Cycling into the Sunset...

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

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

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!

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!

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.

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!

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...

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

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

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".

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

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.