Enduro SL Cartridge Swap

That's right. Hot swapping action.

There were about 200 known leaky E150sl forks for the 2007 Enduro SL. One of our demo bikes was one of them. Blaze stopped by and dropped off a new cartridge for the fork. Once I let all of the air out of the cartridge, it took me an entire four minutes to get the old cartridge out and the new one in. A threaded nut around the valve under the fork leg and an adjustable wrench at the top of the fork leg gets you there. Remove two small screws that keep the travel adjust switch attached, move it to the other cartridge and reinstall.

Easy. Not to mention Specialized overnighted a cartridge to replace it. That and the shock. The rear shock swapped the nitrogen charge from one side of the seal to the other side, rendering the rebound inactive. It was rideable but it topped out fast. No big deal. Not like a stuck-down Fox rear shock (which I've lived through too many times, as have our customers). Again, Spec'd overnighted a new shock to the shop (like they would do for any customer) to fix this issue. They redesigned the internal shaft and the internal seal so that it doesn't happen anymore.

Only the first run of the 2007 bikes had either of the fork or shock issue. Standard operating procedure was to overnight replacements to shops for install on customer bikes. That's great. Stuff breaks or has problems and what matters is how it is dealt with, whether it is City Bikes or the vendor.

Also in the news is the 2008 City Bikes Demo Fleet. We are creating a fleet of rad bikes for 'demo' purposes (which includes rental duty) for customers and those looking to REALLY ride before they buy. The demo fee comes off the price of the bike (up to $300 in credit) if you buy a new bike, even if it's not the one you buy!

Here's the list of bikes we'll be stocking through June (when we'll sell 'em CHEAP):
Jamis Parker 3.0 in Med and Large
Jamis Dragon 29r in 17", 19", 21"
Jamis XCR Pro in 17", 19", 21"
Specialized Enduro SL in Lrg
07 Specialized Sworks Enduro SL carbon in Med
Specialized Saffire fsr in Sm and Med
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert in Med, Lrg, XL and XXL!
Cannondale Scalpel in Med and Lrg

We'll be traveling to races and events as well as hosting our own weekday and weekend events every month. Patapsco, Schaeffer, Watershed, Wakefield... We'll also lead small group rides as needed. That's right, City Bikes staff will meet you at the trails, get you set up on the bike and ride WITH you, allowing you to have a personal mechanic on the trail and even try out two bikes at a time on a given trail! Pretty sweet.

Look for more here and on citybikes.com.