Just got these babies in! Perfect timing for this weekend’s Nationals in Fontana, Ca. This is a 3/4 sleeve jersey that can be used for any style of riding. Even Piggy Back Rides.
I’d like to thank those who pre-ordered!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Category: Mountain Biking
5 year Anniversary Jerseys are here!
On March - 22 - 2012
Check out the BikeCommuters.com Wool Socks
On March - 19 - 2012
These awesome wool socks are available through our sister site, BikeCommuters.com for the low low price of $15 shipped to any where in the US!
60% Wool, 25% Acrylic, 10% polypropylene, 5% spandex. 100% kickass.
Order them now because we have to pay the bills and all that jazz. Besides I’m getting older so I need botox shots for my wrinkles, I need money to do that!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Ibex Maroc Review
On March - 19 - 2012
Well, I have had and been riding the Ibex Maroc 26 hardtail for a few months now. Here is the introductory article with info on the bike. If you listen carefully, you can hear my favorite part about this bike… wait for it. Yes, it is quiet. Sneak attack quiet. It feels quieter than my SS in fact. I would tend to think that it due in part from a number of factors. One of the major contributors besides that a carbon frame cannot resonate like metal can is the internal cable routing. I came across an article recently (somewhere which I don’t remember now) that recommended using internal routing as a way to quiet down your ride. So I would image this contributes to the lack of noise.
Ripping up some single track.
The Maroc was on the small side of things for me frame wise, but not uncomfortable so. In fact, it kind of felt like a BMX bike. It love to be thrown around, stand up and mash, and had acceleration for days. Standing up charging up the hills made to bike just beg for more. Usually however, my heart-rate was the first one to give. Another good thing about the Maroc and this goes hand in hand with its lack of noise is the smoothness. Even through moderately choppy terrain it stayed smooth, on course, and lacked a good amount of trail chatter. While on the bike I never noticed any unduly amount of flex.
The even though the Maroc is a hardtail, it performed like a great all-around bike. Even though it is fairly light on the scale, it isn’t a super XC race machine, I would think mainly due to the geometry. The sit and spin up a big hills is where I had only the real point of contention. The bike climbed just fine, but it was not a put your head down and charge up the hill while in the saddle. The key market for this bike to me would be those riders who want a hardtail, but still want to to be able to handle the fun stuff. It is a very good all-around bike, and would do well for those who only have one bike, and don’t do any major DH. I even took it down some of my favorite AM trails, and they where definitely all rideable, but I was not able to carry the amount of speed I normally would through the rough parts and drops. The 69.5 degree head angle I would credit with the stability here. Even with the slacker HA for a hardtail the steering was not sluggish in the corner, quick the opposite in fact. The Maroc is still a hardtail and has limitations as such, but it is a fun bike.
Quick break in the rolling hills.
The SRAM X9 2×10 drive-train was a solid as expected (I’m swapping my drive-train out to this, so I unquestionable like it). The Rockshox Reba RLT was great. Sometimes it felt like more of a 120mm travel instead of 100mm. I had a little trouble with the lockout remote, minor, but mainly just an annoyance. The cable with controls the locking has to have a lot of tension while in the lock position or the fork does not completely lockout. I kept having to re-tighten it. Personally, I would like to see Rockshox have a hydraulic option here, but that’s just me. The one thing I have have to change if I owned this bike would be the front tire. The WTB Wolverine 2.1 was just not enough meat up front for me and cut loose a few times causing me to quickly say hello to the dirt. The Wolverine was a descent XC tire in the rear, in the front I had to be cautious and aware to to rely on it too much.
Having a little fun.
My normal hardtail is a steel 29er, and the carbon Maroc was unquestionably smoother than the steel. The quick handling made me aware of the limitations of the 29er in tight quarters. I was able to carry much more speed through tight switchbacks. I did have one significant issue with the bike was that the frame cracked on the seat tube just about the bottom bracket underneath the front derailleur. I contacted Ibex and their representative simply asked us to continue riding the bike. This did not affect the ride-ability of the bike, but because of it the front derailleur would come loose and slide up the seat-tube just enough to disable shifting. I would have to assume this issue was caused by the derailleur crushing the tube and would be a warrantied issue. I never took it easy on the bike after this and the frame continued to hold up without issue.
In summary, the Ibex Maroc is a quick, light, smooth, and quiet bike. It has a great build with SRAM X9 and a Reba RLT fork. For the price it is a tough to beat option for those looking to step up into carbon. It held up well among the California rock and dust and also got a rare rain ride in. This is one bike I wouldn’t mind having in my stable.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Specialized Carve Pro 29er Review
On March - 18 - 2012
New for 2012 is the Carve 29 from Specialized. The Pro sits at the top of the line up above the Comp, and Expert models. The Carve Pro comes with a good range of components: Shimano brakes and drivetrain, Rockshox Recon Fork, and Specialized everything else. This line of bikes is for the riders that desire a fast and durable hardtail 29er, but doesn’t want to spend the cash for the Stumpjumper HT. Lets look at what you get for the $2000 price tag.
27.7 pounds with pedals and cages
The frame is made from fully manipulated M4 aluminum with XC 29er-specific geo. Tapered tubes all over with a headtube thats 1 1/8″ to 1 1/2″, a seat tube that starts from a small 27.2 and widens at the BB area, and a very sleek looking top tube that slowly thins out as it meets the seat tube. The Seat tube also has a slight bend in it to tuck the rear wheel under the rider, keeping the chainstays on the short side. The seatstays are bridge-less for more “vertical compliance while torsionally stiffening the rear triangle ” according to Specialized. The rear brake is post mount for a clean simple look. The first thing I noticed riding The Carve is, it’s Stiff! It”s been a while since I have ridden an Aluminum Hardtail. The good side to this is, all the power you’re putting to the pedals, goes straight to the ground. I felt zero flex from the frame, even out of the saddle, under hard effort.
Bent and Tapered Seat Tube.
Brige-less/Oval Shaped Seatstays
The Fork is a Rockshox Recon Gold TK SL that features a Tapered Steerer, Hollow Aluminum crown, 32mm Aluminum Uppers, and Light Weight Magnesium Lowers. The Pro model also has a handlebar mounted Lockout, which does not come on the Expert and Comp models. According to the recommended pressure chart on the fork, I should of set the psi between 90 and 110, for my 145lb weight. I started at 100 psi, and didn’t get 20% sag till 70 psi. After a few rides, 75 psi was the best feeling set up, with the rebound set in the middle. The Recon felt like it had more than its 80mm of travel. Its smooth and strong. I never had any issues with it’s performance. Although I am used to leaving my front suspension unlocked for 90% of my riding. The remote Lockout was convenient, and worked great.
1 1/8 to 1 1/2 and remote lockout on the Recon Gold.
Drivetrain/Brakes were a pretty simple, yet proven, Shimano Deroe/SLX/XT combo. Using the Dyna-Sys System, which is 24/32/42 rings up front and a 10 speed 11-36 cassatte in the rear, gives you plenty of gear choices no matter what terrain your riding. The SLX shifters and XT rear derailleur delivered ultra solid shifts. The Shimano Deore Servo Wave hydraulic brakes came with 180/160 rotors. Even though the brakes could bring your speed down pretty good, they were very noisy! Even after adjusting, and cleaning. Almost unbearable at times. Also, the levers seemed short and stubby, no matter were I put them, they weren’t comfortable. The brakes were just not up to par with the rest of this bike.
Deore Brakes/SLX Shifters/Rockshox Lockout lever
XT Dyna-Sys 10 Speed Deraileur/Carve Stout 29 Rims
Rounding out the package is a slew of Specialized branded parts. A 27 inch alloy flat bar bolted to the 75mm stem, put my weight centered on the bike. The Specialized Body Geometry XCT Grips were great, expecially on longer rides. The Carve saddle is 143mm wide with hollow Cr-Mo rails. I love Specialized saddles, especially the Phenom model, but if I put in more than 25 or so miles on the carve saddle, it seemed a little uncomfortable. Last but not least, are those big wheels. The Carve Stout 29 rims are alloy double walled, laced with Stainless 2mm spokes, to 32 hole Stout hubs. Both Hubs have sealed cartridge bearings and spin smooth. The wheels are strong and can take abuse. They are not the lightest out there for sure, but were solid and stiff. The front uses an oversized dropout interface for front-end rigidity. This means the endcaps on the hubs and QR are larger than normal where they clamp down on the fork. This, added to the Tapered Steer Tube made for a very stiff front end. The Captain Control tires are some of my favorite trail tires. They feel bigger than their 2.0 size. They bite well in the corners, and are predictable when pushed to their limit. Although set up with tubes, they are tubeless ready, or “2Bliss” as Specialized calls it.
Stout Hubs/Oversized Interface
Comfy BG Grips
I normally ride a HT 29er. So whats different about this one? If I had to pick one thing, it would be it handles great. Actually, it handles better than most 29ers I’ve ridden. I also wanted to get the opinion of someone who doesn’t normally ride a 29er. One of my riding buddies normally rides a 26 inch dual susp. He and I did a 10 mile loop at our local spot with the Carve. This is what he had to say, “The bike pedals smoothly, accelerates quickly, and climbs great. I need to get a 29er!” This bike make him a 29er believer. If I could make small changes I’d say, a carbon seatpost would have more flex and would be more comfortable on longer rides. Also going tubeless would allow you to run lower pessures, giving you more traction and better ride quality. And as I stated before, the Deore brake didn’t impress me. Upgrading to the XT or just SLX brakes would make the component spec super solid. With the Carve line starting at only $1350, and the Pro tested here retailing for $2000, I think Specialized did a good job at putting together a durable bike than performs good without breaking the bank.
Popularity: 3% [?]
MORE TOP SPOTS FOR AIRBORNE BICYCLES
On March - 13 - 2012
MYSELF AND BRYAN "YOUNG GUN"DONEY TAKE 4TH & 2ND OVERALL AT THE SRC WINTER SERIES. BRYAN ALSO TOOK HOME A 4TH PLACE FINISH FOR THE DAY WHILE THE REST OF US ROUNDED OUT THE DAY WITH TOP TENS.
AIRBORNE RANGERS PUTTING ANOTHER NOTCH ON THE BELT
I just want to say thanks to AIRBORNE Bicycle’s for giving us the chance to show everyone out there you don’t have to have a $4000 dollar bike to win or finish on the podium.
This is how it looked coming into the finals, Bryan was sitting in a solid 3dr overall, Corey was in a 7th position, Wes was in about the same position as Corey, and I was sitting in 2nd place with only five points between me and first, but 3rd, 4th, and 5th were also only five points down to, so this was anybody’s race in my class. “Exciting isn’t it!”
RL showed up as the team photographer and cheer squad along with Bryan’s mom and girlfriend. “Thanks guys!”
COREY GOING BIG!
It ended up being another great race weekend at Fontana for the last SRC Winter series race, which was the finals. We had one course for all racers which gives the sport and beginner racers a chance to pit their speed and time against the pro/expert classes.
The wind did kick up as usual , the wall was in the mix, and the course had a good mix of blown out soft turn, great rock drops, and some nice rock sections.
“Fist raised high and go time!”
TEAM TIME
Now this is the fun of having one course, Corey Pond and I get to have some fun practicing with our teammates. We set out on one practice run with Corey, Bryan and myself with Was out there somewhere.
Corey and I let the “Young Gun” go between us and we just had to have a little fun with him. I let Bryan go ahead of me then tried to press him a little, I didn’t think I would rattle the new guy seeing that he’s not an FNG to racing anymore, but I did and what does Bryan go and do, “HITS HIS BRAKES!” in front of me and makes me “CRASH!” “Wow Bryan I can’t believe you did that!”
He even made me bend my derailleur hanger. This made me loose the championship! And if your reading this my teammate “THANKS”.
All kidding aside it was fun doing practice with the guys, to often Corey and I don’t get to ride the same course with our teammate’s and have fun.
WES CASTRO HITTING THE DROP.
TOP SPOTS FOR MtnBikeRiders.com & AIRBORNE
Well for me it wasn’t the day I wanted ( See article “Pressure On The Mind), but still in the end it was a good day of racing. I went home with 4th overall, Wes ended up with 6th overall, Corey 6th, and for our young gun being his first year racing Bryan not only took 2nd overall for the series, but also finished the day with a 4th place podium.
Not to bad for the start of the season if you ask me.
BRYAN WITH THE MOTO STYLE!
WES GIVING ME THE THUMBS UP!
END OF THE DAY
The cold beer was cracked open, the cheers were heard and another SRC Winter Series is put to rest and all I can say is “Look out Cal State the AIRBORNE RANGERS ARE A COMING!”
Thanks to all our sponsors.
Photo By
RL Policar
Shawn McDonald
Popularity: 1% [?]
