A few days ago I was gently reminded that it's been two months since the last blog posting here. I've been slow before, but that's pretty bad, so here are my/our excuses!
First off, we've been working on a new website. It's now official and has been launched, but is a work in progress. I know that's not the standard way to do things, but it had to get up and we'll make the updates much quicker (in theory) now that it's live and everyone is looking at it every day! It's the same address as before; www.abovecatgorycycling.com so check it out if you haven't yet. We'll be adding all the great items that we use here to the site on a weekly basis, so check back, or better yet, make sure you are on our mailing list and we'll keep you up on what's new.
More on that later, for now I'll let some pictures walk you through what we've been up to in the last two months...
BAUM
First off, we've been working on a new website. It's now official and has been launched, but is a work in progress. I know that's not the standard way to do things, but it had to get up and we'll make the updates much quicker (in theory) now that it's live and everyone is looking at it every day! It's the same address as before; www.abovecatgorycycling.com so check it out if you haven't yet. We'll be adding all the great items that we use here to the site on a weekly basis, so check back, or better yet, make sure you are on our mailing list and we'll keep you up on what's new.
More on that later, for now I'll let some pictures walk you through what we've been up to in the last two months...
BAUM
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
One of the nicest custom bikes we've seen in a long time. So much attention to detail, Baum frames are also some of the highest performing regardless of material. We'll be going into much more detail on these bikes in the near future. If you are in the area, come in and take a closer look! Exclusively through Above Category...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.The new Pinarello Dogma II's are trickling in slowly. We have a few at Above Category now, so come talk to Woody who got to ride them in Italy at the Grand Fondo Pinarello this year. If you've been looking at a Dogma, now is the time to get a bit more serious as they still don't come into the states in huge numbers and getting the color/size you want is easier now than in a couple months...
Clik here to view.
One of the nicest custom bikes we've seen in a long time. So much attention to detail, Baum frames are also some of the highest performing regardless of material. We'll be going into much more detail on these bikes in the near future. If you are in the area, come in and take a closer look! Exclusively through Above Category...Pinarello
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The new Pinarello Dogma II's are trickling in slowly. We have a few at Above Category now, so come talk to Woody who got to ride them in Italy at the Grand Fondo Pinarello this year. If you've been looking at a Dogma, now is the time to get a bit more serious as they still don't come into the states in huge numbers and getting the color/size you want is easier now than in a couple months...Parlee
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Clik here to view.Here's Ralf and Kris working on two custom painted Parlee Z5's. These are some designs that we've been looking at for AC team bikes, turned out great in the first try and with a few tweaks here and there it will be even better!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Tony and TJ walking away with the prototypes. Parlee is rolling out a bunch of new options this year as well. A few new finishes with the Z5 plus Di2 routing on all their bikes and finally some very nice new build kit options for complete bikes at very good prices.
Clik here to view.
Here's Ralf and Kris working on two custom painted Parlee Z5's. These are some designs that we've been looking at for AC team bikes, turned out great in the first try and with a few tweaks here and there it will be even better! Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Tony and TJ walking away with the prototypes. Parlee is rolling out a bunch of new options this year as well. A few new finishes with the Z5 plus Di2 routing on all their bikes and finally some very nice new build kit options for complete bikes at very good prices. Pegoretti
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Clik here to view.Here are a couple of Dario's frames we've had come through the shop in the last couple months that we are sad to see go. First this 2012 Pegoretti Duende...
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Clik here to view....and then this sweet Marcelo.
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Here are a couple of Dario's frames we've had come through the shop in the last couple months that we are sad to see go. First this 2012 Pegoretti Duende...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
...and then this sweet Marcelo. New builds
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.We've also been super busy with a lot of new bike builds. Here are a few that stand out. There are many more but in order to keep this post to a respectable length we'll get to them in future posts. This one is my personal 5 year old Pegoretti Marcelo. Amazing bike and felt great to get back out on it!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.This Parlee Z5sl was noteworthy in that as a size XL/Tall it was under 14lbs fully built. We understand that weight is not the most important quality in a bike, but taking into account it's size, the fact that it uses an aluminum bar and standard components (as in no one-off carbon brakes and such) it was pretty shocking to lift the bike and feel how light it was. Luckily, we know that the Parlee is an incredibly well handling bike at those low weights and this was confirmed after the first ride...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.This Pegoretti Responsorium was super fun to build! Everything came together so well and in the end it looked amazing. For sure, one of a kind...
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Our new bikes! Much more coming on these incredible bikes from Australia...
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This Pegoretti Marcelo also came together really well. Perfect component spec to show off the handling characteristics of Dario's flagship racing frame...
Clik here to view.
We've also been super busy with a lot of new bike builds. Here are a few that stand out. There are many more but in order to keep this post to a respectable length we'll get to them in future posts. This one is my personal 5 year old Pegoretti Marcelo. Amazing bike and felt great to get back out on it!Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This Parlee Z5sl was noteworthy in that as a size XL/Tall it was under 14lbs fully built. We understand that weight is not the most important quality in a bike, but taking into account it's size, the fact that it uses an aluminum bar and standard components (as in no one-off carbon brakes and such) it was pretty shocking to lift the bike and feel how light it was. Luckily, we know that the Parlee is an incredibly well handling bike at those low weights and this was confirmed after the first ride...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This Pegoretti Responsorium was super fun to build! Everything came together so well and in the end it looked amazing. For sure, one of a kind...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Our new bikes! Much more coming on these incredible bikes from Australia...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This Pegoretti Marcelo also came together really well. Perfect component spec to show off the handling characteristics of Dario's flagship racing frame...Racing and winning some hardware...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Kris (AC Tech) unfortunately broke his collarbone during the San Rafael crit in July and had to miss the Cascade Classic NRC stage race and Elite Nationals but was healed in time to head up to Bend OR for the Masters National Championships. In his first race there, the ITT Kris rode all out on a course he knows pretty well...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
...and took the Gold medal for his efforts! Well done Kris!!
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Not to be outdone, Ralf (the other half of the AC service team) showed off his sprinting skills over the top of the Muir de Millwood, basically saying that if he'd been at Nationals it would have been a little tougher on Kris...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Woody was also able to get in on the action by completing the Grand Fondo Pinarello. He did the long course which included the ascent of the Monte Grappa, some 22km long with a few k's of over 20% thrown in for good measure. This is something every Pinarello fan needs to do at least once!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
View from the top of Monte Grappa. Woody said the descent was one of the best he's done, ever...
Clik here to view.
Kris (AC Tech) unfortunately broke his collarbone during the San Rafael crit in July and had to miss the Cascade Classic NRC stage race and Elite Nationals but was healed in time to head up to Bend OR for the Masters National Championships. In his first race there, the ITT Kris rode all out on a course he knows pretty well...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
...and took the Gold medal for his efforts! Well done Kris!!Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Not to be outdone, Ralf (the other half of the AC service team) showed off his sprinting skills over the top of the Muir de Millwood, basically saying that if he'd been at Nationals it would have been a little tougher on Kris...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Woody was also able to get in on the action by completing the Grand Fondo Pinarello. He did the long course which included the ascent of the Monte Grappa, some 22km long with a few k's of over 20% thrown in for good measure. This is something every Pinarello fan needs to do at least once!Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
View from the top of Monte Grappa. Woody said the descent was one of the best he's done, ever...Trip to LA to see the latest from BMC...
A note on this blog: Hopefully soon we'll be putting all of our new posts up on our new website. We're changing our a few things and are just waiting to work the kinks out for that to happen permanently. Just a heads up if you come here and see that nothing has been updated for a while! Thanks for reading!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Tony and I took the short flight down to LA to talk with the guys at BMC and see what is in store for 2012. For the most part the models stayed the same with some small tweaks that should add up to an even nicer frame. One thing that we did not see though is the new TT bike which is a shame as it's been getting great reviews from the pro road racers and triathletes alike. I guess we can wait another week and see them in Vegas...
Image may be NSFW.
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BMC did promise that the Impec is now ready to go though! Maybe even as soon as October. This one here is a 2011 but they did say there have been many improvements and the bike will not disappoint. They had a picture of an Impec with white lugs which was very nice looking. Hopefully they'll have one in the flesh at Vegas and we'll be able to grab a few shots in person...
Clik here to view.
Tony and I took the short flight down to LA to talk with the guys at BMC and see what is in store for 2012. For the most part the models stayed the same with some small tweaks that should add up to an even nicer frame. One thing that we did not see though is the new TT bike which is a shame as it's been getting great reviews from the pro road racers and triathletes alike. I guess we can wait another week and see them in Vegas...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
BMC did promise that the Impec is now ready to go though! Maybe even as soon as October. This one here is a 2011 but they did say there have been many improvements and the bike will not disappoint. They had a picture of an Impec with white lugs which was very nice looking. Hopefully they'll have one in the flesh at Vegas and we'll be able to grab a few shots in person...FIZIK
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
We had a nice visit the other day from the folks at Fizik. They have a bunch of new stuff coming out next year that we are pretty excited about. New saddles, new shoes, Sprinter Gatorskins in a 25c width, etc...
Image may be NSFW.
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The new saddles are completely different from anything out there now, but groundbreaking and Fizik are a term used hand in hand quite often. These saddles are very comfortable looking and we're looking forward to trying them out. Also, a huge thanks to Fizik for setting the AC crew up with some nice Fizik custom insoles!
Clik here to view.
We had a nice visit the other day from the folks at Fizik. They have a bunch of new stuff coming out next year that we are pretty excited about. New saddles, new shoes, Sprinter Gatorskins in a 25c width, etc...Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The new saddles are completely different from anything out there now, but groundbreaking and Fizik are a term used hand in hand quite often. These saddles are very comfortable looking and we're looking forward to trying them out. Also, a huge thanks to Fizik for setting the AC crew up with some nice Fizik custom insoles! AC kit from Assos of Switzerland
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I put this at the bottom as even though we just received our 3rd batch we are pretty close to sold out. Check out our online store for what's left, and if your size is not listed give us a shout and we'll get you on the list for the next batch due to arrive in Oct/Nov. A huge THANK YOU to Assos of Switzerland for making these jerseys for us, we are honored! We'll also have a post soon going into a little more detail on this kit and how it came about...
Clik here to view.
I put this at the bottom as even though we just received our 3rd batch we are pretty close to sold out. Check out our online store for what's left, and if your size is not listed give us a shout and we'll get you on the list for the next batch due to arrive in Oct/Nov. A huge THANK YOU to Assos of Switzerland for making these jerseys for us, we are honored! We'll also have a post soon going into a little more detail on this kit and how it came about...A note on this blog: Hopefully soon we'll be putting all of our new posts up on our new website. We're changing our a few things and are just waiting to work the kinks out for that to happen permanently. Just a heads up if you come here and see that nothing has been updated for a while! Thanks for reading!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
