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This Memorial Day Weekend Joe, Priscilla, our friend Christine and I did some riding at a couple places. Our first destination was Fontucky to ride the world famous Southridge XC course. What’s great about Fontucky is that this place has a XC course, DH course and a 4X section. Nationals are held here every year and some of the biggest names in the business show up.

Anyhow, Priscilla has been itching to do some races and the last time we were at Fontucky she didn’t like the trail. But since then they’ve carved out some new sections that eliminated the parts that she didn’t like. This trail is pretty fun, but can be brutal…especially if you’re on a single speed. Joe and I macho’d up and both rode our SS rigs.

I’m not going to lie, Joe and I walked up some of the toughest parts of the trails…no shame in that. At the end of the 7 mile course, we played on the 4x track. It’s pretty similar to a BMX track and you have to do allot of pumping much like a pump track…and it comes with some sweet berms!

I love stuff like this so I made a few passes on the track. I’m sure I was going way slower than what some 4x racers ride this thing through, but it was really fun!

Weee!

I made a little video of our adventures at Fontucky…enjoy!

Then on Monday, the three of us decided to meet up at El Moro, its basically the Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach. But as we drove down there, dark clouds were hovering the area. As soon as we got there Joe, who had arrived earlier and was waiting for us, said that the trail was closed due to some rain that occurred last night and early this morning.

It sucked to see this sign…

We were all pretty bummed out, so Joe led our caravan down to Santiago Oaks in Orange/Anaheim Hills.

Once we got there, we geared up and about a mile into the ride, we saw a rider who stopped and was obviously staring at something…a big rattler! From what I’m hearing from other riders, these suckers are coming out all over SoCal to get some warm spring sun…

Pretty eh…this is the view we were treated with.

Here’s a shot of the girls right before we got into some single track.

and Joe doing his “queso” pose.

Today I was riding the new test bike that we have at HQ, the KHS XCT 535. The bike is set up as a mix of XC and trail bike, and so that meant climbing was doable and bombing down trails was a must. Santiago Oaks has some really nice, groomed single track with plenty of technical sections that can and will beat you up if you’re not paying attention. The trail varied in terrain, from hard pack, clay, baby heads 1-2 footer drops and chutes. What’s cool was the XCT 535 was able to handle everything that Santiago Oaks had to dish out.

Priscilla got a new haircut, its cute huh?

Joe and I broke off from the girls just so we can have some extra fun. It felt like we were flying down some of the trails and it was really cool to ride with Joe because I feel like he and I have the same riding style. So that means we were both speeding through some of the hardest parts of the trail. In the shot below, it was pretty gnarly.

Right before it is some single track that has some exposure on the left side. I came around the corner way too fast and looking at where I had to go, I felt like I ran out of options. I braced myself to go over the bars and luckily I sat way back on the XCT 535, so far that it felt like the rear tire was buzzing my butt! I tried to slow down as I entered this section but any time I tried to, my rear wheels would skid and I’d lose control momentarily. I figured, I’ll feather the brakes, but I was still going too fast for comfort. As I pointed the bike exactly where I needed to go, the bike responded, and the suspension was very forgiving…I made it without eating it! Phew! I was so relieved.

When I finally got down, Joe joined me at the bottom and we waited for the girls to show up. But these two riders appeared and Joe and I were doing some trail side commentary. The first guy started loosing control right at the beginning and slid down sideways with one and sometimes both feet on the ground. But the fella made a great recovery and rode through. The second guy came along and he freaked out and held onto his bars while both legs where on the ground trying to slow himself down. Luckily he was able to make it down without getting hurt. So now it was the girls’ turn. They were smart and walked that portion of the trail. I don’t blame them, that section is pretty scary.

So today this bike was pretty much my guardian angel. The KHS XCT 535 is still being reviewed but after today, I have come to realize that this bike is the shiznitz! In other words, it’s wickedly awesome!

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After the downpour Friday night I thought our day would be cancelled. Luckily Jeremy called to drag my lazy self out of bed.  We arrived, half-asleep but I was eager to test any bike I could get my greedy little hands on.  Lots of bike companies were out, including Yeti, Turner, Foes, KHS, and Iron Horse. Quite the candy store of high-end bikes.

Jeremy stuck to the the 29ers; KHS’ Flagstaff and Turner’s Sultan.  Here’s Jeremy picking a line down the XC course with the Sultan.

I got to ride the Flagstaff for a little bit. I’d never ridden a 29er before and I was pretty impressed with how easily the large wheels just roll over any obstacles. Like riding a Cadillac down the steeps. Very nice. I can see why Jeremy has a constant hankering for all things 29er! But enough with the 29ers already we got enough of them from Interbike! Also Jeremy and I weren’t able to go to Interbike so this was our own little dirt demo…Fontucky style, and I decided to keep my demo 29er-free.  

The first tough decision of the day was at the KHS booth. I remembered seeing the video of Vince(KHS bicycles) introducing the new XCT 555 so I grabbed one to test. Although I did see my mistress, the freeride/DH Lucky 7, I didn’t have shoes for flats or my protective gear so I stuck with the all-mountain/XC bikes.

KHS XCT 555

This bike was a mystical black beauty so I took her picture in the shadows. Actually I’m at the shallow end of the photography skills pool…and drowning. Sorry for the bad pic.

This is KHS’ new all-mountain offering. A light bike that had to be sub 30 pounds. As I was climbing I felt like I was riding a fully rigid bike. Honestly I though something was wrong with the setup. This thing climbed like amazingly but when the hill pointed down the suspension opened up and the ride was buttery smooth. The suspension performed beautifully and I had a smile on my face the whole ride. This may be a bike we test out, if we can get our hands on it. MSRP is a ridiculous $1,999. I say ridiculous because I like it even better than the Turner Flux, a bike that costs easily twice as much.

I also have to mention the Hayes Stroker brakes that were on the XCT 555. I had the lesser version without the adjustable lever reach but they performed unbelievably. One finger braking and excellent modulation in a great looking setup. They made me realize how bad my brakes are on my own bike.

Turner Flux

I picked the medium Flux, which is a 4″ rear travel endurance/XC race bike. The fork was a Fox, XC race specific fork but I wasn’t sure of the exact model. Wow. This bike just felt fast. Low front controls for speedy climbing and a racy-light, low 20 pound weight.  While it felt faster than the XCT 555 it wasn’t as fun on the downhills. Not surprising though as this bike is made for fast and long rides. But at about $1,700 for the frame alone? Ya, I’ll take the 555 thank you. Still, it was quite a treat riding such a fine tuned piece of machinery.

As you can see I had the Oregon Scientific camera hooked up but it was pointing too high and I forgot my helmet attachment so the video was entirely of blue sky. Pretty but boring.

Here’s Jeremy suffering up the last part of a long climb on the KHS Flagstaff.

We both had a blast but were bummed we couldn’t stay longer. The course was the fastest I’ve seen it in years. The Winter Classic XC race in November should be fantastic. Also they had the 4X course all groomed and ready for stomping. This will be the main testing ground for the KHS DJ300 build and a smile crept across my face as I thought of how much fun it will be to put that bike through it’s paces here.

Demo day was so much fun. If you get a demo day near you I’d definitely check it out. The only problem I found was wanting to take the bikes home with me. I told my wife the whole event was like a strip club…plenty of leggy models around to tease you, but at the end of the day you’re going home the way you came…alone. Awww.

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