News

We Will Be Opening at 12:00 on Saturday 2/13 due to the snow.

2-06-2010 Once again Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance has done a great job getting getting Anthony Fox (recently elected Mayor of Charlotte) in front of the people. Today was their annual meeting which included a question and answer forum with the newly elected Mayor of Charlotte. I saw Mayor Fox speak prior to his election and I did notice then he was well educated on the local cycling assets and issues. Today was no different. The message was made clear to the new Mayor. The people, at least those in the room, want more liveable communities here in the Queen City. More accessible by ways other the the automobile. From what i heard, i think there is a chance. I did hear another interesting statistic this afternoon. The there was a decrease in Tax Revenue of 18% (I wish i had gotten clarification here so i could quote but i would expect that is a combination of sale tax and property tax). What does this mean? You can help the state of the city and the nation by buying more bike stuff which will help generate more tax revenue.

Wow, it’s hard to believe Christmas and the end of the year are near. I hope everyone had a great time at the SouthPark Cycles Christmas Party last Thursday night. Thanks again to Lolas and Widmer Brothers Brewing Company for providing all of the food and beverages for the evening. We also took in a ton of food which was donated to the Loaves and Fishes. This past weekend I also had a booth Uptown at the Convention Center for the Thunder Road Marathon. There are a ton of closet runners out there (I too was a runner at one time). I was surprised at the number of folks is saw and even was unaware until that day that one of my part timers was going out for the half marathon. I did notice something great over the weekend while I was working the expo. I wanted to give a shout out to the Girls on the Run program. In this day and age when child hood and adult obesity are unhealthily out of control and at an all time high this organization is actively getting people off their Butts. Not only did I see kids as young as 6 years old getting prepped to run their first 5K race. I also saw many parents I knew who normally are not active going out to run with their kids.

Here are a couple of Christmas Presents From SouthPark Cycles

$25 Gift for you from SouthPark Cycles

99 Free Songs From SouthPark Cycles and Deep Elm Records

Charlotte-based indie label Deep Elm Records (www.deepelm.com) has a special promotion running now where you can get 99 Free Songs. Yup, $99 worth of music absolutely for free! If you're not familiar with the label, they have been around for nearly 15 years and have worked with bands including Jimmy Eat World, Nada Surf, Further Seems Forever, Appleseed Cast, Moving Mountains and recently signed Charlotte's own Public Radio (www.deepelm.com/publicradio/). The label is also responsible for the one of the most well-known compilation series ever called "The Emo Diaries." The label is about people coming together, meeting, singing and sharing that experience with each other...those are the times that we remember forever. It's about the power of music and the bands that create it. Deep Elm also provides music for many TV shows like Nitro Circus, Fantasy Factory, lots of Vans events, films and video games too like Tony Hawk's new RIDE. So check them out...you have nothing to lose. Indie, Emo, Punk, Alt-Country, Rock, Pop...they have it all. "The world's most reputable indie rock label" says Chord. Oh, and they are avid bikers too! Download. Discover. Defend Deep Elm.

You can also check out the other specials at www.southparkcycles.com/specials.htm

Trade In Your Adult or Kids Bike Towards a New One

Christmas is always a great time for a new bicycle. If you are planning on a new one for someone in the family but have a garage full we want you to bring bike in your old bike to trade in towards a new one. We realize that not everyone can afford a new bike so being able to offer someone a used one for less is a GREAT option for us over the Holidays. We will take in both adult and kids bikes toward the purchase of a new one.

SouthPark Cycles Grass Roots Racing Team

Thanks to all of you that are currently part of the program. We will soon be announcing the 2010 SouthPark Cycles Team program and there will be slightly a new jersey for 2010 as well as we have picked up a couple of new sponsors including Widmer Brother Brewing Company. Our grass root racing program is open to riders of all abilities and juniors as well. If you are interested in joining the SouthPark Cycles Team

CycloCross, Is this the next best thing since sliced bread?

I was finally able to get a bike together for the last 2 races of our local Cyclocrosss training series rac. Once you have done a race there is now doubt why CycloCross is becoming so popular. Here is a video from the first lap of my first race which was also the first time on the bike as well. Cheers to all the Cross Racers out there and thanks to all the pros out at the Cross Vegas Race this past September who were ultimately responsible for my motivation to give CycloCross a try (Yo Wicks, are you reading this?.)

Check Out The Video

SouthPark Cycles Multimedia

While we try to send out the SouthPark Cycles news about once a week we have embraced the digital media. When you have a moment you may want to check out and subscribe to the following links.

SouthPark Cycles on Face Book

For The Pinarello Finatic

SouthPark Cycles Video

Tis The Season For Night Riding or Just Needing More Light

Night riding is fun for more reasons than I can list. This year we have added Lights in Motion to our line up and will have the Seca 900 Ultra and Seca 700 Ultra in stock for sale and rent. There are 2 different models of both the 900 and 700. We chose the Ultra’s of each version which is $50 more for one reason. More burn time. (we have numerous other models of the Lights in Motion Light Systems). While we have not received it yet we also have one of the Nite Rider 1200 Pro LED as well. A claimed 1200 lumens and a programmable battery program via your pc it will hard to determine who really has the best. And that’s why we want to give you the chance to try before you buy. Not just for trails these lights give you the ultimate visibility on the road or where ever you may need light! We also have numerous models of NiteRider HID lights in stock starting at $339 for 900 lumens!!!!!!!!

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see our 2 candidates for Mayor of Charlotte answer 10 questions related about their position and views of the importance of bicycles and bicycles as transportation. This is election is probably one of the most crucial in decades. Not just for cycling but for the vitality of our Queen City. I won't pose my political opinion on you but I did feel one candidate spoke better to my views and knew certain details about cycling in our city that only someone who cared or at least did ample research would know. I felt the other candidate in many cases may have been saying the same thing but did so in a half empty glass kind of way which is in my opinion not a way to lead the sheople. I have always said that you can either be part of the solution or part of the problem. You have to fight for your rights and these are currently the times when there is opportunity to make change for the better if you are willing to fight for those rights.

Specials thanks to Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance and its director Martin Zimmerman for setting up the forum at the Dowd YMCA. Here you can see Martin is excited to be getting the Forum Started. On Martin's left side is Anthony Foxx and on the right is John Lassiter. Both Candidates have served on city council for many years and are passionate about becoming mayor. Both Candidates committed to be at the 2010 Bike Charlotte Ride With The Mayor as well.

There were approximately 50 people in attendance. While one might think there was only 50 people politicians look at it very different. Each person in the room represents not merely one but more than likely hundreds or more. There were both representatives from SouthPark Cycles and Uptown cycles present. Also there was Mr 24 Hours of Booty, Spenser Leuders. Representatives from Trips For Kids Recyclery, CABA and more. There were also other members of city council present who are up for re-election in November.

For more information about the candidate forum (there will also be a summary of the candidates answers) check out http://charlottebikes.org/ and for the 10 questions that Foxx and Lassiter were asked check out www.southparkcycles.com/articles/10questions.pdf

This years Interbike Tradeshow was packed full of action. SouthPark had a crew of 5 out at the show the learn about the new bikes and product we'll be working with for 2010. There is no doubt that what SouthPark Cycles will be able to bring to riders in selection for both road and mountain bikes will be the best in the region for 2010.

The best part about Interbike is the accessibility to the Pros and over the past couple of years citizen and Pro events have been added. This year was the first year I have had an opportunity to check out the Pro Cyclocross event. This is by far the best of criterium racing and mountain bike racing combined.

For all of the pics and some video for Interbike

Bicycling magazine may have seen the Dogma first but we had a chance to check out the rest of the 2010 Pinarello line up. There is no doubt about the destiny of the 2010 Dogma. Pinarello has taken its attention to detail , as previously displayed in the Prince, to an all new level. There also are numerous great additions throughout the line and with full carbon road bikes starting at $2599 and bikes equipped with Campy, Shimano and Sram there is more than likely a Pinarello to fulfill your cycling needs for 2010.

The week of 8/4 thru 8/8 is the busiest week of Criterium Racing here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The CrossRoads Classic Criteriums sponsored by Giordana start out the week of racing in Mocksville, Concord, Salisbury, Statesville and finally Harrisburg. On Saturday August 8th the Presbyterian Hospital Criterium Invitational also took place. This event has a purse of more than $50000 for the pro men and women. What we have come to find is that the pro teams will come down for the CrossRoads events and use them for training leading up to the Presbyterian Criterium. This year was no exception. While Pinarello was no doubt the hottest thing at all the races there was also a ton of great racing going on.

At the Presbyterian Hospital Criterium Invitational we had a ton of different things for spectators to enjoy. Whether it be team autograph sessions or the most technologically advanced bicycle in the world. There was something for everybody. Above and below the much anticipated 2010 Pinarello Dogma.

The Bissell Team ended up pretty well. Andy Jacques-Maynes in the break finishing 5th overall and scooped up two $500 prime. After the race some of the member of the Bissell Team stopped by the booth to thank one of their sponsors (Sandy Nichols of Gita Sporting Goods/ Giordana-Pinarello). While the Dogma is out of this world there still is nothing wrong with a couple of Princes laying around, especially when they are the Bissell Team bikes.

After the women's race the Colavita Sutter Home Team stopped by the booth for an Autograph session. Tina Pic (shoulder length curly blonde hair) finished second in this years criterium and is a previous winner.

Under normal circumstances if you came out to your vehicle and found a bunch of papers taped to it you might get a little disgruntled. Of course if for some reason it were the results of the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium you may have other feelings. I suppose it is what i deserved for parking in the VIP spot right next to the Start/Finish Line, literally. For those of you wondering about the results from the 2009 Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium, here are the official results.

2009 Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium Official Results from directly off of the SouthPark Cycles Van.

This week is a busy week for Cycling. With the Cross Roads Classic Races going on this week and the Presbyterian Crit Uptown on Saturday there is a ton of action. Here are a couple of Pics from the race in Concord on 8/5

I have been comparing Criterium races to NASCAR when explaining to the locals about the event about to take race. On thing that is different. NASCAR doesn't race in the rain. Cyclists do. No roll cage and nothing but a helmet and lycra to protect them. Special thanks to Cabarrus Cream for the great ice cream.

Now carrying Scott Bicycles!

Now available in stock are Scott Bicycles. We currently have the Scott Sportster S50 road bikes in stock which are $949.99. We also have a Spark 3.0 and Addict R3 available as well.

Contest Winner!

Congrats to Joseph Gallo. Joseph was the winner of the Kona Cindercone that we gave away on the 4th of July as part of our promotion with the US National Whitewater Center and the Suburu River Jam.

SouthPark Cycles Finally Makes It Into SouthPark Mall

So after 10 years we finally made it into SouthPark Mall. We had the opportunity to set up a booth in SouthPark Mall on the weekend of 6/12 thru 6/14. I spent over 30 hours in the mall and let me tell you that it was an interesting experience to say the least. I assure you, in some parts of the world the economy is not faltering and SouthPark Mall appears to be one of those places. We were near the end where Tiffany's and Nordstroms are and basically almost in front of the Apple store. By the way, there are a lot more people than you think lurking around the mall. I was surprised at the people I saw.