Spring is coming…..
March 7th, 2011So the weather is starting to turn for the better hopefully the bitter cold is behind us and we can get to some comfortable riding. The shop is starting to pick up and 2011 product is rolling in weekly. Now is the time to get your bike in for a spring service and beat the rush. Just too add a little motivation to everyone out there here is a pic of Lucky and Tomas Ludwig hitting up the trainers…..they are getting ready to tear up the NYS MTB series this season……
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2011 rides ready to roll…
February 26th, 2011Well the weather has been questionable the last few weeks but I have managed to get in some quality training. Looking at the extended forecast it looks like the temps are beginning to rise so I’m happy about that. The Sunday morning ride will officially kick off in a week or two depending on the weather. So here are a few pics of a couple sweet bikes that I built up this week for some happy customers….the mtb is a 2011 Santa Cruz Blur XC with a rp23 rear shock and a x9/xo build…..the second bike is a 2011 Red line Conquest Team. This is a super nice cross bike its built with sram force, an aluminum frame with a carbon fork and stays…..Sub 18 lbs stock…. This is a good time to get your bike in for a spring service…get your ride ready for the season so when the first nice day comes you’ll be prepared to get out and ride….
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going big
January 20th, 2011This winter has been wreaking havoc on my training. The weather has been bad and these darn storms every week not so good. I managed to get out today for a long ride and it wasn’t too bad although the high temp for the ride was 29 deg. so I headed out and wa splanning on hitting pekamoose from 213 then 52 and then finishing with 44/55. Well at the bottom of pekamoose I open up the jackets and stuffede my hat and gloves into my pockets….well at the top I went to put every thing back on and of course my hat was missing…so I had to go all the way back down to get it. Then climb back up and finish my ride…6375 ft of climbing later I made it home…holy crap that was a hard ride. And now another freaking storm is coming…..I wonder what is doing? riding 5 + hours solo is kinda hard in this weather…..
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Cold ride and New Bontrager Helmets….
January 14th, 2011So I did 4 hours today and it was a bit chilly…My fingers were quite frozen by the end. I think its been a bit colder this Jan so far compared to last year. I guess it only makes you stronger or so they say. I f I was a big time rider I would be on my way to Tucson…….any way check out these Helmets…
Quick look: Leopard-Trek’s 2011 team helmets from Bontrager
VeloNews tech editor Nick Legan is in Mallorca this week at the Team Leopard-Trek training camp. He’ll be reporting in on the team’s new gear and other news as the week progresses. His first offering is a quick look at the team’s new helmets.
The Bontrager Oracle is claimed to have “18 percent” better airflow than competitors, thanks to its single large vent in the front.
The company says wind tunnel testing shows it more aerodynamic than its competitors, especially at yaw angles.
The lid has an in-molded carbon fiber skeleton and will be available in early summer for about $200.
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Rumblefish Awarded Best 29er Product of 2010
January 7th, 2011Top Ten 29″er Products Of 2010: Gary Fisher Bikes Rumblefish II
December 28th, 2010 by Guitar Ted
Editors Note: Yeah, yeah…..another year end review! Tis the season! So, here are my favorite things that have passed through the Twenty Nine Inches review process during the past year. I want to point out a few parameters that I used for what I chose here.
1. The product had to be in the review process during the time period of December 2009 through to the end of November 2010. Reviews that are currently in process I did not include and will be eligible for my 2011 Top Ten list.
2. They had to be products or bicycles that I personally used during this period. Nothing any of the other Twenty Nine Inches staff reviewed on their own could be considered for my list. This list doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone but me, Guitar Ted.
3. The reviewed products were provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. I was not paid or bribed for this review. I will give/gave my honest opinion or thoughts through out.
That said, let’s get on with this……
Number 1: Gary Fisher Bikes Rumblefish II: The Rumblefish was Fisher’s take on a Trail/AM rig with big wheels. Featuring several new frame enhancements over the old HiFi line and new damper technology not seen before in 29″er wheels, the Rumblefish was an impressive introduction.
Why It Made The List: The Rumblefish II was introduced in August 2009 as a trail bike that had “only” 110mm of rear travel. Claiming some amazing benefits, I was rather skeptical going in. However; the Rumblefish II was simply the most amazing, spot on full suspension bike I rode in 2010. It not only did what it claimed going in, but with some of the new technology present on this bike, the Rumblefish redefined what could be possible with 29 inch wheels in a full suspension context.
My Two Cents The Hi Fi line before the Rumblefish was decent, but was plagued with issues in regards to the rear swing arm. Not only did Fisher solve these issues, but they employed a technology that had been being used on Trek FS bikes called the “Active Brake Pivot”, or “ABP” for short. It was originally developed to separate braking forces from affecting suspension action, (and it works wonderfully in that regard, by the way), but it had a secondary, important effect upon the frame design. It made the rear end stiffer by lowering the rear pivot point closer to the tire contact patch and lessening the lever effect the wheel has on the swing arm. Besides this, the swing arm recieved several other tweaks that made the structure stiffer and the wheel base shorter to boot. Then there is the DRCV damper which made the 110mm of rear travel feel at least an inch longer than it really was. Not only did it feel deeper, but it felt very linear, which was a promise that the system made and delivered on. Up front the geometry was slackened a bit and a 120mm Fox fork fitted with a tapered steer tube for a stable, flex free front end that did everything I expected of it very well.
The Gary Fisher Rumblefish II to my mind was a design executed very well and delivered on all its promises in spades. Not many bicycles can claim that, much less the 29″ers that come through here. Was it “perfect”? No. Nothing is, but the Rumblefish is hard to pick on. It doesn’t do out of the saddle hammering well, but it isn’t really that kind of bike. It could have more rear travel, but the travel it has is so good, both in feel and performance, that it is hard to complain about that. Plus, it keeps the bottom bracket height and chain stay length in check. Probably the worst thing about the bike was that you couldn’t find one to buy for most of 2010. That should be resolved now going forward with the new “Fisher Collection”/Trek collaboration that will put more Rumblefish bikes in more dealers showrooms. The Rumblefish also makes us hope for this technology to be used for a “bigger”, longer travel platform at some point for 29′er wheels. If it works anything like the Rumblefish, it’ll be an amazing 29 inch wheeled bicycle.
Congrats to (former) Gary Fisher Bikes and their Rumblefish II model, which snagged the 2010 top spot on the Top ten 29″er Products Of 2010 list.
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Look Keo Bling I mean Blade
January 5th, 2011So I got my new set of Keo Blades today….Holy crap they are super nice I can’t wait to do 4 hrs on them tomorrow. We have an entire stock of sick Look pedals in stock so if you need some pedals for spring come down and check them out. I did my first hill ride of 2011 before work today and it was a little chilly getting going but not too bad and then it was nice on the first 25 min climb but it got real cold real fast on the decent it sure makes the second climb so much harder to get going…..
- Blade
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2011
January 3rd, 2011So here we are 2011…I am going to make an effort this year to keep this updated. Lets recap the end of 2010…Cross season was pretty stellar my best so far. I managed a podium at a UCI race that was cool, I was able to stay pretty consistant finishing in the top 10 at every race the second part of the season. I did have a series of mechanical issues in the begining of the season but I managed to work them out well I didn’t work them out my self my boy Don Snoop took over pitting duties form me and that seemed to make the difference. By the way I gotta give props to all the guys at Verge especially Mike for hooking me up with some fine skinsuits. So after cross I hit up the mountain bike for a few weeks just trying to have some fun and keep the legs turning. I did take some much needed time off over the Holidays and well today I was back on the bike for the start of my base. Another year in the books…….
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Fuel EX: Trail Bike of the Year
October 8th, 2010“The ideal blend of pedalling and corner stiffness, high traction small bump suction, big hit belligerence and constantly engaging enthusiasm. Genuinely outstanding.” – Bike Radar
This week, the Trek Fuel EX was announced as the winner of What Mountain Bike magazine’s Trail Bike of the Year award. Here are some excerpts from the winning review:
A Truly Outstanding All-Rounder.
“The Fuel EX is a bike that’s equally ready to charge technical descents or hammer skywards all day long, in the original ‘one bike to do it all’ mountain bike style – and a very good looking, good value one at that.
Ride & handling: The best all-round trail bike we’ve ever ridden
The EX 8 delivers superbly balanced pedalling performance that always feels efficient and responsive underfoot. It also has a neutrally confident yet involving handling character that’ll tackle anything on the trail without feeling nervous. And don’t worry, the bike can still speed over the singletrack.
The new tapered head tube gives the alloy EX noticeably more bite and tenacity when you’re fighting the trail with every knob of the front tyre. The same tight feedback and line control stretches right back to the ABP axle-centric rear rear pivot, which sucks down onto the trail like a Hoover for ridiculous amounts of traction despite low tread rubber.
The new dual-chamber shock is outstanding too. At just the point where a progressive shock would choke over bigger stuff, its second chamber opens up seamlessly to swallow drops, logs and significant chunks of geology whole.
Plunge into really punishing terrain and the dual-chamber shock and stiff frame keep things remarkably anchored and controlled amid chaos. Lean back and let the EX 8 flow through, and off, everything and it offers a confidence that most 140-150mm bikes would be envious of.
Wherever we took it and whoever rode it, the Fuel EX flattered skill, nerve and fitness to always put its rider in contention at the front of the pack. It does so without demanding any particular style, approach or attitude from its rider to get the best from it, amplifying whatever enthusiasm and effort you bring to it into a mental scrapbook of big achievements and big grins.
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Adidas demo ride at Williams lake
May 13th, 2010The Williams Lake Classic Mountain bike race is comig up…June 20th. Register at www.bikereg.com. Sat June 19TH we will be having an adidas eyewear pre ride. Sammy from Adidas will have demos glasses for all and there will be special event pricing on all frames…11:00 am from the shop 386 main st rosendale
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The best Tri and TT bikes period end….
March 18th, 2010Lieto on Cover of Triathlete Magazine
03/15/2010
Visit chrislieto.com to see images of the cover and to read the feature article titled “Chris Lieto’s Score to Settle”.
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