JCS Cycles - Now A KHS Dealer

The first one - it sold in an hour.

It's official! We are now a KHS bicycles dealer, and the first shipment of 2012 bikes are on the way.

We especially like KHS - their business philosophy is like ours - deliver moderately priced, high quality items that are functional, affordable, and durable. We will now have access to, and be stocking, the KHS lines of mountain, road and touring bicycles as well as comfort tandems and cruisers.

As always, we will be riding KHS Models ourselves in the new year. As we test ride them, check out our Living On Two Wheels Shop Blog for test ride reviews.

We sold our last automobile 5 months ago, and haven't missed it at all. Living in Florida, commuting by bicycle is easy. Warm winter days, cool but pleasant evenings, with the Pinellas Trail right next to the store, and bicycle lanes everywhere, make for a cyclist's dream. But if we ever got another truck, I'd want this one: More...

Not the right way...

Starting Out - Must Have Items When Using Your Bicycle for Cargo

Using a bicycle to haul stuff can be as simple as throwing something in a handlebar basket, or hauling a couch on a heavy duty trailer. What you use to transport things depends initially on what you plan on carrying by bicycle.

But, once you start, you quickly discover that a bicycle can be used to transport a surprising amount of, well, STUFF!

Digging it deeper

Getting Larger, But Not Wiser

"This is the night, of the expanding man."

-Donald Fagen

A recent article in a bicycle trade journal related a story about training wheels that reminded me of something I also encountered four years ago. A bicycle shop owner in Missiissippi was, well, frightened by what he saw last year.

Parents who had bought bicycles at "big box" stores were coming to him after Christmas, and asking him for help with their 6 and 7 year old children's new bicycles. They wanted heavy duty training wheels mounted on the bicycles.

Their kids were so fat they had flattened the original training wheels. More...

Remind them..

The Senate passed a clean extension of the surface transportation program. The measure passed by a vote of (92-6).

Due in very large part to your participation the League generated over 10,000 messages to Senate offices, this number combined with other national advocacy groups brought the total number of messages sent to Senate offices to well over 45000. In the face of such a resounding response Mr. Coburn eventually gave up his opposition to the bill. THIS TIME.

This is good news, but it won't be the last time we will need to remind our elected legislators that riding a bicycle is not just a "leisure time" activity. The mindset is starting to change. In some parts of the United States it has become recognized by the local government that riding a bicycle, and walking, makes good sense as a form of transportation.

The point to make to our legislators is that it just makes good sense financially to support cycling. The current funding extension will expire on March 31st, 2012. Expect another attempt to cut out all of the cycling and walking funding. The automobile mindset will assure that. The best way to fight this is to promote cycling and walking as legitimate forms of transportation that make sense when times are tough. The best way to do this? Just ride, every day.

More news coming on this in the future.

You need all of this...

Should I buy a used bicycle online? How about a frame, and then build up my dream bicycle?

Before you do, consider what we tell our customers when they ask us about buying used:

"For a skilled and experienced bicycle mechanic, it's OK to buy used. For everyone else, please - just say no."

No, we aren't Nancy Reagin, but before you consider yourself mechanically experienced, answer a few questions: More...

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Let Us Build You the Right Bicycle for You

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Custom Built

One of the "insider secrets" of the bicycle industry is the majority "stock" bicycles are designed for lightweight racers. And by lightweight, we mean 160lbs and under. The frame styles are designed for the purpose of going as fast as possible, or in the case of off-road, handling "technical" singletrack trails AND going as fast as possible. Things like rider comfort and the ability to carry packages and bags, outside of a couple of water bottles, aren't considerations.

So if you are looking to improve your CAT rating or accumulate enough points for a pro license, those are the bikes for you. For the other 99% of people that ride bicycles, well, we need something else.

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Breaking in a Brooks Saddle

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B17 in Honey - Bought by a very happy customer!

Over many years of riding, we have discovered that there is no substitute for a Brooks saddle. Their comfort, and durability, is simply the best. What they do require is a proper break-in, and then some minimal care, unlike artificial saddles. People that have a bad experience with a Brooks saddle have either not broken them in properly, not bought the model of saddle that was appropriate for their body size and type of riding, or have bought a used saddle that was broken in by someone else. More...

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On Building A Bicycle Friendly City

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It's a matter of perception...

The US is finally starting to see a rebirth of using bicycles as transportation, rather than strictly an activity for fitness or racing.

If you are one of our "regulars" at our shop, you know we often have conversations ongoing as to how to improve the bicycling situation here in both Atlanta and the US as a whole. One point that we always come around to is changing the way the general public perceives cyclists. Another point that comes up is that we as cyclists need to take a look at the way we ride, and how it affects the opinion of the general public.

This is a tough one for us to swallow, with our messenger and road racing backgrounds. But, it's a worthwhile, and necessary effort, if we ever want to get ourselves to the point where Copenhagen is today. Every day, 500,000 and more people take to the streets of Copenhagen on bicycles on bicycle friendly streets. How did the Danish do it when they set out to do so 30 years ago? Read More...

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We are a proud to be a member of

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