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A FAST COURSE LIGHT WIND AND A WARM NIGHT

Well it was the last Predator Night race presented by MARZOCCHI and SRC and what a great race it turned out to be. The weather was nice warm night with a light wind, the course set up had some great speed stopping turns at the top that kept you on your toes with a mid section off camber into some nasty G-outs bringing you onto the fire road 5th, 6th, 7th gear cracking it out down around the corner dead end wall to the lower rock section, and the finish. No carnage alley on this race which claimed many an amateur racer last race, heck it even got me that time around. Oh did I mention that even though SRC setup lights they did allow lights this time around, which was cool and believe me even though the powerful 1000 watt stadium could light up most of the areas the off camber G-outs were “SCARY” dark coming in at speed.

THE AIRBORNE TAKA READY FOR NIGHT TIME DEPLOYMENT

Hats off too Donny Jackson and his SRC crew for putting on another great race for us all to enjoy, also thanks to MARZOICCHI for the support.

AIRBORNE RANGERS ON THE OVERALL PODIUM, MOE RAMIREZ 2ND & WES CASTRO 5TH

AIRBORNE RANGER’S CHARGE THE HILLS

Only three of us took up this mission this time while the others were on secret missions or on the injury list, so it was up to The MOE, Mr. G-Q Wes, and myself YODA (Well too bad The A-Team name is taken.) to take on the PREDATOR one last time.
With the wind light it still made for some dusty areas during practice, but come race time it was all clear for” ASSAULT TIME” baby. OK as many of you know we don’t usually give pro coverage so I will this time “THEY WERE FAST!!!”, OK there you go. Well the experts were pushing fast, I would have liked to give you the fastest times, but they still aren’t up.

WES CASTRO FINDING THE SPEED IN PRACTICE

LEADING THE CHARGE ART AGUILAR

My race run was uneventful this time (No crashes, YEAH!!). I thought I was super slow on the top, but after talking to my friend Joe Picchiottino (SUPER FAST VET PRO) he had said he felt slow on the top area too, this put my mind at ease before my race. The rest of the course was just plain fun at speed, hitting the mid section was a blast especially when it was some what dark. Hitting the fire road you go into a full bore thumb slamming shift through the gears sprinting. Around the corner to the lower rock section that was well lit to push your assault to the end. Now the time it took me to explain this was about almost how fast the pros came down, yeah that fast.

This was a short course with none of that gut wrenching, leg burning, make me want to throw up WALL in it. “LOVE IT!!”
The MOE and GQ, well I can’t speak for their whole race, but in talking to them and seeing them come through they both looked clean, fast, and were having a good time.

THE MOE ON THE HUNT

FOR THE FARTHEST TRAVELED AMATEUR RACER AWARDS
This award goes to my friend and coworker Giovanni Fogal and his friend Andrea Colin who are from Italy, now they both traveled here just to come ride and race the great SRC courses (SRC is truly international.) Now this was to be their very first race ever, so what better way to break them in then a night race where you can’t see the race course very well.

They were not sure what class to race (expert or sport), so to be on the safe side I suggested sport. Both are very accomplished trail riders and I know Fogal can jump, but racing is a whole other beast.

CELEBRATING SURVIVING THE PREDATOR (GIO, ANDREA, AND MYSELF)

Now they had no lights, but both had a good practice. I showed them some of the fast lines to take and off they went.

SHOWING ANDREA THE SHORT CUT OR LOOKING FOR A CHUPACABRA

ITALIAN STYLE
Was there a style well no just plain fun for them. Both had great race runs, well maybe not Gio he did go down, but didn’t loose much time. Both Gio and Andrea had really good runs for being their first time racing. They could have both raced the expert category, but the expert age group has some stiff competition in it. I do look forward to seeing Gio race in November to see how he does.
All in all both saw the podium that night. Andrea grabbed 2nd and Gio 3rd with a fall. “Nice Job guys. E`fantastico!!

ON THE WAY TO 2ND

AIRBORNE RANGER RESULTS

After the dust cleared and the body count was established the AIRBORNE RANGERS Predator assault on their AIRBORNE TAKA DH bikes proved once again a success. This is the tail of the tape:

• ART AGUILAR  2nd place  / 4th overall  43-50 Ex
  WES CASTRO   5th place  / 5th overall 35-42 Beg
• MOE RAMIREZ  6th place/2nd overall  35-42 Beg
  

  2nd PLACE

  

  OVERALLS

  THANKS TO ALL OUR SPONSORS!!

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Big thanks to the folks who placed an order earlier last month, if you were part of the first batch of tuxedos, you would have received an email stating your jersey is ready. For those who are still on the fence about getting one, here are some convincing photos that you NEED to get a Pink Tuxedo!

Pictured is The Moe and yours truly. When you wear a tuxedo, you have to drink things with your pinky out…

This is the proper way to pose with your pink tux, you gotta make it look like you’re adjusting your bow tie.

Pink tuxedo jerseys are perfect attire for work, mountain biking, weddings and for chillaxin’.

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MtnBikeRiders.com received the Cane Creek Angleset Model#: AngleSet ZS49 — ZS49/30 a few months ago to review for the site. Since then I’ve been able to put the Angleset through various riding situations and conditions to really see if there’s a benefit to a simple 1.0 degree.

Product Description

The all-new AngleSet threadless headset from Cane Creek makes it possible to change your game. You can now transform the head angle of your mountain bike with ease, as the low-stack-height AngleSet offers up to six offset angle adjustments. With steeper or slacker adjustments from 0.5 to 1.5 degrees, dialing in the perfect geometry to attack the trail is a breeze.

Price: $120-$150

Installation of the Angleset is pretty easy. As long as you have a headset press, it can be done in a few minutes. The Angleset was installed on my Airborne Taka. This bike has stock head tube angle of 66 degrees. Upon installing the Angleset it brings the the angle back to 65 degrees and you can obviously see a difference on the stance of the bike. The fork’s rake is more pronounced and when you sit on the bike, you’ll see and feel that the fork is “sticking out” further (rake) than when it was stock.

Naturally after the installation, I wanted to see how it affected pedaling and sprinting on the bike. I got on the Taka to do some sprint up and down my street, at that time I couldn’t really tell much of a difference, and that’s a good thing. Here’s the reason why, have you ever tried to do sprints on a bike like a beach cruiser, hybrid, or comfort bike that has a really slack head tube angle? If you have, then you’ll know that its difficult. Sprinting on a bike is easier if the head tube angle is more upright. But with the Taka and its new Angleset, sprinting felt as it was still stock, plus the bike didn’t have a “chopper” feel to the fork.

The first place I decided to try out the effectiveness of the Angleset was at a local DH trail. Bare with me as I try and describe how the Angleset felt…The Taka, now with its slacker head tube angle by 1.0 degree, is more aggressive, the steeps were easier, the fork seem to like the change up and believe it or not, I didn’t feel like I was too upright during my fast descents down the trail.

During my initial ride, I was thinking to myself…”can 1.0 degree make that much of a difference in how the bike performs?” Well the obvious answer to that was a loud YES!

The next testing ground was at a race, dubbed as the Fontana City Nationals, the course for this particular event are usually tougher than the normal Southridge races. The Taka performed beautifully! The Angleset made tackling fast corners so much easier and fun. I’ve actually done a few more races as well as fun DH rides since then and I gotta say, I had quickly fallen in love with the Angleset. I was convinced that EVERY DH BIKE should have the Cane Creek Angleset as a stock item on the bike, if not, then it should be something that bike shops push as an upgrade for their customers.

The Angleset is such a game changer in how a bike’s handling and performance can change. Just think about it, this little headset, that doesn’t cost that much money, can be responsible for drastically changing the way your bike rides and handles.

In my opinion, the Cane Creek Angleset is something that every DH Bike owner should get. Oh and check this out, remember how I mentioned my Angleset was 1.0, well they actually have a 1.5 available! Can you believe how much more of a difference the 1.5 can make. What’s funny about the Angleset, its such a simple and brilliant idea, that I’m surprised that no one came out with this years ago. If anything, I predict that you’ll see Cane Creek on more bikes out there, it just makes sense to do this.

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One of my favorite items from Team Sponsor, Evomo Clothing is the Ranger. Love the design, feels really good and shoot, its affordable!

Only $19.99!!!!

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If you have heard of AGV helmets it would be in the motorcycle end of it for this is what they are known for. AGV first started out just after the Second World War making leather seats and bicycle saddles. But in 1947 Mr. Gino Amisano the founder entered into the motorcycle helmet world and the rest is history as they say. Along the way AGV has come up with many innovations and sponsored many of road racing’s greatest legends , one of them you may have heard of today if you follow Motogp, AGV’s Valentino Rossi.
INTRODUCING THE NEW AX-8 MX HELMET

Now this is a DOT approved motorcycle helmet with what AGV calls SSL shell (Super Super Light) which is comprised of Kevlar,Carbon, and fiberglass shell.
This makes for a very, very light shell. As a matter of fact the whole helmet weighs only 2lbs., that’s right ”2lbs”. This is the same weight as the DAINESE Raptor DH helmet that we tested.  Other features the AX-8 has is IVS (Integrated Ventilation System) which has channels formed directly in the outer shell to help in cooling the old melon, the fabric is breathable Dri-Lex with sanitizing treatment, also the top and cheek pads are removable for washing, and the retention system is the good old double d-ring strap. If you noticed the front chin bar it has in my opinion one of the biggest mouth vent ever, but in the end I like this it brings in a lot of air and it looks very Darth Vaderish. The top vents can be open or closed.

WHY USE A DOT HELMET
Now this is a good question and it may seem like overkill for DH or Freeriding and this would be more of a personal preference, but awhile back one top Australain World Cup DH racer had a severe head injury that put him in a coma for several weeks. This did raise the question of are DH helmets strong enough to handle what we do, after all Downhillers and Freeriders do hit moto speeds and the terrain we ride can be a lot worse.
Now if you ask me wearing a DOT helmet verues a CPCS helmet that is a DH helmet will protect you no matter what, a DOT just has a higher safety rating for motorcycle riding then a CPSC rated helmet.
Now how does she feel
The AX-8 feels great and has a great fit, but what would be the draw back to this helmet for DH racing and riding well it would be the venting and that’s the way it has always been when choosing a DOT helmet, and weight. Your typical Bicycle DH helmets have nice big vents to allow air to flow through your head and they are light in weight, this is the one thing I love about this helmet is the weight and with the big eye port and chin vent this brings the air in.
When racing with it on I have no issues with it that I can come up with, it just feels great and I do feel better wearing a DOT helmet ( Peace of mind.).
This is my new race helmet, my helmet before this was the DAINESE Raptor DH helmet, and before that it was my (and I loved this helmet) Troy Lee D2 helmet.
DRESSING IT UP
OK it was time to dress it up to make it mine and seeing that I do test and write for Mtnbikeriders.com I just had to see my friend Mike at Signit to make me some decals.

So I got my Mtnbikeriders.com decals done and had our bike sponsor AIRBORNE Bicycle’s decal made, and if you noticed my name “Oh yes!!” Now I’m Joe pro.

THE DOWN AND DIRTY
As we  come to the end of it do you use a DOT helmet? Well, why not? This thing is 2lbs, it feels great and looks cool, besides the biggest thing it’s good enough for Travis Pastrana!
AGV has some cool color to choose from besides black and white. They have a Rossi replica and a Pastrana Nitro Circus limited edition.
What is the cost on this bad boy, Solids go for $349.95,  Multi $379.95, the Rossi and the Pastrana $399.95.

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