The Orange Pass Hunter Disc Frames are Here

Happy Halloween! The new disc-brake Pass Hunters have just arrived. We're doing quality control checks and taking photos today. We'll have them on the site Monday. The disc-version has the same geometry as the canti-brake version, but with some cool new details.

We also have some new handlebars and the black drillium cranks. Details coming soon.

Finally, the Philly Bike Expo is November 7 and 8. It's a great show and we'll have some new products on display. Please come if you can.

Stuff on Sale, Frames, Bags, Tires

By Chris

Please check out our special page. We've put some great stuff on sale, including Onza tires, Relevate frame bags, and Velo Transit Panniers.

We've also put Campeur frames on sale to make room for the 2016 version. The next production run will be a new color, though we're still undecided on exactly what that color will be (waiting for samples). I should note that at least one staff member thinks the current gray is the best frame color we've ever had and is lobbying hard to keep it. What color would you like to see?

We also have a couple blemished Camargues on the specials page.  Little scratches on the chain stay or the barrel adjustor. Otherwise, these frames are brand new. These are the sort of little scratches that any frames will get after a couple of months of use.

Finally, there is one medium-sized Piolet with a minor paint blem on the seat tube extension. It looks like a tiny air bubble in the paint.

Wheels for Young and Old Bikes

by Igor

We added two new complete wheels for our upcoming Pass Hunter Disc as well as two more for older bikes that use 27" rims.

*As with all disc QR front wheels, the quick release should always be on the drive side of the bike.

We paired our Grand Cru Disc Hubs to PBP rims for a versatile wheelset suitable for touring your favorite fire road and all-weather commuting. The rims fit tires ranging from 23mm to 35mm. Find the front wheel here, and the rear wheel here.

For those refurbishing older bikes that use 27" wheels and 126mm rear spacing we now offer a rear and accompanying front. I love keeping old bikes on the road. Just to be clear, 27" is actually a larger diameter than 29er. 27" is also larger than 27-1/2". Who thinks up these wheel sizes?

The Rustines Bungee Cords have been selling really well, so we added two colors: orange and periwinkle (or is it lilac, or maybe lavender.)

Real Bikes of the Internet

By Clint

It's always fun to see what people are doing with our stuff.  Here are a few photos we found while surfing the web.

Konstantin from PLANETARKI.RU in Russia sent us this one recently.

Some kind of space-mixte build.  Courtesy of Firefly.  

Kind of an oldie, but here are some Grand Cru brakes on a Cielo.  

Cool alternative porteur mounting with the Surly hardware and those big brown tires.  Courtesy of No life like this life.

This and That

By Chris

A few random things:

The Piolet frames are selling well. The XL size is already sold out. We're just now sending 18 of them to a shop in Asia. One thing that I've noticed is that a large percentage of Piolets go to folks in the bike industry for personal use. The percentage is far above that for any other frame we've sold. I'm not sure why this is, but it's really a great endorsement that so many bike professionals want to ride Piolets.

We recently had an order for over $800 worth of VO brake pads from a relatively small bike shop. It turns out that they now use only VO pads and shoes because they feel they are the best available. I frequently see emails from customers praising these pads and have noticed more shops ordering large quantities recently. I wish I could take credit for developing these pads. But what happened was that I was at the Taipei bike show with an employee who insisted that we stop by this tiny booth displaying brake pads from a little factory I'd never heard of. "You've got to check out this one brake pad rubber formula these guys have," he said. "They don't squeal and they stop really well." I was skeptical, but we got some samples--they were great. Now I don't claim that they will never squeal under any circumstances, but they do eliminate noise on the vast majority of bikes we've tried them on. And they stop as well as any pads I've used in both wet or dry conditions. Try a set and see for yourself.

Sir Derek & Sir Brandon, defenders of the fenders.  (photo by Clint)

We just unloaded a container, lots of boxes. So we built a castle.

Dia Compe has introduced these cool and beautifully machined roller cable hangers. We have a small stock available. Constructeur style!

Our inexpensive alloy front cable stop is now also available in black. They match our noir brakes and headsets.

We now have a good stock of black replacement fender hardware.

Milan and Tourist bars are back in stock. A lot of you have been waiting. Those are our most popular handlebars; thus we ran out.

That is all.