NAHBS :: 2011 :: Sneak Peek

Hey folks, our NAHBS bikes are on the truck southbound to Austin... Godspeed to Mickey and lets hope the Red Bull works.

My philosophy on show bikes is that they call it show business for a reason: you've got to show your stuff, and you have to do some business; meaning that you need to stretch the boundaries of where you've been, and do it in a way that is ultimately commercial. To that end, we try and do new spins on existing models, and fly the freak flag on some things.

Here's a sneak peek, and hope to see many of you in Austin:

First up is a ti Factory Lightweight road bike that is heading to our man Gregorio in the Philippines after the show. It's done in Boss Blue and matte black, wearing an asymmetrical set of Cole tubulars.

Up next is another IF/Rapha XS that will be on display in the Rapha booth along with the other bikes in the Rapha Bicycle Collection. This one is built up with SRAM Red and Mavic's new R-Sys SLRs that feature Exalite coating, a modern, high-tech take on their old ceramic braking surface. They look great in all matte black.

Let's throw in a little dirt to mix it up. Here we have a prototype of a ti Factory Lightweight single speed mountain bike. Chris Rowe and I had a lot of fun going all Chip Foose on this one with the stripes.

Sticking with the dirt theme, we have a steel Club Racer that is designed in collaboration with Sandy Whittlesey, the mad dirt road genius behind D2R2. If you haven't done this ride, sign up now. Similar to last year's SSR to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, we will be raffling off a custom build of this frame-set between now and August to benefit the Franklin Land Trust, the good folks that protect the beautiful scenery in Northwestern Massachusetts where D2R2 is held.

Switching from dirt to mud, we have a brand new all carbon model, the Cross Jester. Shown here in single speed belt drive, featuring Phil Wood's new rear cog for the Gates belt drive system. This cog is a work of machined art, and incorporates White Industries free wheel internals.


Last, but not least, is one near and dear to my heart (literally), since this is for my lovely wife Toni (aka Mix-T). It's the Caffeine Racer, the ultimate weapon when a speedy injection of coffee goodness is required to get through the day. Inspired by the cafe racer movement in motorbikes, this Barracuda Purple and black checkerboard beauty features an 8 speed internal hub, chrome cafe bars, Phil-centric BB, a carbon and aluminum disk brake fork, Paul racer brakes in the rear, a dynamo powered headlight, and of course, a custom painted stainless steel coffee tumbler.





I really have to give a big shout out for the crew, they've done an amazing job bringing this all together, and I couldn't be more fortunate than to work with such a great group of dedicated and fun people. Thank you Shawn, Keith, Ron, Brian, LPB, Chris, Poni, Ryan, Benny, Adam, JP, Jesse, and Toni.

And thanks to all of our fine industry friends for their support and patience with our crazy requests, Tom at Cole and Vittoria, Jason at Enve Composites, Chad at FSA, Steve at Crank Brothers and Fizik, Lynette at White Industries, Chris D. at Chris King, and all of the good folks at Phil, Paul, Gates, SRAM... awe shucks, this is turning into an Oscar acceptance speech... you all know who you are and we love you.

See you in Austin, yippee ki-yay!

SSR :: C-dub

Yea, I know, it's been awhile since we showed some bike leg. It's been a crazy start to 2011, and despite the weather, shipping delays, and general madness, we have been producing some amazing bikes. This one left us a few weeks ago to find its way to C-dub, down in Houston.

Simple black and white paint scheme, with just a touch of red ano to give it some pop

C-dub's choice of build included Enve carbon clinchers with DT Swiss 190 hubs.

New Campy Record, again, with just a touch of red in the new for 2011 graphics.

Ride it well C-dub!

Stay tuned for some bikes meet auto rally car racing action, and of course, NAHBS bikes.

Cheers,

G

Merch-a-palooza

Adding "-a-palooza" to just about anything makes it sound like a big event. Perhaps a bit cliche, or perhaps not. If you are like most folks in the Northeast, you may be suffering from cabin fever and a weekend without football, so hopping on the net and scoring some sweet new merch from your favorite bike brand may indeed be a big event, worthy of official "-a-palooza" designation.

We've got seven new items... that's right seven (imagine the voiceover from that hyper info-mercial dude); 5 new tees, a winter cycling jacket, and an insulated stainless steel coffee tumbler. We have to call that one the SSCT, to go with our SSR road bike.

Tough to think about tees when the snow cover outside is measured in feet, so we're going to be good merchants and position them as "base-layers" for now, so just roll with it.

First up, turquoise with white logos (full IF crown on the back of all logo tees):

Black and gold to get your bling on when stepping out:

Heather gray and orange, because orange is the new "it" color (you heard it here):

Brown and pink to be your Valentine's chocolate:

And one for the ladies, also in brown and pink:

That ladies tee is on our new special lady friend, the ACME adjustable ladies dress form. She may be a bit old and tattered, but she's still got it going on in size "A", and they just don't make labels like this anymore.

In keeping with the weather, and hoping for clear roads, our new winter jacket to go with our range of riding kit. These things are fantastic. The fit and finish is superb, and done by folks that understand what a jacket on the bike should be.

Finally, if you're like me, and have ever been dumb enough to try and stick a standard paper coffee cup in your water bottle holder, well... you have the burn scars on your ankles to remind you how well that works. Steve at Black Sheep Designs helped us come up with the SSCT, the stainless steel coffee tumbler. It fits in a water bottle cage and features a thumb activated lid lock for one hand operation, double wall stainless construction, and a secure screw on lid. Drinking and riding have never been so stylish, but please pay attention while enjoying your beverage of choice on the commute.

Cheers,

G

Snow :: We love you, but...

We've already lost all, or parts of, four days of shop time in the past few weeks, and it appears that we will be getting more.

For those of you with bikes in our queue, we're doing our best to make up for it by working on the weekends. Yeah, that's right, some of us gave up watching the NFC Championship game this past Sunday because we love you, the customer... at least that's what we keep telling ourselves.

Stay warm folks.

Oncoming storm could dump 8 to 12 inches of snow on Mass.

E-mail | Print | Comments (2)Posted by Martin Finucane January 25, 2011 07:12 AM

By Globe Staff

In another blow to the weather-weary, Massachusetts is facing the possibility of yet another snowstorm. The National Weather Service says a nor'easter could dump 8 to 12 inches of snow Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning.

The service issued a winter storm watch this morning for all of the state except the Berkshires and the Cape and islands.

The weather news comes as the state is emerging from a bitter cold snap and with the state already far ahead of the average in terms of snowfall for the year.

The weather service also warned of slippery travel conditions this morning as light snow falls on the area. Up to 2 inches are expected in some areas before it tapers off early this afternoon.

Rapha Bicycle Collection :: IF XS

The Rapha Bicycle Collection was launched today and we are honored to be part of the offer with a very special edition XS.

This bike is positioned within the Collection as the ultimate sportive or grand fondo bike. It has special features such as the distinctive Rapha head badge that is shared across the Collection.

The Rapha R is etched into the top tub/seat tube lug on the drive side.

Just as with the new ti Factory Lightweight, this bike features our new script down tube logo.


Laser cut titanium lugs and carbon fiber tubes... like apple pie and ice cream, some things just belong together.

Available for a limited time only.

On doubters and quitters

A little space

A little time

See what it can do

A little faith

Peace of mind

See what passes through

The sun will shine on you again

A bell will ring inside your head

And all will be brand new

All will be brand new

Noel Gallagher

LPB :: Cover Girl

Grab the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Momentum Magazine when it hits the stands with IF's Leah Pappas-Barnes gracing the cover and the feature story on handmade bicycles.

Happy New Year to all and safe riding tonight.