‘Tis the season to turn the wrenches..

Cold, wet weather is blowing into WNC… The kind of stuff that’s miserable to ride in (unless you’re a Cyclocross Junkie) but presents a fine opportunity to service your bike indoors. Here at Pro Bikes we’re happy to do the work for you, but over the past few months we’ve had a number of inquires about offering service classes. Well, you asked and you shall receive! Starting tomorrow, December 1st, Pro Bikes will be offering service classes. Below you’ll find a breakdown (no pun intended) of the schedule and classes:

Pro Bikes Winter 2010 – 2011 Classes

“The Basics” December 2010, every Wednesday 6-8pm

- Introduction to the bicycle as a machine of systems, basic service instruction.
Frame/Fork/Headset. Wheels. Brakes. Drivetrain: definitions and identification.
Shop Time: removing wheels, changing flat tires, tire inflation, lubing and cleaning chain, checking bearing adjustment, proper bicycle cleaning techniques.

“The Tune Up” January 2011, Wednesdays 6-8pm

- Full Tune-Up on participant’s personal bicycle to performed during duration of class. Participants should possess comprehension of bicycle covered in “the basics.” Class will primarily be a “lab,” emphasis is hands-on instruction. Since class is one month, expect to have bicycle out of service until class completion. Disc brake bleeds and fork overhaul not to be instructed due to time constraints, additional instruction considered upon request.
Week 1: Basic Frame, Fork Cleaning and Inspection. Wheels: “the Heart of the Bicycle.” Tire removal/install. Cassette/Freewheel removal/install. Hub Adjustment. Wheel Tension and Truing.
Week 2: Brakes: Lever and Caliper pivot service, Cable replacement and/or lubrication. Pad replacement and/or adjustment.
Week 3: Drivetrain: Crankset and Bottom Bracket inspection, adjustment and/or replacement. Chain inspection and/or replacement. Cassette/Freewheel inspection and/or replacement. Shift Cable replacement and/or lubrication, Derailleur adjustment.
Week 4: Finish up Wk. 3 if ness. Headset bearing adjustment and/or replacement. Test ride and subsequent fine-tuning. Diagnostics and Troubleshooting.

The basics class will cost $20 and allows the participants a one-time (evening of or day following class) discount of 20% off of tools, repair stands and flat changing gear like pumps/CO2 inflation, patch kits, tubes and seat bags. The tune-up class will cost $120 with the same discount mentioned above good for the duration of the one month class.

Please spread the word to interested friends, co-workers, jogging buddies, family members, or anyone else you’d feel would benefit from the sacred knowledge that is bicycle maintenance and repair!

If this all sounds awesome, please RSVP the day you’d like to enroll in the basics, or let me know if you’re good for the tune-up. Please direct questions and RSVPs to Dave at Pro Bikes, 828 253-2800 or westsideprobikes@gmail.com

November blues…

The weather has been great. The air is crisp and clean. It’s been a beautiful fall with unseasonably warm days, great for riding, but I can’t help feeling a little melancholy. Summer is over and winter looms ahead. I want more summer. I’m not ready for bitter, cold. Lucky me, lucky Asheville. We’re still enjoying 60 degree days in the middle of November and I’m talking about cold weather that hasn’t even happened yet.

I think part of the reason for my solemn mood is the disappearance of our shop cat last Sat. night. We had a small impromptu Halloween party and she slipped out the door. I loooooove that cat. I’ve been relentlessly searching for her ever since I discovered her absence. I’ve plastered West Asheville with flyers. I’ve fruitlessly followed several “leads” from people raking leaves in their yard who “think they may have seen a cat like that the other day over at such and such…” One guy, who was missing several teeth and introduced himself as “Ernest”, kept insisting that I “come into the house for a minute”, I declined the invitation. I’ve bushwhacked through briars and brambles all over West Asheville. I thoroughly investigated the area around a “compost pile” near 191 where someone thought they saw her. I’ve tentatively trespassed onto countless West Asheville properties calling in vain for my “kitty, kitty kitty”.  Most of the neighborhood thinks I’m insane at this point and to some degree they would be right. I keep going out everyday to the same places calling “kitty, kitty, kitty” and I keep getting the same result—nothing. Several people have told me about cats they want to give away. I don’t want their cat. I want my cat. I’m sad. I want my kitty back.

BTW, I’m going to force the entire staff of Pro Bikes to post on this blog so we will have posts a lot more often now. (It’s not hard to do something more often than never.)

Marty

Sprocket and Sushi

Sprocket and Sushi

UNCA Team Shreddage…

Greetings all,
So the collegiate mountain bike season is wrapping up, and included are some images of the UNCA Gravity Team (Downhill and Dual Slalom) throughout the season.  In spite of being a young program, the guys and girls at UNCA are ripping it, and this season has been a successful one.  We’d like to congratulate Peter Mills on qualifying for the Downhill Nationals in Reno, Nevada.  He will certainly represent out there.  Enjoy these images and keep an eye on this team next year!

Lees McRae dual slalom…  Ben McMecuen sending it.

The motley crew at ETSU.

Sandra Kofler racing at ETSU.

Royce Breckon after winning Men’s B Dual Slalom at Brevard.

Chris Gragtmans… 1st Men’s B Downhill, ETSU.

Nick Gragtmans ripping it at ETSU.

-Pro Bikes

Yeti 575… versatility defined.

Greetings all!

I just wanted to check in on this new blog contraption and include some pics from a trip that Christian and I took this summer.  We spent three weeks traveling around and hanging out with good people.  We were both riding our 575′s, certainly one of the best-sellers at Pro Bikes.  The 575 is one of the sickest trail bikes you can get out there, and the way that Christian and I have ours set up shows how the bike can be tailored to anyone’s needs.  It was designed in Colorado but I couldn’t ask for a better Pisgah whip.  Mine is designed to minimize weight and help it to climb like an animal.  It is set up with the Fox RP23 rear shock, full XTR, Industry Nine’s super light, super stiff wheelset and a Fox Talas on the front. The Talas can be 140mm of travel or locked down to 120mm for the really steep climbs.  Christian’s 575  is set up with a freeride emphasis. At 6’5″ and 200ish lbs. Christain can be hard on a bike. He likes flying through the air a little bit more than me which translates to hitting the ground a little harder. His rear suspension is a Fox DHX air shock w/overflow so it doesn’t “bottom out” and on the front he has a Fox Float 36 w/ a 20mm thru-axle. He runs Sram X.O components and sports a little beefier version of Industry Nine wheels. We both LOOOVE our Hope brakes though he likes those giant 8″ rotors.

All in all, the trip out to Colorado did not disappoint, and should be put high on any serious rider’s list.

Marty

Commuter Costs

Greetings Pro Bikes Friends!

Welcome to our blog.  This site will serve as a resource for us to connect with our community and friends through trip reports, shop updates, specials, important ride information, relevant links, and anything else marginally relevant to the use of our beloved two-wheeled contraptions.  Feel free to visit our homepage or any of our affiliated advocacy groups via the links on the right side of the screen.

We’d like to kick this blog off with a link to a commuter calculator.  Have fun with this, and consider the impact on your bank account, health, and environment if you ride your bike more.

Commuter Calculator

-The Pro Bikes Crew