Like many XC-oriented guys, I’ve been riding clipless pedals for a long time (about 12 years in my case) – switching over as soon as I could afford the pedals, and with the expectation that riding clipless would make me a better rider. Lately I’ve been questioning that – and also feeling like I wanted…
Author: Matt D
For more about me, check out my introductory profile: https://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2012/03/08/please-welcome-matt-d-as-the-newest-staffer-for-mtnbikeriders-com ,
OR go to my personal site, http://www.daddyridesbikes.blogspot.com
A few months ago, I turned one of my mountain bikes into a commuter. Yeah, I know. It’s kinda embarrassing. But I had a bike available, and WTB sent over their Freedom Cruz 29er tires for review, so I felt obligated. For the full review, head on over to BikeCommuters.com – but in short, these…
A confession: until this past weekend, I hadn’t ridden a mountain bike since sometime in July (even though I have a new bike!). Ouch! For the most part, my riding is done on weekends… I work a chained-to-the-desk office job, and I have two young kids at home, so for the sake of household harmony…
A few weeks ago my family and I all jumped in our van and drove up to New England to visit family in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Since I’d only gotten my Niner EMD9 a couple weeks previously, I had to take it along. I got to ride some of the trails I grew up…
For the past year or so, I’ve been saving my nickels, quarters, and the occasional folding currency for a new mountain bike – specifically, a geared 29er hardtail. After a lot of waffling and agonizing, I ended up ordering a custom Niner EMD9 build through Speedgoat Cycles. I initially wanted just a couple modifications off…
A couple months ago, we got an offer from BTB Sunglasses to test out a pair of their sport-oriented glasses. BTB stands for “Be The Ball” – personally, I don’t WANT to be the ball since usually the goal is to HIT the ball, but I agreed to try the glasses anyway! I chose the…
A couple weeks ago, I got the opportunity to drop by the Paul’s Ride for Life event, which centers around a charity ride that raises money for life-saving organ transplants. While I found out about it too late to join in the ride (which seems like it might be a cool thing to do next…
Pressure. No, not this pressure… air pressure! Air pressure can make a HUGE difference in how a bike rides, how a tire feels, and – recently for me – in how a bike test rides. I used to run my tires more toward the max rating on the tires – around 60 PSI. Yeah, kinda…