February 8, 2013

Between now and February 28, 2013, all mens and woman’s Icebreaker Merino Wool clothing will be 30% – 50% off. Have you tried a piece on yet? The staff at Steed Cycles can not get enough of this stuff. It was definitely one of our favorite pieces of 2012.

Merino 101

The merino is one of the world’s most ancient breeds of sheep. And one of the toughest.

Very different to a regular sheep who chews grass in the lowlands, our merino live in the extremes of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Regular sheep would freeze to death up there.

But the merino’s fleece is built for extremes – breathable in summer, insulating in winter, yet exceptionally soft and lightweight.

We’ve pioneered the use of merino wool in the wilderness since 1994, and now we’ve fused nature and technology to create merino layers for … Read More »

November 20th, 2012

For those of you who decide that just because there are leaves on the ground and its below 10 degrees out doesn’t mean that mountain biking has to stop, how many of you have come back from a Fall, Winter, or Spring time ride with cold wet feet? What’s that? all of you… not surprised. Right here in B.C. we have what are called Coastal Temperate Rainforests. That translates to wet trails in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. And when it gets cold, wet feet are the worst!

In order to combat the cold, wet feet I decided to invest in these Shimano MW80 Gore-Tex shoes. I still like riding my bike all year long, I was just sick of not being able to feel my toes, even on dry days. And there was no chance in hell I … Read More »

Race Face Chute water-proof jackets now in stock. Are you looking for a winter riding jacket that can stack up against the long and wet North Shore winters? This is the one.

Features:

- Storm Lite Fabric
- 10,000mm; 5,000g/m2. 3-ply, soft hand Polyester fabric is DWR treated, laminated to a water-proof breathable membrane and backed by lightweight mesh. Fully – seam sealed to keep water out.
- Attached Hood – The 3-point adjustable hood has bungee cord on each side of the hood and a third in back to cinch down with ease when not in use.
- Brim stiffener at front.
- Adjustable waist system – Easy-adjust cinch cord and release at inner hem.
- High collar with brushed tricot lined chin-guard and zipper garage – Provides comfort and protection from the elements.

- Welded UnderArm Zipper Vents – custom pullers offer zipper control with gloved … Read More »

The S-Works redefines how a road shoe should perform. Specialized’s lightest, stiffest Body Geometry shoe features unprecedented fit, comfort, and efficiency for racers in the Pro Peloton or riders who want the pinnacle of performance.

Features:

New SL2 FACT carbon sole with A-Symmetric engineered designand TorsionBox technology is optimized to create our lightest andstiffest sole yet: 13.0 stiffness index
Full Body Geometry features in outsole and SL Footbeds combineto reduce hot spots and improve knee/foot alignment
New lightweight cartridge replaceable Boa® S2 Snap allows on-thefly adjustments for a dynamic fit with stainless steel braided lace;L/R shoe forward rotating to tighten
Two independent Boa® dials optimize closure in each zone: Top diallocks the ankle and heel down, while mid-foot dial snugs the archand forefoot
Minimalist designed Thermobonded upper with adaptive fi t is lightweight, durable and -brings a superior supple fit
Open-back lace guides for easy on/off
Replaceable heel … Read More »

I’m a long-time fan of Specialized clipless cycling shoes. I have a large, low-volume foot and they fit me very well. I’ve worn the Specialized S-Works XC mountain bike shoes for years but I’m not a huge fan of how stiff and unforgiving they are, especially when you have to get off the bike and push. I learned this the hard way in the Chilcotins a couple of years ago: the heels slip a hell of a lot and I ended up with major blisters. The lugs are also seriously hard, and tend to be very slippery if you walk on anything harder than loam. Rock slabs are downright treacherous with those kinds of shoes.

Fortunately, someone in the shoe department at Specialized had the same thoughts and decided to crank out a clipless shoe that was adequately stiff for long … Read More »

February 21st, 2012

NEW BIKES! SPRING!
It has become something of a spring tradition at Santa Cruz Bicycles to spring some new bikes on an unsuspecting public. While it might be a bit early in the year, there are blossoms on trees around here and we’re optimistic that spring is beginning to be sprung, so what the heck, let’s introduce two new big wheel bikes.HIGHBALL
Yes indeedy, the skinny carbon fiber killing machine has now been joined by a new ALUMINUM brother (and therefore will now be known as the Highball C). Taking the swift and light intent of our 29″ wheeled carbon Highball and crafting it out of aluminum, we’ve added a couple very notable other features: value and versatility. The proprietary aluminum tubing allows for a strong, respectably light frame, and features the same responsive geometry as our carbon race bike. … Read More »

MC Shawn Ski and the D.O.D take to the streets to rap poorly about how you should buy stuff from Steed Cycles!

Carbon fiber is cooler that a popsicle in a snowstorm, we all know that. Its got that cool weave thing goin’ on, and it’s light right? There’s a lot more to this fancy material than that. Who better to know than Giant bicycles.

Giant is the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer. Not only do they make a tonne of bikes, they start from from scratch on all of them. That means making the alloys for their aluminum bikes (think fire and melting stuff), and manufacturing their own carbon sheets to make their carbon bikes (think large loom of wondrous lightweight material).

This top-end TCR Advanced SL is a great example of Giant’s ability to manufacture some of the best quality bikes available.

Being such a large manufacturer Giant has incredible buying power, and the budget for advanced engineering, and development.

They don’t only make their … Read More »

Today we finished assembling the lightest and most capable Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon in our history!

The carbon frame with it’s carbon linkage is suspended with a Fox DHX Air. The fork is the new Kashima coated 180mm Fox Float in a matching white shade.

For brakes the choice was all about weight and the Formula “THE ONE” brakes are certainly light at 308 grams per pair.

The SRAM 10 speed XX cassette with the single front ring, laced through the MRP chain guide will be ripping the shore trails up and down. To keep the bike light, quiet and nimble this was the choice of the customer. I love it!

Personally I couldn’t live without a height adjustable post, but adding a pound for this feature wasn’t in the cards on this one as it would have pushed the bike weight over 30 … Read More »

This was the second year for the Giant Bicycle Dealer Summit. A must for anything to do with bikes, we started the day with coffee, had a coffee during and one after. The venue for the event was the Whister Fairmont so the coffee pot was a little fancier than I am use to…

The new Giant Bowery Mashup looked really cool from the classic bike sense. I don’t see a use for it around the Shore being single speed fixie, but it has a very slick chain tensioning adjustable drop out in a beautiful 4130 steel frame. For riding downtown or as artwork on your wall, this bike would be sweet!

If you are a cyclocross nerd like me you will be happy to see the new TCX SL Advanced (carbon) with integrated post and internal cable routing. This bike is … Read More »