Calhoun Cycle Shopcast

Last week we took delivery of Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bikes. We have been anxiously awaiting these newly engineered cargo bikes. Homeland Security decided to put them in the slow lane of our customs office and about the time we were thinking they’d never arrive, a truck pulls up with the goods.

I had Bike Club at the local elementary school  that afternoon and thus raced to get one put together in time to ride with the kids (thanks for the ride Mary. I still can’t believe I fit it into our undersized minivan). I hadn’t ridden 25 feet and a boy yelled out of a crowd “cool bike!”). What a great start to this new relationship!

Now I’ve had a chance to shop for groceries, make a few runs to the warehouse, commute to work as well as just riding the Bullitt out and about with the family. My expectations were high (really high). The Bullitt has performed all tasks in an amazing fashion. It’s fast as all get out, it’s completely FUN to fly around on and then comes the cargo part of the deal. This bike can take your load with hardly a notice of it. My typical loads have been 20 -50 pounds and I’m telling you, it’s effect on the handling is a non-issue. The bike has exceeded my expectations by a lot.

Yesterday I was at a stoplight downtown and someone yelled out “Hey guy, what is that?”. I responded :”the future” as the light turned green and I took off with a smile. Believe me when I tell you that the Bullitt is special and it will push the Cargo-Commuter category of bikes well beyond it’s current position.

 

We’ve been using the Bullitt for a variety of load carrying needs that we have around the shop. Hardware store, grocery store, LUNCH and warehouse runs among them.

Here’s a video of me pulling into the shop with a full load from the warehouse. This is the biggest load to date at a bulky 120+ pounds of stuff. The Bullitt handled the weight beautifully. I’m not saying I didn’t notice it as I certainly did, but I still was averaging 14 miles per hour and only had to think hard about controlling the bike when I was starting from a dead stop on an uphill. I managed this situation fine, but I did have to focus.

http://www.calhouncycleshopcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bullitt/bullitt.flv

This video is also available at our youtube page: Bullitt Video on Youtube

Arriving in the shop this week are the much anticipated Civia Lorings. We fell in love with these bikes when we first saw them back at Interbike last year. In their words ‘From its gently sloping top tube to its bamboo fenders and matching trim, the Loring is a study in elegance, simplicity and fun. Designed for short runs, the Loring carries up to 50 pounds of cargo while delivering an exceptionally balanced ride.’
An urban commuter so beautiful you can’t wait to be seen on. The first one built is going to Mary but the second will be available for test rides this weekend. I’ll post more details when I’ve put a few miles on.

Looking Across the Mississippi at Downtown St. Paul (the Home Stretch)

May was month #9 in the 12 x 100 Challenge (one century per month for a year). It was a busy month (as are all) and we scheduled the ride with a day to spare (whew!). So this past Saturday (May 30th) we set off early. For the first time in 9 rides we had beautiful weather (that’s right, we were 0 for 8 as of Saturday morning). JOY!

Being that we have now completed the really challenging months I decided to add a theme to our May Century. I loaned Derek an Airnimal Joey D (drop bar Joey) and I rode my Airnimal Joey Explore 27 and we called it our Joey Century. The Airnimal Joey is a suitcase style folding bike with 24″ wheels. I set up Derek’s Joey D to match the fitting he has with his Surly Cross Check. I ride my Joey Explore every day as it’s my daily commuter set up with fenders and  rack. I have fallen in love with this bike as it’s a sporty rocket that can be nicely fit into a trunk with a simple 45 second “trunk” fold. I have suitcased it a couple of times to fly with it, but I don’t travel enough to take huge advantage of that aspect of the bike.

The weather was absolutely beautiful  and the only hiccup in the 100 miles was me having a worn out rear tire and thus having to deal with those consequences (shame on me). Derek rocked out on the Joey in spite of the fact that he’d never ridden a folding bike. The transition was pretty seamless for him. I learned that my Joey is just as versatile as I knew. I’ve said many times that if I had to have one frame for the rest of my life I’d choose the Joey. I Love It!

We met up on the Greenway here in Minneapolis and we headed east through St. Paul and out to Stillwater. Then we followed the St. Croix river south to Afton before swinging west and making our way back to Minneapolis.
You can see Pictures and movie clips from the ride in the following video:

See this video on youtube: Century Ride on a Pair of Joeys

Bike Details:

Derek’s Joey: 9 Speed Joey D with a bottle cage and a Carradice Nelson seat bag supported with a Utilitarian Transports UT Support Rack. 52 tooth chainring with an 11-32 cassette on the rear. Panaracer Pasela tires (24 x 1″, 115 PSI)

Luke’s Joey: 27 speed Joey Explore with Salsa Bar-Ends, bottle cage, rack and fenders. This Joey Exp;ore was built up with 520 wheels (”roadie” sized 24″ wheels as opposed to the 507 wheels that are the stock Joey Explore size) with Intense Microknobby 24 x 1-3/8″ tires.

Gwendal testing out the Bullitt

Momentum Magazine is a fun bike culture publication that is often on the cutting edge of all things “Bicycle”. The current issue has a great review of the Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bike. This is very exciting for us as I just heard that our very first shipment is in Minneapolis (awaiting a customs inspection).

You can check out the review here: The Larry vs Harry Bullitt Cargo Bike

Gwendal made a sweet sneak preview movie:

FUN!

Here are some pictures of Gwendal on the Bullitt (taken by Ben Johnson):

 

Spring is here! (Well, it's closer...)

It was a big winter at the shop. It’s been a fun off-season and we’ve added some great new products that we’re all excited about. And we’ve snapped up the shop a bit, too. Good stuff all around and we’re ready for spring! 

THE SPACE: Check out our fresh, shiny floors. Hardwood floors are awesome, but they do require some elbow grease now and again. We refinished the floors and gave them a new glossy coat this January. We also added some new lights to brighten up the long winter nights. Don’t worry, it’s still a nice warm light in the shop, just a few more watts to admire the details on the new Arkel bags.

CARGO BIKES: We are adding three models of cargo bikes for ‘09: the Surly Big Dummy, the RANS Hammertruck and the Larry vs. Harry Bullitt. These three models are phenomenal products and will go a long way for the serious commuter.

COMMUTERS: Expanding on our success with folding bikes, we are adding more commuting minded bikes this year. Specifically designed to be comfortable, yet speedy these bicycles that will handle Minneapolis weather and daily use. Civia Cycles are an American, high-tech take on an old-world, Amsterdam-style commuting bike. The Hyland and the Loring are both beautiful bicycles, and now available at Calhoun Cycle. Civia accessories and parts are also available. They make awesome racks and fenders.

Nutcase Helmets are trés fun.

HELMETS: Nutcase helmets are urban helmets with hip, colorful designs. No reason you have to look like a roadie, if you’re not!

Whether you’re in town or not, you can participate in the art scene buzz generated by this weekends ArtCrank.

Minneapolis writer Ian Pratt’s is publishing a cycling micro-fiction on Twitter. The work will be released via Banjo Brothers Twitter starting Thursday morning at 8am.Tweet Tweet.

Click Here to follow Ian’s micro-fiction on Twitter.

I can be a bit foolish. I really thought that when Derek and I finished the January Century of our 1 century per month challenge we were on easy street. Ha! One and a half days before our last minute run at a February century (yes, we scheduled it for the 28th) we happened to get 6 inches of snow. I took the bus home rather than struggle through a ride home on Thursday night (the ride was scheduled for Saturday morning).

Derek e-mailed me Thursday late afternoon that he’d contact me Friday to work on a plan of attack. My response to him (Thursday night) was:

Leave early and stay late.
Yes we can.

Derek immediately responded to me:

we are on the same page.
-D

Wow! I think I’d be hard-pressed to find a more stubborn individual that was able to stick to the task. Derek didn’t even hesitate. Our nordic heritage may be playing a role here (yes, we are in Lake Wobegon).

On Friday we discussed routes and because of the quantity of snow we were grasping for a route (with no agreement or argument), but then late Friday afternoon it was sunny enough that the roads were clearing fairly well despite the cold temperatures (around 16º). Thank goodness for that. We were able to plan on heading out of town 50 miles, have lunch and head back.

It was a difficult century for sure. Start temp at 4º with unknown road conditions, but the roads turned out to be pretty decent and the sun shined brightly enough that the afternoon was pretty speedy riding.

Mentally it was my biggest challenge yet, but we pulled it off and had fun throughout the ride. Good times.

Curt's Cyclocross Team Edition

Well, just as I anticipated Curt Goodrich Bicycle did very well at the NAHBS. The CG team cyclocross bike won “Best Off-Road Bicycle” at the event. Way to go Curt!

From NAHBS Website

I stopped by Curt’s studio yesterday to hear tales. Curt said the event was a smashing success, and had him hopping all weekend. It was exciting to get some much deserved recognition for years of fine craftsmanship. And good to start growing the  Curt Goodrich brand. It sounds like Curt had a great time, but is ready to get back to work (as any good Minnesotan would be). He’s building some great bikes and starting his own cyclocross team. Here are some photos I took yesterday, mostly of the winning bike:

 

One of my friends once commented that Curt Goodrich is the best frame builder you’ve never heard of. Be enlightened friends, that is changing. Curt has always built a few bikes on the side, but until recently he’s spent most of his time building all the U.S. Rivendell bicycles. But now he’s broke away from Riv so he can concentrate on Curt Goodrich Bicycles. Lucky for us, Curt’s right here in Minneapolis. In fact, Calhoun Cycle has partnered with CG for nearly 10 years now. He does our S & S coupler installations as well as our more involved frame repairs.

Well, this weekend Curt Goodrich Bicycles will be displaying some beautiful work at the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show (NAHBS). In the past few weeks, Curt’s been by the shop several times so we’ve had a chance to see the progress on his pieces for the NAHBS. Wow! He has some beautiful bikes. His studio is just a couple blocks from our warehouse space in NE Minneapolis, so I stopped by the other day to snap a few pics for you. Here’s an All-Rounder frame in the paint booth. Sweet bike. NAHBS is a pretty awesome show. While I’ve not attended yet, I have seen many awesome and inspiring bikes through various galleries online. The event starts today, so in the next few days we’ll see a lot of spectacular stuff in the blogosphere — and Curt’s frames will be among the best.

 

NAHBS Website: Click here
NAHBS 2009 Photo Gallery: Click here