We are excited to announce the addition of two, day-long “Continuing Education” seminars to our offerings. One seminar will cover disc brake technology, the other will be devoted to Chris King components.
Both seminars will be taught the week of October 4, 2010 in our Portland facility. Registration is open now!
The Disc Brake Seminar on Tuesday, October 5 will cover products from Shimano, Avid, Hayes, Hope and Magura. Students will get hands-on training in bleed procedures, line sizing, caliper construction and maintenance, rotor truing, proper frame prep, and much more. UBI developed this seminar with input from the manufacturers. Our students have been asking for a seminar of this type for quite a while, and we’re excited to deliver it!
The Chris King Seminar is October 6 at UBI Portland
The Chris King Seminar on Wednesday, October 6 is the first collaboration between UBI and a major manufacturer to offer training in a specific line of products. Since our expansion to Portland, where Chris King is headquartered, we’ve been discussing developing a seminar to give working mechanics hands-on experience in servicing and maintaining Chris King components. The seminar will be taught at UBI by Chris King technicians, with the assistance of UBI mechanics instructors. Topics covered will include bearing and press fit theory and standards, proper frame prep procedures for installing Chris King components, overhaul procedures for bearing assemblies and Chris King hubs, and much more.
These continuing education seminars are aimed at UBI grads and working mechanics, so there are pre-requisites for registering.
The seminars are timed to coincide with the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association annual frame show, which will be the following weekend in Portland. We also plan some other seminars and demos for the general public, so watch this blog for more info!
Enrollment in the Continuing Education Seminars is limited to 20. The cost is $200 per seminar, or $350 if you take both. Registration is now open, and you can click this link to sign up.
We’ve always disliked that obnoxious saying. It couldn’t be further from the truth here at UBI.
UBI Instructor Matt Eames
Case in point: UBI mechanics instructor Matt Eames will be leaving Monday morning for a week to serve as a race team mechanic for the U.S. National Team at the World Mountain Bike Championships in Quebec.
Matt will be joining an elite group of the country’s best race mechanics to keep the U.S. team’s downhill, XC and trials bikes running at peak performance. He will update us on all the mud and fun via posts to our blog and on Twitter.
Matt’s not the only UBI instructor to be tapped for major races. Steve Glass has done neutral race support in recent years for both the Cascade Classic and the Tour of Missouri.
So with all modesty aside, you will learn from the best here at UBI. Our instructors do AND teach.
Last winter, Leslie Suppes, a writer for Mountain Bike magazine, attended one of our steel TIG frame building classes to find out what it’s like for a complete beginner to build a steel bike frame for the first time.
Leslie’s article was published in the July issue of Mountain Bike. It took them a while to get the article on line or we would have been crowing about it earlier.
With our first ever Portland TIG class wrapping up next week under the capable tutelage of Mike DeSalvo and Rich Arvizo, we thought prospective TIG students would like to see what the experience is like. We’re still waiting for Leslie to send us pictures of her bike (that’s a hint, Leslie).
Rich Arvizo just finished building up the titanium belt-drive commuter frame he built for his wife, Jamie, and he rode it to work today. It’s really cool. The quiet and positive Gates belt system drives an Alfine rear hub. Rich built the frame with Paragon Machine Works stay splitters and slider dropouts. He still has to kit it out with a rear fender, lights and other commuter essentials, but it’s already a really fun and practical bike.
The Portland Tribune profiles North Williams Ave., UBI's Portland Address
The Portland Tribune published an article today profiling the amazing happenings on Portland’s North Williams Ave. since UBI moved in last September. We’re really excited to be a part of this dynamic cycling-centric neighborhood. Since we moved in, we’ve seen Vergnetti Coffee open with their bike-up window, Queen Bee has occupied the front of our building, and the Friendly Bike Guest House opened a few weeks ago. And that’s just in our block.
With all due respect to Mr. or Ms. Williams, maybe it’s time to rename the street. Sean Kelly Avenue? Jens Voigt Way? Bottecchia Boulevard?
If you are looking to get into the Professional Repair and Shop Operation class before the end of the year, a couple of spots have just opened in the September 13 class in Ashland. This session has been full since March.
If you’d like to sign up for the Ashland Pro class in September, click here!
Portland bike activist Elly Blue and Microcosm Publishing’s Joe Biel are touring the country with a multimedia presentation explaining how Portland, Oregon came to be so bike friendly, and how local activists all over the country can achieve the same results in their towns.
One of the stops on their Off the Chainring Tour will be UBI Ashland at 401 Williamson Way in Ashland, Wednesday, September 8 from 7 pm – 9pm. We are co-sponsoring this event with The Rogue Valley Transportation District. Admission is FREE! If you’re in the neighborhood, come on by, preferably by bike, foot or bus!
Our fall sessions of Professional Repair and Shop Operation in Ashland have filled up very quickly, so we just added a session to run November 29 – December 10. We already have two students signed up for it! If you want to get into the Pro class in Ashland before the end of the year, here’s your chance.
Our November and December Portland Pro classes also have plenty of space, although the November session is starting to fill.
If you’d like to sign up for the Ashland Pro class in December, click here!
Paul Sadoff advising a UBI student on tube selection.
Paul Sadoff’s geetar visits the frame shop
Whose Rock Lobster is parked outside UBI these days? Hint: the guy who built it.
Rock Lobster’s Paul Sadoff is back as guest instructor for his third summer Steel TIG Welding Frame Building class this year. He is enjoying Ashland’s summer heat (we think) and the great mountain biking (we know) and the class (for sure).
This time next week, seven UBI students will be leaving with TIG welded frames they’ve built themselves! We’re pretty sure Paul will be back next summer.
The August issue of Outside features the annual “Where to Live Now” section, and Ashland makes the cut! Outside didn’t list us for our amazing mountain biking or road riding, but as a mecca for trail running (an unusual number of elite ultra-marathoners live here). However, they did mention UBI (thanks!) and Ashland’s two local electric vehicle manufacturers, Brammo and Barefoot, as local bright spots.
For some reason, though, Outside calls us a “startup,” even though UBI has been around since 1981. Maybe they meant “upstart.” Also, they claim you can see Mt. Washington from here. Mt. who??? Oh, well, those details aside, we’re honored to be honored by Outside. Sorry, their web site doesn’t have the Best Towns link up yet, so you’ll have to check your local news stand for the August issue.
