Friday, October 29, 2010

Night riding: Quality pedal time during our west coast winters

It's pretty easy to get depressed this time of year.  The wet weather, the short days, and most importantly, the lack of riding time.  Although there's not much that can be done to the weather or the short days, but with a decent set of lights you can help satisfy your craving for more time on your mountain bike until daylight savings time returns in the spring.

One of the cool things about night riding is how different it is than riding in the day.  Now that might sound kinda stupid, like I'm stating the obvious, but riding at night seems to change the trails and how you look at them.  A trail you've ridding a million times in daylight will look and feel completely different at night.


The best option for lights is to run a helmet mount setup.  The nice thing about a helmet light is that the beam shines in the direction your head is facing.  Anyone who's spent more than 2 minutes on a mountain bike will understand the importance of this, since you're not always looking in the exact direction that your bike is heading.  My first set of lights 12 years ago was a bar mount system.  I think I rode with them twice before going to a helmet mount setup.  Yes, it makes that much of difference.


My old BLT Blitz with it's 15W halogen and sealed lead-acid battery was the cat's meow in it's day, but is literally like holding a candle next to a stadium light when compared to the lights these days.  High power LEDs with 900 lumens and sealed lithium ion batteries have made trail riding at night a lot more enjoyable.

If you've never tried night riding it's time to give it a go.  We have a ton of great lights in stock, with trail worthy options starting at $135.  Trust me, if you value time on your bike it'll be the best money you spend all winter.

We'll be starting up our weekly shop rides on Tuesday evenings soon.  If you're interested give us a shout or make sure you sign up to the Blacks Cycle Facebook group so you get the event invites.

Lights - Night Riding Time!

Want to night ride? Check these out. 900 lumen rated P7 LED lights. $150. Best deal going. Come grab them while we have them. Helmet mounts and extension cables available.

 

 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Tailgate pads!

We have tailgate pads in stock.  Come grab one for your pickup shuttle machine!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Boss' New Ride: 2011 Norco CRR SL


The big cheese finally bit the bullet and got a new ride, and talk about sweet.  After checking out all the great offerings from Felt and Rocky Mountain, he settled on the new CRR SL from Norco.  These new frames are made in the same factory that produces all the new Pinarello frames (mmm... Pinarello), and are not only ridiculously light, but crazy stiff as well. 

This bike needs no upgrading -He'll be riding it completely stock.  Full Sram Red with Ksyrium Elite wheels, the complete bike weights in at 15lbs 12oz... And that's for an XXL frame!  Look for Les' riding to improve significantly in the coming season...;)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

First post and Ergon GA1 Grips

Welcome to Blacks Cycle blog.  Here you will find random thoughts, product reviews, pictures and videos from rides and various other great cycling information pertaining to the Comox Valley.



First up we have the Ergon GA1 Grip.  These are designed with DH and Freeride in mind.  I will be giving these grips a go and giving some feedback.  These wound up on my bike as a recommendation  from a friend living on the North Shore.  My Ruffian's are big shoes to fill so we will see how these fare.


Check the Ergon GA-1 official page.