Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Mountain Biker
NiteRider PRO 600 Light System, $499
Shimano XTR Pedals, $179
Specialized Arc-X Sunglasses, $179
ZINN &: The Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, $25
Rockhopper Mountain Bike, $610-950


Triathlete
Garmin Forerunner 310XT, $350
Giro Advantage 2 Aero Helmet, $159
BG Pro Bike Fit, $150-350
ZOOT Compression Socks or Calf Sleeves, $60
Easton EC90 Aero Wheelset, $1,799


Road Biker
Blackburn Fluid Trainer, $230
Niterider MiNewt Mini light, $99
Specialized S-Works Road Shoes, $350
Handlebar Tape, $15-20
Warmers- knee, toe, arm, leg, $30-40


Kids!
Specialized Pulse Youth bike gloves, $22
SpeedZone Sport Cyclometer, $25
Giro Flume or Rascal Helmet, $40
Specialized Hotrock bike, $160-330
Water Bottle Cage, $8


Women
Specialized Warm-Up jacket, $110
Deflect winter glove, $37
ZOOT Cyclefit Knickers, $37
Specialized Fuzzy winter beanie, $25
Oakley Enduring Path Sunglasses, $175




Gifts for Anyone!
B+L Gift Cards
CO2 Cartridges
Inner Tubes
Nutrition Product
Wool Socks
 




 

Photo Overload!

All photos courtesy of Richard Murphy of CeloPacific

Specialized's "Test the Best" Demo on it's way to San Diego!

B+L Bike and Sports is hosting the "Test the Best" Demo truck this coming Friday, November 20th. The truck will be parked at Penasquitos Canyon between 10:00am & 3:00pm. The parking lot is off Sorrento Valley Blvd about a mile east of the I5/ I805 merge.

Here is preliminary list of the bikes available for a test ride:

MTB's on the truck:

SW Epic: M, XL

Epic Marthon 29: L

SW Stumpy FSR: S, M, 2xL, XL

SW Enduro: S, L, XL

Enduro Expert: M

SW 29 HT: 21”

Expert Carbon 29 HT: 17.5”, 19”

Demo 8 II: M

Bighit III: M

Road Bikes on the truck:

Tricross Expert: 58

Tarmac SL3 Di2: 52, 56, 61

SW Amira: 48, 51

Tarmac SL3 SL: 54, 56, 58

Roubaix Pro: 52, 54, 56, 58

SW Roubaix: 52, 54, 61

Hope to see you all there!

Great article about Brent Prenzlow (Team B+L/ CeloPacific....

Article from CXMAGAZINE.COM

Brent Prenzlow on his way to his 100th victory at Storm the Beach. © Richard Murphy

by Annette Padilla
November 4, 2009; Oceanside, CA, USA:  100 elite victories. Wow. Brent Prenzlow raced to win the Prestige Series “Storm the Beach” cyclocross elite men’s race Sunday. Prenzlow races for Celo Pacific Bicycle Racing Team and B&L Bikes (www.celopacific.org). With a gap over Sho Air’s Pro Mountain Biker Sid Taberlay, Brent was again at the top of the podium. But it wasn’t just another win.


Saturday’s win was special for Prenzlow, who won his 100th elite men’s race in front of family, friends, and supporters, including his mechanic Gordon Yeager. The crowd was screaming and cheering for a man who loves ‘cross. His friends shook his hand, hugged him and his wife, and gave him a Belgian beer after the race.
It was also a special win for those of us who race cyclocross in Southern California, as we got to witness our top rider achieve such a major milestone.
Prenzlow says “he’s addicted to cross,” and loves to train and race. As a category one racer, Brent is a unique and talented athlete. He’s easy going and highly respected among his teammates and the other cyclocrossers. Brent has been racing cyclocross for fifteen years and was among the first key guys who started promoting cross racing in Southern California with the 5-race SoCal Cross Cup in 2002.  That series has now grown into a much larger 15-event Southern California Prestige Series (www.socalcross.com). Brent has contributed to the ‘cross community by leading practices and providing instruction on techniques such as how to get over the barriers smoothly.  Currently, he volunteers numerous hours to Celo Pacific as their webmaster, tracking and posting race results every weekend to support the team’s racing.


When not racing, Prenzlow works full time at the Hewlett Packard’s Rancho Bernardo site where he is a technical software engineer. He rides to work and back as part of his training or his wife, Gail, drops him off, then he rides home. It’s a hilly 25 mile commute one way.

Brent Prenzlow follows Sid Taberlay down the beach at Storm the Beach 09. © Richard Murphy

“I cannot believe I made it to 100,” says Prenzlow. Neither can we, but the official results speak for themselves (see his plamares here).  When asked about the beach course on Sunday, he says “I enjoy racing in the deep sand and creating challenging courses”.John Behrens, co-founder of Bailey Bikes and a previous teammate of Brent’s with Celo, adds that the man who raced in red booties is a mentor to everyone in ‘cross.  Through Prenzlow’s leadership and providing tips in travel, training, and racing, Behrens, who lines up at the start with Brent, has advanced categories in cyclocross to the elite level.  “Brent keeps on getting faster and faster,” says John. “He is efficient and smooth over and over again.”


Race announcer Larry Longo says Prenzlow is truly gifted because “nobody wins 100 elite races.”
Future dreams of the “King of Cross” as some call him, include standing on the highest podium at the December Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, Oregon for the highly competitive 40-44 age category and plans for pro mountain bike racing locally in the NORBA series. He hopes to race the new Specialized 29er mountain bike for Celo and B&L. Maybe he will complete a double century-the next 100 in the dirt on a mountain bike? Stay tuned.

New product Review Part 4: 2010 S-Works 29er HT

4 times I have had to check to make sure this bike really does have 29" wheels....

There are a lot of people out there, diehard Specialized owners included, that were bummed that it took Specialized so long to come out with a 29er. Their first couple 29er bikes were a little lackluster in fact. It's as if they were only half hearted attempts. In 2008 we saw the addition of a Stumpy HT Comp 29 & the Stumpy FSR 29. It was great to see although many thought a little late. I had the chance to ride a Stumpy HT Comp 29er, truthfully it didn't feel right. Granted I had ridden many other 29ers up to that point (Niner SIR9, Orbea Alma, SyCip Super Unleaded, Gary Fisher's, etc.), not all of them rode the same but, the Spec felt too much like a hybrid bike.

One of my favorite traits of any good 26" bike is the ability to rail corners. How the tires feel glued to the dirt, constant hook up, the stable feeling on climbs... it's the epitome of MTBing. This bike, S-Works Stumpy HT 29, has all of those qualities and more. They NAILED the geometry. The organic lines of the frame make the bike look very aggressive and it is.

Being that I am a Clydesdale rider I made a few upgrades to the bike for my own fit. I swapped the Specialized Carbon 30.9 seatpost out for a Thomson Masterpiece 30.9. It's a little longer and less flexy under me. I also changed out the Spec Phenom SL saddle out for a custom Fizik Gobi XM saddle. I have Gobi's on all my other MTB's and realized I could live without it. I am also toying with changing out the wheels for a set of Industry Nine 29er XC wheels. We have sold several pairs of their wheels lately and I like their ruggedness yet lightweight. Something about those thick aluminum spokes plus they would look awesome on the bike. Nothing wrong with the Roval Controle's just personal preference.

In 1993 I switched from flat bars to riser bars. Since then whenever I see someone running flat bars I either think they are old school racers that won't make the leap to risers or weight-weenies. Senor Plastik, as I like to call the bike, came with a set of Spec Carbon flat bars, yikes. I was already dreaming up the perfect riser bar even before I bought the bike. Then I rode it offroad. I'm sticking with the flats! The flat bar quickened up the steering 100%. Sometimes 29ers are built with too much head tube angle and the steering is super slow, tight technical sections are a nightmare. This bike steers just like my 26er's! Wow.

I'm riding again this afternoon. I haven't ridden another bike since Senor Plastik has been added to the stable. Not saying I won't, just not right now.

Look for Part 5 soon....

SoCal Prestige Cyclocross Heats Up, Draws Mountain Bikers, Women and Juniors

by Dave Sheek
Southern California Cyclocross is now through its second weekend of the season and dual events as CX met MX in San Diego, CA. It was another mountain bike (mtb) and cyclocross back-to-back weekend as San Diego’s rising ‘cross scene piggybacked the Racers and Chasers mtb event Saturday to start the first race of the San Diego cyclocross series season Sunday morning. Overall, it was the most motocross-like race experience cross fanatics have seen as the hot temps and twenty-foot doubles seemed to push racers off their bikes or off the course.
The racing heated up with the skies Sunday morning as the temps reached 100 degrees by midday. Competitors who thought last weekend was hot were begging for the cooler conditions. The amount of sand and jumps on course were not kind enough to allow riders areas of rest, as it was a non stop suffer fest. However, those who had the right descending skills were definitely using them to their advantage as they smoothly pumped through the many transitions.
The early morning competitors showed with a more prominent force and commitment than the later. The women and juniors for the second week brought out the best in So Cal, comprising 35% of the day’s participants! In the Elite Women’s field it was Dorothy Wong (Team SoCalCross-CICLE) taking the win as she hashed it out with Team Duke’s Jill Sisamis. In her first season of cross Sisamis looked strong as she started the pace for the group and continued strong finishing in second with Annette Padilla (Celo Pacific) in third.
The Elite Men’s race brought another weekend of hot action as temps were at a high 102 degrees at race time. It was Gary Douville (Platinum) who took the hole shot to lead the group through the first set of sandy switchbacks and into the first lap. John Bailey (Bailey Bikes) and Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/B&L) followed Douville as the three set a strong pace, opening a gap on the rest of the field. On the second lap, Prenzlow took the lead and opened a gap to take a comfortable win on the day. In second it was Bailey who had a powerful finish even with a rough crash in one of the gravelly dirt sections. And, rounding out the top three was early race leader Douville of Team Platinum in the last race on the day.
Next Race Preview
The next race is on October 4^th, and the guys from the Velocity cycling club have been working hard for their second annual cross race when not working, racing, riding, and or occasionally pulling a B.O.B. full of beer. The race was a great success last year with much accolade from the racers and spectators alike. This year, they are making it better.
They have improved the course, eliminating a few of the tight twistys, and will be once again making the effort to build the much applauded hillside stairs. Along side the course improvements this year’s kids race will be a standout. And, again as is standard with Velocity club leader Mike McMahon’s involvement with an event, be it mowing the lawn or racing, there will be beer available.
The racing will be fast and furious and the fun will be plentiful. It’s a local event, for most SoCal riders, at a great venue with easy access, held in the private parks behind Irvine Lake just off of Santiago Canyon. Come on out, bring the kids and enjoy the day.
Pre-register at SportsbaseOnline and save $$$ 5 and 10 race series passes available. More info at: www.SoCalCross.org

CX Magazine

New product Review Part 3: 2010 S-Works 29er HT

SRAM XX.....

The cassette is amazing, we've gone over that. The chain, not surprisingly, is a standard SRAM 1090 10spd chain. You can also run the lightweight 1090R that has the hollow pins. The XX brakes are basically Avid Elixir brakes rebadged XX although they have Titanium bolts throughout. You can easily run these brakes one finger style. Plenty powerful. Also pleasantly surprised to see Avid went with a floating rotor with the XX brakeset. I have been running floating rotors for years with my Hope Mono Mini's.

The XX shifters are pure butter. The front shifter is amazing, short throw & light action. I assume it helps that there are only 2 chainrings to go between but, it also helps that the front derailleur isn't a rebadged XO model. The front der is completely new. There are 18 versions of the front der (Direct mount, top mount, bottom mount, + top pull, bottom pull & each chainring combo). And yes all the sdjustments use a T25 driver, cable fixing bolt/ seattube clamp/ limit screws.

The rear shifter is very similar to its XO brother, except the low gear paddle is made of carbon whereas the XO is aluminum. Not to mention the extra gear. I adjusted the levers to allow 5 cogs at a time. You can adjust the levers to your shifting style whether you are a 1 cog at a time or 5. Awesome.

Next up: The rear derailleur, S-Works cranks, Roval wheels, RockShox fork and most importantly the frame.

New product Review Part 2: 2010 S-Works 29er HT

About 2 months ago I started hearing and reading about a new component group from SRAM. I have SRAM XO on one of my bikes and love it. The new group is called XX (yes 20). My heart skipped a beat. I had been noticing that the MTB world wasn't really changing that much over the years. I remember in the mid nineties going to CABDA (the former east coast Interbike) and seeing Grafton cranks/ brake levers, Kooka stems, Westpine hubs, Nukeproof hubs, etc. All products that were better versions of standard equipment. There hasn't been anything like that in a longtime, until now.

2010 SRAM XX: The return of bling, 10spd finally hits the dirt

First it's important to realize that the entire group is new, all the parts have been re-thought and changed specifically for XX. One of the coolest features for me (a bicycle mechanic) is that you only need 1 tool to adjust anything in the group, a T25 torx driver. Before you needed a phillips screwdriver, a 6mm hex wrench, a 5mm hex, a 4mm hex, a 2.5mm hex and your fingers. T25 is the same tool we have been using for disc rotors for years. Now it's for everything including the limit screws, cable anchoring bolts, derailleur clamp bolts, etc. I love it! 1 tool for the saddle bag.

The cassette is pretty spectacular itself. If you haven't seen the new SRAM Red cassette, SRAM's top end Red & XX cassettes are milled from a chunk of steel. The difference is that the XX cassette is drilled out for mud and dust removal. The lowest gear is the backplate of the cassette and is made of aluminum. Yes you guessed it, lightweight. The standard XTR 11-34t  (9spd) cassette is 250 grams. The SRAM XX 11-36t (10spd) cassette is 218. Wow.

I'm just realizing this is going to be a long review. Come back later for more on XX!

New product Review Part 1: 2010 S-Works 29er HT

I don't even know where to begin.

First off I would like to explain a little. For the past 6 years I have slowly acquired 5 fully custom bikes made for me. 4 of my bikes are steel and 1 is titanium (I also own an Electra cruiser if that counts). They are pieces of art, except they love rolling. I also haven't purchased a bike out of a box in over 13 years.

Last week we had a stack of bikes to build at the Solana Beach location. One bike happened to be a 17.5  S-Works Stumpy HT 29er. I was eager to see it. At first glance it was a regular MTB, on second look I had been mistaken.

Purely from an aesthetic stance, the bike is pure sexy.

Part 2: The parts

The medals are all gold in the Walsh household...

James Walsh & Beth Gerdes both won their MTB races this weekend at the US Cup Unification Race. James won the Cat 1 (30-34) race and Beth won the Cat Women's race. I would like to think it's because of my wrench skills but, somehow I know it's because they are kick ass riders.

James warmed up for Sundays MTB win by racing his first ever Cyclocross race on Saturday. He blew the field away and got 2nd in the Cat 3/4 race. Can't wait to see him win the next one.

Congrat's James & Beth!

What's in a name?

I can't even count how many times I have been asked "What does B&L stand for?". I've heard many renditions as well. For instance on more than one occasion I Have heard that the former owners were named Barry & Linda. I hear that it was BBQ's and Lawnmowers. I have even had a customer tell me it stands for Bikes & Leisure.

What do you think it stands for?

Inventory

All this week our new purchasing manager, Scott Alton, has been doing a store count (Scanning items, printing tags for untagged items, etc.). The more stuff he pulls out the more I realize we are packed to our gills. Who buys 1" carbon headset spacers? When was the last time you searched for nine 108mm Isis BB's? It's time for some late-spring-early-winter cleaning.

Now I just have to find an extra 5 hours to do it. Small steps.


 

The 2009 SoCal Cyclocross season is upon us!

The official 1st race of the 2009 season is the SoCalCross Prestige Series "Unification" Race in San Dimas. Then on Sunday there is an Urban CX race in Ken Malloy Park just north of Huntington Beach.

Checkout the current schedule at Celo Pacific's website for future races. Hope to see you all out there!