SS Waterford

This beautiful creation is one of 4 stainless steel Waterfords ever built. One was a demo for the company and three have gone to team Mack. This #4 belongs to head honcho Gary Dough-Ring, the paint job is questionable, but craftsmanship remarkable. The welds are so clean and subtle brazing accents make the bike one of a kind. I am very pleased to help build this bike. Make it nice!

- JB

Pistol Of Fire

Red King and Spacer Kit



FSA Ceramic



Very Cool Colors



Pistola



Flip Offs



Hand Built Wheels....YES



Force With Red Hoods



Lip Lock

The pictures are pretty self explanatory....this salsa will leave a burn in your mouth...ITS HOTTTTT!!!!

- JB

d e m o

Cool vintage Schwinn demonstrator to show customers how the "new" at the time 10 speed shifting worked. Crazy to think that we went from ten total gears now to a possible 22 total for a double chainring drivetrain. Now go demonstrate for yourselves and ride your bikes....

- JB

Cardinal

A random cardinal flew into the shop today and would not leave. Normally there is not a Cardinal that Matt doesn't love (St. Louis), but this one was a different story. After about 45 minutes of batting and swatting to try and stun the thing, it finally tired out and just rested on the ground while Matt picked it up and carried outside.

No animals were harmed in the production of these pictures....minus the chicken sandwich Matt had for lunch.

- JB

T.I. V6

While I will be kicking back and enjoying delicious drinks in Las Vegas I would like to wish my dear friends Ari and Russ a safe Trans Iowa. This is the race the Slender Fungus Cycling Association has been training for the past seven or eight months. My boys: keep your heads clear, legs nimble, body hydrated, tires inflated, and spirits up. Be safe out there, and remember when the rain keeps pounding down, the hills keep coming, and the gravel stealing your souls to keep those legs turning and that this is the year to finish strong! Make all those months of training worth it and have a fantastic race!!! Much Love.

- JB

BMC

The BMC with some new wheels, very bright and colorful for the cars to see me.

REDRUM

All our tune-ups are red bikes.....weird!

Wheels

Home build set up



Handy nipple driver tool



The money shot



Billabong would be proud



Starting the rear wheel



Rollin



R45

Was up until 2 a.m. last night finishing off the new Chris King wheelset. Decided on DT RR465 rims, sapim double buttes spokes and brass nipples, salsa skewers, velox rim tape, and the new GP4000 tires. This combination is unreal! Even though these wheels are slightly heavier than the plagued Easton's, I feel much more confident in sprinting on these wheels and taking them anywhere on the roads. Of course I had to put on the Chris King cycling cap to build the wheels. Had to use the American Classic conversion cassette to convert from a Shimano free hub body to a Campagnolo spaced cassette. When I got on the road this morning to commute to work, my jaw dropped. These wheels were so stiff, responsive, and smooth. I don't know how you can combine all of those things into one wheelset but this really is a great combination. The bearings on the hubs roll like butter, and the engagements on the hub really respond no matter where you are in your pedal stroke. The tires are extremely grippy but roll soooo nice, I can't explain how happy I am with these wheels and I only have twenty miles on them....not to mention that they look awesome with the pink and orange and white on the bike. As my good friend and wheel building mentor Ari would say... "Make it nice!!!!!"

T.I.

One week until my boys rock the Trans Iowa 330 mile race, this DEFINITELY is the secret weapon! Upright, multiple hand positions, rear rack for storage, suspension bike pole for the vitamin G, this is the machine.

[King, Chris]

Rear Side View



Rear hubbie



Pretty and Strong, save the boobies



Mariachi

The Easton demolishers have arrived. New Chris King R45 hubs, in pink....donations go towards breast cancer research. Will be building these wheels in the next couple of days, DT RR465 rims, Sapim double butted spokes, brass nipples, salsa skewers, velox rim tape....best combo on the market! Also, got a green NoThreadset for the Salsa Mariachi to complete it, well maybe only need a White Industries Eno Dos 16/18 to finish that bike up. More wheel pics to come.

- JB

Roubaix Day

J-Biz



DeKalb will never escape me



painful headwinds



Stiff salty helmet

Went out on Sunday with the goal of 80 to 100 miles in mind. Had to ride the steel beast 26 lb Salsa Casseroll which I love and rides great....but is heavy. So headed to Chatham them to Auburn then to Virdern and Girard, back to Loami and New Berlin to Chatham and back home. The legs were sore after dragging the Casseroll around for 90 miles. I saw a spray painted silo that had a nickname of mine J-Biz on it, DeKalb corn grain truck, and got chased by many country dogs. I was very close to running out of water around mile 70 and had to stop in the tiny town of New Berlin to fuel back up. Good ride and got to explore some new roads. Riding by yourself can be pretty boring sometimes but good to zone out and let some stress out on the bicycle. Came home and was amazed to see Cancellara take back to back wins at flanders and PR, that dude is an absolute monster!!!

- J

Podio

Megan loves Salsa's, Sram Rival, and JB



Sleek lines of the Podio



Grazing in the field



Secret QBP bike stash house

So, first off let me say that I love Salsa Bicycles. There bikes are made with high quality materials including scandium aluminum, a variety of steels, and now titanium from Lynskey. My girlfriend Megan has wanted a road bike for a long time so I figured, hey I work at a bike shop, I can make that happen. So, I ordered her a Salsa Podio road warrior and surprised her yesterday. She loved the bike, fought back tears of joy, and gave me a great big hug and kiss. We set her up with a new helmet, some conti gatorskin tires for a little bit more puncture resistance, and some specialized bottle cages. Today we cruised 22 miles of chilly, windy, Illinois weather after fitting Megan on the Salsa. The ride was great and great to finally have my girlfriend accompanying me. We look forward to working up to some longer rides and spending more time on the saddle. Planning a longer ride on Sunday if the weather is not insanely windy like it has been, goal is 80 to 100 miles.

-JBiz

April

Spring Salsa



Packed Full

The month of March was super busy at the bike shop, and April is getting even busier. We don't have any more room inside the shop and have moved the bikes to the auxiliary Wheel Fast location (aka outside the shop). Been commuting a lot to work and have been putting in the miles, legs are feeling good, hopefully be riding a century within the week. Also, mark down Paris Roubaix on your calendars for this Sunday. Have been getting a few Salsa cycles in stock at the bike shop, really nice bikes, and we are now a Pinarello dealer. Been thinking of my friends Ari and Russ as they prepare for the Trans Iowa race later this month, keep the riding up and stay healthy boys!

- JB

Flanders

Happy Easter and Tour of Flanders day! Congrats to Cancellara for the win. This week rode 160 windy miles. Hope to do a century sometime in the next two weeks before my trip to LV. Will start the ordering process for some new wheels this week including DT spokes, brass nips, open pro rims, and hopefully can get my hand on some new Chris King R45 hubbies...possibly pink. Get on your bikes and do some riding this week!

- JB

Day Off

Mah tax $ keepin the streetz kleen



Spring in Spring-field



_____(insert foul language here) Easton

Had a beautiful 40 mile jaunt today with the ever-so-wonderful-amazing-steel salsa casseroll out to Chatham and back then made some delicious brunch with my lady. Last night was another 40 miles for the day. Started the 20 mile "slow" ride with some guy honking at us and telling one of the riders how we were A-holes and his tax money paid for the roads for him to drive on....pretty sure we pay taxes too for the same reason. The ride continued to get faster and faster in the wind and ended in a sprint going 37 mph...once we started cranking I hear a ting, ting, ting, ting. Sure enough my favorite wheelset (EA90 SL) fresh from warranty failed me once again with a broken spoke. Now, I have only heard good things about Easton wheels and don't like to rant about things but I will never buy anything from Easton ever again. The warranty took nearly a month to get my wheel and soon after the spoke breaks. These aren't normal spokes either so you have to order them from Easton. I will be building a hand built wheelset including Chris King hubs, sapim or DT spokes, brass nipples, and Mavic rims. Done with the whole pre-built deal and only riding stuff that I can rely on from now on. The weather has been 70-80 degrees in springfield and has felt amazing. Put your trainers away, get out on your bikes, and pedal your hearts out.

- J