We have a winner!
Dave Dudman used all his ingenuity to come up with the winning caption for our 'What's Randy doing?' competition
"Randy doing some extreme toenail cutting"
Lucky bloke - he's now got a fistful of vouchers to spend with us.
Congratulations also go to Ron Humphreys who has won £50 of gift vouchers in our monthly prize draw.
You could be next - click here to have a look at the current comp.
Well look at us - getting all cultured!
You may remember a fantastic evening we had here in the shop last year - the John's Bikes Christmas Cracker Event.
And one of the highlights of an altogether great time was having the writer and big bike aficionado William Fotheringham signing his indispensable book, 'Cyclopedia: It's All About the Bike'.
Well now, we're breaking new ground by being the first bike shop in Bath to sponsor an event at the Bath LitFest.
We're putting up the dosh for William's talk "It's all about the Bike".
It's at 11.15am, on Sunday, 27th February at the Bath Masonic Hall in Orchard Street.
Tickets are just a measly £7 and £6 for concessions.
Get yours quickly, quickly! from the Box Office in Church Street, Abbey Green.
Or call them on 463 362 or buy on line at http://www.bathboxoffice.org.uk/6807
So put off your Sunday ride that day until after you've heard William tell you loads of really useful stuff. And bring all your mates!
It's all go on the Two Tunnels
The Two Tunnels Greenway will link Bath city centre and the Midford valley, 20 miles to the south. The scheme is on schedule to transform four miles of disused line into a new path, giving walkers, runners and - most important of all - cyclists a beautiful, direct, almost level route.
With two illuminated tunnels and the magnificent restored Tucking Mill viaduct, it's an inspiring yet practical link between town and country, with a unique blend of industrial heritage, wildlife and geology.
So, how's it going?
Latest news is...
The track's being surfaced with Bitmac, a highly durable mix of layers of graded aggregates and bitumen. It's the absolute best for this sort of job - it's estimated that the route will see one million journeys every year by both locals and visitors!
So, surfacing's going on apace, after a bit of a hold up because of the dodgy winter weather and a lot of rain the other week.
It's being done in five sections, each taking about 2 weeks, so residents can use the path as much as possible during works and their lives aren't too disrupted.
See more here - 'Sustrans' and here 'Two Tunnels Greenway'
Building Bridges
One of the key bits of the process is getting planning permissions sorted out for lighting and all that stuff. Applications are in for replacement bridges to span two roads in Oldfield Park - Millmead Road and Monksdale Road. So, there's a lot of admin going on in the background by the Sustrans team - not terribly exciting but absolutely key to getting it right.
Frank gets a well-deserved prize
Frank Thompson, one of the leading lights of the Two Tunnels project, has just been recognised for his tireless work on the scheme.
"I've a very nice plaque sitting on my mantelpiece", says Frank, a volunteer warden for Sustrans, "Which I was presented with at an awards dinner in Bristol".
He's one of five people to get the very first of the newly-created National Sustrans Awards.
Huge congratulations from all of us!
The whole fantastic caboodle should be finished by the end of this year. We can't wait to be speeding through those tunnels!
A big welcome to two new little future cyclists
John's a grandfather for the second time. His son Johnny's wife Jennifer gave birth to Fox on 7th December.
and Randy's Benjamin was born on 4th January.
There's still time to get the best bargains going
Generous to a fault, we're fools to ourselves... the BIG Bike Sale is still going on...
...and no! prices haven't gone up, because, being the extremely nice chaps we are, we haven't added that blimmin' VAT on yet. The sale's on for a few weeks yet - so get round here quick and grab something lovely.
Different, desirable and now going for a song!
We think Santa Cruz riders are a different breed!
And we've got a pile of the beauties they love ready to be ridden out of the shop at a massive 20% off. That's some saving and a fantastic bargain that's hard to beat...
We're one of only 20 stockists of these exclusive machines in the whole country.
Sophisticated, specialist and the result of umpteen years of refinement, if you like the legendary Santa Cruz style, John's is where you need to be. Right NOW.
Santa Cruz CLEAROUT! We love 'em but they gotta' go!
Chameleon, Med, Red. Was £1500 now £999
Heckler, Med, White. Was £2750 now £1999
Blur LT, Large, White. Was £3000 now £2199
Superlight, Blue, Med. Was £2500 now £1799
Superlight Frame, Green, Med. Was £1000 now £745
Bullit Frame, Green, Med. Was £1149 now £999
Chameleon Frame, Green, Small. was £600 now £449
Nomad Frame, Black, Medium. Was £1800 now £1399
Take a look at our best selling bike - the Trek 7.3 FX
According to a Cyclescheme bod we met last season, in 2010 this was the most quoted for bike across the whole of the country.
We guess a lot of this may come from its brilliant price, at £500, but its superb adaptability counts for a lot too. For commuting, it's perfect, with a comfortable, relatively upright riding position and well thought out contact points.
And it's really versatile...
Both sprinters and cruisers will like the Shimano Deore gearing's wide ratio of dependable gears.
It can take full coverage mudguards as well as front and rear pannier racks for when you've a load to carry or if you're ever tempted by the delights of touring.
Equally, you can add racing-width tyres and an aggressive, low riding position if you want a fast yet adaptable training bike.
So, the bike ticks many boxes - from a Sunday potter along the canal, to LEJOG, from your average commute, to a rip roaring, 30+ mile road-munching hoon!
It comes in a multitude of sizes and in a Women's specific model.
And for another £50 you can have disc brakes.
Either side of this model sits the 7.2FX and the 7.5FX.
What more could you ask?
Fulcrum Racing R Chainset - Last One!
Review Link: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/cranksets/product/racing-torq-r-carbon-cranks-09-34677, Was £276 now £199
Race Face Atlas AM Crankset - Last One
Review Link: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/drivetrain/crankset/race-face/atlas-crank/PRD_364276_115crx.aspx, Was £270 now £165
Just in - Eddy Merckx EMX-3 Athena RRP £2699
Here's a truly European Bike!
The Eddy Merckx range of road bikes has been a great brand for us, with attractive prices and an ace racing heritage.
Not to mention plain damn good looks!
Just arrived at John's is an absolute jewel in the range - the EMX-3 Athena.
A subtly understated, 30HM carbon performance geometry frame is finished with FSA carbon bars, stem and seatpin. It rolls on stiff, light Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset and crisp 11 speed shifting. Braking is by Campagnolo's Athena Carbon groupset. It's the perfect bike for north European roads - comfortable, involving and beautifully poised. Drop by for a test ride as soon as you like.
Our Sunday boy comes of age!
Chordawg's New 18th Birthday Bike
Our Jonny has just turned 18. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE!
And to mark this momentous occasion of becoming a man, his wise family gave him a Trek Fuel EX8.
Winner of What Mountain Bike's trail bike of the year award last year, this hugely successful bike has only got better in 2011!
What more fitting present could a man have?
Enjoy the embarrassing pics Jonny...
Check out the review here: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/fuel-ex-8-10-36868.
Enter our latest competition and win £250 beautiful bike vouchers
Simply write an original story of up to 50 words, including the two words BIKE and BATH.
We'll allow you an extra 6 words for your title.
You've got till the end of July 2011, so off you go!
Let your imagination go rolling...
Click here to enter your Short Story >
Terms and Conditions of Competition
1. By giving your details here you agree to receiving a copy of John's Bikes newsletter bringing you news and updates and all things bikes
2. Any stories with more than 50 words in content or 6 words in title will not be considered.
3. Stories must be submitted by the end of July 2011.
4. Stories that have won or are under consideration in other short story competitions are not eligible.
5. Stories should not be a translation of another author's work.
6. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality and story telling excellence.
7. The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
8. Copyright of each entry remains with the author, but John's Bikes have the unrestricted right to publish winning stories in its magazine and on its website, as well as retaining unrestricted rights to use the winning stories and any related material for PR purposes.
