Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 13, 2011, 8:39 am
I saw this on my friend Tim Babiak’s blog and knew that this Christmas List would be appreciated by any photographer and photographer’s significant other. Thanks Tim! With the holidays fast approaching, many of us photographers get asked by our loved ones for gift ideas relating to our love of p...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 30, 2011, 10:36 am
The market for our premium custom bicycles is a global one, and is a small niche comprised of people who want the very best and are willing to come to San Antonio to commission a bicycle that takes up to six months or more to receive, and then be so happy with the result that Post from: KGS Bikes Cu...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Aug 8, 2011, 11:02 am
At KGS Custom Bicycles, the summer is the slowest time of the year. We don’t have a big repair department since most of our clientele hails from afar. Most of our clients or potential clients are vacationing, busy with kids, or riding the bike they currently have. What is interesting, however is t...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Aug 7, 2011, 1:00 pm
It is not often we promote a poster as much as a ride, but when we saw the one of a kind original Marfa 100 ride posters, we had to share. They were done by hooking up a brush to a stationary bike of some sorts and each of one hundred people rode a kilo Post from: KGS Bikes Custom Bicycles Marfa 100...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jun 29, 2011, 11:09 am
One of the best parts of being involved with KGS Bikes is hearing of successes from our friends and clients. Charlie Brockus is in the 60-64 age group and is shown here on his way to winning his age group at the Rohto Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon. This gets Charlie his ticket to Kona, the Ford Pos...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jun 20, 2011, 2:37 pm
KGS Bikes Custom Bicycles is a global business. We have many more clients fly into San Antonio than have local clients. While about 50% of our US clients are women, the Middle East will have mostly men owners of our bicycles. This is why we just committed to exhibit at the Big Boys Toys UAE Post fro...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jun 8, 2011, 7:57 pm
I recently built up a KGS / Cyfac Absolu for the showroom and today I got to test it. Bike tests for me are not that long, but have hills, descents, cornering, hill attacks and some rough roads to see just how the bike measures up. The best compliment I can give a premium custom Post from: KGS Bikes...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jun 6, 2011, 7:41 pm
You may remember that we helped Dex Tooke with his bicycle position prior to the Race Across America last year. We also sponsor him this year and help in every way we can. The 2011 RAAM starts next week and today Dex’s wife Joni, (crew chief, bike mechanic and head boss) brought Dex’s bike up Po...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jun 6, 2011, 9:18 am
When people are introduced to KGS Custom Bicycles, they usually have a few things to say. One common thought is, “I had no idea that bikes like this were available!”. This is not surprising, as the combination of finding where you actually balance on the bike plus the very nice frames, wheels an...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 29, 2011, 3:49 pm
While KGS custom triathlon bicycles provide huge improvements in performance for triathletes, few triathletes come investigate. Most either follow what is on Slowtwitch or are so risk averse that it could take over a year before they would consider even having their positions checked, much less cons...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 25, 2011, 5:11 pm
We have had success with global clients who are able to travel to San Antonio to commission a KGS Custom Bicycle. Our friends to the south in Mexico have begun to discover us and since San Antonio is a gateway to the south, we are actively making connections. It is not always easy to find Post from:...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 12, 2011, 11:08 am
The concept of Pereto’s Principle is, that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes, and thus is the foundation for the 80/20 rule. The way things work at KGS Bikes is more like 99/1. For example, look at the folks that actually come in the door to our studio. Greater than 99% Post from: KG...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 11, 2011, 11:03 am
We love success stories. Part of the reason that we have so many success stories at KGS Bikes is this is what we set out to do in every client relationship. Every cyclist has something that can be improved. Improvement in some things is easier than others. Many cyclists, particularly women, have iss...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 4, 2011, 5:21 pm
The best part of being part of KGS Custom Bicycles is watching the look on a client’s face when they first get on their new custom bike. The next best thing is to get ride reports with photos that we can share with you. Guillermo and his lovely wife Eileen recently took possession of their Post fr...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - May 1, 2011, 3:01 pm
We get calls at KGS Custom Bicycles for bike fittings on a regular basis. If we are going to be any good at designing custom bikes we have to draw the line in the sand regarding fitting you to a bike or designing a bike to fit you. The bike industry is abuzz with fit Post from: KGS Bikes Custom Bicy...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 27, 2011, 5:41 pm
Most of the bicycles that roll out of KGS Bikes have Campagnolo componentry. Campagnolo does not currently have an 11 speed bar end shifter for time trial bikes, however, though rumors abound regarding a shifter to be introduced this fall. The first SRAM Red equipped KGS / Parlee custom triathlon bi...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 25, 2011, 7:23 am
We have recently changed the KGS Custom Bicycles slogan to: “The Ride of Your Life” and lots of thought has gone into the reasons for this. I like to understand why people would want to go to the effort and expense of commissioning a custom bicycle and then align our processes with those reasons...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 18, 2011, 7:08 pm
Our friends Becky and Mike got a custom KGS / Co-Motion Macchiato tandem a few years ago and they sent this email that we want to share with you: Kevin, Becky and I took the Macchiato to New Zealand with Bill and Jan McCready of Santana Tandems the end of February along with over 30 Post from: KGS B...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 4, 2011, 11:31 am
Lots of people like a particular company or product if everything goes well. What happens when something goes wrong is what shows a different picture sometimes. Our friend Zeke just bought a set of Lightweight Standard tubular wheels, which are ultra premium carbon wheels and are not repairable. I s...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 2, 2011, 11:49 am
Are you part of the Top 40? If you are Casey Kasem, you are a referring to a popular pop song. Well at KGS Custom Bicycles, we have the ability to build about 40 custom bikes a year. As such, we are looking for 40 people around the world who want to be completely blown Post from: KGS Bikes Custom Bi...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Apr 1, 2011, 5:52 pm
Have you ever “un-friended” anybody on Facebook? I have, but only twice. Facebook has been a great way for me to network KGS Custom Bicycles and to reach out to people around the world. Right now, however, I am a victim of my own success. I have enough Facebook fans and friends that I cannot Pos...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Mar 4, 2011, 9:19 am
In the custom bicycle business, KGS Bikes plays by different rules than the rest of the industry. Educating consumers so they can make objective decisions about the right bicycle to buy or whether their current bike is right or wrong for them is remarkably difficult. It seems that people aren’t re...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Mar 2, 2011, 7:15 am
At KGS Bikes, I meet many people who are not bike racers, who are not bike mechanics. They simply want their bicycle to be comfortable and safe, want it to work well and they want the experience to be fun. Most people don’t understand the difference between a custom bicycle that is designed around...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Feb 25, 2011, 7:27 am
I am taking a couple of day trips to Austin to see the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show. Of course lots of friends will be there and I hope to meet many more. I will tote my camera along and am sure to have some great shots to post soon. Post from: KGS Bikes Custom Post from: KGS Bikes Custom B...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Feb 23, 2011, 10:45 am
Many of you know of my fondness for Brooks products. This British company makes things for bicycles and bicycle owners that are either old school cool, retro cool, durable, comfortable or just plain “best in class”. Here is their Facebook page. I got a chance to see some of their new bags and wa...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Feb 8, 2011, 2:37 pm
As spring approaches, more and more people are contacting KGS Bikes to ask us to fit them to their new bikes that are provided by sponsors. Some are wanting to get fitting data so they can choose a bike that a sponsor provides. In all of these cases, we have to educate and in many Post from: KGS Bik...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 27, 2011, 12:16 pm
Since KGS Bikes has so little local traffic, we are focusing more and more on designing custom bicycles and FrameUp™ kits for our clients. Because of this, we are  cleaning out stuff that has gathered over the years. We post items in our eBay Store that are either new items for sale at retail, su...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 26, 2011, 3:16 pm
Topolino has always done a great job supporting their products, and this announcement came to us today. This is their message: We are pleased to announce the 2011 Topolino UpGrade Program! Simply turn in your USED Revelation or Carbon Core wheelset to receive huge discounts on a NEW True Black wheel...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 25, 2011, 3:39 pm
While we have been talking about the benefits of super high intensity training, specifically Peak 8 training, (sorry about the need to register, but it is free) much of it has centered around finding a hill outside that will suffice to provide the resistance.  The Tacx Fortius Multiplayer trainer t...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 22, 2011, 10:36 am
The bicycle industry is very cyclical, and the busy season starts the end of January. What this means for custom bikes is lead times increase, so everything takes longer and shortages are common. This year is predicted to be particularly bad because the economy is improving here, plus a lot of inven...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 14, 2011, 11:31 am
At KGS Bikes, we see a lot of nice equipment. This means when something that grabs our attention comes through the door, it had better be good. Such is the case for the latest triathlon and TT wheelset from Lightweight, the Disk and VR8. Words do not do these wheels justice, so we created a Post fro...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 13, 2011, 12:15 pm
While most of the folks who come to KGS Bikes want a custom bicycle designed for them alone, some folks, particularly bike racers, can ride stock geometry bicycles well. Parlee has created the FlexFit system of 14 different sizes for their semi custom bikes, the Z4, Z5 and TT. We have had many peopl...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Jan 12, 2011, 7:03 pm
At KGS Bikes, finding one’s perfect position is standard procedure. Many times, however, clients have asked, “How do I know that this position will work where I ride?” This is a legitimate question. Over the holidays I found a second setup bike frame that was the same as my original. I have do...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 11, 2010, 6:45 pm
I recently found out about Bike Reviews, a blog / website that gathers and shares lots of info about bicycling. Here is a tidbit from their About section: Bike Reviews is an emerging online resource for all things bicycle related. We cover info on road bikes, mountain bikes, BMX bikes, fixed gear bi...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 10, 2010, 6:12 pm
When I am helping people find their perfect position on the bicycle, saddle height is one of the many dimensions we discover in a BalancePoint™ session. While people consider the knee joint as the only significant articulation, the ankle is in fact an articulation as well. This makes a single join...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 9, 2010, 6:08 pm
I have been getting calls daily about indoor trainers and spin bikes. It’s the season and I hope people who decided to add bicycle miles this summer while the gas prices were high are going to keep their fitness and ride all winter too. I lost 50 lbs one winter taking stationary bike, or Studio Po...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 8, 2010, 6:04 pm
I just received this info from a Tacx email and wanted to pass it along: Ride legendary stages indoors Phil Stone, our cameraman and an avid cyclist himself, keeps making new films. Starting this year the Real Life Videos are also available in wide screen, meaning that, with the help of your Virtual...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 7, 2010, 5:48 pm
If you could have anything designed for your new dream bike, what would you choose? I just got an email inquiry from Brazil today and wanted to share the concept of how I help people that live halfway across the world. The first part of our conversation revolved around fitting, of course. I prefer t...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 6, 2010, 5:43 pm
Now that fall is upon us I hear many people discussing their training options and the range is quite large! Some say they will ride outside even if it is dark or rainy. I call this the Belgian approach, because the weather over there is so wet and cold. Many others switch to spin bikes Post from: KG...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 5, 2010, 5:23 pm
I have been updating and setting up a few Tacx Fortius Virtual Reality trainers in the KGS Bikes studio. About this time of year people start calling and I have been so excited to see the next level of training. Look for an article soon entitled, “The Ultimate Spin Bike” where I outline my idea ...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 4, 2010, 5:15 pm
Nodera bike 1 Originally uploaded by iyoupapa The Mavic yellow motorcycles are omnipresent in major bicycle racing venues. I got a chuckle with this picture as it appears that they train the riders a little younger in Japan than in the US! Originally posted 2008-12-08 06:55:13. Republished by Blog P...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 3, 2010, 4:56 pm
I get lots of letters of appreciation from folks who like the fact that I buck the status quo and think outside the box. Here is an email plus a testimonial I received today from my friend Jeff Etessam in Dallas. Thanks Jeff! Kevin, Second ride this morning was just as good as the first. Post from: ...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 2, 2010, 4:50 pm
I have seen stayer’s bikes with pretty big gears but this beats all. It must have been brutal to get started. I can’t think of any other reason to have a gear like this other than to do stayers racing. I believe a little stayers background is in order as you may not have seen Post from: KGS Bike...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Dec 1, 2010, 4:33 pm
I recently got a call from Nate Herpich at TheStreet.com as they wanted to know what the big deal was with our top of the line Tier 3 bicycles. They published a nice article here and I thought you might like to read it. Thanks so much for looking and commenting. Originally posted 2009-05-21 13:41:29...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 29, 2010, 4:11 pm
Anyone who travels with a bicycle knows the hassle, expense and potential for damage that surrounds this necessary evil in our sport. Triathletes have a bigger problem as the aerobars make the bike even more difficult to transport and the opportunity for Murphy’s Law to rear its ugly head is more ...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 28, 2010, 4:00 pm
Cesaer probably wouldn’t want a Cervelo, since he couldn’t have known about them. The job of marketing companies is to make you aware of their products. I am amazed at some big bicycle companies marketing brilliance. They are able to make bicycles “win” races without athletes and make you wa...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 27, 2010, 3:52 pm
I subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog and often get pearls of wisdom. His short entry today described my place in the bicycle retail biz, fighting mediocrity, as well as how all of us succumb at one time or another. On the road to mediocrity Along the way, we settle. We settle for something not quite P...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 26, 2010, 3:50 pm
I write many times about parallels to my industry when I get pearls of wisdom from Seth Godin. He wrote a doozy today regarding how I see the bike biz. Here is the post with my comments below: What the industry wants It’s easy to get trapped wondering what consumers want, and then being frustrated...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 25, 2010, 3:37 pm
I was on a ride this weekend and a friend was introducing me and stumbled when describing what I do for a living. I realized that I need to improve the definition of what goes on at KGS Bikes. I figure if I heard this confusion once, it happens a lot behind my back! KGS Post from: KGS Bikes Custom B...
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Kevin Saunders posted an article on KGS Bikes Blog - Cycling as the Fountain of Youth - Nov 24, 2010, 2:50 pm
I was checking out Pez Cycling News yesterday and had to browse the Daily Distractions. Our buddy Jen Benepe who designed our KGS Bikes jersey had a pic on there recently and I wanted to see if a picture of my training buddy Cynthia would get their attention. It did. Thanks, Cynthia, Jen and Parlee....
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