Here Comes The Corn - The Soulcraft Newsletter

Here Comes The Corn - August 2009

Welcome to the very first edition of Here Comes the Corn sent with our new (to us) newsletter software. Hopefully none of you received 6 versions like last time. As per the laws regarding this type of stuff, you can take yourself off the list using the link at the very bottom. So good to be on the right side of the law for once.....

New Socks
New socks have been ordered and should be here mid-Sept. Sock Guy brand with a 6" cuff, black wool like last time, but with a slightly padded foot and some new graphics. We will send out a quick e-mail jab when they come in.

Road Trip
Soulcraft will be hitting the road in September. First, it's off to Durango for the Singlespeed Worlds. Should be a blast. Lots of Soulcraft Team members and owners will be there. Always a treat to meet the folks who support us. We'll be staying somewhere downtown with our Nor-Cal brethren from Inglis/Retrotec and The Hive/Formula Brakes. Of course we will have plenty of schwag for sale so look us up.

Then it's right to Las Vegas for Interbike. As usual, we will be lurking about, without a booth. Or maybe we will have a booth. And maybe it will have some really cool new secret shit that we're coming out with. And if we did have a booth, it would be next to the Paragon/Bruce Gordon/King Cage area, AKA, "that area where the staff goes to smoke cigarettes and do drugs". Prime real estate for sure.

During all the years I've been building frames, I've spent a lot of time with old machinery and have always been attracted to the ID tags they have on them. Not in a sexual way, but in a "Man, someone actually stamped those numbers in there by hand" kind of way. So I got to thinking, what if our bikes had something like that on them? So there you go. That's why your new Soulcraft will have a head badge like this on it. I've always thought of them as machines anyway. They come stamped with your last name, serial # (which is also stamped on the BB shell), and date built. Sterling silver option not available.

And speaking of Stevil, he has a new gig. Something about a Black Market and Hail. Check it out.

Sometimes you need to know when to throw in the towel. We've never been huge fans of eccentric BB's, but for some folks, you simply can't talk them out of it. So in a gesture to them (as in, we'll be happy to take your money), we've begun offering an EBB option on our frames. Of course there are qualifiers, them being that it's only with a Phil Wood relieved set up (the light version) and it costs $100 more than our standard singlespeed. We know you want to know, so here it is: The EBB set up weighs 100g more than our new singlespeed dropout set up. And yes, we weighed the BB's and dropouts for each set up together so it's "real" weight.

This month I just happened to have built one of these monstrosities, in the form of a Dirt Bomb for one Ben Thornton of Dallas. Ben happens to run the Soulcraft Team and managed to get me on a vulnerable day, and I said yes. Truth be told, it's pretty cool. And like I said, the heart wants what it wants, so now you can get an EBB frame from Soulcraft.

Since day one of Soulcraft, Panaracer has been our tire sponsor. Lucky us, because these have always been our favorite tires anyway. These guys have been making tires since 1948, and only bicycles tires since 1978. They don't make tires for monster trucks or motorcycles, and they are the only manufacturer still producing tires in Japan, which shows in the quality of the product. Our current favorites are the Rampage 2.35 in 26 and 29, and the Cinder 2.35 in 26. And let's not forget the all time greatest, the Fire Pro. They don't come out with new tires every 6 months like other companies, they just zero in on what riders need and deliver. Recently they've added their Protex puncture technology to certain urban and road models, which is 3x more puncture resistant than Kevlar belts. That's a lot. Just think if you were 3x better looking, or made 3x your salary. That would be good. No matter what type of riding you do, they have a tire. And don't forget about the 45c Fire Cross tires. Of course you'll have to buy a Dirt Bomb to go along with them. For the full skinny (or fat), go here.

Team Member Of The Month

Keith Marchando
The last couple months have been a blast ! Got the new 650 Option B and have been loving it ! Funny how a GREAT bike can focus your whole train of thought during a ride . Two weeks out from the Downieville Classic race , I did a 5 hr loop which included the downhill course ,cross country course, and some bonus trails in the area. Next was a ride I never attempted on a single; the Bolinas/Barnaby ridge climbs . I Thought that usally being able to middle ring all this stuff and how killer the Option B climbs, it would be doable. It was a CRUSHER . Downieville Classic was top notch . Pre-ride and race went flawless, bagged a third in singlespeed . Post race ride was 10 mi grinder to Saddleback lookout and the views were awesome. Last weekend Howell Mtn. Got a second in exp. It was a BROILER . Next big event is the Sierra / Tahoe 100. Then load up and head to singlespeed worlds in Durango. In between there's work, family and house stuff . Living the deam!

In October some dude named Levi Leipheimer is putting on a ride called the GranFondo. It's a "fun" ride to raise money for hosting the Tour of California in Santa Rosa. Yeah, the TOC demands a pretty big nut just for the honor of hosting, and the city of Santa Rosa seems to like bending over. Consider the GranFondo the lube and rubber glove that will help make things just a tad more comfortable. That being said, the route is truly one of the most scenic road rides in the US. Not that I would know, but that's what I read. I have done the ride though, and I can say it is something to behold. So glove up and lube down and head here for details.



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