Fox Float RP23 Kashima rear shock review

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Fox debuted their slick, gold-coloured Kashima surface coating on aftermarket forks last year. Now it’s been extended to their rear shock line. Their new Kashima coated ‘Adaptive Logic’ shocks set a new gold standard for small bump sensitivity and control.

Reduced stiction means we had to go up a whole level of compression tune (from light to medium) compared to last year’s shock to stop it being too mobile. Small bump suppleness and traction consistency are phenomenal and sensitivity and accuracy at any point in the stroke are amazing.

The new Adaptive Logic reverses the previous RP23 logic to give a pre-set ProPedal low-speed compression threshold, with three subtly different levels of damping in the open position. The net effect is softness for tyre ripping traction yet with amazing drive and flow through rolling terrain. It also delivers a solid cornering platform for berm rich trails, and despite the super-plush start we only bottomed it out once off our biggest test drop.

The Float also comes in a large range of eye-to-eye and stroke sizes (including ultra short cross-country sizes). The Kashima technology hasn’t added much cost either. Unfortunately for all their peers, Fox haven’t just moved the goalposts but changed the game with their Kashima smoothness / Adaptive Logic control double whammy that makes average bikes feel like the best in class.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine

(Via BikeRadar.com.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Mountain Biking In Utah, North Ogden

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Just a few quick thoughts this morning. Does this picture excite you? Take a few moments to just look at and get pulled into this picture.IMG 0003 I took this picture while riding near Ogden recently. I just looked at it again this morning and realized that I really like this picture. Something about this picture really excites me, does it do the same for you? Maybe its just the nice view of the mountains, although there are better views around. Maybe its the refreshing view of snow, if you live in Texas or anywhere else in the south where we are experiencing record heat and drought this year, just the view of moisture and cool mountain air may be exciting. Maybe its just the wide opens spaces that does it for you, I don’t know. But as I look at this picture I know what excites me about it, and draws me in like I was there again to experience it all over again. What is it for you?

Thats all, now go ride your bike…

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Self-Inflating Bicycle Commuter Tire

Posted on August 24, 2011 by

Self-Inflating Commuter Tire: ”

You’re a bike commuter. You’re in good shape. Your risk of coronary artery disease is pretty low, so you’re not likely to be needing a peristaltic pump–one of those pumps in an open-heart bypass machine.

Peristaltic pump

Peristaltic pump | Image: Wikipedia

But would you be interested in a peristaltic pump if it was at the heart of a self-inflating commuter tire?

Will Powers and Benjamin Krempel are a couple of bike commuters who have invented a bike tire that self-inflates to the desired pressure, and keeps the tire at that pressure. As long as you don’t get a flat, you’ll be properly pumped.

The tire draws air from the environment, and a “lumen” tube on the rolling edge of the tire pushes the air into the tube.

When I saw the diagram, the first thing I thought of was a urethra. I thought I’d share that.

The system is called PumpTire, and it’s actually a system involving an integrated tire, tube, and valve. They work together, so you won’t be able to use this system with your favorite tire. PumpTire will have to be your favorite tire. The fact that Will and Ben are cyclists gives me hope that the tires will be the kind that real cyclists would want.

PumpTire Diagram

ScreenShot: PumpTire Video

Will told me that they had not given much thought to licensing this technology to other tire makers — so you could have a self-inflating version of your favorite tire. But if the product is successful, I think that’s probably inevitable.

PumpTire is a KickStarter project, looking for backing. If you want to be the first people to try this tire, you’ll need to pledge to the project. But if you do, you’ll get insider pricing when the tires are produced.

They aim to produce two models:

City Cruiser for Casual Riders

The City Cruiser is designed for the casual, urban cyclist. It’s a 26” x 1.5” tire with a set pressure valve. The pumping mechanism will pump from a flat up to 65psi. It has a moderate tread design and is intended mostly for pavement.

The City Cruiser will retail for $65, but backers of the project can pre-order them for $45 or $75 for a pair.

City Pro High Performance Tire

The City Pro is a high performance tire with a 100 psi maximum pressure. It’s a 700c x 28mm tire. The tire works in conjunction with a high performance user-adjustable valve which allows the user to set the pressure from 65-95psi. This tire is designed for the avid cyclist who is constantly seeking better performance from themselves and their equipment.

The City Pro will retail for $149.90 for a pair. Backers can pre-order a pair for $100.

If you are interested in backing the project, go to the PumpTire page on Kickstarter.

If you want to wait and see, you can follow the project on Facebook.

“

(Via Commute by Bike.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

2012 Scott Spark 29er – First Ride

Posted on August 22, 2011 by

I was out in Utah at Dealer Camp a few weeks ago and I was really excited to ride the all new 2012 Scott Spark 29er. As you may or may not know, Scott has been a late adopter of the 29er concept. Because Scott has been mostly a European bicycle company for the last 5 to 10 years, they have not seen the 29er growth as dramatic as we have here in the states. So anyway we have been waiting for Scott to really jump on the 29er bandwagon because when Scott builds a bike, it is done right. I have been racing a Scott Spark since they first came out 4 or 5 years and been extremely happy with everything about the bike. I currently race a Scott Spark LTD that is still going strong every weekend.

Anyway I was extremely excited to get my hands on the Scott Spark 29er. I took it for a ride at Park City and was blown away. The bike rides very light and nimble just like my 26er, but the big wheels give the bike a stability feel, that the 26er doesn’t have. It climbed very well. Even tight uphill switchbacks were easy. Uphill ledges i noticed a very big difference over the 26er, the 29er just rolled up ledges so easily. The weight difference is minimal. The posted weight on the new Spark RC 29er is 22.9 lbs right out of the box. I looked at the build and I know that with a few select bike parts replaced this bike could easily be in the 21 lb range. Its mostly an XX build with a SID 29 RLT3 fork and DT Swiss XR-RS29 Wheelset. The bike had all the things I like about the 26er Spark, and more when you add to the 29er wheels.

P.S. Nice Scott Spark LTD Large 26er for sale; only ridden on Sundays
IMG 0081

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ben Lomond Peak – MTB Ride To The Top

Posted on August 21, 2011 by

 

So, before I made my return trip back to Texas and to the 100+ degree heat everyday, I wanted to ride to the top of Ben Lomond Peak just north of Ogden Utah to experience what it would feel like to sit in a snow bank in the middle of August. I started out at the trailhead at the top of the North Ogden Divide. The top of Ben Lomond is at 9700 feet and the trailhead to the Skyline trail is at about 6000 feet. So I figured this would be a good hard ride. I drove up to the trailhead which is at the very top of the North Ogden Divide and started out with a little food in my pocket and a small camel bak and a water bottle. The climb starts out with a series of 10 switchbacks which are very steep, mostly 15 to 20% grades. Occasionally the trail opens up to these long ramp sections like you see below which have great views in all directions.

ben lomond peak

I passed a few hikers on the way up, and one motocross bike was coming down, that was a surprise. I don’t ride many trails where motorcycles are sharing the trail.  The was long and took me several hours to reach the top. The very top section was heavily eroded from the heavy snow and runoff and was unridable, so it was mostly hike-a-bike to the top. Once I reached the top I was pretty pooped. I took out my water bottle and stuffed into the snow and sat down to rest.

ben lomond peak

I think I dozed off for a while because when I got up, I went for my water bottle and the water was ice cold. That made for a sweet ride down hill. I think it took me almost an hour to ride all the way down. It was great ride and very tough. Now I was ready for Texas.

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

One Less Car PDX

Posted on August 21, 2011 by

One Less Car PDX: “

One Less Car PDX

Like the young woman we saw on an old Fuji, a well-worn bike with a “one less car” sticker on it is expected in PDX. The rust, patina, and obvious miles on this bike, indicated to us the owner gave up cars long ago. Also fitting there’s a BMW in the background.

“

 

(Via Bike Hugger.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Summer Mountain Biking in Ogden Utah

Posted on July 24, 2011 by

Ogden Utah provides a unique mountain bike experience in the summer as there are a variety of trails very close to town. With the summer temps in town in the 90′s, I decided to check out some trails in the Snowbasin area as the temperature can vary quite a bit on the back side of the mountain. Snowbasin is a ski resort that is just a few minutes outside of Ogden on the backside of Mount Ogden. Talking to some locals we decided to ride a trail called Cold Water Canyon. We drove to the Art Nord trail head on Old Snow Basin road. We started our ride on the East Fork Loop trail and headed up to SnowBasin trail head and connected to Cold Water Canyon trail. It was a long steady climb of about 1600 ft but the temps were awesome at 65 degrees. When we got to the top and we were treated to a magical little passing shower and we snapped off the picture below.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment