Great Southwest Bike Swap

There is a very cool bicycle event happening in Fort Worth at the end of January: The Great Southwest Bike Swap.

This is the inaugural edition of the event, but I think the organizers are doing everything right. With the support of the Fort Worth cycling community, this could become an event that draws folks from all over the state. (Think of it as our own Texas version of Veloswap).

The swap meet will be January 27 at the Resource Connection. There will be booths for both individuals and bike shops, and the spaces are affordably priced. Panther City Bicycles will be there, and we'll have some great deals for attendees.

I like the fact that they're sprinkling a little bicycle culture on the event with some special film screenings, as well. There will be a noon showing of "A Sunday in Hell," the 1976 documentary classic that chronicled that year's Paris-Roubaix in all its gnarly glory. At 2 p.m. you can watch Klunkerz, a documentary about the birth of the sport of Mountain Biking.

If you like bikes, you should be there. You're bound to be able to buy, sell, or trade something. Stop by our booth while you're there!

How will you spend New Year's?

I'm going to do back-to-back centuries. Come do it with me!

First, New Year's Eve, we'll ride out to Mineral Wells State Park and back. From the shop, it should be well over 100 miles. We'll leave at 8 a.m., or for a shorter ride you can meet us at the Aledo Library a little after 9. My proposed route out to the park: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1514454

Then on New Year's Day, I plan to ride Ricky's New Year Century with the Fort Worth Bicycling assocation. This one starts in Arlington at 9.

It should be a good holiday!

PCB fields a racing team in '08!

We wanted to do it last year, but got started too late. I can now say with confidence that PCB will field a racing team for the 2008 season.

Here's the deal: yeah, we want to win some races... but never at the expense of having fun. We don't plan to pursue any elite racers this year; we think it would be more fun to start with average and beginning racers, and grow together as a team. We want to find a group of guys and gals who will race for the team before individual accolades.

Our ultimate goal is to promote our sponsors (which will be announced soon), and to support newcomers to the sport, whether they're on our team or not.

To do that, we plan to have the coolest team tent at any race we attend. Rahr & Son's Brewing and their fine line of "Better Energy, Endurance, and Recovery" (B.E.E.R.) drink products will be an integral part of our team tent atmosphere. All other teams, unattached riders, and spectators will be welcome to visit.

Looks like our team jerseys will retain all the class of the original PCB jersey, but with a new twist: a bitchin' lavender color. The original sage and tangerine colors will be retained in stripes separating the white chest panel from the lavender body.

Here are some preliminary mock-ups of the new jerseys and shorts (note: co-sponsor logos are not accurate; we'll be finalizing soon):

Holiday Hours

Attention cyclists and last-minute gift buyers! Our holiday hours are as follows:

Sun, Dec 23: 12-4
Mon, Dec 24: closed
Tue, Dec 25: closed
Wed, Dec 26: closed
Dec 27-30: regular hours
Mon, Dec 31: Closed
Tue, Jan1: Closed

We wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season, and a great start to 2008.

Shoes on Sale:

Save 20% right now on Louis Garneau shoes!

The ergo air, below, is a great deal. It has large airy vents on the sole to keep your feet cool in the Summer months, but also included an insole that's impervious to the elements to keep your feet toasty when it's cold and/or wet, like it has been this week.

Originally $100, now just $79!

More kids bikes...

Those kids bikes I blogged about a couple of weeks ago have multiplied. Apparently somebody spilled some water on them, or fed them after midnight, or something.

The 2008 SE Draft

I'm loving the new color on the '08 Drafts... we just got our first one (a 56cm frame). They actually come in six sizes this year, instead of just four, so there'll be one to fit everybody.

There aren't many (any) other urban single speed road bikes under $300; this has to be the best deal going for somebody looking for a hip, reliable bike on the cheap.



This bike and a sweet Chrome messenger bag would be all you need to get around town, or campus, in style.

A nice new touch is a sizing sticker that echoes the "beer" theme of the Draft, Lager, and Stout:

New Fuji 29er

29" wheeled mountain bikes have been all the rage in the mountain biking world for the past few years, but until recently there weren't really any lower-priced options unless you wanted a rigid-forked single-speed.

Fuji is one of the first to remedy this by offering a sub-$1000, front-suspension, 27-speed 29er, the Tahoe Comp 29:



For a retail price of $900, the parts spec is pretty impressive too. The fork is a Rockshox Dart 3 with adjustable preload, rebound, and lockout. Brakes are Avid mechanical disc. Wheels are built with solid WTB disc rims, and the bike has a full SRAM drivetrain, including their popular trigger shifters.

Fuji didn't even skimp on the saddle or tires, spec'ing a comfy WTB saddle and the awesome Maxxis Ignitor tires.

Texas Cycle Speedway

So there's this sport called cycle speedway that pretty much only happens in Britain (there's only one track in the U.S., in Arizona). Bryan and I have been intrigued by this, enough so that we've built our own cycle speedway bikes, and have been practicing on the cinder track at Daggett Middle School.

Check out this video:



Go to the British Cycling Cycle Speedway Website to find out more about the sport. We'll be posting pics of our new rides soon.

Eventually, we'll need use of a small empty lot to build a shorter, tighter track... anybody know of a place?

From the wheelbuilding studio:

Check out these incredibly cool fixed-gear wheels we just built! We used the limited-edition, "Jim Brown" anodized Surly hub set, some chocolate-brown powdercoated Velocity Deep-V rims, the finest DT-Swiss spokes, and our wheelbuilding expertise to make a one-of-a-kind, super-durable wheelset.


A properly handbuilt wheel will always be more durable than a factory one, and should never break a spoke under normal riding conditions... in fact, we guarantee our wheels for life against spoke breakage not caused by a crash. The rim or hub should wear out before a spoke breaks. Once in a while, a defective spoke gets through QC, and if one does break, we'll replace it and true your wheel for FREE. For as long as you own it.


Look at those beautiful Surly hubs. These are no longer available... we have a couple of pairs, so if you want these hubs (or a mountain bike version) with a different color rim, just let us know.


We think the Velocity Deep-V is the most reliable rim out there, and it's pretty aero' to boot. I've got an orange pair on my road bike, and a pink pair on my fixie, and I love 'em!


Price for the set is $425; it's a great deal for a limited-edition wheelset with a lifetime guarantee!

10,000 km challenge

Our buddy William, nicknamed the "Iron Ox" because he's a rather large dude who likes ironman-distance events, is a cycling/triathlon coach.

While looking for a way to keep his athletes who train year-round motivated, he came up with a unique challenge.

The goal: log 10,000 km in one year, with any combination of cycling, swimming, running, or rowing. That's 6,214 miles.

This isn't just for super-speedy athletes though. Are you a serious bike commuter? Challenge yourself to put 6,214 fewer miles on the odometer of your car this year!

I just mailed in my entry form... who's with me? I've got entry forms here at the shop, or you can email the ox for more info. Or read his blog.

Why I want a Big Dummy

Borrowed from the Surly Blog:

Every Road Bike ON SALE

Every single road bike we have in stock is on sale, as we make room for the new Masi bikes that should be arriving in the next few weeks... Save big on great brands like Masi, Jamis, and KHS.






If you've been on the fence about a new road bike, this is your chance to save up to $125. We probably have a bike in your size, unless you're shorter. Or medium.

If you're 5'10 or taller, we've definitely got something for you. Come check them out!