The funny thing is, that this bike used to belong to my good friend. He bought a Bullit in oktober 2003 and I soon followed after being inspired. He on the other hand never sold his baby. Untill now… Back together again!

The Trek Scratch was one of the bikes that rode perfectly. The BB height , head angle options (yes options 66 or 66.5 degrees) and chain stay length lead to flawless handling. The model I rode was set with coil springs and in spite of the associated weight it just rolled up the loose gravel road at Bootleg Canyon like a 28 lb XC bike. In fact while riding in the middle ring Andrew Shandro (from Trek Design team) and I were able to have a decent conversation about the purpose of the bike. We both believe that for a bike to be truly considered a trail bike it must climb well

Source: nsmb.com/3320-trek-scratch-ridden

I’ve been riding with the Raceface 3/4 DH shorts for almost 3 years. These are supple, excellent length and tough as hell. Now… why do women always want to get something NEW and DIFFERENT?

The same day I shipped back the from Maloja gear, I ordered a new Raceface 3/4 DH short from Chainreactioncycles.com (here). Fashioably brown (and the only colour in my size in stock) and they look nice, fit well (even better then the old ones) and cost about half.

First new thing on my second top 9 of 2009: stick to what works. That said: I’m glad I also bought this Mace jersey (here at crc.com). I should want for dry sunny weather on saturday when I go to the Ardennes… but I want to wear these…. ;-)

The SLX gearing for one, it’s by far not accurate enough as I’m used to, using SRAM. So that’s gotta go as soon as possible. The cranks however are quite good, except for the rings; they wear too fast.

Go for Elixir?

The Juicy 5’s are not that bad. The white paint chips easy, that’s a shame. To me, the modulation of the lever is not good enough, and the disc bend just by looking at them. I got a new pair with the bike, as the ones that came with, where bend, but now these are bend too.

What do you think, is it true that the G3 disc’s the Elixirs come with, are better for braking and more durable? They’re only a few grams lighter and the levers are better modulated. But I want to go bigger for the rear brake anyway, so eighter pay extra for new discs and adapters, or go Elixir… what’s your advice?

Avid Elixir R

Read about Avid Elixir @ sram.com

Conti’s rule

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Continental tires are rapidly becoming the best option for your ride. Might have something to do with Ritchey Schley being in on the development side. Previously I’ve owned the ‘Vertical‘ tires, who are especially suited for loose soil terrain. The Mountain King is a new all-round option, and comes in several sizes and versions:

• Mountain King
  26 x 2,0    26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 84tpi / foldable
• Mountain King Supersonic
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 180tpi/ foldable/ Black Chili Compound
• Mountain King Protection
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 180tpi/ foldable/ Duraskin/ Black Chili Compound
• Mountain King UST
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 330tpi/ foldable/ UST
• Mountain King 29inch
  28 x 2,2    28 x 2,4

Mountain King Protection

I choose the Mountain King Protection version, with thick sidewall protection and Black Chili Compound. They weigh about 820 grams per tire and are the same front/rear, just reverse the threads. Thankfully rather easy to mount on your wheels and look really sweet because of the ‘carbon’ look argyle print on the side.

Ride the Mountain King (Protection) >2.2 psi when the terrain is mainly rocky, like the Alps are. Last years Passportes du Soleil went on without a single puncture! Under normal circumstances you can ride with 1.8 psi. I’ve tried the Bontrager Latex anti-puncture inners, they rock, but count on an extra 400gr per tire! I’m opting to go UST, only if these’re just as good; according to their list it doesn’t come with Black Chili compound.

What makes the Mountain King so good?

• Grip in corners (or just about anywhere)!
  Pick your pleasure: thick muck, dried out dust, roots or rocks: I just doesn’t matter. Carve like there are none: only fun here! Black Chili rules!
• Sidewall protection
  Like I said, 90km’s in the Alpes on a day and no puncture! On downhill speed, that usually can only be said by downhill specific tires. You know, those that weight more than a kilo a pop.
• Durability
  Mine show slight wear and tear after more then 1.000 km’s!

Anything on the downside?

• Not suited for downhill races of bikepark visits.
  When you go for downhill races, or for a day on the downhill track, it’s likely the sidewall protection doesn’t hold the impact. That was the only (!) flat I’ve ever had.
• UST not Black Chili?
  I would like to save some extra weight, but not if it means giving up the sweet Black Chili compound.
• If you’re picky: resistance is somewhat high
  They’re allrounders, not xc! So expect a higher resistance on tarmac, comes with the nature of the very sticky Black Chili Compound.
• They are oval!
  I thought it was the Bontrager inners, but I learned from other riders, that it’s the Mountain Kings that are oval. Pepare to be annoyed on asphalt!

The best thing about it, it’s not shiny as the picture shown (have to make one of the actual product asap), it’s mat and silky and that looks awesome!

So I now have another excuse to go bikeparking asap, and I’m thinking… what if I add Trek Session to my wish list, will some nice people of Trek then send me a Session 88 to review for them?? :-P

Chances are that you’ll find MULE bars in your local (dutch) bikeshop soon, because it’s now being distributed here in the Netherlands by Greenwickedfoods.com. MULE bar is the labor product of Alex and Jimmy who thought energy bars tasted and digested poorly. If you’ve ever tryed and Isostar bar, you’ll agree.

So they decided to cook up their own special brew, made of real and organic ingredients and Fair Trade accredited when possible (two out of five bars and they want to improve that score!). To top that of, they donate 1% of sales every year to environmental groups protecting our natural world, governed by 1% For The Planet.

Eat and do good

So eating a MULE bar is the best thing you can do for your body, the environment and and making the planet a better (work) place for some others. Need more?

You might be picky about taste. I’ve tried the Pinacolada: pineapple + coconut + some Chinese Ghoji berries (vitamin C) =  343kj of calories per 100 grammes. Pineapple and coconut: my favs. You know what I only like more? You won’t believe this because they HAVE a bar with my favorite stuff in the whole wide world: liquorice! I’ve yet to try one of these, but I’m sure it’ll be heavenly!

Other bars on the menu are called: Mango Tango, Hunza Hut, Chocolate Fig Fiesta, Strudel and Chocolate Fig Mud. You can find details and ingredients on this page here, if you’re allergic to nuts and stuff like I am, it’s good to know you’ll find out exactly what types of nuts are used.

I’m not sure when they hit the stores, I’ll let you know when I find out. And more important, if the Liquorice Allsports bar delivers!

So my new bike arrived today and, with only a tiny tune-up, I couldn’t help myself. I took the Remedy for a short ride near Apeldoorn, the sights where beautifull because of the snow and I was counting my blessings. My mates where hard at work, and I found myself enjoying my new bike.

The Lyrik is allready everything I hoped it would be: bloody awesome! The Fox RP2 also delivers and setting both up to my standards was a piece of cake. The SLX cranks look sexy sweet! And yes, the Remedy does pedal as well as promised! It’s light too.

I am, however, ordering some new stuff for the cockpit. Not at all pleased with the low-riser (1″) and (somewhat) long stem (80mm). I knew buying this bike, the toptube would be a bit on the long side. (A size smaller would have been too small). So I’m ordering some new goodies that make me more comfortable. Hopefully saturday this saturday a longer ride, with the new gear on board, along with my beloved Conti’s and the Joplin.

Don’t you just hate…

… how helmets look cool on others and make you look even geekier than you already do. I’ve tried on Giro helmets and it’s ridiculous! I guess it’s safe and all, but the helmet is both high and wide and make my head shrink like a peanut. (eventhough thát’s slightly better than make you look fat…). So I banned Giro for the moment and got side-tracked by a nice CG-signature fullface helmet by Bell. Even Though I won’t buy it, because it lacks vents, I wanted to see if Bell had any cool helmets for my goal: xc-Allmountain-trails-freeride-enduro-downhill type of riding. They didn’t. Another brand popped in my head: Met. And as it turned out, they have really nice xc-Allmountain-trails-freeride-enduro-downhill type of helmets. The Met Kaos comes in two versions. The one that weights 250 gram (WTF?!) and the one that weights about 195 grams.

195 grams is a bit to skinny to my liking, but the Kaos does look pretty and I have had a Met helmet before. Oh and it has nice features, don’t you think:

• New compact Integral double In-molding construction
• 22 air vents
• Rear vents
• Safe-T X retention system
• Washable and anti-allergic internal pads in Coolmax®
• Lockable side strap divider
• Removable & ventilated peak
• Anti pinch buckle
• 2 sizes: M 54-57/ L 58-61 cm
• Weight: 250 g

I’m somewhat concerned about the big vent in front, what if I crash there? But on the other hand, let just not crash there ;-) Plus it got a good review on BikeRadar.com Okay, so my birthday present is in the mail, just a little preview for you:

Met Kaos bought at Chain Reaction Cycles

So one thing crossed of my list! Erm… well… a half thing… still a new fullface helmet to go… *grin* got any pretty (well vented, light but not TLD-priced) suggestions for me?

But okay, the Switch is going back to the sponsor sometime next year, ending what has been 2 excellent years of sponsoring by Stappenbelt.com. The best LBS if you ask me, and I’m still gonna support them, whenever I can. Leaves me without a bike however, so I’ve been thinking about what would make the best bike for me. And I know what that is: A Rocky Mountain Switch on a superdiet with a little less travel. It has the best geometry, especially when I run the forks at 140 mm (almost always) and it’s even fun on and xc ride. In my own pace that is ;-)

So my shortlist:

• Trek Remedy 7
• Lapierre Spicy 316
• Cube Fritzz
• Canyon Torque ES 7.0

Allmost made the cut: Specialized Enduro SL (boring), SC Nomad (Hot, expensive and doubtfull about VPP for me), Scott Ransom: too many horror stories, Norco Fluid: dunno, Mongoose Teocali/Khyber: LOVE ‘EM. Poorly distributed here (often no mailorder in foreign online shops). Khyber seems a bit to heavy, Teocali skinny on the travel-side. Slayer: wheelbase is too long, plus a bit heavy.

So what constitudes THE All Mountain Long Travel bike for me?

• Around 14 kg,
• Travel 150-160 mm,
• Geometry: Short wheelbase and chainstain. Rather steep stering- and seatangle,
• Adjustable fork; preferbly Rockshox Lyrik U-turn(coil),
• A good/smart setup, parts can be upgraded,
• All day ride, once for Alpes/Ardennes and for Bikepark-flow and fun.

Breaking it down

Trek Remedy 7

Cost: 2599 euro
Pro:

• Lyrik U-turn (coil) with Fox Float RP23: excellent setup. Good enough specs.
• Rave reviews, can’t find a bad one.
• Good distribution and warrenty network.

Con:

• Did a short testride on a previous model, not sure about the rockerlink, direct feel.
• Rave reviews, can’t find a bad one.

Lapierre Spicy 316

Cost: 2299 euro (could pick up a 2008 one for 2000 euro)
Pro:

• Hothothot + Vouilloz,
• Light, 160 mm

Con:

• Float R shock (checking if it’s upgradable)
• FOX 36 VAN R fork, not adjustable
• Rather basic parts, however, could upgrade some parts along the way and end up with dreamy bike.

Cube Fritzz

Cost: 2599 euro
Pro:

• Rock Shox Lyrik 2StepAir (eventhough I’d prefer the U-turn with coil),
• Good specs for the cash,
• Goed reviews.

Con:

• It’s a CUBE…

Canyon Torque ES 7.0

Cost: 2399 euro
Pro:

• RockShox Monarch 4.2 (very curious about that one) TALAS RC fork (adjustable at least)
• Horstlink,
• Good reviews,
• Rob J rides for Canyon (ex-Rocky Mountain),
• Great specs for the cash

Con:

• Not sexy!
• Sounds good on paper, but is it really…
• Long estimate delivery.

So what do you think? Can you help me out? Comment below.

I can’t figure it out any more. They all seem like great bikes and my preference switches (no pun) daily. Would they all cost the same, with the same basic spec? I might choose the Lapierre Spicy…