A letter from a local rider that toured at the L'Eroica, Gaiole in Chianti, Italy

I just wanted to let you know that I finished the 135 km ride in Italy using your tires, supply pouch, pump, bar tape, and tail light from Serfas. I have attached a couple of pictures, the first is how I packed my borrowed box to include the Serfas floor pump, and the second of me at the pre-dawn start area.


I saw lots of flat tires along the route, but those 700 X 28 beauties on my old Colnago did not fail me. A great product.

Thanks again for the support to the OCW, and your help. I'm sold on Serfas tires and bicycle accessories... they hold up.

Regards, Dan Clark

P.S. I attached the Serfas red flashing tail-light to the back of my helmet. I left it on for the entire ride. A couple of Italian riders complained that the light was too bright (it was daylight). I left it on as there was some vehicle traffic during the ride and I wanted to get the drivers attention. That light is certainly bright.
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Serfas welcomes Jeremy Griffin to the inside sales team...

Serfas is proud to introduce Jeremy "watch your back" Griffin as the latest edition to our inside sales team. Jeremy hails from Petosky, Michigan and has been in the cycling industry for 20 years. Jeremy has been an outside sales rep and worked at various different IBD's accross the country.

In his free time Jeremy enjoys riding his bike and playing hockey. He also owns a vacation home in Michigan if you are intersted in renting a 5 star luxury log cabin, check out http://www.loghomevacationrental.com for more information.

He is engaged to Jessica and plans to to marry in the spring. Jeremy will be covering the Southern California and Pacific Northwest territory. He can be reached at 800-424-0047 X 209 or jeremy@serfas.com

Mason learns to ride...

We went camping over the weekend and this little girl shows up with her family and her Barbie bicycle. She started riding it around without using any training wheels. My son Mason was intrigued and wanted to give it a try. This video shows Mason's maiden voyage on a 2 wheeler. He just took right off and hasnt looked back since. A proud moment for a father getting ready to complete his first century on Saturday September 11...



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Paraplegic Daredevil Completes First Double Backflip in a Wheelchair

He's 18. And he's paraplegic. And he makes us look like complete and utter wusses. Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham is so good in a wheelchair, he can do backflips. Two to be exact. Catapulted by a specially adapted bungee cord, Aaron rides his wheelchair into a ramp, slinging himself into the air and spinning a clear 720 degrees in the air. He'd done it before, quite a few times, but not without the all-important wheel-based landing, resulting in more than a few nasty crashes.Despite being born with spina bifida, Aaron refused to let that stop his pursuit of thrills, first perfecting the wheelchair-based grind, carve and powerslide before moving onto the full-fledged backflip and, now, double backflip. Check out the video of the stunt in question below.

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Scheels Fargo, North Dakota store visit...

I recently had the opportunity to visit Scheels corporate headquaters and second largest sporting goods store in the world (second only to their Reno location) in Fargo, ND.

This place was GIGANTIC occupying almost 1/2 a million square feet of space. It features a full size ferris wheel, 2 shooting galleries, a huge playground for kids, Nascar experience, and a full service restaurant that serves up homemade fudge. Mmmmm... their fudge is amazing. Of course they also have the best selection of goods for any imaginable sport. They really do a great job with all the hunting and fishing needs. The store has a least 200 stuffed fish and big game animals, I was impressed.

Here is the Scheels story as presented on their website -

Three acres of potatoes were the seed for the first Scheels store in 1902. Frederick A. Scheel, a German immigrant, used the $300 he earned from that first harvest of potatoes as the down payment on the first Scheels, a small hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota.
Over the years, Scheels opened in surrounding communities, including Fargo, North Dakota, where the Corporate Office and the second Largest All Sport Store in the World are now located. Reno-Sparks Scheels became the World's Largest All Sports Store in September 2008.
Firmly planted in the hardware business, Scheels started adding a small selection of sporting goods to their stores in 1954. Customer interest grew, and more and more sports lines were added with athletic shoes and clothing being introduced in the Scheels' product mix in 1972.
Scheels' first All Sports Superstore opened in Grand Forks, ND in 1989. Today, Scheels is a 23-store operation with stores in 8 states including North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Nevada. Providing Scheels' customers with first-class customer service and the world's largest selection of sports, sportswear and footwear are the priorities throughout the organization.
Currently, Steve D. Scheel, the great grandson of Frederick A. Scheel, is the Scheels CEO and oversees the company of over 4000 associates. His Son, Steve M. Scheel, is the company's president and has been working for Scheels since 1989.
Scheels is an employee-owned, privately held business that owes its consistent success to its empowered associates, managers and partners who think and make decisions for their individual store and the entire company.

You can even buy Golden Tee (my favorite video game ever) at Scheels for a measely $5300!

True Series Lights are coming...

Introducing the Serfas "True" series rechargeable high power LED lights. Available in 150 lumen or a 250 lumen model - these lights are ultra bright, great burn times, lightweight, and fully charge with USB in just 3.5 hours! Handlebar and Helmet mounts included.

True 150 MSRP $100

True 250 MSRP $130

BlackTrail BT-01 Electric Bike Retails for $80,000

By Caleb Johnson

Green vehicles, for many people, have become status symbols rather than just modes of transportation. For example, take the BlackTrail BT-01 electric bike. Manufactured in a limited run of 667 models by Germany's PG-Bikes, this electric hog retails for around $80,000. It's built from lightweight carbon fiber and aerospace aluminum, and weighs just 44 pounds. A 2.5 hour charge on the 17Ah Li-ion battery pack gets you 120 miles, and the BlackTrail bike can get up to speeds of 65mph. Though the high price tag is primarily buying you the right to say you're part of a select group of 667 who can afford a glorified dirt bike, the BlackTrail would admittedly ride circles around other electric bikes we've seen. [From: Engadget and PG-Bikes]