May 19, 2022
Making Weight: Optimizing Your Bike for a Hill Climb
Here’s my “road bike” as I ride it for daily use. As you can see, I’m anything but a weight weenie, riding with big tires for frequent ventures into the dirt and essential tools in my saddle bag - plus my beloved Silca hand pump. But that’s because I like...
Derek Yarra
May 17, 2022
Bike of the Week: A Sparkling Burgundy Bastion Superleggera
We have yet to properly introduce Bastion into our family of frame builders, which is somewhat of a miss because we've known Bastion since the beginning. In fact, I rode what I believe was chassis number 002, and Mike, our famed sales expert, purchased number 007 back in 2016 when...
Chad Nordwall
May 07, 2022
May Shop Ride - 5/29
As May rolls around, we're changing things up and taking our monthly ride to the pavement. In preparation for our upcoming OSTT race, we'll take to the slopes of Mt. Tam with a figure-eight loop that includes the Bo-Fax climb. To evade peak traffic, we'll meet at AC at 7:00...
Derek Yarra
May 06, 2022
OSTT: Ten Tips for the Top
What: The Officially Serious Time Trial (OSTT), as in, don't actually take it or yourself too seriously, just come to have fun on one of the most iconic climbs in the Bay area. Who: Anyone who wants to challenge themselves or see how they stack up against their friends or...
Chad Nordwall
May 04, 2022
Build Watching: A Black and Pink Prova Speciale
A custom bike made to go to metaphorical Mars. A matt black and pink Prova Speciale Ti built with Campagnolo Super Record EPS and Ceramicspeed everything. An absolute beast with an Absolute Black ENVE-wrapped one-piece cockpit, slung with ENVE SES 3.4 wheels and Vittoria Corsa Control rubber. Check out the ‘Build Watching’...
Peter Harrington
April 29, 2022
Ride Like the Wind: Introducing the Campagnolo Levante Wheels
The Campagnolo Levante wheel is the Italian brand’s debut gravel wheelset, which given the company’s long and rather lovely association with road cycling, is pretty big news. However, this isn't Campagnolo's first time on the dirt. The Italian brand has been making some well-received trips off the tarmac in recent years,...
Peter Harrington
April 21, 2022
Behind the Build: A Climber’s Sarto Asola
Our client Josh tasked us with creating an exceptionally light road bike that would fly up the hills, a fun and carefree machine for rides in the Bay Area and Marin. Naturally, new builds often require a little back and forth between frame options, but not this time. With one...
Derek Yarra
April 21, 2022
OSTT - Course Preview
The climb from Highway One up Bo-Fax road is one of the most legendary ascents in all of Marin. Known for its relatively steady pitch, numerous curves, hairpins, and breathtaking ocean and forest views, Bo-Fax is a regular haunt for local lemmings and required riding for visiting cyclists. All of...
Derek Yarra
April 12, 2022
The Officially Serious Time Trial (OSTT) June 26
First, there were the OSBR gravel rides. Then came the OSBR Virtual Dirt Hill Climb. Now, we’re taking serious to the next level with the Officially Serious Time Trial - aka the OSTT. On June 26th, we’re lighting up the pavement on one of our all-time favorite climbs and getting...
Derek Yarra
March 28, 2022
Out of the Saddle with Salifu Mohammed
Out of the Saddle is a video series about the Above Category community and the dream bikes we build for them. In our first episode, we feature an icon of Marin cycling, Salifu Mohammed, a masterful painter from Ghana who reflects on how riding bikes became a way of life, his...
Peter Harrington
March 20, 2022
Review: The Hammerhead Karoo 2
Above Category was founded with the idea of finding cutting-edge products that elevate our experience on the bike. From frames crafted with new technologies to wheels with unorthodox construction methods or timeless tig-welded machines, we're always on the hunt for genuinely beyond category products and partners. But that fascination, of...
Derek Yarra
