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:

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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.

Jemez Love

First, I want to let everyone know that Cedro and Tunnel are open for riding. You better get out there quick because if it doesn't rain a lot this spring, they will be closed by June. I'm sure it is still wet way up at the highest points but the basic loops are open. I missed most of Otero but the little I did see was mostly clear.

Below are some pictures of Jemez Mountains rides where I remembered to use my camera  . Pretty sure they are half gone now after the fire last year. I'll head up there to check in about a month.

Charlie S.

Devinci Dixon SL Initial Review

My local shop recently became a Devinci Cycles dealer and I thought I'd help them out and order one right away. I chose the Dixon for a couple reasons: one is because I'm going to Sedona soon and the big hit style of bike is the preferred steed for that terrain, and the other is because my Maverick ML8 is getting long in the tooth and I thought the Dixon could give it a run for its money.

The Dixon is Devinci's All Mountain/Trail bike and has 145mm of travel in the back and 150mm in the Fox fork up front. I'm not going to get into all the particulars of the build, but the SL version is the nicest with a mixture of Easton Haven and SRAM equipment at a good price point (for this quality level and category) of $5,800.00.

The Devinci is a handsome bike-

Looks aside, the thing is a missile downhill. In fact, it is much more capable than me in that regard and I will never tap its full potential. It is definitely a "downhillers" bike though. It's a bit lighter in the front and begs to be thrown into the corners which is not my style (cause it's scary to do that). This is the Canadian heritage showing through of course.

The Dixon has a unique feature in that it has the option of 2 different geometries to choose from, which are adjustable in about 5 minutes with an Allen wrench. I have been riding it on the "low" setting but am going to change it this week to the high setting. You can see the differences below:

LO

ST   SA HA TT   CS   WB   BBH   SOH   HT     cm in deg deg mm in mm in mm in mm in mm in mm in S 42.0 16.5 72.7 67.0 560 22.0 426 16.8 1098 43.2 347 13.7 727 28.6 120 4.7 M 46.0 18.1 72.7 67.0 585 23.0 426 16.8 1124 44.3 347 13.7 753 29.6 130 5.1 L 49.5 19.5 72.7 67.0 610 24.0 426 16.8 1151 45.3 347 13.7 773 30.4 145 5.7 XL 53.5 21.0 72.7 67.0 635 25.0 426 16.8 1177 46.3 347 13.7 803 31.6 160 6.3

HI

ST   SA HA TT   CS   WB   BBH   SOH   HT     cm in deg deg mm in mm in mm in mm in mm in mm in S 42.0 16.5 73.2 67.5 560 22.0 424 16.7 1095 43.1 354 13.9 734 28.9 120 4.7 M 46.0 18.1 73.2 67.5 585 23.0 424 16.7 1121 44.1 354 13.9 760 29.9 130 5.1 L 49.5 19.5 73.2 67.5 610 24.0 424 16.7 1148 45.2 354 13.9 780 30.7 145 5.7 XL 53.5 21.0 73.2 67.5 635 25.0 424 16.7 1174 46.2 354 13.9 810 31.9 160 6.3

It's not a huge difference but if you are doing lift assisted biking at Winter Park one day, and riding singletrack high in the Rockies the next, it's a very worthwhile feature.  Around here I have a suspicion that the "high" setting will be more what I'm looking for since I don't have the skills to corner like a mad man, and the loose traction in these parts tries its best not to let you corner like that anyway. We will see.

Going up is no problem on the Dixon. It pedals as well as anything I have ridden in this category. It doesn't have the small-bump compliance of my ML8, but it is more efficient out of the saddle than the ML8 or most other bikes in this genre. It's no XC bike of course, but its not trying to be.

The Devinci uses Dave Weagle's Split-Pivot. This is all well documented out there on the internet so if you want more info on that, start google-ing. It is almost identical to the Trek suspension system though.

My Dixon is weighing in at just over 28lbs. with pedals and everything. That is pretty damn good. I will be adding a dropper post, and maybe changing the grips but other than that, the Dixon will pretty much stay as-built. Devinci has a lifetime warranty and the Dixon and all the other pricy models are made right in Canada, next to the mine where they get the aluminum and make the tubing. It's not America, but at least it's North America and our neighbor.

Charlie S.

Wifey is out of town so I'm Mr. Mom and my posts are going to be limited to photos. Here is one that will look familiar if you spend any time on the Bikeworks Albuquerque website- riding Animas City Mountain right next to Durango, CO. A great option if you don't feel like hitting the high country and short enough that you can squeeze in another nearby trail or two on the same day.

Charlie S.

Monarch Crest Mountain Biking Photo

Below is a photo of a Monarch Crest trip from years ago. As usual, I shoot my photos in RAW format, so if you click on the picture it usually expands and shows a nice amount of detail. If you look closely, you can see one of our stragglers making his way to our lunch spot. Of course we all left the minute he got there, but that's part of the game you play with the anchor rider- which is often me.

If you haven't taken the time to ride Monarch Crest Trail, it is a must-do. Use the shuttle service, High Valley Bike Shuttle, because it is dumb to ride up the highway. If you are a proper mountain biker, you will want to attach the Rainbow Trail to your Monarch ride via Silver Creek Trail. This makes for a longer ride that is so much better than just Monarch Crest since Silver Creek and Rainbow are awesome in their own right.

Charlie S.

Tunnel Canyon Trail Addition

It has come to my attention that there is going to be a new trail built on Tunnel Canyon (which is located east of Albuquerque, NM., for those of you who aren't locals). I am not clear as to whether this is a re-route or an addition, but a loyal Bikeworks customer has gone to the effort of sending me a map of the intended trail. As you can see this will cut off a fair amount of the original climb to the top of the ridge, and in particular the hard rocky climb at the beginning of Rambo. This will be a nice change for Tunnel regardless of how it plays out.

Charlie S.