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I did it. I jumped on the single speed bandwagon. I suppose it was just a matter of time really…with all these boys around me on their single speeds. I swore I’d never do it. But I really just couldn’t resist. I was blown away when I first saw RL riding his single speed. The guy actually rode faster on a single speed then he does with gears!

Most recently Jeremy built up his single speed and before that I saw David decide to give it a go. Now he is racing ss! I just didn’t understand what all this excitement was about? Why the self-torture? I like all my gears, especially my granny gear as needed. RL has been trying to get me on a single speed for a long time now. I really just had no desire but my curiosity peeked and I said to RL “Well maybe I’ll just give your single speed a try one of these days – but no strings attached! If I don’t like it I don’t want you to ask again.” That’s all he needed. He had me out on the fully loop in a matter of days on his single speed.

David “Superman” Sanderson racing single speed

I really didn’t know what to think of it initially. The bike was all wrong of course for my body but I kept this in mind as we put in a few miles on it. I felt very frustrated with not being able to climb a few hills but the flats were fun. I felt like a hamster turning in her wheel at times and other times the pedal stroke was effortless, yet I moved so fast!

So after a couple of runs RL suggested building up my beloved Motobecane as a ss for me. The chance to saddle up on the Motobecane again??? Yes! And the best part was I got to pick the color of my chain! How COOL is that?!?!?! My KHS is decked out in pink so I thought purple would be a nice change. I’m all about comfort so we threw on my Ergon grips and a nicer saddle. We thought it best to stick to a 32-18 for now.

My sweet Motobecane…..before the transformation

I have been secretly riding the single speed for about 4 weeks now. Why secret you ask??? Well first off, I didn’t want the boys to know in case I completely hated it and gave up after 1 ride. lol. It’s also really embarrassing not to be able to clear some of the hills out there – yes I have got a little pride. Oh c’mon you know we all feel a little bad sometimes when we have to dismount. I know I am not the only one. But I am over it, because I still can’t clear some of those hills! lol.

This past weekend was my first “group” ride on the single speed out at Sycamore Canyon (ride report to follow). I don’t know WHO said this trail was single speed friendly (RANDALL), but in any case I survived. LOL. We got in a little over 15 miles and I am happy to say I still like it. I love that there is so little to think about on a single speed. I don’t have to give any forethought to which gear I want to be in, I just have to adjust my pedal stroke. The boys thought I was showing off when I was zippin up the hills but, really, I just need A LOT of momentum to get up. I still find the short steep climbs very difficult, which is a blow to my ego..lol….but I hope in time I’ll build up my muscles to clear these. There is also something familiar about the set up. It feels very similar to my spin bike, which I am on about twice a week. It’s really hard to describe the enjoyment I feel on that bike. Maybe it’s becuase it’s a new experience? Maybe I like the extra power I feel in my pedal stroke? Or maybe I just am happy to be reunited with my moto. I don’t know what it is, but I like it.

Me and my SS Moto

The single speed set up is also an incredible work out. I’m not just talking about my legs either. My arms and shoulders are still talking about it a day later! Maybe riding single speed will make me more fit?? Maybe that’s the animals secret?!?!? Well I’ll let you know in time! Ha! I am also curious to know if it will improve my riding on my geared bike?

Single speed = Animal

So in case you have been mulling over a single speed set up – give it a go. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Ask any of the boys. They’ll be the first to let you know I really had no desire to ever ride single speed. I viewed it as a form of masochism! There are some aspects that are difficult but I have come to appreciate the hard work. And the rides have been fun. As painful as some of the ride was this past weekend, I really had a great time and I was proud that I did it on the single speed out there.

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Saturday morning, the MtnBikeRiders crew were all spread out riding various trails. Jeremy was at Marshall Canyon, Lance as you’ve already seen was at Turnbull Canyon and the rest of us stayed local and hit up the Fullerton Loop.

Khoa, Moe, Priscilla, and I met up with one of my buddies, Joe, who is is wanting to try out mountain biking. Moe was very accomodating by providing Joe the Trek Remedy to use for his first adventure.

Here we are at our first of many rest stops.
RL, Priscilla, Joe, Moe and Khoa.

At another rest stop, which is basically the half way point.

The trail has a few of these signs that say “Bicycles watch downhill speed.” Posing next to those signs makes for a perfect Kodak moment…

On one of the extra credit portions of the trail, Priscilla, Joe and Khoa decided to tackle a pretty steep climb with a nice pay off on the back end. I ran over to where they would be coming down and got some action shots.

From what I understand, this was Joe’s first mountain bike experience. But to be honest with you, he didn’t ride like it was his first time. The dude has some handling skills and pretty much climbed everything we hit.

Here’s Khoa after taking a massive jump and doing a back flip in mid air…too bad my camera didn’t catch it…

We had a great time out there. As always we just tried to enjoy as much of the trail as we could.

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I have rarely talked to a mountain biker that has just one bike in their stable. Hard tails, single speeds, full suspension bikes, rigids…we all have come a looonng way from the Klunkerz days. Our household has a lot of variety in our garage because RL LOVES to build up bikes…and our collection is growing. lol.

The other day RL and I were talking about how I want to tackle some more technical trails. I am starting to really feel comfortable on this new bike I am riding and I think I am ready to tackle some harder stuff. You won’t see me doing weelies up the hill anytime soon though! lol. So he suggested building up another bike for me to do this.

Another bike?? Why should I build another bike to improve my skills? I am a simple girl. Once I get comfortable on my bike, I am a happy camper. It takes me a few rides to adjust to my bike so that it is JUST right. Once I have achieved that I am all smiles out on the trails. Aside from that I think that if I want to expand my biking skills I should work with what I got.

So I guess that’s where RL and I differ. More of you will probably agree with RL but I like my bike and I don’t want to feel like I have to change out my bike all the time. I still dream of the Gary Fisher Hi-Fi 29er (I am drooling) but I love feeling like my bike and I are one out there on the trails and that comes from spending a lot of time on that bike. Not sure that I can achieve that by constantly changing out bikes?

Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun to try something new everynow and then. I really enjoyed Moe’s Trek Remedy and ultimately that turned me on to full suspension. The downhills were a lot of fun on that bike. But again, I want to have one bike that I will always go back to.

So is there anything wrong with that? Am I really limiting my skills with this mentallity? And even so I have seen singlespeed hardtails jammin down hillsides quicker than some full suspension riders. Mabye someday as my skills progress out there it will be easy for me to jump from bike to bike more often? Just seems this conversation has come up a lot with RL and I. And he gets pretty insistant on wanting to build up something else for me. I think he is just trying to distract me from the Hi-Fi 29er though….hahaha.

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Last Saturday we had Nick “Nasty” Null, (he says that was his stage name at Chip N’ Dales) test ride the Motobecane Fly Pro.

Here’s what he thought. Oh keep in mind, Nick is super smart and likes to use big words like “svelte” and “trepidations.” Yeah he’s smart alright. So smart that the fella is going to China to teach kids how to speak and read Engrish, oops my bad, I meant English! Yeah he also mentioned something about getting his Masters in some sort of important course of study…

Anyhow, he’s back with vengeance! Read how he tamed the Monster!

Taming the Monster Moto…

By Nick “Nasty� Null

Svelte is an adjective rarely used in conversation to describe anything. So it sits, this word, in a dusty dictionary waiting to be moved to the dead word list. Until, along came Motobecane with the Fly Pro. Initially I was not impressed with appearance of the bike. Don’t get me wrong, its nice looking without being flashy, but it’s a hard tail, and I haven’t ridden a hard tail in 3 years.

Those original unimpressed thoughts were shoved aside when I picked it up and almost threw it. We’ve all done this with an empty ice chest, so don’t think my actions strange please. This bike is amazingly light, and even with the warning sales pitch that it is light, I was still surprised. The stock parts are obviously selected specifically to the design and purpose. It was the first time I had used Kenda tires on a bike, and they worked their magic in the slick dew soaked trail. The Avid SD5 brakes are rim brakes which are rightly coming back into popularity. Don’t worry I’m getting to svelte.

I started the Fullerton Loop trail slowly, getting warmed up and feeling that something this light is probably fragile. Those trepidations were washed away with the pure feeling of speed in every part of the trail. If there is something I’d have to pick that could be a fault of the bike, it would be the stubby handlebars. Yet, here I would be amiss again. While I like long bars because I like the grip for climbing, the Motobecane with the hard tail and light weight make it a killer climber. Then, we have the single track.

I love single track, especially through treacherous trees with unknown drops and dips. This bike, this butterfly like, svelte machine blows through single tracks like an arrow. The high bottom bracket clearance gives it great stump jumping ability while the RockShox Pilot SL forks soak up the roots. Here is where the stubby handlebars were made apparent in design. Being able to move lithely through trees was an absolute kick, and as a reader could tell, I gave up on the fragile assumption and pushed it hard with excellent response. I don’t know if I tamed the monster but it sure made me look good.

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On Saturday morning I test rode the new Motobecane Fly Pro. The best way to describe this bike is….FAST! The bike only weighs 23lbs, which means you can get going pretty quickly. I’m so used to bikes that weigh 30+ pounds, so when I got on the Fly Pro, it was a major treat.

The Fly Pro is equipped with Kenda Klimax tires and at first glance I thought these tires would do well at all since it has a low profile tread patter. But it was actually just right for the Fullerton Loop. The shifting was precise, handling was light and crisp.

Though my only complaint about the bike is the stem length. Having short stubby arms, I would require at least a 90mm stem. The Fly Pro came with a 100mm which is a tad too long for me.

I’ll have a more detailed report in the next two weeks.

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