The race season is well under way, and it has been our experience that it’s right around now when annoying little mechanical problems start to rear their heads. We see a lot of bikes come through the door these days that need just some minor tweaks (fixing a creak here, a brake adjustment there), and while we are always more than happy to tackle these tasks, we know there are plenty of you out there who would love to do these fixes yourselves.

We’re all about DIY here at the studio (teach a man to fish and all that…) so it should come as no surprise that we offer workstand rental at different levels to suit your needs:

$25/hr

$150/month (up to 15 hours)

$400/year (unlimited)

Call us for details, or stop by for a little Do It Yourself action!

We entertain a lot of clients on a daily basis (and by entertain, we mean “fix their bikes”). But we know we do a lot more than that. We get a lot of questions about gruppos, wheels,  crashed bike conundrums, and a ton of just general BSing (which we fully endorse).

If you haven’t stopped by to see us recently , don’t feel like you need to have a broken bicycle to come up. We love to hear what our clients are up to; if it’s the past weekend’s race results, an amazing ride you went on, or some question about SRAM 2012, we’re all ears. In fact, all joking aside, educating our customers (and having a well-informed client base) is one of the top benefits of the job.

And if you’ve never been in our space, or haven’t seen us since the big move, don’t just take our word for it – there’s always the internet:

NY Velocity Shop Visit 

Three Things Your Bike Mechanic Wishes You Would Do – Bicycling Magazine

What’s New – Competitive Cyclist

NYC-Hollywood – Velospeak

But we’d really rather see you in person.

PHOTO: Marco Quezada

This past week was a whirlwind of activity. We got an interesting bit of news that our good friend John Eustice had invited none other than Erik Zabel to the States to ride in his inaugural Berkshire Cycling Classic – a cyclosportif in Lenox, Massachusetts that sounded like it would be a blast. John wanted to know if we could receive and build Erik’s bike, in preparation for a smallish group ride up to Piermont with John, Zabel and a few friends (of course we obliged).  While we were waiting on the bike, John hosted an informal Q&A with Erik on the Lower East Side, and we stopped by and caught up with friends and enjoyed John and Erik talking about Zabel’s prolific career (along with a few Giro picks).

The next day a beautiful black and green (nice colors) pro-as- hell Canyon arrived on our doorstep. We built it up in record time, and Erik picked it up on Thursday morning and approved. A group of riders met up here at the shop and chatted with Erik, posed for pictures, and basically hung out for a while before hitting the road.

PHOTO: Marco Quezada

After that, John took Erik up to Western Massachusetts to recon the route for Sunday’s cyclosportif, which Erik competed in. By all accounts, the weekend was a huge success, with the launching of the Berkshire Cycling Classic now officially part of the UCI World Tour calendar. A bunch of our clients did the ride, and as it grows, we’re genuinely looking forward to many more. (Congrats to ChampSys p/b Stan’s No Tubes rider Greg Olsen, who bested Zabel by 9 seconds and finished 6th!)

More great pics from Marco – Zabel Takes Manhattan @ NY Velocity

Berkshire Cycling Classic

Call it self appreciation or maybe even downright pride, but we like to see green Ifixbyx stickers on bikes. We typically adhere one to the frames of our regular customers – and even some not-so-regular customers. So, if you’re sporting one on your ride, now is your chance to show it off.

Post a photo of your bike with the sticker showing on your Facebook page and tag us (once you’ve “liked” our page, of course), while making sure to follow us on Twitter. We’ll pick our favorites at the end of each month and a lucky few will get one of our shiny new water bottles!

Recently, our friend Brett took a trip out to Los Angeles.under the guise of visiting his sister, but we know he was primarily there to log some miles on his bike. So while he was there, we asked  him to stop by to visit a few folks.

A visit to LA wouldn’t be complete without stopping by the Ritte office in Santa Monica. Brett spied some custom stainless bikes bound for Europe and some 2013 prototypes, including a revamped Bosberg. Spencer and company continue to grow the brand and we cant wait to get our hands on one of the new frame sets to build up.

Meanwhile, back on the East Coast, the Prospect Park peloton was graced with the presence of a living legend. If you haven’t already heard, the one and only Francesco Moser, in town to promote his new wine company, was convinced by his hosts to race in the Saturday morning Pro/1/2 race of the Lucarelli Castaldi Series on the 21st. Needless to say, the race sold out immediately, and we noticed way more fans than usual in the park that day.  Our friend Marco has got the pics.

Photo: Paul Buckowski / Times Union

We’re recently back from The Tour of the Battenkill – what a great race.  Congrats to organize Dieter Drake for putting on a uniquely American event, (with a touch of Euro-flavor). We hope the race continues to grow, and it’s something we’ll look forward to on the calendar each year.

We were up north in support of the Champion Systems p/b Stan’s No Tubes team, and the squad didn’t disappoint (and neither did their tubeless tires). Dan Chabanov, in his first pro UCI race, came in 37th, in the main group of finishers. Chapeau Dan! Our colleague Chad Butts of enduranceWERX came in 19th in the Masters 30+ field, and while we don’t want to rub it in, we think he could have come in first were it not for an ill-timed flat inside 5k to go.

Here’s a list of some other notable finishers:

PRO 1/2

Allan Rego 7th (in his first race as a newly-minted CAT1. Wow!)

Zoltan Tisza 14th

Greg Olsen 24th

CAT 2

Ariel Mendez-Penate 16th

CAT 3

David Anthony 1st

Soren Jensen 6th

Ben Noble 10th

CAT 4 (white)

Jules Roazen 3rd

Michael Kuehn 9th

Bryan Guenther 20th

CAT4 (green)

Corey Morenz 5th

Mike Nelson 11th

CAT4 WOMENS (blue)

Meghan Schloat 2nd

Meredith Uhl 3rd

Chris Hadgis 4th

Gina Rocco 17th

Erica Tricarico 20th

Callie Meiners 21st

CAT4 (blue)

Jason Brown 12th

CAT5 (pink)

Ken Ingersoll 9th

With this sticker, you're in good hands

What do all these folks have in common?, you may be asking.  They all had their race bikes prepped by us! While each racer has their own story as to how they got their result, we’re immensely proud to be part of their effort. Congrats to them (and to all the finishers) on a great race. See you next year!

The Tour of the Battenkill 2012 – Full results

We’re heading up to America’s Queen of the Classics – The Tour of the Battenkill – this afternoon in support of the Champion System p/b Stan’s No Tube team.

We’ll be back on Monday at 8:30am. Have a great weekend everyone, and best of luck to all the competitors.

Hup Hup Hup!

The Tour of the Battenkill

Water bottle cages may be an afterthought to some, but we know and value their importance. Ejected bottles during a race are a nightmare. And no one wants to be that guy in the pack asking around for water.

So, Ifixbyx are now a dealer of what we think are clearly the best cages on the market – Arundel. Whether you’re looking for an aero advantage on your TT bike or you need a side-loader for your small front triangle bike or you just really hate losing your bottles when the road gets rough – there is a cage to meet your needs. Plus they just look great.

We also carry Arundel bar tape – think of it like Lizard Skin but more durable. Our new favorite!

Check out the Arundel site for a full range of their products. If we don’t have it in stock, we can order it for you. Stop by or call us to discuss what will best meet your needs.

Ifixbyx are happy to announce that we are now a Speedplay pedal dealer.  Aside from their light weight, clearance in the corners, and dual sided entry, one thing we truly love about the pedals is that they can be rebuilt. That’s all well and good if you have the parts, tools, the time and the know-how, but not everyone does. We’ve had tons of requests for rebuilds, and we’re now happy to offer the service. We’ve got rebuild kits, bearings, and small parts in stock – along with experience to rebuild your favorite pedals.

You can also stop by or give us a ring if you’re in the market for a new pair, a second pair for your other bike(s) or just an upgrade (the Zero’s are our favorites!)

Speedplay Pedals

Perhaps the best perk of our job here at Ifixbyx is the amount of truly interesting folks we get to meet on a daily basis. It’s no secret that we draw a lot of our clients from the upper levels of the NYC business world.

One such customer – César Vega –  recently flexed his entrepreneurial muscles and opened a new coffee roastery called Café Integral. The company is unique in that they source and roast beans from Nicaragua, and within hours, can deliver that roasted coffee most anywhere in New York City – via bicycle! Now you don’t have to take a chance with your coffee bean purchases and hope that you are getting fresh product. With Integral, you’ll know it’s fresh every time.

Have a look at their website  and get a sense of how CI is taking a great concept and doing it right.  If you’re in SoHo, take a walk over to Grand and Crosby Streets and visit the brand new American Two Shot and try Cafe Integral coffee. We think you’ll love it.