Land-first…or Landfill?
Sports Garage’s annual budget includes a healthy line item for Boulder’s EcoCycle and CHaRM facilities—we make weekly trips. When a new bike rolls out the door, it leaves a veritable…
The Eternal Question: SRAM vs. Shimano
The Eternal Question: SRAM vs. Shimano
If you’re looking for the footnotes: SRAM vs. Shimano has been the proverbial “Coke-Pepsi” test in mountain and gravel bike components for decades. In our updated product line comparison, we…
Are You SURE Your Bike Is Insured?
Are You SURE Your Bike Is Insured?
Image Credit: Zoomo. One of the less fun things we do at the shop is support our customers when their bikes are stolen, primarily by providing the proof of purchase…
1994 Year in Review
1994 Year in Review
Sports Garage’s passionate founders set up shop in the Quonset huts at the corner of 27th and Spruce in 1994, and we never left. Anchored by not only our history…
#SGAmbassador Series: Meet Brian Firle
#SGAmbassador Series: Meet Brian Firle
Sports Garage Ambassador Brian Firle has been a member of the SG family for over a decade now. Like a fine wine, our friendship has only gotten better with age.…
Mountain Biking Slovenia: SG Insider Tips
Mountain Biking Slovenia: SG Insider Tips
With a standing invitation from Sports Garage customers who live in Poland, Brad and I packed our mountain bikes and headed to the mountains of Central Europe, riding in several…
#SGAmbassador Series: Meet Madison Pitts
#SGAmbassador Series: Meet Madison Pitts
Sports Garage Ambassador Madison Pitts is something of a Front Range legend. No matter the weather or time of year, you can find her zipping down the local singletrack, cutting…
5 Epic Bike Parks in Colorado
5 Epic Bike Parks in Colorado
We’ve honed our fitness with after-work rides, weekend camping and mountain bike trips to higher elevations, and diligent time in the gym. The work is in the bank, as they…
Behind the Scenes with Action Photographer Emily Sierra
Behind the Scenes with Action Photographer Emily Sierra
Each spring, several members of the Sports Garage crew embark on a team ride and enlist the help of a local photographer. The mission is twofold: test out the latest…
5 Common Bike Washing Mistakes
5 Common Bike Washing Mistakes
It’s that time of year—we’re back on our bikes, riding through puddles instead of around them. (Right, rule-abiding trail goers?) We can all agree that there are few things better…
Rides On Our Radar: 3 Colorado Destinations You Might Not Know About
Rides On Our Radar: 3 Colorado Destinations You Might Not Know About
Annual pilgrimages often include cities with names like Crested Butte, Fruita, and Salida. We pulled out the map recently to plan our summer to-do list, and decided to throw some…
Well-Rounded Fitness for Life on the Trail
Well-Rounded Fitness for Life on the Trail
Chris Spealler, longtime member of the Pivot factory rider family and certified personal trainer, explains how in our exclusive interview. Whether you’re a freeride addict or a competitive cross-country racer,…
Local Nonprofit Love: SMBA
Local Nonprofit Love: SMBA
A cornerstone of the cycling community on Colorado’s Front Range, SMBA offers everything from one-day introductory programs to summer camps and team racing for kids ages 6 to 18. Their…
Changing the World by Bike
Changing the World by Bike
If you’ve been following along with us for awhile now, chances are you’ve heard of World Ride. Perhaps you attended the SG-sponsored Pivot Cycles Sunset Shred that benefited World Ride,…
Understanding e-MTB Categories
Understanding e-MTB Categories
At Sports Garage we’ve been following the categorization of these bikes with curiosity and enthusiasm. The question for an e-mtb is no longer: E-bike or no e-bike But rather: Which…
Gravel Destination: 72 Hours in Patagonia, AZ
Gravel Destination: 72 Hours in Patagonia, AZ
However, there are always great conditions somewhere, so we refer to late fall and early spring as “getaway season.” Embracing the art of the getaway brings new reasons to welcome…
Smart Mountain Bike Suspension
Smart Mountain Bike Suspension
Hardly anyone could have suspected geometry would evolve into the elongated—yet efficient—machines we see today. eMTBs are yet another development pushing the envelope of what’s possible. And now, an upgrade…
Sports Garage Suspension Studio
Sports Garage Suspension Studio
Gone are the days of lugging your mountain bike to the farthest stretches of Boulder County. That’s right: there’s a lot more going on behind our maintenance counter than you…
Understanding Mountain Bike Geometry
Understanding Mountain Bike Geometry
Geometry. It has been a buzz word in mountain biking for many years. One of the biggest innovations in mountain biking has been the refined geometry that allows us to…
Your Getting Started Guide to eMTBs
Your Getting Started Guide to eMTBs
Riding an electric mountain bike, in many ways, is no different than riding an entirely self-powered mountain bike; both styles of bike deliver the joy of being on the trail…
Why You Need to Service Your Bike
Why You Need to Service Your Bike
We’ve all been told a million times, but very few of us seem to do it. Nope, we aren’t talking about flossing—we’re talking about servicing your bike. Your mountain bike…
Choosing Maxxis Mountain Bike Tires
Choosing Maxxis Mountain Bike Tires
We once heard an incredibly well-known mountain bike engineer refer to Maxxis as the “taco shop of tire manufacturers”: they have a set of key ingredients that are combined in…
Top 5 Winter MTB Rides in the Front Range
Top 5 Winter MTB Rides in the Front Range
If you’re like us, hitting the trails year-round is an urge that needs satisfying. While we love to enjoy our Colorado winters, every once in a while it feels good…
We’re Hiring: Sales
We’re Hiring: Sales
POSITION OVERVIEW The Sales Experts at Sports Garage Cycling annually achieve Top Dealer status among high-end mountain bike brands for their level of knowledge and professionalism in all things off-road…
We’re Hiring: Bicycle Technician
We’re Hiring: Bicycle Technician
POSITION OVERVIEW The Sales Experts at Sports Garage Cycling annually achieve Top Dealer status among high-end mountain bike brands for their level of knowledge and professionalism in all things off-road…
Not Another Off-Season How-To List
Not Another Off-Season How-To List
There’s nothing that compliments an active lifestyle better than quality food. In the summer, eating on the run is all too common (if you don’t have the Chipotle app, you’re…
Wandering Oaxaca
Wandering Oaxaca
By: Kristen Smith Most commonly known amongst mountain bikers for it’s TranSierra Norte Race, Oaxaca has so much to offer in addition to epic riding. This vibrant Mexican city is…
Top 5 Colorado Leaf Peeping Rides
Top 5 Colorado Leaf Peeping Rides
The leaves in Colorado are already beginning to shimmer with that first hint of yellow and with that, comes one of the most beautiful times of the year to hit…
Rides We Love: Trestle Bike Park
Rides We Love: Trestle Bike Park
Words by Madison Pitts and Jarrod Adcock, photos by Madison Pitts and Matt Jones. Nestled in a small valley on the west side of the Continental Divide lies the town…
March RADness Results
March RADness Results
Photo credit: Chasing Epic MTB Whenever a customer asks us about our favorite places to ride, it’s our pleasure to share the local trails that get our veins pumping. But…
Rides We Love: Doctor Park
Rides We Love: Doctor Park
When the SG team asked me to share a ride I love, one immediately stood out. It’s a place I’ve grown up as a mountain biker and can test my…
10 Questions with Whitney James
10 Questions with Whitney James
Whitney James is a freelance marketing creative based in Boulder, Colorado. You can follow her adventures at @whitwithgrit. Q&A 1. Tell us a little about the story that led you…
Rides We Love: Salida Super Loop
Rides We Love: Salida Super Loop
As we were driving down from the summit of Monarch Pass, I came to the realization that I’d never ridden a gravel bike in Salida. I had little to no…
The 10 Commandments of Trail Etiquette
The 10 Commandments of Trail Etiquette
You might’ve noticed a few differences out on the trails in 2020. When the pandemic hit last spring, people flocked to the outdoors and open spaces in search of fresh…
Colorado Trail: Nine days to cover 550+ miles
Colorado Trail: Nine days to cover 550+ miles
Words and images by Sports Garage Ambassador Brian Firle. Photo: Colorado Trail FoundationI hadn’t really caught the ‘bike-packing’ bug and the idea of tackling some of Colorado’s most rugged and…
Sight Unseen Q&A with Brice Shirbach
Sight Unseen Q&A with Brice Shirbach
In June professional mountain biker and content creator Brice Shirbach came to Boulder, Colorado to explore the rugged trails off of Lefthand Canyon and make a film, "Sight Unseen", for…
Where Can I Ride?
Where Can I Ride?
A Guide to Riding and Travel in Colorado’s Mountain Bike Destinations During COVID As the COVID19 pandemic continues to upend all facets of regular life, it can be difficult to…
In-Depth 2020 Pivot Cycles Switchblade Review
In-Depth 2020 Pivot Cycles Switchblade Review
Words: Ryan Cross Photos: Ryan Cross Sports Garage ambassador Ryan Cross recently took the Switchblade to Grand Junction, CO (pre-pandemic) to put it to the test on steep, technical climbs…
MTB Review Review
MTB Review Review
Bike reviews, tests, and “first rides” are sometimes helpful, often entertaining. We have never advocated for making a final bike purchase decision based on a review, but we to find…
Gravel Grinding Colombia: Transformation on Two Wheels
Gravel Grinding Colombia: Transformation on Two Wheels
Words: Ryan Cross Images: Dane Cronin Photography & Ryan Cross When Sports Garage ambassador Ryan Cross arrived in Duitama, Colombia for a seven-day cycling journey, he was prepared for a…
Baja California Sur – What Outside Missed
Baja California Sur – What Outside Missed
A month before Outside Magazine online published “The Ultimate Baja, Mexico Travel Guide”, we had confirmed a seven-day itinerary at the tip of the Baja with the express intention of…
1x or 2x
1x or 2x
One of the most common questions we field when discussing gravel bikes is drivetrain configuration. The quintessential question being whether to run a “one by” or “two by.” For simplicity…
2020 Pivot Switchblade Review
2020 Pivot Switchblade Review
Pivot invited their top dealers out to Arizona to come ride and learn about the new Switchblade. We spent two days on the trails of South Mountain to find out…
Best Front Range Trail Conditions Reports
Best Front Range Trail Conditions Reports
Here in the Front Range a lot of us put our mountain bikes away for winter and break out the skis. Don’t be fooled! There is still a lot of…
Protect Your Bike
Protect Your Bike
Let’s say you just spent thousands of your hard-earned dollars on a killer new bike. Hashtag #newbikeday! Before you bust out on that first ride, you might want to consider…
Marriage and Mountain Biking
Marriage and Mountain Biking
Mountain biking, with its addictive blend of fun factor, challenge and being in the great outdoors, often creates a dynamic synergy with romantic relationships. Being able to share the experiences…
Gravelanche becomes “Gratefulanche” on November 2 + GnarBQ
Gravelanche becomes “Gratefulanche” on November 2 + GnarBQ
With the calendar soon rolling over to November, the tradition of formally giving thanks rises in our consciousness. The vandalism and burglary at Sports Garage in early October offered us…
New Downhill Trail at Floyd Hill
New Downhill Trail at Floyd Hill
On August 21st, Front Range riders got their first purpose-built, downhill-specific, bike-only trail when “The Sluice” opened at Floyd Hill Open Space in Evergreen. Although two other trails in the…
48 Hours in Crested Butte
48 Hours in Crested Butte
Although it feels like time is running out before the snow comes, fall is a great time for a weekend in the Butte. CB local Lani Bruntz, a ski/mtb instructor…
The Facts About Suspension Service
The Facts About Suspension Service
Let’s be honest: suspension is one of the best things ever bolted to a mountain bike. Not only does it soften the harshness of terrain, but it increases traction and…