort to ensure we are able to keep riding there. So consider this doing my part: To everyone who rides Lake Hodges, stop poaching the trails. I enjoy riding out there as do many other people...please don't allow your selfishness to ruin access to this area for others. It's just not worth it. Stay off the closed trails. When the park rangers see all the tire tracks on trails that are closed, it makes all mountain bikers as a group look bad. Have some respect. Thanks for listening.

On a more positive note, I met a few cool guys out there at Hodges on Saturday. One was on a Xeon S (and loves it), one has a Xeon S on order, and the other was considering upgrading from his Iron Horse soon. Very cool! Thanks guys!

Ciao for now!

Hello to an old friend

2008-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a little time with an old friend...my Haro Xeon. I'm not really sure why I haven't ridden this bike in what seems like ages, but it certainly had a thick layer of garage dust on it along with a couple of not-quite-flat-but-close tires.

When go to take a ride, it goes something like this: I walk out to the garage and stare at the bikes on the wall for a few minutes. Then I decide which bike I feel like riding based on whatever trail I plan on going to.

This morning, I actually picked the super-sonic pink Sonix off of the wall, but discovered the front brake needed to be bled. OK, I'll bleed the brake. After pouring a bunch of mineral oil into the caliper and watching it flow through my little makeshift bleed kit hose after a series of lever pumps, I closed the bleed valve and capped off the resevior only to find that brake fluid was seeping out under the cap. After opening the resevoir back up, I found that the seal was roached.

Since I sort of value having a front brake, I had no other choice but to choose another bike. I've been spending a ton of time on either "big wheels" (650B or 29er) and my road bike, so I really wanted to ride 26" full-suspension. My trusty Xeon is the only other squishy bike I own at the moment, so off the wall it came and went straight on to my roof racks.

I headed out to Daley Ranch; a nice little trail system about 30 minutes south of me in the foothills of Escondido. Sure, a 6.3" travel bike is a bit much for those who are familiar with Daley Ranch, but there aren't too many 6.3" travel bikes that climb as nicely as a Xeon.

I can honestly say that I had forgotten just how much fun that bike is to ride. The Xeon is classified in the "all-mountain" category. A few of us at Haro agree that it's a downhiller's cross-country bike. This bike has admittedly been a bit of a challenge for us...people either "get it" or they don't. It seems that the "lycra set" just doesn't quite understand the slacker seat angle and the longer travel. Those of us who have more of a "gravity " background think this bike rules.

Daley Ranch is sort of mixed bag of climbs (some are particularly nasty), rolling single/double track, and some rutted-out technical downhill sections. What I love most about my Xeon is the fact that it's just so damn comfortable in wide variety of terrain and riding conditions. Even though it's been a couple of months since I've ridden a squishy bike, I felt right at home on my Xeon. I was having so much fun on the bike, I ended up riding far longer than I had anticipated. That's OK...what else was I going to do? I really didn't have anywhere I had to be, so I might as well just ride.

During my drive home, I kept thinking about how nice it was to visit my "old friend" and enjoy a nice ride. I think my Xeon will be seeing a lot more of the trail in the very near future.

Happy trails.

Don't just exist. Live.

2008-04-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Don't say I didn't warn you...this post has nothing to do with bikes. But that's OK...it's my blog so I can say what I want, right?

Sometimes life deals you a bad hand. Sometimes, life deals you many bad hands within a relatively short span of time. When you get dealt a series of bad hands at the poker table in Las Vegas, you just stop playing...but life just doesn't work that way. You can't just walk away from your bad hands and stop playing. You must stay in the game.

Sometimes I feel as if I have been dealt a few bad hands over the past few years. Just like that figurative poker table in Las Vegas, I chose to just "walk away" from the game in an emotional sense. My lack of blog entries over the past several months has been one of many by-products of this withdrawal.

Several events have contributed to me sort of "waking up" to the fact that I need to be playing the game of life just a little differently. I've realized that nobody is going to hand over the good stuff in life on a silver platter...you have to make the good stuff happen for yourself. Visualize it. Commit to it. Make it happen. Don't wait for someday...ever notice that "someday" never happens? I have. Carpe diem...seize the day.

I'm finally realizing that life's big rewards aren't easily attained without taking a bit of a risk. As a society, we spend entirely too much time worrying about trying to look good or avoid looking bad. Sometimes, you just have to be willing to look like a complete jackass from time to time. It's the only way we grow.

So the horse bucked me off. That's OK; it happens to all of us from time to time. I'm ready to get back on and ride it again. There's a real difference between existing and living. When you merely exist on this planet, your life runs you. When you live, you run your life. Don't just exist. Live.

It's time to ride.

Just a few pics from today's ride.

2008-04-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today I did something I haven't done in a while: went for an afternoon bike ride. I usually ride during my lunch break at work or in the mornings on weekends. I used to ride as often as I could after work once Daylight Savings Time hit...I just love the low sunlight plus it sure beat just going straight home. For whatever reason, I've sort of fallen out of that post-work ride routine...but today I feel like I have fallen in love with it all over again.

This wasn't an epic ride my any stretch of the imagination; just a short 1.5 hour cruise on my Beasley SS at Lake Hodges. It felt great to get out there and enjoy some time on the dirt. Something tells me I'm going to planning far more post-work rides in the coming weeks.

I did manage to remember to take my camera along with me, so I snapped a few pictures. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the holiday with your family and friends. Hopefully, your celebration involves getting on your bike. If you don't celebrate Easter, just go out and celebrate life!

I'll try to post some bike-related stuff next week.

Cheers!

(I took this photo at Borrego Springs a couple of weeks ago...the wildflowers were unreal!)

Just sexy Beasley images and nothing more.

2008-03-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

A "gift" from the fires...

2008-03-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

The October wildfires were indeed a tragedy for nearly everyone in San Diego. I feel fortunate that the flames only came within about 2 miles from my house. So many others were not as fortunate.

If there's any good that has come out of the fires, it's the fact that the charred hillsides are starting to green up...and the wildflowers are in full bloom on them! It's sort of like a little gift left behind in the wake of destruction.

This photo was taken at Lake Hodges in Escondido, CA. The day the fires started, I was sitting in the middle of the lake in my kayak enjoying an afternoon paddle. At that time, the fires were miles away. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that about 12 hours after I pulled by boat out of the water, the fires would have completely surrounded the lake and would continue racing westward.

It's hard to believe this hillside was a blackened, charred mess just weeks ago.

Beasley 650B First Ride Impressions

2008-03-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been almost 6 months since my last post. Who knows, it may be 6 months until I post again...I suppose only time will tell. :)

About 6 months ago, I wrote about a test I did with 2 of our Xeon bikes...one equipped with 650B wheels and the other equipped with stock 26" wheels. At that time, our line of 650B bikes were little more than lines on paper. Over the past several months, it's been really rewarding to see our 650B bikes evolve from an idea into flesh and blood...err, I guess rubber and steel would be more accurate. Albeit a small line consisting of just two bikes, I'm proud to say that our Beasley 650B bikes are now a reality and should be available this summer. We had hoped they would come to market a bit sooner, but longer-than-expected factory leadtimes just won't make that possible.

Now that our sample bikes have been photographed for our Spring catalog and have been presented to our sales force at our Spring Launch sales meeting, I finally had the chance to take one out and get it dirty. Product Manager Pat called an early "dibs" on the 1 x 9 which was just fine by me...I really wanted to ride the SS. After pedaling it around in the parking lot, I could tell the 32/17 gearing was going to be a little tall for my outta shape ass. I have admittedly chosen riding my motorcycle or going for a hike over a bike ride on more than a few occasions lately...plus the weather hasn't been all that great over the past several weeks. Excuses...excuses....

Anyhow, I headed out to a local trail system I knew would be singlespeed friendly, the Santa Rosa Plateau up in the Murrieta/Wildomar area. No gut busting climbs...no super gnarly descents...just nice rolling singletrack that flows through a beautiful series of meadows. Perfect for a maiden voyage aboard the fully-rigid steel Beasley SS.

I really didn't know what to expect...whether this bike would feel more like a 29er or a 26" wheel mountain bike. I was hoping that it would live up to what most people say about 650B MTB's...that you get many of the same benefits of big wheels without the big 29" wheel geometry. I'm pleased to say that the little Beasley SS lived up to those expectations. Don't get me wrong...I love my 29ers. But for a "little" person like me (at 5'7"), a 29er is a lot of bike. The Beasley didn't feel like such a big bike...it felt very nimble and quick, yet very stable. Just like a 29er, it climbed with what felt like infinite traction, cornered with stability, and rolled over trail obstacles with ease.

The fork is my favorite part of this bike...it's beautifully made and it's as stiff as hell. But much like the rigid forks on my 29ers, I really wasn't ever left wishing for a suspension fork. Riding rigid really forces you to become a smoother rider. It forces you to pick better lines, relax your arms more, keep your momentum up, and just flow with the trail like water. Only on the gnarliest of descents do I miss having suspension.

The fact that the Beasley is steel also lends to the fun factor...steel truly is real. It yields a ride unlike any other material. It's lively, yet stiff enough so you "feel" the trail. I definitely feel more "one" with my steel bikes, that's for sure. Steel frames also just look great...since you can make frames out of smaller diameter tubes, steel frames look sleek and svelte.

I won't bore you with too many more words, but in a nutshell, this bike rocks. I had a blast on it. Other than the gearing being a little much for me, I don't know that I'd change a thing on it. It steers great...not too fast, not too slow. The On-One Mary bars are perfect for rigid singlespeeds...very easy on the wrists. And unlike some 29ers, I've got plenty of standover thanks to the graceful bend in the top-tube (it's there for a reason).

I sure hope everyone else likes our new Beasley bikes as much as I do. That's sort of our goal...to create bikes that are just darn fun to ride.

I'll leave you with a few pictures I took on the ride today. Enjoy!

Here's to 10K!

2007-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, looks like I just broke 10,000 hits to my blog! I honestly never thought I'd ever get that many people want to read my bike biz blah blah blah. So,my dear readers...thanks!

I'm off to Interbike tomorrow morning. First stop will be the On Dirt Demo for 2 days and then off to work the show for the rest of the week. I'll do my best to post some reports when I can. If you're attending the show, safe travels. And please stop by to say hi!

Happy trails, ya'll!

The 650B Experiment

2007-09-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of months, I have been exchanging e-mails with Kirk Pacenti about 650B wheels. Kirk, who makes some of the nicest lugs on the planet that are used by some of the world's best frame makers, has been a driving force behind the 650B movement and has been a great source of information.

Based on Haro's success in the 29" wheel market with our line of "Mary" steel hardtails and the fact that 29ers just ride so damn nice, I was naturally intrigued by the whole concept behind 650B wheels. With 650B wheels measuring 27.5" in diameter, they are halfway between a 26" wheel and a 29" wheel.

From a manufacturer's standpoint, the real advantage behind this "tweener" size is you can run a 650B wheel on a 26" wheel bike with very few modifications to the frame itself. 29" wheel frames require a whole new drawing with revised geometry to accomodate the larger wheel size. And then there's the tooling costs associated with a new frame design.

From a rider's standpoint, I was really curious to see how a set of 650B wheels would ride. I'll admit that I was hugely skepical of 29" wheels (like many people were/still are) until I rode one. After you throw a leg over a 29er, it doesn't take long to realize the obvious benefits that 29" wheels have to offer. However, 29ers do have their pitfalls (not many, but they do exist). They are a little a little harder to get started from a standstill and they don't really excell in really tight technical sections and switchbacks. Would 650B be the solution?

I ordered a couple sets of Neo-Moto tires from Kirk and 2 sets of the new "Blunt" wheels from Velocity. Based on the rim and tire dimensions we got from Kirk, it looked like this tire and wheel combo would work on our 6" travel Werx Xeon all-mountain bikes without any modifications, so we could start testing right away once we received the wheels and tires. It would be close, but at least we would have to wait for sample frames to be made.

Pacenti Neo-Motos on Velocity "Blunt" wheels.

Last week, it all came together. We got 650B wheels and tires. Product Manager Pat Crosby mounted them up to a Werx Xeon and they fit. Tightly, but we have clearance, Clarence. The Fox Talas fork had about 1/4" to spare between the tire and arch. The swingarm yoke is also tight...about a 1/4" there too. The front derailleur clearance is real tight. Better hope I don't pick up a stone in the tire or the FD will be toast.

Tight!

Even tighter.

Today I decided to do a little test. I took two Werx Xeons out to a local trail that has a little bit of everything on it: climbing, semi-technical descents, switchbacks, flats, etc. One bike had the 650B wheels on it and the other had stock 26" wheels on it. I have to note that although these were both the same model bike, they weren't spec'd identical. One had a Fox Talas while the other had a Fox 32 Float. One was SRAM X.O, the other was new Shimano XT. Both had RockShox Pearl 3.3 rear shocks, which I set up as close to identical as I could.

I took the 650B bike out first. The first part of the trail is an off-camber rolling singletrack section with a few little rocky sections here and there to negotiate. So far, so good. The bike really felt smooth and hopped over the rocky stuff easily. Not much elevation change of any great consequences, but wheels rolled confidently on the small descents and climbs.

As I pedalled along a wide-open flat section, I was amazed at how fast I was going with what seemed like very little effort. Much like a 29er, even though bigger wheels might be a little bit harder to get rolling, once you do get them going, it doesn't require much effort to keep them going at a good clip.

I negotiated a few flat but soft sweeping corners in both directions. The bike felt ultra-stable and the Neo-Moto's hooked up really well. I didn't feel nearly as squirrely as I sometimes do on a 26" wheel bike in these corners.

The true test was going to be the switchback section up ahead. They aren't terribly steep, but they are a bit tight and they tend to be loose from everyone skidding through them on the way back down. On a 26" wheel bike, I rarely have a problem through them, but on my 29er, it's 50/50. Sometimes I clear them without dabbing and other times I'm not so lucky. Today on the 650B bike, I sailed right through them. I'm impressed.

Just up the trail a bit is another uphill switchback I've never been able to clear on a 29er and sometimes I even dab it on a 26" wheel bike. It's a real tight one...almost tighter than 90 degrees with a little wood water bar step right in the apex. Again, sailed right through it on the 650B bike.

After this weird little switchback, there's a fairly steep climb with some loose sections and rocks in it. The tires are hooking up like there's no tomorrow, even in the loose stuff. Am I on a 29er? Hopping up an over the rocks was a breeze. At this point, I hit a few rock gardens on the way back down the hill...again, I'm asking myself whether or not I'm on a 29" wheel. The 650B's are rolling through stuff like it doesn't even exist.

I rolled back down the same switchbacks I just got done riding up, and the bike did equally well on the descent. The most impressive thing was the feeling of control through these switchbacks. Since I went into them with much better stability, I didn't find myself getting squirrely through them and skidding around as much in the loose stuff. It sort of felt good to know I was minimizing the impact on the trail!

Time to give the 26" wheel bike some love. After swapping bikes out at my car, I rolled down the hill to take the same exact loop I just finished on the 650B bike. As I suspected, the 26" felt twitchy and small. On one of the little rock sections in the off-camber singletrack, I actually dabbed...just didn't have the momentum to get through it. The beauty of 650B and 29er wheels is you need FAR less momentum to get through the choppy stuff!

As I cruised along, I made notes of some of the differences I felt. Cornering wasn't nearly as stable. Climbing didn't feel as efficient. The switchbacks were just as simple to negotiate on the 26" wheel bike as they were on the 650B. The technical downhills definitely weren't as smooth.

Overall, my first impressions of 650B wheels are pretty good. Very similar to a 29er, it just gave the bike a nice, stable feeling. The best thing about it was I was on a bike made for a 26" wheel, so I didn't feel like I was riding a stretch limo. I'm eager to get more rides in with the wheels; the first day was awesome. Do I think the 650B wheels will replace 26" wheels? No, but they did make me love riding one of my favorite bikes even more.

It's also good to know that from a manufacturer's standpoint, there's very little we'll need to do with our 26" wheel frames to make 650B's work. All we have to do is lengthen the stays a bit. I don't have a high comfort level with the amount of fork arch clearance we have, so the choices will be to either spec a 29er fork or hope that fork manufacturers will see 650B's as an area of opportunity and provide for more clearance in their castings. As mould charges are quite high for those castings, I don't know that we'll see that happening in the very near future or not.

One last impression I'll leave you with is the overall look of bikes with 650B wheels. They just look so balanced! 29er's often look they are all wheels. I know that's sort of a "chick" observation, but I'd like to think overall aesthetics do play a roll in the function to a certain degree.

Nice and balanced!

So are you curious yet? If you'll be attending Interbike's On Dirt Demo, we'll have 2 Werx Xeon bikes out there set up with 650B wheels. Come on by and take one for a spin. I'd love to hear as many opinions as possible on this to help us decide if it's something Haro should put into our line.

Happy trails!

Interbike...

2007-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

...is just right around the corner! Hard to believe it's that time of year again, but it sure does feel like "that time of year". Man, have we been busy.

I attended Eurobike in Germany a couple of weeks ago with lofty intentions of doing a nice little report each night. Ha! Between a crappy Internet connection and just getting in too damn late each night, it never happened. Heck, I haven't even downloaded my pictures yet.

Going back to Interbike, the preparation for this one has been especially busy for us since we decided to build a new trade show booth. No, not as in"have it built by a trade show booth manufacturer". We are building all 30 x 80 feet of it with our own hands. This has meant days of hammering, sanding, painting, and cutting wood. I think I sanded stuff for about 8 hours straight today! But the good news is it's going to look fantastic. If you are going to attend the show, please come by and admire our hard work. Keep your eyes on Masiguy's blog...he's been taking some photos which I'm sure he'll post.

Anyhow, I think I'll sign off for now. I'm pooped. Think I'll have another glass of red and head to bed.

Ciao for now!

Sneak Peek...Haro Metro Series

2007-08-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! Three posts in two days. I can hear all 11 fans going nuts!!!

I thought you guys might enjoy a little sneak peek of our all-new Metro series bikes. Think flat bar road bike with a mountain bike twist. Huge props to Product Manager Wayne for the killer spec on these bikes and Product Manager Pat for creating the frame drawings. I'm really excited about these bikes...not only are they nicely appointed with nice parts on them but they look awesome. I've got Graphic Designer Rick James to thank for that. Anyhow, three models...Roscoe (MSRP $550), Sanford (MSRP $750), and the Maxwell (MSRP $950). Realistic availability won't be till closer to the end of this year; hopefully sooner. Check 'em out!!!

Roscoe:

Sanford:

Maxwell:

Fun with prototypes!

2007-08-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, one of the things I love the most about by job is seeing ideas come full circle into product...and being able to have first crack at putting prototypes through their paces. It's pretty cool.

We've had a ton of success with our line of Mary XC and Mary SS 29er mountain bikes. The price, look, colors, and spec on these bikes are dialed and people love 'em. They aren't expensive (relatively speaking, of course), but they aren't cheap either so we had a few requests for a down-spec'd cheaper version of the Mary bikes down in the 5 to 6 bill range.

So away we went to accomplish such a feat. The current Mary frames are made of crmo steel and are built in a really high-end factory in Taiwan, so they are pretty expensive. In order to bring the pricing down on these new bikes, crmo was out of the question so these bikes would have to be alloy.

MTB Product Manager Pat Crosby whipped up some drawings based on the same geometry as the Mary frames and voila! Just a few months later, we've got prototypes. Pat wasted no time in getting these babies built up so we could see how they rode. In fact, mine was built and ridden at the local trails all within about 3 hours of the box hitting the warehouse floor. Hey, that's how we roll here at Haro. We don't mess around when it comes to brining YOU cool product.

How'd it ride? Awesome. It's alloy, so it doesn't have that lively crmo ride, but it's lighter and stiffer, that's for sure.

Does this bike have a name? We're leaning towards Ally; she'll be like Mary's little sister. We're hoping to have these bikes dialed and ready for sale in the spring.

Pictures? Of course I have pictures. Just remember...this is just a prototype and won't come spec'd as shown.

Enjoy!

Getting back to basics

2007-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

After a little bit of ribbing from 2 or 3 of my 11 fans and regular readers about the frequency with which I update my blog, it really has had me thinking about why I started it in the first place. My goal was to talk about my job, showcase some new Haro product from time to time, and chatter about anything else related to the bike industry or cycling in general.

Well, it's time to get back to basics and start blogging about what I had originally intended. And a little more frequently, I hope.

The fun starts now....

I'm really not dead (at least not yet).

2007-08-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

OK, OK...I know I don't have all THAT many loyal readers but the few of you that do drop by my little blog-o-rama from time to time have spoken up. Yes, it's time for me to post something. Yes, I need to be better about updating this damn thing a little more often.

Work has just been crazy busy. This is the time of year where we have catalog production, a shareholder's meeting, a couple of sales meetings, Eurobike, and Interbike prep all wrapped up into the time span of a few weeks. Needless to say, when I come home from work, I really don't feel like looking at my computer nor type words into it.

So I'll start off with posting a picture of the latest addition to my bike family: my new Masi 3V. This frame is special since it's made from steel tubing and lugs from "back in the day". Ted Kirkbride, who was sort of Faliero Masi's right hand man during the Masi California project, had some tubing and lugs left over. He and Russ Denny made up some frames for us and I managed to get my hands on one. I'm sure Masiguy Tim will have more to add about the frame story. Damn, this is a pretty bike. Built up with Campy Record Carbon 10-speed. I am SO unworthy of a bike this nice. Big props to Masiguy Tim and my Product Managers Pat and Wayne for helping me build this up. I can build MTB's all day long but I'm a retard when it comes to road bikes, so thanks guys!

The next item of business is it appears I have been "tagged" by Donna at Kryptonite (Thanks Donna!). No spraypaint and/or thugs involved. Evidently, it's a blog thing (which I would know nothing about since I have been so inactive lately). Part of being tagged is telling the world 8 random things about yourself. So here goes:

1. I have recently taken up kayaking. I have never kayaked before, but have always thought it looked like fun. Think maybe I'd go rent one to see how I liked it? Hell no, that's not how I roll. I just went out and bought one. It's a Malibu Mini-X. I love it! Here I am at Lake Hodges:

2. I love to fish. I usually go fishing every weekend. That's actually one reason I bought the kayak is to fish from it. Haven't caught anything on it yet, but I've only fished off of it a couple of times.

3. I am a National Parks junkie. There's a reason these places are National Parks...because they are freakin' gorgeous. I just went to Bryce and Zion in May (went last summer, too) and plan to hit Zion again next month. In October, I'm going doing a road trip to the Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and wherever else the road takes me along the way.

4. I own the coolest cat ever. Tommy rules. God broke the mold when He made her; she's an absolute doll. Even people who hate cats like her.

5. I used to be a kick-ass downhill racer. I was the #1 ranked expert female in the US in 2001. I went pro in 2002, but didn't stick with it for a variety of reasons. I was on the US National team for UCI Master's World's twice. I still race every now and then as an expert. I'm actually thinking about starting to race a little more next season.

6. I'm a former "test model" for Mountain Bike Action magazine. I was on the cover twice (December 2000 and April 2001) and in reviews a total of 4 times (December 2000, February 2001, March 2001, and April 2001).

7. Back before I took up cycling, I used to ride, train, and show horses. And you think bikes are expensive.

8. I embarrassed the ever-living hell out of myself by singing karaoke at a big party (which included most of my co-workers and several other esteemed members of the industry) during the Taipei Bike Show this year. The song? Madonna's "Material Girl". There is video floating around somewhere.

Wow, so there's eight random things. I think I'm supposed to tag some folks and get them to blog about their 8 random things, but I don't know enough bloggers (I can't tag Tim since he's already been tagged. Oh wait, here's one). So my dear and few readers...feel free to play along and consider yourselves tagged!

Ciao for now. And I promise I'll be better about updating more often. Really.

How to put the "S" in "Action"....

2007-07-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

OK, yes, there is no "S" in action, but there's an "S" in lots of other words. But this is a family show, so I'll keep it clean.

Just wanted to share a link with you for two reasons:

1) To prove that I'm really not dead and I do still care about my blog
2) Because this story is just amazing to me from a business standpoint.

Mike and Debbe Simmons own an awesome chain of bike shops here in San Diego called Bicycle Warehouse. Hands down, they are the biggest and best chain in San Diego County, not to mention just plain nice folks. Before I worked in the industry, I used to shop in their stores all the time.

Anyhow, they have been a HUGE account of Specialized's for many, many years, so it really surprised me to hear that Specialized recently dropped them recently. I didn't really know the whole story, but I got it here. Damn. What on earth are they thinking?

I'll probably rot in hell for saying this, but I'm just wondering when some of the big guys like Trek and Specialized will start to play nice in the sandbox with the rest of the kids. When will they stop telling retailers how to run their businesses? Yeah, the world of business can be an ugly place sometimes in effort to stay profitable, but I truly think stuff like this will start to backfire on them eventually.

Can't wait to see the comments I get on this one.

Sea Otter, you are killing me.

2007-07-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

After getting some really great news a month or so back about Sea Otter changing their dates to the first weekend in May, I just got word from a reliable source that those dates have just been moved back to April. Ugh! Looks like I threw out my rubber boots too soon.

The reasons given for the change was the media supposedly told the Sea Otter promoters that they couldn't guarantee as much coverage if the event was in May...and then supposedly Sea Otter got "outbid" by some other event who wanted the facility for the May dates.

Damn.

Send Paris to France.

2007-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Or Africa. Or the North Pole. Or better yet, a deserted island far, far away. Anywhere but here. I know this is completely off the topic of cycling, but is anyone else besides me absolutely disgusted that the Paris Hilton jail sentence/release/sentence is actually considered newsworthy? For crying out loud, it's been getting coverage on both local and national world news. Give me a freakin' break...what is this world coming to? This stupid bimbo isn't an actress, a singer, a dancer, or any sort of an entertainer who has contributed anything at all to society other than her exploits of being young, rich, and blonde.

It would nothing short of a miracle to have the networks cover a cycling event yet they allocate air space to this stupid story. Unreal.

Boo-freakin'-hoo.

Ok, rant over. Have a great weekend, ya'll.

"Hey....bitches!"

2007-06-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, that was the opening line of a request for sponsorship I got a couple of years ago. The rest of it went something like this:

"Sponsor me cause I rule and Haro sucks. All my friends ride Kona's, so Haro needs my help. Write back." (and this was followed by his name, phone number, and e-mail address)

I'm hoping that this request was some sort of a joke written by a kid who got a big kick out of himself for sending in such a smartass request. However, there's also the chance that whoever wrote it was dead serious. You would seriously be surprised at some of the requests that come across my desk at work.

I have to admit that many are very nice and professional. But I also have to admit that the vast majority of these folks expect the moon. The sense of entitlement many racers have these days is nauseating. Damn, you're the reigning sport class US National Champion and you need a free bike because you tell me the exposure I'll get through your results will help sell bikes? OK, I'll get right on that. Need your expenses paid too? OK, here's a blank check...

My friend Eric up in WA sent me a link to a fantastic article on Bicycling's website written by Soulcraft Bicycles owner, Sean Walling. I highly recommend that you click here to read it; you will either get a kick out of it or an education. Personally, I got a HUGE kick out of it because it really could have been penned (or typed...nobody writes anymore!) by my own hand. Somebody FINALLY had the cajones to just come right out and and say it!

One of the main reasons we stopped supporting a big factory pro team is the fact that (in our opinion) very few bikes are sold as a result of a team's or rider's presence at races. For the most part, the only people who pay attention to who wins what race and what bike they are riding are other racers. And I can't think of too many serious racers who are willing to walk into their local bike shop and buy their bikes and parts at full-pop retail based on wanting to ride what their favorite racer rides on. Most want it free or at a deep discount. Some aren't even happy with that. "Oh, you mean you can't pay my entry fees and give me team kits, too?". I have actually had people turn down an offer for a free or discounted bike because I couldn't offer them cash for entries and expenses...and the sad thing is these ingrates weren't pros or even semi-pros. The pros and semi's have class...it's the amateurs who have the worst sense of entitlement.

What many of these folks don't realize is that the state of mountain bike racing is hurting. There's only about 5 pro mountain bike racers on the circuit who are earning a 6-figure salary from racing their bikes. The rest struggle. Many (and this is especially true of some in the women's pro field), are happy to get bikes and expenses...if they are lucky, they might have a bonus program in place with their sponsors. A couple of years ago, I had one of the circuit's top female DH racers approach me (who will remain nameless) for sponsorship after her team cut her; at that point, she was just about willing to ride for bikes and expenses. It's that bleak out there. I would have loved to have accomodated her, but lucky for her, she did manage to secure a spot on a team who was willing to pay her a salary.

I'm sure I'm going to ruffle a few feathers out there, but I think there are some feathers that need it. My goal (beyond just plain bitching) is to just put it all into perspective for a few racer-types out there who feel entitled to free product just because they race. Sure, if we give you free product you'll go tell all your other racer friends how great it is...and then chances are, they too will go straight to the source for the "hook up" instead of buying it at their local shop.

As cheesy as this will sound, if all you amatuer racers want to be more successful at securing sponsorship for yourself, borrow (and modify) a line from JFK...and that's to "ask not what your sponsor can do for you, ask what you can do for your sponsor". Show us what value you bring to the table. Show us how you reach out to your community. Show us your advocacy efforts. Show us you are passionate about cycling and approachable. Show us you want to be an equal partner in our marketing efforts and aren't just looking for a handout. Sometimes you receive more by asking for less.

And for God's sake...don't begin your request for sponsorship "Hey....bitches!".

Happy trails!

So ya wanna work in the bike industry?

2007-06-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance. Haro Bikes is looking for an Inside Sales Rep here in our San Diego, CA headquarters. Like any industry job, you're not going to get rich, but you'll have a lot of fun. Here's the little "want ad" as provided by our Director of Sales:

"Haro Bikes is looking for a motivated Inside Salesperson specializing in BMX/Freestyle but with a solid understanding of other cycling categories such as Mountain and Road. Excellent communication skills to provide customer service to both outside sales force and dealers a must. Position requires strong computer skills and 2-3 years of customer service experience either at retail or wholesale.
Please e-mail résumé’s to: dcerri@harobikes.com or fax to: (760) 599-1237 attn: Sales Position."

That's all I have for now. I promise I'm going to post something slightly more entertaining soon. I've just been so slammed at work that when I get home, I just want to veg out and do a whole lot of nothing (except maybe consume an alcoholic beverage and watch re-runs of Grey's Anatomy).

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

2007-05-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

...But there were a few times during the past week where I could have if I really wanted to.

I recently returned from a week-long vacation to Bryce and Zion National Parks with my mom. We did lots of hiking (probably about 35 miles worth over the course of 5 days) and I really didn't do much bike riding to speak of. I did manage to go over the bars while road riding in Bryce due to a really, really lame rider error, but we won't talk about that.

I did see lots of spectacular scenery, experienced a bit of an unexpected snowstorm in Bryce, and took lots of fabulous hikes. Zion is by far one of my favorite National Parks; I managed to scale the famed (and strenous) Angel's Landing trail for the second time over the past year.

Anyhow, today was my first day back at work and it was, needless to say, crazy. I do have a couple of new posts I'm working on, so I'll try to wrap them up soon.

Ciao!

Zen and the Art of Bicycling

2007-05-18T15:01:00.001-07:00

Somebody sent this to me the other day and I thought it was pretty cool:

ZEN AND THE ART OF BICYCLE RIDING

A Zen master teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they dismounted, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you riding your bicycles?”
The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes, I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back! The teacher praised the student, saying,”You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over as I do.”
The second student replied, “I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path.” The teacher commended the student, “Your eyes are open and you see the world.”
The third student replied, “When I ride my bike I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo.” The teacher praised the student, saying, your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel.”
The fourth student answered, ‘Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings.” The teacher was pleased and said “You are riding on the golden path of non-harming.”
The fifth student replied, “I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle”
The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student and said,
“I am your disciple”

All-new Flightline bikes

2007-05-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog way back about 3 months ago, I posted something about "inexpensive" versus "cheap" and talked about some new bikes we were working on called the Flightline series that were going to replace our popularly-priced V-Series bikes. We opted to give these bikes a face lift and a new name...they just needed some "oooompf". One of the goals I set out to achieve was to aesthetically create bikes that even though they were inexpensive, wouldn't look cheap.

Well, we finally got some of the all-new Flightlines into our warehouses and they are shipping to dealers as we speak. It's been really exciting to see this project come full circle into completion...and I'm even more excited to see how our dealers and consumers react to them. Of course I am somewhat biased, but I think they turned out pretty damn cool.

Here are a couple views of the Flightline Two (formerly V2):

And the Flightline Sport (formerly V3):

And the soon-to-be "it" bike amongst 6-year old girls across the country...one color option of the Flightline 20 (formerly V20):

I don't know, but I think these are some pretty damn good-looking bikes that all retail for less than $400. No more el cheapo-looking tw0-tone paint jobs with motocross-inspired graphics. These have a more sophisticated look to them. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about them.

We'll be posting the entire Flightline series on our website just as soon as they all become available.

Cheers!

Sea Otter Classic...come what May!

2007-05-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

This morning, I got some of the best news I've had in a long time...the Sea Otter Classic is moving to the month of May! May 1st through May 4th, to be exact. Afters years of slogging around Laguna Seca in a veritable quagmire, somebody finally got the hint and said, "Hmmm...maybe we should move this event to a time when the weather might be a little better". To whoever came up with that brilliant idea, all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I remember when Sea Otter used to be in March; rain was pretty much guaranteed not to mention fog, wind, and general coldness. Once it got moved into April, I'd say rain was likely at least one of the four days; wind and cold is a given. Hopefully, by moving the event 3 weeks later, the likelihood of better weather will be far greater.

It would be one thing if Sea Otter was still being billed as a primarily a race event; then you just deal with the weather. That's racing...it goes on rain or shine. But over the years, Sea Otter has been promoted as a festival; boasting a big consumer event, non-competitive rides, and of course, some racing too. For the 2007, the Eurobike folks got involved and it was touted as the one of the largest cycling consumer events in North America.

Since Sea Otter is no longer just a "race event" where the promoters simply say "like it or lump it" when it comes to bad weather, when the focus is on consumers, the event takes on a whole new meaning and must adhere to a different set of guidelines. Much like shopping at Nordstrom or any other nice department store, people are far more likely to shop there when they feel like they are getting good service and having a positive experience. Who wants to go shopping in the mud, wind, cold, and rain? I'd be willing to bet that the weather at this year's Sea Otter kept more than just a few folks at home curled up watching Saturday Morning Cartoons. And taking this a step further to expo vendors, speaking from experience, when the weather sucks and gets all your product wet and muddy, it's hard to see much value in attending.

So to the folks at Sea Otter (just in case any happen to stumble across this post)...thank you for moving the dates for 2008 into a (hopefully) warmer month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather WILL be better and if that's the case, you'll likely see an increase in attendance. Want some more tips on how to increase your attendance? OK, there wasn't anyone here to say yes or no, so I'll give you a few that I came up with:

Ditch the entry fee. OK, parking was free this year, but who cares? Do you know how many groms were trolling around the parking lot begging for unused wrist bands because they couldn't afford the entry fee? Think they aren't valid customers because they can't afford it? Think again. Generation Y (people born between 1980 and 2000) boasts a combined spending power of about $150 billion. Aside from some of these kids, how many people do you think opted not to attend knowing that there would be a fee to get inside the gates?

Get real with race entry fees. I went to Sea Otter this year thinking I'd like to race singlespeed just as I had for the past several years. When you go to Sea Otter to staff a booth, early registration really isn't an option since there are staffing issues that need to be worked out. My race entry fee, combined with the late fee AND the one-day license fee pushed the total damn near $70. I ended up not racing. Truth be told, it wasn't the outrageous fee by itself...I was getting over being sick and the weather was supposed to be bad on race day, but the fee just compounded it all. If the fee were more reasonable, I probably would have bucked up and raced but $70 is a lot of money to shell out. I'd be willing to bet more than a few people opted not to race due to the high fees as well.

And speaking of fees, get real with the expo fees. As you know, you damn near doubled expo fees on us this year. The cool thing about Sea Otter is the fact that you had the little start-up companies exhibiting side-by-side with the big guys. I know of companies who are still in business today who got their humble beginnings selling at Sea Otter years ago. Let's keep it that way! Consumers come to see and buy new things...why disappoint them? If you keep jacking up the expo fees, you WILL price some of these people right out of your event. Speaking for myself, I came damn close to not attending this year because of the increase. When I mentioned to Skip Latham that it was simply not in my budget, he very graciously granted me a bit of a discount to keep Haro's attendance. I hate to say it, but a huge increase in Sea Otter expo space isn't going to be in my budget next year either. I simply cannot justify to my boss why the cost to attend just doubled. Am I getting anything more than I have in years past? No, I can't say that I will. Do yourselves a bit of a favor...take a look at bicycle sales statistics from a reputable industry source like BPSA. You'll see that the cycling industry isn't exactly growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, bike sales are down. Profits are down. Most companies within the industry are looking to REDUCE expenses, not increase them.

OK, well I'm done with my little rant. I hope nobody walks away from this post thinking I hate Sea Otter. I don't. I love the event. For the most part, the promoters have done a fine job at keeping Sea Otter a first-rate event. However, even the best job can still be done better. I'd really like to see Sea Otter remain the wonderful, inclusionary event that it's been for years attended by cyclists of all types, racer or otherwise. Don't give people a reason NOT to attend your event. Moving Sea Otter to May is definitely a step in the right direction. Let's keep on walking, shall we?

Ciao!

Just because it feels good.

2007-05-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Geez,it's been almost a week since I last posted something. My apologies to my 11 fans out there who take the time to drop by my blog and read my ramblings. I've been down with a little bit of a cold which kept me home from work for a couple of days last week, so I've turned in some early nights lately which has kept me from doing much blogging.

Just before I came down with my little case of Bird Flu or whatever the hell I caught, I had the opportunity to initiate one of those little random acts of kindness that Oprah Winfrey and all those other humanitarian types seem to get so much press on. No, didn't build a school for underprivileged girls in Africa or anything like that, but I did give bikes to a couple of deserving neighbor kids.

Best friends Anthony, 9, and Amber, 7, are two awesome little kids in my neighborhood whom I've noticed had been riding these itty, bitty little bikes that were just WAY too small for them. Both of their parents were aware that they had outgrown their bikes and asked me what new ones would cost. With money being really tight for both of these families, the Moms sort of cringed a bit when I gave them a price and said one something about going to Wal-Mart for the $49.95 bike she saw last week. No way. No Wal-Mart bikes allowed in my 'hood.

I told the kids' parents to just hold off for a couple of days. When I returned to work on Monday, I checked our sample bike supply to see what we had on hand. Sample bikes are generally ordered to take photos of for our catalogs and then stripped down because they are pre-production. I was in luck this time...we had 2 little V24 24" wheel mountain bikes in the sample pile that hadn't been stripped of their parts yet...one in blue and silver for Anthony and the other in pink and silver for Amber. Perfect.

I loaded the little bikes up and took them home with me that night. I called Anthony and Amber's mothers and told them to meet me by my car. As the kids walked up to my car, Amber said, "Oh my gosh, look at that pink bike! Whose bike is that?" I took the bike off of my roof racks and joked that it was for Anthony. He blushed while Amber looked amused yet slightly dejected. When I put the front wheel on the bike and rolled it over to her, her eyes got as big as saucers. Then I handed Anthony his bike. After a few minor adjustments to seat height, they were off and riding.

If I had been a smart blogger, I would have snapped a few pictures, but hey, I'm still learning. It was such an awesome sight. They were so cute as they struggled with learning gears and hand brakes (both came off of coaster brake bikes). And Amber, her old bike was this little tiny 20" wheel sidewalk bike, was having some issues learning to turn a bike with wheels much larger than what she was used to. She practiced diligently with this cute little look of sheer determination on her face. It was priceless.

This past Saturday, there was a knock on my door. It was Anthony and Amber; they brought over some "thank you" goodies for me which included a beautiful bromeliad plant, a bottle of red wine, and nicely written thank-you cards. Amber made her card. I have to tell you what she wrote inside because it was so cute:

"Thenk you for the bick. I rilly lik it, it is so ckonterbl. I rily lik it. And it has my favorit coler it is pinck. And I allso love you as a friend. And God loves you to! Love, Amber" (signed with a little heart after her name.

How cute is that?

It felt great just to do something good for someone simply because I could. No, it didn't save a life or cure a disease, but it sure made a couple of little kids really happy. You can bet they will be riding bikes much more now that they have bikes that actually fit them and they aren't hitting their knees on the handlebars. I didn't do it because I expected anything in return; I just did it because it felt good.

We all need more "good" in our lives.

Cheers!

What Brand Managers Do When We're Bored...

2007-05-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

...our imaginations go wild! Thoughts start entering our minds like, "Hmmmm....what if I built up this frame with these funky bars? And what if I put those tires on it? Oh, and how about a set of fenders?". We're combining stuff in our heads that WE think is cool and will look cool in reality. Pretty soon, bike parts start flying around the shop area and an all-new bike is in the process of being born. The good news is it's looking as cool as the images you conjured up in your brain just moments ago. And then you catch yourself asking your co-workers, "Wow, do you think we could sell these things?".

I recently completed a bike project that's been in the works for several months that started out much like that. Well, the boredom part I just made up, but I started dreaming up a funky 29" wheel commuter/pub crawl bike built around our super-successful Mary XC frame. I've been noticing and getting inspired by some of these small builders who have been bringing nichy, fun bikes to market...I wanted to see what people would think of a funky 29er, Haro style.

It started with a Humboldt Green Mary XC frame. I decided since this would be more of an urban commuter bike, a rigid fork was in order. I also wanted gears...there are hills in my area. I went with an "M" shaped set of bars that I thought would be pretty comfy for cruising around town. Then, I found a set of one-of-a-kind handmade wooden fenders on eBay. Of course, you can't have classy wooden fenders and not have a classic Brooks saddle, right? That gave way to leather-wrapped grips (yes, I wrapped them myself) that matched the saddle. I even placed some of the leftover leather bar tape on the chainstay. Other notable cool bits include a Salsa CroMoto stem, SRAM X0 shifters and rear derailleur, and WTB tires and wheels.

I think the end result turned out pretty damn cool. I have to give props to one of our Product Managers, Pat Crosby, for his help with this project. He proved that putting fenders on a bike not designed for fenders is entirely possible!

So I'll stop babbling and let you all enjoy the pictures!

The "Wave".

2007-04-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but it's just been one of those weeks at work. The big push has been finishing up our new line of Metro bikes...and as of today, specs and graphics are about 99% complete. I'm really excited about these hip, urban commuter type bikes; it's going to be fun to see what people think about them. We also have some fun stuff on tap for our cruiser bikes...I know not many people who read this blog are much interested in cruisers, but these are going to offer up something pretty different. So many cruiser companies (including Haro with our Del Sol line) have tried to emulate Electra bikes...and we came to the conclusion that we just can't compete with them. Electra does some pretty damn nice cruisers with loads of personality...and our new cruisers will have a whole different personality. No, I can't go into details at this point, but I can say they have been fun to work on and I can't wait to see some samples.

But enough about work. Let's talk about the "wave". You know the one...it's that little hand gesture you make to other cyclists you pass on the road (or trail). Sometimes it's in the form of a full-blown wave and accompanied with a friendly "good morning" (or afternoon). Or it could be in the form of a one-finger (and hopefully not the middle finger pointed straight up) off the bars wave. Sometimes it's just a simple head nod. I mean, all of us cyclists are a family so we're supposed to acknowledge our brethren on two wheels in some fashion, right?

Motorcyclists, much like cyclists, are a tight-knit family. When you pass another motorcycle, whether it's coming the other way at you or you are passing in the same direction, you wave. Yes, there is sometimes the silly sportbike vs. Harley snobbery where someone on a sporty won't wave to a Harley rider and vice versa, but that's pretty rare. It's just what you do...you give the "wave" to your fellow rider. You're family, after all. I have actually found myself getting bummed if too many riders pass by me and don't return the wave to me.

I've noticed recently that when I'm on my bicycle, the "wave" is becoming somewhat of a lost art. I don't know, maybe I'm just growing more sensitive to it, but it really seems like fewer and fewer cyclists do it. Are these newbs that haven't gotten then memo yet? Just this past weekend, I did 2 fairly long rides and saw lots of other cyclists. Some of the riders I encountered were just plain in the zone or something and didn't even look my way. OK, if you're into your moment, so be it. But the most puzzling folks I came across are the ones (and there were several) who I'd wave to, and they would simply just stare at me as I passed and not return the wave. This behavior seriously had me wondering if I had perhaps forgotten to put clothing on and was riding along naked or something.

I notice the same behavior on the trail when I ride MTB, too. The past few rides I have done, the hikers and horse people have been much friendlier than many of the other cyclists I'd encounter on the trail. The vast majority of the cyclists would just ride by without any acknowledgement at all. Often times, as a result of this lack of communication from some cyclists, trail etiquette suffers. I can't tell you how many times I've been climbing up a steep, technical section of trail only to have someone bomb towards me and expect me to yield the trail to them, without saying a word. What's up with that? Isn't the rider riding up the hill supposed to have the right of way?

Am I alone or do any of you also experience this and feel the same way? Does it seem like some cyclists you see on the road and/or trail just aren't aren't as friendly as they used to be? As cyclists, we truly are a lot like family. We're a tight community bonded together by rubber, metal, open roads, a penchant for pain, and a love for the great outdoors. Just as you wave to the neighbors on the street you live on, isn't it simply a nice gesture to acknowledge the other members of your community who share the same passion as you do? I do.

Regardless, I can rant and bitch about this all day long, but I won't give up in protest. I'll continue to give the "wave" and acknowledge other cyclists I see in my travels. If they wave back, that will make me feel good; validated even. If they don't, no worries. I'll just take satisfaction in knowing that I really wasn't waving at them anyhow. I was merely waving at their bicycles.

Now go ride your bike (and wave at the other riders you see, would ya?).

A car-free state of mind.

2007-04-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

I got the latest issue of Adventure Cycling in the mail at work last week; as someone who really, really wants to start doing some bike touring one of these days, I read this magazine immediately from front cover to back page.

Within the first few pages of this issue, there was a little story that caught my eye: "Carless in the Cowboy State". The subheading boldly declared, "Wyoming initiates unprecedented vehicle ban". Huh? Really?!? This sounds cool! So I read on. The article goes on to discuss that all motor vehicles will be banned from all streets and roads in the state of Wyoming for the entire week of July 16-22. The measure, which won support from both Wyoming Senate and house representatives, was designed to encourage both residents and tourists to use alternative means of transportation to get around. The article stated that Lance Armstrong is rumored to be planning a group ride across the state in support of the measure.

Wow! What a victory for cycling advocates! Perhaps this measure would serve as a model for others. If people are forced to abandon their cars for just one week, then maybe, just maybe a few people would find that riding their bike or walking to work would actually be enjoyable and would continue their car-free commute after July 22nd. Imagine the possibilities!

The article closed with a web address to a website where you could get more information: www.carfreewyoming.com. Of course I had to check this out.

OK, well if you clicked on the link before reading any more of my post, hopefully you got as good of a laugh as I did. Instead of a glorious website rich with details of such an unprecedented step towards encouraging citizens to use alternative means of transportation, I was greeted with a big, bold headline that read, "Welcome fellow gullible cyclists".

Much to my dismay, it was all a hoax. Actually, it was a belated April Fool's joke. I felt so robbed. As I thought about all the possibilities that could have come of a measure such as this...well, if it was actually true, that is.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I began to think about the Wyoming measure from all angles. As a cyclist, I would gladly be forced to ditch the car and ride my bike to work. Like they say, you can't rape the willing. But what about the rest of the population? How would they react? Would they be open to finding other ways to get to work and actuallly embrace using them?

It's sort of like when your parents forced you to take piano lessons when you were 10. When you're forced to do something, it's often human nature to resist it. So as much as I thought that the Wyoming measure was as cool as hell (well, again, if it was actually true), it dawned on me that alternative means of transportation can't be forced onto people. Sure, it might persuade some people to change the way they commute and run errands, but it runs the risk of turning so many more away.

So at a time when gas prices are at an all-time high and our air and environment is more polluted than it ever has been, what is the carrot that needs to be dangled in front of people to get them to leave their cars at home? As we learned at the National Bicycle Summit, there are many measures in place (and not hoaxes I swear...I was there!) that will reward and encourage people to start using differents means to commute.

My hope as a budding advocate (who still has a lot to learn) and as a cyclist is that people will adopt cycling as a means of transportation without being forced to do so. If folks are forced into it, rush hour will have more bar-banging than a AA Pro main at an ABA BMX national.

I just realized that I just got off on a tangent, taking a stance against an April Fool's joke. Well, I hope like me, you at least got a good chuckle out of it.

Happy trails!

Back to reality.

2007-04-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

OK, I've finally simmered down a little bit after last night's post losing debacle. Amazing what a night of good sleep will do for you.

Sea Otter is always a great event in spite of the weather which is usually guaranteed to be cold, windy, and raining. This year was no exception; we experienced all of the above however all I can say is it was yards better than last year's weather where it pissed down rain just about the whole time.

For the Haro crew, the event was a real success since we sent out quite a few demo bikes and people were super stoked on them. Of course the Mary 29ers were the hit of the party; I even got an e-mail from a guy today who ran out and bought a Mary SS this morning based on his test ride. I love stuff like that. Marketing can be such an intangible art form, it's always nice to hear when its successful and drives someone into their local shop to buy a bike.

None of us ended up racing the singlespeed class liked we had planned. I got sick earlier in the week, so combined with not feeling too hot and the nearly $70 entry fee to race (What are the Sea Otter organizers thinking?!?), I just wasn't into it. Masiguy sprained his thumb in a pre-ride trip over the bars (imagine that!!!). And our product guys Wayne and Pat weren't really up to racing, either. So we all stayed in the booth and watched it rain...and rain...and rain.

We did manage to get a couple of nice rides in. The race course at Laguna Seca is truly epic from a scenery standpoint...it's just so beautiful. The rolling green hills peppered with oak trees just seem to go on forever. In certain areas of Fort Ord (aka Laguna Seca), there are hundreds of sheep grazing...between the green hills, the sheep, and cold cloudy weather, I thought I was in Ireland or something. Not that I have been to Ireland to know what it looks like, but I've seen pictures.

It wouldn't be Sea Otter without a ton of vendors and cycling-related stuff to see. I spent a bunch of money at Sheila Moon's booth...she does super kick-ass women's cycling gear. I've heard of her line but never had the chance to actually try it on...WOW, what nice clothing she does. You can bet I'll post some sort of review on her clothing here in the not-so-distant future. I also made a point to go check out the new line of hip urban bikes by Swobo. OK, it may sound as if I'm plugging the competition but that's alright. I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade and the new Swobo bikes are pretty awesome. Sky did a killer job with them. Damn, if I had half the product management skills she has, I'd be happy.

So that, my friends, is a Sea Otter wrap. At least until next year!

Happy trails!

Sea Otter Pics

2007-04-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a nice little Sea Otter report going until I managed to do something to completely wipe the whole post off this little screen. (No..."recover post" didn't work).

Now I'm too pissed off to write it all over again, so I'm just going to post some random photos I took from the event.

We're off the see the Otter!

2007-04-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of the year again...Sea Otter! Must mean it's Springtime. The truck and trailer are loaded chock full of Haro and Masi demo bikes, and we're shoving off tomorrow morning first thing. If you're at the event, please stop by and say "hi", register to win a frame (we've got frame drawings Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), or better yet, demo one of our fine bikes.

Look for the Haro crew (along with Masiguy) on the startline of Saturday's Sport Singlespeed race...you won't be able to miss us. We'll be on the cool, baby blue Haro Mary SS 29ers that look something like this:

Happy trails, ya'll!

What's in a name?

2007-04-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happens when you start a blog. Not only do you find yourself doing a lot more writing, but you find yourself doing a lot more reading, too. And usually that reading is in the form of other blogs as the stack of yet-to-be-read magazines and books on my coffee table will attest to.

One of the blogs I have found myself visiting recently is the Marketing Profs Daily Fix blog. It's got a ton of great marketing-related articles on it by a slew of marketing guru contributors from a variety of industries. In fact, Tim "Masi Guy" Jackson is lucky enough to be a contributor, which is how I found out about this gem of a blog.

The other night, I read a pretty interesting post that really had zero to do with bikes or the cycling industry, but it still managed to hold my attention for longer than 34 seconds. The post was entitled "Store Brands Give National Brands a Run for the Money" and it discussed how many retailers are having great success with their own house or "private label" brands up against the big national name brands. Once considered inferior quality, many private label brands are positioned as high quality, upscale products and consumers are quickly gaining acceptance for them.

This post really got me thinking about society's obsession with brand names. I mean, it's just a name, right? Just a little logo? Or is it? And of course, cyclists are not immune to this obsession. In fact, we are the worst. We are completely obsessed by the lure of that brand name on their stems, bars, saddles, and everything else that can be bolted or stuck to a bicycle in some fashion.

Believe me, there was a time where I was as obsessed by bike part brands as I was by designer jeans back when I was 12 years old. Before I started working in the cycling industry, whenever I purchased a new bike, one of the first things I did was start making a list of which cool aftermarket parts I wanted to buy because lord knows I just couldn't leave the stock bike manufacturer branded parts on the bike. What would people think? I would surely get laughed right off the trail! Images of blue ano CNC'd cranks and yellow powdercoated stems danced in my head, eventually dancing their way onto my bike much to the chagrin of my wallet.

Once I started to work in the cycling industry, that obsession began to fade rapidly. No, maxed out credit cards were not to blame; education was the culprit that killed that sick obsession. I quickly learned that many of the cool parts I lusted over were not made by some bike geek in his garage or in some slick factory here in the USA, but they were made in Taiwan instead. And in addition to this, I learned that many of the manufacturers of these aftermarket parts were all having their parts made in the same factory, by the same manufacturer. At first, I felt a little cheated since clever marketing of some of these factories led me to believe these products were made a little closer to home, but once you figure out that "everyone's doing it", those feelings fade fast.

Yes, there was a day when many of those high-end aftermarket parts were made here and some still are, but the lure of inexpensive labor, less environmental restrictions, and good quality has shifted most of this production overseas. It's just the way that it is. And having been in this industry for several years now, you see just how homogenized that process really is. It's really interesting to walk through a factory in Taiwan and see who's getting their parts made there. In some cases, the products are identical; only the logo changes. In other cases, there might be a minor tweak like a different handlebar sweep or bend that sets one brand's bar apart from another before the logo is applied.

Obviously, there are aftermarket parts which are truly unique. But many are not...only the names (logos) have changed. So what is in a name? This is where I'd love to read some comments from you, my dear readers, on why you choose the aftermarket products you do. Why do you pull the bar and/or stem off your bike that says "Haro" or "Specialized" or "Felt" on it and replace it with something that has a certain brand name on it, but may not be any lighter, better fit, better performing, or better quality than the part (or parts) you just took off? Why do you choose a certain name brand over another? Do you do diligent research, ask your bike shop, or query your riding buddies? Does a particular brand's marketing efforts entice you?

So tell me...what is in a name?

It's a man's world?

2007-04-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

When I first started working at Haro about 6 years ago, the job I was originally hired for was Inside Sales Rep; this entailed mainly taking inbound calls from our dealers who had questions or wanted to place an order for bikes. One of my "fondest" memories from one of my first days on the job was a phone call from a dealer (who will remain nameless simply because I can't remember which one it was) that went something like this:

Me: "Good morning, Haro Bicycles, this is Jill speaking."
Dealer: "Ummmm...hello....uh...yeah, I'd like to speak to one of the guys, please." (referring to my male Inside Sales Rep Co-workers)
Me: "Well, they're both on their lines right now. Is there something I can help you with?"
Dealer: "No, I have a technical question."
Me: "Great, I can help you with that."
Dealer: "No, I'd really feel more comfortable talking to one of the guys."

I was really beginning to get curious about what the hell he wanted to ask these guys that he couldn't ask me. I mean, does it sting when he pees and he's not sure what to do? Is he not sure what the little vent hole in the front of his boxers/tightie whities is for? Or maybe his girlfriend just sprung the "L" word on him and he needed male guidance? I found it hard to believe he had a bike-related question that I couldn't provide an answer for. Not that I know it all, but if I don't know the answer, chances are I can find the answer somewhere.

Quickly realizing that this conversation was going nowhere very quickly while also noting none of my male co-workers were available to talk to this guy, I gave it one last effort.

Me: "OK, the guys are both on their lines, so you have a choice. I can put you on hold until one of them is off the phone, or you can try to ask me whatever technical question you have. I just might have an answer for you."
Dealer: "Fine. I need to know what derailleur hanger a 2001 Extreme bike takes."

Huh? You're kidding, right? Well, obviously that's not what I said to the dealer, amused at the fact that he didn't think a GIRL could handle figuring out what hanger he needed. Without skipping a beat, I looked at my tech sheet hanging on the wall nearby and give him the part number and price. Even though I think he was clearly astonished at the fact that I, a GIRL, even knew what a derailleur hanger was, he placed an order for one.

Believe it or not, that's not the only conversation like that I have had during the eight years I have been working in the cycling industry. Yes, this industry (like the sport of cycling itself) is male dominated. I'm pretty sure men working in our industry outnumber women by about 7 to 1. With those odds most people think that it's a great way for us gals to get a date (trust me, it's really not), but in reality, the fact that we are female presents a very unique set of issues (note that I did not say problems!).

Probably the biggest challenge we face is because we are female, many men don't see us as a credible source of information; especially if the information they need relates to anything technical. Most of us women who have made the decision to make careers out of working in the cycling industry have had to work so much harder than men to prove that we know what we're talking about. We have had to swallow our pride and ask more questions about stuff we don't know about even if to 99% of the guys, it's seen as a "stupid question" that "everyone" knows the answer to. And once we start gathering this precious knowledge, we really need to make a concerted effort to retain it. We have had to study bike spec harder. We have had to make many, many mistakes in effort to become knowledgeable in our field while onlooking guys roll their eyes and mutter something to the effect of "Chicks...". It's often a daunting task to constantly need to prove yourself to your co-workers, superiors, potential employers, and customers.

When I get the chance to swap stories like this with some of my "sisters" working in the industry, we have all had similar struggles, but we wouldn't change it for the world. Nor would we jump ship for any other line of work. Amidst all the funny stories, most of which all have common threads to some degree, there is one observation I have made but it seems like it's rarely vocalized...and that's the fact that none of us want to or expect to be treated any differently than our male co-workers. We've actually grown pretty accustomed to being treated like "just one of the guys"...and the funny thing is for the most part, we really like it. It lets us know that we are somehow on an equal playing field.

So as I sit here an polish off a nice glass of red wine, the purpose of this post is to do nothing but raise a figurative glass to all the women who make a living from this crazy bike industry. Just like any epic bike ride, the trail is often really, really rough, but the scenery, the thrill, and the camaraderie along the way is what great memories are made of, and keep us coming back for more.

So ladies...here's to us!

Hidden Gems

2007-04-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

I just love hidden gems. You know the type...those little things you discover right under your nose you wished you had found long ago. For me, hidden gems usually come in the form of a great restaurant or an eclectic store...but today, the hidden gem I found came in the form of a trail.

The first clues of these hidden gem trails were given to me by a couple of guys I stopped to talk to on the trail a couple of weeks ago while I was out riding my Masi CXR cross bike out at Lake Hodges. These guys talked about this marathon ride they do where they start at Lake Hodges and ride around it, then they head east and ride through the San Pasqual Valley and back, and then turn off onto a nearby paved street (Highland Valley Road) and hit a trail aptly called the Highland Valley Trail, and then back to the car at Hodges.

I knew that the San Pasqual Valley Trail existed, but had never heard of the Highland Valley Trail. So today, since the weather was nice (like 80 degrees), I decided to just make a morning out of exploring these trails aboard my trusty pink Haro Sonix VL120.

I started with the Hodges Lake Trail, which I've done a million times. After I completed that out-and-back trail, I turned east and headed out on the San Pasqual Trail. I'd ridden out just a few miles on this trail before, but never all the way to the end...which was 10 miles out past the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This really turned out to be really fun; flat in the beginning, but it gave way to some grunty climbs and nice downhill singletrack sections. This valley is ripe with agriculture; you pass through dairys (yes, smelly, but still cool), orange orchards, and vegetable fields. One of the greatest things is I really didn't see a soul.

View from San Pasqual Trail looking east; it's small, but the SD Wild Animal Park is in the distance.

Another view looking east. Note the pond in the foreground; I might have to bring a pole back here and try for a big catfish.

View of San Pasqual Valley from the Raptor Ridge Viewpoint.

After ridng the San Pasqual Trail all the way to the end, I turned off onto Highland Valley Road on the way back and went to find the Highland Valley Trail. It was right where I was told I'd find it, and boy, was I eer glad I found it! Although not very long (probably 2 or 4 miles), it was super fun! Lots of rolling singletrack nestled among oak trees; the trail just flowed like water. And again...didn't see a soul on it. Here are three different views from the trail:

When it was all said and done, I rode nearly 40 miles and was out for about 4 hours (hey, I didn't claim to set any speed records!). Needless to say, I'm pretty whooped; 40 miles off-road is a LONG ride. But you gotta love the hidden gems!

Back to Reality

2007-03-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Taiwan and all I can say is that it feels really good to be home. What's even nicer is the fact that I'll be home for a whole 2 weeks before I head off to the next event. Ater being home a total of about 10 days the entire month of February and not much more than that in March, 2 weeks straight is pretty awesome.

Being home means being back in the office; that's not neccessarily a bad thing since there's a lot of work still to be done to finish up our 2008 line. The Metro bikes are coming along nicely; I am really excited about this series of bikes. Spec is done, graphics are in the works, so we should have samples in house in a couple of months.

Jumping back to the subject of Taiwan and the Taipei Cycle Show, I really had a good time at the show. It's much different than Interbike in the sense of it's mostly attended by Taiwanese vendors. After attending the show, it really becomes clear that Taiwan really is the center of the bike manufacturing universe. Accept it folks...the vast majority of bikes and parts are coming is from this part of the world. Some manufacturers still manage to cleverly disguise the fact that their products (or at least a portion of their manufacturing process) are being made in Taiwan. It's really interesting when you tour factories over there and see whose products are coming out of the factories. When I toured factories earlier this year, there were numerous times I saw frames from brands I never knew came from Taiwan. It was very enlightening.

Speaking of enlightening, I thought you all might enjoy some "sneak peek" pictures of one of the colors the 2008 Mary SS frame will come in.

The color is called Carolina Blue; it has sort of a semi-gloss finish to it. I'm really stoked on how this frame color turned out. I think it will be a real winner for us. For those of you unfamiliar with our Mary bikes, these are our line of 29" wheel steel hardtails. Named after the CCR song "Proud Mary" (that has a line in about "big wheels keep turning"), we do both a geared and singlespeed version. They are super fun to ride.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'm going to try and make a habit of writing shorter posts...hopefully I'm off to a good start.

Hasta luego.

Taipei Bike Show, Day 3

2007-03-26T02:42:00.000-07:00

After accidently deleting all my pictures from yesterday, I made a point to go walk around a little bit today so I wouldn't leave the show so empty-handed. Some are re-shoots of some of the stuff I took yesterday, some are pictures of stuff I didn't catch yesterday.

Neat commuter bike with Brooks saddle, Shimano Alfine group, and stainless steel looking fenders and racks.

Here's a pretty cool road bike...I don't know if the strawberries are paint or not, they looked more like decals. The red chain and pedals were a nice touch.

Looks good enough to eat...strawberries and cream!

And here's a cool fixie from Fixie Inc. I saw these guys at Eurobike...they do some sweet stuff. Very simple with nice attention to detail.

Here are some pedals in interesting shapes...plus a more conservative colorful ti one.

Yes, this is a tradeshow booth. Kindshock.

OK, well, I actually need to get on a plane to come home now. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight...or tomorrow...it is a looong flight home.

Happy trails!

Taipei Bike Show, Day 3

2007-03-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day I was supposed to take most of the day to walk the show and take a few pictures of all the cool stuff I saw. Well, I did walk the show and I did see some really cool stuff. Additionally, I saw some really funny stuff which I took pictures of. I also went to the top of Taipei 101, the world's tallest building and took some pictures there. However, I have nothing to show for it because somehow all the pictures I took yesterday got deleted in the download process; and since I choose the option to delete the images off of my memory stick after downloading, they are all gone. I think I may have selelcted the "view images in selected folder" instead of "copy images to selected folder". I am too bummed for words.

So today I'm posting a picture of my cat Tommi. When I was frantically searching my computer in effort to find my missing pictures, I ran across a picture of her and it made me smile through my near tearful state. She's a cutie and I miss her when I'm gone.

Ciao for now.

Taipei Bike Show, day 1

2007-03-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hello out there, bike fans, and welcome to the first day of the Taipei Bike Show. Unfortunately, since I had pretty much non-stop meetings with vendors all day today t0 view new product, I really didn't the chance to take too many cool pictures. I hope to get the time to walk the show a bit today and take some for ya'll.

We did see some neat things that I did get some pictures of. The first was this little electric car. It's just a little one-seater, but it sure is cute. According to the girl working the booth, they have already received considerable interest and orders from Europe for these little cars.

Smaller than a Smart Car!

We also stumbled across this ti frame manufacturer who does some nice work. We just might be chatting with them in the future about doing some work for us about a project I won't discuss at this time, but will be cool I promise. Here's one of their drop-outs:

Sexy...

Not a Haro, but still very cool is this city/metro bike that Giant is doing called the City Storm. Beautiful lines on this bike and very functional with a built in headlight, built-in cable lock, and wide variety of different pannier options for a personalized look. Since we are working on a metro bike project at the moment for Haro, bikes like this are of real interest to me right now.

So there are a few pictures for you to chew on. I'll do my best to get more today.

OK, this is going to sounds like a total chick statement, but one of the things I noticed about this show that differs from Interbike are all of the flower arrangements that the exhibitors have displayed in the booths. Suppliers and family members send flowers with messages of good luck and they are just beautiful. I'll get some pics of those today, too. If you guys don't like them, I know my mom will love them if she ever reads my blog.

Yesterday ended with a really wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant with our good friend Kendall Young and his boss Steve from Ritchey components. We all love Kendall...he's a great guy and is as goofy as the rest of us, so we always manage to have a great time when we all hang out. We spec a lot of Ritchey on both Haro and Masi and have for many years, so he's like part of the family.

OK, time for breakfast and to get ready for Taipei Bike Show day 2.

Happy trails!

Greetings from Taipei!

2007-03-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

I't's that time of the year...time for the Taipei Bike Show. This is the first year I have attended the show, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what it's all about. I'm sure not all that radically different from Interbike or Eurobike, but I'm still looking forward to saying "been there, done that" after the show is over.

It's a loooong flight over here. All in all, my traveling crew and I spent close to 24 hours traveling when you take flight times and layovers into consideration. Long time with no sleep. We got into Taipei right around 8pm; and by the time we went through customs, met up with our driver, drove to the hotel, and got a bite to eat at the McDonald's down the street, I think I went to be around 11pm or so.
Day one was more or less a free day, so we decided to take advantage of it by doing a little walking around the main street outside our hotel. We're at the San Want Hotel in downtown Taipei which is actually pretty nice. Their logo is this funny little happy baby; he's imprinted on everything from the towels in the bathroom to the iron work outside the building.

Very happy San Want baby.

We did a little shopping and just took in the sights, sounds, and smells of downtown Taipei. Taipei is extremely Westernized; the majority of the population speaks English which makes it really easy to communicate and get around the city. We had fun, as you can see here:

Later that afternoon, we made our way over to the Taipei Hyatt for Velo's big gala dinner. Having experienced some of these types of parties before, we arrived a few hours early so we could eat beforehand. I know that seems somewhat rude, but let's just say sometimes the food is really "authentic" and sometimes not terribly appealing to Americans. The Hyatt was adjacent to the convention center where the show is being held and right next to Taipei 101, the world's tallest building.

The gala itseld was really cool; they did a full 2008 product presentation complete with these little Asian teenagers who pranced around in tight clothes and showed the product to everyone.

The food did not disappoint us...we were glad we made that stop to TGI Friday's right before. Some of it wasn't bad, but some of it was well, authentic.

Stella Yu, Velo's lady in charge, is just a little firecracker of a woman. Not only is she one of the most powerful people in the cycling industry, but the woman knows how to party and expects all of her employees to know how to party as well. There were 400 people at this event, and the Velo girls were everywhere, making sure all attendees were toasted. I think all of Stella's employees must have left more than just a little toasted themselves. Here's a picture of the legend herself along with myself and Masi Guy Tim Jackson:

Anyhow, gotta run down to breakfast. Today is the first day of the show, so hopefully I'll have another report and some pictures later today.

Bye for now!

WOW no more

2007-03-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I just got word that the Women's Only Weekend (WOW) mountain biking skills clinic weekend held annually in Big Bear, CA won't be happening this year. I can proudly say I have been a volunteer instructor at this event for the past 7 consecutive years. Many female cycling legends such as Leigh Donovan, Mercedes Gonzales, April Lawyer, Lisa Sher and others either got their start at Women's Only Weekend or have been instructors at some point during their careers.

Tireless promoter of this event Ann Hall, along with Team Big Bear, have made this weekend possible for well over 10 years. At its peak, we had over 300 participants (I think that may have been in 2002, but I'd have to check) who came from all over the USA to attend this special weekend. Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances (some known, some unknown) attendance was down significantly in 2006, so WOW will be on hiatus until further notice.

Many thanks to Ann Hall and Team Big Bear for their efforts in supporting and promoting women's mountain biking over the years! With any luck, the event will be back again in the future...and you can bet that I'll be there as an instructor again.

2007 National Bike Summit

2007-03-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

This past week, I had the chance to live the life of a political lobbyist in Washington DC. Given the fact that I am really not all that much into politics, that entire sentence just seems like a giant personal contradiction!

I was invited, along with my collegue Tim "Masi Guy" Jackson, to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington DC as the guests of the esteemed bicycle advocacy organization, Bikes Belong. I was just one of about 450 attendees from all over the nation who came to learn more about bicycle advocacy issues, be educated on how to lobby Congressmen/women and Senators about our issues, and then take the message straight to Capitol Hill.

The trip to DC was long but thankfully uneventful. After about 12 hours worth of flying and airport layovers, we landed in an unseasonably warm DC. Despite being tired and hungry, we managed to make it to our hotel via the Metro without even getting lost. Off to a good start.

View inside the Metro station

The next day started early as we needed to catch the Metro over to the Ronald Reagan Building/International Trade Center to attend our first day of meetings which started at about 7am. As we walked into the courtyard, it was suddenly very clear that we were indeed in the nation's capitol. The architecture is very much like so many of the other buildings in DC...stately, sophisticated, and powerful. Of course, the interior was equally impressive...lots of glass, metal, and marble. There was even a colorful piece of the Berlin Wall stationed right inside the front entrance.

The first day consisted of a series of "breakout sessions" where you can pick and choose from a variety of topics. In the morning, I chose to attend sessions presented by IMBA. After lunch, I attended a session that discussed the economic benefits of cycling. The day wrapped up with some advocacy training and a recap of the 5 basic "asks" that we were going to be lobbying members of Congress and the Senate for. So what are those "asks"? Funny you should mention it...

Support of the Bicycle Commuter Act. Currently, people who use forms of public transportation such as metro, subway, vanpool, and bus are eligible for a tax-exempt benefit of up to $110 per month from their employers who chose to participate in the program. Employers receive a tax benefit in exchange for offering this fringe benefit to their employees. There is a bill in both the House and the Senate that is seeking to change the way the current tax code is written to extend the definition of "transportation" to include "bicycles".

Fully fund the "Conserve by Bicycling" program. The 2005 Energy Policy Act established a program to determine the potential energy savings and impact of switching certain car trips to bicycle trips. The bill was passed, but the funds have not yet been appropriated for this program.

Preserve bicycle access in natural areas and increase funding for the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program. The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) wants to see alternatives to protecting land that will allow continued access to bikes. Wilderness Area designation does not allow for bicycle access; IMBA supports different designations such as National Scenic Area, National Portection Area, etc. that will offer equal or greater land protection without prohibiting bicycle use. IMBA would also like to see Congress increase Funding for the RTCA program to $12 million. This program's funds are used to restore river and wildlife habitat, develop and maintain trails, and preserve open space.

Join the Congressional Bike Caucus. The more involved members of Congress are with cycling-related issues, the more likely they will be to support cycling initiatives. Currently, there are 140 House members and 16 Senators in the Caucus.

Support the US Bicycle Route Network. There are plans in the works to establish a series of interconnected urban/rural bike routes thoughout the nation similar to those being created in Europe, South America, and Canada.

Whew! That's a lot of issues and a lot to learn in one day. On that note, we were released for the day with instructions to go back to our hotels, read up on these issues, and be prepared to discuss them with the Congressional and Senatorial staffers we met with the next day on Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill!!! How many people can say they've lobbied on the Hill before? Pretty cool.

As smooth as the first couple of days went, getting to Capitol Hill the next day was a complete cluster. A fire on the Red Line of the Metro (our line) shut the damn thing down moments before we were walking into the Metro station. Two hours later, we arrived at our destination but missed breakfast and the opening speakers. But, the show goes on as we immediately got into our little groups organized by state and hit the halls. The first few meetings were unscheduled and what are known as "drive-bys" where you stop by the Congressman/woman's office and ask to meet with one of their staffers (rarely do you ever get to meet with the Congress member). With apropriations meetings happening on that day, we pretty much struck out each time; not one staffer was available. In cases like this, we briefed the receptionist about who we were, what we were asking for, and asked to leave behind some information.

Later that afternoon, we had meetings scheduled with staffers from both Sen. Barbara Boxer's and Sen. Diane Feinstein's offices. We met with Sen. Boxer's staffer in one of the Senatorial hearing rooms. It felt so official and made you wonder what types of other hearings happened in that room over time.

Sen. Boxer's staffer, Ken Kopocis speaks to the CA group.

For the meeting with Sen. Feinstein's staffer, we actually got to meet in her office. It was pretty cool to look around the office and see pictures of her with other politicians and family members. It really made you feel like you were seeing something not too many other people have had the fortune to see. Sen. Feinstein's staffer, Kit Batten, was really cool. She was a cyclist herself and seemed to be really interested in what we had to say and the issues we were presenting.

After the 2 meetings with the Senator's we had a really nice reception in the Russell Senate Office Building Caucus Room. Typical fare like beer, wine, cocktails, and appetizers...only all the trashcans in the room had were imprinted with the official US Senate logo on them. Very impressive...and the food wasn't bad either.

Reception in the Russell Senate Building

And on that note, that's a wrap on the Summit. After we had our fill of wine and little snacks, we headed back to the hotel (in the RAIN) so we could pack our bags to head home early the next morning.

I can definitely say I walked away from this event with a much better understanding of the way our government works. More importantly as it pertains to my industry and my passion for cycling, I came away with the desire to be a better cycling advocate both personally and professionally. I will save those particular topics for another time as I have already taken up so much of your time with this hideously long post. I will leave with with a few random pics from the trip, including one of me in a suit. And that, my friends, is something you don't see very often so you better take a look while you can.

Cheers!

Cyclocross Sunday!

2007-03-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, 2 posts in 2 days! Aren't you lucky. I guess I'm starting to really get into this whole blog thing. I'm sure it will be a lot more fun once I get some more readers; right now I think Tim "Masi Guy" Jackson is my only reader. And I'm not real sure if he reads because he's actually amused by my writing or if he simply just feels obligated to do so since he's been bugging me to start a blog for at least 102 years.

I really can't call today an R & D day because today's ride was a cyclocross ride at Lake Hodges on my Masi CXR. I have nothing to do with Masi other than just giving Tim grief on a regular basis. Much like singlespeeding, up until about 6 months ago, I thought cyclocross bikes were pretty damn silly. I mean, who would want to ride what's essentially a road bike on dirt? Well, my feelings changed pretty quick when curiosity got the best of me and I decided to kidnap one of Tim's demo CXR's and take it on a lunchtime ride at a nearby park that used to host some 'cross races. I had a complete blast. Much like a road bike on the pavement, the offroad speed is addictive. The CXR is light, nimble, and so much fun. Needless to say, I have added yet another bike to the stable by acquiring a CXR.

Masi CXR with flowers...yes, it's a chick thing.

Now I don't claim to be an expert on cyclocross bikes by any means. Hell, I have never been to a cyclocross race (that may change now that I have this bike). But I'd like to think I know a thing or two about having fun...and this bike is just plain fun. Sure, there are certain sections of rocky trail where it beats living snot out of me, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Lake Hodges is pretty flat and non-technical with lots of fireroad sections, so this bike is perfect out there. In fact, I had so much fun ripping around the fireroads, I even took the longer spur out through the San Pasqual Valley making the whole ride about 20 miles.

One of the reason why I was feeling so energetic may have been because my butt wasn't killing me for once. You would think 10 years of cycling would cure that, but it hasn't. I have the worst time finding saddles I like. Anyhow, I decided to try one of the Axiom H-Spec Race DLX saddles that my good friends up at Norco Bikes gave me (Norco distributes Haro in Canada and also distributes Axiom components).

Axiom H-Spec Race DLX

I was skeptical...like I am everytime I try a new saddle...but ended up being pleasantly surprised. This saddle is pretty sweet. Axiom has engineered their line of saddle to be use specific rather than gender specific. After examining different riding styles, they found that different riding styles and positions often creates different pressure points. For this particular saddle, the H-Spec Race DLX, this is a road performance saddle designed to be used on that type of bicycle where the rider tends to sit in more of an "aggressive" position, rather than a relaxed "upright" position. After 20 offroad miles on this saddle, I didn't have any chafing or other indications of pressure points.

For things that go bump on the trail/road.

The H-Spec Race DLX also has these unique elastomer bumpers that the rails slide into. It really seems to help soften the blows a bit. And this saddle weighs in at a respectable 280 grams. Good stuff.

I also met up with some cool folks on the trail; a group of guys, 2 of which were on Haro bikes. I think it may have been a father and son with Dad on a Shift R5 and son on an Extreme X6. They commented on my Haro jersey and started raving about thier bikes. Nice! I love stuff like that. Had I actually been using the grey matter between my ears, I should have taken their picture and put it on our website and here on the blog. I think I will make a point to carry my digital camera with me on all my rides just for stuff like that...doing a "fan sightings" section on the Haro website might be pretty cool.

Allrighty ya'll. Enjoy what's left of your weekend before the workweek starts all over again.

Happy trails!

Boy, I really love my singlespeed (Or Saturdays are R & D days, Part One)

2007-03-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

I really, really dig my Mary SS singlespeed. Not that this is any big relevation or anything, but the poor thing has been out of commission for several months so I haven't been able to ride it. I finally got her put back together this past week, so I took out to Daley Ranch this morning. I can honestly say I had forgotten just how much I love this bike!

Ain't she purdy?

Several years ago, I was definitely one of those people who said, "Now why the hell would I want to ride a bike with just one gear?". I had heard people rave about how fun singlespeeds were, but still I resisted. I had friends who started riding them, many of whom ditched gears in favor of owning just singlespeeds. I thought they were nuts. Finally, one day my friend and co-worker, Wayne Doran (who is now one of the MTB Product Managers I work closely with), convinced me to just borrow his and give it a shot. I caved in, and became instantly hooked. As they say, the rest is history.

Singlespeeds are awesome because they are just so simple. Cosmetically, they have such a clean look. Fewer cable housings, less crap on your bars, and just a single gear graces the drop-out area at the rear of the bike. Performance-wise, it sort of makes you feel like a kid again. No gears to fuss with...you just ride and enjoy. Since there isn't a rear derailleur on the bike, noisy chainslap and derailleur slap against the chainstay is non-existant. It's so quiet.

Singlespeeds also rule because no matter what, you look like a hero on the trail. If you don't make it to top of some gnarly, technical, steep climb and are forced (or choose) to hop off and walk up, you just smile and tell your riding buddies, "Hey, I'm on a singlespeed". Or, if you happen to be in the mood to completely blow yourself up and make it to the top of said climb, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "Yeah! And I did it on a singlespeed!".

Today was also sort of an R & D ride as I decided the throw a host of new parts on the bike last week. Most notable was the Bontrager Switchbalde 29er fork.

Mmmm...carbon.

I really liked it. 29ers have this magical way of smoothing out the trail due to higher volume tires and larger wheel size, so suspension forks are optional. The Switchblade is a nice upgrade over steel; it's light and the carbon really dampens the trail vibrations. The fork has just enough flex to be compliant on the chattery stuff, but stiff enough to make me feel like I'm climbing like a rock star (even if I'm not!).

I also tried out this really cool adjustable stem that my friend Monie sent me. Monie's the man behind NVO Components and they do some pretty innovative stuff.

High, low, maybe so.

The neatest thing about this stem is it allows you to really fine-tune the fit of your bike without using a bunch of stackers. If you want to make adjustments trailside, it's easy accomplished with the twist of an allen wrench.

Although this really isn't a "new" product, I did try the Kenda Karma 29" tires for the first time.

Up close and personal with my Karma

These worked great on the type of terrain out at Daley. Low knob height roll smooth on the fireroads, but there is just enough bite for cornering, climbing, and some of those sand traps out there.

I threw these funky grips on last week.

Get a grip.

They are actually a grip we use on some of our beach cruiser type bikes, but I thought they look neat. They worked surprisingly well...super comfy and had more "grip" than I thought they would.

I also tried out a new hydraulic disc brake from a famous brake manufacturer who will remain nameless since I signed on of those non-disclosure dealios. All I can say is they rock and will be getting placement on several of our bikes for 2008.

OK kids, try to get out and ride your bikes this weekend. It's supposed to be about 85 or 90 degrees here tomorrow, which means Sunday will likely be another R & D day. I just might have another equally amusing post for you tomorrow.

Hasta luego!

Inexpensive or cheap?

2007-03-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Inexpensive. Cheap. The two words essentially mean the same thing. But do they really mean exactly the same thing? Dictionary.com defines "inexpensive" as "not expensive; not high in price; costing little". Sounds like a reasonable definition to me. However, when you ask Dictionary.com to define "cheap", not only do you get the above definition, you get a laundry list of other definitions, which include:

"Costing little labor or trouble"
"Charging low prices"
"Stingy; miserly"
"Of little account;of small value; shoddy"

...just to name a few. For the most part, most of the definitions involve money in some shape or form. But the last definition, "Of little account; of small value; shoddy", seems to imply something else entirely. This definition seems to defy the nickels, dimes, and dollars and focuses more on specific, outward qualities of the item in question. Just word "shoddy" conjures up less than savory images of some object that has either fallen into a state of disrepair, is victim of poor workmanship or quality, or has been treated badly or abused. very few people would be proud to have this adjective associated with their home, car, clothing, dog, or any other personal possession.

I've always been a big believer that there is a difference between the words "inexpensive" and "cheap". Just because something is inexpensive doesn't mean it needs to look cheap in its outward appearance.

Over the years working in the cycling industry, I have made an interesting observation about the graphic treatments on many brands of bicycles. There seems to be this unwritten rule somewhere that many Product Managers live by that says mountain bikes under the retail price point of about $800 must include contrasting two-tone paint, bold graphics with brand names screaming on the downtubes, and garish colorways? I mean, some of these things are enough to cause someone a seizure. Is this what consumers in this category really want?

Don't get me wrong, Haro was not immune to this strategy. Our popularly-priced V-Series line has met all of the above criteria for many years. Did it makes these bikes dogs? Of course not. But based on feedback we received from our dealers and sales reps, we decided that it was time to give the good 'ol V-Series bikes a bit of a face lift to give them more personality and have them stand out in the sea of screaming two-tone bikes in the under $800 retail range.

As a Brand Manager, this V-Series re-design has been pretty darn fun. We started with a brand new name. Since the V-Series name was somewhat dated and lacked personality, we set out on a journey to find a new name. Mind you, the whole bike model name picking process isn't exactly a picnic. It's a long and involved process of research, discussion, thought, voting, and sometimes even bickering. And in the end, there's usually not a clear-cut winner that everyone agrees upon. In the case of this project, we got fairly lucky that a name stood out among the crowd. We decided on the name "Flightline"; which was named after our local network of trails which shared the same name about a mile from the office where many of us rode on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the owners of this precious piece of land felt that we needed a few more business parks and industrial buildings in the area, so our beloved trail network is now being bulldozed in preparation for development. We felt the name "Flightline" would be a fitting tribute and would serve to tell a story.

We also decided to ditch the two tone paint on all models in favor of hipper, monotone colorways. Since black is the new black, we've got quite a few of black bikes in the line. Most of our dealers tell us they can sell black bikes all day long, so black it is. I pulled a few "hit" colors from the higher-end MTB line into this new line and added some new, fun colors as well. We've got Harlot Red (just a nice, deep red), Creme Brulee (looks just like the yummy dessert), and Sasparilla (a semi-metallic bronze-ish color) just to name a few. OK, I'll be a girl for just a moment and say that I really enjoy picking colors!

The next step in the re-design process was the development of the new Flightline graphics. In effort to update the model's image and have them stand out in the crowd, we wanted to develop clean, simple graphics along the line of what we use on our higher-end mountain bikes. I gave Rick, our in-house graphic designer, a few guidelines and ideas of what I was looking for. He retreated into his lair and began to work his magic. After a few days in artistic isolation, Rick emerged with about 15 different looks for us to choose from. And what really sucked about that is they were all great. It was pretty hard to choose just one. After a few hours of debate, we did choose a winner; the beauty of it all was we now have 14 other graphic packages just waiting in the wings to be used for other projects. Rick did an amazing job. Our final Flightline graphics are clean, simple, and sophisticated. A far cry from the seizure-inducing V-Series graphics of old.

By now, you probably expect to see some photos of the new Flightline bikes or maybe even some digital renderings. Nope. We're going to officially unveil the new line to our dealers and the public early April, so they're going to stay under wraps for the meantime.

During this whole cosmetic re-design process, my goal was to create a line of bikes that even though they are relatively inexpensive, wouldn't look cheap. We wanted to create bicycles that customers would perceive as valuable and be proud to own. I hope our customers like our new Flightline series as much as we do; we certainly had a good time creating them.

And now on to the topic of my J-O-B...

2007-02-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

"So...what do you do for a living?"

Just how I answer this question depends largely upon who is doing the asking. If it's coming from a "layperson" (and by that I mean someone who doesn't have any connections to cycling or the outdoors whatsoever), I usually just respond that I work in management within the bicycle industry. The majority of the time, people sort of politely nod their head and respond with some sort of pleasantry like, "That's cool". Responses like that always crack me up because based on the "tone" of the responder's voice, you'd think I told them that I worked in the field of quantum physics. Most people don't understand bicycles from a technical aspect, so they don't have a clue about how to respond or ask questions about what I do. It's sort of this weird I'm-impressed-but-don't-know-a-damn-thing-about-your-field-so-I-just-won't-ask-any-questions kind of vibe which usually results in the topic of conversation being changed to something else.

However, if someone who is a cyclist or other outdoor afficianado asks me about what I do, I'll generally respond with my specific title. The response I get in this case is usually something along the lines of, "Wow! That's really cool. You must have a super fun job. Tell me more about what you do".

Well, by job goes a little something like this. My title is Mountain Bike Brand Manager for Haro Bicycles, and yes, my job really is fun. I've been with Haro for about 6 years now. I started as an Inside Sales Rep, then moved into the role as Marketing Coordinator. Eventually I was promoted to Marketing Manager and then again to Mountain Bike Brand Manager.

In the simplest of descriptions, my job is to build the brand and image of our line of mountain bikes, so it's primarily a function of marketing with a secondary role in product management. Starting with the product itself, I work with a team of Product Managers, Pat Crosby and Wayne Doran, to build a line of bikes from the ground up. As a group, we decide on models, basic spec, and price points we'd like to offer and then I turn the product guys loose to turn a concept into reality. While they are busy deciding between Shimano and SRAM, RockShox or Fox, and all that good stuff that turns a frame into a bike, I begin to select bike colors and direct our graphics department on bike decal artwork.

Once we have gone through the daunting task of getting price quotes, reviewing spec, getting samples, creating sales forecasts, and receiving the finished product into our warehouses, it's time to start selling it. My job as a Brand Manager is to identify and implement a wide variety of tools to accomplish this like:

Magazine ads-Right now, we use Bike, Decline, Mountain Bike Action, and MTBR.com as our primary media outlets. I'm in charge of buying all the ad space, negotiating the pricing, managing the deadline, and planning/directing the content of each ad.
Dealer sales programs-I don't have a huge hand in this, but I do work with our Sales Director to move slower-moving models, create special sales programs for shop employees, and other special sales programs and incentives.
Pro athlete sponsorship-My job in this area is much easier than it used to be. When we used to have a large factory race team, I used to manage a team of about4 or 5 athletes and 2-3 support staffers. Now, we have narrowed our focus down a little bit and I just have two slopestyle guys to manage: Cam Zink and Eric Porter. They are awesome guys.
Collateral material (like catalogs)-This is a really fun project for me; generally I write the copy, direct the bike/action shots, and work with our designers to put it all together.
Magazine product reviews-This is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. There's nothing I love more than to see our bikes get good reviews in the magazines. I work the editors to get them new product info and help them with any other info they need to write their reviews.
PR campaigns-In addition to writing press releases that relate to the MTB side of Haro, I also handle all the corporate PR needs for Haro.
New product introductions-Interike, Eurobike, Taipei Bike Show, and our own internal National Sales Meeting are our big new product introduction events. I could devote days of chatter just on this topic. Trade shows are a HUGE undertaking...
Demo programs-I have created two different demo program for our bikes. One is a traveling program where we take a trailer full of bikes to various bike events all over the country for people to test ride. The second is our "Demo in a Box" program where we send demo bikes to Haro dealers via UPS for customers to try out. Hey, we wouldn't buy a car without test driving it...why should a bike be any different?
Other consumer/dealer educational resources-I've been doing quite a bit of travel to do clinics and product presentations for our dealers and distributors. This is always pretty fun because it gives these folks a chance to ask questions and give us feedback.

Whew! Wow, I just realized I have written a novel here. Sorry 'bout that. But, in a not-such-a-nutshell, that's what I do for Haro. That's the long, and well, long of it. On the nuts and bolts side...I have a BS degree in Marketing (and no, I don't mean THAT kind of B.S. although some may argue with me on that...) as well as an AA degree in Graphic Design (that I do next to nothing with).

By the time it's taken you all to read this ridiculosly long post, you've probably either drank all the beer in your fridge and/or missed your favorite TV show. I know NONE of us read blogs from work, so you haven't lost any productivity there. So, with that said, I'm going to sign off of the blogoshere for now.

Cheers!

How It All Got Started

2007-02-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have been a die-hard cyclist since 1997. I took up the sport when I moved to Steamboat Springs, CO to take a job managing an art gallery. It seemed like everyone in Steamboat had a mountain bike, so in effort to shed my “new girl from California” image, I bought one and was instantly hooked. The riding in Steamboat is nothing short of amazing, so the actual act of becoming addicted to mountain biking wasn’t all that hard. I liken it to a junkie needing that fix.

When I moved back to California about a year later, I took up cross-country racing after attending the “Women’s Only Weekend” mountain bike skills clinic held annually in Big Bear, CA. I continued to train and hone my skills, eventually finding that my true talents were on the downhill and technical trails sections, so I took up downhill racing. I raced downhill for several years; my “career” highlights include numerous local and NORBA National Series wins and podiums, 2001 #1 ranked Expert female in the USA, 2-time US National Team Member to UCI Master’s World Championships, and I held a pro license in 2002. I have also held top-ten National Age Group BMX rankings in both cruiser and 20”.

Nowadays, I still race occasionally but I much prefer to ride just for the joy of riding. I guess after 8 years of training and racing, my desire to compete is just plain worn out. I enjoy “giving back” to the sport wherever I can; in fact, I have been a volunteer instructor at Big Bear’s Women’s Only Weekend for the past 7 consecutive years.

The past 10 years have been a great ride (no pun intended…OK maybe just a little bit). Through cycling, I have met and had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing folks. Cyclist are just good people. I think some of my life’s highest highs and lowest lows have been in some way, shape, or form connected to this crazy cycling lifestyle that tends to mystify the outside world. Cycling has been a fuel for hobby and fitness, as well as been my source of income for several years. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. The good news is the ride ain’t over yet…I don’t plan to step off this section of trail until the day I step into my grave.

Happy trails, ya’ll.

I think this is where I say, "Wecome to my blog"...

2007-02-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

So there. I said it. I said the words "my" and "blog" together in a sentence. Not so long ago, if someone was to tell me I'd be sitting here starting my own blog, I probably would have rolled my eyes and said, "I don't think so".

Well, here I am. I decided to start this blog for a few different reasons. I've been working in the bike industry for the past 7 years or thereabouts. I'm not exactly an industry "veteran" quite yet, but I've been in the biz long enough to have gathered some great stories and a few (hopefully) interesting insights. When I describe my job as Mountain Bike Brand Manager for Haro Bikes, people are usually pretty fascinated and say something like, "Wow, your job sounds so COOL!". My job IS really cool and it occured to me that maybe a few people would like to hear more about it. If not, well that's what the "back" button is for on the top left-hand corner of your computer screen.

I also realized that my job becomes even more interesting to folks because of the fact that I'm a woman. There's not many of us in this business, let me tell you. We're outnumbered probably 7 to 1. There are even fewer women in the capacity of Brand or Product Managers. Last month when I was in Taiwan visiting some of our vendors, I met with Stella Yu, owner of the one of the largest saddle manufacturers in the world, and arguably one of the most powerful business people in the Taiwan cycling industy. She said, "Jill, other than Sky Yaeger when she used to work for Bianchi, you are the only other woman to come visit my factory as a manager". To be compared second in line to the infamous Sky Yaeger (who is now working for Swobo developing their new line of bikes), is one of the best compliments I'd received in a long time. So given the fact that we ladies of the bike industry are somewhat of a rarity, we've all got some funny stories from a different perspective.

And last but not least, I have to credit my friend and co-worker Tim Jackson aka "Masi Guy" for encouraging me to start a blog. Sure, I'll admit it. I've teased him and poked fun at him and his little blog-o-rama he's got going. So much so that I think at times he's been tempted to slip arsenic into my coffee at work. He has a great following of Masi fans on his blog and has been bugging me to start a Haro blog. OK, this isn't really a Haro blog, but it's going to be good practice for one. That's my next project.

There you have it. I hope my entries are at least somewhat entertaining and maybe even educational. If you don't like my rants and raves, there are plenty of other eccentric blogs and crap out there you can go amuse yourself with.

Ciao for now.