The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) is currently seeking your comments on whether or not to make exceptions for mountain bikes on certain trails such as the segment of the Maah Daah Hey Trail that runs through the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. IMBA has made it easy for you to take action now, click on that and it will only take a few minutes for you to help open up and expand existing trails.

As Barry posted eariler, music is a HUGE part of our lives....that's why we take 10 hour trips to see the people that make our ears happy

Oh, by the way...for those that don't know....I'm Jessy....The other owner and Barry's significant other/partner in crime/friend/good time gal.I'm also the President of Barry's Bikes if you want to throw out titles. And yes, Barry is the secretary. You should see how good he looks in heels!

Without further ado....here's a couple songs I'm listening to in my car:

~~PRIMUS 'Tommy the Cat'

~~SCOTT H BIRAM 'Graveyard Shift'

~~BOB MARLEY 'Rastaman Chant' and 'Walk the Proud Land'

That's enough for today. I don't want to overload your tympanic membrane with such a variety of tunes.

THIS JUST IN.........For those of you in the area....Scott H Biram will be playing at the Aquarium in Fargo, ND on April 1st. We have seen him there before and we will see him there again. If you can't tell already, I have a fondness for this Slayer lovin' hillbilly. Barry said he thinks SHB had a fondness for me that night, too ;] And yeah, he's looking into my eyes......or at my PBR pounder. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU CHECK HIM OUT!

peace and pedals~~~~jessy

IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT, BUT JUST ONE YEAR AGO, I LEFT A GOOD JOB TO OPEN OUR SHOP. I'M GLAD WE DID! 

HERE'S A PICTURE OF THE OLD BUILDING BEFORE REMODEL. WOW! WHAT A CHANGE.

LAST MONTH I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO OVERHAUL A MINT CONDITION CARBON TREK Y-BIKE, THANKS BOB. THIS OVERHAUL MADE ME THINK ABOUT HOW BIKES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE 90'S. IN THE LAST RAMBLE I WROTE ABOUT DOING A COMPARISON OF THE 1995 TREK Y-BIKE AND THE 2008 GIANT TRANCE. I HAVE COME TO REALIZE THAT THERE IS NO COMPARISON BETWEEN THEM, BESIDES THEY BOTH HAVE TWO WHEELS.

FULL SUSPENSION HAS MADE HUGE LEAPS AND BOUNDS SINCE 1995. I DO BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THAT IN 1995 THE TREK Y BIKE WAS AN ENGINEERING MASTERPIECE. IT ACTUALLY WON AN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AWARD IN 1996. PROBABLY BECAUSE OF IT'S SIMPLICITY AND USE OF BEAUTIFUL CARBON FIBER MOLDING. THE DESIGN WAS A UNIFIED REAR TRIANGLE . MEANING, THE BIKE FRAME WAS IN TWO PIECES WITH THE BOTTOM BRACKET BEING CONNECTED TO THE REAR TRIANGLE. WHEN YOU PEDALED THIS DESIGN THE REAR AXLE RAMPED UP IN A CURVE, GIVING YOU A DIFFERENT CHAIN TENSION THROUGHOUT THE SUSPENSION STROKE.

TODAY, I KNOW THAT THE PIVOT POINT IS WHERE MOST OF ITS WEAKNESS AND STRENGTHS CAME FROM. ONE MAJOR PROBLEM THEY HAD WAS A VERY PRONOUNCED SQUISHY FEELING WHEN PEDALED WHILE SEATED. THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE SUSPENSION CYCLING IN AND OUT. EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENED, YOUR CHAIN LENGTH WAS AFFECTED BY SHORTENING AND LENGTHNING, GIVING THE BIKE A PRONOUNCED POGO FEEL.

THE STRENGTH OF THE URT WAS THAT WHEN YOU STOOD UP, YOU LOCKED OUT THE SUSPENSION, MAKING IT FEEL LIKE A HARDTAIL. THIS, AT THE TIME, WAS A BIG TOPIC OF CONVERSATION; HOW EFFICIENT IS FULL SUSPENSION COMPARED TO HARDTAILS? TODAY, WE DON'T TALK ALL THAT MUCH ABOUT THIS CONUNDRUM, BECAUSE SINCE THEN, BIKE DESIGN HAS GROWN IN TECHNOLOGY, TEN FOLD. THE TREK Y-BIKE WAS IN CIRCULATION UNTIL 1999 (I BELIEVE). ALL THAT SAID, AT THE TIME, IT WAS A GREAT DESIGN. IT DEFINITELY HAD ITS HEYDAY, BUT THAT DAY IS LONG GONE.

THIS YEAR I HAD THE CHANCE TO RIDE A GIANT TRANCE X, 5" TRAVEL BIKE. WOW! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RIDE. THE BIKE WAS DESIGNED AROUND THER MAESTRO SUSPENSION DESIGN, GIVING THE BIKE AN IMAGINARY PIVOT POINT IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE. I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHERE, BUT THAT DESIGN KICKS SOME MAJOR BOOTY! ON MY FIRST RIDE, I DIDN'T FEEL ANY POGOING WHEN PEDALLING SEATED OR STANDING. IT FELT LIKE A HARDTAIL, BUT I WASN'T GETTING BEAT TO HELL. THAT WAS WIERD, BECAUSE THIS YEAR MY BODY SHOULD HAVE FELT ALL THE JARRING FROM THE TRAIL BECAUSE OF MY SVELTE SHAPE, HA-HA. IT RODE NOTHING LIKE THE TREK "WHY" BIKE THAT A FEW OF MY GOOD FREINDS IN THE 90'S HAD THE PLEASURE TO RIDE (OH, PAUL, SORRY ABOUT THE Y- BIKE FIASCO!).

THE GIANT HAS LINKAGE POINTS THAT DRIVE THE REAR WHEEL STRAIGHT UP THRU THE TRAVEL, EXCEPT FOR THE LAST 1/5TH OF THE TRAVEL, THEN IT RAMPS A LITTLE FORWARD. THIS, IN TURN, KEEPS YOUR CHAIN LENGTH RELATIVELY UNCHANGED THROUGH THE TRAVEL, MAKING IT PEDAL EFFICIENTLY. UNLIKE THE SIMPLICITY OF THE URT,(ONE PIVOT) THE GIANT HAS MULTIPLE PIVOTS. THAT'S WHERE THE TRUE GENIUS OF THIS SUSPENSION IS. MORE ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER, BUT IN THIS CASE, IT IS. JUST LIKE WHEN I EAT POTATO OLES WITH NACHO CHEESE.

I DO HAVE TO SAY THERE ARE MORE REASONS WHY THESE BIKES DON'T COMPARE IN RIDE. THE REAR SHOCK-PEDAL PLATFORM, BIGGER PIVOT POINTS, LIGHTER, STIFFER COMPONENTRY, AND WHEELS. NOT ONLY HAS THE INDUSTRY GROWN IN FRAME DESIGN, IT HAS ALSO GROWN IN COMPONENTRY DESIGN, TOO. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I AM GLAD I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RIDE THE OLDER FULL SUSPENSIONS, BECAUSE IT GIVES ME A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ALL BIKE COMPANIES ARE BETTER OFF FROM THE OLD DESIGNS, BECAUSE IT HAS PUSHED THEM TO MAKE SOME UNBELIEVABLE RIDING BIKES!

WELL, MY FINGERS ARE EXHAUSTED. I THINK IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GET MY POTATO OLE FIX ON! HAVE A GREAT WINTER AND ENJOY THE SNOW. IN SOME STRANGE WAY, I'M GLAD WE GOT NAILED WITH ALL THIS SNOW! AT CHRISTMAS I WENT SLEDDING WITH MY NEPHEWS, CRUZ AND CONNER. I HAVEN'T DONE THAT FOR QUITE SOMETIME. BEING A KID ONCE AND AWHILE IS A GOOD THING.  ASK JESS, SHE'S A PRO.

ONE OTHER THING, I AM TERRIBLE AT ENGLISH AND GRAMMER, AS SOME OF YOU HAVE LET ME KNOW. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I WILL KEEP WRITING MY RAMBLES WITH RUN ON SENTENCES AND DOUBLE NEGATIVES; I AIN'T GOT NONE, ONLY BECAUSE IT IS WHO I IS!

BARRY

BY THE WAY, LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY WE JUST SOLD. 2009 GIANT ANTHEM MAESTRO 4' TRAVEL BIKE. FROM THE FACTORY IT WEIGHS 24LBS. SWEET BEGEEZUS!?!?!

As of January 11th we are moving into winter hibernation hours.

                      Tuesday-Friday    2pm-6pm

                      Saturday                10am-6pm

                      Sunday                    Closed

Starting in March we will bring back the spring/summer hours, so you better bring in your bike soon so Barry can get it ready for the season.

                       Monday-Saturday   9am-6pm

                       Sunday                   Closed

That's right; we work a 6 day work week, cuz that's how much we care!