Baggie Bibs

I ran across the Dirtbaggies the other day and thought the idea might be good for those of you bib lovers out there (I'm not really a fan). I'm trying to get my Dan Lucero to buy a pair so we can get his opinion. Of course the guy in the picture is a little goofy but the product seems well thought-out.

Hmmm...

Charlie S.

New Liteville Frame

I just ordered a Liteville 301 frame from the US importer, and in the process, Bikeworks chose to become one of only a select few dealers in the country. For those of you who don't know, Liteville is an Uber-German company with ties to Syntace (another Uber-Germ, who make some of the best components out there). It's kind of a Trail/AM bike with all sorts of geeky details. I couldn't possibly do it justice myself, so check them out at Liteville. They have more information and whatnot than any bike company website I have seen.

If you want to go check it out, the frame is over at Bikeworks right now, and will be hanging there for at least few weeks until I can get all the parts I need to build it up.

More importantly, during all my research on the frame, I encountered the video that I have linked below. I love it not because of the bike, but because the trail he is riding looks awesome and a bit scary.

http://vimeo.com/5993873

That is good stuff.

Charlie S.

12 Hours in the Wild West Report

Zia rides (Lyndsay) put on another good race this year. I was supposed to race but due to my leg injury, I gave my spot to Dan, which created a cascade of other Bikeworks guys deciding to go to the race, and then suddenly, the store was closed and everybody raced. I was there for emotional support, and to poke my finger in their thighs and hamstrings really hard late in the race to try and start a cramp.

The weather was ominous when we showed up. It was pouring rain, and had been for some time. It cleared up later that night, and the next day began with sun and blue sky. The rain from the night before was a memory, but dropped enough water that the race to be delayed one hour and caused a slight re-route of the major climb (and only real technical section) on the course.

Apparently the trail was very fast this year because people were beating their times by about 15 minutes or more. I hiked up on the course to take a couple photos and it definitely was a harder packed surface than last year.

The rain tried again just before the end of the race. It was halfhearted, but I felt bad for anybody out on the course late because the temperature dropped quite a bit as well.

                                               Dan and Dan taking it easy on the first lap

                                             Dan and Dan taking it easy on the last lap

                                                         Dr. Dave waiting for Dr. Jeff

                                                       Mike waiting for Maggie

Good Times.

Charlie S.

Trans-Alp Tour Guide

I just read about a tour operator, Wilderness Breaks, that does a Trans-Alp style trip that sounds awesome. Unlike some other tour companies, this one seems to understand what's important- Singletrack, and more downhill vertical than uphill.

It is 10 days of riding from Geneva to Monaco with over 60,000 vertical feet of descending! This is a British outfit that caters mostly to Brits (and even has some American trips) but us Yanks are more than welcome.

It is a pretty good deal at $2,400.00 +/- for all breakfasts and dinners, all lodging, airport transfers, and lift tickets for the uplifts. That leaves you to buy lunches (and I assume-some alcohol).

Cash in some frequent flyer miles and get it done.

Charlie S.

Schwalbe Hans Dampf Impressions

Schwalbe makes some good tires and the Hans Damf 2.35 is no exception.  It was designed to be an "all-arounder" and was developed specifically with North America in mind with all the varied conditions we can see in different parts of the country.

The Hans Dampf is a Proper 2.35. When cornering hard, I can get it to rub the chainstay. I really like that mine both weighed in at around 780 grams. That is bad ass! These are potential trail tires extraordinaire! They have stronger sidewalls "Snakeskin"- Schwalbe's nomer, and are tubeless ready (not UST).

I mounted them up on two different bikes and headed out to Sedona, AZ. to see if they would make me a hero. They did very well but I didn't manage to achieve hero status. Sedona doesn't have a huge amount of variable conditions- there is slickrock, and loose sandy stuff, and that's it, but they did just fine. They did what they were asked and sometimes more, and the more I rode them the more I liked them, and trusted them.

I have ridden the foothills a handful of times on them too. Again, they pretty much do what is asked. When they do let go on the corners, they do it predictably. I only ride on tires this wide once in awhile (usually Moab or Sedona)  and I have noticed that they can float around a bit, and loose traction earlier on the loose-over-hardpack trails of the Albuquerque foothills and similar areas. The Hans did this too, but not as bad as other tires this size that I have tried, so I'd actually put that in the positive column for Hans.

They feel like they roll pretty dampf well for their size and level of traction, and I'm excited to try them on the longer rides in the East Mountains and up at altitude.

On the negative side, the knobs are "chunking" and "mushrooming" (like most Schwalbes do) and they will probably wear down quicker than most tires. The price paid for the triple compound rubber and whatnot...Of course, Schwalbe being Schwalbe, they are freaking expensive!

There are definitely tires that do some things better, but these are very good all-around tires at a great weight. The price is too high and the level of wear too high for them to appeal to the majority of riders, but if you want a great all-conditions tire in a large size, at at low weight- then the Hans Dampf is your bad boy.

Charlie S.

KS Dropper Posts

If you follow my posts you know that I have decided that I really like dropper posts. After trying the Rockshox post, I ordered two KS (Kind Shock) dropper posts to give them a try. One zero offset and one with a lot of offset and they are both good-looking designs. They seem very well made with quality materials and no noticeable weaknesses. I like them both the same but they were for different bikes so they are slightly different. The Dropzone has only 75mm of travel and has a 15mm offset head (the post in the photos), the Super Natural has a zero offset head and 100mm of drop. I believe that for trail riding, I only need about 60mm or so of drop because I still like to be able to grip the saddle between my legs, but no one is making this dropper post yet.

The KS posts leave no left-to-right slop from the saddle, which is nice, but I have to admit that, when I'm riding, I don't notice the play on dropper posts that do wiggle.

The install was easy as I didn't have to trim the line, but it would have been easy even if I did. The cable has a simple lock-ring with an small Allen bolt to hold it in place. Trimming is as easy as: adjust the cable length as necessary, bolt the lock-ring back on, and just pop it back in the tab that holds it in place and it's ready.


Its action both up and down was smooth and controlled. I have nothing to complain about here.

The best thing about the KS is how slim the thumb lever is. With handlebars getting more cluttered these days, it's nice when things don't take up any more space than they have to. I have small hands (my feet are pretty big- in case you were wondering) too, so it is important that I can reach the controls for everything on my bars, and the small width of the thumb lever helps with that.

I'm still not very proficient with the use of any of my dropper posts. My muscle memory isn't quite there yet, and my thumb fails to find the lever on the first try quite often, but I assume this will get better. Especially on the ones I ride the most often. For those of you with only one bike, or plan to only have one dropper on one of your bikes, this should be a moot point.

I still think dropper posts have a long way to go before they are really just a standard item we have on our bikes, but they are only going to get better.

I bought a Crank Bros. Kronolog dropper post just before I broke my leg. It will be awhile before I can tell you about it. KS has quite a few models and sizes of dropper posts so be sure to research them before you order.

Charlie S.

Broken Leg

I broke my leg! the lower part of my Fibula has a spiral fracture down near the ankle. I took a corner on the bike path too quickly and washed out on the very edge of Comanche road. It took a lot of determination to get my bike out of the road while in that much pain (my body was mostly out of the road already somehow). My ankle was the thing that broke my fall. It happened so quick I didn't have time to get a hand off the bars. I was going too fast (due to some liquid courage) and those cross tires don't rail the asphalt like I thought they would. So I will be posting more soon but my leg still hurts enough that I don't move around much now.

That is a beautiful Canckle!

Charlie S.

Enduro Race - The Whole Enchilada

I had heard about this race and then David tipped me off about the website. This group is doing a Enduro style race of the Whole Enchilada ride in Moab. It is a really cool format too because it is going to be in Time Trial style with racers going every 30 seconds or so. They are mostly downhill so I won't be adding it to my endurance race lists, but they are undoubtedly more fun and less suffering than those anyway.

The Whole Enchilada ride is about 27 miles of almost-all-downhill mountain bike sweetness that starts at about 10,300 ft, climbs to 11,200 ft and then pretty much plunges all the way down to the Colorado River- about 7000 ft of descending.

Also cool is the other two Enduro style events that they are promoting. I've done the trail they are using on the Kennebec Pass and that is one of the finest single routes in Colorado. I haven't done the Steamboat bit, but I'm sure its awesome too. 

From the Promoter:

• Home
• Why Enduro?
• Event Information
• Contact Us

World class enduro racing in the mountain biking mecca of Moab

SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2012 • MOAB, UTAH BURRO PASS • HAZARD COUNTY • UPS • LPS • PORCUPINE RIM REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 16, 2012 We will have two waves for registration for The Whole Enchilada one at 7 a.m. and one at 8 p.m. so the early birds and the not so early birds have equal opportunity to register. Once the morning session fills up, registration will say it's full and it will reopen again at 8 p.m. Register here for The Whole Enchilada at 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday, April 16! Check out our other two Big Mountain Enduro events, BME #1, Buff Pass Enduro July 20-22 and BME #2, Kennebec Pass Enduro August 31 - September 2. Registration for these events will also open Monday, April 16 at 7 a.m. BME #1, Buff Pass Enduro Registration BME #2, Kennebec Pass Enduro Registration No other enduro race has attempted to race down the most acclaimed trail in Moab, a top five in the U.S. and perhaps one of the most distinguishable trails in the world. At 30 miles and 7,000 feet of descending, The Whole Enchilada Enduro turns an epic all-day ride into a test of fitness and technical skills as riders race from the top of the La Sal Mountains down through four different climate zones to Porcupine Rim, where they finish just above the Colorado River. On top of the unique race course, The Whole Enchilada Enduro smothers the race experience with a shuttle to the top, exclusive event schwag, post race meal, and awards where tales of the race will unfold among good food, great friends, and the soothing sounds of the Colorado river at the Grandstand camp ground. Racers will start in their respective start waves at Geyser pass. The first section of the race from Geyser pass (road) to Burro Pass will not be timed, However the order that you arrive at Burro pass will be the order in which you will start in a time trial format from Burro Pass. We will most likely be running a 30 second intervals, but their is the possibility that we may make it a 1 minute interval. As soon as the first rider arrives at burro pass we will immediately start sending riders off. Making the whole enchilada a time trial start format. This start format will allow riders who are there to win it to charge hard to Burro pass and get in line so fewer riders are in front of them and also not have a time associated with the climb. While allowing the recreational racer an experience of great fun and lesser competition. What sets this race apart from any other are the terrain variations from Burro Pass, Hazard County, UPS, LPS and Porcupine Rim that will challenge the most talented riders with steep climbing sections and miles and miles of descending through wooded forests, aspen groves and open meadows, jump lines through gambel oak, smooth and flowy singletrack, and into high desert technical riding and ledgy drops. The Whole Enchilada Enduro is a test of a different kind of fitness. It will test stamina and strength of long travel descending. The local guide books say to allow 4 to 6 hours to complete this ride, at a recreational pace. Based on some local information we are thinking the winning pro time will be about an hour and thirty minutes. This race will test your bike handling skills as well as your overall fitness – it is about the best all-around trail rider that can tackle any type of terrain, the fastest! As the horizons of racing continue to broaden, this enduro style of racing speaks to all riders- spandex, baggies and full-faced. It captures the attention of the media with images of destination riding, spectacular scenery and the excitement and glory that goes hand-in-hand with racing. One of the first of its kind in the U.S., The Whole Enchilada Enduro will be the first of an unprecedented epic enduro racing category brought to you by Bigfoot Productions.

 Charlie S.

Sedona Mountain Biking Fun

We had so much fun in Sedona that I was too tired to post until just now. We did about five different rides and had time for more but about half of us (myself included) were too pooped to pedal anymore, so we returned to the condo, and the liquor, and the pool, and the hot tub... Talk about a sausage fest.

Here are some picks (of the riding, not the sausage fest)-

                                                        Kip gets rad the first afternoon

                                  Dan and Rich finally realize which way the rest of us went

                                                    One of us on the way out of Hangover

                                                Route finding on High on the Hog

Sedona is really good riding!  I think it's probably a better overall destination than Moab- especially if you consider that Flagstaff is only 45 minutes away and has numerous trails as well. Some of the good trails are on maps nowadays, but not all of them, so definitely stop into some shops or hook up with someone who knows the scoop. It is pricey in Sedona though, but deals can be had if you pick the right weekend or have enough advance notice.
Charlie S.

Going to Sedona for a few days. I Should have a few reviews ready to go next week after all our riding. I will take more pictures this time.
 
Totally unrelated to Sedona, are the photos below of the Peaks Trail in Breckenridge. It is a nice out and back, or there are a number ways to incorporate it into a loop.

Charlie S.