You're warmly invited to a fun evening of stories, bikes, snacks, and beer at Cambridge Bicycle! Our very own mechanic, Spencer, and his wife Sam, will be telling their tale of a multi-week bike tour through Japan from earlier this year. Come hear of their adventures and be inspired to go on one of your own! Spencer and Sam's talk will be hosted at our shop on Thursday 10/11 at 7:30 PM. See you then!
I was invited to small group ride on New Year's Day, which ended up being just five of us by the 9:30 rollout. Myself, Sandy, our salesperson Rob, and our new friend Annemarie ventured out to Acton and back for a nearly perfect 50 mile ride. It started with donuts, coffee, and quiet city streets. We scrambled over a frozen Minuteman Trail, eventually leaving it in favor of sleepy rural roads. Traffic was low, the sun was warm, and the temperature was just perfect to stay cozy without...
Something amazing about our bike shop is that despite our urbane location, we have a huge interest of mixed-terrain and off-road cycling on staff. What's even more amazing is that Boston is a great city to be in for this kind of riding. I took a rental-car escape the other day to get out of town and back in the woods and ended up at Pawtuckaway State Park in southern NH - less than an hour and a half from Cambridge. It was a freak 70-degree day, blasting over a four-inch thick carpet of dry...
Pete and Alex (featured) are two of our primary wheelbuilders on staff. A custom, hand built wheel offers a wide array of rim, hub, and spoke choices for either high demand cycling, or for unique projects where a stock rim is just not available. We frequently offer hand built wheels for heavy-duty commuters, cycle tourists, and road cyclists who need the reliability and strength that only a professionally built wheel can offer. While we do offer an extensive...
Randy just built up his new Jamis Nemesis Race 650b for the spring and summer cross-country race season. It's set up with Shimano SLX and Deore components, Crank Brother pedals, and a Mavic Crossride wheelset. You'll find him in any of the local trail network as soon as the spring thaw is done and the trails are ready to ride.
Hey everybody it's Bill. A couple Fridays ago I went to Highland Mountainbike Park for their last weekend of the season. The warmer weather melted most of the snow they'd had earlier in the week leaving the trails fabulously muddy. Some of the trails became a real challenge but overall it was a great day for riding. Getting dirty is always part of the fun so everybody was in a great mood. I even met a couple Cambridge locals riding up the lift and it turned out I had fixed a few of their...
Ben here. I just had the pleasure of riding one of the new vegan Brooks Cambium C17 saddles out for a couple days. This is the newest saddle in their lineup and was designed to be the same quality as their other leather saddles, only free of all animal products. I've owned a Brooks B17 and have been riding a Swift for several months, so I was curious to see how the ride compares. I took off my Swift and installed the Cambium. The profile between the two are very similar, and my seatpost height...
Bill's summer project this year was a brand new Jamis AMT all-mountain bike. He's been riding for years, and takes regular trips up to Highland in NH. He purchased the AMT as a frame, threw on a 2x10 SLX groupset, Rock Shox fork, 26" Mavic Crossmax SX wheelset, Thomson seatpost, and Continental tires. Although he spends a lot of time riding on the slopes, you can also find him around on local trails, as he says it rides surprisingly well on cross-country terrain.
This past weekend marked the 2013 edition of Orchard Cross, a cyclocross race through Applecrest Farm Orchards. My friend Paul and I loaded up his Saab at dawn and hit the road for what would be my first race, and only his second. We should really buy a bike rack at some point. After a tired drive filled with dad rock (really the only thing that can keep me awake at 5am), we pulled up, changed, and I got ready to put my Handsome Devil through its paces. Turns out while I was using mine as a...
Having recently helped Luis spec out a Handsome Devil Josh decided he had to get one of his own. He had a mix of 9-speed Shimano Ultegra and 105 components from a previous build, and then added Ritchey Classic bars, stem, and seatpost. To add some color he used pink bottle cages and cable housing. Other highlights include Tektro Mini-V brakes, Continental Cyclocross Speed tires, Cinelli Caleido bar tape, and TIME clipless pedals. He's only had the bike built up for a couple of weeks, and he's...
Our staff have been setting up some great personal bikes this season. This is the first in a series of employee bike profiles for the next few weeks to show what they personally ride for transportation and enjoyment. Last week Ben took some time off to ride his bike and go camping in Vermont and New Hampshire on his custom Surly Cross Check. He's been piecing this bike together over the past few years, and has ended up with a reliable, comfortable bike for camping and touring on rural New...
Late last month Cambridge Bicycle was asked to table for Colliers at their Tenant Appreciation Day. Shreyas and Ben walked over with a couple bikes, a lot of product, and some helpful pamphlets to give out. They had the opportunity to meet and chat with a bunch of friendly people, some experienced cyclists and commuters, and some just beginning cyclists. Colliers also raffled off three bikes purchased with us to three very lucky people. Although it was just a few short hours, they both had a...
Pete discovered this bar tape this winter - the Caleido by Cinelli. Black perf with confetti color underlay - who could ask for anything else? Only $29.95, too!
It's been a crazy couple of weeks in the back of the shop. It seems like only yesterday the partition dividing the shop went up. Just a few weeks ago the back of the shop went from this: To this: Since we set up a staging in the back, our electrician re-did a lot of the lighting in the back. Our new lighting elements for our retail floor have been installed: Our staff have also been pitching in, removing old hooks and fixtures from the wall, including our compressor lines: ...And painting....
Things in our shop are looking a little.different. Yesterday we started rearranging our retail and mechanic spaces in anticipation of our winter renovation. Thank you for your patience as we reorganize and our staff gets used to the new layout. Just to eliminate future worries: we are planning to remain open next month during our shop's aesthetic reboot. Any closure notices (due to construction, weather, holidays, etc.) will be posted here on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter as soon as we can.
Recently a customer brought in his Circle A singlespeed road bike for some help: all four bolts in the frame's sliding dropouts had seized into place, and each bolt head was rounded out. Randy ended up using a dremel with a grinding disc to cut wrench flats into each bolt so he could have at them with some vice grips. Some time later and he had meticulously freed each bolt without damaging either the dropouts or the frame.
Ben recently got his hands on an antique Brooks B17 standard saddle. Our guess is that it's from the mid-to-late 1970's. He's been commuting with it on his Bianchi Volpe. What's really cool is that it's basically the same as the modern Brooks B17 Standard since Brooks has been using the same mold, shape, and materials with this model for decades. Pictured below are the same details on a modern B17 standard from our display case for comparison. ...Other than the plate on the back and the color...
Our beloved salesperson Elyse has moved back home to the midwest. She was determined to get her vintage Schwinn road bike rebuilt into an awesome single speed commuter (complete with front basket and sparkle grips!) right before loading the moving van. Good luck out there, Elyse!
We're proud to announce that we received a Top 100 Retailer Award for 2012! Thank you for supporting us since 1999. We've come a long way since then and we are more proud than ever to be serving Cambridge and the Boston area. Along with the award came a commemorative jersey and vest that are currently hanging up in our window. Abe obviously took a liking for the vest.
A classic Chicago-made Schwinn Prelude in beautiful condition came into the shop last week for a new wheelset and partial rebuild as a single speed. The new wheels match a white Brooks B-17 and highlights on the frame. No matter what condition a 30 year old bike is in, non-drive side bottom bracket cups are never fun to remove - which is why we have a really nice Hozan tool specifically for doing this, as well as Pete to get the job done well.
Tom, Morgan, Ben, Pete, and a few friends riding the Ronde de Rosey this past Sunday. Who knew there was this much dirt to ride around Boston?!
Friday marks the start of the annual North American Hand Built Bicycle Show. It just so happens that our trusty mechanic Ryan has planned a vacation to Sacramento and will be attending. He should be posting a few photos as the show goes along. NAHBS always has some interesting, beautiful, and/or ecelctic builds and Ryan has a pretty honed tasted in bikes. Be sure to keep tuned for what's catching his eye.
Our friend Rebekah Fraser (who has written copy for our website) has a kickstarter project running...check it out!
Everyone loves a New Bike Day, but there is something extra special about your very first New Custom Bike Day. I recently had the joy of getting my first custom frame built by Lauren Trout at Saila. Lauren is an incredibly talented builder and I'm stoked to have this gorgeous bike. A special thanks goes out to Brad at Sugercoat/Geekhouse for the powder coating. Here is the built details for the nerdz: Fork - Easton EC90x Wheels - Mavic Aksium Tires - Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons (28c)...
We're excited to announce that Cambridge Bicycle has received a 2011 Dig This Award for Boston's best bike shop for the second year in a row. Thanks to everyone for voting and telling all of Boston who the best bike shop is! Every little bit of support helps us in our mission to provide the best service possible. In celebration of our award we ran another ad. Ben shot and designed it, and our mechanic Ryan did the modeling: And here's a clearer, pre-press digital image: You can see our ad in...
Hey all, Ben here. Late last month I went on my first tour with back-to-back multiple days of riding, self-supported, with a friend. We took the commuter rail out to Newburyport, and then rode through NH, Maine, to northwestern Vermont. I was either riding my bike, recovering, eating, or sleeping, so I didn't take too many photos; but here are a few reflections from the ride: While the seacoast of New England is pretty flat, the rest of it isn't. The trip had something around 6-7,000 feet of...
One of our employees, Lily, is heading to the Kissena Velodrome in Queens, New York for their opening weekend this May 7th and 8th. She is racing in six different races within her category and is excited for the season! Check out their website for the event schedule and information about the different kinds of races there are. Kissena has a really tight group of people working together to make the programs and races at their velodrome awesome. Here is a set of photos by Lily from an Omnium she...
Packing a bike to fly can be a mildly stressful ordeal. Airlines often charge high fees for bicycles and if you are anything like me you don't like the thought of your bike getting tossed around by baggage handlers who likely laugh at the word FRAGILE written on boxes. While I have had a reasonable amount of luck using a new bike box and packing it with care, this trip I have decided to try something new. Kip (owner of Cambridge Bicycle and Superb) offered to let me borrow his Bike Pro USA...
Our mechanic, Pete was featured in a recent issue of Improper Bostonian. He's on page 37 of The Cambridge Issue as well as a quick mention of the shop. He even got a text from a "secret admirer" regarding this photo, so it's kind of a big deal. If you're looking for a photo of Pete for your next collage project, it's the issue with this for the cover:
We got in 10 or so boxes from Fuji and SE Racing this afternoon. One box was just screaming to get opened. What was inside, you ask? Check it out: ...It's an SE Big Ripper! This one of a kind ride is a 29er with knobbies, single speed drive train, and rear v-brake. This it comes as depicted above: silver with gold anodization details in all the right places. This is one bike that's guaranteed to bring smiles. Here's Stephen, our mechanic who built it up. After the first three laps around our...
...Whether it's by choice or not. Photo of Morgan's cross bike after riding today.
For the past two years, our mechanic Stephen hasn't owned a non-racing bicycle. This week he finished building himself something a bit more city-worthy. His Hoffy is an old track frame he spent three years riding as a courier in NYC. With this resurrection, he's made an old racer into a two-speed cruiser. Stephen's Hoffy has a couple key features that make it stand out. Its Sturmey Archer kickback hub has two speeds, allowing for a second gear much higher than the other. He also has a set of...
Polls closed for the Weekly Dig's Dig This Awards this weekend and the results are in: Cambridge Bicycle is Boston's Best Bike Shop. Thanks for everyone who voted us as the Best Bike Shop in Boston! If you don't live in Boston you can check out the published results here. Also in the new issue you can scope our new ad on page 27: That's Morgan in his second CB ad in a row. Take it from him: be sure to pre-register your keys with your Kryptonite lock before you lose them all. At least the chain...
Ryan is one of our mechanics and has a very particular taste in bicycles and parts. This is his Bottechia, his winter/rain/general city-use road bike. He uses it as a utilitarian vehicle and as a recreational road bike for when he doesn't want to use any of his nicer rides. That's not to say this bicycle isn't nice, because it has a lot of nice parts on it, but it's extremely unique in how it's put together, the parts variety used, and how it actually works very well. On his Velo-Orange...
Ling's well known at the shop for being the go-to person for info on the 43cm/650c Fuji Classic Track; but that isn't the only bike she rides. Pictured above is her Lyon, a fillet-brazed road bike with a classic ride quality and modern set of components. This build is the product of very careful planning and decision-making - a project long in the works. The main guts of the bike consists of a SRAM Rival groupset for its light weight, smooth shifting, and reliability. The handlebars are by...
Ling got to meet Eddy Merckx!
Last September Ben bought himself a Bianchi Volpe as an all-'rounder road bike. Since then he has made a few notable upgrades and changes to the bike that have given it a more personalized purpose and appearance as a light-tourer and all-weather commuter bike. Although the 9-speed Deore rear derailleur is itself a very durable and reliable part, an XT is even smoother, lighter, and more durable. The shifter and brake cables themselves have been swapped out with stainless steel to prevent...
Stephen was one of our new summer additions to our mechanic staff here and at Superb, and he's been racing with the CB team for a little while (and recently got his UCI license for road!). To prepare for this season's cyclocross races he ordered a custom chromoly frame and fork from
Just like pictures, bicycles are worth a thousand words. Dan's Miyata, however; is worthy of it's own Homeric epic. He dumpstered this frame, which was once a 1980's chromoly road bike with Shimano 600 parts, and quickly stripped it. It's been built and re-built several times; changed ownership at least three times; and was once literally dragged behind a car to New Jersey by a previous owner. This bike has been a fixed gear, single-ring road bike, and currently is a dedicated single speed....
Pete is a member of our mechanic staff, races cyclocross with our friends at Geekhouse, and has excellent sense of bike building. Aside from having one of the most nicest commuter bikes I've seen (an old Soma frame with a mix of vintage high-end Shimano and new parts, plus cruiser bars!) he has a couple other rides. Above and below are images of his Cervelo road bike. Pete's got this super light frame set up extremely properly: Thomson stem and seatpost, 3T bars, Chris King headset, Chris King...
If you read the Boston Globe today, you would've seen our mechanic Abe in full greyscale glory. The image was shot by local photographer Kyana Szymczak (check out her website for more great stuff). If you read this today, you can still find it and get it in print. Bring it by the shop and Abe will autograph it with a spray of WD-40 and the print left by a grease-stained crescent wrench.
On display in our front windows is a series of photo-illustrations by Pedal Power Photography. They're large-scale digital photos with vector drawings applied over. Not only do they look cool, but they also feature two of our employees: Ryan and Morgan. Scope out the detail photos below:
Accidents happen and sometimes stuff breaks. When life gives you lemons, though, make the fastest chair of all time. Our manager Bud crafted this amazing chair (perhaps the best non-NJS sanctioned stool made yet) out of an unfortunately-fated Fuji Track Pro. All it needs is a coffee table crafted from bent open pro's and a coffee mug from a Phil Wood hub shell and the collection is complete.
Always.
Sadly enough, our mechanic Rob is leaving us for the winter months for greener pastures. Today's his last day in the shop. To celebrate he took the Big Ripper out for a spin. On and off the bike he's an awesome dude and we're not the only ones who feel this way. Check out this blog his friends made to spread word of his enigmatic character.
Our mechanic Charlie doing another routine repair on a bike.
Transcription: Hello Boy-At-The-Bike-Store, I have a crush on you. I bring my bike in sometimes and you change the tire for me. Sometimes I come in to try to talk to you but I lose courage and buy something I don't really need instead. My room is filling up with bicycle supplies and I don't even know your name! -Just-Another-Girl-With-A-Crush-On-A-Bicycle-Boy We heard about a craigslist ad first day yesterday morning from a customer and it made our day. We like it when people think we're cute,...
Today marks the last day that our beloved friend and coworker Mary Arida will be working at Cambridge Bicycle. She's moving to New York City to pursue other endeavors, and as saddened as we are by her departure, we wish her nothing but the absolute best. Over the past two-and-a-half years Mary has been one of our most skilled and trusted mechanics, with an attention to detail and an incessant drive to achieve the highest quality repair work possible. She has also been a great friend, a patient...
Our boy, and employee, Craig "Jackson" Roth will be holding it down for Boston this weekend in the 10th installment of Monster Track. Monster Track is the messenger race of messenger races and can only be raced on a fixed gear with no brakes. This has led to problems with the man in years past and obviously to more than a few wrecks, but hopefully this years events will go off without issues or injury! Craig will be heading down on his new whip, which he just got built up. It is an Affinity...
We just got a store front renovation by means of new photos of employees, friends and customers commuting in the winter. Our friend Tasha of Pedal Power Photography and the Cambridge Bicycle Race team took all the photos and they look amazing!!
One of our Mechanics, JT, was doored by a car earlier this winter breaking his collarbone in 3 places. He has been on the slow recovery road ever since, and has continued to wrench in his one armed state, but has not been able to play in his Band "Where the Land Meets the Sea." This Sunday a bunch of his friends in other bands are putting on a Benefit show to help with his recovery costs, aptly called Boneshaker. Come by to hear some great music and help out someone who has been helping you...
Today I went for a long ride with members of the Embrocation Elite Road Team and other hardmen. With the high speeds, huge puddles concealing deep potholes, stubborn ice patches, run off and a surging group of excited riders it was a difficult ride. There were two flats, both PVB, and a number of near crashes. This is what I looked like after 70+ miles, notice the "road tan" on my shins: Photos courtesy of Pedal Power Photography RMM
Our very own Jeremy Dunn just made it home from about a month of traveling through Europe. Along the way he attended some pretty amazing cyclocross races (among other things) and put out some amazing videos, my favorite of which can be seen below. The super sketchy cross hill section combined with the melodies of Ratatat are what really make this video for me. To see more about Jeremy's exploits go check out his BLOG! Keep an eye out for more news coming up as he leaves today for some epic...
What we have here is a little clip of Stephanie's nationwide summer adventure! She is a former Cambridge Bicycle employee and friend, doing what we all wish our summer consisted of! Make sure to pop a few Dramamine before viewing. keep up with her at: Cambridge Bikes How Does It Feel