MMcG's MTB Blog Spot

Back in B-usiness!

2011-09-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yep - back on 650b wheels again. And Lovin it!

This wheelsize just seems to work better with the 44 Bikes Snakedriver as it lowers the bottom bracket height making the bike much more carve-able/shred-able!

I like it!

New Shoes!

2010-11-22T08:46:00.001-08:00

Got some 29er wheels coming my way - hopefully today. Big Wide Rims! Velocity P35s laced to SRAM disc hubs. Going on the SnakeDriver. Hopefully I'll get to ride them on Thanksgiving Morning weather permitting.

More Changes

2010-10-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

I installed the Nixon Elite with Wind Down on the Azonic and that makes the bike a little less slack - an improvement.

I also threw on a set of On-One Mary Bars and inverted them on the SnakeDriver. Pretty cool feel to this set up!

I've also got a second 650b wheelset en route - should arrive today I hope. That'll give me two sets of 650b wheels and a slew of tire options to choose from as well. Stoked!

Guide to Online Schools
has info on design and engineering classes for people who want to learn how
to design cool bikes like this one.

Change

2010-10-22T06:11:00.001-07:00

In light of the season - I changed the look a bit. Why not right?

I've got some Mary Bars - which way to run 'em??

2010-10-22T06:07:00.001-07:00

I picked up some On-One Mary Bars from Art Roti yesterday. Going to use them on my rigid bike. Gotta decide on how to run them (inverted or regular). I'm leaning towards inverted with some ergon grips.

WWYD?

online masters
degree programs

650b-ified

2010-10-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

With a second set of 650b wheels en route - I decided to test for fit on the Azonic Steelhead. Fit is great! Much better this way.

Took her out for a short post work ride and had a lot of fun. Sometimes some front suspension really is nice.

It's definitely nice to be able to go for a ride after a day or work or
classes from accredited
online schools.

More Changes - Back to Rigid

2010-10-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

The suspension fork's stay was short lived. 44 Bikes SnakeDriver is now a rigid 650b single speed machine.

Ride is super quick in this configuration! XC fast - if only rider were in XC fast riding shape! ;)

Sometimes it takes people with engineering degrees or possibly a bachelor degree online to
design cool rides like this.

Latest Work in Progress

2010-10-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

145mm Front suspension 650b set up. Waiting on a cassette to go 1x9.

Discuss..............

Azonic Steelhead Play Bike

2010-08-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Built up this bike recently. It'll serve as Liam's bike when he's at the house with me as well as something that I can goof around on as well.

Frame is heavy as all get out - but the end result is a not too heavy bike. Kinda slack, but not bad really.

New to me wheels en route

2010-07-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

A set of Fisher Rig SS wheels are en route. Bonty hubs laced to Bonty Duster rims - with tubless rim strips and valve stems. These are 28mm wide rims - much wider than my current SS wheels.

I'm thinkin - one road/gravel SS gear combo for road/gravel/dirt road duty and the Rig wheels for singletrack/trail riding duty.

Make sense??

Online colleges are an
option for looking into design classes to be at the forefront of new bike
designs.

A Sign from Above?

2010-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

So I set my SnakeDriver up dual 650b and 1x9 and on last night's ride, stick takes out rear derailleur..........is this a sign from above saying "leave this bike as a single speed please!"........or am I reading too much into it? ;)

Thinning the Herd - trying to refind the passion

2010-06-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well as of the last few days I sold off My Marin Wolf Ridge to a father and son from the Boston Area, and my Carver frame is soon to be en route to Bowie, Maryland.

That leaves me with just the 44 Bikes SnakeDriver and a buncha parts. I think the next step is to put the 650b wheels on the SnakeDriver, pair it up with an older Fox Talas fork and run it as a 1x9 650b Trail bike for the rest of the season. Maybe that'll get my energy to ride rekindled.

We'll see.

Should I?

2010-06-19T06:48:00.001-07:00

Re-start this blog?

Rain Rain Go Away Already

2009-07-01T11:33:00.003-07:00

What the heck is up with the weather here in New England this spring/summer. Rain, Rain and more rain. Driving me nuts!

Why oh Why?

2009-06-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

Why is it that I can't seem to get a Full Suspension mountain bike off my mind as of late??

I sure wish I could somehow find a barely used Balfa Belair floating about somewhere. This time I'd get it in the Long frame size with the 23.5" effective Top Tube - but they are few and far between these days.

Saw one recently on the Boston craigslist - followed up but the seller didn't respond and then "poof" the ad had vanished. He even spelled Balfa wrong - but some lucky duck in Mass is probably riding and smiling on a nice white Belair. Lucky person.

Maybe I'll fine one or a 2Step FR one of these days.

Add another one to the long list

2009-06-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

Yep - built up another bike. This time, I opted to try out an inexpensive frame from Performance Bike. I picked up one of their house-brand ACCESS 29er frames and built her up with a mix of new and old and borrowed and bartered parts. It took me a good long while to get used to the massively oversized AL tubing on this frame, but when all was said and done, it ain't half bad and it fits me better than the small Karate Monkey I tried to make fit (2nd try) earlier this year.

Now - to actually get out and get some trail miles on it!

Testing Testing.......is this thing on?

2009-06-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Man it has been ages since I posted anything.......maybe I need to get back into the swing of it again.

Working on building up a new bike.........should be done real soon...stay tuned.

DIY LED Lights - Makes Night Riding a Blast for little $$

2008-11-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

So last Friday I went on a really great 2.5 hourish Halloween Ride and I was sporting my Splatolite LED helmet light. My friend John (you may know him as splat from the mtb forums) made it in his workshop. The light rocks! It is nice and light, runs on rechargeable NIMH AA batteries and mounts nicely atop my Bell Influx. Total cost to me was under $35.00!!! Can't beat that now can ya?

The light was nice and bright and it was a nice clean white light too. I'd guess it was close to 140 Lumens if not more. Plenty bright enough for our trails here in CT. I'm going to ask splat to make me another one (maybe bar mount) once he gets more LEDs and supplies in.

I'll throw up some photos soon.

If you haven't yet, get a relatively cheap LED set up and give night riding a go. It is a total blast!

Don't Forget.......................

2008-11-04T05:58:00.001-08:00

To Vote Today. It is so important to excercise your right to vote. So go out and vote and then go out and excercise with a nice road or mtb ride if you can. Me, I'll get some skating in at the rink tonight and wish that I were out riding instead.

Cheers,

Mark

Some of the Coolest Bikes at Interbike East Were Not Booth Bikes!

2008-10-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

When you go to a bicycle trade show, chances are you are bound to see a ton of new and exciting bikes, but at the same time chances are highly likely you'll see some killer bikes that are rider-owned and not actually part of actual company tents/trailers.

Here's a few that I saw last Tuesday in Providence:

First off the OS Bikes Black Buck - this is the frame/bike company from Mark Slate of WTB fame. Really cool 29er - and he's also going to offer this in 650b guise as well! Sweet.

Next we happened upon this gorgeous Titanium Eastern Woods Research E-Motion locked up just outside the expo area. I believe it may be the only Ti E-Motion every made by EWR - or at least one of a special few. It was decked out with all sorts of great Syncros bits as well. Awesome!

On the other side we found a new Eastern Woods Research Original Woods Bike in a nice orange paint color. The old and the new side by side. Nice bikes to happen upon as we were on our way out.

Want Tang? Want Carbon? This Niner offered both! Beautiful Tang One 9 with slick Reynolds Carbon fiber wheels. This thing was someone's personal race bike and it was also set up as a dinglespeed. So the rider had a gear ratio for riding to the trails and then a second setup for actual trail riding/racing. The bike was ridonculously light. Mighty nice!

I also spotted this really sharp looking Soma Juice at one of the component company booths. Those red Somas are might sharp looking in my opinion!

MMcG Goes To Providence - And Rides Lots of Bikes

2008-10-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to attend the Interbike East Outdoor Demo event last Tuesday, October 21st in Providence, Rhode Island and boy did I have a blast. Many thanks to Davis Carver from www.carverbikes.com for the pass to attend. Davis is a super great guy, he loves bikes, and his bike company, Carver Bikes is putting out some really impressive rigs across pretty much all spectrums of riding from CX, to MTB, to Snow bikes!

I attended the event with Bullitboyz, of mtb internet forum fame and D and I had a blast talking bikes, taking photos of bikes and of course riding bikes.

Since I moderate the 29er and SS forums at www.ridemonkey.com, my primary focus was on 29ers, but D and I also paid special attention to the "new" 650b offerings at the show, in particular those from Carver Bikes and also the Haro Beasleys. In addition we spotted a new Kenda Nevagal 650b tire that looks to be a sure fire hit with those interested in this "in betweener" wheelsize.

The dirt demo loop was super short, but it was decent enough to get a feel for the various bikes and it also allowed for me to ride many bikes in a small window of time. We were only in Providence from around 8:30 to 2:15. Yet I was still able to ride 10 different bikes! Not bad!

Here's a look at some of the bikes I rode:

Some of the standouts from the day included the following bikes:

1. Marin Quad Full Suspension - this thing was amazing! 120mm of travel front and back but it felt like the Marin had 6" in back. Yet it was also super efficient, active and quick! Great bike. Definitely give the Marin Quad bikes a shot if you are looking for a new fully - these are flying way under the radar and deserve way more attention in the US.

2. 650b bikes - these are the real deal. Both the Carver and Haro offerings were a blast to ride. I think this is a wheelsize with tons of merit and potential

3. The Carver Belt drive bike - just cool for being belt drive. But also finely crafted and well thought out way to do belt drive. Also my first time riding a carbon fiber fork and I liked it!

4. The Salsa Fargo - just a cool bike. I'm sure we'll see this frame set built up in a zillion different configurations in 2009 and I bet all of them will = tons of fun for their riders. Nice job on the Fargo Salsa guys.

5. The people. Everyone I met was so nice and so into bikes. It was super cool to spend time with Davis Carer, Downhill Jill from Haro bikes, her counterpart at Masi (didn't get his name), Brett Downs of SE Bikes, Chris Sugoi from Niner bikes was wandering the expo area (I hope they decide to bring their bikes east in 2009), the Salsa guys, and the crew at the Rocky Mountain tent.

6. Favorite 29er of the day goes to the Rocky Mountain Hammer. This was a stellar 29er ride experience! Great geometry, nice steel feel, and a bike that just felt "right" to me as soon as I hopped on it. Well done Rocky Mountain!

More of my thoughts and images in another entry. Stay tuned for more.

Cheers,

Mark