Cruisin'

First it was slow food and now its slow ride...Its really fun to see the explosion in interest in all things cruiser bikes! Our good friends at Kickstand Magazine have had tremendous response to their inaugural issue and are reporting numbers as much as 500-600 riders at cruiser rides they're holding across the country this summer. What a sight it must be to see! To get a hint of the good stuff you'll find in the magazine (look for it at a bike shop near you) check out www.kickstandmag.com or www.cruiserride.com. Also watch this space for more information about their ride calendar, should you want to check out some of the bikes in person. You'll see Kryptonite locks around the events for sure.

A "Quality" Time!

by Don Warren, Category Manager

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Quality Bicycle Products' winter dealer event called Frostbike. The opportunity to attend came up for me because Eric Anastasia, our bicycle sales manager, and his wife had just taken delivery of a new family member : the 2009 Ethan Paul edition. So I thought I would share with you a few bits from the show.

This being my first Frostbike, initially I worried about how cold Minnesota could be, but delighted that the temperature was above my threshold of 0 F degrees sans wind for each the 3 days there. We even got 5" of soft fluffy white stuff (Rivaled Utah powder) on Friday night to make the theme FROSTBIKE match the event.

Eric told me just a few things about the event, but I did know I was to talk with bicycle dealers about our line of security products we have to offer. During the 3 days, I had the pleasure to meet a lot of people who run shops from across the country. We had tons of interest in the Kryptonite products. I was able to advise the dealers of the improvements we made in our New York chain series and NEW New York Liberty chain. I also previewed a new product we will be launching soon. The atmosphere was charged, even with the tuff economic times we're in; Dealers felt they were doing ok, considering, which is a good sign.

Ok, enough about product, now the little things you think about when traveling to an event... how to I get from here to there, where should I stay, go to eat and all that. Well, from the minute I landed to the last minute before being dropped of at the airport I was so impressed with the way the event was organized! The hospitality was awesome. I think almost every QBP employee was working to support the show so I knew quickly that if I needed something I could just ask for help.

The food there was spot on and the after-show time Micro-beer(s,s,s,..) offerings were well received. They also had a nighttime event for the dealers to try which was an obstacle course set up to test-ride a Surly Pugsley’s. This bike had 3.7” wide tires. What an off-road piece of art and I’m told it rides well too...I obviously thought it would be poor taste on my part to climb over some visiting dealer to get my turn on the bike.

The office/distribution center was unlike any I have visited in the US. Their automation of handling orders from receipt to shipping goods on a truck was impressive, but what struck me the most was QBP has really taken responsibility for their impact on the environment. Their distribution center (DC) / offices has achieved a LEED “Gold” certification for being “GREEN”. Check it out here. The land they built on is next to a state park and in fact they have running/riding trails right outside their doors. Boy would that be nice and I’m jealous. One other important thing to mention is QBP supports many efforts globally to promote cycling and help others in need. I learned a lot.

I now know why QBP has become a great partner to so many bicycle shops around the country and the cycling manufacturers they support. Hopefully I can make it back next year if my boss let’s me 8:).

Let the Good Deeds Roll!

Our congrats to Providence, RI based Recycle-A-Bike, for a successful Roller Race benefit which attracted riders from all walks of life last week. Although the Friday the 13th date was a coincidence, you can see from the pictures that some of the roller-racers looked pretty scarey after they finished their turn! The prospect of winning a Kryptonite lock and raising money for such a good cause transformed them into monster riders...>> Check out the pictures.

So much for my bad puns...here are a few words about the event from our friend Maggie who coordinated, along with other tireless volunteers...

Bike riders and advocates, messengers and occasional riders, men and women of all ages converged on the night of Friday the 13th for Providence's first Roller Races, a benefit for Recycle-a-Bike. With upwards of a hundred people cheering, each racer chose his or her opponent and faced off for a 500m sprint, lasting at best 22 seconds. 42 racers, one broken bike, and multiple raffles later, top times in women's and men's raced for the finals. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our community bike collective, thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors, and thanks to all the volunteers who helped make Recycle-a-Bike the true winner of the evening! If you missed this one, don't worry; there will be more in the future. If you'd like to help make this happen, Recycle-a-Bike is always in need of new volunteers. Stay tuned; spring is coming.

¡LOS MARCOS MADNESS!

HI KRIPTONITE! THIS IS EL MARCO BUENO FROM WORLDS GREATAST POLO TEAM LOS MARCOS POLOS. ¡VIVA LOS MARCOS! SO HEY, THANKS YOU FOR SPONSOR OUR TORNAMENT WE HAVE IN NEW YORK CITY. IS SECOND YEAR NOW FOR TOURNAMENT AND WE MAKE IT TWICE AS BIG. MORE PRIZE! MORE MADNESS! MORE CHANCE FOR YOU FOR BRIBE US WITH WHAT LOS MARCOS LIKE BEST: BOOZE, WOMEN, AND FOUL PLAY. TWO DAY ONLY! OKTOBARE THREE AND 4. THEN GO HOEM AND CRY BECAUSE LOS MARCOS TOOK ALL PRIZE. YOU TRY BETTER NEXT TIME! HAHAHAHAH! HAHA IS JUST KIDDING. LOS MARCOS NO NEED MORE THINGS. WE HAS AVARYTHING WE WANT IN LOS MARCOSTAN. BUT MAYBE WE TAKE YOU WOMEN BACK AYNWAY. YOU NO SHOULD MISS LOS MARCOS MADNESS BECAUSE YOU REGREAT IT. BIKE POLO IT IS TRADITIONING SPORT OF LOS MARCOSTAN BECAUSE IT WAS INFENTED THERE, JUST LIKE OL KERNEL MARCOS INVANT BIKE FROM HALUSSINOGENIC FLAMSE OF MOUNT MARCOSTAN. NOW IT SO POPULAR EVRYWARE IT GO IN NEW YROK TIME ONCE AN WALL ST JERNEL WE THINK. IT SPORT OF FUTURE, JUST LIKE KICKPOXING. ¡VIVA!

And, now for a translation from our friend Ken Stanek, who has been a close observer of the Los Marcos Madness phenomena.... First of all, there's Bike Polo. If you've never heard of it, it's probably exactly what you think it is. It's got roots in the back lots of Seattle courier companies and 19th century Irish fields.

Then there's Los Marcos Polos. There's no rational explanation for them. They claim to have dominated the sport for somewhere between two years and two centuries. They appear infrequently, and sometimes only in rare footage captured by unknowing, camera weilding tourists. The only thing anyone knows for certain is that they throw the most ridiculous "tournament" anyone could imagine each October in New York City. Catch them and teams from as far away as Chicago, Ottawa, Richmond, East Vancouver, and Seattle this coming weekend at
Los Marcos Madness. For more information, visit http://www.losmarcospolos.com/

Guitar Man

This weekend marks the beginning of a new unbreakable bond between Tim Clifford, our director of sales, and his new pride and joy Fender Stratocaster.... So that he doesn't lose any sleep over keeping it safe, I thought it would be a good idea for you to weigh in with your ideas about how to secure it, using any combination of Kryptonite locks, cables, chains you think appropriate. Come on, let's hear from you! The most creative idea will win a Kryptonite cable lock to lock up some precious of your own...Winner will be announced next Friday, September 5th.

Kids Don't Do This At Home

After my beloved fixie went missing from campus a few weeks back, I decided to invest in your company. I got your lock in the mail today, and I'm afraid that it needed a little personal touch. I hope your not offended with my 'upgrade' - but I just couldn't run around campus with a stock'er - even if it's just the lock. JSM, Lincoln, NE

J, we'll just ask everyone to cut us a little slack for language that's a little saltier than we normally use here, because we probably all have to agree that if we're really truthful, we'd say the exact same thing if we were in your shoes!

PS - We're happy to report that the police found J's bike at a local pawn shop and he's going to be reunited with it today!

Sturgis 08 Bike Week - Chapter 1

by Craig Glab, Central Region Manager

This chapter begins with my two day road trip (towing my bike) from my home around Cincinnati OH to Sturgis SD. I got there Saturday night just in time to hang with my Hamster friends at a block party..(priorities in order). Sunday, I got up and went for a ride through Spearfish Canyon to Deadwood. Great scenery and strange looking motorcycles too. Check out this one...

During the week I got ready for two Custom bike shows. One, that we sponsored, was the Dave Perewitz custom paint show, held at Thunder Road. The show was in a large tent where I set up a booth to show off our product line. I was placed right by the entrance where people would come in and go out of the tent. What a great spot! I talked to tons of people about our locks and proper lock up. A custom motorcycle was parked in the booth for "show and tell", to show them the best place to attach a lock. I gave away goodies like stickers and lanyards...funny how much these tough riders love the free stuff!

I helped Dave Perewitz hand out the winning trophies for a bunch of really cool custom paint jobs. You'll have to come back to the blog another day for more about that. I also worked out at the Top Fifty Rally Park bike show. We gave locks to the winners of the show. We also mixed things up with the crowd giving them crazy questions to answer for a chance to win a lock from us. This was alot of fun. While the crowd was a bit more thin this year than in the past because of gas price sticker shock, the spirit of the event was as strong as ever!

This you gotta see!

Just discovered a GREAT advert for Kryptonite from the UK....check out "Kryptonite Clown" on YouTube...its a a hoot. Thanks, Tom Sillars!

Join Kryptonite on Facebook!

I love Facebook. I never thought I'd say that. I was invited a couple of times and thought, "I don't have time for something else." Heck, I couldn't keep up with my own blog how could I keep up with something else?

Then a good friend, an Air Force pilot, who was stationed in Korea sent me an invite. I couldn't pass it up - after all, he stinks at email and I'd like to know what's going on in his world. When I joined, I thought I'd just have a static page just to keep up with him periodically. But, then I found another friend and thought, "ok, I'll add her" and before I knew it, I was hooked. Completely hooked. I love it!

I've kept it away from work, it's just for my closest friends (not that you all aren't, but you know...) and my young cousins - seriously, it's the only way they communicate, I think.

Anyway, since I'm hooked, and since there are a lot of bicycle lovers on Facebook, I thought I'd start a Kryptonite group. I wanted it to be all fancy-schmancy like some of the other companies in there, but if I wait for that, it will be next year or something. Why wait?! Today seemed like a very good day.

So...go to your Facebook account and search for "Kryptonite Locks". We should come right up in the groups. JOIN US!!! Leave a message on the wall. Post a photo of your Kryptonite lock.

There will be changes to the group - I'm planning on adding some fancy-schmancy things there - cool graphics and contests. So visit it often!

See you there!