There comes a time in every rider’s life when they suffer what is known as traveler’s regret. It usually happens when a cyclist is on vacation somewhere without their bike and they realize they’re in a city that has either some spectacular singletrack or great road riding opportunities.
Traveling with a bike can be expensive, cumbersome and a huge headache, yet it can also be incredibly rewarding. Having ridden in cities all over the US, it seems like I’ve tried every option for traveling with a bicycle – from shipping it ahead of time to using a $500 hardshell case. But a new option has made it easier for more people to move about the world with their favourite rides, without spending $500 on a case.
American company Crate Works starting out producing bicycle travel cases that were slightly more permanent than a cardboard bike box. They were cheap in price and meant to be used a few times before being replaced. Then they came out with corrugated plastic versions of the box, and today they’re using corrugated high-density polyethylene.
The Crate Works Pro XL-C World Traveler is a $265 CDN bicycle carrying case made from CORR-X, a 6mm high-density polyethylene. It has five pieces of compression foam and lots of tie downs to secure any time of bike quickly and easily. Read the rest »
No Comments »
Located inside Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple Ridge, I’ve been doing this ride for years and it never seems to get old. It starts out with about 12km of single- and doubletrack climbing and finishes with a mixed-bag descent that is close to 5km long. Depending on the pace for the day, it’ll take between 1.5 and 2 hours for the loop.
The biking trails at Mike Lake are moderately technical for this area and are not maintained by the company in charge of park management (and that’s a story for another day). That means there are some pretty chundery areas and there are a number of loose areas that could cause problems at any point during the year.
One more pic after the jump. Sorry for the lousy exposures. Snapshots and sunny days don’t usually go well together under the canopy. Read the rest »
2 Comments »
I’m off for a week of holidays so don’t expect any updates until next weekend! I had planned on having stuff queued up for a timed release but it didn’t happen. Get out and enjoy the rest of the summer.
See you in a bit.
No Comments »
So it looks as though Operacion Puerto, the witchhunt that has turned pro cycling into a world-wide farce, has reared its ugly head in the mountain biking world.
Jose Antonio Hermida has been forced by the Spanish Cycling Association to withdraw from the World Championships after a nick name with which he is believed to be associated showed up in documents produced by officials involved with the case. For his part, Hermida seems pretty pissed off, and his press release makes two key points:
1. There are no existing legal charges against me.
2. There are no current sanctions against me
So let me get get this straight: Hermida hasn’t been found guilty of anything; he hasn’t been suspended for any past infractions; officials used the existence of a nickname to justify his expulsion from the Worlds.
If you ask me, that’s pretty darn weak. Another top rider is gone from a world-level pro event because he might be involved in a doping case that’s already ruined the seasons of riders who were eventually cleared for lack of substantive evidence. And why the heck is this info only coming to light now, a couple days before a major event, when it’s obviously been available for almost three months.
This one smacks of publicity hunting, regardless of Hermida’s guilt or innocence which, by the way, has not been given due process.
No Comments »
Rumours and conjecture have been swirling around the proposed ‘07 Giant lineup for the past couple of months, with pictures of a carbon Trance showing up online (and on the race course) and more info about a beefed up version of the Reign. Mountain Bike Action is the first major site that’s posted up pics of the full 2007 Giant product lineup, and I must say that it looks pretty darn nice.
More pics after the jump. Read the rest »
3 Comments »
The start of the climb. This section only lasts about 200 meters but it’s pretty challenging and most riders walk it.
When I tell non-locals that I’m from southwest BC, the first thing I’m usually asked about is the gnarly stunts and steep ladder bridges that populate many of the trails in the area. And, while that’s a core component to many of popular ‘North Shore’ rides, trails in the Greater Vancouver area are more varied than the photos in popular magazines make them out to be.
After the jump you can check out some shots that I snapped during the climb at a local riding spot. Depending on your level of fitness and the route you take, it takes between 25 and 45 minutes to get to the top. An average loop (parking lot to parking lot) takes anywhere from one hour to three hours, depending on skill level.
Most of these snaps were brightened up — if I’d left them as the camera grabbed them, you wouldn’t see too much because it’s pretty dark in these here woods. Read the rest »
1 Comment »
Today’s normally the day that I post up Weekend Reading but I’ve been lax, and haven’t gathered a tonne of links over the past couple of weeks. That being said, there’s lots of good stuff floating around out there.
2007 Norco sneak preview: Someone over on the NSMB.com bulletin boards posted up the catalogue pics for the 2007 Norco lineup. Later in the thread, you can find a great pictorial history of the Team DH that shows the bike from 2001 up until 2007. I wasn’t super-stoked on the ‘06 lineup but this year’s a different story; some of the bikes that really caught my eye were the blue A-Line, the Shore 1 (with the new Rock Shox Totem), the Six1 (and the SE), the Fluid1, and the xc-focused Faze.
Other gear news and reviews: BikeMagic reviews the Giro Hex helmet, a lid that’s designed for the burgeoning all-mountain / trail market. It offers a little more rear protection than your typical xc helmet without looking like a truncated full face bucket. BikeMagic gives us a look at Thomas Frischnecht’s Scott Spark, a new short-travel (110mm) bike from the company that gave us the Ransom. While it’s a little late to the plate, NSMB serves up its take on the 2007 Specialized product launch, including some interesting words on the company’s move into the suspension market. And, speaking of Specialized, Pinkbike posted up an extremely positive review of the Specialized SX Trail. CyclingNews releases some good info on Mavic’s expanded 2007 wheelset lineup. Bicycle Tech writes a bit about Cannondale’s new carbon Rush and Taurine frames — if I get a chance, I’ll post up more pics of and info on the frames and complete bikes in the ‘07 lineup.
No Comments »
Long time readers of The Biking Hub might recall my stories about the Trans Iowa ultra endurance event. The event is promoted, organized, and run by two bicycle mechanics that love long distance cycling. One of those mechanics is me, and the other is Jeff Kerkove, who is also an endurance off road cyclist for the Cat Eye Enduro Team.
Since the event is stretched out over 300 miles of gravel roads, and the route changes each year, the work load for planning this little outing is pretty heavy for two fellows. After each running of the event, Jeff and I say, “No more!” It’s partly a feeling of relief to be done with the event, and the pain of putting it on is still fresh in your mind.
So, how does it happen that we are doing this crazy event again? Read the rest »
No Comments »
A while back, I picked up a set of Hayes El Caminos for my trail bike, despite plenty words of warning from a number of friends who logged serious time with these things on their dh rigs. The primary complaint was about the way the brakes faded or pumped up on fast runs but I figured I’d be all right since my set wasn’t going to be used at Whistler or for heavy duty gravity-fed action.
I’ve spent a couple of solid months with these brakes in conditions that ranged from steep, wet, and sloppy to dry, dusty, and really freakin’ fast, and have a pretty good idea about their strengths and limitations. They weren’t as bad as my friends claimed, but the El Caminos definitely are not the best brake in their price range; in fact, because of the all-round performance of the brakes, there are a number of less expensive hydraulic brakes that I’d choose over these things. Read the rest »
1 Comment »
You regulars out there will have noticed that we haven’t been posting up a lot of reviews (none would probably be more accurate), but there is a lot of stuff that’s nearly ready to go.
I’ve been running a bunch of new stuff on my Trance, including some Hayes El Caminos, Mavic CrossMax XLs, and Kenda Nevegals. Also, there are some apparel and accessory reviews on the way, with Ashwin’s evaluation of a pack by Wingnut and my thoughts on the Giro Animas xc lid, some shorts and gloves from Louis Garneau, gloves from Troy Lee Designs, and whatever else I can squeeze out of my brain. We’ll also have a couple of writeups on gear from Pricepoint’s Sette brand.
It’s been a great summer so far, and that’s contributed mightily to this site’s decrease in content, but I know you all understand. Most of you will agree that getting out there is far more appealing a prospect than sitting around the house…
3 Comments »
