New Bikes and Factory Demo!

Ok, so this is a long time coming on the new bikes, but here goes a brief overview of my new rides.

Superfly Pro SL Hardtail and 100 (Dually)

• I stripped the XX drivetrains off and am running my much preferred Shimano XTR groups as 1x10 with a WTC chainrings. 
• I also put on XTR brakes.  Anyone that has ridden XTR brakes probably agrees that they are the best performing disc brakes ever (I have ridden LOTS different kinds).
• I will be running a mix of ENVE 29 XC wheels and the stock Bontrager RXL wheels.  Both are set up w/ DT Swiss 240 hubs and Areolite spokes, and going solely to DT Swiss stuff was a conscious effort after hub issues in past years.
• I switched the carbon stems out for the stiff but lite Bontrager Rhythm Pro Stems
• Tires this year will be the full XR range (0,1,2,mud) from Bontrager.
• The rest of the bike including cockpit and suspension are stock.
• The weights came in VERY impressive at 18.5lbs for the HT and 20.75lbs for the dually (with XR0 tires and ENVE wheels)

Here is your chance to try the bikes for FREE!  Hopefully the weather cooperates.



I did do a race last weekend.  It was cold, my legs felt tight the whole time, but it was a good kick in the pants to start the season with 50 miles of tight, twisty singletrack at or near XC race pace.  I did feel strong pretty much the entire 4 hours other than my legs being cold.  My trophy for winning was a signed copy of a picture of me (signed by me ...not sure if it was authentic) .  Thanks to the race directors for that ;)




Cheers!

=)

I spent about 4 non-sleeping hours inside from Friday mid-afternoon until Sunday night.  It felt SOOOO good to be out and be warm.

First, the Shimano Fairy, Trek Fairy, and Enve fairy made their deliveries over the past month.  The bikes this year are outrageous (in an awesome way)!

Next, I had to get the bikes finished up...reports coming.  Tyson at Freewheel once again did some of the critical stuff like internal brake routing.  Every time my bike comes back from FW, it is perfect!

Then I set up shop outside.  I was too nice to hole up in the mancave for the final build on the dually.  That new Kuat NV rack I mentioned has a bike stand option, which works awesome!  It will come in super handy at the trail or at races.

Finally, Snow Tuesday to DIRT on Sunday.  Yes, the trails with sandy soil are mostly dry already.  I have been doing this long enough to know=)  The iron curtain won't be lifted on the mainstream trails for a couple weeks (I would guess).  Just remember this spring, or any time really, if you are making more than a tread print in the dirt on the majority of the trail, save the token muddy/wet spots, then you are doing damage.  This is the CAMBA rule (Chequamegon Area) and it is the best and easiest to follow that I have found.  Below is how my bike looked Sunday after following these rules.

Next up is a Bacon Sandwich...


Cheers!

Last chance...

I have tried to be patient with the weather, but I am starting to lose it.  My pedaling has not diminished, but it is full of anger, which is good for fitness but bad for morale.  My kids are going nuts bouncing off the same wall they have been for 5 months.

People often say "oh well, there is nothing you can do about the cold horrible weather."  That is false, as we can move.  If next spring is even close to this horrible, Jen and I will be looking to leave this state.  We are both marketable enough to move pretty much anywhere.  So Cal, NC, SC, and So CO will be on our short list.  I hope it doesn't come to this, but I don't like cold and can't take 5 months of suck.
Then you hear "the grass isn't always greener".  That too is false.  Based on the physics of light, our area cannot be less green with 5" of white snow on it.

Record lows this morning, more snow tonite, and more snow tomorrow night into Monday...it has to end sometime right?  And how about 2 dry days in a row, or normal temperatures, or heck, even temperatures within 5 degrees of normal.
Throw us a bone mother nature.

The equipment this year is more exciting than ever, but even that isn't cheering me up because I can't use it.  I will share more when I can actually ride the stuff.

Rant over.  Back to the pain cave.

The SW

Our Moab and Fruita adventure is over.  It ended at the right time, as I missed my family and my legs were on "E" after 5 days of riding

Things I learned on the trip:
1.  Amasa Back is now my favorite trail out there.  Hands down.  The brand new (opened weeks ago) upper and lower Captain Ahab in addition to Pothole, Rockstacker, and Jackson make it the best out there IMO.
2.  The Rumblefish was like an "easier button" downhill, but you pay for it on the uphills a bit with the heavier bigger wheels.  The suspension on the bike is spot on for having fun and staying fresh in the rough stuff.  The new bontrager XR3 TLR (tubeless ready) tires held up great in the super abrasive conditions.  The TLR tires now have additional sidewall protection...don't leave for the SW without it.
3.  There is still stuff that scares me too much to do out there.  I try a little more each time I go.
4.  Fruita is fun.  The Kokopelli trials are much more fun than the 18 road trails.
5.  The Hot Tomato in Fruita is the place to eat if you have one night.  If you have more than one night, eat there more than once.
6.  The Moab trails are still more fun than Fruita trails IMO.  Some argue the opposite, but to each his own.
7.  Watching off road vehicles, mostly Jeeps, do wicked thing on the edge of cliffs is super fun.  This was the second time of the 1/2 dozen that I have been there where my trip has coincided with "Jeep Week".  I am glad it was not my $50k super modified Jeep making those crunching sounds while rock crawling.
8.  The trails marked "Easiest" in Fruita's Kokopelli group were on par with the toughest at Mammoth.  Everything is relative out there, but there are some easy trails that I would take my son on (Bar M in Moab and 18 road in Fruita)
9.  I remember this every time I take a bike trip, but it is relatively easy to get really fit when all you have to attend to is your own needs...

 

Really hard stuff.  This one took me 5 tries to clear.

  The new Shimano hydration packs are really nice.  I highly suggest them if you are due for an upgrade/update like I was. 

The Porcupine descent is still a gem!

 Yes we had "Moore" fun.  This climb put the hurt on me like no other out there.

 The playground that is Fruita (Kokopelli Area)...yes those are trails all over the hillsides

Racing starts in a while.  I have some different plans for the year and as I mentioned in another post, some different equipment.   For now, I am concentrating on suffering in the cold=(

SOOOO Over it

This weather has really started to wear on me (just ask Jen) and I am so over ice, snow, and cold.  Luckily, I am headed somewhere much nicer soon.
In tow will be my new Rumblefish Elite with another proto drive train=)  I am testing one of the first 30 tooth Wolf Tooth Drop Stop 104 BCD rings (for those that don't know with a 104 BCD the smallest ring is 32 teeth using traditional designs).  The 30 tooth will be perfect for 1x snow biking and it allowed me to run the same gearing range I had on my Remedy out in Moab on my last trip. 

There is lots of other equipment and gear that I will be posting on once I actually get to use the stuff (see my first comments on the weather).  One non-bike thing I am most excited to try is my new car rack.  I went with a Kuat NV rack for my new ride.  As an engineer, I really appreciate the thought put into to the design, and my favorite part is the bike stand extension!


My next update will probably be from the other side of the Rockies....

Whiteout

I attended yet another snow bike race and this time w/ the Family in tow.  The kids and Jen were looking for a getaway weekend so we headed up to the Cayuna Whiteout.  The weekend was fun and the only mistake I made was not bringing my ice racing studs...next year!
The fatbike race was not a technical challenge for the most part, but I still got some good intensity in.  Yes, I got caught on camera trying to cheat the wind by getting in the fat bike TT position. 

Next year I hear they will have more than one short stretch of singletrack.  If so, I will be back.

In Tech news, I have been running a super secret drive train.  It is a standard 10 speed rear, but with my beloved XTR Shadow Plus  rear derailleur (clutch type...I will never run a non-clutch rear der again) and a chain ring from a new company called Wolf Tooth Components.  The super secret part is that w/ this combo, no chain guide is needed because of the wide and narrow teeth on the chain ring which keep the chain more aligned on the chain ring (a  la XX1 but can  be run much cheaper  with XT, XO or X9 clutch type rear der).  There are a handful of us testing these chain rings including some guys aggressively riding dirt in CA and Mike Curiak who currently crossing the AK wilderness with a middleburn direct mount version.   The summary of the testing is that the performance has been flawless with no chain dropping, so go order yourself one!  Check out the sram direct spline mount option that is in development (product page), and recall that SRAM just announce X9 and X5 fat bike cranks.

I hear a carbon fat bike is still coming my way... soon.  Look for the all the details in the next couple weeks.

Hidden Beauty

The beauty of the forest in Elk River at Hillside Park on Sunday was stunning.  With 4 inches of fresh snow fallen(ing), it was proverbial winter wonderland

Most of us racing Fatbike Fest (the original Fat Bike XC Intergalactic Championship) don't remember any of that beauty.  The first lap was an exercise in the art of frustration - pushing, falling, frozen pedals.

 The prologue chaos

I got away early on the trail that had a few tracks.   

When those tracks ended, the suck began.  I couldn't see the 8-12" wide trail and not being on the trail meant a dab followed by walking followed by trying to remount w/ iced up pedals.  After a bit, I decided to sit up and share the load w/ the ~5 guys chasing.  It was quite nice being 3-4 wheel kind of like sitting in an armchair=)  

We still hiked for more than 1/2 that first lap.  At that point, the course flattened out so I hopped on, spent a minute pounding my cleats free (on my pedals) and rode away.  Once I got riding I just put my head down.  There was still plenty of hike a bike on the last lap, but much less than the first lap. 
I rode home alone in just over 3 hours...this course on a normal rideable day takes 1.5 hours.
The finishers, only 1/2 of the starters in the "advanced 2-lap" class all looked like ghosts, as no one had enough food or drink on board for 3 hours of XC level intensity. 
I really wanted to quit, but the only thing I hate worse than running in the snow with my bike is quitting!  I quit a race once ever, and I still think about that sour memory often.

Finally, equipment you ask?  My "too skinny" 65mm rims worked great.  I was running the same pressure as everyone else at 3-4 PSI.  Oh, and Nates are king in the snow.  No question.

All the pics are from Chris Gibbs.  He did a wonderful job capturing the event.

Another

In an effort to race my studded tires for as much time as I spent making them, I did this last Saturday:

 

On Sunday I rode the Freewheel top secret snow only (lots of adjectives I know) singletrack around Bloomington and Eden Prairie.  It was quite possibly the best snow ride of the season with no grooming and on trails where only fat would do.

Next is Fatbike Fest this weekend.  Could we be in for mashed potatoes?

Self Tapping

Racing:
In a moment of weakness, well 12,000 of them if a moment is a second, I broke down and shot some self tapping sheet metal screws into tires to do this:

Carnage:  http://vimeo.com/57901011

Thanks to Freewheel and Hollywood for introducing me to the most novel form of racing I have done in years...maybe ever.

I am not sure about this coming weekend.  There are a couple options that will be tempting if there is snow.  I hear that there is another ice race coming soon.  I do plan to finally make it up to Elk River for that final race in a couple of weeks. 

My own Proto (better than yours):
Something special was birthed at the Pidde household.  Jen mentioned that she wanted a new carbon fiber family member in our household...or at least that is my interpretation of what she said:

When we no longer need studs or fat tires:
Along the lines of adding carbon family members, This and This should be coming soon, but I have learned that soon is a loosely used term in the bike industry.  Needless to say, Jen is excited about these two additions as well.

Finally, a request for Mama Nature:
If I am going to be continue to face -40 windchills commuting in, at least give me some snow to ride on.

Know when to fold em...

Mother nature is trying to take away our winter fun=(  Here in the south metro, after the rain last week we lost almost all our snow and the trails, singletrack and snowmobile, are skateable.
Murphy Frigid Race Series number 2 this last weekend was a TT (staggered start due to conditions) on lumpy glare ice singletrack.  Unfortunately, conditions forced me to ride my trusty Nokian studded "skinny" tires.  They made the trail rideable, but their well worn and rounded studs provided only enough grip for a slow careful ride. 
After a couple near misses, I shut 'er down early and just rode out the shorten lap (cut out ~1.5 miles of trail for this race).  I tried putting power down multiple times, but even when seated the bike would start fish-tailing.  My heart rate and exertion were the lowest I can remember in any mtbk or snow race, but the race made up for that lack of physical stress with plenty of mental stress! 

Results (figured I would provide links because they are hard to locate on the Freewheel site):
Snow Race #1: http://freewheelbike.com/about/frozen-frolic-january-5th-2013-results-pg750.htm
Ice Race #2: http://freewheelbike.com/about/froze...ults-pg751.htm

I will race again this winter, with vigor, if we get more snow.  I will not be buying or making new studded tires just so I can keep racing skinny tires... there is plenty of skinny tire racing to do in nicer weather.

In other news, it appears that I didn't get in to Ragnarok this year.  I did send a card in, but I am pretty sure they didn't get it because I never received the confirmation email.  If they did get my card and my name just wasn't drawn, I think that means I missed an entry by 5 feet after the 118 mile trek last year (I hear they let the previous winner in).  Bummer!