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Friday, January 27, 2006
Wow, this was a big week. Our new Dos Niners came in and we received a very limited qty of our new Delgado 29er Disc rims. Both sold like crazy, but the rims sold in record time. 28 minutes to be exact! For those that didn't get any of the rims we put into stock yesterday, rest assured, we've got more in transit. Currently, they are due just after Valentines day. Our plan was to get them in and post some notes from our designer as the design is really what makes these rims special. Well, they have come and gone already, but I'm posting the notes from our designer anyway. Its good information. Read on... Now a word from our designer. When we approached the design of this new rim for Salsa we wanted something wide and light. We also wanted to improve upon the already great Salsa Delgado Cross. Two of our many concerns and criteria were how the tire mounted up and how the bead locked in place when inflated. We had learned on other rim designs that a shallow channel between the walls of the rim made it difficult to mount tires and take them off later. We had also learned from other designs that a deep channel with steep walls and a flat where the tire mounted made for a positive bead lock. So this is what we did with the new Salsa Delgado Disc Rim. Upon receiving prototypes I realized that it was extremely easy to mount a tire. The tire slipped right on the rim, tire levers and thumbs of steel weren't needed to get the bead of the tire over the edge of the rim. I noticed that when the tire was installed one of the beads would fall down into the channel and make it extremely easy to get the other side on. With a new folding tire it could be more difficult because the bead did not want to hold its shape. This was also noticeable when the tire was inflated. Sometimes the bead would pop over the edge of the rim or would not come out of the deep channel in the rim. I was worried about how this would be perceived by Salsa's customers. It took me several days to get over this. I was worried that our customer's would perceive this ease of installation as a rim that was out of specification and it would destroy what could be a great rim. I talked with several people that had installed tires on these rims and several others just to get some opinion. I had ridden tires as low as 20 psi and not had any tires pull off the rim and so had others. After beating myself up over it for several days and mounting every tire we had available I decided that it was a feature of the rims, inherent to how they were designed. It was not a rim out of specification or a design flaw. Here are a few pointers for installing tires, not just on this rim, but all rim and tire setups. 1. Mount the tire on the rim with the tube. 2. Inflate the tube to 10-15 psi. 3. Work the tire around the rim until the bead is evenly seated. 4. Inflate with care to make sure the bead is in fact seated and is not popping off the rim. I do this with all of the tires I install, doesn't matter if it is Salsa's rim or not. We work with a great vendor to provide our rims, there quality is excellent, but we can't control the variances in the 100's of tires that are available for all kinds of bikes. I have personally noticed that the mounting of tires varies from brand to brand. The pointers I am giving don't just apply to the Salsa Delgado Disc, but to all brands of rims and tires. I just wanted to let everyone know our intentions and some of the background information on this design. Ride & Smile - Joe Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend everyone. Jason Posted by Butcher : 1:09 PM 0 comments | permalink 
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Saturday, August 19th Stockholm, Sweden See this link from www.singletrackworld.com for more information and an interview with the organizers. Sounds like one of the best parties of the year if you ask me! I hope to see you there. Especially because it will mean that I got to go! Singlespeed Worlds in the UK a few years ago still qualify as one of the greatest weekends in my life. Good people, lots of fun, and great riding...you can't ask for much more than that. This years' event sounds like it will follow that same glorious plan! Cheers, Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 6:39 PM 0 comments | permalink
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Hopefully this won't come off too high and mighty, but when it comes right down to it, I guess that doesn't really matter either. I'm hoping to encourage "giving" in this blog. Giving back to your community, however you choose to define that. For me, I spent quite a few years giving to the local (and not so local) mountain bike scene. Recently someone encouraged us to sponsor a race, partly because the promoter doesn't make a dime off of it. That wasn't news to me. Heck, for years I promoted a race series without earning a cent. What I'm talking about is giving within whatever community you choose. Maybe it's your local biking scene, maybe it's your church, maybe it's doing some land advocacy. Maybe it's your local school. You define it for yourself because the end result will most likely be a good one regardless of what you choose. For me, I've been giving at the school this year helping some 3rd grade kids with their reading skills one day a week. And I've been giving to some 3rd/4th grade kids by being coach of their basketball team. With the reading, the benefit I get is spending some time with a kid who just wants someone to listen to them and offer them some help. Some are struggling. Some are doing just fine. They all like the attention regardless of their reading skills. I get to help and encourage them. Man, I want them to succeed in life! And reading is going to play a huge part in their future. On the basketball court, I get to help encourage all kinds of good habits and behavior. We teach teamwork, discipline, hard work, and fun. We congratulate each other. We learn to show respect to those around us. And we get some exercise to boot! The kicker is that doing this stuff is easy. It takes a minimum of commitment and it reaps a lot of benefit not just for the kids, but for me. It will do the same for you. So the next time a chance comes up to help out in your community, take a couple seconds before you pass on the idea, and then step up to the challenge. Give of yourself for the benefit of others. And benefit yourself in the process. Enjoy your evening. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 6:43 PM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, January 23, 2006
Well, Friday night at the Pinewood Derby didn't go exactly as planned. And I'll have to take the blame for most of it I'm afraid... Seems I may have been a bit overzealous in my attempt to smooth the plastic wheels for our car and I believe I made them a bit out of round. That put more than a little shimmy into our car which was then exagerated further by how we'd run so much weight at the back of the car. The car always started fast, but hit the rails too many times each time down the track which slowed it up too much. Still it was a fun night. Heck, I wish we had Pinewood Derby one a month, instead of once a year! Here's a shot of some racing carnage that included our car #53.  Check it out. On hitting the timing sensor our car has left 90 degrees and is sliding down the track, popping one other car up into the air. All through the magic of digital photography and a little luck. The races use electronic timing and the closest race we had all night was seperated by .0005 of a second. Crazy huh? 5/10,000's of a second. The real bonus of the night was that our den took the Fastest Den Award so all of them took home medals. Here's hoping your Pinewood Derbies luck goes a little better than our did. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 1:09 PM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, January 20, 2006
Tonight is the night and a Lutheran church in Golden Valley is the venue. The Gladiators of Pine will clash with their Pinewood Derby weaponry. Don't let that Tiger Cub look fool you. These kids are all out for blood. And that's not to mention their fathers! They've read the secret speed secrets. They've had the mill, lathe, and moto tool working late into the night, sawdust flying. They'll all come together tonight, extra weights in hand for last minute fixes. Graphite tubes at the ready for that last minute magic puff of speed. And when it is done, only one will stand as Champion of Pack 268. I won't lie to you. I hope it is Jordan (and me!). I present for your approval our un-named pinewood weapon...Pinewood Derby car #53.  Enjoy your weekends folks. And wish us luck! Cheers, Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 12:18 PM 0 comments | permalink
Thursday, January 19, 2006
This is long overdue. It's long too! Frames: Dos Niners: In the building being QC'd! We expect them to go into stock next week. Ala Carte: In the building being QC'd! We expect them to go into stock next week. La Raza: In the building being QC'd! We expect them to go into stock next week. Primero: Our new True Temper S3 road frameset. First shipment in transit! Due mid Feb. El Santo: In transit. Due mid Feb. Moto Rapido: We are out of stock on 14", 18" & 20". All are on the water, due mid Feb. Las Cruces: All sizes including our new 44.5cm are on the water, due mid Feb. All other models are in stock Components: New CroMoto Rigid 26" Forks: Black and Tang Orange to match the Ala Carte due March New Delgado Disc Rims, both 29" and 26": In transit due mid Feb New CroMoto Threadless Stems: March/April New CroMoto Quill Stems: April/May New ProMoto Carbon Riser Bar: Late March/April New ProMoto Carbon 5 & 11 degree flat bars: Late March/April New Size-O-Matic Fitting tool: Due April New Classico Bar Tape: Due late Feb/early March Updated Shaft seat post: In stock Soft Goods: All summer gloves including our new Sol Gel glove: Due by end of Jan New Woman's Jersey and Socks: Due first week of Feb Rain Jackets, all sizes: Due mid Feb Salsa Team Clothing: Due Mid Feb New Muertos Sock: Due Mid Feb Thanks for patience and your continued support of Salsa Cycles. Ride and Smile! Jason Posted by Butcher : 11:04 AM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, January 16, 2006
It's that time of year again and I've got the fever. Pinewood Derby fever that is. A block of wood, 4 nails, and 4 plastic wheels. So simple, but yet...so complex. Jordan and I (well, really mostly me I suppose) spent the weekend hard at work on our ultimate speed machine. The J-Man figured out the shape he wanted and after some time with a block plane we had our rough shape. He also chose his paint scheme, which will be Ferarri Red laquer, blue flames, and a glossy clearcoat. We sanded all the way up to a 600 grit and the car body is silky smooth. We've got our speed kit and are getting our wheels bur-free and efficient. Our axles will get polished tonight to minimize the friction on our wheels. Painting should begin tonight as well. Race day is this coming Friday so we'll have a bit of time this week to max out at 5 ounces weight. And don't forget the graphite cause we'll be loading those axle up! Stay tuned for pics of our ultimate speed machine later in the week. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 10:31 AM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, January 13, 2006
Bobby Salsa Cycles Posted by Bobby : 12:17 PM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, January 09, 2006
So Saturday I finished up a presscheck for our Japanese translated version of the Salsa catalog and came home to an empty house and a phone message from my lady that she and Jordan were at a museum and wouldn't be back for another hour and a half. For the first time in a long, long while I was able to grab a bike and head outside. The temp was around 32 or so as I headed out on a recently converted singlespeed cross bike with just a sweatshirt, a winter cap and gloves. It felt good to actually be rolling forward while I pedalled instead of staying in one place as I have been on my morning indoor trainer sessions. Crisp fresh air, clear sky above, and a bike...what could be better? I headed east and cut through a local park, popped out at 36th street and saw a road I'd never been on across from me. It seemed like a good thing to check out so made my way south. The road was pretty well sheltered by trees so there was still a lot of snow and some fairly large ice patches but nothing too treacherous. I rolled down a nice gentle grade savoring the moment and saw that the road actually dead-ended at a park that I didn't know existed. Sweet! I hit the bike path and found it covered in ice. Now I've heard that the Inuit have something like 50 different words for snow, because it dominates their landscape and there are so many variations of it. Well, we pretty much have only one word for ice but we tend to throw an adjective in front of it from time to time. Hence, black ice, glare ice, smooth ice, etc. The path started off with some crusty ice. It was bumpy and rough at times but that helped my knobby tires hook up and I could ride with relative confidence. I continued on for a while and then noticed a packed down singletrack off to the left. It was narrow, but not too narrow so I was able to stay on the packed trail and do some exploring. One section of it followed along the upper bank of a frozen creek, dipping up and down occaisionally and winding around trees. Eventually the packed singletrack intersected the path again and here it was terrible glare ice. I'd dismount and walk when needed as I wasn't in the mood for sudden skull crackin' and just kept moving. More packed singletrack was found and more path and eventually I turned up at Golden Valley road. The bonus is that now I've got a route to my normal off-road stomping grounds that offers up some singletrack treats on the way, as well as a car-free route. Nice huh? It's just another example of what a day (or an hour) on a bike can bring. You see things you wouldn't have, you cover ground quickly, and you go where cars can't. Next time you've got a little free time and can jump on your two-wheeler, do a little exploring! -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 12:45 PM 0 comments | permalink
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
I might wish it was as cool as Hawaii 5 - 0, but I've just hit the Big 4-0 (as Jordan likes to call it). So where's that leave me? Well, my forty years on this planet have seen me blessed in more ways than I can count. I have great parents and family, a beautiful wife, and a great son. I work with good people in an industry that I have a passion for. I'm reasonably healthy (and working to improve on that!), have a nice home in which to rest my head, and more than enough food to eat (that's the part I'm working on). And...I've got a few bikes to boot. Life is good. I've met a lot of folks during the past forty years and I've got to say it has definitely been a pleasure. If you happen to be one of them, I say thanks and let's do it again sometime during the next 4-0. Stay young... -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 7:49 PM 0 comments | permalink |
TRACK JOE'S PROGRESS2009 TOUR DIVIDE LEADERBOARD Amigos Calendario TWEK BORDER BATTLE Salsa Two-Four in Support of MORC EuroBike OutDoor Demo Interbike
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