That's right, you can now get your flask custom engraved from Ahearne Cycles!
Custom Flask Engraving!This has been a long time coming. I've had people ask me about custom engraving for years. Now, it's possible! And just in time for the Christmas holiday.
The way it works is simple. You order the number of flasks you want from the Ahearne website. Once you've placed your order, you then send an e-mail with the logo or image that you want to see on the flasks. The file format to send is either a pdf or jpeg file. Or, if it's text only, you can choose your font and send it as a Word document. Please send the file exactly as you want to see it on the flask.
All the details for the ordering process are on the Custom Flask Engraving page. Discounts are available for orders of ten or more flasks. There are also discounts availale for bike shops, clubs, cooperatives and teams.
Flask Holster and Flask
You can order your custom engraved flasks with or without the Flask Holster. Remember, though, if you order both together you receive a $5 discount.
To be sure your flask is ready to give as a Christmas gift, orders for custom engraving must be submitted by the 10th of December!
The BeastIn Portland, Oregon, we're pretty lucky to have Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks and nature reserves in the country. The main through-way in the park is Leif Erikson Rd., which is a mostly unpaved fire road that runs nearly 12 miles from one end of the park to the other. Forest park is a great place to walk or ride, and it's only about 10 minutes (by bike) from downtown.
Yesterday I rode through the park. The sun was shining and by mid afternoon it was nearly up to 70 degrees. I rode the new 29er touring bike totally unloaded to see how it handled, changing the tires from 47c semi-slick road tires to WTB Exiwolf 29” x 2.55 – big fat knobby off road tires. This is the same bike I picked up in Eugene and rode back to Portland a couple of weeks ago. It's a stable bike, but I wanted to see how it handles at speed over bumpy terrain.
This bike was built primarily as a touring bike, and has the clearance for fat tires and fenders. I haven’t reviewed this bike yet because I wanted to spend some time in the saddle in various conditions and see how I liked it. For the trip back up from Eugene it was great. Very stable with weight, sure handling, comfortable, a wide gear range. Even with about 15 pounds of gear on the front I was able to ride no-hands without a problem.
Park Entrance from Germantown Rd.
Going through the park yesterday I was again impressed with the stability and handling. The bike has detachable low rider mounts and a fairly sizeable upper deck on the front rack, which means it can hold a lot of gear. Even unloaded the bike steered easily, and flying down a rocky, gravelly section of Lief Erikson I sat back and took my hands off the bars and the bike held its line easily. Stability, no hands, with or without weight on the front – I like it.
I didn’t remove any of the racks, and carried along my u-lock in the integrated lock holder on the rear. The bike also has large stainless fenders, mud flaps and a kickstand – all these things add up, and make the bike heavier than one I would usually ride through the park. I would like to strip the bike down to the bare essentials at some point and try it out. But, even with all the extras on the bike I was very impressed at how quiet it was – no rattles, squeaks or knocking. Even the lock shackle is wedged in so it can't rattle. The only thing I noticed was that in especially bumpy places the lower part of the front fender would shake back and forth enough to hit the knobs on the tires -- not a big deal, and to be expected riding off road with fenders.
Knobby Tire TouringAnother trip I want to take is with the bike fully loaded on the same trail, just for a comparison – fully loaded front and rear panniers and a dry-sack on the upper deck of the front rack. I want to pack it as if I were going for a long trip off road. It will be slower going, obviously, but I’m very curious to know how it feels. I’m fairly certain that it’s going to do just fine.
You know what would be even better, would be to pack it as if I were going on a long bike trip, and then go on a long bike trip. We’ll see what this summer brings…
I’ve been working on a project in the shop recently. There’s a type of bike that I really like that I wanted to build a few of. It’s an off road touring bike, a “gravel bike,” or, in this case a so-called 29er touring bike. There are many different ways to build this bike. I’ve chosen to build them with 29 inch wheels because of the comfort on bumpy terrain, no suspension needed. Also for tire selection – there’s a wide range of fatter tires that come with or without tread for on and off road use. I want this bike to be a solid touring rig that can take the trails, forest service roads and whatever else you may come across on your travels. I want it to be able to stably and securely carry all your camping gear. And I want it to be comfortable for long days in the saddle, whether you’re on the road, or off of it. This would also make for an excellent year-round commuter, able to take all road conditions and all weather types.
Custom Flask Engraving!This has been a long time coming. I've had people ask me about custom engraving for years. Now, it's possible! And just in time for the Christmas holiday. 
Flask Holster and Flask
