Criterium Bicycles » News

Social Advocacy through Bicycles

kay — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:37:33 +0000

Our local NPR station, KRCC, recently aired an episode of Western Skies which featured one of the bicycle clinics that repair and build bicycles for the homeless and low income people of Colorado Springs. Watch the slide show with audio to get an idea of how important a basic bicycle can be for someone without a vehicle. Peter Sprunger-Froese, Brian Gravestock, and Kevin Pendergraf are some of the tireless volunteers mentioned in the production. The two Johns at the our shop, John Hurley and John Elder, also put in time for the cause repairing and transporting bikes and bike parts over to the clinics (sometimes by bike!).

If you have a box of parts, a complete bike, or a skeletonized bike laying around the garage, bring it down to our shop as we are a major donation point for these two clinics. Do not underestimate the usefulness of what you have–the experience and ability of the volunteers is considerable.

12 year/12,000 miles

kay — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:39:05 +0000

Yes, your new bicycle can work for 12 years, but just like your new car, longevity requires periodic maintenance. And, the more exotic the parts, the more frequently they need to be inspected and serviced. Electronic shifters, hydraulic brakes, and air/oil shock systems have recommended service schedules. The small print says that any crash or riding in extreme conditions (mud, snow, deep slush) also means a visit to the mechanic. Ben and the service team at Criterium are working to keep all of this as quick and cost-effective as possible. If you are uncertain about recommended service for your bike, stop by for an inspection by our crew. It’s good to find your mechanic before you need one!

Global Warming: limited endorsement

kay — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:22:15 +0000

We forget that 60 and 70-degree days are not uncommon in the Pikes Peak Region, even in January! A variety of customers seize the day to get outside, choose a new bike, or call up a friend for a ride. Don’t forget to bring in your bikes for service before the next global warming event creates a perfect day on the trail. Criterium never experiences an off-season, and this month, intrepid riders are joining us with a year-round enthusiasm for cycling.

Indoor Racing is Back

Aaron — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:19:51 +0000

As the temps drop outside the temptation is to slack off and sit on the couch, losing the fitness you spent all season building up by piling on miles. In addition, the availability of holiday sweets adds to the problem, but we have a solution for your dilemma: indoor racing. No longer do you need to brave freezing temps to get a high intensity workout to maintain your fitness and burn those excess holiday calories.
Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday starting at 6pm, you can bring your road or TT bike down and for the low, low price of FREE (yup, that’s not a typo) challenge yourself by racing with some other folks.
We have four Computrainers set up and linked together so that you can race virtual courses with other people simultaneously. It is a hard workout that lasts between 30-40 minutes typically, and gives you valuable data like power output, calories burned, speed, and power to weight ratio. Come down and check it out and bring some friends to race against.

Holiday Hours

kay — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:54:13 +0000

Criterium keeps regular hours all year so that you can find us open when the good cycling weather appears. We are open 8-8, Monday through Saturday, and 10-6 every Sunday.

Our only exceptions are early closures Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, which means we are here 8-4 those days.

We will close for Christmas Day and New Years Day. Hopefully the weather will be good, and all those Christmas bikes can enjoy a few hours outdoors! We will be back on Monday mornings at 8 to help with returns, rentals, repairs, and some year-end sale items to make Criterium gift cards even more valuable.

WINTER SERVICE SPECIAL

Aaron — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:54:59 +0000

The highly anticipated winter service special is back again this season! Just like last year we will do a standard overhaul on your bike for $125. This isn’t just the same old tune up, or even the deluxe tune up for that matter. We strip you’re bike down the the bare frame, inspect every bearing, adjust/bleed the breaks, install any parts and even put the drive train through our ultrasonic cleaner. Have a full suspension? Than check out the deluxe overhaul. This adds a fork and air can service to our standard overhaul for $180. This year we’re adding two new services to the winter special as well. A Basic Fork Service for $40 and brake bleeds are 2 for 1.

5 years’ best products chosen by our staff

Aaron — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:07:27 +0000

It is difficult to chose the best products in a fast-changing industry. Even more surprisingly, the most important advancement in the cycling world is a service, not a product: a professional Bike Fit. We have chosen the Body Geometry Bike Fit to set up your bike to work in harmony with your body’s natural geometry. The ride becomes more comfortable, efficient, and fun. Ranging from a basic horizontal and vertical seat adjustment to knee alignment, cleat positioning, control calibration, and triathlon fit, we make your ride better than ever. The price of a fit is less than a new pair of shoes in many cases, and works even better to improve your ride.

If you’re anything like us, this time of year you end up spending way to much time with your head buried in research, looking for the next best thing. Hopefully you can benefit from some of our work so you can spend more time riding and less time driving yourself crazy. The purist bottle by Specialized is one of those simple ideas that makes so much sense, the inside of the bottle is infused with Silicon Dioxide( AKA glass). No bottle taste! Another simple idea that makes a world of difference is lock-on grips. This will completely eliminate your grips from sliding around or rotating.

Now our curious cycling minds will not be satisfied by water bottles and grips alone. Especially when videos of Biker Fox and people riding around busy streets with no helmets make us wonder where this industry is going. Then out of the darkness comes hope. This year 29ers have really come out of the stone age. We now have a BMC hard tail 29er with the shortest chain stays we have ever seen on a 29er, making it very responsive. On the full suspension side we have found ourselves having to give a warning before letting people test ride the new Stumpjumper FSR 29er: Criterium Bicycles is not responsible for results of a test ride. During a test ride you may experience something you have never felt before, causing you to purchase this bike. If a new bike isn’t in your budget for the year, then check out the new assortment of hydraulic disc brakes. The new Shimano brake line has taken XTR technology and applied it to the Deore and XT brakes. This is the most excited I’ve been about a brake since I rode my first set of Hayes Mags around 15 years ago.

So, get your head out of a book and stop counting grams for that new wheelset you’re imagining. Take advantage of the sunshine we have and ride down to the shop and check out some of the new gear we’ve been getting in.

Not enough gas for Moab…

kay — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:25:17 +0000

Valmont Bike Park (video)

Valmont Bike Park from DvRebellion.com on Vimeo.

If you’re looking to do some mountain biking but can’t afford to get out to Moab, try heading up to Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado. Valmont has plenty to offer for every ability level, from mellow cross-country laps to hardcore dirt jumps and wall rides. The park is located on the corner of Airport Road and Valmont Road. For more information on directions, rules, and regulations, visit ValmontBikePark.org.

Valmont has all types of terrain for every cyclist’s ability level. If you are in to cross country riding, Valmont has miles of flowing single-track. Pump tracks? Valmont has two. The slope style areas even have everything from dirt jumps to wooden lips to massive wall rides. Most people recommend taking whatever bike you normally ride, but at the park you will see mountain bikes, dirt jumpers, bmx, and downhill bikes. If you don’t have a bike or would like to try out something different, Criterium offers many rental bikes that are perfect for Valmont. Give us a call at (719) 599-0149.

It’s very important to be prepared for a full day of riding at this awesome park. Make sure you take plenty of water and a good lunch. Plan on taking extra tubes and a repair kit and tools as well.

Rental Sale

kay — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:11:15 +0000

Most of the rental fleet bikes go on sale Monday morning at 8 a.m. We will have a full size run of road bikes, multiples of full suspension 29er mountain bikes in Large and XL, and limited numbers of 29er hardtail mountain bikes. Our full suspension mediums and small are limited. This is a great sale to upgrade your ride to a better bike!

Prices won’t be ready until Sunday afternoon. You are welcome to stop by to see what is in the sale, but we will not do pre-sales for this event. A few of the sale bikes will be rented out, and will go on sale when they come back to the barn. All sale prices are good until the bikes are sold.

Maps rebound

kay — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:42:50 +0000

Yes, everybody has a GPS, but this summer traditional maps have become best-sellers! First, Ed Bidinotto published a book of road rides in the Pikes Peak Region, Cycling the Springs (17.95). He has added waypoints in the back to make your cyclometer or GPS more useful.

The City of Colorado Springs has finally made good on a comprehensive map for riding in our region. We have Kristin Bennett to thank for finally getting this map into print. It warns cyclists off the busy roads, identifies the trail surface (gravel or paved), and lists cycling organizations, bike shops, and city ordinances for cyclists. The map is on durable paper ($7.95).

Stop in and find a new route!