Grand Opening and 40th Anniversary Celebration
You are invited to our 40th Anniversary and new shop Grand Opening! We would love to have you come and celebrate our 40 years of building wonderful bikes and our beautiful new shop in Louisville, a block south of South Boulder Rd. on 95th St.! In addition to being around to chat, answer questions, and show old photos and newspaper clippings, we'll offer test rides and do some talks listed below. See below for the schedule of events. When: Saturday August 13th - 9am to 1pm Where: Our new shop! 1655 Cannon Cir. Louisville CO 80027 40th [...]
Zinn Dolomite road bike goes into TT mode…
My day at the New Zealand Road Nationals Time Trial was the culmination of a year’s worth of focus. I'd made huge advances with my Zinn - so wanted to now see how far I could go with some serious work. A year ago I’d decided to take on a coach – train seriously - aimed at the Nationals TT - and see what I could do. I'd only ever ridden in a handful of TT's at that stage - but figured that would be a good place to aim - as it takes the size element [...]
32” Wheels for eBikes
Learn About Large Wheel Electric Bikes This has been a really fun project from the beginning. When Jusuf Nurkic called and told us his last Custom Zinn Titanium Gravel bike got stolen, we wanted to replace it with something really unique. Since he is 7’ tall and 275lbs and plays center for the Portland Blazers, we decided that we could do something truly special to enhance his riding experience. Check out what we did to upgrade his ride here! Bigger Wheels Are the Key When we were discussing the customization of his bike, he told us that he felt [...]
5 Best Bike Trails in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado, is a biking paradise, with mountain trails and paths winding through the city and surrounding areas. Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, it features scenic trails and is known as one of the most popular cycling destinations in the United States. There are bike trails throughout the county with something for everyone. It doesn't matter if you've never ridden before or are an expert. In Boulder, Colorado, bike paths that are fun and exciting are everywhere. Just make sure you have the proper cycling gear. Today we're going to cover five of the best bike [...]
Doing a few things I couldn’t before…
Hi Had a few great performances on my Zinn lately. This bike has definitely helped me to another level. Tuesday night racing Since getting my Zinn at the end November - I've been getting better and better results. It's one of those success breeds success stories. The thing is an absolute joy to ride and I look forward to every time on it. I've had time to get used to the 210mm cranks and it's meant an amazing jump in performance for me. Which has made me want to ride more - which has started off a [...]
A Zinn in action
Thought I'd post a shot taken at my club's mixed ability Team Time Trial... I know I'm bigger than the other guys - but this shot makes me look enormous 🙂 The mixed ability TTT is a bi-annual event for our club where the handicapper puts together riders of varying levels of ability. Great way for people who don't normally ride together to get to know each other. You don't know you're team until you get to the start line. Usually won by the team that gels the best and quickly figures out the best way to organize themselves. [...]
Two Zinn Magnesium Track Bikes
It's been a great winter of riding the track at Boulder Indoor Cycling. The new Zinn magnesium track bike has really proven itself out there. They are so light, yet stiff, and super smooth. The magnesium frame corners on a rail and stays in control at very high speeds. Magnesium damps vibration better than any other frame material, which gives the rider much more confidence when riding really fast. Other frames send vibrations through to your body which means, you won't feel as comfortable at high speeds. We weighed both of these bikes. The white one weighs in at [...]
Zinn Cycles Backcountry Ski day
After a couple feet of snow fell around the front range last weekend, Lennard and I thought it would be a good idea to skin up the El Dora ski area and take some laps on the Corona Bowl. While in the parking lot gearing up, we were informed that that was not allowed. We decided to take a backcountry tour into the Indian Peaks wilderness. After breaking trail through heavy snow for 3 miles, we were finally at the base of our run. We ascended the 600 vertical feet through the slush to the top where we were [...]
Here’s what happens when you get a Zinn…
Finished up our season down here in NZ with our club AGM and prizegiving. Here's what happens when you get a bike that fits properly... It was given with the comment that I was the only one considered for the award as I'd had such a massive improvement. I have to say I was very nervous when I ordered the bike - because I was taking a bit of a leap of faith. I remember telling someone from my cycling club about it after I ordered it and he was very sceptical - especially about the long cranks (and this is someone who's [...]
Norway, here we come!
By Lennard Zinn Now in my 20th year of cross-country ski racing, I’m finally embracing the traditional classic (kick-and-glide) technique in anticipation of racing the granddaddy of all ski races, the 54K Birkebeinerrennet in Norway March 19. The Birkebeinerrennet commemorates the rescue in 1206 of the infant crown prince Haakon Haakonsson (who later became Haakon IV of Norway) from enemy Bagler rebels by two mighty Birkebeiner (literally, “birch-bark leggings”) warriors, Torstein Skevla and Skjervald Skrukka, who carried the child over two mountain ranges during a blizzard to safety in what is now Trondheim. The racecourse now traverses a route [...]
Rugby player to cyclist?
My quest to turn myself from a rugby player into a half decent Time Trialist continues... Making progress. I've just updated my blog with a whole lot of valuable information from Lennard Zinn about TT positioning and what I can do to turn my beautiful Project Big Dolomite Ti bike into a makeshift TT rig. What I have to do to it - getting the seat a whole lot further forward - isn't pretty - but it's certainly working..... I've still got a lot of things to change - but progress is happening. And I'm learning what [...]
Custom cranks are winning races. From Kieran Cox
Kieran Cox is a long time Zinn Cycles customer, and advocate of proper frame design and crank length for tall riders. Here is some interesting data he has developed with our custom cranks. Hi Lennard, It's kinda crazy, but finally there is some data to back up what you've observed along with every other notably taller person has seen while riding custom cranks. It was always the faster jump in combination with VO2 efficiency that was creating gains. I think a better way to test the "whole picture" is standing start 250m or 500m time trials. That way everything [...]
Lennard Zinn in Venice
Each morning during the ExpoBici bike show in Padua, I've been riding toward Venice along the Riviera del Brenta, as I have 1.5 hours each day to squeeze in a ride between when breakfast opens (and it becomes light) and when my shuttle leaves for the bike show. Wealthy Venetians back in the day apparently hated traveling by land. To escape the congested island in the lagoon, and because starting in 1345 residents of the SerenissimaRepubblica di Venezia were not allowed to own land on the island, they built enormous villas inland toward Padua along the Brenta Riviera, a [...]
Zinn Titanium road bike with Shimano Di2
When building a bike for Di2, there are many ways of arranging the wiring. Some run the cables externally, and some run them internally. Several different ways of mounting the battery have also surfaced since the advent of Shimano's electronic component group. Read on and check out these images to see how we at Zinn Cycles have achieved a very sleek and elegant system for Di2 with minimal compromise in the frame's structural integrity. We have made a convenient entry point for each of the shifting cables so that your custom titanium Di2 bike will look very sleek and [...]
Following in her father’s tire tracks – Emily Zinn is kicking butt in the local ‘cross circuit.
It's great to see a father and daughter team racing 'cross together. Emily decided to join Lennard this year to train and race in the local Cyclocross series. Despite a snowy start to the season, the two of them have been out training together at dawn at least once a week, and racing on the weekends. Both are riding custom Zinn magnesium cyclocross bikes, and the lightweight, smooth riding bikes have helped keep the energy levels to the max. (Emily isn't quite lucky enough to have two bikes, like her dad, yet. Christmas is still not here......) Emily [...]
A word on wheels…
Howdy Was out on a ride this morning (it's the middle of summer down here in New Zealand) and was at the back of a biggish bunch when a heard a loud BANG - and then had to take evasive action as a rider in front was obviously struggling to control his bike - and get it to a stop. Ended up in the grass on the side of the road - no harm done. Turns out - he'd broken a spoke on his rear wheel - and the wheel was so badly buckled that it wouldn't turn without [...]
Cyclocross Nationals 2012
This past weekend was the Cyclocross Nationals in Wisconsin. Not as much snow as we were used to from racing cyclocross in Colorado this season, and overall a great event. Here are some photos. Here I (Lennard Zinn) am with my longtime buddy Dag Selander (in the orange jacket) who pit-crewed for me. I switched bikes four times during the race; one time because I had a stick jammed in my rear derailleur (see photo). Dag power washed my bikes and gave me a nice, clean one almost every lap. Last photo is with my teammates (who race different [...]
Super Customized Low q-factor Zinn Bicycle
Dear Lennard, A rainy day here so I'll catch up on some stuff. Don't know if you ever saw this bike after Dave T. dropped the toptube and added the extra stays. You'll remember that it was designed for dropped pedals. I wanted to have two bikes exactly the same so I could go back and forth between them so I switched this bike to standard-pedal cranks. The saddle is pretty far forward because it's 4cm higher than it was with the dropped pedals. I set each one up according to my tests and then measure them to make [...]
