End of Season Sale Bikes

It’s that time of year when the new shiny bikes arrive and we must say goodbye to the current 2016 range. This can only be good news for you as the prices drop to the most competitive. In store items only are available at these prices but are still covered by our 1^st free service.

In this mix we have shop favorites from Genesis, Croix De Fer and from Trek, Domane series along with some well-reviewed Mountain Bikes and cracking commuting and kids bikes. Pop by for a fitting and test ride but remember, Get them before they are gone…

Trek Domane 2.3 56cm 2016 was £1000 now £800

Trek Domane 2.0 60cm 2016 was £900 now £750

Trek Emonda S 4 WSD 52cm was £950 now £680

Trek Lexa SL 52cm WSD 2016 was £750 now £550

Trek Neko SL 14” WSD was £525 now £425

Trek FX 7.3 20” 2016 was £450 now £380

Trek Remedy 9 19.5” 2016 was £2700 now £2160

Trek Remedy 8 17.5” 2016 was £2000 now £1650

Trek Cali S Disc WSD 18.5” 2016 was £550 now £400

Genesis Tarn 27.5+ Medium 2016 was £1899 now £1200

Genesis Longitude Medium 2016 was £1199 now £750

Genesis Croix De Fer 20 Large 2016 was £1199 now £950

Genesis Croix De Fer 20 X-Small 2016 was £1199 now £950

Genesis Croix De Fer 10 Small 2016 was £899 now £700

Genesis Croix De Fer 10 X-Small 2016 was £899 now £700

Genesis Smithfield Medium 2016 was £799 now £525

Genesis Caribou Jnr 20” wheel 2016 was £450 now £260

Ridgeback Vanteo Ladies 15” 2016 was £499 now £400

Ridgeback Velocity ladies 19” 2016 was £449 now £300

Ridgeback Meteor ladies 15” 2015 was 379 now £280

Ridgeback MX2 13” 2016 was £290 now £200

Ridgeback MX2 13” 2016 was £290 now £200

Ridgeback Destiny Girls 24” wheel 2015 was £249 now £200

Ridgeback MX16 2016 Was £159 now £130

What is Standard? a shop perspective…

We feel sorry for you, all you want to do is fix, update or buy a new bike but you’re faced with “Standards” what axle width are you running? What is your inside rim diameter? What year is your group set? Is it long cage or short cage? What freehub is fitted?  Is your headset internal, semi integrated, integrated or mixed? What bottom bracket are you running, cartridge, external, press fit, BB90, BB30, GXP, ISIS, square-taper? The list goes on and on…

Sometimes we know the visit to your local bike shop can be frustrating, all of the shops try to keep their knowledge up to date but diagnosing a “Standard” part quickly can be tricky. To be frank, the industry doesn’t help itself either. A lot of brand websites FAQ or Tech sections are of little help and if your local store doesn’t sell your brand of bike they don’t always have access to accurate dealer websites or tech helplines. We can get around the problems with an investigation in the stand but during peak season there is often a week or two wait to get it in the mechanic’s stand, no good if you’re wanting to get out there and ride that evening or weekend. We try and keep a good relationship with our peers, we help them out if they need proprietary parts for a Trek bike they may have in their workshop and it goes vice versa.

What can you do in a doomsday prepper style to make sure you’re ready for the worst? Forums? YouTube? Mates? The good news is that the internet has a lot of accurate information but equally a lot of poor advice too. When you buy your new bike, ask for the full spec. we love questions like that and are more than happy to give you a list of the critical spares Bottom Bracket, Headset, Hub, Freehub, bearing kit (full suspension), rear mech hangers from the off, it’s all part of the service and in our opinion every bike shop should do this for you too. The likelihood is in our mind is that you will still need to visit your local workshop due to you not having some specialist tools and techniques to hand, modern bikes are engineering marvels and the boundaries are getting wider.

Since the advent of GCN, GMBN and the long running Bike Radar YouTube channels you can find accurate advice and techniques to help remedy your bicycle maladies, though the risk is on you. Sometimes the tools required are quite expensive, spending £200 or more on a tool that you likely to use at most once a year has to be questioned. So what tools do we think you should have at home? Simple.

• A decent set of allen/hex keys. Preferably a separates set with a ball end for hard to reach areas, but not putting the final torque in though.
• A chain wear checker. The most important tool in your stash for saving money.
• Decent flat head and Philips screw drivers in multiple sizes.
• Pliers and snipe nose pliers
• A set of snips and a high quality cable cutter.
• A chain tool with the correct size pin for the speed chain you use.
• A chain whip and locking ring tool.
• the correct bottom bracket tool for either cartridge or external. Press fit bottom brackets require specialist tools and a careful technique, so we do not advocate you do this yourself unless you have a high level of competency.
• A torque setting tool. Remember you do not have to go to the maximum stipulated on the part.
• Chain oil, bearing grease and fiber grip gel for carbon parts.
• A small soft rubber mallet.
• Bike friendly cleaning products from degreasers to disc brake cleaners and brushes.
• A track pump with a gauge.
• Plenty of rags!

Park Tools

All of these tools, with practice will help you maintain your bike enough so you only have to see us for specialist jobs, wheel build and complete overhauls. Bearing in mind that all these tools add up to around £300, its still quite an investment but it’s worthwhile knowing your bike better.

Overall though keep a good relationship with your local bike shop, it’s not about selling you kit; it’s about keeping you rolling safely. We are always happy to advise, though as mentioned not always able to wave the magic wand to get you rolling straight away.

All New Trek Domane disc  – Strade Bianche – Mum’s the word.

With the year 2016 well under way and the dark days of winter slipping behind us the spring classics have arrived. Filling air time on Eurosport most weekends it’s a good chance to soak up some of the more thrilling road races on the UCI road calendar. It would also be a good chance for the more hawk eyed pedal pusher to keep an eye out for new Trek Domane Disc as suggested from our more than tight lipped Trek bicycles representative, Mr X.

Please bear in mind, his lips are tighter than Sir Chris Hoys bib shorts.

Once we relaxed Mr X he hinted that if we were to watch this weekends  ” Strade Bianche” race and keep an eye on the Trek – Segafredo team, we may very well see them aboard the all new Trek Domane Disc model, which will officially be a world first! After a lot of Parisian style shoulder shrugs, Mr X  mentioned that this is a new revised version of what the Trek Factory racing team were swinging a leg over in last year’s Vuelta Espana with the forever comfortable Trek Domane geometry but with bigger tyre clearances for more choice & adaptability.

If & when we find out any more about the new Trek Domane disc it would mean either we have tickled Mr X till he split the beans or Trek have officially launched. Feel free to pick up the phone and jump on the list for more info as & when.

For the mean time you will have to keep your eyes peeled on the spring classic’s ahead and remember these wise words.

“Winter miles = summer smiles”

Mum’s the word.

J-Fam

Interesting  Strade Bianche fact for you.

If Fabian Cancellara (Trek – Segafredo) conquers the one-day Tuscan race again, organizer RCS Sport said that it will name sector six, east of Siena, after him. It will do so with every three-time winner in the years to come. The Swiss classics specialist, three-time victor in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, is the only cyclist so far to win twice, in 2008 and 2012.

Live TV coverage – Saturday 05/03/16

12.45 – 15.00: Eurosport Player

Race Highlights below:

16.45 – 17.30: Eurosport 1 & 22.20 – 23.20: Eurosport 1

As the bad weather closes in, take advantage of our workshop’s same-day service* and prepare your bike for the winter months ahead with a good service.

Our Advanced Service is the best way to keep your bike in tip-top condition, even through the filthiest weather!

We remove, fully degrease and refit your drivetrain components (chain, cassette, front and rear derailleurs, crank and chainrings) before lubricating the chain with wet-weather chain lube designed to keep the rust at bay.

We also clean any abrasive road grit and grime from the brake pads and braking surfaces, ensuring long life for your rims (or disc-brake rotors).

Your bike will then receive a full adjustment service, with brakes and gears set, all bearings adjusted (hubs, headset and bottom bracket), wheels trued, and all fittings checked for torque.

All customers booking an Advanced Service with us this winter will receive a complimentary John’s Bikes Winter Care Kit, with bike cleaner and wet-weather chain lube, to maintain your bike in perfect condition after the service.

What else can you do to keep your bike safe and running well through winter?

• Chunkier tyres help your bike grip the road better in wet and grimy conditions.
• New brake pads and cables make your brakes more effective
• Mudguards help keep you dry and warm, and keep your bike’s vital moving parts clean and free of grime.

Call to book a service on 01225 334633, or pop in to the shop.

*Subject to availability

BikePacking and the Genesis CDA 10

We are always harping on about the virtues of bike-packing or adventure touring and seeing the growth and development of these bikes over the years has been very exciting. This August, our Mark went bike-packing in Belgium on one of our favourite brands, Genesis Bikes. He took the CDA 10 from the range which was a departure for him as he normally rides steel bikes. The CDA is based on the same world conquering geometry as the Croix De Fer but has an Aluminium frame, Carbon fork, with a 2×8 Shimano Claris groupset and the fantastic TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes. Those fancying a steel ride can get the same build on the Croix De fer 10 for only a £100 more.

Mark was impressed with the groupset even though some would consider it to be entry level, it provided a solid platform with a wide enough ratio for riding with loaded rear panniers, 50/34 and 12/30. The one modification he did make was swap out the fatter Continental Cyclocross Speed tyres for the faster rolling Bontrager AW1 in a 700x28c format. The combo of the bike and those tyres saw 500km of road, pave, cobbles, gravel and singletrack without a single puncture.

Considering this bike is at the entry level price point for adventure bikes, Mark said he would happily ride this bike all day around the world if someone paid him too… The Genesis range has fantastic off the peg solutions for all types of riding but also offers frame only options for those personalised custom builds that we can do for you.

Genesis CDA 10 £749.99

Bontrager AW1 700×28 £24.99

Ortlieb luggage

We are super happy to have back in stock the Ortlieb range of bike luggage, to add to our awesome range. Ortlieb lead the way in practical and reliable bike luggage solutions from round the world trips to the daily commute using a variety of materials to suit all needs. The in-store classic is the front (12.5ltr per side) & rear rollers (20ltr per side), though both can be mounted on a rear pannier rack despite the moniker. They available multiple colour ways and several different materials. The Classic is a PVC tarpaulin type material, whilst a heavier than its stable mate the back Roller Plus it is almost indestructible as we have all taken a tumble at some point and have come off worse than the panniers…

Although pricier than some of their competitors, these luggage solutions are guaranteed for 5yrs and in most cases will last a lot longer.

Ortlieb Front Roller Classic £90.00 (Pair)

Ortlieb Back Roller Classic £110.00 (Pair)

Bike of the Month

This month we are focusing on the Trek Silque C Women’s Road Bike. This bike made its first appearance in the 2015 range and was built from the ground up to compliment the growing need for women’s specific geometry performance bikes, as a lot of manufacturers just modified existing men’s bikes and slapped a new colour scheme on them.

The Silque range has the same Decoupler as the men’s Domane range but has a whole new set of angles for the actual frame. Trek has long believed in the better the fit, the better the ride, whether that means more smiles and/or miles been comfortable from the off sees a less fatiguing ride.

The Silque range is all carbon and starts at £1500 with the Silque C, utilising 400 series carbon you get the best in a compliant ride and frame stiffness so no energies are wasted. It comes equipped with the all new Shimano Tiagra 4700 which is based on a previous Shimano 105 design with hidden cable routing and highly improved hoods for all day long comfort. A Bontrager tubeless ready wheelset and Bontrager finishing kit complete the package. Higher spec bikes are available and they can also be tailor made in Treks Project One facility

Trek Silque C £1500

Bikes, Beer and baguettes

We are still running our maintenance evenings and enjoying getting you guys self-sufficient in maintaining your own bikes, hopefully so you only have to come in for the big jobs! We are full now for the coming year, however we will be opening our submission form back up in October so keep your eyes peeled on our website, Twitter and Facebook accounts for details.