First 2010 Trek Madone 5.9 arrives 16/10/2009

See that smile? That's the smile of Jez who earlier today weighed the new Dura-Ace equipped Trek 5-Series Madone and saw our Park Tools digital scale read 15lbs 15oz (7.23Kg) out of the box. Now we know that a light bike isn't necessarily a good bike and we have read the wise and true words of Sir Lance "It's Not About the Bike" Armstrong. Nevertheless, we also know that these Trek Madones aren't a flash-in-the-pan and they're not flimsy mimsy for high days and holy days. Of the ten or so cyclists that routinely ride from John's Bikes at 8am on a Saturday morning there wil normally be three of them on various versions of the Madone back to when they were called OCLVs.  So they're reliable and comfortable and mostly fast. We love 'em, our customers love 'em and now with the new Project One scheme, Jez can fit and customize a Madone down to the colour of the paint and bar tape and have it here ready for you to ride in 30 days. In good time for Christmas, in fact.

Let's talk about pants 15/10/2009

We're not going to lie to you - we're talking about cycling trousers and appreciate that you're probably hovering your mouse button over something far more alluring. We can't blame you - they're usually black and at best boring but more normally the butt of plenty of non-cyclists' jokes along Max Wall lines. However, it occured to us as we were slowly loading our products onto this new website what bloody great trousers these Endura trousers are. For a start, they're called Hummvee Pants which immediately puts them in a new category far from ballet tights or geeky polyester teachers' trousers tucked into brown nylon socks. More like, "fit young navy seal on a mission". So they look great to the most critical eyes but mostly they're well made and well thought-out for the cycling business. Not pants at all, in fact.

£90 Scoot is our favourite bike 14/10/2009

Children are our favourite customers. Something about their uninhibited enthusiasm for bicycles before they have to start worrying about paying for them, maybe, but there really aren't too many of us at John's Bikes who can't remember the sheer joy of the bike shop as a kid. Bells shaped like eyeballs, purple BMX tyres, spokey-dokeys, dolly seats  - ah, happy memories. We spotted this new tangerine version of Scoot at the Earls Court show and immediately knew it was going to be a hit for Christmas. It's our smallest and least-expensive bike and we've been selling it for a few seasons in blue, silver, green or pink.  But this tangerine - wow! What 2-year-old isn't going to love it? By the way, Henrietta Park in Bath is the place to go for your first Scoot lesson. Flat with a circular safe path and loads of grass either side. Here's a video.

John meets Eddy Merckx 13/10/2009

Our friends at Bike the Mendips 12/10/2009

Probably the question we're most frequently asked in the showroom is, "Where can I ride off road around here?"; it seems with more and more people starting up on bikes there's a general lack of knowledge and confidence of where to go safely. Now we're not lacking in suggestions  - just ask - but we were very impressed when local Ady Boots and his mate Dave Parke started up a business called Bike The Mendips. Based in the lovely village of Blagdon a few miles south-west of Bath and with instant access to quite the most amazing choice of routes, the guys will customize and lead an organised ride to your exact requirements. We'll leave the last words to  Ali Robertson who got married back in April and whose stag party pictured here was based around a mountain bike day in the Mendip Hills, "Excellent, pitched at right level, challenging, fun, varied, exciting. Dave &  Adrian were intelligent, confident, fun - good guys. The day exceeded my expectations. The route was challenging, physically hard, fun, great mix. Excellent all round, thanks very much. Will not hesitate to recommend you guys."

Ug! Here comes the rain 06/10/2009

Well, we've done really well, in truth. September was the driest in Bath since something like 1914 so it's possible we've been lulled into a false sense of well-being. This morning, of course, it's all come home although we were impressed with how many well-dressed cyclists we saw on the ride in, some of them possibly even looking a little pleased with themselves in their nice dry, fluorescent jackets. Certainly more than we would have seen five years ago which has got to be a good thing even if it was raining.  In case you were put off, you might take note of why those commuters were smiling.  Cycling is so good in so many ways and there's nothing like the sense of achievement if you've had to brave a little adversity. Apart from true grit and moral fibre, the big secret is in the clothing. If you have mudguards and a nice waterproof, breathable jacket, there's not much that can harm you. And guess what?  We not only stock both but we even have a great choice;  we look forward to sharing commuters' war stories.

VC Walcot Hill Climb Results 05/10/2009

Velo Club Walcot ran their first open hill climb on Sunday afternoon and a suitably gut-wrenching time was had by all. The winner was no suprise; Mallory's watch expert Rob Gough romped away with the fastest time up The Avenue at Claverton, rapidly followed by two further members of the Chippenham Wheelers, Jeff Jones &Tom Marshal, who therefore took the team prize. Our pic also shows organizer Peter Giddings in the white t-shirt and Chris Addey from sponsor cafe FeelGood@Chelsea Rd in the centre. For really excellent photographs of the race, click over to the website of  Tim Holsgrove.

The Secret Life of John Potter II 30/09/2009

Someone on the John's Bikes Facebook page made the mistake of asking "Who is this John, then?" and it gave us the idea of delving into the private life of a man who is more often than not found cycling a traditional tourer on the canal tow path wearing brogues and, of course, proper Christophe chrome toe-clips and Binda leather straps. Last month we found a video exposing the first of John's vices; steam trains. This month it's bees. Yes, bees. Our OK-style paparazzi shot shows John Potter on the left and his neighbour Judith Holland  performing autumnal maintenance on their hives. Before you write John off as some kind of eccentric, consider the following: he's just jarred up 65lbs of honey from this year's efforts. Not bad. And, fingers crossed, John thinks he's cracked one of the  big problems facing apiarists everywhere and it's icing sugar. Yes, icing sugar. It seems that the Varroa mite has been speading plague and misery far and wide and the easy answer, as ever, is to nuke the blighters with nasty chemicals. Well. that's not the way we do things in god's own West Country. It seems if you dust your bees with icing sugar, they shake themselves so violently that the mites fly off and out of the bottom of the hive. Sometimes a bit of Somerset-farmer-meets-bicycle-engineering is all it takes. As we say, fingers crossed.

21 short films about Trek 29/09/2009

Our favourite bike maker Trek put together a series of short films under the "unscripted" banner which document the year 2009 and loosely based around their involvement with the Tour de France this year. But don't go thinking this is all about bikes. Oh Lord no!  For example, the film "Tonnerre" is a lovely little profile of everyone's favourite British cycling photographer Graham Watson. Watch these and you will definately book your ticket to France next July.

Lighting ad for VC Walcot Hill Climb programme 24/09/2009

Two days left to get your entry in for the VC Walcot open hill climb on Sunday October 4th starting at Claverton Village and up The Avenue to the University. Download your entry forms here.  Just fill it out and post with a £7 cheque to Peter Giddings, 19 Hampton House, Grosvenor Bridge Road, Bath, BA1 6BE. Closing date Sept 26.  Here's the ad going in the programme. There are John's Bikes vouchers among the prizes including one for the most interesting bike. Meanwhile, you have to see these Hope lights. The consensus from this BikeRadar review yesterday seems to be that they're a bit bright to use on the road!