Could it be?

Well not really…here’s the story behind the picture. My friend bought a used Raleigh Ram 1.0 but found that the headtube had a crack right down the middle. So he took it to a dealer and they filled out a warranty claim. But since Raleigh doesn’t make this model anymore, they pulled one from stock sans OEM decals and sent a blank frame that was painted black.

Being that my friend was a former BMX racer and loved riding Redline Bikes, he felt compelled to place the Redline badging on the frame. I think it looks pretty cool!

Popularity: 6% [?]

This weekend, Joe, Moe and I hooked up at the world famous Fontana/Southridge DH course. Joe recently got a new Intense Socom and was itching to try it out.

Joe’s Intense

I brought out a Nikon D80 and the Vholdr to document our ride. Here’s Moe scoping out the place.

Taking the first part of the run.

Joe gettin’ buck wild!

Here’s Joe modeling his new MtnBikeRiders.com Jersey.

Then it was my turn!

By the way, Moe and I are both using Sette Impact Elbow Guards and Knee/Shin Guards and I may add that they are super comfy!

Right afterwards we headed over to the best place on earth to have breakfast, McDonald’s! Have you ever had a McGriddles? OH man…that right there was made by God himself! It’s soooo yummy!

Joe can’t believe that the saturated fats from his McGriddles is so tasty!

Since the DH course is rather short, the video it self isn’t all that long. So enjoy what we have for ya!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Today I had the opportunity to get 2 more jersey samples done for MtnBikeRiders.com. We’re still in the process of getting the logo finalized. But in the mean time I had this set made for Jeremy and Joe.

Here’s how it looks.

First we have to get the image printed, then we place the jersey on a heat press.

After 40 seconds, you get this…

One these samples we did something special. We placed the site name on the rear tail. One is off the left corner, and other you see here is on the middle.

Here’s how that turned out.

We’re still working out the jersey as mentioned. The logo will be much bigger and the site name will also be more obvious. But for now you get the idea how the magic happens.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This morning I was going through our Flickr account and browsed through thousands of photos that we’ve taken since 2007. There’s pics from events like Sea Otter, Interbike, 24 hours of Fullerton, Races, Christmas Party, Rides and all sorts of other stuff we’ve done as a group.

It’s pretty neat to see all the friends we’ve made through the sites and to see them in the photos is pretty cool. There’s tons of people we encounter all the time on the trails and just out and about that recognize us from the sites we run. What’s cool about it is, a good number of people we meet, we ride with.

So on behalf of the staff of MtnBikeRiders.com, I’d like to personally thank our readers and friends in making the site what it is today. I appreciate the humor, technical knowledge and hard work the staff have made in the last 1.5 years. I’m sure you as a daily ready appreciate it too since you are constantly leaving comments of your feed back and opinion on the best and worst articles we write.

Thanks again,

RL Policar
Co-Founder/Rider
MtnBikeRiders.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

As a kid I remember idolizing certain TV and Movie starts. My biggest hero was Officer Poncherello from the show CHiPs.

Then there was Michael Knight…that dude was awesome!

But now as an adult there’s a few guys that I admire. Anyhow so here’s my list of my top 5 of Mountain Biking Man that I look up to:

Dale Holmes. He races BMX, 4X and Track.

Geoff Kabush…simply because he has some wicked sideburns!

Tom Ritchey…cuz he’s got a sweet moustache!

Gary Fisher…that’s a no brainer.

Last but not least…I want to be like this guy. Ryan Leech, why? Because we have the same initials, we both ride at the same level…and he’s a super nice guy!

I’m sure there are other worthy candidates, but so far this is my top 5. If you’d like to add to it, feel free!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Let me begin by saying that this bike freaking ROCKS! I wasn’t 100% on board with the whole 29er thing until I rode this bike. Last Saturday’s ride at Santiago Oaks was what sold me on this bike. I’ve never ridden Santiago Oaks, and it is definitely a step ‘up’ in technicality from what I’m used to riding. What was so special about the ride? The bike that I was riding has as much travel as an ‘old school’ cross country bike. That’s right, 80 mm in the front and 3.5″ in the back.

However, the bike felt as if I was riding a 5″ travel bike. The video does not do justice to the type of terrain we rode; there were small drop offs, loose rocks, loose dirt and ruts. The Flagstaff did ride over everything and gave me a great sense of confidence as I was going down the trails.

The Flagstaff is not perfect though, I would consider the WTB Exiwolf tires the weak point (sorry WTB fanboys) for the type of trails that I’ve been riding. As some of you know, most of the SoCal trails are really sandy or the dirt is very loose and these tires just don’t grip as good as the Kenda Nevegals that I have on my KHS Solo One 29er.

I’m planning to take this bike to Aliso and to Turnbull Canyon, I want to see what this bike can do on Rock it and on the tight Turnbull Canyon switchbacks.

Oh, Quinn… you don’t know what you are missing, riding a full suspension 29er is way more fun than riding a 29er hardtail

Popularity: 17% [?]

As you may recall I ran 2 samples of a prototype jersey that we’ll be introducing soon.

One went to me…

The other, to Moe.

Well things are moving on our end in getting our first batch of jerseys completed. But before we do that, we’re going to retouch our current logo and add a bit of pizazz to it. Once we get the artwork, I’ll send it over to our factory and have a new sample made.

Before we go on, I need to know by the show of hands, who would be interested in buying one of these jerseys. The price will only be $30.00. That’s a pretty good deal since you’re getting the same dry fit material as some other, more expensive jerseys out there.

The new jerseys should be ready in as little as a few weeks!

Popularity: 7% [?]

One of our long time riding buddies, and Service Tech Exgtraordinaire at Jax Bicycles in Fullerton Ca., Robert Plumb, but I like to call him Robert-oh, headed out to Trek World and wrote up a nice report on some of the things he saw there.

Trek World 2009
I was selected to got to trek world 2009 and I have to say it was awesome! I was able
to ride a few bike and attend plenty of seminars to learn about the new products as well
as ask questions to the designers and engineers.

This is the first bike I was able to ride.

It is the 2009 6.9 Madone pro fit. It was outfitted with 2009 Dura ace (very nice) The wheels are the Aeolus 5.0 all carbon clinchers. This bike rode very smooth and very fast. The new Dura ace is very snappy and the redesigned hoods are very comfortable.

When I got out of the saddle and wanted to sprint this bike was ready to go and begged to be pushed and flexed. The Bontrager wheel guy told me if I brought the bike back with the wheel out of true or broke a spoke or the wheel he would give me $1000. I did everything in my power to bend or break these wheels. I was bunny hopping over man hole covers and slamming the bike back down, going up and down curbs and over the center median. I didn’t even put them out of true!! If i had the $9000 bucks lying around this would be a bike to add to the stable!!

The next bike I rode was the Fisher Roscoe

Right before Trek World, Gary Fisher Released the Roscoe their new 6 inch travel bike. I had a chance to ride it on Trekʼs awesome trails!!

The first thing i noticed was how light the bike is for a 6 inch travel bike and how well this bike climbs for being a six inch travel bike, very little pedal bob. It also handled the descents with ease. I took a few drops and ladders and it handled perfectly. It uses the same ABP linkage that Trek uses with the Ex series.The Fox guy that set the bike up for me said the Fox is making a specific shock meant for this bike and only for this bike.

Three stage pro-pedal, Dual Air Chamber called RP23 XV. I really liked this bike I am not a big fan of the white for a mountain bike but I can get over that.

Next bike was the Trek Remedy 9.I Really Really like this bike. It looks awesome and handles better.

I was able to do wall rides, jumps, and bridges and teeter totters with ease and comfort. The bike climbs very well and begs to go downhill fast. I put it through its paces and it came out shining!

The2009 model comes with a magnesium rocker link, New Rhythm Pro wheels and a new paint job but everything else pretty much stays the same for 2009. This may be my next bike. It is a bike I can ride all day and beat up and it will take it.

My next test was the Trek Top fuel 9.9 SSL prototype.

This bike is plain Fast, enough said…. lol. Seriously though I would really love this bike if
I was a racer. It climbed unbelievably as loved the tight single track that I threw at it.

This is the first all carbon mountain bike I have ridden on dirt. It featured the Rock Shock S.I.D front fork, and the rear shock was the DT Swiss. Both had remote lockouts and we had a match made in heaven for this bike. A unique feature to this bike is it no cut seat post it had a bit of adjustment but it’s very minor.

It also had a double chaining up front instead of the typical triple. This was very interesting because I am not used to not having that small gear luckily there really isn’t any hills on Trek’s trails so it worked out good. They do this to get a better “qfactor” and save some weight.

There were many seminars to go to about all the different products offered. Bontrager has a carbon mountain bike wheel coming out. It has a tool-less hub so maintenance is very simple. It is supposed to be stronger than its aluminum counterpart.

They are also going to get into the shoe market. The shoes felt very comfortable when trying them on and I am excited about getting to ride and test them when they come out.

Trek put on a fantastic show!!

A live band, free swag, great food and Lots of free beer which was a very nice thing
after 5 hours of riding. Saris/cyclops had a power meter hooked up to a bike on a
trainer attached to a margarita blender. I wish I would of took pictures of it. I decided to
give it a shot.

I pumped out 1095 watts while mixing a margarita! That margarita tasted awesome!! haha. I had a great time and hope to be able to go back in a year and see what great products the Trek family is coming out with.

Contadorʼs WInning Giro Madone

The District. Belt Driven

Bontrager Carbon wheel

Top Fuel 9.9 SSL WSD

We’d like to Thank Robert-oh Plumb for providing us a first hand report of Trek World…so Robert-oh, did you bring me back anything?

Popularity: 16% [?]

While RL and Priscilla were enjoying their weekend getaway and Jeremy and Khoa were reminiscing about their Big Bear trip, I had the pleasure of riding with “The Moe“. Saturday we met at the Albertson’s parking lot on the corner of Jamboree and Chapman. Moe has never ridden Santiago Oaks therefore I was looking forward to giving him a tour.

Knowing what I knew about The Moe, I had no doubt in my mind that he’ll be able to handle what S. Oaks has to offer. His weapon of choice for this ride was the new KHS Flagstaff 29er.

After passing through the park, we approached the dreadful 3 “Bs” (B = female K9). On the 1^st B, which is the steeper of the three, we both climbed until about mid-point. I was the first to lose traction, then Moe. We dismounted off our bikes and hiked to the top. We then immediately got on our bikes and started on the 2^nd B. A quarter way up, there is a cut-off on the right hand side. This is a singletrack that runs parallel to the 2^nd B. Moe and I took this route which is slightly easier than the fireroad. The 3^rd B was uneventful as well with the exception of my chain dropping. It was a long grind up but well worth with what the descent has to offer.

Overall it was a blast. Always a good ride when you make it back to the car in one piece. I did notice that The Moe maybe directionally challenged Several times during the ride, as we approached a turn or a split, I would yell out either “left, left” or “right, right”…yet The Moe would go the opposite way … hmmm, we’ll have to keep an eye on that one…

Popularity: 14% [?]

When I worked for an LBS, my main job was to build up bikes that came in from the manufacturers, in other words, assemble the bikes. As I spent my time at the LBS I was very meticulous about how I assembled bikes. We also had a check system in which another person would go over my builds and make sure things were tight and that the brakes worked and etc.

Now that I’m not at the LBS anymore (that was one of my favorite jobs), I tend to be very critical of how bikes are assembled. So when ever I got to Walmart, Target or anywhere that sells detergent and bikes, I ALWAYS walk over to the bike department and check out the build jobs.

This time I had to go to Big 5 Sporting Goods in Brea, Ca. Now that I work for a softball accessory company, I’m also checking out softball equipment for fun. As I made my rounds along the aisles, I noticed 2 bikes that Big 5 was selling. Obviously they are cheap Walmart quality bikes. I didn’t have my camera, but I did have my cell phone. I took a few photos of the bikes and let me know if you can see what’s wrong….

Sorry the quality sucks, but you get the idea.

Not only is this a safety issue, but dang, it makes Big 5 look really bad. I went ahead and called the Big 5 to let them know what I saw and they reassured me that they fixed it. They said that they corrected the obvious and said “we’re not bike mechanics, but its fixed.” I asked if both bikes were corrected, the lady said, “Uh I think, I haven’t checked.” I said to her that this could be a safety issue for them, and she said, “for sure.”

I left it at that…just goes to show you that you shouldn’t buy bikes where people don’t know how to build them up.

Popularity: 7% [?]