Santa Cruz Bicycles at John’s Bikes 24/02/2010

 Good day to you all from the team here at John's Bikes. Just taking a moment to inform you all of some new products that are getting us all hot and sweaty under the collar here at the shop!

Santa Cruz bicycles are back with a vengeance; a great brand with a race pedigree history firmly established recently on the world cup circuit by our own Brit, Steve Peat.

We are currently stocking the Chameleon, Superlight and Blur Lt models with a Heckler on its way. Built bikes start at £1499 and frame only options from £569.

Checkout www.santacruzbikes.co.uk for custom build options, colours, weight and specs using their bike builder application on their website.

‘Shaggy’ Will Wells putting the Santa Cruz Blur LT through its paces

John's Bikes sponsors Arthur Smith comedy events 16/02/2010

John's Bikes is proud to sponsor two of the exciting events taking place in Bath Comedy Festival 2010.

Sunday 4th April
Sunday Lunch with Arthur Smith
Venue: Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA
Doors: 12:30pm
Tickets: £14.50 including roast beef lunch

Monday 5th April
Arthur Smith's Curious Evening
Venue: Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA
Doors: 8:00pm
Tickets: £10.00

Show description:
A stalwart of Edinburgh and Bath Festivals for many years, this comedian, writer, broadcaster, artist and grumpy old man requires no introduction.

Written especially for the Bath Comedy Festival, this new show promises to be intriguing and highly entertaining.

The one-off Easter Sunday performance combines a roast lunch and show.
Early booking essential.

Licenced bar. Mrs Chipp's Kitchen.
A Nick Steel Entertains production.

Tickets from Bath Festival Box Office 01225 463362 or online - see www.widcombe.net

Madone 6-Series gets great review 08/02/2010

We have already delivered the first Project One bikes where customers have logged onto a special Trek website to specify with our help and in minute detail their ideal bike based on a Madone 5 or 6-Series frame. Especially gratifying is that one of them was bikeradar.com's Neil Pedoe who's just published his review here. You can read the article in full but the important part is that it concludes "Trek's custom option isn't cheap, but the bottom line is it rides beautifully."

Jeremy Barker gets a mention in the article and is our specially-trained in-house expert on selecting and fitting road bikes. We say "trained" which is true but there's no replacing the years of riding experience first. According to Jeremy, "There's nothing better than the smiles on the faces of happy customers."  In fact, only today we've had a test rider come back from a first run on a very reasonably-priced red Trek 2.5.  His words? "Oh. My. God." Yep, that just about sums it up. First, they're well-engineered bikes with attention paid to all the long-term (and, truth to tell, somethimes rather mundane) issues covered. Then they look gorgeous. Then they're fitted taking into account your body shape and particular requirements. But you don't need to take our word for it; there are plenty of customers you can ask and one thing you can be sure of is that they didn't buy a Trek because they were the cheapest option. 

Eddy Merckx est arrivé 08/02/2010

The first 2010 Eddy Merckx bike is in the house. It's based on a magnificent carbon-fibre frame, finished with Shimano 105 components and weighs a svelte 18lbs. It has a 56cm top tube so well average for the maximum number of test rides. You coming?

ipayroadtax.com 04/02/2010

ipayroadtax.com

Dinosaurs! 31/01/2010

We never cease to be impressed, amazed and blown away by what our customers get up to when they're not riding their bikes. James Robbins is a long-standing friend of the shop who painted the exquisite rendering of Walcot St  that is soon to be revealed in John's Bikes guide to the interesting shops and cafes in Bath. But it was only when the BBC covered the story last week on researchers unearthing clues to the real colours of earth's earliest inhabitants that we discovered James has a whole other career as an authority on the illustration of paleontology - that's dinosaurs to the likes of us - and has been published in National Geographic.  So the makers of the Genesis Day One Cross weren't exactly original, indeed 70 million years late, when they chose orange and white for their colour scheme. It shows there's nothing new under the sun.

Genesis Flyer review on bikeradar.com 27/01/2010

The Cambridge blue Genesis Flyer we've had in the window and on test for the last few weeks has attracted many positive comments and the first sales. Like its feisty orange stablemate the Day One Cross, it shows that despite a single gear, there is appeal in simplicity especially for riders taking advantage of our lovely east-west bike routes. Bikeradar.com have just reviewed the Genesis here. Apart from giving it the full five stars, their Guy Kesteven found in summary that, "The Flyer looks great and the light, double-butted frame and sweet fork, decent kit and agile handling mean it’s a great ride too"

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CoreBike Show Highlights 27/01/2010

The CoreBike Show takes place in January every year in the Midlands. It's where we go to see the really cool stuff that's about to land for the new season and this is where our parts &accessories buyer Ian Weeks goes into overdrive with his notebook and calculator in hand while quietly stroking a titanium frame here and admiring a particular shade of  anodizing there.  You'll find reports of last weekend's show at the bike websites bikeradar.com and road.cc here but these are Ian's highlights.

Salsa Ala Carte frameset  Not strictly speaking the first titanium frame from the famous Salsa brand but certainly welcome and apparently the precursor of other options in addition to this classic performance-orientated off-road hardtail. Designed to be used with 100mm suspension forks. £1,700

pic thanks to bikeradar.com

EVOC bike bag  The European sportive season is fast approaching and investment in a really good-quality bike bag will pay back over many years. This one has protection and pockets for everything and a super-strong base with integral airport wheels. Bikeradar.com said "There are plenty of bags on the market for transporting your pride and joy to sunnier climes, but we've never seen one as well thought out as EVOC's Bike Travel Bag. £250

Hope Eternity seatpost Like everything else from the north-country CNC wizards, this seatpost has been a long time coming but we appreciate that they do their new products' R&D on the racing teams before they send it to John's Bikes. Available in sizes 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6mm and only in black from March 1st. £70

pic thanks to bikeradar.com

Time iClick pedals  We've know these were coming since the Autumn but we're no less excited now that they're almost here. The main spring is made of a clever carbon material which means less weight, less wear and, a bit strange at first for Time, a near-silent click in.  From £85

DiaCompe Gran Compe track wheelset  Ian is impressed with the value bearing in mind we'already familiar with the components and build quality. All black with 32 x 2mm spokes. We'd say bombproof but.....you know. £275

Brooks Colt saddle  Another of the old models that had been rationalised away under the old regime now soon to be back in the range to satisfy a heavier rider that likes absolute comfort over many, many miles. The very best cut of leather with a deeper, more supporting shape but still narrow and with hand-beaten copper rivets. £TBA

pic by Nick Rearden


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January 2010 Newsletter Out Now 22/01/2010

We publish a monthly newsletter which we try to make interesting and not TOO pushy. Of course, it mentions that our 10% OFF EVERYTHING January sale is still on but there's also a report on our recent Trek Demo Day as well as a call-to-arms to write to the B&NES Councillor who is shortly making the decision about the Two Tunnels Project. Click here and you can read this and previous newsletters as well as sign up for future editions. Thank You.

Two Tunnels needs help now 22/01/2010

The much-anticipated Two Tunnels project to repurpose the old Somerset &  Dorset Railway track as a gently sloping Greenway towards Radstock up and through the hill to the south of Bath is by no means a done deal. Despite having millions of pounds of funding standing by through such bodies as Sustrans and initiatives like "King Bladud's Pigs" the whole shebang now depends on the go-ahead from Bath &  North East Somerset Council and a single councillor at that. The report to approve the Sustrans business case for the project has now been submitted and is available on the Council website here. To ensure that the council is in no doubt about support for the project it would be appreciated if you would consider emailing a response. Please use your own words to express your view but we suggest it would be useful to include the location you live in and how the Two Tunnels Greenway would benefit yourself and others. It need not be too long and a few lines would suffice. It should be addressed to Cllr Gerrish at Charles_Gerrish@Bathnes.Gov.UK and include in the subject line: "Two Tunnels Project – Single Member Decision". Imagine for a moment being able to ride south without climbing Wellsway, Prior Park or Bathwick. It's got us excited, too.