At the last race of the year, the Southridge Annual Challenge, Kim Finch (Team Racer) showed us a little trick that she learned from her husband, Tony on how to keep mud off your bike.
Her secret? A can of Pledge Furniture Polish!
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Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I saw something that triggered some angst within me. It was a basically this logo…
Not sure why but I HATE that word. Especially when its spelled incorrectly. For starters, XTREME or EXTREME is such a dated word. Do you remember in the late 80′s and early 90′s when EXTREME started becoming a household term? From what I can remember the word started showing up when people got into bungee jumping or base jumping. In fact this term was used to describe anything that was somewhat dangerous and only few people would do.
I remember in the mid 90′s I had a Supervisor that was a bit of a douche. He always talked about the “EXTREME” sports he would do such as skiing super fast, or sky diving and racing his boat across the water at “EXTREME” speeds. Ugh..the guy was a tool…
Well, as much as I hate this word, mountain biking has been dubbed as an “EXTREME Sport” by the media and civilians. Yah it can be dangerous at times. Shoot, some of my own friends have been scummed by the effects of this EXTREME Sport…from broken hips, shoulders to torn muscles, everything about mountain biking can be dangerous.
But can we at least figure out a new term to describe mountain biking without using the word EXTREME? Here’s a few of my suggestions:
Badassery-”Engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck.” The movie 300…that was badassery.
Chuck Norris
Then I realized…why not combine Badassery and Chuck Norris? Here’s what I found.
So from now on, instead of using XTREME or EXTREME to describe something, you’re going to have to the terms: Chuck Norris or Badassery. I thought about using “Gangsta” but usually only people with skinny jeans and no street cred use that term.
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We built the “Ultimate AM Bicycle” back in July of 2007 with a KHS AM2000 frame, XT/XTR components, Spinner Cargo fork, Vuelta Wheels and IRD parts. This bike has served me well, it is tough as nails and a blast to ride.
I’m planning to go back to SuperD racing for the 2011 Winter Series and tapering off from Downhill Racing a bit. Don Jackson loves to mix up the SuperD courses from mellow to gnarly so I need a bike that will climb well and be able to handle the rock gardens.
Since buying a new bike is out of my budget range, converting the KHS AM2000 to my ultimate SuperD racing machine will have to do. Although the current parts on the AM2000 are not bad, I need for it to be a little lighter for the climbing courses. Here’s what I’m planning to swap:
The Spinner Cargo fork for a RockShox Revelation Race, the Revelation comes in at about 3.90 lbs saving me about 2lbs right off the bat. In Lieu of the current Truvativ Hussefelt crankset, the XT crankset from my XC bike will take its place.
Besides being sexy, carbon fiber parts do help lighten up a bicycle, the CF handlebars, stem and seatpost from my XC bicycle will be transferred to the AM2000.
Going back are the Hayes El Camino brakes, the El Camino brakes are lighter and have better stopping power than the current Hayes Nine. I’m thinking of keeping the current wheelset, although they are not the lightest, the Vuelta Wheels have proven to be quite durable. I’m also keeping the XTR shifters and derailleurs, they should be good to withstand the abuse of SuperD racing.
My toughest choice will be the tires and the size, I’m leaning towards Kenda Small Block eight in the back and Kenda Nevegal in the front, although I welcome your suggestions.
My goal is for my Ultimate SuperD machine to weigh about 30lbs, I’ll post an update when the bike is done and see if I achieved my goal.
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A few weeks ago I posted a video that I found showing some kids drag racing with their bikes from way back when. Watch the video and check out :40 seconds…the dude with the long hair had a drag chute on his bike!
I thought to myself, that having a drag chute to slow me down after a downhill session or trail ride is just what I need. Shoot I’ve been going through brake pads/rotors on a weekly basis because I can’t slow down enough due to my incredible speed!Having this problem is much like Spider Man’s powers…its a curse and a blessing.
You see, being a rider with bad-assery talent and skills, I am wicked fast, in fact, I’m straight-edge FAST. PITEW! That’s me making a laser sound, cuz that’s how I sound as I am hauling past people. PITEW-PITEW! But the bad part, or in this case, the curse of it would be my ability to stop my bike. It’s just not safe to ride fast if I can’t stop or slow down when needed. But there’s one thing I do stop for and that’s for rainbows. Any how, moving right along, let’s go back to my parachute…
I ended up calling my brother who happens to be a SSgt and HALO Instructor in the US Army . If anyone would know anything about parachutes, it would be him. With that in mind he suggested that I use a Throw-Out Pilot Chute due to its size.
Once I acquired a Throw-Out Pilot Chute, my brother showed me how to pack it.
We used one of the e-bikes we’re testing for BikeCommuters.com as our guinea pig. I tied down the cord to the rear rack and we attached the pilot chute with a rubber band.
Then we found a stretch of road to test the chute.Notice how I’m reaching behind my right leg, once I had gained enough speed and I wanted to slow down, I grabbed the chute and threw it out…thus the name, Throw-out Pilot Chute.
Chute has been deployed! By the way, you like my helmet? $7 from Wal-Mart!
Pilot chute catching some air and boy did I feel it! The force pulled the bike back hard!
I know what you’re thinking, “This RL fella is pretty darn good looking and SMART!” Thanks, but I must give some credit to my brother Randy for his parachute consultation. If it wasn’t for his expertise, this project wouldn’t have happened. Oh and I also need to give credit where its due…that long haired kid in the video Mike Dunn!
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So make sure you check us out on Facebook ASAP for details about the contest. See you there!
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