Schwag has been selling bikes in the Appleton, WI area since 2007 and has a very fat-bike friendly manager in the person of Shane Veldhuizen. When Shane isn’t racing, and often winning, on his 38 Frameworks fat-bike in the Wisconsin Off Road Racing Series (WORS for short and America’s largest state mountain bike racing series) or competing in many of the biggest point-to-point races in the Midwest, he is the man with the fat-bike know-how at Schwag. I had the opportunity to stop in a few weeks ago and came away impressed with Shane’s knowledge and enthusiasm for fat-bikes and bicycling in general as well.
The shop currently carries fat-bikes from 38 Frameworks and Surly. Plus, Shane told me that they are working with Wisconsin fat-bike builder, Schlick Cycles, to offer their line of fat-bikes and 29-plus rigs in the Fox Valley area within a couple of months.
Shane’s inner tinkerer is evident on his personal 38 Frameworks rig. He had a local machinist help work out special clamps for his Carbon Canondale Lefty and has made a modified Northpaw rim to allow offset lacing for the front wheel on his race bike.
After 20 years in the beverage biz working for a local Budweiser distributor delivering kegs, among other tasks, Shane appreciates the shock absorbing quality of the Lefty fork. He says the fat-bike tires let him rip it when other riders are struggling with traction on their “skinny” MTBs
In addition to fat-bikes Schwag carries bikes from GT, Schwinn, Niner, Santa Cruz and Ellsworth.
If you are in, or traveling through, the Fox Valley in Wisconsin stop in to Schwag and say “Hey!” to Shane. The shop is located just off HWY 41 and is easily accessible whether you are coming from the North or the South!
Is there a shop in your area that is Fat-bike Friendly? Drop me an email to greg@fat-bike.com and we will work on getting the word out!
Looks like an awesome shop to spend some time!
Are there any articles on setting up a Lefty for use on a Fat Bike?