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Ironclad's
Red Bow Sale
Management
The
holidays are approaching fast and the time to start buying gifts for
your friends and family is upon us. As of Monday, December 7th
through
December 24, Ironclad will be having a Red Bow Sale. To help make
holiday shopping easier and more affordable, we will be marking down
prices on our bicycle inventory, setting up a table full of accessories
that make great gifts, and as always we will have our knowledgeable
staff to help you select that perfect gift. Not sure what to
buy...
Gift Certificates are available!
Single
Speed?
By
Justin Fundalinski
<>
<>It is difficult to understand why anybody that is
reasonably
sane would ever sacrifice the advances in gearing technology and resort
back to
grinding up hills with just one speed.
Well, maybe that's why single speed mountain biking
started off as a bit
of a cult or underground movement per say, but it can no longer be
categorized
as such. As it turns out, those
“unreasonably insane” single speed riders didn't really deserve such
titles or
criticisms and they really hit on something that has made its place in
the
mountain bike world. As a matter of
fact, major mountain bike companies (i.e. Niner, Gary Fisher) are
offering a
single speed specific mountain bikes along with making their geared
bikes
capable of converting to single speed (i.e. sliding drop-outs,
eccentric bottom
brackets), and races, like Prescott’s own Whisky Off Road Race, offer a
Single
Speed category.
<>Even with such a following in the industry, and for that
matter the mountain bike culture itself, one still can legitimately
ask, “Why?”
As a recent convert (as of mid-summer) from a geared to single speed
bike and
because I constantly have to explain myself to friends and customers, I
will
attempt to shine some light for those of you reading this.
Lets start off by saying, NO! No, I do not ride
single speed because I love to suffer. I
loved to suffer long before I converted over, and please note that my
love to
suffer has nothing to do with riding single speed nor will that love be
covered
in this article. On that note, I definitely cannot say that it is all
that much
more difficult. Sure you are pushing a bigger gear than you would like
to some
of the time, but it is easy to change your riding style to make life
easier and
your body adapts quickly.
<>From that pseudo-tangent, I will get back on track and
answer the question at hand a bit more directly. Why
ride single speed? What are the advantages? Riding
single speed creates a greater
connection with the bike to the body -- almost as if it is another
appendage. It is like the feeling some
of us get when we drive a standard verses an automatic vehicle. You know what I am talking about -- that
connection with the vehicle, the feeling that you are in more control
of the
engine, the ability to make the engine do what you want it to do the
moment you
need it to do it, you are always where you need to be. Riding a single
speed is
the same thing; you are “always there.” Rather than focusing on what
gear ratio
you need to be in to conquer the next obstacle, you are focusing on the
terrain
and riding it according to the gear ratio that you are ALWAYS in. Look at it like this, your style of riding is
unlimited and in tune with what the terrain offers, rather than
restricted by
having one gear. I can say for myself
that I have become a much more fluid rider since my conversion and I
have
absolutely no intentions of turning back.
<>There are also other advantages that you will realize. Hill climbs are actually easier and faster
because you lose the extra weight that you normally carry around with
gears. It is a lot less expensive to
replace a
single cog compared to an entire cassette.
Chain suck is a non-issue. Broken derailleurs,
stretched cables, bent
derailleur hangers, and the million and one shifting problems are
completely
eliminated. On that note, all the money
you save by eliminating so many of the drive train problems, you can
now
upgrade all your other components to maximize the quality of your ride.
So, in conclusion… Yes, my views are
slightly off center
from the left and right sides of the Single Speed and Geared parties.
However,
if you ever thought about making the move over to Single Speed, know
that I am
here to help and encourage it. Come on
into the shop and lets talk.
Bike
of The Week
Ironclad
Crew
First, before we reveal the B.T.W., I would like to
thank all of you that have been following our weekly bike blow out
sale. It has been a blast putting people on bikes that they have
always wanted. It has been fun to see the growing interest in
this sale, and watching people come in the store just to see what this
week's line up is. We appreciate the business and hope to keep
serving your bicycle needs to the best of our abilities.
Ironically, and seriously unintended, our bike of the
week lines up perfectly with the article above. If you thought
single speed was a cult, check out this one.... SINGLE SPEED, 29"
WHEELS, FULLY RIGID!!
SE
- 29ER Stout (15" & 19" Frames Available)
- Double Butted Cr-Mo Frame w/ Disc
Brake
Mount & Looptail Rear End
- Cr-Mo fork w/ Disc Brake Mount
- Gravity Maximus Alloy 3-Piece Cranks
- Alex DM18 Double Wall Rims
- Kenda Small Block Eight Kevlar Bead Tires
- Removable Derailleur Hanger
On
sale now for $429.99!!!
Remember to check our website for the updated Bike of
The Week every Monday.
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