There’s a new review of the 2005 Rocky Mountain RMX3 over at NSMB.com.
As I mentioned elsewhere the front end of the RMX feels quite tall, and the reviewer for NSMB felt the test bike was a little on the large side. Sizing issues aside, the bike is a burly freeride machine, with Shimano’s Saint componentry, a burly wheelset, and a 888 up front, and it’s ready for anything most people can throw at it.
Back in the day, I spent a lot of time on a cross country bike punishing my body up old fire roads before winding my way back down gnarly singletrack. And then the Freeride Bug hit. I abandoned my Fisher Paragon for a ‘freeride’ hardtail and took to pushing my bike uphill and throwing it (and my body) off the most ludicrous things. The years passed, my bikes got bigger, and I went to school on the ‘classic’ Shore — rugged and rooty, drops to flat, mean — where riders and their bikes were routinely chewed up and spit out in a mangled heap.
Over the course of the past year or two, I’ve revisited my xc past and spent time working on cardio and climbing hills while continuing to ride the ‘fun stuff’ (which has changed a bunch in recent years). The effort was worthwhile — my fitness is greatly improved — and has given me the chance to relax a little more when I’m riding. I’m not sure whether this change is because I’m more focused on the way up, or because I’m not gassed for the ride down, but, whatever the case, I’ve enjoyed riding more during the past year than ever before.
Anyways, there’s a new article over at NSMB.com discussing the same sort of feeling. And the entry’s accompanying illustrations are out of sight.
Geek Technique published an item outlining how to build a bike-powered iPod charger. Basically, it uses a modified version of the ever-popular wheel powered generator, so I wouldn’t expect to see this thing on trails on anyone’s xc or dh rigs, but it’s still a novel use of technology. But if you do go ahead and do this project on your own, don’t hesitate to send your images along and I’ll post them up here.
And for another crash-inducing iPod item to affix to your bike, you could try out the iPod bike mount. Personally, I’d prefer to keep my music player a little less, well, exposed when I’m listening to tunes while rolling down the road but, hey, maybe I’m a nut.