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Mountain Bike Open House February 15th

Please join us at the Hollywood Bike Gallery on Tuesday, February 15th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. to look at new mountain bike technology, drink a beer and bump elbows with other passionate mountain bikers. We’ll have industry experts on hand to chat about what’s new in 2011 and what’s happening in the Portland area for trail resources and future access opportunities. We are hoping to increase the membership numbers for our local mountain bike group, the Northwest Trail Alliance, and we will have special offers for NWTA members. If you aren’t a member yet, this is your chance to learn what the NWTA is doing to improve mountain biking in our area.

One of our own mountain bike gurus Brian Twilley will be speaking about suspension maintenance basics. Brian will be focusing on Fox Air rear shocks, and will be happy to answer other suspension questions.

We also will have a member of the local Bureau of Land Management to answer trail questions and talk specifically about the Sandy Ridge Trail system. We will also be welcoming representatives from Fox, Shimano, Trek, Kona, Dakine, Giro, Continental tires and more. And our showroom will be open if you want to have a close up look at some of our newest bikes, like Trek’s amazing new Session 88.

So mark your calender and join us for a night of beer, bikes, maintenance tips, giveaways and special deals. Call the shop at 503-281-9800 with any questions.

Another Trail Building Opportunity

Bike Gallery is lending a hand to the Northwest Trail Alliance and the Bureau of Land Management in helping to build and maintain mountain biking trails at Sandy Ridge, and we could use your help. Several of our staff will be heading towards the mountain. You’re welcome to join us for a day of work (and possibly some riding too!)

The Bike Gallery Sprinter will depart our Hollywood store at 8:00 a.m. this Saturday, January 15th. The work parties will run from 9:00 a.m. till the work is done. There may be a ride after the work if the trail is in riding condition. If you’d like to get a ride or get more info, contact Shawn Cowen: shawncowen@bikegallery.com.

The Sandy Ridge Trail System is an amusement park of mountain bike riding; approachable for the beginner, and challenging for the expert. Says Mountain Bike Magazine, “the quality of these trails is over the top, and with a little pedal power riders can turn out laps at Sandy on par with any bike park. Plus, there’s another eight-mile trail loop in the works, along with a second trailhead under construction, which will come complete with generous parking, covered public space, a bike wash and a pump track.”

Free Flat Fix Fridays

Bring your flat tire in to any of our stores on Friday, January 7, 14, 21, or 28 and we will install a new tube for no charge!* Our friendly service staff will be happy to get your bike ready to roll.

We understand it takes a commitment to ride through the winter months, this is our way of saying thanks for being out there. And if you are a fair-weather cyclist who has hung up the bike for the winter, we want to help get you and your bike ready for the warmer spring weather.

Flat fixes can be done while you wait. In the meantime, feel free to chat with our mechanical wizards about any bike questions you have. We can look at your bike and let you know if there are any parts or service that would help it last longer and perform better. Estimates for service are always free and there is no obligation. We are proud of the vault of skill and knowledge that our service staff represents and we want to share it with you.

* Limit one free flat fix per Friday.

World Cup track star works at Bike Gallery

Our very own Dean Tracy of the Hollywood shop has landed in Amsterdam to compete in more elite level races. Before he left I had a chance to talk to him about the journey here and the road ahead.

What does it takes to get to this level of racing?

Dean showing a recent photo in VeloNews

I guess the key to training for me is motivation and consistency. It takes a huge amount of motivation for me to get out of bed early to get to the gym before work, and keep focused for a second workout after the shop closes. I don’t really have days off, I work 5 days a week when I’m home and I have workouts scheduled 6 days a week. My one day off training I’m at the shop all day and my days off from work just mean I have more time for training. I skip a lot of happy hours and have to avoid my favorite fast food places like the plague, but it’s worth it on race day.

I spent 2 years at the OTC (Olympic Training Camp in Colorado Springs), and am very happy to be back home in Portland. I learned a lot of important technical details about training and physiology, and learned how to be disciplined, but wasn’t a big fan of the city, so I found it hard to make progress. I wasn’t happy there and my wife wasn’t happy, so we came back as soon as we could afford it.

Who has been the source of motivation for you? Was there a bike racing moment when you said “Yeah I want more of this!”?

I don’t know that there was a single person, but I think the first Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge I attended as a spectator was that “aha moment.” It was in 2000, and I had just started road racing, but the track just seemed like such a rush. I fell in love with everything about sprinting. The pure speed, the black magic tactics, the showmanship of the top guys, everything. Then I started following the euro six days and the world cup circuit and made that statement that most ambitious teenage boys make and said “I want to do that.” and now here I am at my 4th pro six day. Read More »

Women’s Night at Beaverton Bike Gallery

Join us for Women’s Night on Tuesday, January 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at our Beaverton store. We’ll be hosting a fun evening with industry reps, great product, and some cool giveaways—all geared towards women riders. The format is casual, and we’ll provide hors d’oeuvre and wine and other refreshments.

This is the perfect opportunity to talk with knowledgeable staff, industry reps, and other female cyclists about women’s clothing and bikes, family riding, and more. We’ll have reps from Shebeest, Sheila Moon and Pearl Izumi, Shimano, Trek, Co-Motion, Orbea, Burley, and more. Get to know our women-specific products, try on clothing, and get riding and maintenance tips.

You’ll find some great one-night discounts on Women’s Night too, like deals on clothing, shoes and pedals, and more. And we’ll be raffling off clothing, parts & accessories, and a Trek Allant!

We hope to see you there!

Women’s Night
Tuesday, January 11, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Beaverton Bike Gallery, 12345 SW Canyon Rd.

Fitting Services Overview – Aaron “Rambo” Harrison and Brenna Wrye-Simpson, fit dept.
Flat Repair
– Sterling Hill, Beaverton svc. dept.
Burley Trailers
– Keith Seed, NW Burley sales rep.
Shimano Footwear and Pedals
– Nick Gibson, NW Shimano sales rep.
Trek Women’s Specific Design
– Tori Broughton, Trek WSD demo manager
Sheila Moon Clothing
– Sheila Moon, Owner
BG Wine Rides for Children’s Heart Assn
. – Kelly Aicher, Lake Oswego BG Manager
Racing and Training –
Lana Pressey, Beaverton sales & Team Ironclad
CoMotion Tandems and Custom Singles
– Dwan Shepherd, Co-Owner
Basic Maintenance
-– Sterling Hill, Beaverton BG svc. dept.
Orbea Dama Road Bikes
– Keith Seed, NW Orbea sales rep.
Pearl Izumi Clothing
– Nick Gibson, NW PI sales rep.
Trek Project One Custom Road Bikes
– Toby McElravey, NW Trek sales rep.
Shebeest Clothing
– Beth Brewster, NW Shebeest sales rep.
Trek Dirt Camp
– Amy Wantulok, Hollywood BG Manager

Bontrager Affinity inForm Saddles: Research = Comfort

I’ve been riding an original Bontrager inForm RL saddle now for very nearly 3 years and well over 10,000 miles. I’ve had great luck on my own saddle and fairly good luck fitting folks to these saddles. But, Bontrager has introduced a new member of the inForm saddle line for 2011 called the Affinity that only offers increased comfort. The Affinity line of saddles borrows heavily from technology developed for last year’s Evoke line of mountain-specific saddles, but wraps it all in a road-specific package to maximize in-saddle comfort and performance. I’m happy to announce that these saddles have finally landed at your neighborhood Bike Gallery location.

Much like the performance-oriented “original” R/RL/RXL inForm saddles, the Affinity line utilizes size-specific curvature to best fit the skeletal structure of the rider. Thus, it is available in three widths for men and three widths for women, which are color-coded by size: red (narrow), yellow (medium), and blue (wide) for men, and pink (narrow), light green (medium), and light blue (wide) for women.

However, the Affinity inForm has been designed for the unique support needs of someone riding a modern road bike, where the torso angle is a little more upright than that of your average bike racer. To further maximize comfort, Bontrager has integrated the Contour Relief Zone, a relieved section on the top of the saddle that removes material that would otherwise create pressure on soft-tissue (this feature was originally offered on the original inForm WSD performance saddles and later the Evoke mountain saddles) as well as Zone-Density padding (on the RL and RXL models) that offers firmer padding under the sit-bones for support and softer padding in the nose of the saddle for increased comfort.
A lot of saddle manufacturers place cut-outs of various sizes on their seats, claiming that this leads to increased comfort. But, you might notice that the Bontrager inForm seats don’t have them. Pressure mapping performed as part of the original research (performed at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2007) that led to these saddles actually showed that a cut-out can increase pressure, sacrificing comfort.

Matt Dour, a sales person at our Lake Oswego store, rode an Affinity RL for about 150 miles on his daily commute and was impressed by how the nose of the saddle remained supportive when he needed it, but didn’t get in the way otherwise. Jason Domann, of our Beaverton store, has also put similar mileage on an Affinity RXL. He was pleased how the Contour Relief Zone eliminated pressure he has experienced on other saddles. Myself, I’ve got about 250 miles, spread between an Affinity RL and an Affinity RXL and have found both seats to be every bit as enjoyable to ride as my much-loved original inForm RL.
Additionally, a vast majority of the 2011 Trek road bikes are coming with an original-equipment version of the Affinity saddle (which only comes in one size and doesn’t have as nice of rails or the Zone-Density padding of the aftermarket saddles). On the Cycle Oregon week-long ride this year, Trek sent their demo fleet along for riders to sample the 2011 Trek bicycles. According to Dax Tobin, the Trek Demo truck driver, just about everybody that rode one of his demo bikes was impressed with the new Affinity saddle.

Determining your correct size is crucial as an apparently large-framed rider may take a small size and a small-framed rider may require a wider saddle, based upon the structure of their pelvis, which isn’t always readily apparent. Fortunately, figuring out your correct saddle width is simple thanks to a special sizing device that takes an imprint of your sit-bones in a material called Z-FLOW. A color-coded slider then helps determine what width of inForm saddle you need.
It’s also important to get the Affinity saddles set at the correct angle. Jason Domann discovered that the seat-post that came on his daily commuter didn’t allow adequate angle adjustment and he wasn’t really able to enjoy the benefits of the Affinity saddle until he had upgraded his seat-post to one with infinite adjustability, a Bontrager Race seat-post.

Trying one out comes with almost no risks as well. Between Bike Gallery’s 100% satisfaction guarantee and Bontrager‘s 30-day comfort guarantee on the inForm saddles you have to time to experience the inForm saddle yourself and discover how it works for you.