Crazy Chain youth MTB program Crazy Chain is a youth mountain bike program based out of Northwest CT and Southern Berkshire County MA. This is a youth team made up of boys and girls from grades 5-12 (roughly ages 10-18). We are a part of the New England Youth Cycling (NEYC) league. Our team is based out of Canaan, CT, and we have kids on the team from throughout Northwest CT and Southern Berkshire County MA. We will hold one practice a week on Wednesdays at Norbrook Farm Brewery trails, with an additional Saturday practice at various locations throughout the area. Who should join this team? Beginners looking to get into the sport of mountain biking. Intermediate riders looking to increase their skills. Advanced riders looking to be challenged in their riding. Basically, we are open to any and all riders who want to be part of a mountain biking team. What type of riding will we be teaching? Basic riding for the beginners. Simple trail riding. We’ll work on fitness to slowly increase t

  Cycling, Its a vibe. In the world of cycling, there is a fine line between authenticity and disingenuous marketing and branding ploys. It’s the difference between digging through racks at Goodwill till you find a dusty army jacket that has an abandoned subway token in the breast pocket and buying the same jacket at a J-crew outlet. Few things embody this idea better than the painting that sits in Steffen’s Office.  It looks like it belongs between the 2am and 2:30am slot on Adult Swim. It bleeds the genuine emotions that every bike brand tries to capture. It's not another “X” or “Evo” added to a bike’s name to make it seem cool. It is by a Cuban artist named Llue Perfume Parati, who is based out of Havana.  How it landed in the tucked-away office of Steffen Root is cool as well. We often forget the privilege and power that come with leisure. “Fun”, as we see it today, didn’t really come around till the 1800s and only in rich colonizing countries. Owning 3 bikes for fun is somethi

The Great Chamois Debate I will say… I had a really hard time spelling that word. I tried Shammy, shammi, shami shamwow (RIP Billy Mays). I live and die by the chamois I won’t get near my bike without that extra bit of love right around the most tender of areas. I LOVE CHAMOIS! The only time I don’t wear one is when I go to sleep. But there are so many riders out there who are living life with no support. So I thought it would be fun to get everyone’s takes on why and how they ride. One of our employees gave their opinion on what the proper way to try on a chamois is.  “First, shave every single hair from your belly button down. Then apply a generous amount of chamois cream to the "contact area". Then wear a cycling bib with a chamois. Shorts without shoulder straps don't count (they're stupid). Repeat these steps for every ride.”  An interesting take to say the least. An approach I don’t think many of us have, but it sounds very aero.  Here is an opinion right from t

  Do you remember that weird teacher in second grade who would tell all the kids that she had eyes in the back of her head? She’d say things like “ When I was born the doctor knew immediately I would be a teacher because he saw the eyes in the back of my head.” Now obviously this was to stop kids from screwing around when her back was turned or at least I hope it was.  Out on the road, these cars can be tricky, they’ll ride right up on you, drive into our sacred land (the shoulder) and just play it a little too fast and loose. Now imagine having eyes on the back of your head. Think about how cool it would be to know how fast the cars were coming, where they were coming from, and how many of them there were. Boom enter the Varia , you too can be that weird teacher.  It’s a light that attaches to the back of your bike and uses radar to tell everything you’d want to know about the cars behind you.  It connects to your cycling computer and dots on the right side of the display will corresp

The sportier cousin to the Diverge and the brother to the Aethos.  The Crux has alway been the sportiest drop bar cyclocross bike in the Specialized lineup.  The Diverge is the adventure bike designed to be ridden for hours on end.  While the Crux is lean and mean. It's the road racers gravel bike.  The Diverge feels like a mountain bike with drop bars on it, while the Crux is a beefed up road bike.  Specialized is doing this really cool thing where basically all their bikes have two options.  The more performance bikes ie the Tarmac VS the Aethos or the Epic to the Epic Evo.  Pictured above is Steffen with the 2022 S-works CRUX frame ready to be equipped with some big tires and a dropper seatpost.  Stay tunned to see how Steffen builds up his bike, surely he will be making a Youtube video documenting it. Shop our Gravel Bike

I think gravel riding is the silliest style of all the ways to ride a bike.  A gravel bike is slow on the road, as many have said before it rides like a 90’s mountain bike and isn’t regulation for a cyclocross race.  You’re never equipped the right way.  But that’s the fun of it, it’s always wrong.  Maximum efficiency can sometimes come at the expense of fun. With these underlying facts let me lay out the rules ( which are all meant to be broken) for the world of gravel. You need full sleeves of sailor jerry-style tattoos. But you can’t have ever been on a boat.  If you own a Keurig please go home. You have to be willing to hand grind your coffee beans. Mustaches are standard practice and some might take offense if one is not grown. Fishnets and jeans are considered the most high-performance kit next to a speed suit. Obviously, I am joking when I say these rules. We love the gravel riders, their circular glasses make me remember to update my prescription. They always have a growler in