Getting into the great outdoors usually means putting something on your feet or under your behind. Here are some shops that specialize in the non-motorized types of gear.
Cruiser bikes are great for circling the park in flip-flops, but too heavy and inefficient to ride to work. At Full Cycle (230 S. College Ave., Fort Collins, 970-484-1800; 1211 13th St., Boulder, 303-440-7771; 1795 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-440-1002), you’ll find Nirve’s classy “Starlight” model ($349), a lightweight, seven-speed “sport cruiser” that neatly bridges the gap between cruiser and road bike.
Emage (1620 Platte St., 720-855-8297) addresses the needs of the fashion-conscious skater and snowboarder. Their best bet for the season: A Boa lacing system takes the pain out of lacing your snowboard boots, with a dial-operated cable that tightens (or loosens) a boot’s tension with one-click convenience. The Colorado-created technology can be found this season on such fashion-conscious boots as the Vans black-and-white Omni, available for about $250.
Mob Cyclery in the Tennyson Street shopping district (4272 Tennyson St., 303-477-4460) appeals to gearheads of the highest order, selling an American-made rear gear cluster (that’s the dealies on the rear wheel where the chain goes) that’s giving Italian and Japanese component makers a run for the money. Sram’s Rival and Force 11:26 clusters ($96/$120) optimize gearing going up the hill and coming back down again.
It’s hard to beat Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World at Northfield Stapleton (7970 E. 49th Ave., 720-385-3600) for trophy-shopping – not to mention a world-record moose rack and a huge tank of live fish. Among the most intriguing items we spied in this L.L. Bean-on-steroids was a $30 collapsible wading staff that a fisherman can whip out rapier-style in midstream (“You don’t need it a lot, but when you do, you don’t want to be fumbling around,” fly-shop expert Bill Louthan says) and cordless Motorola phone (on sale for $30) that can be set to ring with the sound of a duck, goose, turkey, elk, bear, wildcat, coyote, hawk, owl or loon.
– Jack Cox
