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Got a package this week!

I was out of town this week for work, and when I came home I had package waiting for me from Airborne Bicycles.

I was planning on meeting up with RL and several other riders first thing Saturday morning for a ride at Whiting Ranch, so I spent some time to get the Goblin assembled and ready for a ride the next day. For those of you out there who have never built a bike, here’s a quick look at how the bike came, and how much assembly was actually required. I took pictures of each part as I unwrapped it and it came out of the box. Upon opening the box, the wheels were on top and the first thing to come out.

Opened the box!

As you can seen the the photo, the ends of each hubs had plastic guards to prevent them from damaging any other components in the box during shipping. The wheels were also zip-tied together to prevent any unnecessary movement while still in the box. The wheels are equipped with SRAM’s new 10-speed cassette. This is the number one thing I have been looking forward to about this frame is being able to spend some extended time with the 2×10 system. I have demo’d it before on several other frames, but only a ride here and there. The wheels both have 160mm Avid rotors. Having removed all of the protective packaging, I set the wheels aside for later.

New Sram 2x10 drivetrain

Avid 160mm rotors

Individually wrapped were a few smaller components such as the skewers and the saddle, already mounted to the seat-post.

Skewers

Saddle & post

The last and largest part left in the packing was the frame itself. This was definitely the longest part of the unpackaging process in that there was lots small pieces of wrapping attached to the frame. Each tube has its own wrapping to protect it from damage. The frame in its entirety was also attached to cardboard supports in the box to keep it from moving during shipment. The frame already had the fork, bottom bracket, cranks, headset, stem, seat clamp, grips and brakes installed as well as the the derailleurs mostly installed. The rear derailleur still need to be attached to the frame, but all the cables and hydraulic lines were already run and in place.

Goblin frame fresh out of the box.

I attached the rear derailleur to the frame and straighten/aligned the front fork and the stem. While the stem was already install the bars were in installed on the stem, so the stem needed to be opened up to put the bars in place. Next the skewers needed to be placed in the wheels, so the wheels could be set into the frame. Once the skewers where in place, the protect plastic parts to keep the brake caliber from compressing needed to be removed. Once that was done the wheels were ready to be installed. FYI- Be very aware when seating your wheel that they are fully recessed into the dropouts. Losing a wheel while riding really sucks!

Almost complete

With the wheels installed that left the saddle and drive-rain as remaining parts in the box to be installed. I took a quick stab at the estimated saddle height and tightened down the collar. Then I completely removed the chain from the frame and wrapped it around the two largest cogs to confirm it was the appropriate length. I ended up taking a couple of links out. Once the chain was installed the rear derailleur needed to be adjusted. The only must have tool to put the bike together was really just my allen-wrench set. Two things that are not included in the box, were pedals and a water bottle cage. I stole those parts off another bike. I made some adjustment to cockpit of the Goblin to make it ready for me to ride. I moved the brake levers to the inside of the shifter and also moved both the shifters and levers much further in toward the center of the bars so that the brake lever is position so that I can brake with solely the index finger. I tend to do all of my shifting with my thumbs, and positioned the shifters accordingly as well. After spinning around in front of my house the final adjust I made was to the position of the saddle by sliding it futher back, away from the bars.

The Goblin was now ready for it first time in the dirt!

Fresh from its maiden voyage.

The full specifications and geometry for the Goblin can be found here on Airborne’s site. Stay tuned for for more pics and info on the Airborne Goblin!

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Product Tested:
Liquid Exhaust

Website’s MSRP:
$120

Specs:
Liquid Exhaust Sunglasses – Rumor has it you’re looking for not only a killer pair of shades, but one that provides functionality as well. Liquid Eyewear is all about lifestyle, YOUR LIFESTYLE. Sunglasses that provide protection from ANY element and still come out looking stylish. Product that is durable yet fashionable. The Exhaust offers a rugged hingeless design, no more looses screws or arms falling off. Made of Billet Aluminum, the Exhaust screams STYLE.
Features:
All Billet Construction
Durable Hingeless Design
Replaceable Rubber Nose Piece
Designed & Built in the USA
1 Year Limited Warranty*

About Me:
6’1” 210lbs, 30 year old male. I’m a mountain biking enthusiast who enjoys rocking the 29er wheels.

Testing Grounds:
All over the Southern California Trails, Sea Otter 2010

The hingeless Exhaust make for a very comfortable fit and durable pair of shades

First Impressions:
Unique. The hinge-less design was something I had not seen before and I was a little concerned about the usefulness of this feature. They were also quite tight on my face. I immediately adjusted them outward, which was very easy to do. I was a little concerned that it would break as I did this, but the Exhaust has held up fine.

Strengths:
Style. The Liquid Exhaust are some styling shades. They worked very well on and off the trail. I was not afraid to take them off the trail and wear them as everyday wear type shades. Some sunglasses should remain as “active” wear, but these Exhaust shades moved from mountain biking to outings with the wife or family ease.

The Exhaust frame is a solid piece of metal. It is not wimpy and will not break apart if you take a bad fall. When I put them on my face, I knew that this frame could take some serious abuse. What surprised me though was the ease of adjustability built into this frame while still being a stout frame.

Out on the trail, the Liquid Exhaust does a great job staying on the face
When I received the sunglasses, I immediately had to widen the frame to accommodate my large noggin. After reading the directions on how to go about doing this, I was indubitably concerned that I might over widen the frame and snap it. After preparing myself for what might be a short review period, I realized that my concerns were unfounded. The Exhaust were easy to widen but had enough resistance which gave me the assurance that it would not widen on its own. Over a few months of use, it has continued to stay in the same shape.

Because of the adjust-ability, the frame can really stay tight to your face. Add to it the comfortable nose pad and the sunglasses stay on your face when you’re riding. Over the course of testing, I did not notice them moving around on my face as I rode.

Rolling with the Liquid Exhaust at Sea Otter 2010

Because of the hingeless nature, you take out a major failing point for glasses/sunglasses. I should know as I’ve worn glasses since grade school. Many glasses will fail here due to a variety of factors, but mainly neglect. Without a hinge, you take away that chance to fail and, in turn, make a more durable pair of sunglasses.

Weakness:
I got a chance to bring the Liquid Exhaust on a trip to Japan for a week. While there, I had them on and wore them constantly. The hingeless design began to show a flaw during this time. The flaw was that the sunglasses were hard to store. Without hinges, the glasses would not fold compactly and this limited where I could stash my shades when they were not in use. Normally, they had to go in the large pocket of my backpack where as hinged sunglasses could fold and be tucked into my shirt pocket or into smaller pockets of my backpack.

Summary:
The Liquid Exhaust is a styling pair of shades that work very well on the trail. They stay on your face, are easily adjustable and the metal billet aluminum is durable. When wearing the Exhaust, these sunglasses do all that you want them to do but taking them off and storing them is a bit of a hassle due to their hingeless nature.

For more information about the Liquid Exhaust, click here.

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Over the past few months we’ve been lucky enough to test the Soul Cycles Dillinger 29er hardtail.  The Dillinger has been a fun ride and served as our test bed for the Powercordz cables, Geax Saguaro and Serfas Tegu reviews.

Beautiful construction abounds on the Soul Cycles Dillinger

Not only is the Dillinger gorgeous in bright lime green, the construction impresses too.  The Dillinger is a lightweight, versatile EBB (eccentric bottom bracket) frame. It ships with a derailleur hanger and singlespeed dropout, is disk and V-brake compatible and Soul Cycles even sells a rigid fork! We ran the Dillinger as a singlespeed 29er with disk brakes and a 100mm RockShox Reba. You can read more about the build here.
At first I was nervous about the Dillinger’s set screw eccentric bottom bracket and aluminum hardtail construction.  My EBB fears were dispelled as it was easy to adjust, stayed tight and never produced a creaking noise.  Very good job Soul Cycles!  As far as the aluminum hardtail, I’ve given up on 26″ wheels.  I’d switched to 26″ steel hardtails and have been loving it ever since.  They damp out that high frequency buzz that sends your hands and nether regions into a land of numbness.  Amazingly the Soul Cycles Dillinger does this as well.  I know a lot of the credit goes to the larger 29″ tires, but it is quite obvious some thought and engineering into the seat and chain stays on the Dillinger.

When they say Easton Ultralite Tubing, they mean it! (Weight w/ EBB and seat post clamp, 16″ frame size)

Overall the Dillinger has been a very fun ride, it is uber-light and plush for a hardtail.  Yet it remains efficient under power.  Compared to my Redline Monocog (26″ steel singlespeed), the Dillinger climbed with more authority thanks to the 29″ tires better contact patch and smoother rolling nature.  On descents, the Dillinger mobbed over the terrain and showed me why everyone is now racing 29″ wheels in the SS categories.

My dislikes (compared to my Monocog) include the slower steering (though it offered more stability) and the higher up in the air sensation.  The Dillinger has a nice low BB height however and this sensation was purely mental and can be adjusted to.  The slower steering is a common trait among 29ers.  I do not want you to have the impression that the steering is slow, it is just not as fast as on my 26″ race bike.

Chainstay yoke around a 2.2 Geax Saguaro tire.

A small concern I have is tight mud-clearance at the chainstay yoke, though this is not an issue in SoCal!  The last nit pick I have is the cable stop location resulted in me catching my baggy shorts on occasion, but is definitely not a deal breaker.

The Moe at work

Bottomline:  The Dillinger is a fantastic buy as is.  When you factor in the reasonable prices and quality construction, it becomes clear that the Dillinger is head and shoulders above most of the 29er field.  In fact Moe is thinking about forking out the cash to keep this bike in his personal fleet!

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Geax tires are relatively new to most of us here in the United States, however Geax has been around in Europe for quite some time and is the off-road brand for Vittoria, a company familiar to those roadies amongst us. 

The Saguaro is another entry into the low rolling resistance, small knob XC tire segment.  One noteworthy feature is that Geax recommends mounting the tire in either rolling direction.  An unusual trait of this tire is the high recommended inflation pressures of 37 to 65 psi.  The Saguaro tire is available in folding bead and a lower cost wire bead version, both in a 2.20″ width.

Saguaro Rotation Direction & Inflation Pressure (Click on the image above to view larger size)

To test the Saguaro, we utilized our Soul Cycles Dillinger 29′r single-speed test rig and ran air pressures between 25 and 30psi.

The Saguaro, like most small knobby tires, excels in hard pack and loose over hard pack conditions.  In loose, silty dirt the Saguaro tread was adequate, however I feel this was due to the extra foot-print offered by the 29″ inch tire format [note: I am aware the tire's footprint is mostly a function of air pressure, but tire size/shape is also a factor]. Fortunately on one ride a water leak resulted in some muddy conditions allowing me to find out that the Saguaro’s tread quickly filled with mud and were not effective.

The low-point for me in the Saguaro’s performance was in hard cornering.  The Saguaros exhibited a grip-slip-grip transition as the bike transitioned from the center knobs to the side knobs on flat and off-chamber turns.  It was a sensation most experienced riders could adjust to, but nevertheless affected my riding.  I tested the Geax in both rotation directions and found similar results in all areas other than trading a small amount of traction for lower rolling resistance.  I recommend mounting the Saguaro’s in the speed direction first and seeing how you feel about them.

Overall the Geax Saguaros are excellent value due to their relatively low price and long lasting (hard) rubber compound.  These are good tires and I would recomend them to most riders, the Saguaros are good for 90% of riders in 90% of dry southwest style trails.

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PowerCordz brake cables are not cables (intertwined) at all, rather they are synthetic fiber Zylon HM cords. These cords are stronger than steel in tensile strength and have a higher modulus of elasticity (meaning they won’t stretch). While I don’t have the technology or strength to test these claims myself, I did test them out on the Soul Cycles Dillinger, a single-speed 29er, by equipping said bike with Avid mechanical disk brakes.

The results were fantastic. These cables gave a direct, solid feel at the lever, did not stretch and most impressively remained smooth in function despite a lack of maintenance. The feel was incrementally more accurate than I have ever achieved with traditional brake cables, I believe this to have not only been a function of the cables not stretching, but also the Kevlar-lined compression-less housing [compression-less housing is usually reserved for derailleur cables, because it is not able to withstand braking forces]. I attribute the smooth function to the cord’s smooth outer cover and that the housing is pre-lubricated with teflon. In fact the housing is so good, I would not recommend using the cable stops often found on many frames, rather run the housing uninterrupted from lever to brake.
Powercordz really market their product based on the weight savings they provide compared to traditional steel cables. For me the best selling point though is the smooth-operation and low maintenance. Are they worth it? Well, PowerCordz brake kit sells for $69, last three years (manufacturer’s claim) and are low maintenance. Good traditional steel cables sell for $20 to $25 and last about a year. So if you’re planning to keep you bike a good while, they’re worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be sticking with the current steel cables on the majority of my bikes, but when it’s time to replace those cables, I’ll be buying PowerCordz.

Installation of the cables is very straight forward, the instructions are very concise and easy to read. If you have installed brake cables before, this is a piece of cake! -Moe

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