Mammoth Mtn. July. Why not?

Want to ride with other SC people?
I'm definitely a "bike vacation" kind of person, and many of you are too. Last year's vacation went a little screwy, a normally rippin' 6-mile singletrack in Brianhead Utah was transformed into the worst hike with a bike I've ever had. We climbed over trees every 20 feet or so, which had been downed by the previous winter's 300% snowpack. The trail runs down the middle of the picture, and was exactly like this for 4 solid miles. The next day's ride was capped by sleet, low-level lightning/thunder and running out of food. It's funny now, almost a year later.

This year I'd like to get set up for something with a higher satisfaction index, and less exposure to a non-ride. I had earlier proposed doing the Telluride-to-Moab Hut trail (206 miles, 16,000 feet ascent, 21,000 descent), and since then 5 of the original 8 dropped out. Maybe they see something I'm missing. How about a group visit to Mammoth Mtn? Ride for five days, get shuttled a bunch, and generally have a great time with minimal pain? It's open invitation, and roughly scheduled between July 5 to 15, 2006. Bring your XC bike, and possibly camp in Rock Creek. Low bucks, high-mileage- how could it be bad? Leave a comment, and we'll get it figured out.

SRAM Road Group News

From VeloNews.com http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/9723.0.html

"A brave new world
It not only looks like the two-party system in road components may be over, but that the SRAM group is no Nader-like spoiler only thwarting the chances of one to the benefit of the other. SRAM looks poised to take market share from both Shimano and Campagnolo, selling to those looking for another option as well as those seeking the lightest weight and/or highest performance.
The commitment on SRAM's part to pull this off is enormous. The bike industry in general has a very low barrier to entry, but that is definitely not the case in the road drivetrain. There are large, tough competitors in place in that niche with long histories and great reluctance to cede any territory. But it looks like they will need to make way, whether they like it or not. "

Sounds very much like the road world now has three choices, please go to their site for the full details.

Wal Mart case denied appeal to higher court

The plaintiff's in the Wal Mart QR case tried to appeal the case, stating that the judge was prejudiced against their clients. Some of the judges decisions and ruling were given as examples of prejudice.

Denied. Case stands as ruled at this time; yippee!

It all starts to seem the same...

Today I visited a competitor of ours, one that I've worked for in my past. This was a group of stores that really set the status for MTB'ing in SoCal for decades, and made the competition cringe at what they'd do next. The techs of ours that they lured away could always say "Well, because it's Blahblahblah bikes, it's cool... AND they don't sell Snappyhoppers like us".

That was then. Business has changed. The way to keep paying your techs is to have bikes in stock that actually SELL, and not to be competing over a discount on every part. This makes your customers loyal to the next ad, not your service and associates. Your competitor that does not know how to run his business will cut his price, and his profit margin. Alan Goldsmith recognized this, and sold Supergo to Performance Bikes. Performance has re-labeled those former stores, and has remerchandised them. The brands I saw there today were Fuji, Mongoose, Schwinn, GT, Iron Horse, and Rocky Mountain. Those techs used some of those brands as motivation for leaving US, and now those brands have followed them. Such cruel irony! There were a few boutique brand bikes and frames, but mostly on a "close out" basis. I asked about a range of parts, from weird to common, and they were out of stock or low on many of them. "I can order that for you". The great have fallen; how times have changed.

We are changing also, stay tuned for good things in April...

Wal Mart escapes Quick-Release danger

From Bicycleretailer.com

FEBRUARY 13, 2006 -- SAN RAFAEL, CA (BRAIN)—After nearly nine weeks of trial and about a day and a half of deliberation, a Marin County jury of eight women and four men exonerated Wal-Mart, Dynacraft and Dynacraft’s claims adjuster Carl Warren & Co. of all charges. The plaintiffs alleged that the three companies conspired to conceal that the quick-release mechanisms on Next brand full-suspension bicycles imported by Dynacraft and sold by Wal-Mart were defective and allowed the front wheels to come off.The jury found no fault on the part of any of the defendants, and therefore offered no compensation to any of the nine plaintiffs. The decision is important to the industry because it confirms that a correctly adjusted and installed quick-release is not inherently dangerous.“We are pleased that the jury overwhelmingly agreed that every allegation in this case was unsubstantiated and reinforced that these bikes were safe and not defective,” Sarah Clark, a Wal-Mart spokesperson, said in a statement. “It is unfortunate when anyone is hurt in a bike accident, but these allegations simply had no merit.”

An additional allegation was that they were using untrained assemblers, and were not giving Owner's Manuals to new bike buyers. Not much of that is mentioned here. Rumors are that all future Wal-Mart bikes will have some sort of locking front quick-release lever, making them a slower-than-quick-release lever that will likely break easier due to the additional parts.