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There are a handful of tools that a mountain biker should have in their possession. But there’s one tool that not many people have, but its something you all NEED.

It’s the Park Tool DAG-2

I bought this tool online for around $50. You may think, that its a bit steep to pay for one tool, but it actually pays for itself within a few uses. You see, a shop will charge you as much as $25 to align your hanger. It is an intimidating tool to look at (that’s what she said), but its pretty easy to use. Here’s a video that best explains how to work with the tool.

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We’ve all been there, the first time you get into riding you are super excited and willing to get up as early as 4am just to make sure you’re ready your ride that day. But what happens over time is we get burnt out. Perhaps you just don’t find the joy in riding anymore or you’re just not having any fun. So what do you do? Do you sell your bike and get into another hobby? Hells no! Here are some tips to help anyone that is in a riding funk.

1. Shift the focus to others
As you know, mountain biking is an individual sport and you rely entirely on your own efforts. Rather than focusing on you, try getting a newbie out on the trails. One of the things I like to do is introduce people to the sport of mountain biking. In fact, I usually send out a mass email inviting newbies and seasoned riders to a weekly ride on Saturdays.

Mountain biking to any new rider becomes a full on adventure. Everything they do on that ride, they’ll be talking about it for a long time. Some of the things you may find easy to ride, a newbie may find it difficult and as their guide, you can show them the proper techniques to be able to conquer that obstacle.

2. Join group rides
Check your local mountain biking websites, forums and shops. You’ll most likely find a group that is going to ride a certain trail. This is a great way to make new friends and discover new places to ride. By the way, if you join a shop event/club, some of them will offer discounts on products before and after the ride.

Joe is a great ambassador when it comes to group rides.

3.Become mindful
Volunteer your time to build and maintain your local trail network. Become involved with organizations like International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) or any other local mountain biking advocacy groups. Sometimes having a sense of purpose in what you do gives you that extra motivation to get things done.

Borrowed from Singletracks.com

4.Change up the scenery
Are you tired of XC riding? Try downhill mountain biking, single speeding or vintage mountain bike riding (rigid steel bikes). I actually own one of each type of mountain bike. I’ve got an XC, DH, I used to have a SS, and I own a vintage mountain bike. On any given ride we do, I may have a wild hair and show up riding one of the bikes mentioned.

5.Be thankful you can ride a bike
Take the opportunity to be grateful for the fact that you have the physical ability to ride your bike. So many of us, including me, take it for granted that we have able bodies that allow us to enjoy the awesome trails that God has given us. I strongly believe that of you are grateful, your actions will show it.

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A while back I was talking to Tim “Ciseaux” about singlespeed cranksets. He told me about a custom builder who modifys the XTR 960 triple crank, into a clean looking single setup. After looking at some pictures, I thought this would be a cool project for my single. The XTR 960 cranks are strong, and already light. I found a used set in great shape on a local auction site.

The good thing about these older XTRs is, they can use most of the current Shimano external bottom brakets. I ended up using one from the current XT crank. One important thing you need to know is, this set uses a 102 BCD, not the more common 104 BCD. So your favorite ring you normally run may not fit. The first step is to strip them down. You will be cutting off the supports for the big ring. I found the center between the chainring holes and made a mark.

Now you can use many different tools to make the cut. I am pretty handy with a hacksaw, so that was my choice. After making all the cuts, I used a pneumatic die grinder to round the edges.

I almost just ran them like this. I kinda like the silver coating of the older XTR line. But ended up using a scotch brite wheel to remove the coating, so I could polish them.

After they were all clean, I used a polishing wheel on my bench grinder to bring the shine back. I didn’t go crazy here. I am sure you could spend all day getting them to perfect. But I really just wanted to ride them. Here they are after bolting on a Blackspire Mono Veloce ring.

I ran them like this for about two years. Recently I moved them to a new frame and decided to give them some new life. I found a local polisher that did a great job for about $25.

I know they don’t look exactly like the ones that sell for a few hunderd bucks. But I saved some cash, I had the fun of doing it myself.

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For the folks who are experiencing the crazy storm of the century which is supposed to bury people alive ….I can’t relate. However, I have a consolation prize to make you feel better. Check out this DIY that my brother came up with when he used to live in New Cumberland Pennsylvania.

He made his own bicycle tire chains!

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I guess its different for everybody. Some guys train non-stop, some have crazy lite bikes, and some shave their legs. Well, I wish I had the time to train like crazy. Lite bike are super expensive. And I like having hair on my legs. So I looked to guys like Mark Wier and Adam Craig to see what makes them fast.

Mark Weir is one fast dude! He races everything from DH to Ultra Endurance XC.

Adam Craig is a Single Speed World Champ, and also represented the USA in The Olympics!

This guy is Fredrick Goomers, he speaks for himself…

So what do these racers all have in common? They all rock a mean mustache! You might be thinking…how can a mustache make you fast? Well, I don’t know, so I thought I would do a little experiment and find out.

This is Chuck, he was the offical time keeper for the test.

Thats me rockin the Handlebar.

We headed to Bonelli, and marked out a course that was 11.8 mile long. It starts off with some fire road climbs, has some fast singletrack, and a few techy rocky descents. Right from the start I felt stong! I was powering up the climbs like nothin, and when it came to the downhills I was confident and smooth.

I ended up finishing the course with a offical time of 58 minutes and 38 seconds. I felt so good I did another lap!

Two days later we returned to Bonelli. I ate the same food for breakfast, rode the same bike, and the test was done at the same time of the day. Only thing that was different, was I shaved off the mustache.

This time my ride felt a little different. I didn’t feel as strong on the climbs, or as confident on the descents. When I finally finished, it was a time if 1:00:41. Thats more than 2 minutes slower! In a race that is huge! So not only do mustaches look “Chuck Norris” but they also make you faster.

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