Run Bikes: Learning to ride the RIGHT way

There are certain childhood events that can be considered true milestones:  Your first words, your first steps, your first day of school, and of course, learning to ride a bike.

Like most kids, I earned my fair share of bumps and bruises learning to ride on two wheels.  I was one of those kids who had horrible balance, and would compensate with tons of speed in order to stay upright (hmmm... I guess some things don't change).  Unfortunately, when things started to get sketchy, as the usually do when you're learning to ride, the end result often involved blood, bruises, and a whole lot of tears.

These days, parents have an alternative to the traditional "trike followed by training wheels followed by 2 wheel" model that has been used over the past couple generations.  It's called a run bike.  Run bikes have been commonplace in Europe for years, but never really caught on in North America.  Sure, you could get the fancy pants Like-a-Bike version in upscale toy stores, but getting parents to shell out a couple hundred bucks on a sketchy wooden bike was a pretty tough sell.

In 2005, Norco came out with the Adams Runner.  For the North American bike industry, this was a game changer.  All of sudden kids had access to a good quality, reasonably priced run bike, with the look and feel of a real bike.

So what is a run bike, and what makes it so special?  Simply put, it's a really small bike, but without pedals.  The idea is that kids sit on the seat and use their feet to push themselves along.  What makes this such a great product is that that kids can learn the fundamentals of balancing on two wheels. The lack of pedals means one less thing to worry about and get in the way as they scoot along with their feet.  When it comes time to graduate to a real bike, the learning curve in easy, since the only new element is the pedaling motion, which for most kids is relatively straightforward.

Run bikes have another benefit as well.  Children can often get on them younger compared to a tricycle.  Even the smallest trikes don't fit kids younger than 3 years old.  We often sell run bikes to kids under 2 years old, and while they aren't ripping around yet, the child is still capable of using them. 

If you have a young child, nephew, cousin, grandchild, or friend with a kid, you definitely owe it to them to come check these out.  There are a few different models out there, so come on in and we'll show you what's available.

In the meantime, check out this great video showing the potential of the run bike:

Mace Glove Deal

For our faithful readers, come in before Saturday and get 25% off any in stock mace glove.  Kevin, I know you need some snazzy carbon knuckle gloves.  Lets do this!

Entry Level Awesomeness

The filtering down of technology is everywhere these days.  Every year you get more and more for your money.  Computers, cell phones, flat screen TVs.  If it was cutting edge a couple years ago it's commonplace today.

The bike industry is no exception.  Take disc brakes for example.  15 years ago only the highest of the highest end had discs.  Now it's almost impossible to find a mountain bike without them.  Carbon Fiber used to be considered a pretty exclusive material, something available to pro level racers and rich bike snobs only.  These days, carbon is still considered a pretty high end material, but is certainly a lot more attainable for the masses.

Here are two bikes that highlight exactly what I'm talking about.

The first is the Norco Range 3.  It sells for $2545.  This 6" travel heavy duty all-mountain bike covers all the bases.  Good quality, adjustable suspension, great brakes, and a functional and reliable drivetrain.  Yeah sure, it doesn't have all the knobs and dials that it's bigger brothers do, but most people buying those bikes never really use them anyway.

Here's some substance to back up the claims that this bike rocks.  Darren and I are both bike snobs that have been riding nothing but the best for the past decade or longer.  Darren and I both put a ton of miles on it's older brother, the Fluid LT3 over the past couple years and can't say enough good things about it.  I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to get on that bike and ride it, totally stock. straight out of the box.  5 years ago, however, it would have been a totally different story.  5 years ago I would never have considered riding a $2500 because the entry level bikes were just that:  Entry level.

The second bike is the Norco CRR 3.  Norco has really pulled out all the stops on this one to produce the absolute best bike at this price point.  I know this is a pretty bold statement, but if you find a better spec'd bike at this price point please let me know.  Full carbon frame, and not just cheap carbon, but super light, super stiff (made in the same factory as Pinarello), full 105 10 speed drivetrain, and a descent wheelset.  All this for $1745.  Last year this same spec list would have brought you up well past $2K.  Once again, thank you filter down technology...