Retail ideas that never die.

Perched outside of the DC beltway in College Park, MD is the largest retailer of Bianchi steel framed bicycles this side of NYC. New ones, not refurb classics. Come to think of it, the I-495 region is my largest selling territory for steel bikes by the brand thanks to the retailers I service. These cyclists understand the merits of a good quality steel bicycle. 


View Larger Map
Proteus Bicycles doesn't not carry one of the big four brands. They do not have walls of sterile white slat wall. They also do not carry parts and accessories by a brand that demands only said-brand and their brand only. (You ever walk into a bike shop and 4/5 of the merch racks are XYZ branded pumps, cages, etc?) Proteus is not staffed by employees who will snicker about your flouro riding jacket when you leave the counter after purchasing a clip-on helmet mirror. Proteus Bicycles stocks what they believe in and feels you'll like what they stock.

Helpful, kind, good karma, empathetic- would be a fist full of descriptive words for Laurie, Ben and the crew at Proteus Bicycles. They believe that cycling should be enjoyed on your terms, the way you want to interpret the bicycle- be it cyclocross, adventure cycling, mountain biking, commuting or touring.

Proteus Bicycles was a frame building shop decades ago. Despite the frame building going away, some of the old branded steel bicycles make their way through the shop doors for service or restoration. 

I've been calling on Proteus since 2008, the shop has been staffed lean and efficiently over the years and has the least amount of turnover with it's employees compared to many larger bicycle retailers in the area.

What little to no employee turnover means for a business. 
-Better customer relationships; due to the staff knowing their customer base and their needs. 
-A higher retention of product knowledge due to long term exposure of stocked goods. 
-The closure of sales are greater from a retail manager perspective due to the staff matching the cyclist with exactly what they are looking for.

Sharks find their food, goldfish wait to be fed.
Retailers need to be sharks and find their food. Goldfish die because they wait to be fed. Do this by going out and getting customers! 

This is achieved through Proteus Bicycle's group rides, Pot Luck Dinner on Thursday evenings and political involvement through cycling advocacy like the Tim Johnson's Ride on Washington. All of this outreaching, builds community for the business. When the retail selling season slows during the winter months, the faucet does not totally turn off for Proteus. Service work still comes in, bike sales still ring at the register and accessories like cold weather shoe covers and winter cycling jackets keep the local bike commuters out on their routes- all thanks to loyalty and friendship that's cultivated during Proteus events.

Feb 28, 2013 Proteus Bikes/ Pot luck night.

Great low cost advertising--
Everyone likes a nice bicycle jersey and this winter Laurie and Ben are using their Pot Luck dinner nights to size up their customers for the 2013 shop jersey. The jersey fit kit is hanging on the racks. Last Thursday's Greek themed Pot Luck brought smiles, full stomachs and hopeful conversation that Spring will be here soon enough so the new jerseys will see some miles on the area roads.

Back to steel road bikes-- 
The roads are not the best in this area. Budgets are tight, spirits never fade for cycling and riders want the best ride quality and utility they can get for their money. Carbon road bikes on a non-Pro level provide the rider with almost vibration free ride at the cost of several hundred dollars more than a quality steel framed version. This is where Bianchi steel bicycles come in to play.

Steel frame manufacturing has decreased in demand over the years as the market has shifted towards aluminum and carbon frames. The bikes Bianchi has in their steel range are produced in relatively low numbers, are not cheap hi-tensile (low strength) steel like the latest outcropping of glam-euro city bikes, and are typically air hardened double butted tubing. In the case of the 2013 Vigorelli, Reynolds 631 seamlessly drawn tubes is used for construction of the frame. 

Last Thursday as I ate from my bowl of pasta and wandered the shop, I witness a terrific collection of steel bikes for the adventure cyclist (Volpe), classic road rider (Imola, Vigorelli), commuter (Campione) and the minimalist (Pista). 

All of this adds up to shopping and a test ride you need to experience. If you're there on a Thursday evening looking for a new bicycle, grab a taste of their Pot Luck. You won't regret it!

2013 Bianchi Bicycles sneaky peaky.

Bianchi Italy is launching the new version of the Oltre, in France. 


So far, the photos of the bike are nothing short of stellar!


The two immediate updates for this Oltre are the paint scheme and the name. There's an XR tagged to this Super Leggera frame, which has been in the product range for Bianchi since calendar year 2011. 


What Bianchi has done is they've shaved a bit more weight off the Oltre to the tune of 30grams. The weight loss has been achieved through the introduction of another grade of high modulus carbon fiber- CN60. Along the down tube, chainstays and the ever so sexy UTSS- Ultra Thin Seat Stays. Achieved is a 20% increase in overall stiffness of the Oltre XR frame when compared to the previous Oltre. 


[short review and reflection of my Oltre]
I've been riding and racing an Oltre with SRAM Red and Kysrium SR wheels, for the better part of this year. I can attest that this bike is stiff like my prior year's ride, the B4P 1885 which I grafted the build kit from for the Oltre. I like a stiff bike, seeing as I'm just shy of 6'5" at a 180lbs. Leverage of a 38.5" inseam when paired with 177.5mm crank arms can twist a frame when out of the saddle. Hence why I've ridden the 1885 for the past 2 seasons, I like stiff!


The Oltre has never fallen short of efficiently transferring my energy to the rear wheel and once you ride a bike with this kind of personality, it becomes the benchmark for all other bikes you choose. The biggest note of the Oltre is it's ability to make mid-corner steering corrections and not have the bike become startled or unsettled underneath the rider while carving a turn with all your weight dumped on the outside pedal.


Back to the Oltre XR. The XR retains all the technology from the first Oltre; UTSS, Tapered head tube 1.5" bottom bearing, Nano-Tube construction, BB30 bottom bracket, X-TeX at the headtube region, Monocoque unidirectinal carbon fiber construction, and what you don't see when riding...WMP. Feel free to visit the technology page on the Bianchi USA site for further details of the aforementioned tech bits.


The 355 gram fork with carbon drop outs is still sleek and finned just under the oversize bottom head set bearing. This profile allows for the directing of airflow, out around the oversized down tube. The semi-round bottom surface of the down tube on the Oltre creates enough outward push of wind to reduce the force from strongly regrouping behind the down tube where you have your down tube water bottle mounted. The cross section of the down tube is diamond in shape and the trailing edge of the diamond (inside the front triangle of the frame) disrupts the air flow across the frame ever so slightly. Should the air come around the bottom of the down tube and sharply return behind at the point of the diamond, a bit a suction or drag would be created, equaling a need for more wattage from the rider. 


Taking on more aerodynamic duties on the Oltre XR frame are the chainstays which are modeled after the time trail machine from Bianchi, the Pico Crono. Tall, broad and visually providing from the non-drive side of the bike what looks like a continuous piece of carbon leading from the rear axle, to the bottom bracket, up to the tapered head tube; the chainstays carry the brunt of the rider's weight and transfer of power to the rear wheel. So much so is their heft that the seatstays are slimmed down to the thickness of your average coffee shop barista's pinky finger. This slenderness is Bianchi's technology is referred to as UTSS.


The Oltre XR's aero seat post remains a thing of beauty. Influence by the 2010 928SL IASM frame and now a regular feature on the Oltre. Actually not masted but an actual adjustable post which provides the benefits of a masted post frame. Benefits? Think of high speed descents and the ability to incrementally adjust the Oltre's steering with a slight movement of your hips.


There's an overall claimed weight of 895 grams for the Oltre XR (+/-5%). Very light and smartly evolved from the previous Oltre version. Electronic and cable shifter frame sets will be up for grabs and a few complete build bikes for those wanting some out of the box without the head ache of overdosing on OCD to spec one from the ground up. 


My Oltre build as listed above with Speedplay SS Zero pedals and Bianchi Doberman cages, tip the scale at 15.8lbs. Not bad for a 61cm frame size and oh yeah, it rides like no other bike out there, seriously delightful!