Five Hills Bikes

Introducing Aaron

Aaron riding in the Gravel Grinder. Photo: Richard Mahoney

We’re pleased to introduce the newest addition to the Five Hills Bikes staff - Aaron Bilsing. Aaron comes to us with over 12 years of experience in the cycling industry.

In fact, Aaron has traveled the World Cup and NORBA circuits providing mechanical and technical support to professional cyclists for companies such as Magura, SRAM and Answer Products. Those years on the road in the US and Europe gave Aaron a wealth of knowledge and experience of current hydraulic brake technology, drivetrain components and suspension products.

Aaron’s approach to bicycle repair and maintenance is thoughtful and careful - approaching each bike as a new problem to solve. He’s not just all about mountain bikes, Aaron appreciates the opportunity to work on road and cross and whatever gems his customers find in the attic.

After all that time on the road, Aaron now lives in the Mad River Valley. His World Cup expertise will benefit customers of Five Hills Bikes and the our online shop, Bike29.com. 

Five Hills Bikes is committed to providing the best bicycle repair and tune service in the area. Now Five Hills customers can experience the same level of mechanical service as professional cyclists.

Rocky Mountain On-Dirt Demo Nights

 Come out and test ride the 2009 bikes from Rocky Mountain. We’ll be holding two on-dirt demos next week so everyone can get a chance to test these out.

Rocky Mountain Slayer

Wednesday, June 10 - at Catamount Outdoor Center in Williston, VT. 5:30-8 pm. In addition to the Rockies for test riding, this is the weekly mountain bike fun race and Five Hills Bikes and putting the ‘woohoo’ back in mtn bike racing. Challenge yourself and your friends to see how you can do, and try some bikes out on the trails or the dirt jumps while you’re there.

Thursday, June 11 - at Perry Hill Trails, Waterbury, VT. 3-8 pm. We’ll be setting up the Rocky Mountain Demo Bikes at the trailhead for Perry Hill giving you a chance to take them up the hill, see how they climb and how they descend. We’ll have the tent and the grill and probably some beer as well.

Call us at the shop or send an email if you want any more information about either of these test ride events.

Tuesday Night Ladies Ride - June 2

It’s a beautiful afternoon out there. We’re riding in Stowe tonight. I know already that we havea great group of women coming at a variety of levels.

It will be a fun and social ride with some opportunity to experience some of my favorite trails in stowe -  NOT town loops.

email mandywisell(at)gmail.com if you’re planning on joining.

meeting up for a 6pm start, back row of the back parking lot of Springer-Miller Systems on the mountain road. if that doesn’t work for you, we can pick you up from the parking lot behind iride.

mandy

Singlespeeds

We had a grand time at the Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme Championships this past weekend. There was plenty of fine weather, lots of racers in all the categories, and a course that featured some fresh, fun singletrack.

Brook Scatchard rounding a switchback

A close second, George Lapierre ripping down the grass hill towards the finish.

Ladies Supreme Champion

Forrest attacking the hill

Liz Willner took the ladies championship, riding strong on her new Bike29 Vassago Jabberwocky. Ross Scatchard rode to victory on the mens side. Both now reign as Vermont’s Supreme Singlespeed Champion, until they defend themselves next year.

If you’re interested in singlespeeds, stop by the shop. We can talk to you about turning an existing bike into a singlespeed or show you some new options from Gary Fisher, Vassago, Niner and more. Though it seems crazy to choose to ride with only one gear, the simplicity of riding single makes it a very enjoyable experience and it builds incredible fitness.

Tuesday Night Ladies Rides

It’s finally time to start up the Tuesday Night Ladies Rides. These rides are fun and social, you don’t have to be an expert.

I move the ride around to take advantage of the different trail options, some rides are harder than others. These rides are generally not suited for rote beginners. In case of rain or thunderstorms, i’ll cancel the ride. Check here or at fivehillsbikes.com for the story.

We meet and ride at 6:00 pm. Upcoming schedule:

May 19 - Stowe Town Loops meet behind iRide

May 26 - Perry Hill meet at Five Hills Bikes

June 2 - Stowe Tonys/Tamarack meet behind iRide

email me at mandywisell (at) gmail.com if you have any questions or want any more info about any of the rides.

Rocky Mountain Flow

This sharp looking dirt jumping, street riding bike from Rocky Mountain will be a prize at the upcoming VMBA Film Night benefit in Burlington on Saturday, May 16. It’s a Flow 1 and it looks like a lot of fun. Especially after being inspired watching all the sick riding in the New World Disorder 9 - Never Enough movie. 

Get tickets for the movie here. Two showings, early and later, and it sold out last year.

If you want to check out the bike, come into the shop  - it’ll be on the floor for a few more days.

Rocky Mountain Bicycles

Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 30

We’ve brought a new line into Five Hills Bikes this year - Rocky Mountain Bicycles. We’ll be showcasing some of these great new bikes in the next few posts.

First up - the Slayer. Part of the Rocky Mountain Super X-Country line, these bikes, the SXC 30 and SXC 50 are made for Vermont trails. 26″ wheels, plush full-suspension, strong frames, very solid components - you will have a good time on one of these for years and years. They handle quickly in tight lines and soak up all the rocks and roots.

Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 50

Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme Championships

Five Hills Bikes is sponsoring this year’s Flower Power Race at Catamount Outdoor Center. Not content to just sponsor, we’re working with them to add an event to the event:

That’s right. The Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme Championships. May 17th at Catamount Outdoor Center. 

Compete for the glory, the title, the esprit de corps. Or even the free ’singlespeed derailleur adjustments’ in the Bike29 Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme Pit. Or just come to watch and cheer. Whatever, just join us as we crown Vermont’s Singlespeed royalty in this first of it’s kind event in VT.

Who qualifies? The first place singlespeeder with boy-parts and first with girl-parts, currently residing in and paying appropriate taxes to the State of Vermont, earns the Title - Vermont State Singlespeed Supreme and Singlespeed Supremess (respectively) for 2009. In addition, there will be a crowning. Winner gets extra-very-special-uniqueness prize and opportunity to wave to their adoring fans atop the Bike29 / Five Hills Bikes 4th of July Parade Float. You won’t want to miss that…

Sign up for the race here.

And if you thought it couldn’t get any better, the winners will also get a complimentary entry into the upcoming Gründle Gräbber. Just what the heck is that? Well, you will have to stay tuned to find out. A very special spoke card was handed out to some lucky folks at the Gravel Grinder, only 30 were made, 7 were lost and I have a few left to hand out. Let’s just say, that if you aren’t there, you will want to know what happened…

If singlespeeding isn’t your thing, come on and race anyway. You can do a 5k, 10k, 15k or 20k distance. There are also races for the kids. This is always a fun event, though this year it’ll be off the hook.

Gravel Grinder Coverage - Waterbury Record 4.23.09

Gravel Grinder Recap

Gravel Grinder Start

Over 100 riders, on every sort of bike, took to the hills of Waterbury yesterday for the 2009 Gravel Grinder. We lucked out - the weather yesterday was absolutely perfect for riding. 

Riders went out and did the first 25 mile loop, returned to the start and decided whether or not to tackle the optional loop. Many folks took the extra challenge, and were rewarded with a beautiful ride in the VT woods, a little bit of mud and a fun return along the river. Best of all, we were able to raise almost $1000 towards the Waterbury Trail system.

cheers!

You can see more photos on the Bike29 facebook page.

A big thank you to Pilgrim Partnership, for letting us use their parking lot. And thank you to Meeghan for running registration, Joe and Ian for driving the sag wagon, Bruno for running a fabulous aid station. Also thanks to Cris at Factotum for making great shirts. Thanks also to our ride leaders: Dave, Mags, Nat, Aaron, Zach, JayPro. Thank you to everyone who contributed for the pot luck, we had loads of tasty food to eat.

A very special Gravel Grinder cake