Mild, medium, or hot...

Hot!

55cm, $1699, Sram Rival 1x10, 19lbs even.

Seriously light Parlee!

Just saw this on Bikerumor for those of you who get really geeked out about quality light weight bikes.  Weighs in at a scant 10.36 lbs!  I've seen light Parlees but this takes the cake.  Full story here.

Image courtesy of bikerumor.com
http://www.bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/parlee-10-lbs-cycles-2.jpg

Belton Gravel Grinder

For those of you who know Chris Locke and the Cowtown crew, you know they love their dirt and gravel.  As spring approaches we get closer to some of the region's great gravel races including the Dirty Kanza 200 and Trans Iowa.  Cowtown will be hosting a 67mile gravel ride this Sunday:

What: Belton Gravel Grinder
When: Sunday January 30, 2011, 9:00 am
Where: Hyvee (58 Hwy/S. Mullen Rd)
Why: It is time to start training for Trans Iowa. Get off that trainer
and start grinding.
Who: Anyone who has signed up for an endurance challenge in 2011 and
needs to get some base miles in.

John Williams is hosting our next GG on his ever popular Belton-
Drexel gravel route. This 67 mile route will take us to Drexel, MO for
our first (and only) stop of the day at only store in town - Casey's.

The course feature rolling hills and the pace will be moderate. The
first 5 miles are road, but then it's all gravel baby!

Complete info at http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/2011/01/belton-gravel-grinder.html

Announcing Salsa!

Elite Cycling is proud to announce Salsa as the newest member in the family of bikes that we carry.  We have been anxiously awaiting becoming a Salsa dealer for a number of months and are proud to announce that we will be working with them in 2011 and into the future.   Salsa hails from the great state of Minnesota where wonderful singletrack and cycling culture are in abundance.  I'm stoked to work with a company that caters to the wants of the Midwestern singletrack and gravel rider.

For those of you who are as hot for some of Salsa's new models as I am, the good news is that bikes and frames will begin rolling in our shop in the coming weeks.  We expect to see El Mariachi complete bikes and frames in stock the first week of March and have the Chilli Con Crosso and Fargo completes coming in in the next week or so.  Spearfish completes and frames will be available in June.

If you want in on the Spearfish or El Mar frames/complete bikes, give us a ring or shoot us an email here to discuss reserving one (or more than one!...the more the merrier).

We also have the ability to bring in any frame or model from Salsa.  We hope this will give KC-area riders one more reason to get out on the dirt!  Cheers!

Snow or no snow...

Don't let the powder scare you off...Elite is open today despite the snow.  While the roads are covered it might be a good day to schedule that bike fit you've been wanting to have done or come look over our sale '10 bikes.  On that note, stay tuned in the coming days/weeks for exciting news for the shop on a couple different fronts.  I can't say more than that right now but there are some cool things happening for the shop right now.  We will keep you all posted...

In other old news, snow bikes are rad!  Check out the new wave of cool bikes made to conquer the snow and other situations:

Surly makes the Pugsley.  Having ridden one I must say I was impressed by how snappy the bike felt considering the massive tires and otherwise sluggish looks.  Like all things Surly, the bike uses a 4130 CroMoly steel frame and is available as a frame or complete bike.  A white snow bike...now that's cool!



Image courtesy of bikejournal.com

Pictured above is the bike I am really stoked about.  Being a huge fan of cold weather, snow, and riding through it, I was particularly excited to hear Salsa jump into the same market as the Pugsley.  To make things better, Salsa decided to use a 6061 double butted aluminum frame to keep weight down and appease the folks who fear using steel in inclement weather.  While I'm a steel junky myself I'm excited at the use of aluminum in this frame to give consumers a different option from the Pugsley.  Salsa utilizes its new "north woods" (I came up with that myself!) graphics scheme that goes along with their "adventure by bike" mission statement.  If the snow leaves your yearning for adventure (by bike!) check out the options from Salsa and Surly!

SockGuy socks!

We just received a large order of socks from SockGuy.  Stop in and check out our collection of classic and new designs available in standard and wool models.  Come on brah, your toes deserve it!