My favorite gravel bike EVER was my Kona Libre. It was very light and comfortable and fun, and I had a lot of great adventures on it. Then I sold it to my friend Sarah during the pandemic and never replaced it. OK, yes, I did build a cool aluminum Checkpoint. It’s a great bike, […]

This spring I came into possession of an old bike of mine, a 2007 Felt F1/X cyclocross bike that my wife gave me for my birthday. My brother had been using it for years, and when he moved on to something else, my friend returned home. I’ve been using that old bike for commuting duty […]

Having the luxury of beginning my mountain bike journey on a full suspension bike, I was always interested in trying a hardtail, sure for efficiency’s sake, but also for overnight trips on trails requiring a bit more than a gravel rig, but not quite all the squish. With 100mm of front travel and weighing in at a […]

The man who cannot stop buying mountain bikes — specifically dual-suspension mountain bike suitable for SW Michigan riding — continues to buy mountain bikes. Let’s recap the bikes I’ve had the past few years: This is the new Anthem. If you purchase a complete bike, it will have 100mm of rear travel and 110mm of […]

I have a trio of really great bikes on which I do most of my riding. Not long ago riding one of these bikes, I thought, “Huh. All my bikes kick butt.” There are commonalities that I appreciate. Efficiency. This is feeling the bike moves forward when you push on the pedals. I think this […]

I decided that I wanted (needed?) a new road bike and found a Giant TCR Advanced SL frame available in my size. So I bought it and began thinking about the three big factors in a frame-up build: wheels, drivetrain and cockpit (or “everything else”). On the drivetrain front I was torn between Red AXS, […]

I’m now on my sixth dual-suspension bike in a few years, and I’m starting to figure out what I want and what I don’t. I want a cross country bike, but I don’t necessarily want a race bike. I really appreciate a light bike. but I don’t necessarily want a race bike. I like nice […]

I purchased a new gravel bike this winter. Checkpoint aluminum frame. Rival 1x drivetrain. Mostly parts that we laying around the shop and wheels that I’ve had for about seven years: Chris King hubs, HED Belgian rims and fancy Sapim spokes. But I’m really into what the kids call Gravel Plus: 650b wheels with 48mm […]

Wednesday and Thursday I rode steep trails in Utah on an electric-assist mountain bike, and I loved it. The bike was a Specialized Turbo Levo SL. It’s an interesting bike and is a little bit of a wonderful oddity in the world of e-bikes. It’s lighter and provides less assist than most other options. At […]

Editor’s Note: Pedal purchases a demo bike for year-round employees. In exchange, the employee must make the bike available for clients to demo and write a brief summary of their experience with the bike. This entry represents Lauren paying her dues. Oh so legit.  Oh so gorgeous.  Oh so fun.   Before riding gravel, I […]

This winter I started a commuter bike project. I wanted to be able to ride to the gym, work out, ride to work, take a shower, work all day and ride home, all without having to carry a backpack. The backpack part might seem dumb, but I radiate a lot of heat in the summer […]

This new bike might make it look like I don’t like the Blur. And the Blur might make it seem like I don’t like the Epic. None of that is quite true. I love riding mountain bikes, and I love learning more about how they work and feel. I also enjoy a good project. I’m […]

For unclear reasons, I’d been thinking about a single-speed cross/gravel bike. I regret having sold my last one, and didn’t want to spend a pile of money on another. I spent a fair amount of time looking for a new frame, but single-speeding appears to have fallen out of fashion. I found very little to […]

Riding to work, to the store, and to spontaneous local destinations have become second nature with the 2020 Turbo Como 3.0. Como gets you where you need to be, sweat free and all smiles.  When you’re ready for a workout, turn down the battery and pump those legs! It’s impossible to find an excuse to […]

Before starting this entry, I looked back and re-read Part 1. How bizarre! A post about a bunch of parts without a bike on which to bolt them. Just to recap, I’m trying to incorporate a bike into more aspects of my life — not just going fast in pursuit of fitness. When I first […]

A while back, I made a list of all of my adult bikes. As I review that list, it’s pretty easy to spot a trend — speed. Yes, there are specifications — frame material, wheel size, gearing, geometry, etc. — that vary from bike to bike, but an overarching theme is going (relatively) fast on […]

Editor’s Note: Our Gal Jess has been riding a Specialized Stumpjumper Expert 29 all summer. It’s a lot of name and a lot of bike. In Jess’s words… Mountain biking has become my “adult” replacement plan for organized sports, or as some may call it, sports ball. In looking for the right bike for my […]

Editor’s Note: the blog might say that Tim authored this post, but Kalyn is the real author. A few days ago, someone asked me why I chose cycling over any other sport. To me, the answer seemed obvious: through cycling, I am able to connect with the world around me by exploring new places, adventuring […]

We started carrying Santa Cruz in late April of 2019. We partnered with Santa Cruz for a few reasons. One is that they focus almost entirely on mountain bikes. A second is that they have a large, loyal following. I like their adherence to and constant tinkering with a consistent suspension platform, VPP. All of […]

It feels like the second or third day of summer, and I thought I’d answer the question that no one’s asking, “What are you messing around with?” I’ve been playing around with three bikes, maybe four. Kona Libre I tend to ride this bike more than mess around with it. It still consists of: Libre […]

Several years ago I had the chance to ride a Santa Cruz 5010 on trails outside of Calgary, AB. When we decided to carry Santa Cruz at Pedal, I thought the 5010 might be a super bike for, among other things, the Maple Hill Trail, so we brought in a couple for demos. Last weekend […]

Know what this blog needs? More voices. Our Man Jim Kindle got a new Checkpoint SL 6 a little while ago, and he’s nice enough to write a few words about the budding relationship between man and bike. — I got this bike because gravel riding and racing have become some of my favorite types […]

The Why One of the most interesting things — to me — in the shop right now is a trifecta of bikes from Specialized. The Epic, redesigned for 2018, comes with 100mm of travel front and rear and a 720mm handlebar. This is Specialized’s cross country race bike. The Epic Evo, new for 2019, is […]

So what’s this thing all about? I’ve been thinking about a new road bike for several months. I *loved* my Tarmac, but there are lots of things going on in the road bike space, and I’d like to have more first-hand experience with some of them. What things? Di2 has been around nearly a decade, […]

Dave Hauschild has been riding bikes a long time. He knows about half-step gearing. He has a penchant for steel road bikes. His mountain bike, until recently, was a 26″ model with zero suspension. I was surprised and pleased when Dave picked out a carbon Epic for his demo. Here’s what he has to say: […]

Editor’s note: In the continuing series of bike reviews by employees, here’s one from J’Son, the manager of our Romence Road location. When we announced this program, J’Son was very decisive in his choice of bike, something for dirt road racing and cyclocross. J’Son chose to write his review as more of a Q&A than […]

Editor’s note: We started a new program in early 2018 in which Pedal would fund a new bike for full-time employees. There are very few restrictions. Employees are encouraged to get something they’d really like, but might not purchase themselves. In exchange for the bike, folks were asked to write a longer-term review of their […]

There was a time when I never took pictures while on a bike ride. Things seem to be changing, and these are some of my favorites from this year to date. I’ve gotten significantly better at balancing my bikes on a water bottle.                

This bike. I’ve wanted to write about this bike since before it even showed up late last fall, but it’s taken me a while to, well, get it together. This bike is constructed around a Moots Psychlo-X RSL frame, ostensibly a cyclocross frame. Like many other bike brands and manufacturers, the Psycho-X is a bit […]

This morning I took my new bike out for its maiden voyage to the Maple Hill Trail. It’s a beautiful clear day. Temperature is just above freezing. I’d heard that the trail is in perfect shape. And off I went, excited to see what this bike is all about and to rekindle my relationship with […]

Just a few short years ago we all raced local gravel races on our cyclocross bikes or perhaps our 29ers. As longer races became a thing across our country, we saw three things occur to create the new and exciting (some snark intended) category of Gravel Bike: Bottom brackets dropped, offering greater stability at the […]

When I asked my kiddo to put on these gloves and pose for a picture not completely unlike the one above, I received this response, “No. No one says ‘Hella’ anymore.” Despite the vocabulary of the cool kids of Kalamazoo, my new bike is, if nothing else, Hella Sweet. But what is this thing? Maybe […]

The Maple Hill Trail is something a bit different for the Kalamazoo area. Custer is fun and twisty. Yankee is tough and wild. TMHT (you heard it here first) is jumpy, bermed, machine-built and an unbelievable combination of accessible and challenging. Kona is a brand we identify with strongly. Their stuff is really good, and […]

Yes. I know. I, too, have every confidence that I’m the zillionth 50+ white dude to purchase a Crockett and name it “Sonny.” In this regard my lack of originality bothers me not at all. I can’t help that “Miami Vice” was required Friday night viewing for a while during my college years. That kinda thing […]

Our Gal Cassie, who keeps track of inventory at the South shop, writes her first entry for this… thing. — ed. Hello friends! New voice here, coming at ya from the inventory desk at Pedal in Portage. I am rather new to Pedal and, you could say, to the cycling community in general. Not to […]

I was talking to my Kona guy yesterday (yes, it does make me feel special to have a Kona guy) and somehow got to bemoaning the way the bike industry feels like it has to slice everything super-fine so there are a million different products and no one knows what the hell they’re talking about […]

Lately I’ve had a lot of conversations with friends about the expense associated with pickiness. This is the object that started the discussion. Last autumn I rode this bike and thought, “Man. I gotta get me one of these.” And what I meant by that was, “I should buy this exact bike.” That would have […]

Man are we happy to be thinking of warmer days and longer trail rides. To supplement our excitement, we put together a list of staff favorites highlighting mountain bikes for a variety of ride types. Specialized Epic Hardtail The Epic Hardtail is new this year. Replacing the Stumpjumper Hardtail, this cross-country race bike looks like […]

Last year we sold several Fuses and Ruzes, Specialized’s plus-tired hardtail bikes. I’d only ridden a Fuse once on a sketchy trail in California, so I thought it would be good for me to try one around here. I took a bike that we’ve been using for demos and rode it three times before the snow started flying. […]

I’m not sure how this dual-suspension thing started, but I can think of three contributing factors: J’Son Lechner, manager of the Romence Road shop, has been a full-suspension advocate for some time. Perhaps he affected (infected?) us. Trips to other places. Whenever we travel to meetings, dealer shows, events, etc., we often get to ride […]

Darrell Greathouse, veterinarian, dad, bike dude and all around great guy, asked if he could review his new bike somewhere. I said, “Hey, why not write something and I’ll put in on our site.” Lo… The Stache.  What a great name.  Makes me want to grow some radical facial hair named after a bike component.  Due […]

People regularly ask me, “Which is the best one?” And I regularly dodge the question. But I was riding today when a recurring thought hit me, “This might be it. This might be the best bicycle I’ve ever owned.” What is it? This is a 2016 Specialized S-Works Tarmac frame that I built up with […]

Like many bike companies, Trek makes three carbon road bike frames that can be easy to confuse without a program. The bikes are: The Madone name has been in use by Trek for almost a decade, the bike it describes has changed quite a lot. Where the Madone (named for a big old mountain pass […]

This whatever-it-is is about options. You, discerning mountain biker, have a lot of choices. The genesis of this jumble is my wife, a reluctant mountain biker if ever there was one. I bought her a really cool race bike many years ago, but she never got into it, largely because she thought both the bike […]

  Hidden in the concord grape arbors on the outskirts of town we spotted a member of the species Jakus Superificus, more commonly known by its genus: Carbon Jake. A beautiful animal, Carbon Jake is lithe and powerful, ready to mow down miles on the road, take on the grit of a gravel ride or […]

Women are some of our favorite customers. We think everybody should ride a bike — or at least have the opportunity to ride a bike — regardless of they way they’re plumbed or whatnot. Many (all?) forward-thinking bike companies have embraced female riders to one extent or another. Speaking as a person who spends a […]

A thing, but not the most important thing, that I like about my new bike is that the colors and graphics remind me of the 80s, when I was young and had flowing locks of hair. I know. Hard to believe. When I was a young corporate stooge (not that there’s anything wrong with that. […]

We’ve been all over the place recently, meeting with vendors and riding bikes. I love writing about this sort of thing and thought I’d share my experiences of the bikes I rode. Specialized Tarmac Disk: This was a super nice road race bike with all the fixins: Ultegra drivetrain, Ultegra hydraulic brakes, carbon clinchers. Very […]

We’ve been all over the place recently, meeting with vendors and riding bikes. I love writing about this sort of thing and thought I’d share my experiences of the bikes I rode. Specialized Tarmac Disk: This was a super nice road race bike with all the fixins: Ultegra drivetrain, Ultegra hydraulic brakes, carbon clinchers. Very […]

What should I be doing? Either writing the Bicyclical or packing to go home. What am I doing? Sitting in a sushi restaurant trying to remember the salient points of my visit to Specialized. I rode a few bikes: a Tarmac disk (yum), the new Venge ViAS (so fast), a very nice Diverge, a 29” […]

What should I be doing? Either writing the Bicyclical or packing to go home. What am I doing? Sitting in a sushi restaurant trying to remember the salient points of my visit to Specialized. I rode a few bikes: a Tarmac disk (yum), the new Venge ViAS (so fast), a very nice Diverge, a 29” […]

We’ve had some interesting Konas in the shop recently and managed to take a few typically blurry pictures. First up is a customer’s Hei Hei Deluxe. Carbon frame. Carbon rear triangle. Fox CTD suspension. 120mm of travel up front, 100mm out back. Tubeless rims and tires. SLX drivetrain. This is a splendid bike, one that […]

Right around Thanksgiving we brought in a new fat bike from KHS, largely because it looked like Kona might have underestimated demand for the 2015 Wo. Things we like about the KHS 3000 include: The price: $2200. The spec: 2×10 SRAM drivetrain with hydraulic brakes The bigness: 100mm wide rims and 4.8″ tires People come […]

Few would argue that Zipp is regarded as the premier brand of aerodynamic wheel. They’re *everywhere*: on many pro cyclocross bikes, many pro tour road bikes and of course the #1 brand of wheel at the Ironman Championship in Kona, year in and year out. I was recently invited to tour Zipp’s Indianapolis manufacturing facility, […]

The white saddle, pedals and bar tape of this bike made me think of “style” in the leisure-suited seventies. If you’re too young to recall the period, this link might help decode the post’s title. Every now and then someone comes into the shop and says, “Argh! You guys are terrible. You’re always showing me sweet […]

While not exactly under the cover of a darkness, I haven’t been terribly forthcoming about the fact that I’ve been scratching an itch, an itch to which few men are prepared to admit an obsession, a problem, an addiction. I’m not necessarily proud, but nor am I ashamed about my recent infatuation with: steel bikes. […]

While visiting friends in Missoula, Montana, I very much wanted to check out the mountain bike scene. I searched the internet and found a bike shop from which to rent a bike and a weekly mountain bike group ride. I admit that I picked the shop, Missoula Bicycle Works, because they sell Konas and might have a […]

(Our Man Randy borrowed a Scott Solace for the Race for Wishes road race in Lawton earlier this month. I asked Randy if he’d be willing to write a few words about his experience, and here they are. – Tim) Many of our customers here at Pedal are familiar with Scott road bikes, especially the […]

I’ve had the new bike for a while and thought I’d share some thoughts and experiences.  Fork: I bought the SID largely because I was trying to build a light bike. It took me a while to get the thing dialed, and I have come to believe that RockShox’s air recommendations are a tad on the […]

Brittany wanted a mountain bike, and we ultimately decided that I owned the exact bike she wanted, so I sold her my Dragon. Which left me in a bit of a hole. I purchased bikes from bike shops before I opened Pedal. Sometimes I said, “I have this amount of money and I want this kind […]

I saw this ad this morning and can’t resist sharing. In case it’s too small to read, “The pain and the rain. Nothing hurts better. Quick and strong, able to jump the barriers in a single bound, and really put the hammer down. This is the animal you were born to be.”  

There are many ways I can attempt to justify Tuesday’s actions. Here are three: I needed a hard workout I needed a bike to race on Sunday, and was torn between two options. Why not? I took a couple of our demo bikes to Yankee Springs to get a hard workout, figure out which bike […]

A Michigan-made single-speed steel cyclocross bike. What’s not to like about this? I’d known about 616 Fabrication for a little while, largely due to their fat bike frames and significant Barry Roubaix sponsorship, and was very pleased when one of the owners came into the shop, showed off the product and asked if we’d like […]

Our Gal Kim wanted a new mountain bike to replace her dated, pretty heavy 26″ bike with mechanical disks and a reasonably clunky fork. She did, however, have a really nice set of Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels that she loved mightily. As a result of those wheels, it took a little bit of talk to […]