Exposure also allows for some sweet views! In the middle of the valley, you can see the fireroad we climbed. The day before, we were on the other side of the mountain riding the slopes

Just a few lessons learned from this past weekend of riding, plus some more random pictures that didn’t make it into the previous posts. By the way, thank Khoa for all the sweet pictures. He lugged around his camera when I was too lazy to carry mine. Thanks Khoa.

Bikes parked in the kitchen

Guys who ride your style
It’s better to ride with guys who ride your style than ride with guys who don’t. It’s as simple as that. It takes a little while but if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll easily define what style it is that you like to ride. I, for instance, enjoy fast, continuous singletrack with technical sections that don’t require me to drop my seatpost. Exposure doesn’t bother me too much nor do jumps under one-foot tall. I would like to get better at riding fun stuff like teeter totters and logs, but that isn’t particularly important to me. I don’t like climbing but it’s a necessary evil in my book.

Redline Mono 9 taking the lift

I do not liking riding gnarly terrain that is optimized for bikes with more than 5 inches of suspension. I don’t mind occasionally doing the ”point and shoot” through small rock gardens or other ugly stuff but I want a bit of a run out afterwards to get things back under control. Riding with those that enjoy downhill stuff is not only frustrating to me but is also frustrating to the DH rider waiting for me to walk a ridiculously steep or traction-less slope. Riding with guys that have the same tastes in riding as you do makes it easy to have fun for everyone. Just find stuff that you like to ride and they’ll like it too.

Not busy on the slopes today. You can see Big Bear Lake too

Ask for Guidance
The riding on Saturday morning was not our style and since the trails were not marked, we knew the afternoon was probably going to be hit and miss to find trails we like. So we did what any desperate mountain biker does when their back is up against the wall. We asked for guidance. But you can’t just ask anybody. You have to watch for tell tale clues as to the rider’s ability and familiarity lever before asking for help.

Trek Fuel EX 9.0 resting on the porch

What made Tim ask Deb for help beats me, but what I gathered from some hindsight is that Deb exhibited characteristics of one able to help. She had a good bike (a Specialized Safire), proper riding attire (plain woman’s no sleeve jersey and lycra shorts), proper sunglasses (not aviators which we saw a lot of, but riding glasses with interchange-able lenses) and two strap riding shoes. She also, I noticed much later, did not have a hydration pack. Combine this with the other characteristics and this is obvious a knowledgeable rider who is familiar with local trails and her own riding limits. You don’t want to find the poseur or waste time asking the newb.

Not really a “river”… more of a Santa Ana Stream. Pretty though.

Hydration
If you don’t know what to do in regards to hydration, do as much as you can and then add another bottle. The long day of riding got me at the end when I started to cramp a little. The lesson here is to keep drinking. I decided not to fill up my water pack when we went out after lunch… a calculating decision that came back to haunt me at around 3:30pm. The cramping began in my legs and quickly spread, even hitting my triceps which have never cramped before. I ended up taking Khoa’s Accelerade filled bottle and drinking it all. Afterwards, I was ready for another run… maybe two if the lifts hadn’t stopped for the day. Drink, not just water, but stuff to replenish what your body loses and it’s always better to have a little extra than to not have enough. Thanks Khoa.

Jeremy cramping under a tree

HT vs. FS
If you can go with a full suspension bike, rock it. At the end of the first day, 7+ hours of riding mind you, my butt was feeling good. I was thinking “no problem” for tomorrow’s ride. But, I was wrong. My worst fear from the past two weeks sprang up and when I got on my saddle the next morning I could feel my sit bones aching. After riding up the fireroad I knew I’d appreciate a full suspension bike. For a guy not accustomed to spending so many hours on the saddle a little love from some full suspension would have gone a long way.

Tim at the SART trailhead

Not to say anything negative about my bike, though. The Redline Mono 9 with 29-inch wheels hung in there with the other full suspension bikes. The steel was great and I swapped back the White Brothers Magic 80mm 29er fork which worked excellently after I dialed it in. The Redline was never the limiting factor during the rides. The rider and his desire to live another day was.

A picture of the valley that the fireroad was in

SART Singletrack

Jeremy eavesdropping on Tim’s cell phone conversation

Khoa proudly finishes negotiating a switchback

Jeremy & Tim on SART

Thanks for all the comments & I hope you enjoyed our pictures and commentary.

Popularity: 12% [?]

We’ve got a new build project that we’ll be working on soon. This one is a bit unique from the Ultimate All Mountain Bike, The Sette Reken, and the Full Suspension Single Speed. The bike we’ll be building has two purposes.

1. Be comfortable enough to ride epics

2. Be aggressive enough to race with

I’m sure there are plenty of bikes out there that can do that, but the goal of our build is to customize it for the rider. As you all know, Priscilla is our Podium Girl…no she’s not the one that gives the winners their medal and a peck on the cheek, nope, she’s our girl that places when she races. She’s also been known to enjoy an epic ride.

The problem that Priscilla faces with her current set up, a XC hard tail is that it can be a harsh ride, especially if she’s on the trail for hours at a time. That said, this bike we’re building will suit her racing and epic needs. We’re going to build it up with some great parts…nothing that would break the bank and of course some pink accents to celebrate that she’s a chick.

If you’re wondering which frame we’ll be using…here’s a hint!

We’ll be getting this frame later on this week and once we have it in hand, we’ll post some glamour shots of it…you know on the bed, with a feather boa and all polished up….oooh!

Popularity: 9% [?]

We just took recent delivery of the Swiss Bike TX. What makes this one unique is the fact it can fold. Basically it eliminates the needs for a roof or hitch rack since you can transport it in your car’s trunk or backseat.

Usually when we get bikes delivered, they come in this mondo long box. But the Swiss was in a short stubby box in which the bike was already folded inside it.

If you’ve never seen this bike before, I’m sure you’ll think that its pretty weird looking without the down tube and its double top tube.

The bike is spec’d with entry level parts and a 21speed drive train. Here’s the specs:

ADVANTAGES

* Full-size bike for cruising city streets and mountain trails with 26″ standard wheels.
* Folds to 36″ x 28″ x 12″ in under thirty seconds without the use of tools.
* Compact size allows for convenient storage in a car trunk, boat, closet, or private plane.
* Limited lifetime warranty on frame.
* 21-Speed with front suspension fork and disc brake.
* Equipped with industry standard wheels and components serviceable at any bike shop.
* Patented technology not available from any other company.
* The portable nature of the bicycle allows it to be taken anywhere.

SPECIAL FEATURES

* Montague Folding Integrated Technology (F.I.T.™): Our patented seat tube folding system preserves the structural integrity and inherent strength of traditional bicycle geometry. Unlike all other folding bikes, there are no wobbly hinges and no structural tubes cut in half.
* Quick Releases: No tools are needed to fold and unfold the X-Series™ Bike. Just open one quick release lever on the top tube and remove the front wheel. Folds in under thirty seconds without tools.
* Safety Lock: Recessed drop out for quick release prevents frame from folding even with quick release not tightened.
* CLIX™ Wheel Release System: Patented pending wheel release system that allows for the easy wheel removal with only one hand.

Folding pivot

Here’s a shot of it folded, it literally takes seconds.

The bike is not necessarily a light weight, it’s pretty beefy weighing in around 32lbs.

We’ll be putting the Swiss Bike TX through the paces and see how well it does. Then after the review, we want to do a few things to the bike, you know to bling-e-fy it a bit, I’m thinking Single Speed and Sweetskinz Tires!

For more information about the Swiss Bike TX, click HERE.

Popularity: 15% [?]