Serfas, team mtnbikeriders.com sponsor and makers of great optics, tires, bags and saddles are hosting the Orange County Bicycle Swapmeet on December 5th.
I was able to get great deals last may when I attended this swapmeet. Get there early for the best deals though!
NEWSFLASH:Evomo, makers of uber-cool clothing will be bringing the rukus with super great deals @ the swapmeet. Evomo stuff makes great Christmas presents for the mountain biker in your life.
Popularity: 2% [?]
One week ago our MtnBikeRiders.com Team finished the SRC winter series and Triple Crown at Southridge.
I signed up for the Single Speed 34 and under XC race. At the start of the race I was the only one in my class, so I was convinced that the Single Speeds would be grouped together. In my head I was racing the 35 and up class as well, this power house named Robur (35 years +) was in attendance, he is a killer on the climbs and down hills. I have chased him and his carbon SS before in the Triple Crown series.
The race starts and I leading the pack though the course, I keeping telling myself to relax and keep the tires on the ground. Half way up the water tower road Robur takes the lead, I try to stay with him as we are passing other riders on the single track. I saw an opportunity to take the lead spot back on a tough uphill section, I charged and passed Robur on his right. Robur did not let up, he passed me about a mile later. I caught up to Robur on the flat section of the course and started cranking as fast as I could, I peaked at 25 mph on 32 x 20 gearing too fast for Robur’s gearing, that was the near the end of the first lap of three. Race day I weighed 245 pounds, in the end the gear choice was key. It was not too hard to lug uphill and I could ring it out on the flat sections of Fontana. After almost 13 miles of pushing my legs and the Redline MonoCog 29er to the limit, I came across the Finish Line first with Robur only 9 seconds behind Wow!
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1
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Eric
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Hunner
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ZH
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235
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S-S Men 34 & Under
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01:08:27.00
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1
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Robur
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Rodgers
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ZI
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804
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Single-Speed Men 35+
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01:08:36.00
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2
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Mark
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Mumea
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ZI
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15
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Single-Speed Men 35+
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01:12:31.00
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3
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Rick
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Lane
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ZI
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220
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Single-Speed Men 35+
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01:23:15.00
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Click here for SRC’s home page if you want to get into racing http://www.southridgeusa.com/
and SC Velo’s site http://scvelo.com/component/content/article/90/103-2009-incycle-cross-country-challenge
Thank You to all of our Team Sponsors
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If you’re not mechanically inclined or you just don’t have time to to work on your own bike, then the next best thing to do would be to take it to your local bike shop and have one of their mechanics work on your ride.
What’s great about a shop working on your bike is that they know what they’re doing and all you have to do is tell them whats wrong with it and you get it back in a few days.
The only problem with this notion…what if you don’t know what all those parts on your bike are called? Well you’re in luck, I found this chart that best explains it.
Mind you this chart was from the UK, yes they spell TIRE, TYRE.
Ok now that you’ve familiarized yourself with this chart, let’s brush up on your vocabulary and your mannerisms. First and foremost, don’t act like you’re too cool. When I worked at an LBS, I HATED it when guys would come in acting cool and pretending to know what their talking about. Oh, that’s another thing, don’t pretend to know everything about bikes. It doesn’t benefit you at all. Just be upfront and honest. They may ask if you tried to do the repairs yourself, if you did, just tell the truth. Shoot, they may show you how to do it the right way.
You’ll also have to learn how to mute the word “BRO” from your vocabulary. Bro is ok to use when you’re amongst friends. For example, Moe, he calls me Bro all the time. I don’t mind it at all. But I can’t stand if someone I barely know calls me BRO…”Hey BRO! Can you fix my bike, its acting up…” Bike Mechanics hate that term too, so don’t use it! In fact just get rid of that word completely. It’s totally out of place if your a white guy from Idaho and you come up to someone and say that, “Yeehaw BRO!” It just ain’t right.
Phew…now that I got that out of the way. Here are some common terms you’ll need to know to best describe your bike problems
True-It means your wheels are straight. But if yours are messed up, then you will tell the mechanic, “I need my wheel TRUED.” To fix this, they will have to remove your wheel from your bike and place it on a TRUING Stand. This service can run from $15-$25, depending on the shop.
Spongy-If you run hydraulic brakes, when you squeeze them, they feel soft. Another symptom would be that they don’t grab as hard.
Mis-shifting-This basically means that you’re chain is not going into the right gear when you’re hitting your shifters. For example, you want to get on your granny gear in the rear, but when you hit the shifter, it goes to the second to the last gear.
Ghost Shifting-While you’re riding, your gears are skipping from one gear to another on their own.
Noise-Ok with this, you need to be specific with the complaint. Is it a creaking, rattling, or scraping noise? Is it coming from your pedals, seat post, saddle, headset or your knees?
Presta or Schrader Valve-There are two types of valves that can come with a bike. One is called Schrader, that’s the kind that looks like the one on your car. Then there’s a skinny kind like you would see on road bikes, that is called Presta.
SPD-This literally means Shimano Pedaling Dynamics. If you have to wear special shoes so you can be attached to your pedals, then you’re most likely using SPD pedals. Keep in mind there are other alternatives such as Crank Brothers, Time and Beebopabloo pedals that work the same way. If you are using regular pedals, then those can be called “platform” pedals.
Here’s a pic of a platform/SPD pedal.
Well that’s about it for now. These terms and guidelines should help you out the next time you go to the shop. One thing I’d like to add, a little bribery goes a long way. No, not cash, but goodies. LBS mechs love beer, food and cookies. This will ensure they will remember to do an excellent job on your bike. Trust me, it works!
Popularity: 5% [?]
If you missed out on the fun at Fontana last weekend, here’s a glimpse of what we experienced.
I do want to say thanks to our friend Gabe “Thunda” Preda for all his help during the races. He took care of videos and photos and he even brought food and beer! Now that’s a good friend right there.
Popularity: 4% [?]
I struggled for a couple days to write the review of the KHS Lucky 7. I kept transitioning from reviewing the bike to telling stories about the bike. Finally, I’ve decided that’s exactly what I’m going to do. What follows, is the story of my time aboard this bike. The trips, the rides and the races that the KHS Lucky 7 carried me through. Watch for the review in the upcoming weeks.
The Lucky 7 has been my go to gravity bike this year. Team sponsor KHS cycles has been nice enough to grant me extended time with this demo bike, on the condition it is raced and that I share the results.
Though designed for free-ride use, the Lucky 7 is the go to bike for the KHS race team at smaller DH race courses. However a thorough resume is not a prerequisite for hopping aboard the Lucky 7 and getting the most out of the experience. I was a casual mountain biker, I owned one trail bike and rode two or three times a month. I had other hobbies and interests that split my time. From 2006 till November 2008, that was my riding experience. That’s when I met RL through this very blog and eventually the rest of the Mtnbikeriders team. Which led me into single-speeding, then XC racing and eventually DH racing. So as I, a true newbie to downhill, I began my time with the Lucky 7. The first race [Southridge Winter Series, 2/22/2009, 13th out of 14] was a disaster! I did manage to get the durability testing out of the way immediately, though!
The next race [Southridge Winter Series Finals, 3/22/2009, 10th out of 20] was a lot better! With no dirt naps in-store for me. I began to see the capabilities in the bike and the potential I had to become competitive [in Beginner Men 27-34]. Unfortunately, I would be without the Lucky 7 after this point until a shuttle session at Telonics a couple weeks before the 3rd race of the Golden State series in Fontana on 07/12/2009.
In Telonics I got to ride some real DH terrain on the Lucky 7 and it was amazing! It’s just a forgiving bike that soaks up the small and big hits. We had a ton of fun and burned through a set of brake pads in the process! Now onto the race, with a two run format and no “wall” to pedal, this is the closest to a true DH race located in So-Cal nowadays. With a fresh new attitude on DH riding and fresh legs (normally I race XC the day before the DH race), I was able to put together “the run of my life” I recall telling Tony at the bottom. What a rush! To have a clean DH run, one where I honestly felt I rode as fast as I possibly could, clean without any mistakes, I get excited thinking about it! The result was a 3rd place and my first DH podium.
Next up was Mammoth mountain, now this is a true DH race. On a mountain with loose pumice, a nasty rock section, a wall ride and a finish through the 4x track. Mammoth lived up to its name, with a fast race run coming in 4 minutes, the track was over a minute longer than any Fontana run. The Lucky 7 was beautiful here, through the steep sections, over the jumps and pedaling the straights. We were a team, and we were determined to make it to the podium. Well, we did better than podium, we won!
So, now here we are near the year end. The 18th annual Southridge classic has just concluded (though I’m gonna make you wait for that story). Be sure to check out the upcoming Lucky 7 review and review the 1st impression here. It’s funny, we’re so used to reviews coming from expert and pro riders. It’s true that they can push a bike to it’s limits, but couldn’t they ride almost any bike down the Mountain? Wouldn’t a bike we (mountain bike enthusiast) consider stable and comforting seem slow and unresponsive to them? Anyways, if you don’t want to read a review from a Beginner DH racer, don’t worry. I’m moving up to sport the first race next year. I’ve got to say thanks one more time by the way to KHS Bicycles and their our Lucky 7. Don’t forget to check out the KHS SixFifty 606 too.
Popularity: 6% [?]
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