I did.

I tired to rally a bunch of folks to ride the big Sterling Valley ride this Sunday. It would seem that my rallying mechanism is broken, and being the only folks that could ultimately make it, Maggs and I set out on an over hung ride.

It’s probably a good thing it was only the two of us. We managed to climb to the top of our ride in 35 minutes. Neither of us were “feeling it”, and I thought that I might have to bail, as my bum knee was starting to feel like it would be something I wouldn’t want to deal with tomorrow. Maggs was claiming imminent vomit, yet we pressed on. I felt like I had a giant invisible hand pushing against me on any incline.

The route was from the town of Stowe to Godstreet to Tamarack to Tony’s, via all sorts of OG single and double track. While it wasn’t pretty, we managed our ride in less than 2 hours.

It was the sloppiest I have ever ridden. In fact, I think that I have never ridden these trails as poorly as I did today, and I’ve been riding up here for 10+ years! I was everywhere except where I wanted to be. I felt timid, and unable to let the bike do it’s thing.

The ultimate vindication was that I wasn’t sucking nearly as bad as I thought. Once I fully understood just how friggen slippery the ground was, I felt a lot better. Imagine stopping… wheels motionless… yet you keep going… in a direction you didn’t necessarily choose… We found out just how slippery slippery can get on one bridge at the end out our ride.

That was today.

Once we got back to the car, we had some visitors. We hung out for a bit, the I had to remind Maggs it wasn’t polite to play with your food…

For the longest time, since we moved back from CA to VT, summer was always measured in Wednesday night races at Catamount.

Today was not only the boy’s first day of Kindergarden, tonight was the last race of the summer. Our group (3 lap) left just after the sun dropped below the horizon. As it was the last race, all the supporting shops were present to offer tech support to those that needed it, but you could tell the general atmosphere of the race was different. Looser. Attitudes were more cordial amongst season long rivals, and all the racers were definitely relaxed. Tech support was not needed. And neither was my EZ-Up, it was a lot windy at pit time, and I had lost my anchor spikes a few years ago. It achieved a distance of about 6 feet of unpowered flight tonight.

We all just kind of hung out. It was great. It was a fun evening of beer, smack talk and cowbell for those suffering the rotten hill side course. The air was crisp and fall like, I was smart and brought a sweatshirt.

I’m not sure if I’m getting nostalgic in my old age, but, I realized the biggest change tonight.

While there are only a few of the original crew still hanging out after the race, there were a lot more kids tearing around, our own kids. And while there are a few new faces, it really seemed like this was the last “great race” of the summer.

Fall is coming.

We are blessed with such a short and brilliant summer here in VT. Capture the best of it while you can.

Lots going on right now.

So many cool things to talk about, and not enough free hours in the day to get it all done right. The WFO continues to be a hoot to ride.

But for now, I am going to talk about the new Ergon GX-2 grip that were recently sent to me.

The grips are pretty sweet actually. I’ve been riding the GX-1s for most of the year on Kermit (in matching “team” green) and I’ve really come to like the paddle shape. The way I have mine set, are with the paddles tilted slightly up so that the outside of my palms rest on the grip itself. This gives a little bit of cushion which noticeably reduces hand fatigue on rides of 2 hours or longer.

The platform is a nice place to relax your hands on during non-bumpy parts of the ride, and I would stick the wide part of the grip in the socket of my palm for out of the saddle climbing. All seems right with this set up, it has been working well for me.

So with this SSWC thing is coming up, I was thinking about what I could do to maximize my equipment. Having only one gear sort of makes things difficult, especially when you already have the lightest and or best on the bike. The one thing I thought would help me out the most, would be to have a bit more leverage on the bars. I’m already running an uncut Easton EC70 low rise bar, which is pretty wide to begin with. The GX-2 is the same grip as the GX-1 I’ve been using, but with a short bar end. Or tree hook as I like to call them. Would it provide what I was looking for?

Strangely enough, yes. While my bars aren’t any wider, the new hand position while using the bars effectively widens the distance between your hands by about 1″, which makes for a lot more leverage on those tough out of the saddle climbs. Plus I find myself using them more on even the slightest incline, thus opening up my stance on the bars, allowing me to breath more freely. At least that’s how it seems to me.

My first experience with the grips was at Catamount last Wednesday. I’ve been off the bike for so long, that I was pretty sure I would not be able to finish the race, let alone do well. Plus the darkness comes a lot earlier, so we are racing on an abbreviated hill side course that has two of the worst climbs on the property. And I’m out of shape. And I have decided that I really need to dial in Kermit for SSWC, as I am going to be spending 5 days with him in CO in 3 short weeks.

While I’m sure my tenacity had more to do with my 9th place finish (in my heat, I was 20th out of 34 overall in a sea of geared bikes) I do have to say that the grips helped me. I really noticed the extra leverage on the short punchy climbs. They still hurt, but they pass much more quickly.

Sunday was my “birthday ride”, as I was going to be stuck in the shop on a weekday on the actual day. I figured I could still have my big ride, and ride with any of my friends that weren’t tied up. Seemed like a good time to go to KT!

Using the grips for fun was only a little different. I was acutely aware of the bar ends while threading the needle through the tight and twisty singletrack on the Darling Hill side of KT’s extensive network. I never snagged them though, and as the ride went on, I gradually loosened up, and even forgot they were there. Except for when I needed some gitup-n-go on a climb, when I grabbed on and rocked the front of the bike to the top of the hill.

Yeah, I like these grips. They get to stay.

I also have had a couple rides on the Ergon BD-2. I’m thoroughly enjoying that pack, and will have a detailed review soon.

I like goodies! It isn’t often that I get schwag, let alone a pile of schwag from two different people!

First off, I have to thank Mr Jeff Kerkove and the folks at Ergon for hooking me up with a big box of love. I have been a fan of Ergon since last year, when I installed my first set of GE-1 grips on my RIP9. I then made the move to the GX-1 on my singlespeed, and I enjoy both grips equally well.

What started out as an innocent and non-soliciting question to the Ergon-meister about which pack would be the closest in size to my Camelbak MULE, ended up being a big box of stuff!

With SSWC approaching, I had been thinking about the GX-2, the same grip as the GX-1 I use on Kermie, but with a short horn that adds another place for your hand to be. It’s especially good for climbing. I have found myself worrying about slipping off the end of my 1′s, though thankfully it hasn’t happened. The horn is just long enough, and in just the right place, so I won’t have to worry about changing my favorite hand position on the bike. I had traditionally not liked “bar ends” or tree hooks as I call them, but I”m willing to try them out in CO, where there will be a LOT of climbing. I’m getting Kermit’s SSWC build fine tuned and I’m going to try the grips out on Wednesday Night Worlds, which will be my last “race” until the big day.

So, yeah, a pack was in the box too, a BD-2, which is one of the nicest packs I have ever seen. I used to be the US manager for several categories offered by a high end European sports company, and packs were one of the things I got to see a lot of. Ergon’s pack uses an exoskeleton of sorts, with the goal of supporting the weight of the pack with your hips, while keeping the pack away from the body.

A device called the Flink allows the shoulder and hip contact points to move independently of one another.

It’s cool, and I’ll give a detailed report on the pack very soon.

One of the biggest gripes I’ve had with my MULE, is that it hits me in the head when I roll down big rocks. The thing moves around a lot which can be a huge PITA, and it always changes depending on how full the water bladder is. There is no way to really anticipate what the pack will do at any given time once gravity takes over. I haven’t had the BD-2 on the trail yet, but I can’t wait. It is similar in size, although a little heavier. It sits way off my back though, I can pas my arm between the pack and my back, and if it performs as advertised, the extra weight will be no big deal.

Thank you Jeff! I have a box of stuff I am putting together for you, although it probably won’t be as cool as the one you sent me.

I also got a big box of tires from a company called Duro. They are a relatively “new” company, although they have been making tires for other companies for years. Maybe even tires that are on your bike right now. I got a few sets of 29er tires, CX tires and a couple of 26″ tires that I gave to the one person I know and still respect their opinion, that has obstinately refused to roll the big wheels.

Their first Duro branded 29er tire is the Miner. The tread pattern might be the love child begat from a Maxxis Minotaur and a Larsen. It is a skinny 2.1. I’m letting it sit overnight to see if it grows at all, but I expect that it is going to be a skinny “conditions permitting only” sort of tire. I rode the tire to pick up my car this afternoon, and all I can say, is that I spun out my singlespeed without really putting any effort into it.

The tires are FAST.

My set weighed in at 640g apiece, and I have them mounted up on Kermit for the race at Catamount. I’ll have a report on those forthcoming as well.

Well, that’s all I have for tonight. Except that the rumors are true… Dicky is coming to SSWC09!

So much has happened in he last 72hrs.

One of the hottest rides of the year on Friday

A truck bed full of Skittles on Saturday

A 25 mi road ride on Sunday in full matching spandex glory courtesy of Mike Stanley (sorry no pix on that one).

A certain endurance athlete is being silly, and now I have also just received a care package from Mr Jeff Kerkove to talk about first thing.

and now this guy is at my house….

At least now he is clean, and his clothes are freshly laundered.

We are all much happier now…

Dalonega GA, once the scene of the only gold rush in the east, is now home to some pretty sweet bike riding, and an ultra endurance event held by Eddie and Namrita O’Dea. Fool’s Gold is a 50 or 100 mile race, depending on how many laps you do (1 or 2).

DA and I went down last year, to represent Bike 29, as we were a proud sponsor. During our road trip, we made a lot of great friends, and got to ride some new and super fun trails. Earlier this year, Mandy was lucky enough to have a work trip coincide with Namrita’s Women’s Weekend, held at Mulberry Gap for a sample of the region’s finest single track.

Well, another year has passed, and Bike 29 is once again a proud sponsor of the Fool’s Gold race. This time, we are awarding prizes to the King and Queen of the mountain. The first climb on the course is a doozie, and we will reward the first male and female to crest the top.

And, as luck would have it, Mandy’s travel schedule has made it possible for her to compete in the race. She’ll be doing the 50 mile lap. She has been training hard for SSWC09. Having already finished 50 this year at SSAZ09, and with all the training she has done, I’m sure she will have a great race. Hopefully she remembers to take some pictures…

While Mandy is racing, I’ll be checking out some sweet new tires from Bontrager. I managed to get my hands on a set of Team FR tires. The sidewall says 2.35, but these suckers are huge! The near continuos center ridge on the high volume casings look like they will roll pretty fast on hardpacked surfaces, while the aggressive, deep tread blocks seem like they could pretty much tackle anything. The rubber seems fairly tacky but the tread blocks do not rebound quite as fast as a Nevegal when pushed with your thumb.

They are not light, but I wasn’t really expecting light. My tires weighed 1020g and 990g, and added .87 lbs to the overall weight of the WFO. Still under 33lbs, but with over 3/4lb of extra rotating mass. Oh well. It’s how well they hold onto the ground that concerns me.

The sidewall is  extra thick. The tires held their shape without even being on a rim, so I’m willing to bet you can run these tires at some atrociously low pressures. I’ll be getting my first ride on them tomorrow.

The Banders are coming! The Banders are coming!

After what I can only describe as a glacial waiting period, the end is finally in sight. The frames are on the water, and we’ll again begin to deliver one of the best values in mountainbiking once they land. This is what I have been waiting to drop on the general public for the last week.  We had to do some photos for the mothership, then I had to build it, and then I had to keep my fat mouth shut.

Because we have the right friends in the right places, we were able to get an up close and personal inspection of the new frame.  We were privy to a medium frame with the new Metal Flake Brimstone finish, and all I have to say is “holy hotness”.

The geometry of the new Bander has been modified to reflect the new (and I use this term loosely) “standard” of suspension fork, which is 470mm A-C, 46mm offset. You get the same beloved Wet Cat geometry that we all know and love, but now with extra front derailleur clearance from the rear tire.

The bike is sick. Anyone that is thinking about it should seriously think about getting on this bus.

Oh, yeah, I took those cemetery shots.

Special thanks to Vassago for the look, and the opportunity to build one of these things right! Stop by the shop to check it out. Reinforcements are coming.

So after several rides, I can equivocally say that this is one serious machine.
I’ve ridden this beast for 4 out of the last 6 days, all the while deciphering the cryptic Marzoccchi manual, and tweaking the best setting out of the DHX rear shock.

First and foremost, I am really amazed at how this bike climbs. I have had this bike out on trails that I know like the back of my hand, and I have a series of points on certain trails where I make judgments.
Despite the visual “low slung” BB height is actually very good. I normally tap out on this one section where I crest a waterbar on my RIP. Not so with the WFO. I’m also not sure if it is the overall stiffness of the frame, but I almost think this bike climbs better than the RIP. It’s almost JETlike.

Pulling up on the bars and getting out of the saddle with some grrr, you are rewarded with instantaneous acceleration. Yeah, the bike may bob a bit on both ends, but the way you can pull out of turns is incredible. For crying out loud, this is a bike with a ton of travel on both ends! I was expecting a pig, but I’m pleasantly surprised with a nimble beast that like to be pushed harder and further.

Point the bike down, and, well, it’s better than you can imagine… way better.
I find myself making motorcycle noises while riding it.

I’m almost positive this bike is out to get me…

So there it was, after all these months, the complete WFO sitting right in front if me, almost too much to behold.

This was a BIG BIKE!

As I previously stated, I barely had enough time to finish the bike before the pre-beer, post-work Saturday ride. There was no time for things like “checking air pressures” or “adjusting the handlebars” or any of that tomfoolery. There was only enough time for the cursory “did I tighten all the important bolts?” check before we launched up to ride Perry Hill.

There was also no weighing or measuring anything, so you can effectively call this a blind review. I like to think that I’ve ridden enough Niners over the years to know what Chris and Steve have up their sleeves.

We stayed on the low (yellow) trails, as the higher up ones at this time are practically unrideable due to the excessive rain we have had. Just when you think it will let up, two dry days turns into a 6 hour, 2″ deluge. Stupid weather….

Anyhoo, I made the first big climb from the tunnel with relative ease, despite feeling a bit boingy in spots where I had to give the pedals a little more oomff. I am a new user to the Fox DHX Air, so I had no idea where to run the settings. I did keep the damper at the highest setting- there are only 2 settings on this shock. At the top of the first climb, I decided to add a bit of air, going from the 140 that was in the can to 185 psi, and this made a world of difference in the boingy department. The bike became downright snappy!

Once we reached level ground, the bike was very flickable. My barometer for seeing how fast I’m going has been completely shot over the last few months. Lately, I’ve been riding with folks that are either way faster than me, or (sorry -no offense)  a lot slower. Since the crap weather has limited my terrain options lately, I have developed a new local loop that has a bit of everything in it. I have been spending a lot of time on this loop with the Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er, so I thought it would be a good comparison on my new test track.

Climbing:

My first experience was disorientation on this bike. Strange but completely true. I was ahead of where I thought I should be at any given time. On the climb, or on the flats, the places where I normally zone out simply vanished. Was I riding them that much faster? I must have been, because I was always surprised  when I came  across a mental trail marker.

“Holy crap! I’m here already.”

This bike pedals uphill much better than I expected a 5.5″ travel bike with a 140mm fork, especially with the insufficient air pressure in the rear shock. I would say it was at least as good as the RIP9, maybe even almost as good as the Jet9. Very surprising. Once I adjusted the pressure in the DHX, it was very clear to me that this bike has some skills that I can’t wait to find the limits on.

Flats:

Well, this seems like kind of a weird thing to judge a bike on, but sometimes you aren’t going up or down, and the flats can be where you win or loose a race. This is where I like to judge pedaling characteristics and geometry.

There is no doubt that this bike likes to go, and much like the Jet, you need to think further down the trail than you do with the RIP. You run out of room quickly, and if you are not thinking ahead, you can get closed out. Yes, I hit a tree in the first 20 minutes of the first ride OK?

Downhill:

OK, obviously this bike descends like you would not believe. Any pitch, any speed, the bike rolls and begs for more. It’s been a really long time since I’ve ridden a bike like this. It also really likes to catch air. There are a couple of spots on the trail where one can pop off, and pop off you can. Dr Jones, who was behind me at one point, remarked a rather incredible hang time at our joke jump. We normally get about 3″ of effortless air, but pretend like we are getting much more, but apparently I made about 3 feet with little effort.

I bet I had that rear shock set up just about right, and the new Fox Boost Valve was doing it’s thing. I will be spending some time dialing in this DHX, me likey!

Overall:

Yeah. Awesome. The Marzocchi is a fantastic fork. I have no idea how to set it up, but I muddled through and found a setting I liked. I found it to be stiff and at my whim, which is important to me. Dedicated review coming soon…

The back of the bike felt very stiff as well, I’m not sure if its because of the I9 wheels, or the Maxle rear end, but I couldn’t help but think that this is what is must be like to be 160 lbs and have a long travel bike, that does exactly what you want, when you want with no backtalk.

The Numbers:

Are you ready? Large frame, 135mm Maxle rear, DHX rear shock, I9s on Flow rims, Nevegal tires, Noir 22-36t cranks with 11-34t cassette, Elixir CR brakes, Marzoccchi tapered fork, Thomson stem, Easton Monkeylight bar, Ergon GE1 grips, Crank Bros Joplin post, WTB Devo saddle, X9 shifters, XT direct mount front, XO rear derailleur, and Crank Bros Acid Ti pedals.

32 lbs.

Here’s where it gets interesting:

HA: 63° – measured with my iphone

SA: 64°

Wheelbase: a shocking 45.5″!!!!!

BB height: 13.5″

I’m going to stop now, and will be back with another ride report shortly…

I suspect that all the 29er haters will have one less platform to spew their venom from. This represents an envelope that has yet to be pushed in the 29er world.

Big Bike. Big Fun.