Year 2

Technically, we still have one day remaining in Year 1, but we've done about all we can do to let as many people as possible know about the deals we're offering on frames, bikes and wheels. If you're not in by tomorrow, there's always next year.

And next year is where we've already started to turn some of our attention. Here are some of the bigger initiatives, issues and opportunities we're already working on:

1. Cyclocross frameset: We heard you the first time we showed up at a CX race peddling road bikes. And the second. And the third. And on and on. Right now we're soliciting input from a lot of CX racers with deep experience about the features to look for in a frameset. If you have some thoughts to share as well, do let us know. But like this year, we'll be selling off-season, so be prepared to order your CX bike when the season is at its furthest point from you. (Though we think you CX racers never really stop thinking about CX.)

2. 29er MTB frameset: Dave got bit by the dirt bug this year, and I used to live in Vancouver. Ergo, we will have a MTB frameset - almost assuredly a 29er hardtail. We're not as far along in the planning on the MTB as we are on CX, so we'll begin to really apply ourselves once Year 2 starts in earnest, which is Saturday of this week.

3. The price of carbon fiber: Our suppliers haven't revealed their 2011 prices yet, but the grumblings from the far east about the increase in carbon prices are becoming louder. It may impact our costs for frames and rims, which would also lead to a bump in our prices to you. As Dave points out here, many other brands have enough margin built in to insulate themselves somewhat from raw materials increases. We're not - so if our costs for a carbon fiber rim rise by $30, we'll have to pass that increase downstream to you. It may sound like I'm saying you should get in this year because you'll never see lower prices. This may be true, but my objective is to open my kimono, not your wallet. (You can buy from us any damn year you want - it's totally up to you.)

4. More Media as Marketing: Many of you knew us first as the guys behind GamJams.net, and I feel pretty strongly that owning media has been our competitive advantage. I know what it costs to advertise on VeloNews or CyclingNews, and I've done the math on how many dozens of additional framesets we would have to sell to justify a print ad in Bicycling. If we had to pay for advertising, we'd have to increase our prices to the point where they'd be on par with some of the other brands you know, which would strip out our most meaningful point of differentiation. So for Year 2, we're looking at how to create more of our own media, but which reaches a national instead of a regional audience. "Create more media that generates revenue AND builds brand awareness and interest" seems a far more appealing path to scale than "Buy more ads."

So stick around into Year 2. It's going to be even more fun.

And definitely come back tomorrow as well. We're debuting Frugal Friday this week. And nobody does Frugal like we do.