Just a quick note that Renaissance Bicycles will attend the GearHeads Asheville show this Saturday (April 25th) at the WNC Agricultural Center.

We’ll have most of the bikes from the website on display, along with a few top-secret vintage items not yet unveiled.  And of course, we’ll have the Rivendell Betty Foy and Soma Buena Vista mixtes for you drool over too.  Heck, we might even try to sneak in a Batavus for people to ride around the coliseum floor.

So if you want to geek-out on some retro bikes or talk Moots or Rivendell, just drop by our booth.  We’ll be easy to spot in our Renaissance Bicycles costumes.

See you there!

With the recent Spring rush around the Shop, we spend most of our time working on custom built bikes ordered by customers.  However, we still have some of our own projects in the works.

Here is what is coming down the pipeline at Renaissance Bicycles:

• 1962 Legnano Gran Premio — Complete repaint with a “modern” interpretation of the original paint scheme.  Very classic-esqe bike with leather, lots of chrome, and all new Shimano Ultegra components.
• 1983 Specialized Stumpjumper –  Rigid lugged steel MTB repainted with the original color scheme and decals.  Upfitted with modern SRAM mountain drivetrain and all FSA goodies.  Intended to be a 650b bike … but final assembly will make that decision.
• 1983 Specialized Allez — Great lugged steel road bike.  Repainted and styled ala Renaissance Bicycles; high gloss white with yellow accents.  Refurbished original [in]famous Shimano 105 Biopace drivetrain.
• Soma-fied Soma B-side build-up — A complete 650b Soma B-Side mountain bike with almost all of the components and accessories coming from Soma.
• 1970′s Atala City Bike — Just a clean-and-polish job for a simple and stylish city bike.  A perfect vintage town bike for the retro-aficionado.

And we have a few other projects waiting in the wings, but they are a little too far off the radar to warant comment at the moment.

So yes, we promise to update the website with these bikes as they come available.  We also have a few other bikes waiting in the “photo queue” that should make their debute in the next week or two.  But if we stay too busy with customer orders to devote our full attention to the projects listed above, we won’t complain.

Thanks again for keeping us busy.

In 2007, Wired magazine (among others) noted the resurgence in steel bikes in an article titled Cycling Purists Rejoice: Steel is Back.  Now, two Interbikes later, the question remains: has steel finally “arrived”?

Truth be told, steel never actually went away.  But it’s market share sure did.

What has changed in the last 20 years is the inclusion of other worthwhile framebuilding materials.  As widely discussed, and beyond the scope of this article, each frame material (or combination thereof) has a it’s own positive and negative attributes.  Make a brave stand for your preferred frame material(s) on one of the more popular online cycling forums and you’ll see what I mean.

However, there is one important thing that separates steel from the competition … it remains to be the choice of artisan framebuilders.  Here are a few visuals to emphasize the point:

• Ellis Cycles — Dave Wages might be the “new kid”, but he’s been on the block for a while.
• Cicli Polito — Award winning handcrafted steel by Dan Polito.
• Vanilla Bicycles — Sacha Whites’ instant legacy.

As you may already know, none of the three builders above fit into the stereotypical “retro-grouch” archetype.  Rather, they (and others like Sam Whittingham of Naked Bicycle and Design) are young, hip, savvy, and likely to write a blog or two.  More to the point, these steel bikes are a youthful stand against the bike mass-ufacturers — a symbol of individuality and appreciation of hands-on craftsmanship.  This movement against the mainstream is what has really spurred the revival in steel … especially lugged steel bikes.

The other somewhat obvious contributor to steel’s “comeback” is the fixie factor.  Prior to the development of the specialty niche fixies, like Milwaukee Bike’s Bruiser, the common fixie was a used lugged steel bike with horizontal dropouts.  In other words, the vintage steel bike made the perfect platform for an affordable urban bike that could take some abuse, provide simple transportation, and allow the Mission Hipster a platform for self expression.

Of course, the growing popularity of these handmade steel and simple transport bikes is not lost on the major manufacturers.  So in an effort to expand this “new” market niche, the manufacturers have gone back to what originally brought their success … steel bikes.  The reason for the latency into the market is the slow churning cogs of mass production.  Tim Jackson, the brand manager of Masi Bicycles recently wrote / blogged / facebooked / tweeted that Masi already wrapped up their 2010 model line-up specifications before the 2009′s even hit the stores.  Obviously, having to anticipate trends, production, and materials almost two years in advance is a tough task.

That said, Urban Velo recently published a brief list of commonly available steel road bikes.  When combining this list with the hundreds of a custom frame builders, and the hundreds of thousands of vintage steel bikes still on the road, it is reasonable to speculate that steel still dominates the bike industry.

Three other highlights that may, depending on who you ask, contribute to the allure of steel:

• Early versions of carbon fiber bikes are literally “coming unglued”.  Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about frames like this, but thankfully the industry has improved and refined the carbon frame construction process.
• Steel is both repairable and less likely to have a catastrophic failure.  Using my personal steel commuter bike as an example, I have crashed it hard AND (I can’t believe that I am admitting this) I have driven my car into garage while the bike was still attached to the roof rack.  Sure the frame has a small ding in the top tube … but I have ridden it 1000′s of miles since.
• Steel manufacturing techniques and materials continue to improve and evolve.  While other materials currently receive more coverage from the cycling media, the makers of steel haven’t been dormant.

Steel is a great medium for creating bicycles … it is plentiful, affordable, easily welded, stunning in the right hands, and has a handcrafted appeal like Grandma’s apple pie.  Contrary to the opening statement of this article, steel has never really been in a “comeback” position, rather it has simply lost some of the mainstream spotlight.  But like anything worthwhile, consumers will eventually eschew the latest-and-greatest in favor of the time-tested favorite.

This article also appears online at http://thecyclistsite.com/

Much like the the uneasy narrator of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, the owner(s) of your local bike shop (LBS) may have an uneasy sense of impending doom.  Here are some of the current issues that keep them up at night:

• The global economy — And more specifically, the fluctuations in the exchange rates.  Yes, even the friendly sales gal in the bike shop is an unwilling participant in the complex web of global finances.
• The local economy — Purse strings tighten like the Hangman’s noose.
• The credit crunch – Your LBS is most likely in the treacherous (and almost inescapable) retail money cycle:

1. Borrow on credit for merchandise. After all, who would shop at an empty store?
2. Sell merchandise piece-by-piece at a profit. And the sooner the better since the notion of “this year’s model” ensures that some of the merchandise will be discounted.
3. Sell enough merchandise to pay the creditor. Easier said than done; one bad week/month/season/year or unexpected expense can upset the apple cart.
4. Rinse, repeat. But if there is a hitch in the cycle, somebody is going to say, “Jenga!” (although not as cheerfully as a small child).

• Online discount retailers — When the consumer’s end product is the same regardless of venue, then price is king … and eBay is the current king of kings.  A brick-and-mortar store’s best (and possibly only) defense is to provide both virtual and face-to-face business.
• The move to “franchise” bike shops — Trek started a trend (with Specialized and Giant following their lead) to provide a brand oriented store.  This is a a tactical marketing move to encourage brand loyalty, rather than identifying with a sense of place.  Your LBS might become like milk … homogenized.
• Taxation without representation — Conventional wisdom says that the small retailer has little or no influence over the product design, options, or choices made by their suppliers.  Basically, you sell what you can get.

So … considering this abbreviated list of externalities, what can the LBS do?

• Nothing … it is the natural evolution of capitalism and consumerism – The small fish eventually gets eaten by the big fish.  The LBS will follow the local sports store, local pharmacy, local pet store, local (insert hobby here) into relative obscurity.
• Move towards specialty products and services – Cater to a local demographic or niche within the Red Ocean of bicycle consumers … recumbents, fixie hipsters, retro-grouches, commuters, guys that wear tweed, etc.  If you haven’t already guessed, this is the approach of Renaissance Bicycles.
• Align with “lifestyle” retailers –Tap into the Blue Ocean of consumers.  Approach the potential customer via another vice … like leather or perfume.  However, previous parallels industries indicate this will probably be more fad than habit forming.
• Provide superior service  – Well … this is partly a trick answer.  Larger retailers can provide more employment compensation and incentives.  They often have the means to attract more qualified and/or experienced staff.  But as many LBS patrons know, that doesn’t mean the LBS can’t be the best.
• Reject the traditional retail model — 60 pairs of cycling shoes, even the Sasquatch sizes?  “The run” of frame sizes for a particular bike?  Forget the “stock every item” mentality and mimic the Apple Retail Store … have a dozen or more demo bikes for the customers to simply enjoy.  After all, this is a recreation industry.
• Go out and ride as much as possible – A simple but effective tool.  This creates a context between purveyor and consumer, and it also reinforces the basic human need for belonging and mutual respect.  At the heart of it is whole reason people own bike shops … they just like riding bikes.

The moral to this rant is the traditional LBS needs to change.  If it simply continues to conduct business as if carbon fiber bikes are the wave of the future, it is probably too late.  Fortunately, most LBS owners see the writing on the wall.  Rather than thinking the old agricultural idiom, “get big or get out“, they think “get creative or get out”.

While our current economic times will undoubtably become The Grim Reaper of some struggling bike businesses, it will hopefully provide the extrinsic motivation to re-think the traditional model of the LBS by all interested parties.  As noted time and again, innovation is the real key to capitalism.  Who knows, it might even provide a true renaissance of the bicycle as part of our American landscape.

Note:  This was our lame attempt at some April Fools tomfoolery … but maybe we should just stick to building bikes.

A recent Swedish study found that recreational cycling definitively slows, and possibly reverses, the aging process in humans.

“We initially intended to study the aging process on mice, but ran into technical difficulties”, said the researchers at the Hammlecker-Schlemmlecker Institute after realizing that mice cannot ride miniature bicycles. “We went ahead with full-on human studies, and we were pleased with the sizable amount of data collected.”

The study engaged approximately 2500 voluntary North American participants in a 7-month health survey.  Key aging markers such as blood pressure, hair loss, and enjoyment of NPR were all recorded.  Of both the male and female participants, the scientists noted a reversal of facial wrinkles, especially in the dreaded “crowsfeet”.

“Cycling may be the new Botox”, speculated Dr. Robert A. Yoyo, a licensed plastic surgeon of Pasadena, California.  Since the initial findings of the study, his practice has already seen a steady influx of patients requesting “Cyclox”, a combination spin class / Botox procedure.

The study also indicates a noticeable increase in overall vitality and sexual desire, especially in the male participants over the age of 55.  Insiders at the pharmaceutical manufacturers Pfizer, the distributors of Viagra, are keeping a close eye on the study.  “We have spent millions of dollars developing this product, so we are interested in maintaining our share of the market.  We are also concerned about the possible psychological repercussions of long-term spandex abuse.”

Proponents of the study site cycling legend Lance Armstrong as real-world evidence.  Armstrong — a survivor of testicular cancer — has conceived a child with his girlfriend Anna Hansen.  When questioned about his method of conception, Armstrong replied via Twitter, “we did it the old fashioned way”.

Although the scientific community agrees that a more investigation is needed, many recreation cyclists are already touting the youthful effects of cycling. “Just look at Tim “Fuzzy” Hall …” said life-long cyclist Alex Singer, “He’s almost 40 years-old and I can’t tell him from the baggy-shorts wearing kids at the movie theater.”

More detailed findings will be published by the researchers via their official H-S Institute blog →