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PEARL iZUMi: Go Connected – DIG EP2

PEARL iZUMi‘s Go Connection series features stories from all over and this Dig Episode two takes us to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee in North Carolina:

“Cherokee, North Carolina, is home to the people of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. The Tribe took advantage of their land’s beauty to generate an eco-tourism economy and improve their people’s health through an active lifestyle. They have created a network of trails to enjoy the beauty of their land while riding, hiking and running. The Fire Mountain Trails is a little over 10 miles of trail purpose-built by Trail Dynamics. With wooden features, berms and jumps, any rider of any ability can get out to get connected to their natural world.

These trails have opened the door to the world of mountain biking many only thought about or didn’t know. For some, riding Fire Mountain keeps them focused on progression and improvement not only on the trail tread but in their daily lives. These trails have been a catalyst for reconnecting to generations of stories and harmony with the land.”

Cane Creek: Small Batch 2020 IPA Brown Anodizing Helm and Hellbender

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Cane Creek: Small Batch 2020 IPA Brown Anodizing Helm and Hellbender

As part of this year’s Small Batch special edition project, Cane Creek announced their “IPA” collection, inspired by the pale ales that the breweries around Asheville, NC makes in house. Cane Creek took their products and coated them in a deep, rich brown anodizing, including their Hellbender bottom brackets, headsets and Helm MKii. Head to Cane Creek to see more and your local dealer to order but you better act fast, these will sell out quickly!

Gulo Composites Wheels are Made in North Carolina

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Gulo Composites Wheels are Made in North Carolina

There is no shortage of wheel manufacturers in the United States, which is a good thing, but there are very few carbon wheel manufacturers here so when a new one pops up, we have to share it. Gulo Composites is from Western North Carolina and make their wheels – road, MTB, gravel – in-house. Their GRX-SL is an Allpavé wheel meant for road, gravel, trail, and everything in between. These superlight, 22mm internal width rims were designed with a 2mm spoke hole offset which helps create a very balanced wheel and the spoke hole angles were optimized at each point to work in perfect conjunction with Gulo’s ETI hubs and their unique GIS – Gulo Integrated System – spoke system. Let’s look at this system in detail below.

Southeastern North Carolina’s Lost Gem: McLean Bicycles

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Southeastern North Carolina’s Lost Gem: McLean Bicycles

McLean Fonvielle was born in Wilmington, NC, my home town. He went to the School of the Arts in Winston Salem to study art and shortly after, he dropped out since his interest was in bicycle building. In the late 60’s he started an apprenticeship at Holdsworthy in London, under Roy Thame. Later, he moved back to NC where he started Silk Hope, named after a town near Chapel Hill, NC. Many people wanted a Silk Hope but couldn’t afford one, prompting McLean to begin a new company, aptly-named McLean Bicycles. These bikes flourished in the South and between 1978 through the end of his life in 1983, McLean built many beautiful bicycles.

Even though he died at the young age of 29, his bikes are regarded as devoid of ostentation and a true example of American craftsmanship. I had the opportunity to document a pristine example of one of McLean’s bicycles yesterday. Owned by the proprietor of Two-Wheeler Dealer here in Wilmington, NC, this bike is not only period correct, it’s been hanging in the rafters since the mid-80’s!

Check out some photos of Jim’s McLean road bike below!