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News about Chain Reaction Bicycles

5 Reasons to Make it a Bike for Christmas!

Personal stuff, Product reviews, Shop news

Just like the good old days 🙂

#1: A new bike will ride better than what you’re riding. Or what your buddies might be riding now. I’ve got a top-of-the-line road bike from 2003, and a 2010 TREK Madone 6-series. I am faster, more comfortable and more confident on my new Madone. The difference is more than even I expected it to be.

#2: There may never be a better time to buy one! People ask “When will this bike go on sale?” The answer is today. We’ve got hundreds of TREK bikes on sale, including every single 2010 & earlier model, with additional savings tacked on for this week only. You don’t have to compromise with a lesser brand or a shop that doesn’t offer the care & pride & 30 years of the same owner/management that Chain Reaction does. If you want a new bike (and who doesn’t?) this is the time, and Chain Reaction is the place!

Winter days like this shouldn't be missed!

#3: Be ready for that unexpectedly-great day to ride!  Winter in California means great days to ride! Look at the picture on the right; that’s from a ride I did with my son last week.

When people think it’s going to be gray and wet (like it is right now while I’m writing this), a great day is right around the corner. Even in a “wet” year we have more nice days than bad. You’ll miss a lot of great rides if you wait until Spring.

#4: Bikes are one of the few things you can buy that make you better looking, healthier and live longer. Cars, video games, big-screen TVs… don’t think so!

#5: Biking is forever. We’ve got a customer who’s 87 years old and still rides 130 miles/week. I asked him how he does it, what’s his secret. Simple, he said. Just don’t stop. Keep on riding and you’ll remain active, and maybe you’ll be putting your kids in the retirement home, not the other way around.

Yes, it’s totally self-serving of me to say all this, because putting people on bikes, and acting like it’s still “our” bike long after we’ve sold it, is how my brother Steve and I have kept a roof over our heads and put our kids through school these past 30 years.

We believe in cycling. We believe it can make a difference in your life, and even make the world a bit better place. This week, make it a Bike for Christmas. Just like it was 40, OK 50 years ago for some of us, when we woke up and saw that bike under the tree that Santa brought. –Mike Jacoubowsky, partner, Chain Reaction Bicycles

Mike & Steve Jacoubowsky & Joey & Manny & Andrew & Greg & Karen & Ed & Kevin & Becky & Danny & Patrick & Burt & Todd & Charlie & Don & Roger & Tom & Chris & Ron & Richard & Jesus & Adam & Stephen & Frank & Jim & Amy & Adam & Andy all wish you a great holiday season and a lifetime of fun riding!

(This was sent out to our customers on our e-list earlier today. Anyone can sign up for our latest news & sales.)

New look for Chain Reaction?

Shop news

My first day back from Egypt and London (why do I say London and not England? We did spend a day in Salisbury/Stonehenge after all!) and I’ve brought back two possible new looks for Chain Reaction Bicycles.

The Cairo look?
Or this? I wish! Flagship Theo Boss store in London

The first comes from the back streets of Cairo. I wouldn’t say this is exactly modern retailing, or at least not retail done to the latest standards. Like how Chain Reaction started out. Well, OK, we were never quite that rustic.

Next we go to London and visit the flagship Theo Boss store. High-zoot apparel doesn’t impress me, but their merchandising sure did! Bicycle retailers tend to think in terms of more options for customers, thinking you need everything anyone might ask about, which unfortunately creates a very cluttered environment. You may have more of what your customers would like, but you end up selling considerably less because it’s not well-displayed. It’s very difficult for a shop that’s been around as long as we have, accumulating as much as we have, to accept the idea that less is more. You want so much to have a variety of product, three different brands of gloves in five styles etc., but there’s no way you can do that much merchandise justice within the confines of a typical retail space.

Somewhere in-between the shop in Cairo and Theo Boss is probably a good place to be!