Blem Stems and Frames, and Warm Holiday Wishes

by Igor

Every now and again, we find some finishes which aren't up to snuff, so they get sent to our "scratch n' sniff" bin until we feel the time is right to post them on the specials page. Today, the time has come for these Nickel-finished Cigne Stems and a few Campeur frames.

These Cigne Stems have some not-so-stellar plating with some minor inclusions under the finish and clear coat, but are in perfect functioning condition. If you're handy with a wire wheel and torch, you could even strip the finish and braze on a downtube shifter mount and cable stop:

Time to shift into some fun. thanks again @kermodecycles for an awesome job! #upgrade #brazed #handmade #stem #shifter @velo_orange

A photo posted by Kiefer Blackburn (@woodwheels) on Dec 13, 2016 at 8:30pm PST

We also just posted two paint blem'd Campeur frames and one with a dented seat collar in the Discounted Frames page. None of which affects the frame's function, but cannot be sold in our regular batch.

Lastly, we're going to be closed from December 24th until January 1st, 2017. If you want to get your order shipped before the New Year, submit your order before 11am EST of the 23rd.

Thank you so much for a fantastic and fun 2016!

Have a terrific and safe holiday season and see you all in the new year!

Opinel Essentials 4-Pack and Holiday Gift Ideas

by Igor

Opinel knives are just a treat to behold. Beautifully simple, incredibly light, and well balanced. My No.8 Carbon is a mainstay of my Everyday Carry - always ready to divvy up some meat and cheese on tour or open mail at home.

In addition to their folding knives, Opinel makes terrific kitchen knives.

Just in time for the holidays, we brought in their Essentials 4-Pack which includes (from top to bottom) a Paring Knife, Serrated Knife, Vegetable Knife, and a Peeler.

Both the Paring and Serrated knives have 9.5cm blade lengths, while the Vegetable knife has a 7cm blade.

Though they are all dishwasher safe, I still tend to wash them by hand. The set comes in a nice package for gifting and would make a great addition to any chef's kitchen.

A good set of flat pedals with loads of real estate make any city and touring bike significantly more comfortable. The Sabot Pedals have 3 sets of sealed cartridge bearings, rounded traction pins, and are toe-clip and half-clip compatible.

A cycling cap is an essential piece of every cyclist's kit. The cap must be high quality, lightweight, and have the proper amount of luft. Instructions for proper cap wear can be found here.

The VO Baguette Bag is a simple canvas and leather bag that can mount to your saddle's loops or the front of your handlebars. Great for road bikes without rack mounting points for a bit more carrying capacity during an all day ride. Since it straps on, you can take with you into the cafe or shop.

Add a bit of distinction and safety to your rear fender with our Grand Cru Fender Mounted Reflector. Installation only requires a few minutes to drill one hole and is compatible with any fender type.

I shouldn't get so excited about bungee cords, but the Constructeur Bungee Cords from Rustines really are fantastic. Since they don't have a braided outer lining, they hold down a dry bag or tent super securely without worry of shifting or sliding. They're available in several colors to match your bike or your country's flag.

Lastly, our Gift Certificates are compatible with short and linear pull brakes, Campagnolo and Shimano, and 1" quill and threadless.

Scott's Small Parts and Trip Planning Post

By Scott

Well even though winter is upon us, certainly out west the cold air has been flooding in and it looks like that cold air will hit the east coast by the weekend, we're still getting new products into stock.
Most of these are not as sexy as the Cigne stem or a new frame like the Polyvalent, but I think part of this time of the year is getting all the parts for my builds/project collected and ensure that the prep work is done so that when the time comes to put it all together, I'm not looking for that last part with desperation.

To start with, we have received a new color in the Rustines shifter covers - red! We had asked for these back in the late summer and the red took longer to produce in Le Mans, but they came in yesterday and they look great. So if you are working on a project bike this winter that needs that touch of color, these are a great add on.

Next on the list is straddle cables for the Grand Cru canti brakes. These straddle cables (a set of 2- ie enough for one bike) are the ones to use if you need to replace the straddle cable on the Zeste or the Mk2 brakes.

Finally, we brought in some Jagwire step-down cable ends. For those of you with older frames that don't take 5 mm cable ends (you can use the Park tools caliper to measure if you need to), it bridges the gap to allow you to use modern cables on older fittings. Remember, put just a dab of grease on the end of the cable where it goes into the fitting to prevent it from rusting into place from the sweat of hard work.

The other thing I do over the winter is dream up/make plans for the following year's tour. Adventure Cycling is a great organization for this. VO has been a corporate sponsor of Adventure Cycling for a number of years now. Adventure Cycling is offering a complimentary 6-month trial memberships ($20 value) to first-time members so that you can experience all that Adventure Cycling has to offer. 

ADVENTURE CYCLING MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES: 

• Adventure Cyclist magazine - published 9 times a year
• Discounts on Adventure Cycling maps
• The Cyclosource catalog, our book, map, & gear guide
• Members-only online resources and articles
• Access to our special organized tours
• Exclusive discounts on partner products and services

This free trial membership is valid only to new members and must be sent to a U.S. mailing address. 

https://www.adventurecycling.org/membership/free-trial-membership/?r=Y5-VO17

Just a reminder that the winter sale continues until the 18th. We're starting to run low on some parts, so grab your parts soon.

Winter Sale

Hey, we're having a sale!  Same deal as last year.  Even a similar blog post!

Details: You can get 20% off your order starting right now and ending December 18th, 2016 (at exactly 11:59pm Eastern Time). But you have to use the not-so-secret coupon code, as detailed below. This sale applies to both retail customers and to shops!

Just to be clear, you get 20% off on all in-stock frames, wheels, parts, accessories - everything except gift certificates and items that are already on sale - but only if you follow the steps below:

• Add all of the products you want to your cart, just as you normally would.
• Don't check out yet! Instead click on "My Cart" to review your products.

• Enter the coupon code - WINTER16 - in the little "discount codes" box in the shopping card page, as in the screenshot below.
• Click on "Apply Coupon".

• Check out as you normally would and enjoy your savings! That's all there is to it!