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THE LOADED AMXC NON SLIP GRIPS

THE AMXC NO SLIP GRIPS

While at Sea Otter we ran into Loaded Precision Inc. If you have never heard of them they are a precision bicycle component manufacturing  company based out of San Diego California.
They make everything from handlebars, stems, headsets, seatpost, wheelsets, and hubs. This is a company that has a lot of really cool products. Their products stick out because of the beautiful anodizing and precision machining that is just a part of what and who they are and one of their products that caught my eye early on while at Interbike this last year was the AMXC grips No Slip Grips. It was this unique grip surface that was on them that made me stop and look at them. It looked like something that the military would use and I’m not just talking our ordinary military, but Special forces, namely our Navy Seals. Sure enough when talking with the guys at LOADED they did confirm this was a material used by them and in what way I can not say. The other part of the grips you have is the clean looking machining of their Lock-Rings & end caps.

GRIPS WITH GRIPSION
OK I made that word up and what does gripsion mean, simple “Ultimate Grip”. I know looking at the LOADED grips one would think their just another pair of lock on grips, but I’m hear to tell you these things hook you up like a fly stuck on flypaper. LOADED was kind enough to give us a pair to test and seeing that I was racing the downhill at Sea Otter what better place to do a first test.
When you feel them for the first time bare handed you can tell off the bat that they do have a tacky surface on them, one I have never felt on a grip before. It almost feels gummy to the touch. With gloves on you get the same feel, so what is it with the surface that makes them unique. Well its the material of the grip, as I had mentioned earlier this grade of rubber is used by a part of our US military and what does the NoSlip Grip offer, no matter what the weather condition is, snow, rain, mud, dirt, or something like grease the LOADED  NoSlip grip ensures rider hand contact to the grip. This is as important to the rider as it is to a soldier gripping his weapon or vital item he is using in the field.

THIS IS WHAT GIVES YOU GRIPSION.

ON THE RACE RUN
Once I fit the grips on and tighten them they locked on like any other lock on, but they do have an extra ring that comes with the grips that give them better lock to the bars, end caps go in with no hassle. Now I’m use to a fatter grip, but I really didn’t mind the feel of the LOADED NoSlip grips, yes they were slimmer, but they felt really good in the hand and with my gloves on you had no slipping at all.

Now I didn’t have any practice to get a feel with the grips, so my race run was a cold one with these babies and the first thing I noticed out of the gate was my hands were stuck to the grip till I would release them. On my run moving the bike under me, pulling on the bars to jump or maneuver was like having clips on my hands. After my run I thought about it and I was truly impressed with these grips, they preformed as stated.  Now I really like to pick apart a product before I will say this is the best thing next to ice cream or tacos, but I may have to lean this way.
I did want to give them one test while I was at Sea Otter, so I poured water on the grips and sure enough the water beaded right off the grip and when I  poured the water over my hand and grip there was no slippage. again “Wow”! I’m sold and as time goes on I will be giving these grips an extreme mud, dirt, water (again), and grease (well maybe) test for a long term.

QUICK TECH
Here’s the tech on the grips.
Material: NoSlip rubber / Clamp: CNC 6061 Alloy Lock-Rings & End Caps / Weight: 118g / Clamp Diameter: 29.5mm / Length: 130mm / Colors: Black, Blue, Red, Gold, Green

LOADED AMXC NOSLIP GRIPS ON MY AIRBORNE TAKA

CLEAN LOOK WITH STYLE

WHAT’S THE PRICE FOR GRIPSION

To have ultimate grip from LOADED and their AMXC NoSlip grips the msrp is $29.99.  Yes this may be a little on the high side for a set of grips, but well worth it if you ask me. They come in five colors, so I’m sure you can find a color to make you stead look cool.

You can go to the LOADED website to check out all their cool products at www.loadedusa.com.
We wish to thank LOADED PRECISION INC.

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On Wednesday Cuz’n Joe and I hit up a trail that I haven’t ridden in more than 5 years. I remember riding there, but I can’t find any evidence of us doing so…weird. Any how, I really wasn’t looking forward to riding because I felt so tired that day. I ended up getting at the trail head early, this allowed me to take a quick nap in the limo…my mini van. What you see there would be my lower half and Burt Reynolds anxiously waiting to hit the trail.

Notice how Cuz’n Joe and I are matching with our Orange? I’m giving a thumbs up for our colors, not so much for his butt.

Nice view of LA County. Cuz’n was checking into Facebook. You know what they say, “if its not on Facebook, it never happened!”

During our ride we saw 2 snakes! The first one had Cuz and I screaming like little girls. The second one, Cuz actually ran over. But it was fine. Notice how the snake is going towards Cuz…I’m sure it was pissed at him. I’m sure if someone ran me over, I’d be mad too. Fortunately the snake slithered off the trail.

Cuz and I ended up riding nearly 2 hours on a Tuesday afternoon…ya I know I’m sure you’re jealous and you’re also thinking about what you were doing between 2-4pm on Tuesday. I bet you were sitting at your desk working on those TPS reports…

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First step to gaining 3lbs on your bike is to get a wild hair up your butt like I did and somehow convince yourself that going from a 3×9 drive train to a 2×10 would be “upgrading.”

Second step is to procure yourself a slightly used SRAM X7 2×10 drive train.

Step three, install said drive train and watch the pounds add up!

Once you do this, you’ll visibly and physically notice the weight difference.

Before the 2×10 drive train swap, Burt Reynolds weighed in at 27lbs. After the swap, you can see he gained a bit over 3lbs…Hmm, not sure if this 2×10 stuff is worth the excess poundage. I can tell you this, that dinner plate sized cassette would be one of the culprits of this weight gain. But I’m willing to give it a try tomorrow and see if the weight will be over shadowed by the benefits of the new drive train. If at any time I don’t like it, I’m taking that stuff off and putting back my 3×9 drive train.

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So, Valentine weekend has now come to an end. Valentine’s Day was this past Thursday. Some of you may have chosen to make a long weekend out of it. You obviously do not have kids, are not married, or, if you are sentenced to life, you have served less than 10 years of that marital sentence. You blew hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on a created holiday to get you to do just that. You should have spent that money on something that will give you more pleasure — bike shit. Thankfully, my wife hates roses, hates ‘em. I don’t have to buy her chocolates either because she, like most women, wants to lose that last 5 pounds before beach weather hits. I got the kids to create a card out of construction paper, white glue, macaroni, rainbow flakes, pixie dust, phoenix feathers, kraken scales, and unicorn. . . corns. Voila! Valentine’s Day handled. Unlike my friend, poor Captain Cranium, I get sexytime with the missus more than just my birthday and Christmas. So who needs this made-up holiday?

Let’s celebrate Malentine’s day. Malentine, the patron saint of pet peeves. Mal, from the Latin meaning bad, ill, or wrong. The following list of irritants are all bad, wrong, and make me ill:

1. Wearing bike clothes to the trailhead. Perhaps this came from my years of organized team sports. We would wear a shirt and tie, get on a bus, travel to the den of our opponent, then get dressed for battle. Now I’m not suggesting you wear your Sunday best prior to riding your bike, but for comfort’s sake, don’t wear your entire riding kit in the car. Nevermind looking like a dork-on-wheels (that’s what you are) sitting at the 241 toll plaza with your neon sublimated cycling jersey on. You’re then going to wear that sweat crusted, stinky, muddy, bloodied, Cytomax sticky, wet rag home. How hard is it to put on a clean t-shirt? Don’t tell me you are afraid of forgetting something so you get dressed at home knowing you have everything. You are an adult aren’t you? Why not just put on your helmet, gloves, and clipless shoes on at home too? I’ll grant you a tiny bit of leeway and allow you to wear your cycling shorts. Afterall, I wouldn’t want you fumbling next to your car with a towel around your waist, trying to pull down your tightie-whities, all the while terrified that said towel with catch a gust and expose your little cheeto.

2. Pre-ride bike repair. Now that you are dressed and ready to go, the rest of us begin to pedal off when you yell out to us, “Any of you guys have a pump, chain lube, Park T-handle wrench set, bearing press, or fitness I can borrow?” You knew you were riding today, right? Too busy last night catching up on this season’s The Bachelor to make sure your bike was ready to go? So you had the forethought to bring your own pump, lube, and tool set with you so as not to ask us. Use that forethought to take care of any maintenance at home. Don’t lube your chain right there before we set off either. You should know how I feel about that.

3. Dumping grounds. Okay, done dumping on you, let’s ride. WTF! Great Odin’s Raven (been watching Anchorman) look at all the trash strewn about. I hate those lazy mofos who use any bit of open land just off the road for their own dumping grounds. Sure, this looks like a great spot to dump all your shit that is too large or awkward to just leave at the curb. Even Jules and Vincent took their trash with them to dispose of properly. Or, the savages who, when on their “nature hike,” just toss their Red Bull can or Starbucks cup into the sagebrush. The only positive I can find — on a recent exploratory ride I was unsure which way would lead me back to the main road. How did I find my way out? I saw a discarded mattress, sofa, 2 t.v.s, fridge, and decomposing body. I followed the trash. The piles grew bigger and bigger then bam, civilization. Even pot farmers and coke producers pick up after themselves.

4. Mix and don’t match. Pick a component, any component, and stick with it. Shimano begets Shimano, Sram begets Sram, Thomson begets Thomson, so on. Your bike is so bitchin with its Shimano cranks, Sram shifters and derailleurs, Thomson seatpost, FSA stem, Easton bars, etc. Buy your bike, ride the crap out of it. When you know better, spend more, and become enlightened, stick with a manufacturer.

5. Sitting backwards. So you’re all high on yourself now because you just installed a Thomson seatpost and Thomson stem. One thing smartguy, your post is backwards. Is that why you don’t change at the trailhead? Afraid when you put on your pants the fly will be in the back?

The Right Way

Don’t worry, I’m not one to make fun of you behind your back. If you fit into any of the above bonehead categories I’ll call you out to your face (then make fun of you behind your back). Happy Valentine’s Day.

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So, a friend asks me tonight, “What’s the best lube to keep my bike as slick and as dialed as yours Albacore?” I tell him of this new (to me) stuff I have been using lately. When I find something I like I stick with it. Once a product proves its worth I become a loyal follower. I write its name over and over on my Pee-Chee, I tattoo it on my neck, I build a shrine to it in my yard surrounded by candles, and the truest test of loyalty — I gladly pay, sometimes even pay more for it. So to get me to switch to a new product that product had better be phenomenal. You had better be lighter, stronger, faster, tastier, emit rainbows, breed unicorns, or dispense cash, candy, and liquor. Or, the ultimate tool of persuasion, you are free.

That is just what got me to switch from Boeshiled T-9. I have been using T-9 exclusively since 1998. Prior to that I have tried every lube there is. Some were too oily, too waxy, too flaky, too messy, or were only good for making a blue flaming drivetrain.

Nothing has ever beaten T-9. It works. It keeps your chain lubed in all conditions. It is smooth, quiet, reduces wear and friction, keeps your drivetrain clean, and makes you waffles in the morning. So when RFD knocked on my door bearing gifts I was reluctant to say thanks. In one hand he had a bottle of homemade wine (I did thank him for that), and in the other hand he a bottle of Pedros Ice Wax.

The bottle of Ice Wax sat on my workbench for a few weeks. Then, when Newb had me tune his bike I figured he would be the perfect guinea pig. After all, NMB is spoken here. (NMB — Not My Bike.) Now I am particular about my bike. I am not going to spray a new lube all willy-nilly on my chain without first removing all parts and doing a thorough solvent wash. Always start with a clean slate, err chain. Again, Newb’s bike was the ideal candidate.

The first thing I noticed about Ice Wax was its viscosity. This stuff is thick. The bottle has a finely tipped applicator that dispenses a steady stream of icing. Yes, it looks like icing. I thought for a minute I had one of Lady P’s cake decorating tools and not a bike lube. I thought that there is now way this is going to keep a drivetrain clean. On the bright side, it is so heavy you easily see where you applied it. There is no guessing if you have hit every link.

From Pedros site:

I recommend you pedal slowly when applying Ice Wax. Its viscous nature will disperse itself all over your frame and components if you go too fast. Simply hold a rag around the chain, backpedal, and wipe off the excess. Next, which is key with ANY and ALL lubes, let it sit for an hour, or 2, or ideally, overnight. I hate those wankers(C) who pull up to the trailhead, unload their bike, squirt on some lube, then ride off. I want to strangle you with a derailleur cable.

So, by now you are either dying to know how this stuff works, or you have gotten bored and are now perusing some Hot Latinas site. It works great. I have been using Ice Wax for 2 months and I love it. How much do I love it? 1: I’m using it, that’s endorsement enough. 2: I’m reviewing it, and recommending it completely unsolicited. I was not asked to try it out and write a review. It is something I started using and was impressed with. I suggest you use it to. Hell, I would even buy more when my current bottle runs out. Like the name says, it is a wax, and thus, works like wax. Novel huh? It coats completely, keeping dirt and grime at bay, keeping everything smooth and slick and quiet. It is not specifically designed for muddy environments but in these past wet weeks it has worked well to keep me clean and shifting through the slop. Just look at how nice my chain looks:

Pros:

Lasts for multiple rides
Clean
Quiet
Smooooooooooooooth
$10 for 4oz is a deal

Cons:

Can be messy when applying if rushed or overapplied

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This past Saturday Animal showed up to our ride at Whiting Ranch. He rolls up and tells us he had just finished a lap and was looking to add more miles that morning. One of our other buddies J-Kewl joined us for this ride. By the way, all the photos were courtesy of Lady P and Animal.

Animal tells us about a section of Whiting Ranch that not many riders dare to climb. In fact while we were there we only saw one other guy on a bike. Check out the this photo that Lady P took of Animal, J-Kewl and yours truly. She was pretty fierce that day and was mashing up all the climbs.

Here’s one of the look out points that Lady P found. Click on the image to make it bigger.

Once we got to the top we were greeted with a picnic bench where we could relax and take in the scenery.

Animal was riding his Airborne Goblin.

I took a little video of our ride with the GoPro while it was mounted on my handle bar via Trail Rail Mount.

As tough that new trail was, it certainly was rewarding. It’s funny, I’ve ridden Whiting Ranch for years and I never even knew that part was there. I guess it pays off to go exploring once in a while.

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With a title like that, I bet you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Well, here it is…”how long does it take for you to get OUT OF SHAPE?” I’m not talking about getting IN SHAPE, but OUT.

I ask this question because I’ve had a nagging cough for about a month. I thought that if I kept riding it would get all that mucous out and help me recover faster. Well that whole theory didn’t really work…figures, it’s not like I’m a doctor or anything. So this week I’ve decided to not ride or do anything strenuous that would aggravate my cough. But during this week I’ know I’m going to lose all that progress I made in the last month.

You see, about a month ago, I started riding our local trail, the Fullerton Loop at a much faster rate. My best ever time was about 1 hour and 10 mins. But recently I’ve been averaging 57 mins, may not be much to some of you fast XC folks, but for me that’s amazing. So now that I’m resting, I’m worried that all that work I did to get to 57 mins will go away. It usually takes me about 7 days to lose the progress I made over the last 3 weeks. Ya it’s weird how fast I it all goes away and how long it takes to get back in shape. Aye…viscous cycle if you ask me.

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Check out this guy proudly showing off the MtnBikeRiders.com logo at 13,500 feet in the sky.

This is my brother, Staff Sgt/HALO Instructor, Randy Policar.

At a certain point before he deploys his chute, he does let go of the banner.

So somewhere in the desert, you might be able to find the banner. If you do find it, let us know and I’ll buy you lunch!

Big thanks to Randy for showing his love for MtnBikeRiders.com

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Recently I met up with an old friend who used to ride quite often. It’s been about 5 years since we last saw each other and when we met up, he asked me if I still rode. I replied and told him about my outing that same morning with Lady P. I then asked him if he still rode. Before he could respond, his head looked down and said with a disappointed tone, “No, I don’t even have a bike anymore.” Then he went on about how he’s so busy with work that he just didn’t have time then and how he doesn’t have time now. I replied by saying, “dude, something has to give. You need to make some changes so you can be sane and healthy.” Before he could respond, his wife jumps into the conversation about her husband can’t ride because he’s too busy for work and that will NOT be riding because of work. She basically killed any ideas he may have gotten about riding in the near future that very moment. I think what bothered me the most is this…Wives should be more understanding that Men have this built in NEED to do gnarly stuff. It’s engrained in us to do cool things that remind us that we’re MEN! I don’t care if you’re some Gamer Nerd or Physicist, you too need to get natural angst out!

But when a woman kills that in a man, it really bugs me. Call me blessed to have a wife who completely understands this, but even when Lady P and I were dating back in high school, she encouraged me to go do stupid things with my friends. Now as a married couple, she still does this for me. What sucks about women like my friend’s wife, is that she has made him domesticated. Nothing wrong with a man who is prim and proper, but he will have needs to go do something fun or even dangerous just to help him be in touch with his manly side. You know what else happens to men who are domesticated, they become sissies and wimps who drink Orange Mocha Frappuccinos, then their wives end up complaining to their friends about how her husband is not “Man enough.” Ugh…

Back to my friend, wow. Not only was I surprised by the wife’s response, but I felt really bad for him because you can tell that he is itching to go ride, but because of his “work” she won’t let him. Ugh…lame if you ask me. Anyhow, if you’re one of those poor fellas that has a wife like that, yikes, I feel sorry for you. But see if you can work something out. Heck get her into mountain biking, perhaps that will change her tone about it and because of if it, she may give you back your Man Card.

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Check it out kids, Team Racer Neal “Hollywood” Bryant does it again with his most recent creation with “The Downhill Bro Down”

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