It's been snowing for a couple hours now, but we're still seeing people on bikes outside. Weather like this is great for riding, even if you don't have studded tires on your bike. With most snowy conditions we face you should be fine on marginally wide, knobby tires, even if they don't have an aggressive tread. We don't recommend using studded tires, because they cost upwards of $100 per tire, and don't offer much of an advantage with the type of winters we have. Generally, by the time it's too snowy to be rideable, it's too much for any bicycle wheel to plow through. You'd be surprised what kind of weather is rideable if you slow down, use a low gearing, and take it very easy around corners.

We were visited by the bike wheel fairy recently and now have a new ultra-awesome wheelset up for sale: a new old stock freewheel HED disc wheel, and a Rovol bladed-spoke front wheel. They're both 650c, and haven't ever been touched with glue until we glued these incredibly light Panaracer tires on. We're guessing these are at least 16 years old or so, maybe even older. We're selling the wheels for $299 each (with tire) or $399 for the set. This set has been boxed up for much too long and are begging to go to a good home.

We here at Cambridge Bicycle pride ourselves on being open almost every day of the year. It's the season, however; for exceptions. This holiday season we have a few days with special hours:

12/24 - Christmas Eve - open from 10 until 4 pm
12/25 - Christmas Day - closed
12/26 - 12/30 - standard hours
12/31 - New Year's Eve - open from 10 until 4
1/1/10 - New Year's Day - closed
1/2/10 - standard hours

Our standard hours for regular business are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm, and noon to 6 pm on Sundays, every week, year round.

It may be cold, snowy, and wet, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to ride a bicycle. Although it's not exactly t-shirt weather, it's definitely possible to stay warm, dry, and upright through seemingly unrideable conditions. The above photo shows a winter bike belonging to our sales employee, Ben. It has a few notable elements that make it a good winter bike. These include a fixed-gear drive train for better traction, boot-friendly BMX pedals, a cantilever front brake for extra stopping power in sloppy weather, and (most importantly) a stainless steel chain by KMC. The only thing missing is a set of fenders to keep all that salt off his legs, feet, and bike.

When salt sits on metal parts, damage through corrosion will occur. A stainless steel chain is much more resilient to corrosion and rust. Additionally, the lack of extra gears, deraillers, and cables on this bike ensures that there are less moving parts to become corroded, fused together, and broken. A simple bike is a durable bike, which is exactly what makes a winter bike great.

Come talk to us if you have any questions about converting a bike for winter use, or creating a custom winter bike of your own design. We also have the above accessories and components in stock, as well as plenty of others that will help you stay on a bike all year long.

Our basement cleaning has bestowed us with another great find. To the unsuspecting eye, these may appear to be normal, cruddy brake levers. Check out the detail shot below:

Yeah, those are plastic Campagnolo mountain levers and they're 11 speed compatible if you want it badly enough.

We found a broken hamburger bell at the shop today. The bells are made out of plastic (which doesn't ring) so naturally, a plastic bell must have a metal ringer component. It looks like these ones have a secret custom paint job:


These should be great stocking stuffers for the bicycle/hamburger/anime enthusiast in your life.

Yesterday a customer Samantha came in and picked up a new bike for her birthday. She chose a 2010 Fuji Feather, and then outfitted it with SKS Race Blade fenders, a set of Planet Bike Blaze and Superflash lights, and Nitto cruiser bars! The bike already came with a front brake, but everything Samantha chose made this one of the most proper and good-looking bikes to roll out of the shop. Add a silver Crane Bell and it'd be the perfect city fixed-gear bike. Talk about a great gift!

All 2009 bicycles are currently on sale for %15 off! This sale is good for only bikes currently in stock (no special orders), and for bikes that are not otherwise marked. Sale bicycles still come with a year of free tune-ups as well! We can also store any bike needed until the end of the holiday season for no extra cost (if being purchased as a gift).

Come in and bring home that bike you've been looking at all year!