I’ve gotten quite a few quality rides on this machine so far, and I have to say I’m impressed. To some, the idea of a full suspension singlespeed might go against the very concept of simplicity – the single speed way. I suppose it’s true, but like Han Solo once said “hey, it’s me!”. I like to tinker, and why have limits if you don’t have to?

Bikes are supposed to be fun, and if I can’t have any fun on a bike, then why ride it? Rigid singlespeeds are fun, but only under certain conditions. I can’t ride one on super technical terrain very fast, or for very long. Adding a fork definitely helps things out, allowing me to ride longer and more comfortably. Still those longer rides beat me up. I mean, I can still DO THEM, but I feel terribly banged up anymore. Enter the next level of singlespeeding, front AND rear squish. My Niner Jet 9 RDO was hankering for some tinkering.

Having ridden just about any trail I would ever want to ride on my SS locally (there are ones I don’t), I can say that without a doubt, this weird bird flies. And flies well. Having put on a good show a couple of weekends ago over in Sterling Valley, and the Kingdom, I got another ride in on my locals, which basically was the deal sealer. I only had to walk one hill early in the ride, but that was because of lack of fitness and a cranky knee, and it is a steep assed hill. I’m not too proud to walk when I ought to.

something that should have no place on a SS?

So what makes it work? Oddly enough, it’s the rear derailleur. With any full suspension bike, you are going to have to deal with chain growth. Some grow more than others, just the nature of the beast. Niner’s CVA design has minimal chain growth, which makes things a lot easier for me. In a geared scenario, the rear derailleur handles the changing chain length by allowing the pulley cage to pivot as it needs too, which is how your squishy bike works, because the cage changes position relative to what gear you are in. If you take a look, one might bounce up and down on their FS bike, you might notice the cage moves a little bit. Now take away all the rest of the gears. Now you have a lot of extra chain flopping about. Now, as you don’t need all that extra chain, you can take as many links out as you can to stretch that cage out as far as you can while still allowing it to move. Again, the key here is that the Niner has minimal chain growth, so I can get that chain pretty darn tight and still have some movement on the deraiileur. Also important to note, you’ll want to use the shortest cage derailleur as possible to use the shortest amount of chain possible. Road derailleurs work great.

the transmission

Chainline is pretty crucial too, you don’t want it feeding onto the cogs at a funny angle, or you run the risk of having the chain walk off on you at some inopportune time. That is not fun. I run a shift cable through the barrel adjuster and anchor it right where I want it to keep everything lined up.

And pedaling induced suspension bob? Yeah, you’ll have some of that. But thanks to the miracle of modern rear shock technology, this is greatly minimized. Now, obviously you aren’t going to make a full blown DH bike into a singlespeed. This sort of nonsense is really only applicable to XC rigs, with short to mid travel. I found that the aluminum Jet was an absolutely fantastic choice for this with the Shreddie Van Halen experiment. The CVA suspension design, along with a few others do a pretty good job of isolating pedaling force from bump force, so if you have a smooth out-of-the-saddle pedaling style (like me!), you aren’t going to have much of an issue.

Shreddie

So why would I do this? Because I can, and so should you! Here’s to the next level of singlespeeding!

Get out there!

Not even a joke.

Bike 29 has been my entire life for the last 6.5 years. I started out with an idea, and somehow built my little mini-empire with the help of some great friends and a ton of hard work. Just goes to show you what is possible when you put your mind to it.

Change is good, and I think the ship will swiftly sail to new adventures with a new captain. I’ve taken it as far as I can go, and it’s time for me to step down.

So if you are considering getting into the bicycle industry, or are looking to expand your portfolio, I’ll be taking SERIOUS enquiries.

Until then, it’s business as usual.

Have a great weekend!

Late for my race report. Sue me.

This last weekend was my 3rd appearance at the Darkhorse 40. It’s a fun race. This time however, I was only responsible for 20 miles of the 40, as I was racing in the co-ed duo class with Ginger. When I signed up for the race, I was out in Tucson for SSAZ, and Ginger was undecided as to wether she was going to want to race or not, but I let the offer stand to spilt the race up with her. A few months after we returned to the East Coast, she had made her choice. We were going to run the race as a team. But she was still not decided as to wether or not she was going to race gears or single.

I had signed up for the expert singlespeed category, so I was semi commited to running what I brung. I made the offer to Ginger, if she raced singlespeed, I would wear a dress. She accepted.

I look good, I mean, REAL good

Now, some people might feel odd about my decision to dress up in women’s clothing, and they are entitled to their opinions. However, I grew up in a country where it is perfectly acceptable for men to dress up like the ladies.

I did it as incentive to get Ginger to ride her singlespeed, but mostly I did it because I thought it would be funny, and I didn’t get to play dress up at SSUSA as I didn’t ride.

Well, I was the only one wearing a costume. But, all the ladies thought I looked good, and I have to say, I was a lot cooler than I would have been had I been wearing my tight and brights. The dress is pretty much made out of the same stuff bike clothes are made of, only I was pretty much pretty much topless. I did have some issues with the hem snagging my saddle, but I was able to deal. In fact, my only real issue was that the bow jiggled itself untied very quickly.

So about my lap. I was overgeared. Stewart is a bit of a bastard. The singletrack is punchy, and the roads that tie it all together are flat. And I am out of shape. I probably would have been fine on my A9C with the 34/20 I picked out, but I was lugging 3 more lbs of bike with me. Which bike? The Speedwagon. More on that tomorrow… But alas I was behind my gear most of the time, and with the near 90° heat with a bizzillion % humidity, I was a hurting unit. I walked a lot of stuff I could have ridden if I had just a bit more MO. I still managed to turn in a lap time close to my goal of 1:45, and I stopped for beer twice, and water. I only had 1 bottle available to me on the bike, no place to stick a second on my hot little outfit.

When I could get speed though, I crushed. FS SS is the jam. In fact, I am not replacing my A9C at all. Nor am I selling my RDO. I will be offloading some sweet parts pretty soon though so stay tuned  for that. It just makes things so much more fun, and to not have to worry about which line to take through the rock gardens, well… Needless to say, the RDO is getting repurposed.

I tagged out with my partner, and off she went, leaving me to get changed and hang out while everyone else rode 20 more miles. Or not. Half of the WaBrah contingent pulled out after 20. For good reason too. Our crew is so banged up it isn’t even funny, and Stewart was hungry. I had a beer with DH George while getting changed at the car, and he said that about 65 had already DNF’d, and at least 3 people had been pulled from the course in bloody heaps. I was stoked for my 20, and hoped that Ginger was having a good enough time to get hers in too.

smiling is winning

Turns out, she was!

We somehow missed the protest window, which put us in 5th place. We would have had 4th had we been more vigilant, but oh well. We both had a blast, and that is all that mattered. We were still one place away from prizes, but we both know that we gave it a good solid effort.

 

 

Some may remember that my WFO experiment began way back in October of last year. The experiment began as Weapon X, with the goal to create a baddass trail bike that could take on our tight and twisty New England trails. It was born from my experiences with my previous WFO which was aptly named Honey Badger, due to its cantankerous nature. It just didn’t give a shit.

As I’ve spent most of my time this year on Weapon X, I found that my experiment was excelling at some things, and falling short elsewhere. This is all part of the game, and improvements and refinements were made along the way. Without my incessant tinkering I would not have made all the changes to this bike that have drastically improved the way it performs.

First and foremost, I found that the stock Rock Shox Monarch rear shock, while a very capable unit, was not living up to my expectations. It is quite tuneable, but the spring rate is linear, meaning it feels pretty much the same throughout it’s range of motion.  I’ve been riding full suspension bikes since ’96, and I’ve always used the rear shock to do a lot of the work for me (it’s why its there). My riding style is biased towards the rear of the bike, and I expect the rear shock to load up and provide some pop when coming out of a bump or exiting a turn. The Monarch was just not getting it done. I ‘d have to run so much air pressure that the bike would ride too harshly over rough terrain.

time to start the reactor

Enter the DHX air, which has a nice bottom out resistance setting. That’s the little extra dodad that sticks out of the shock like Quato. I can now run the shock  soft enough where it literally flutters over the bumps without worrying about blowing through all the travel. In other words, it ramps up quite nicely, and it delivers the sort of performance I expect out of a bike like this.

squeeze here...

...stop here

Also new, are the new 4 piston Avid XO Trail brakes. I only have a couple of rides in on them, so they haven’t developed full power yet, but I can say that lever feel is consistent with other Avid brakes I own, and hauling my ass to a stop on anything is a mere 1 finger effort, even when the old XO brakes might take 2. Looking forward to full power.

Plus I got to build up a new set of wheels for the bike that are more along the lines of my style. The old wheels are already on their way to their new home. While cleaning them up, I checked them over to make sure they were still good etc… Still round and straight after a few seasons of abuse, just in case you were wondering why I use the I9 wheels….

electroviolet

engagement, stiffness, a Jedi craves these things

Stan’s had just released their Flow EX rim, which has a 3mm wider inner width than the standard Flow. What does this mean?

wide

I measured the Hans Dampf as a legit 2.3 on the old Flow (measured at the casing).

MOAR WIDE!

I like big tires. I picked up 40g per wheel on this upgrade, which isn’t enough to get me in a fuss, considering I had spent a few weeks on 1100g tires.

The bike has been evolving from experiment to result, and it has taken on a whole new personality. I sort of felt like it might be time to give the bike a real name, as it has certainly earned it’s worth, and a permanent spot in my stable. Much in the same way Logan started as an experimental Weapon X, he became known as the Wolverine, I’ve given my Weapon X a new handle.

sweeten the ride

This, is Black Sunshine.

 

It all started on Monday. I was moving a bunch of bikes around in the shop, and pulled out my partially disassembled Fisticuff from the hook it has been swinging from for the last few years.I knew what needed to happen.

Townie.

beer getter

I needed a bike that I can go get a coffee on, or lunch, get beer, or to go down to Jonsy’s print shop and hang out. Something low stress. Turns out I had just about everything I needed jut hanging out in random boxes, except for a few items, which I quickly procured. I had to think good and hard about how I wanted the project to finish, and took a little bit of a risk on the handlebars. I think it payed off.

keeping it classy

ESP 9.0 brake levers, remember these plastic things?

Paul WORD disc hubs

XTR cranks w/ Spot chainring

This bike is a hoot to ride. I’ve spent quite a bit of time bombing around town on it, looking for any excuse to hop on it and pedal. I’ve also taken it on some non errand type rides too. I had a nice evening jaunt with the dog down behind the empty State Complex, casually rolling through the parking lots and grassy knolls. I began thinking about the Fisticuff, and how I had never really “gotten it” until just now. It was always a weird bird, I had a hard time finding it’s purpose, but I’m glad I finally did. The result is a very well balanced and dead sexy cruiser.



Sadly, Vassago is no longer, and I found myself thinking of my old friends who have moved on to the next things in life. It’s a crazy world out there with many hurdles to clear, but the company just didn’t wether the storm. They made good bikes that made a lot of people happy, including myself. The stoke lives on.

 

I love each and every one of my bikes, but I really only ever ride one at a time. I’ve tried riding multiple bikes at once, and I almost ended up in stitches. In light of my attrition to “competitive” cycling this season, I’ve been thinking more about about what I need, vs what I want. Thankfully I’m not in the position of having to “get by” with what I have, I have an amazing arsenal of bikes at my disposal.

No, I’m in the process of pairing down. There is nothing worse than to be riding one bike, and thinking that you’d be having so much more fun on another. This little demon has been inside my head for the last few years, and it’s time for him to stop. I have to admit, this whole crabon availability nonsense has given me pause to reflect  my own personal bike needs. I’ve had “more fun” on my WFO than any other bike this season. Granted we’re just getting going, but I don’t see that changing much. The RDO is a hoot to ride, but it isnt exactly what I’m looking for in a bike. That isnt to say it’s not worthy, because it very much is. I have no problem riding a 24lb bike with top shelf components on it. It moves like they do.

But my 32 lb slugger with 5 lbs of tires does too.

But maybe my problem lies in that I am topped out with the RDO, there is not really anywhere to improve it. My inner bike nerd needs room for tweaks and obsessing. Maybe that is why I appear to enjoy riding the WFO more. And I have all sorts of tweaks planned for that bike over the summer, which I’ll begin talking about tomorrow.

From Cyclingnews.com

“It must be confusing for some riders to see the new 650B wheel size now becoming available and under discussion. Not to mention what will bike shop owners think if they have to start stocking three standards of frames, shocks, tires, wheels and forks. How can you still recommend a bike and not confuse your customer?

In that case, I would focus totally on a concept bike shop with only 29ers because I totally believe in the biggest wheel size. I think it would work for 95 percent of bike shop customers just as it works for myself.”

Christoph Sauser — World Cup Champion

You can read the full article here.

 

Hmm, does anyone know of any shops that do this?

In the end, it doesn’t matter what size your wheels are, you just need to use them. Get out there and ride! Have a great weekend!

The experiment in headangle nonsense continues.

After much geeking around with M2 with various angleometers and plumb bobs, I had decided to try the WFO with a standard inset. I popped out the Cane Creek Angleset, and pushed in a Chris King, the last black one they had in stock. I had some other minor tweaking to do to the bike while it was in the stand, so I took the opportunity to take care of these niggly little adjustments.

new headset

My schedule had me free in the afternoon, which was right about the same time the nasty weather was supposed to arrive. It was cold and windy when I loaded the bike onto the car, but I was pretty sure I was going to be able to sneak in a ride up at the Loops. While passing past the old shop, I saw the rather nasty sight of snow falling up on the Worcesters. Meh. I was going to ride anyway.

My knee at this point is still recovering from last Saturday’s attempt at a ride, so I had to take it pretty easy. Out of the saddle pedaling was not an option, so I ended up not being able to climb up the things the way I wanted to without my leg buckling. Double meh. But that is not what this ride was about. I could afford to take it easy on the climby parts.

I had fiddled with the fork some more, and I felt like I was getting close to the sort of performance I had been expecting. I’ll have to keep playing with it, as a phone call to PUSH learned me that they do not yet service the new 34 platform. With that out of the way, I can now focus on getting the rear shock more to my liking. The Monarch feels plush, but I’m still having fits getting the air pressure right.

I like big tires and I can't deny...

The Schwalbe Hans Dampf tires continue to amaze. They have now grown a little beyond their 2.35 designation, and are approaching 2.4. Grip is amazing. So far 20 psi seems to be a good pressure. Not the fastest rolling tire, but that isn’t what it is about. It simply hooks up, on any type of terrain, wet or dry. Possibly my new favorite aggressive tire.

storms a comin'

In the tight and twisties, the bike has taken on a new level of lethatlity. The steering is so much better with the standard inset. In fact, it sort of surprised me a little, I was expecting the bike to be heavy handed through certain spots, but I actually felt I had better control and speed through some of the tighter sections. In fact, there is one particular turn on Squirrel Land that has a long perpendicular root right in the middle of a turn, which you normally hit at speed. My normal line is to the outside, but for some reason at the last second I thought I’d get after the inside line. The bike obliged with no hoohaw, and I was able to set myself up for the next series of roots rocks and turns.

Super awesome.

The weather was deteriorating the whole time I was out there, but I decided I would ride my test loop in it’s entirety. Besides, Seamus was having a good time, and he doesn’t care about getting wet. It hadn’t started raining in earnest, but the wind was picking up, and it was DARK. I finished my ride and got back to the car just in time.

deluge

Haha! Snuck that one in!

Sorry, but your regularly scheduled blog post has been interrupted by this important announcement.

I need everyone to pay attention to me...

A cannonball of sorts, I’m talking about the introduction of the new, super svelte, Niner AIR9 RDO. So I’m dropping it like it’s hot.

This is not the same bike as the current A9C, rather an updated version geared more to the XC racer or turbo weight weenie. The bike features new rear dropouts that run the brake mount on the chainstay instead of the seat stay, reducing weight and adding a bit more compliancy to the rear end. Some folks think the current A9C is a little too stiff in this area, causing a harsher ride, and the new design addresses this. Makes sense for, especially for those who climb in the saddle (unlike us singlespeeders).

The CYA BB is also gone, and is replaced with a Press Fit 30 interface, further streamlining the look and defining it as a geared only bike (although there are eccentric BB30 adapters out there… hmmm…). ***I’ve just been told by a reputable source that the eccentric BB30 does not work with this frame, so it’s geared only folks. I will straight up mock anyone that runs a dangulator on this bike.*** The headset cups are co-molded into the headtube, and the cable routing is said to be much improved over the previous design, giving us a sweet looking ride that is almost 1/2 lb lighter over the current A9C.

Colors are Kermit and Licorice.

There are only 50 complete bikes, built with extra swanky and light American Classic Race wheels, a race worthy XTR component group, Niner’s RDO carbon bars and seatpost, RDO aluminum stem, and an oh-so-hot painted to match SID XX fork. All this for only $6199. Schwing. Delivery is expected to be at the end of this month.

I’d recommend calling me today to get on this bus, because it is leaving the station. The shop line is 802.244.7330 or you can email me @ george”at”bike29.com. But if you are waiting for Uncle Sam to give you back some money, you needn’t fret. Frames will be coming some time in mid-late March, and will be available for $2099, and you can pair them with either the same awesome matching SID, or a matching RDO crabon fork.

I wanted to quickly address a comment that was left by Andrew on the blog regarding the Spot:

I remembrer seeing a number of reviews that said the 2011 platinum ox versions were welded right there in CO. Looking at the frame price, I’d be willing to pay a bit more for a frame made in the US (spend local, right?), but if they’re welded oversees, how do they justify a $1400 frame price, when a niner SIR (and a number of other higher end SS frames) are priced at $900-1000? I don’t know. Those dropouts look sweet, and I’ve heard it rides great, but I don’t know if it’s worth a $400-500 surcharge The Platinum OX frames were indeed US made, but they simply could’t keep production inline with demand. Long story short, they ended up taking production overseas, and upgrading the tubes to Reynolds 853. I myself thought that the $1400 price tag was a bit steep for a foreign frame, despite the intricate dropouts. You could buy a custom Walt Works for just about he same kind of money.  It was explained to me that the price was a result of the Kobe drop outs. I certainly gained a bit more sympathy for the price after actually seeing the dropout in person, but the price still seemed high. As Andrew points out, there are other 853 frames that are much more attractively priced, but after spending some quality time on the Spot, I started to see where the Rocker really stood out amongst the rest. It is specifically designed around the belt drive, and after reading some of the feedback and experiences of others with the belt on the webiverse, I think there are aspects to this frame that justify the higher price. Fortunately, what has happened since I took delivery of the bike, is that there was a pretty decent price reduction in the frame. It went from $1399 to $1199, which positions the bike more appropriately against the competition. While a lot of people are still on the fence about the whole belt drive thing, my experiences with it have been positive, and I feel that we might see some more of these types of bikes out on the trail. After spending the last couple of weeks riding the Spot, I have decided that this bike, and all of the technology that comes with it, is something that is both awesome, and something that belongs in the B29 stable. It rides like no other bike I have ridden. Over the next few days, I’ll be adding more Spot Brand products to the catalog, including belt drive components. I’ll be offering the complete line up, frames and complete bikes, so if you are interested in getting on a belt drive, I’m the guy to talk to.