Category: <span>Equipment</span>

Demoing the Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie: how does this eMTB affect my technical riding?
Published September 8, 2016 by

Demoing the Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie: how does this eMTB affect my technical riding?

That’s not a typical headline for reporting about a ride on an electric mountain bike, or more precisely, a pedal-assist eMTB. But that was my frame of mind last week when I spent 3.5 hours demoing a Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie at the Lebanon Hills Mountain Bike Trail, courtesy of Rob Stepaniak at Erik’s Bike Shop.

Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie IMG_5344

I’m not in the market to buy an eMTB but I’ve been curious to see what problems I would experience on one doing the type of technical riding I like to do. When Rob saw my Facebook post about my wife’s purchase of a Pedego Commuter ebike, he contacted me to see if I was interested in a demo. Oh yeah.

(Yes, I’m fully aware of the controversy on riding eMTB bikes on singletrack mtb trails. This blog post won’t be about that but I did engage in discussion about those issues when I initially posted the photo of me and Rob on my Facebook profile here. Feel free to chime in there. Warning: I enforce civility.)

My first expectation going into the demo was that I’d appreciate the pedal-assist boost for riding uphill interim sections of the trail, i.e., those sections that don’t have any particular challenge to them. I’m rarely a racer and seldom interested in my Strava times for long segments so I’m not often in great shape.  And I don’t much like riding long uphills when it’s hot and humid.

Read MoreDemoing the Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie: how does this eMTB affect my technical riding?

Equipment

ebikes electric mountain bikes eMTB Erik's Bike and Board Shop Rob Stepaniak Specialized Bicycles Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie

New fat bike day: Advocate Cycles’ Watchman
Published February 25, 2016 by

New fat bike day: Advocate Cycles’ Watchman

Equipment

Advocate Cycles The Watchman Tim Krueger

The Camelbak KUDO enduro hydration pack I won has served its purpose
Published December 15, 2015 by

The Camelbak KUDO enduro hydration pack I won has served its purpose

Last spring, Camelbak announced that they were giving away two K.U.D.U. enduro hydration packs a week during their #gnarliestdescent Instagram photo/video contest.

Camelbak gnarliest descent contest 2015

Back in April, I rode the Admiral Rockbar portion of the COGGS Piedmont mtb trail that runs along the cliff above Haines Rd in Duluth. A few photos:

Foxx Rocks portion of the COGGS Piedmont mtb trail, Duluth Foxx Rocks portion of the COGGS Piedmont mtb trail, Duluth Foxx Rocks portion of the COGGS Piedmont mtb trail, Duluth

I entered a video of me riding it, taken with my GoPro, chesty view. This image links to the Instagram post with the 15-second video:

Read MoreThe Camelbak KUDO enduro hydration pack I won has served its purpose

Equipment Protection

Admiral Rockbar Camelbak COGGS gnarliestdescent Hillside Park KUDU 18 hydration pack Lebanon Hills Piedmont

My summer as an MTB skills park dirt boss and heavy equipment operator
Published November 20, 2015 by

My summer as an MTB skills park dirt boss and heavy equipment operator

This past summer, fellow mountain biker and uber volunteer Bill Nelson used his Ford Tractor to help CROCT, our local mountain bike club, fashion various obstacles in our new skills park area along our Sechler Park mountain bike trail. I soon became his apprentice operator and it inspired me to take on the role of skills park ‘dirt boss’ for the trail. More details and skills park photos in this CROCT blog post.

Bill Nelson, Ford tractor Griff Wigley, Bill Nelson

Equipment Trail work

Bill Nelson CROCT Sechler Park Trail skills park

Published June 27, 2014 by

A GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition arrives; better video coming soon

Mountain Bike Geezer with GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition Mountain Bike Geezer testing the photo capabilities of the GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition

My three grown sons teamed up to buy me a GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition for Father’s Day, my birthday, and probably of couple-three Xmases. It arrived yesterday and I got a chance to play with it today for about 30 minutes.  I think I’m going to like it.

I took the photo on the right above using its time lapse mode, set at .5 seconds.  For the 30-second video clip below, I took the advice of  fellow mountain biker Jon Theis at Entice Media Works and set the video resolution to 720p and the fps to 120, then slowed it down to 25% speed with software. Super smooth slomo indeed. I was startled to see my IMBA downhill jersey fluttering in the breeze.

Equipment Video

Entice Media Works GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition Jon Theis slow motion

The benefits of near-zero tire pressure for riding in the snow
Published December 30, 2013 by

The benefits of near-zero tire pressure for riding in the snow

I rode Leb a couple weeks ago on my 29’er hardtail. I had about 15 PSI in my skinny Maxxis Ardent 2.4″ tires, with rear tubeless. I’m 150 pounds. Since the intermediate loop was packed pretty well and reasonably wide, I thought I’d be fine. NOT.

If I didn’t stay in the hard center, the softer edges of the packed area would often derail me. I kept thinking “lean the bike more” and “keep your eyes ahead.” I tried standing up more, then sitting down more. Nothing worked. I then ran into Bob Shepherd and a small gang on fatties and told them my tale of woe. Bob and another guy squeezed my tires and said they were way too hard, and in a way that left no doubt of their convictions. I wasn’t as sure but I promptly began letting out air and as Bob got ready to depart, he asked me if I had a pump in case I let out too much. I did.

The difference was shocking.

Read MoreThe benefits of near-zero tire pressure for riding in the snow

Equipment

Lebanon Hills Maxxis Ardent tires tire pressure winter

Published August 23, 2012 by

Salsa Cycles demo gets me thinking about my next three bikes

Rule #12 of the Velominati’s The Rules, is:

The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.

While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

I just have one bike, not counting my trials motorcycle which I’m planning to sell Real Soon Now so as to help me with the s factor in the above equation.  I’m not yet shopping but I am ruminating.

Having ridden mototrials for years, I’m naturally interested in a trials bicycle.  Living in Minnesota, I’m naturally interested in a fat bike for winter riding.

But after my experience of enduro riding in Duluth in June, I’m now really interested in the gravity-related categories of mountain biking, especially since I have two places within 35 minutes to practice jumps (Lexington Ave. Pump and Jump Park and Lebanon Hills), and a couple of downhill runs 45 minutes away at the Memorial Trail system in Red Wing.

So with gravity weighing on my mind, I went to the Salsa Cycles demo last night at the Carver Lake Off-road Cycling Trail in Woodbury.

Salsa Cycles demo at Carver Lake Park John Gaddo and Paul Lehrer Griff Wigley, John Gaddo

QBP Outside Sales Reps for the Upper Midwest, John Gaddo and Paul Lehrer, fixed me up to demo a Salsa Horsethief which the promo lit says:

… is our full-suspension 29’er trail bike, designed for all-day riding on rugged terrain. A very capable climber, Horsethief does have a slight bias toward descending, letting you enjoy the fruits of your uphill labor. By designing the bike for use with a shorter than normal stem, the body is positioned better for aggressive riding.

rock garden at Carver Lake Park log skinny at Carver Lake Park rock garden at Carver Lake Park
I knew there wouldn’t be any rugged downhill terrain at Carver so I was content to test it on the rock gardens and skinnies. Never having ridden a full-suspension bike before, I was wondering if the Horsethief would allow me to do what I can do with my X-Caliber hardtail on the tougher technical stuff.  It handled it easily.  And I did notice that I could ride a lot faster through the rock gardens, rather than picking my way slowly, trials-style. Cool. Would the Horsethief be enough to handle the downhill runs at the Copper Harbor Ride Center and similar parks? I suspect so.

Logan Macrae, Mark Witt, Curtis Ness Owen Mibus, Ben Witt, Myrna Mibus
Fellow Rice County residents  were well-represented at the event, including the gang from Milltown Cycles in Faribault and some of their regular customers. Left photo: Logan Macrae, Mark Witt, Curtis Ness. Right photo: Owen Mibus, Ben Witt, Myrna Mibus. Not shown: Jim Fisher and his daughter Amy.

Equipment

Carver Lake Park Curtis Ness John Gaddo Logan Macrae Mark Witt Milltown Cycles Myrna Mibus Owen Mibus Paul Lehrer Salsa Cycles

Published February 25, 2012 by

FIT to be TRI’d: My local mountain bike clothing store

A couple months ago I paid a visit to FIT to be TRI’d (just after it moved to the Tiny’s Building in downtown Northfield) to ask owner Tom Bisel if he could recommend a base layer that would help me deal with the problem of sweating when mountain biking in cold weather.

Craft Pro Zero Extreme base layerHe didn’t hesitate to recommend the Craft Pro Zero Extreme base layer because it not only is very effective at wicking moisture away from the body but it dries in 8 minutes.  Sure, Tom… 8 minutes? I didn’t think it possible. But it’s turned out to be the best piece of sports clothing I’ve ever purchased.  It’s wicking is amazingly effective and it really does dry that fast. Read this review for more details.

Last Sunday I tossed my 20 year-old lightweight snowboarding jacket into the wash (I’ve been using it as my mountain biking jacket) and it pretty much disintegrated.

Griff Wigley in his Craft Pro Zero Extreme base layer and Sugoi RPM JacketSo back to FIT to be TRI’d I went this week to see what Tom would recommend for a waterproof, ventilated jacket that I could use during the cool/cold months of the year and that would resist abrasion. I walked away with the Sugoi RPM Jacket and promptly crashed on the ice while riding the upper Arb.  It resisted.  We’ll see how it does when I race at the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout next week and then during the spring rains which we’ll hopefully have soon.

Tom’s been one of the people to get the Cannon Valley Velo Club off the ground in the past year and is currently the president.  It’s looking like the club’s going to cater to mountain bikers this year, too. More to come on that soon.

Dealers Equipment

Craft Pro Zero Extreme Fit to be TRI'd mountain biking Sugoi RPM Jacket Tom Bisel

Published August 11, 2011 by

I’m having more fun with flat pedals

I started out mountain biking this summer clipped into Crank Bros Eggbeaters with a good pair of Bontrager Multisport shoes.  After a few minor spills, I got the hang of getting out of them (rotate your heels outward)  and I could feel some benefits to keeping my feet in the right position on the pedals.

But I was still nervous about tackling the advanced technical stuff that I like and after a few scary crashes, I found some blog posts with long discussion threads that opened my eyes:

James Wilson on MTB Strength Training Systems:

Gene Hamilton on BetterRide.Net:

Five Ten Impact HighVP-ViceSo I got a pair of Five-Ten Impact High shoes and thin VP-Vice pedals and they’ve made a huge difference. I’ve been way more adventuresome, not having to think or worry about being clipped in.

I’ll keep the Eggbeaters and Bontragers for the gravel rides.

Updates, November 2014: I’ve updated the expired links to the shoes and pedals. And I’ve added two more article links.

Equipment

clipless clipped in Five-Ten Impact High flat pedals flats Gene Hamilton James Wilson platform pedals