Recently, I learned that a former coworker and friend of mine had his new home broken into and 2 bikes stolen. This tragedy means that this year’s CCCX DH Pro Men’s Winner may not be able to continue racing unless they are replaced. Show some love to the “plain t-shirt sponsorship”. 
Photo by Rick Rasmussen
Please keep an eye out for the following bikes:
2005 Heckler: white paint with a Fox rp3 shock, a 2008 Fox 36 float with no paint, a prototype Point 1 stem in 70mm length, a red Gamut chainguide and all WTB components, wheels, tires, seat, etc.
2006 Turner DHR: no paint, polished, a Fox DHX coil w/ti spring and a brand new 2009 Fox 40 in white with a Point 1 integrated stem and a blue Gamut chainguide, all WTB components, wheels and tires.
Stienstra’s New Year’s Resolution
The Chronicle published an article promoting mountain biking in the East Bay a few years ago. This year, he’s followed suit and continued promoting the outdoors and using a bicycle to get around. I love this quote (click for the whole story):
SFUR Trailwork Day
SF Urban Riders is building Bike Approved Singletrack in San Francisco. Start the year off right – by being part of the Urban Trail Movement.
WHERE: Mount Sutro Trail System above UCSF
DATE: SATURDAY JANUARY 3rd
TIME: 9am – 1pm Pizza and refreshments will be served at 12:45
MORE INFO AND DIRECTIONS: http://www.natureinthecity.org/mtsutro.php
SFUR will be working with the Mount Sutro Stewards, Nature in the City, and One Brick on Trail and Habitat improvements on Mount Sutro. We will continue to work on the Lower Connector Trail and its awesome switchbacks. This trail is the basis for future trail links like the Stanyan Street Trail and eventually over to Belgrave and Clarendon all on dirt. We had 12 volunteers last month and we made tremendous progress. We can finish this new section of trail on Saturday with enough help, and be ready to start another new link in February… how cool is that!~
SFUR needs your support in making the City a better place to recreate on your bike!
Economic Effect on Bike Industry
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSoMojRJ5sw&hl=en&fs=1]
Apparently, this item has been in the news several times in the last decade, even in different US States, and different countries. The choice San Francisco supervisor of the moment, takes a holiday with the cockney folk, and returns home inspired. A couple years ago, they even got funding. I don’t remember hearing about that, but maybe that’s because I don’t drive? It still affects me. It looks like the perfect financial bailout – and I can almost agree that the short term improvements might help get people out of their cars, and onto bicycles. I won’t help big oil, but it will certainly gentrify the suburbs even further. As a sidenote, there’s a proposal floating around suggesting a plan to eliminate Federal Taxes between Christmas and New Year’s to encourage spending. What London does here, is drop that in-city driving charge, temporarily, to give that “sale” effect. I haven’t seen it in action myself, but I am sure it works. Conversely, I have experienced London without the charges and the toxicity in the air demanded a solution. Cyclists were riding with gas masks.
“Bike to Work” book
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW4sb1BpAz8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
Complimenting evidence that you should ride your bike to work, instead of getting in some car.
” * Riding a bike is cheaper than driving a car.
* On a round-trip commute of 10 miles, bicyclists save roughly $10 daily and spare the air 10 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. Commute Solutions, Emissions calculations They also burn 360 calories! SmartTrips
* Based on gas prices of about $4/gallon, the annual direct cost of owning, operating, and driving a passenger car roughly 15,000 miles is nearly $14,000. (It costs about $300 a year to maintain a bike.) Commute Solutions; Moritz, 1997 ”
~ from Bikes Belong
Introducing the Commuter Phenom
My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, and I am pedaling a high cadence in a low gear to warm up my legs, one icy morning. Every morning, I stop at the customized intersection that the presence of the new Oakland Whole Foods solicits. A tear from wind chill falls down my cheek. I wait as the rush hour car traffic crosses my path for the freeway entrance, when a flurry of bike commuters race through the intersection – green light or not – racing to the underpass. Most mornings, this just makes me more grumpy… but today, I am enamored by the specialness of the business suit and foam helmet combination. I find great irony in the juxtaposition of confidence despite their equipment and skill level, in contrast with the racers I have actually competed with. So brave! Indeed, the new breed of commuter does not see threshold as something limited by their heart rate, VO2 max, or power wattage. They see the destination they used to reach by driving, as an obstacle to be surmounted on bicycle – mountain or high water. So strong! I can just see the preoccupied thought bubbles follow behind them, as they put their heads down for the hammer: “Why are there so many cars on this street?”, as they continue with their habitual driving path. My heart pangs for them to know the route I’ve carefully selected, which is much more pleasant.
Of course, still living a rushed lifestyle makes them inherently competitive and prone to overloading their bikes to a burdensome degree. As I let the swarm of businessmen rush across the intersection in front of me, I head towards the bike boulevard one block further and I am hit with a wave of smells. I wonder what their coworkers must think of all this newfound body odor? Are they really that polite? Are the unstable gas prices improving the demand for body deodorant?
Now I am awake.
2009 Bike Review
Setup:
* Size XS (measures 21.2″ TT, 16.5″ ST) w/ Quad Link pivot system measured for 120 mm suspension
* Fork 32 Series F120 RL Fork, RP23 rear shock
* FSA 20mm Setback seatpost (30.9)
* EA70 Monkeybar Hi-rise (1.5″) O/S handlebar
* Hayes Stroker Carbon Hydraulic disc brakes
* XT 2-Way Release shifters, cranks, and derailluers (XT Shadow rear derailluer)
* Rear XT hub laced to Mavic X317 Disc 32 hole wheels
* WTB Motoraptor 2.24″ w/DNA Compound tires
* WTB Devo Saddle with chromoly rails
* WTB Moto grips
Frame handling design:
As someone who remembers the introduction of John Whyte’s designs, including the Quad Link to Marin, I was happy to see it gain more aethestics with the bulky pivot system. In the size I was demo-ing, it was still noticeably out of proportion, but lighter in weight. The affected the setup of the suspension, in that the new RP23 rear shock needed to be engaged to fit any model of shock pump onto the valve or to select a propedal sensitivity adjustment. There was also absolutely no room for a bottle within the main triangle. This is less of a concern for all-mountain riders, as we generally ride with a hydration pack of some kind in order to keep hands near the bars at all times. I elected to ride trails I was very familiar with (Dimond Canyon, Joaquin Miller Park, etc.), for consistency. The wheelbase seemed longer than I am used to on my Medium-sized bike, and as a result the handling of the bike was more positive and controlled in tight switchbacks at speeds less than 10 mph. Higher speeds on flowing singletrack required more muscling to throw the bike around. It was clearly less flickable with the long top tube and higher bottom bracket shell, although the rear triangle tracked well despite not having any kind of bridge between the stays. Some of this could be remedied with some cockpit adjustments, most easily getting rid of the odd setback seatpost. That was, honestly, complete overkill – unnecessarily detracting from comfortable climbing. I’ve leave my design complaints at that.
Other component compatibility notes: XT shifters are not interchangeable with Stroker levers, thus reducing the intuitive interfacing of many riders with small or medium-sized hands. Most riders like to have at least one finger on the brake at all times, but still have the thumb within reach of both shift triggers. Having to look down or take your hands off the bars for even a split second reduces the safety (and thus,controllable speed) potential. The attenuation of the brakes also didn’t help much, since they had very little modulation, despite being hydraulic. I like to ride fast, but I don’t want to die or damage the trails in the process of recovering my speed. I also noticed the square knobby tires had excellent mud-shedding capacity, complimented the suspension at lower pressure (25-30 PSI is 25% lower than normal for me), and didn’t quirm over roots. I was fairly impressed with this feature and was able to descend more confidently in usually tricky situations.
‘Today bikes are completely different from the first mountain bikes. Most of the bikes now have suspension added. “In its short lifetime, mountain biking has seen more technological quantum leaps than any other branch of cycling. From carbon fiber and titanium frames, to hydraulic disc brakes and internal gearbox transmissions, the quest for lighter, faster brakes has fueled huge innovation. “‘
Click here for the whole piece.
Action: NPS proposal includes mountain bike access
“The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has proposed an important rule change that will make it easier for parks to open trails to mountain biking. IMBA urges mountain bikers to register comments in support of the new rule. We have been asking the NPS to make this change since the 1990s — we now enter a 60-day commentary period to make the change official.”
More about the legislative proposal impacts.
This is one of the most significant trail access opportunities I have seen being considered by a land organization. Please take a moment to thank them for considering mountain bikes as an equal user group in the Parks. I urge you to take action yourself and spread the word!
Take Action Now!