Another Saga Build

This one is from Tim up in Portland. He uses it to lead bike camping trips for kids with the Audubon Society's School program.

Learn more about Audubon Kids PDX programs on facebook.

New Fork Options

We get a lot of calls from customers and bike shops looking for this fork in such and such a size. We want you to know we hear you. Here's a couple of new forks we're carrying.

Soma Lugged Road Forks with 1" threaded steer tubes

Ask and you shall receive. Threaded forks to you your classic road frame. They sport the same curved blades and crown lug as the forks we make for our Smoothie frames, but with threaded steer tubes in 4 pre-cut lengths (140mm, 170, 200, 239). They use standard 49mm reach road brakes and have fender eyelets. Chrome plated to match any paint job.

Tange Prestige Carbon Disc Fork

Finally a lightweight carbon option to match our Doublecross Disc frame (and other 700c bikes). These look sweet with the new black DC paint. Also a great way to retrofit a front disc on your Canti equipped frame. They say 80% of your stopping power is in the front brake, and anybody who has tried modern disc brakes knows that it really makes a difference, especially in the mud. A good option for running a single front brake on your fixed gear too.

Matt Chester

Matt Chester is a enigma. He makes some super cool Titanium bikes, specifically of the drop bar, dirt oriented fixed gear verity. It's a sub-genre within a sub-genre, but that's part of why they're so cool.

New Thick & Zesty Bar Tape Colors!

Some summery colors mixed in with soon-to-be classics.

- The Tangerine is similar to our orange cork version but a shade brighter and with no cork bits
- The Apple Green is a straight up chartreuse. Very intense, but not quite neon. Not to be confused with our Pear Green.
- The Dark Red is a handsome color. If you think our regular red is a little light, check this one out.
- The Teal might seem hard to coordinate with, but it would look great on a white, ti, black or cobalt blue frame.
- The Camouflage Blue is in a grippy striated texture like our other camo choices. Don't know what environment this would give camouflage in --- maybe on Pandora?

In more bar-related news, by popular demand Highway One Compact Road Bars now come in a 46cm wide. So that's 38 to 46cm. Not too many road bars span that range these days.

Another Soma Smoothie Review

Check it out at http://nelsonwoodcraft.blogspot.com/2012/05/soma-smoothie.html

"The modern race geometry delivers power and handling while the steel keeps me comfortable. Investing in the ride as a whole makes this a solid and confident machine uniquely tailored to my riding and aesthetic style, and budget."

S.F. Bicycle Music Festival - June 23rd

What's different about a "bicycle music festival"?
1) The human-powered P/A system, which besides being the most fun and green way to amplify a live concert, also transforms every song into an audience participation song, and radically democratizes the concert-goer experience (the power to amplify the people onstage rests entirely in the will of the people offstage; democracy at its healthiest you might say!).

2) Bicycle-mobility of the entire festival: the entire audience/band/stage/crew completely packs-up everything they bring (stage and musical equipment too) onto bicycles, and travels as a large group to the next festival stop. There are no sag-wagons or equipment trucks hauling the amplifiers and other heavy gear – everything is hauled by bicycle.

3) Pilgrimage-style sequential venue schedule: Unlike other festivals where bands are scheduled to play overlapping slots on stages that are set-up just around the corner from one another (often resulting in overlapping sound), the Bicycle Music Festival unfolds like a delightful treasure hunt: in a linear and adventurous journey-form, with only one meaningful development in the plot unveiled at a time, and stages located a full bike-ride away from each other.

Go here to check out the line-up

New Tires

You asked for it and now we've made it. The Soma New Xpress 650b tires are now available in Terra Cotta. They use the same great Hypertex casing as our other tires and feature classic skinwall sidewalls. Expect them to be ready for purchase next week on the Soma Shop and through wholesale distributor Merry Sales.

Also available in 26x1.75".

For those who've been asking we also have the venerable  Pacenti Neo Motos and Quasi Moto 650b MTB tires as well as the Pari Moto 650b road tires back in stock.

Mike Flanigan

Thanks to the internet and shows like NAHBS many people have been exposed to the incredible work that Mike does at A.N.T. Even though his bikes are tig welded they have a style and charm that is reminiscent of vintage English and French bikes.

Della Santa

This guy built frames for Greg Lemond back in the day. And he's still making gorgeous lugged steel bikes in Reno NV to this day.

Lovely Bicycle Smoothie Review

Check out Lovely Bicycles' impressions of the Smoothie we sent over for review a while back. Some great pictures too.

http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2012/06/soma-smoothie-impressionism.html

Bike Parking NOW!

Via SF Gate > http://blog.sfgate.com/bicycle/2012/06/04/have-your-bike-and-park-it-too/

Soma Love at Urban Velo

Head over to Urban Velo and check out this groovy Double Cross build from Japan.

http://urbanvelo.org/yuichis-soma-double-cross/