2017 Top #YYCBIKE Stories

A completely biased and wholly unscientific list of the top moments this year of cycling in Calgary, in no particular order.

Was there something we missed? Let us know!

#IBikeBecause

We were spending too much time in the social media cesspool of negative cyclist opinion and it was bumming us out real bad, man - so decided to try and turn that frown upside down by asking our network why they choose to ride bikes.

As expected, the answers brightened our spirit and made us smile. The responses fell into a few key categories and here they all are for your enjoyment.

We hope you smile too.

Oh ya - we also ran a contest for a $20 gift card to our shop for those entries that tagged us. And the winner is.......you'll have to scroll to the bottom to find out.  Cheeky, we know.

Bikepacking Castlegar -> Penticton on the CW and KVR Trails - Alberta and British Columbia Canada

About to pedal off into the wilderness. From L to R: Jesse, Sean, Cory, and Tom.

A handful of us went on a 6-day rail trail adventure from Castlegar to Penticton on the Columbia Western and Kettle Valley rail lines. We drove a car out to Penticton then shuttled back to Castlegar and left another car there.

Weather conditions were HOT! No rain at all and the smokey air was never an issue - in fact, it seemed to get better as the trip went along. Even crazier: the day after we rolled through the Myra/McCullogh/Kelowna area a huge fire erupted not far from where we had been. That was close.

Please enjoy this photo essay of the adventure. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below.

The Hidden Costs of BSO's, Also Know As Department Store Bicycles

***This is a repost from our friends at the London Bicycle Cafe.***

So you're in the market for a new bike, something to get around town, visit your friends, go to the market, maybe ride the TVP on weekends. Why should you think about buying from a local bike shop instead of a department store? Canadian Tire, Walmart, Costco etc. sell bikes that come with a smaller initial price tag compared to what you find at our store. The smaller price tag can seem very appealing, especially if you're a price-conscious person. However, what you don't pay upfront at department stores, you'll almost certainly pay in the future. A bike from your local bike shop might last you decades, a bike from a department store is designed to be disposable after a year or two of riding. Here's our guide to why buying a quality bicycle from a local bike shop will result in you having a more fun with your bike, and why it will cost you less in the long run compared to a department store.

Gorge Creek Bikepacking Overnighter

In the summer of 2016 I had heard about a road that had been damaged by the 2013 floods and subsequently closed to vehicle traffic but still passable on a bicycle. I decided to go check it out and after finding the road, riding a few kilometres of it, studying Google maps, and checking out other info available, a plan was hatched to use it in an overnight loop.

Gorge Creek Road is a connector road between the southern end of Maclean Creek Road to the Sheep River Road (Hwy 536). It is just over 21kms in length but what makes it special is the middle 10kms is now closed to vehicle traffic and is essentially abandoned. Our plan was to start at the Fisher Creek picnic area in Maclean Creek, ride down to Gorge Creek, stay the night somewhere along the Gorge Creek road, then loop out and back to the car.

Comes With Baggage Movie

New Brand Announcement - Hello! Surly Bikes!

Utility. Versatility. Durability.

That it has taken us this long to get this brand in our store is probably worthy of a separate ranty post about the vagarities of the mainstream bike biz, but in an effort to stay positive and keep on keepin' on, we are really happy to finally have Surly Bikes in our shop - a brand that encompasses the same ethos as us: bikes for regular people, who like to do regular bikey things, in regular clothes, and sometimes get a little adventerous too. Kinda like Diana Prince most of the time with a dose of Wonder Woman here and there.

Carry everything. - via Surly's website

Winter Bikepacking Newbie Report

My kit for a night in the woods in the winter.

I went winter camping for the first time.

It was cold - - -16c overnight to be exact.

And it was...pretty ok, actually.

Local winter bikepacking legend and customer - Doug Dunlop, aka, Coldbike.com has been chatting to me since the day we met about his love of winter camping. He's offered on countless occasions to "show me the ropes" and this winter our schedules finally aligned and we were able to find a weekend that worked.

The True Cost Of Your Car Commute LIfestyle

Really does beg the questions: Why are you choosing to flush away all that money and why not consider getting a bike and commuting on it, even just occasionally?





The Saddle Library Program

Saddle Library

Finding a saddle that fits you perfectly can be one of the most difficult things to do. Everybody's body is just a little bit different than everyone else and finding a saddle that works perfectly for YOU is of paramount importance.

There are quite a few elements to proper saddle fit that include but are not limited to - 

• body position on the bike
• your flexibility
• type of bike
• underlying medical issues or previous injuries 

To help you find the perfect saddle, we have assembled a complete collection across a wide spectrum of styles and price points.

Try before you buy and be confident in your purchase.

Here is how the program works:

• purchase a $25 saddle library card from BikeBike
• you now have access to the entire library - with more then half of them being women's specific models
• our staff will measure your sit bones using a special seat pad you sit on and suggest some options we think might be suitable based on our conversation about the bike you're riding, your position on the bike, and your riding style
• you check out any single saddle for up to 7 days. Upon return, you can check out another, and so on, and so on, until to find the perfect one for you.
• when you find the perfect saddle in our library and decide to purchase it, your $25 library card purchase is deducted from the price
• Simple!

Here are the brands of saddles we will have in the library:

• Selle Royal Scientia Range
• Ergon
• Brooks Leather and Cambium
• SQ Lab
• Shimano PRO Saddles
• Terry Precision

Come on by the shop and let's get you more comfortable on your bike.

Avoiding Bike Thieves Thievin' Ways

Bicycle theft is a huge, and growing problem in cities all over the world, including our fair city, Calgary Alberta. We've seen double-digit increase in theft for the last few years and the trend line does not seem to be leveling off.

Sadly, bike theft is also not a problem that police in this city are willing do to much about either. While they'll do their best to look through online sale listing to see if they can see any reported stolen bikes listed, they are not actively trying to catch thieves - through a bait bike program for instance. This means the safety of your bike really relies on you, your lock choice, and the strategies you employ to try and keep it safe.

As an example of how prevalent theft is, here is a simple search on Twitter, using "yycbike" and "stolen". SO MANY BIKES! SO MANY BROKEN HEARTS!

So, in the interest of doing what we can to help our community, please consider some of the following strategies that we use in our own lives to keep our bikes safe. We would also like to encourage you to leave a comment if you have any advice or strategies to offer to help keep your bike from being stolen.