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Ride Often, Shop Local, Stay Safe!

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Ride Often, Shop Local, Stay Safe!

In the midst of this uncertainty, bicycle brands are uniting, and they need your help. How can you help? First, they want you to get out and ride, respecting local outdoor activity ordinances of course. Second, they want to ask you to support your favorite local bike shop, and it’s easy. The fact is now you can get whatever you need from your favorite local shop delivered directly to your home. Just call your preferred shop to place your order for home shipment today!

Shops can sign up for retail to home delivery service through QBP or Hawley. Just about every shop has a QBP or Hawley account. Some suppliers are offering to ship direct right now as well. Most shops will have access to these types of services. QBP is actively contacting shops right now, as I’m writing this to enable them to sign up. If everyone calls their shops to express interest in this program, most retailers should be “in the know” by next week.

Retailers in the service can literally create a cart on QBP.com and change the shipping address to the customer’s residence. The sale goes to the retailer but the product gets delivered to the consumer at their house.

Sounds good right? Holler at your LBS to see what they have to say!

QBP Bike Mechanic Scholarship

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QBP Bike Mechanic Scholarship

QBP is back at it with another year of their Bike Mechanic Scholarships:

“The QBP Bike Mechanic Scholarship is dedicated to increasing gender diversity within the bike industry. Funded by QBP and brand partners, scholarship recipients attend the United Bicycle Institute’s 2-week Professional Repair and Shop Operation class in Oregon or Barnett Bicycle Institute’s Professional Bicycle Service Course in Colorado.

Equipped with the expertise and connections gained from this class, scholarship recipients can affect even greater change in their communities, making bikekind a more inclusive place for us all. Through hands-on learning, component-by-component study, and formal lecture, scholarship recipients come away with the skills to advance their careers in the bike industry, gain advanced mechanical knowledge, and deepen their bike industry network.

Thanks to the success of past years and the generous support of our sponsors, this year we’re excited to send 32 bike mechanics on this adventure.”

See more and apply today at QBP!

Problem Solvers Now Owns Frame Saver

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Problem Solvers Now Owns Frame Saver

If you have a steel bike and live in a part of the country where it rains a lot, or the roads are salted or otherwise treated to melt ice, then surely you’ve heard of Frame Saver. Last year, Peter Weigle sold the Frame Saver brand and now Problem Solvers owns it, opening up the distribution platform to all QBP bike shops. So now, when you get a new steel frame, it’s even easier to order.

Plenty of Stock at Santa Fe’s Broken Spoke

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Plenty of Stock at Santa Fe’s Broken Spoke

Over the past couple of months, we’ve looked at a few bike shops with very unique business models. From opening their stock up as a rental fleet, to stocking only Rivendell and Bob Dylan, and roadside attractions, looking to recycle as much as possible, we’ve run quite the gammut of business models this summer here on the Radavist. Another shop that I recently documented was Santa Fe’s Broken Spoke and they’re doing something unique in the modern internet sales versus the Local Bike Shop climate…

Frostbike 2019: Three Shots of Whisky With a Carbon Back

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Frostbike 2019: Three Shots of Whisky With a Carbon Back

Frostbike 2019: Three Shots of Whisky With a Carbon Back
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Whisky Components chose Quality Bicycle Products Frostbike to unveil some new products this year, and along with it, they proved that the sum of a well-appointed bicycle is in its parts.  With three unique builds designed around a Surly Wednesday, Surly Karate Monkey, and Surly Midnight special, all shod in a certain shade of retina burn that when entering the expo halls was sure to catch your eye.

There’s much more going on than at first glance, but the paint/carbon combo worked out really well, I’ve been told the Wednesday weighed under 27lbs.

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Follow Whisky Parts Co on Instagram, and Jarrod on Instagram

Amy’s Arrowhead 135 Surly Pugsley – Jarrod Bunk

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Amy’s Arrowhead 135 Surly Pugsley – Jarrod Bunk

Amy’s Arrowhead 135 Surly Pugsley
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Amy, a total badass, and product manager at Surly bikes set off to DFL the Arrowhead 135 this year.  The Arrowhead 135 is a 135 mile ultra race through northern Minnesota, usually set in January to take advantage of the frigid Winters. With a finisher rate of somewhere close to half, this race put your body, and gear through some of the toughest conditions.   Fully loaded and weighing in at a stout “it’s fuggin heavy” this Pugsley was loaded up to tackle the -25°F weather and save for some frozen shifty bits, Amy made it to the finish.  If you’ll be around Edgewater, CO on April 12 Amy will be talking about her Arrowhead experience at Yawp Cyclery’s Adventure Lab,  for more info on Amy’s setup and her recount of the experience on course check it out here.

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Follow Amy on Instagram, Surly Bikes on Instagram, and Jarrod on Instagram

 

 

Stayin’ Warm At Frostbike – Jarrod Bunk

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Stayin’ Warm At Frostbike – Jarrod Bunk

Stayin’ Warm At Frostbike
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Frostbike, it’s that time of the year when dealers from all over the country descend on the frozen tundra that is Minneapolis because in the middle of winter this is the one event sure to throw some logs on your fire and rekindle that stoke.  Sadly I flew in a day shy of what I’m sure were some of the best presentations in recent memory.  The expo wasn’t devoid of the flash that I thought it may be, instead, there was a smattering of new bits from QBP’s house brands as well as some other fantastic brands that QBP distributes. This gallery is full of some new product all of which are now off embargo.

Since its inception, Frostbike has been held out of Quality Bicycle Products Minneapolis facility, but for 2020 the event is moving to Denver.

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Follow QBP on Instagram, and Jarrod on Instagram

QBP’s  2019 Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship Recipients

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QBP’s 2019 Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship Recipients

This year, Quality Bicycle Products has announced their winners of the Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship. There are 32 scholarship recipients who will attend a two-week Professional Repair and Shop Operations in Ashland, Oregon’s United Bicycle Institute. This is made possible by SRAM, Park Tool, UBI, DT Swiss, Problem Solvers, SPANK, MAXXIS, DERO Bike Racks, and WTB. Check out the press-release below!

Saddle Drive is the Best … Time for all – Jarrod Bunk

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Saddle Drive is the Best … Time for all – Jarrod Bunk

Saddle Drive Is The Best … Time For All
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

Saddle Drive is a dealers only event in which QBP invites bicycle retailers from all over the country to take part in what is usually two days of seminars, stoke, and shredding, yes there’s a whole bunch of product in there too, unfortunately, I can’t share much as most of it is under embargo. This year some forthcoming thunderstorms (PSYCH) condensed the shred/expo time to just one day. The morning before the demo, QBP held a women’s only ride and 97% of the attendees traversed some of the best forest-service roads near Seven Springs, PA .   Even with the condensed timetable, I was able to take some familiar bikes down some familiar terrain and even venture further off route.

Thanks to a little Google Earth logistics we were able to take some singletrack over the road to visit some cutty spots at the top, ALWAYS TAKE THE SINGLETRACK!  There were some rad new products including Ketl’s revamped women’s line, Teravail’s answer to the industry that the world needs more gumwalls!  (Twenty-nine X 2.6″  Kennebec PLEASE) and some revamped Whisky Rims just to name a few.  It was All City’s Tenth Anniversary and let me tell you that 10TH Anniversary Mr. Pink is wild in person! Finishing out the demo day I was able to shoot some of Salsa’s new line of bikes which will be featured here once the embargo is lifted, thanks to Lindsey Beltchenko, Salsa’s Marketing Manager. I wanted to cram every bit of time we could into the day and we dipped to a natural rock slide just outside of the resort and visited a cafe that had Kyle stoked the whole way back.  We made it back in time for All City’s 10TH Anniversary Party, here’s to 100 more, as a bonus check out Jeff’s rad Gorilla Monsoon.  Thanks to everyone at QBP who makes this event a success, and everyone who made this event a blast!  This was definitely a Saddle Drive to remember.

 

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Follow Jarrod on Instagram.  QBP on Instagram and All-City on Instagram

Whisky Parts Co’s Private Stock: Ben’s Rock Lobster and Steve Potts

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Whisky Parts Co’s Private Stock: Ben’s Rock Lobster and Steve Potts

Whisky Part’s Private Stock: Ben’s Rock Lobster and Steve Potts
Photos by Kyle Kelley, words by John Watson

Private Stock. A term reserved the best of the best when it comes to distilling American whiskey, Scotch whisky, and bourbon. For Whisky Parts Co, a brand within the umbrella that is Quality Bicycle Products, their aim is to design the best parts possible and get the most people using those parts as possible. Part of that comes from OE sales and the other brands within QBP using Whisky Parts when it makes sense, yet there is a growing demand from Domestic and International frame builders, to create products specifically for niche market requests. We’ve seen Whisky do so with their road, cross and mountain forks, as well as their wheels and components over the years.

For Ben Witt, Whisky’s marketing and sales director, he felt the need to not only embrace the niche market of frame building, but to use the parts for two of his own bikes; a Rock Lobster all-road and Steve Potts dirt drop mtb. We’ve seen a number of Private Stock builds from the Whisky team here on the Radavist over the years, but these two are some of the best.

Thanks to Ben for taking the time to let us showcase these bikes and Kyle for the great photos! My fingers are cold just typing this up!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram and follow Whisky on Instagram.

If You Were Wondering, Frostbike’s Still the Best – Kyle Kelley

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If You Were Wondering, Frostbike’s Still the Best – Kyle Kelley

If You Were Wondering, Frostbike’s Still the Best
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley

Especially for newcomers! It was really rad seeing Sean and Danny from Team Dream and the Cub House experience this unique event for the first time. It really got me thinking about a few of my first Frostbikes, and how a lot of my really good friends have actually spawned from this event. I’ve even seen other friendships flourish from introductions at Frostbike. Going to Minneapolis in the middle of winter as a cyclist probably seems like a bad idea, but when you actually think about it, it’s genius.

Saddle Drive Is Still the Best!

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Saddle Drive Is Still the Best!

Saddle Drive Is Still the Best!
Words by John Watson, photos by John Watson and Jarrod Bunk

Saddle Drive! It’s part party, part bike demo and part tradeshow, in that order. Or at least that’s how we’ve covered it in years past. This year, however, QBP did things a bit different, opting to put many, if not most of the bicycles and products they “launched” under strict embargo. The bad news is, you won’t see any bike portraits in this gallery, but the good news is, you’ll see my two favorite bikes in the future, once the embargo is lifted.

Cool Stuff at Frostbike – Kyle Kelley

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Cool Stuff at Frostbike – Kyle Kelley

Cool Stuff at Frostbike
Photos by Kyle Kelley and words by John Watson

Frostbike. It’s part party, part bike industry tradeshow and all fun. Each year, Quality Bicycle Products, the largest distributor for bike shops in the US, invites a handful of media and tons of shop owners to its facilities in Bloomington, just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once within its walls, attendees get a sneak peek at many of the brands QBP carries’ newest offerings.

This year, we didn’t line anyone up to cover the event, but Kyle was there for his shop, Golden Saddle Cyclery. Because he is a shop owner and a regular contributor to the Radavist, Kyle’s eye for what is “cool” really resonates. You’ll see a lot from the brands commonly featured here on the site and if you’ve got any questions, just drop them in the comments.

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Follow Kyle on Instagram, Golden Saddle Cyclery on Instagram and QBP on Instagram.

Saddle Drive is the Best – Jarrod Bunk

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Saddle Drive is the Best – Jarrod Bunk

Editor’s note: Jarrod recently attended Saddle Drive, Quality Bicycle Product’s outdoor showcase for their forthcoming products. This included components, accessories and complete bicycles from brands like Salsa, Surly and All City. Jarrod spent two days there, photographing new components on day one and on day two, complete bikes. Here’s day one.

Saddle Drive is the Best
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Saddle Drive is an event that is very similar to Frostbike, however the premise is a bit different Saddle Drive allows QBP dealers and media some time on 2017 Products. The tradeshow aspect is a bit toned down, to allow for maximum time on saddle. Following the All City party the night of arrival, day one started off slow. I was able to ride the new Karate Monkey from Surly, The Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke, new Mukluk, and the All City Spacehorse disc to name a few. Spending most all of day one riding bikes in high alpine was, well, one of the best experiences of my life, and being on some stellar bikes made it that much sweeter. Thanks to Kyle and Bobby for taking me to the top at Pluto and shredding back down.

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Frostbike’s the Best – Jarrod Bunk

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Frostbike’s the Best – Jarrod Bunk

Frostbike’s the Best
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

I look forward to this time of the year, I get to catch up with friends, check out fresh bits from companies that I dig. You could say that Frostbike is a mini Interbike, without the tedium. QBP invites some of its dealers each year to view bikes, parts, and projects. Bikes, I love them, I love getting people on them, I love riding them. We all do right? QBP does a great job of creating bikes that small groups want and promoting cycling though all of their brands. Frostbike isn’t about just QBP brands though, there are plenty of non Q-brands that display here.

Its been said that there ain’t no party like a QBP party ‘cause a QBP party don’t stop. Obviously winding down after a day of seminars and bike stoke needs to happen. I look forward to the All City ’17 model year release every year. Jeff has a great program over there!. The log lady is a show stopper. Speaking of show stoppers, Whiskey Parts Co. has a pretty awesome project this year. They displayed six bikes as parts of their Whiskey Six Select, and let me just say oh man, these bikes are beautiful, from a custom Salsa Cycles Horsethief to a Retrotec, there is sure to be something for everyone.

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QBP’s Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship

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QBP’s Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship

Hey ladies, listen up!

Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarship
SRAM, Liv, QBP, United Bicycle Institute (UBI), Pedro’s and Park Tool have joined together to offer ten scholarships for women bike mechanics to attend UBI. This scholarship is dedicated to getting more women on bikes and supporting the development of female mechanics. This opportunity is open to aspiring or experienced bike mechanics and women that would like to increase their technical knowledge to further their career in the bike industry.

Continue reading below…