Small changes for small Saluki and Atlantis

November 1, 2007

Rather than have both small Atlantises and small Salukis --- since they overlap so much in function -- we'll probably phase out one of them in the small sizes and maybe modify the other one so that we don't have to stock both. I don't know exactly how it's going to go, but it's going to be a hard decision, because we really like both the small Atlantises and the small Salukis.

One thing we might do is make the small Saluki a little bit more like the small Atlantis, adding cantilever brake bosses and increasing tire capacity, but going with the Saluki 650B wheel. 

I think all of our current Saluki frames take side pulls/center pulls, and so in that way it's more like a road bike (or country bike) and less like a trail bike, although of course you can ride it on trails. But the 51, 53, and 54.5 Atlantis frames can fit a tire up to 53mms wide.

Anyway, we have Salukis in stock right now, unpainted, and if you want a small one, this may be your last chance to get one with side pulls or center pulls. We expect to be out of them by March, and we have 8 to 12 Saluki frames in sizes 54 though 58, and 1 to 4 frames in sizes 47, 50, and 52.

This isn't gigantic news, just a quiet notice of a subtle shift that isn't carved in stone, but still has a high probability. A $200 deposit reserves a frame. 800-345-3918...

I'll try to keep these news bits more newsy and less selly in the future, but every now and then there may be a bit of news that has a commercial element to it, and this is one of those times. 

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One of the guys who ordered a 69cm AHH didn't think we were actually going to come through with it, so he make other plans. I don't know what he got that would fit him, but what it comes down to is that we've got a 69cm double top tube special with nobody's name on it. So, if you know a reasonably well-off tall guy with good taste in bikes and a pubic bone height of between about 96 and 99cm, let him know what we've got.

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I am happy to report that the Grundens rain hats are starting to move. Slowly, but we have sold at least two of them so far, not counting the one that I bought. Of course I know this particular hat is not particularly perfect for cycling, but there aren't many things, of any kind, that are the best in the world at what they are and for what they do, that cost just $37 and will last 37 years. Most places that sell rainwear don't sell Grundens, and most bicycle riders don't ride by and patronize the odd specialty shops that do. So I thought it might be a useful, kind of fun, wet weather thing to put out there. I can't deny that it takes a bold soldier to wear one in public, and that even one's family members might discourage it, but sometimes you've got to face up to life's little challenges. This is a classic rain hat, and will always, under any condition, keep your head & hair dry.

G