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In many parts of the world, the mountain biking season doesn’t really heat up until the wet and / or snowy winter conditions hibernate and cyclists start to brush off the dust and cobwebs from their rides. Of course, as local riding spots start to dry out, plenty of people are breaking in new rides and getting comfortable with new frames, forks, and other bits.
All of this stuff can be overwhelming if you haven’t done it before, and it can be a bit of a handful even if you have. To that end, I’ve compiled lists of past TBH entries that should help you on your way and get you rolling for a summer of shredding, charging, hammering, or whatever other way you describe mountain biking. Read the rest of this entry »
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8 May »
Events »
Cory
On a weekend when Paolo Savoldelli took early control of the Giro d’Italia road race with a solid opening time trial, and a couple of weeks after the first UCI xc event, a bunch more mountain bike events took place: a UCI downhill mountain bike event was held in Vigo, Spain; a NORBA race went down in California, and a UCI marathon event was held in Greece.
Of course, this list doesn’t include the many local events that took place over the past couple of days. Read the rest of this entry »
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It’s been a busy week for me, what with the weather and general trail conditions improving a whole bunch over the past couple of weeks. For me, that means more time for riding, but only if I can maintain that careful balance between the bike and non-bike. To that end, I’ve been getting up super early (for me), hitting the trails, and making it back home before most people have left for work.
Original content
On Monday, I posted up a review of the Fox 36 TALAS RC2 that’s been mounted on my all mountain bike for the past couple of months. For Tuesday, Guitar Ted recounted the running of the 2005 Trans Iowa endurance event; you’ll have to wait until next week for the recap of this year’s event, but do a little digging and you can find lots of good stuff to tide you over. Ashwin wrote a good article on block ‘training’ — a useful training technique for the Everyman. Dan’s opinion piece on brick-and-mortar retail outlets versus online purchasing went live yesterday, and it has created a good amount of discussion on both sides of the fence.
Elsewhere around the ‘net
Savoldelli, Simoni, Basso — these are names that’ll be familiar to those of you who follow the major road races. And since the Giro D’Italia starts up this weekend chances are pretty good you’ll be hearing a couple of these names in the coming weeks. Congrats to Cadel Evans for stomping the final time trial at the 60th Tour de Romandie and bagging the top podium spot.
New blog Bicycle Tech writes about Shimano’s patent on a hydraulic shifting mechanism. PEDAL is using bicycles to empower and educate people, and to better the environment while they’re at it. asilvertouch reviews the Real Appalache. Whistler’s Bike Park is set to open in the middle of May but be prepared to break out those goggles if you’re heading up early in the season.
There’s also some UCI World Cup action going down this weekend. I’ll post a recap in a few weeks — doh! — days.
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The debate over buying bike parts locally versus purchasing online or over the phone is something that will go on forever: Buy locally and you’re going to get excellent after-sales service and you’re giving your money to a business that likely supports local trails and local events. But buy online and, in most cases you’re going to save serious amounts of money, and have every option you could ever want available to you.
For those of us living in Canada, the debate gets even more complicated. The variance in prices here compared to those in America is staggering sometimes, so buying products in the US and having them shipped here is a common practice, but it’s something local bike shops obviously frown upon.
What’s a bike addict supposed to do? I know in many of the cases where I’ve purchased bike gear online, it was a matter of ‘buy online, or don’t buy it at all’. The bike shop price was so much higher than compared to what I could get it for in the U.S., so I decided I’d rather buy it from there than to not buy it at all. Read the rest of this entry »
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I’ve been inundated with comment spam over the past few days and my spam filter isn’t picking them up. So, until I can get a handle on this stuff, I’ll be moderating all comments on The Biking Hub.
What does that mean to you? Comments will no longer appear immediately after you submit them. Sorry, but since I don’t really feel like pimping sex aids or porn sites, this is the way it has to be for the short term.
Any rock solid solutions out there? Other than eliminating comments, of course…
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A lot of readers of The Biking Hub probably don’t race and aren’t interested in racing, but I imagine that everyone who comes here enjoys riding more when they are riding well.
This article will talk about a simple approach to cycling that will make you faster without seeming like training.
A little personal history
Seven years ago my wife and I had our first child. For a little while, I tried to hold onto racing but family life became way too stressful, with constant arguments revolving around a training schedule like the one I used before kids. Anyone with small children knows what I mean — it’s difficult to balance ‘regular’ life with cycling, especially if you like to ride a lot.
At that point, I decided to ‘ride for fun’, ’smell the roses’, and just enjoy being on the bike when I could. Honestly, it sucked. Every hill became a lung burner, single track was more pain than fun, and group rides were bummers. Read the rest of this entry »
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I’m a little late on the draw with this one, but I figured a bunch of you would still appreciate the link.
Last year, Race Face introduced the mountain biking world to the Ultimate XC Challenge, a cross country counterpart to the company’s freeride-oriented UFC. Like the UFC, the UXC is a peer-judged contest where riders from across the world submit videos that are voted on by other riders. Two winning teams will be chosen, and they’ll have their bikes kitted out in Race Face gear before setting off to ride the 2006 TransRockies Challenge.
This is one of those, “Do I really want to win this?” contests but I do know that there are lots of folks out there who are really keen on pushing themselves to the edge at events like the Transrockies.
Related links
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Shimano let ’slip’ news of the 2007 XTR lineup at this year’s Sea Otter Classic. The group released at Sea Otter was missing brakes, which were slated to be unveiled a few weeks after the rest of the items. Pictures and specs have made their way onto the ‘net and the 2007 XTR brakes look like a nice addition to the rest of the group.
The lever body, which is now available on its own, has its reservoir located between the lever blade and the handlebar clamp, creating a look reminiscent of Magura brakes. Brake rotors will be available in 203mm, 180mm, and 160mm. For the weight conscious riders out there, Shimano is offering a 140mm rotor, and it looks svelte and trim. The calipers are the nicest piece in the bunch and will be available in International Standard or post mount formats.
Other information on the 2007 XTR lineup
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Photo: Jeff Kerkove. Stormy weather combined with Iowa’s “B” roads proved to be difficult for every racer in the event.
For the regulars out there, Guitar Ted has been spending the last few weeks describing some of the highs and lows of getting the 2005 edition of the Trans Iowa endurance event off the ground. The 2006 Trans Iowa went this past weekend and it was, how do you say… a bit wet.
Ted’s partner in crime, Jeff Kerkove, posted up a bunch of event photos on Flickr and you can see for yourself the conditions that the participants endured.
Be sure to tune in next week for Guitar Ted’s recap of this year’s event.
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In last week’s entry, I described some of the pitfalls and successes that we had in getting the first Trans Iowa event off the ground. This week I’m writing about how the event actually went down.
One of the first things that became apparent was that Jeff and I didn’t have enough help. Even though I tried not to show it, the enormity and seriousness of the task at hand was brought home to me when I looked into the faces of all the racers at the check in. We ran the pre-race meeting without a hitch and then it was start time. Read the rest of this entry »
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