MtnBikeRiders.com

This was a fun filled weekend of riding.  I rode both days making trips to a popular Orange County trail – El Moro and my local trail – Coal Canyon.

Saturday: I headed out to El Moro bright and early for a solo ride.  It’s been awhile since I’ve been here.  Last time out w/the MtnBikeRiders’ crew, El Moro was closed due to rain.  Arriving at the Ridge Park, I noticed that the parking lot was full.   There will be a lot of hikers, joggers and mountain bikers on the trail…  I entered the park through the northwest corner which starts on a fast fireroad that descends towards a technical singletrack called Rattlesnake. 

                           On the way to Rattlesnake.

The trail was in excellent shape…   making my way out of Rattlesnake, the trail transitions into a graded-like  singletrack covered with tall plantation.  From here the fun continues as it switches from singletrack to a fast fireroad which eventually leads into Mach One – another fast descent, hence the name. 

                              Looking up from the bottom of Mach One.

I climbed up a steep fireroad called – I Think I Can.  As I reached the top there were many riders gathered at this junction.  Apparently there was the S.H.A.R.E. Poker ride which I had totally forgotten about. 

        S.H.A.R.E. Poker ride checkpoint.

       Checkpoint at the top of I Think I can; rider picking his card.

There were many faces present that I have ridden with in the past.  From here on until I exited the park, the trails were busy with participants from the Poker ride.  Overall the trail was in great shape.  There were a few sandy spots, but that’s expected.  Fun ride!  

Sunday:  I rode Coal Canyon with my co-worker/friend Val.  He lives close to me, however much closer to the trail.  I rode approximately a mile and half from my house to meet Val; from our meeting point we rode another mile and half to the trailhead.  We started at 6am to beat the heat.  Val is new to mountain biking so he wanted a crash course with what our local trails had to offer.  This would be his first ride on anything that has a consistent climbs.   

              On the way to the trailhead; paralleling the 91 fwy.

The ride was uneventful being that it’s nothing but climbs.  However, the trail did take an early toll on Val.  Within the first mile he ended up walking his bike.  This is nothing to be ashamed of as we’ve all done it and it’s a part of riding.  After a few breathers, he was able to regroup and continue to ride.  We rode up to the two mile marker and headed back down.  I was able to capture our descent through my helmet cam, however it’ll take me longer to put together a video.  

               View of Chino Hills and the San Gabriel Mtns.

Overall the weekend was great for riding.  We are heading into our summer heat so plan your rides accordingly. 

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Both Saturday and Sunday, I had a chance to ride the Sette Reken 69er conversion bike. Here’s a few thoughts.

Riding the Sette Reken as a 69er was definitely a great experience. This frame has proven it self to be versatile and reliable. The frame has been my single speed rig for about 6 months and now it has been converted over to a 69er. As I’ve mentioned before, the fork was graciously lent to me by Moe who had previously had it on his KHS Solo One. I then took a 700c wheel and wrapped it with a Maxxis Ignitor 29er tire.

On paper this 69er convert would make people think that it would ride like a chopper. Well sorry to disappoint the naysayers, but the bike handled just fine. It didn’t feel like it was going to tip over every time I turned the handle bars. Speaking of naysayers, I’m one of them when it comes to 29ers. Jeremy and I go back and forth about why I think they are not that special and he can go on about why they are the best thing in the world. Well with my skeptical attitude, I figured my experience on the 69er would be an objective one.

The first thing that most 29er people would say is that the bigger wheels have an ability to “roll over” things better. Ok fine…I’ll give you that. I did notice that trail contours such as brake bumps was handled better with the 29er wheel. The reason why I say this, is simple. When I rolled over a bump or divot on the trail, the 29er front wheel felt better than it did when my rear 26″ wheel rolled over it. I know this isn’t a scientific way of measuring 29er benefits. But I did feel it. Another benefit to this 69er set up was pumping.

I’ve often talked about the importance of pumping the backside of rollers. This was easier with the rigid set up because as soon as I got over the crest of the roller and pumped, the bike would follow suit with the greatest of eas. I would imagine that a rigid 69er would be a great bike on a pump track.

Ok, so here’s a break down on the pros and cons of my 69er conversion:

Pro
-It’s cheap!
-No money was spent in this conversion.
-Great to experience a 69er.
-Great pumping power.
-Great climbing.
-No need to worry about lockout.
-Rolling over things…eh…I’m not that impressed but sure, we’ll give it over as Pro.
-Rigid riding makes you a stronger rider.
-Rigid riding makes you a better bike handler.
-Weight loss of 1lb on the bike.

Con
-It’s rigid.
-Rigid hurts like a mofo.

I know that my Con list is super small, but really, the only thing I didn’t like about the 69er thing was the fact I was riding a rigid. I think if I had it set up as a front suspension, then I’m sure I’d enjoy it more. But for me, the jarring effects of a rigid sucked.

So overall, would I recommend doing a 69er conversion? Sure why not. I’ve always wanted to try it and now that I have, I’m glad I did. The bike isn’t entirely a different experience, but its certainly going to add something unique to your rides. In all honesty, I only did this conversion just because it wasn’t going to cost me anything. As I’ve mentioned all the parts I used were available at my disposal. If you can find all the parts you need for very little money, then go for it. But I don’t think its worth spending some big money for a 29er fork, wheels and tires.

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I took a note from our very own Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney’s article about home made tools. But rather than following his steps whole heartedly, I kinda ghetto-fied it and just used this 2″ PVC pipe cut to about 10″ long.

I needed to set a crown race on one of my forks this morning and used a pipe that I had laying around the garage. I slid it down to the race.

Made sure it was lined up, gave it a good whack with an old seat post, I’m sure a hammer would have worked just fine, but I couldn’t find it. Not bad eh? After setting the race, I installed the fork.

If you check out Jack’s article he’ll even show you how to make your own headset press.

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From one Dad to another, Happy Father’s Day!

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MtnBikeRiders.com set up a last minute ride at the Fullerton Loop. Priscilla, Moe, I as well as our friend Anthony decided to get a quick ride in for Father’s Day Weekend. I normally send out a weekly ride invite and one fella said that he’ll try to make it. Well what do you know, the dude actually got up early enough and made it…Vince Rodarte of KHS Bicycles. That’s right, my weight loss nemesis and friend, was able to join our ride today. It’s not all too often he gets to come along, so this was a definite treat for us.

Shown in order, Ryan, Lance, Moe, Priscilla, Anthony and some random stranger on the right side.

Vince rode his old skool KHS Single Speed. This machine was actually the motivation for my Sette Reken single speed build project (right behind the KHS). What made today a unique ride was the fact that 3 of us, Vince, Moe and I, were all riding single. Another thing that made this day a bit more sweet was the amount of KHS Bikes we had on the ride. Moe had his Solo One, Anthony was riding the AM2000 that we built, Vince was on his KHS, and well…me, I had a KHS fork, that should count!

Here’s the Three Single Speeding Amigos…

We’re always trying to have fun when we ride. As always, I try to document our adventures…enjoy the video!

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