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BikeEntropy in the San Juans
Entropy in the San Juans
Hut-to-hut mountain biking comes of age. It also comes with 200 off-road miles and 27,000 feet of climbing—and a cheeseburger at Milt’s. Story and photos by Dave Cox “I dropped my GPS.” I hope Dennis means our group’s only digital navigator—with all the huts pinned-—is scuffed but working fine. We all brake to a stop. Nope. Gone. A discussion ensues: Do we double back and help Dennis look, or do some of us continue on? Clap! You know you’re too close to a lightning strike when thunder sounds less like a drum roll and more like a wet hand slapping…...
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BikeA Better Tour of Utah
A Better Tour of Utah
Tackling Park City’s Point 2 Point endurance mountain biking race. Park City, Utah is a mountain biker’s dream destination (look for more on that in our Summer 2016 “Mountain Towns for Mountain Biking” cover story). With more than 450 miles of trails accessible from the center of this one-time mining town, Park City is the only gold-level Ride Center on the planet—as classified by the International Mountain Bike Association. From Main Street, point your bike in any direction, and you’ll hit a mountain bike trail in a mile or less. If there’s one event that celebrates this golden network, it’s…...
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BikeTime Tested Gear: OOFOS OOriginal Recovery Sandals
Time Tested Gear: OOFOS OOriginal Recovery Sandals
Field Test: I change into flip-flops after every mountain bike ride or trail run. But trailhead pebbles poke through thin soles, and flat-footed sandals lead to aches and pains. With OOFOS slides, proprietary foam absorbs 37 percent more impact than standard EVA. Arch support and a rocker sole evens out my stride. Why It’s Timeless: Think of these sandals as the après version of Hokas. A tad clownish, but who cares? $40; oofos.com —Olivia Dwyer From the Early Summer 2015 issue....
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BikeMTN Advocate: Durango Devo
MTN Advocate: Durango Devo
We give the Mountain pulpit to Amy Haggart, executive director of Durango Devo. Durango, Colorado is a world-class mountain biking town. When my family moved here in 2007, my husband and I wanted our family to ride the local trails together someday. So we enrolled our kids in Durango Devo, a youth cycling organization, and happily sent them off on weekly rides. They got more confident as mountain bikers, but there was a deeper transformation: They grew into leaders, trail advocates, and mentors. It can be difficult to engage kids in the outdoors, something I experienced firsthand as a climbing guide and…...
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BikeBuying Right—Carbon MTB Wheels
Buying Right—Carbon MTB Wheels
Complete carbon wheelsets run $2,000 and up. At first blush they seem like luxury add-ons to already overpriced bikes. But are they worth the investment? We called in four carbon wheelsets to see. By Marc Peruzzi As wheel diameters have grown from 26-inch to 27.5- and 29-inch, the many advantages of those bigger wheels came with some drawbacks. Bigger wheels roll better over small obstacles, carry more speed through transitions, and the gyroscopic effect makes staying upright easier, but to get aluminum wheels light enough for XC and long trail rides meant the taller wheels were softer laterally (on edge)…...
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BikeIn Search of the Beginning
In Search of the Beginning
In the fifth episode of the Hunt for Glory web series, mountain biker Nino Shurter explores his sport’s roots with fat tire pioneer Tom Ritchey. Shurter, a World Cup champion and multi-discipline threat, visits California to see the garage where Ritchey once welded prototypes and tour the singletrack he explored with contemporaries like Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher....
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BikeTime Tested Gear: Ibex Knee Warmers
Time Tested Gear: Ibex Knee Warmers
Field Test: I wore the same faithful pair of these Merino wool knee warmers to chase Cadel Evans at the 2011 Tour de France, on a week long hut-to-hut bike trip last summer, and for cool-weather rides at home in New Mexico. With wind-blocking nylon and wool in front, and breathable, loose-knit Merino behind my knee, they’re unbeatable for rides that start off cool, but quickly heat up. Why It’s Timeless: Enough spandex to stay in place, so I don’t look like Madonna on her Material Girl tour. $40; ibex.com —Dave Cox From the Early Summer 2015 issue....
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BikeMountain Towns for Mountain Biking
Mountain Towns for Mountain Biking
Behind the scenes on Sun Valley singletrack. Mountain contributors have been hard at work this summer (well, not really) traveling to some of the most important mountain biking destinations in North America. Why? To ride of course, but also because mountain bikers—once a downtrodden caste of untouchables in the eyes of conservationists and land managers—are now, with a few exceptions, considered part of society. As such, the maturing mountain biking community has quietly etched a growing network of purpose-built, sustainable, environmentally friendly trails into the landscape. With power comes responsibility and all that. This is true in obscure locales like Ascutney, Vermont,…...
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BikeWhistler Gets Cranked
Whistler Gets Cranked
For a good time, mix gravity, adrenaline—and bikes. “There’s a flow to this trail. You just have to find it.” Or so Whistler local Pip Campbell assures me after I negotiate a techy rock section with all the grace of a dairy cow. Crowd participation isn’t mandatory at Crankworx Whistler, the 10-day showcase mostly devoted to gravity-fueled mountain bike racing. But I figure the best way to watch cycling is with tired legs and an endorphin buzz. So I rent a Giant enduro bike (built to climb efficiently enough but rocket downhill) and ask some well-honed trail riders to take me…...
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BikeHauling Right: Yakima Holdup Versus Thule T2
Hauling Right: Yakima Holdup Versus Thule T2
There is simply no better way to carry your full suspension mountain bike (or any bike, really) than an upright style hitch mount rack. Thanks to a pivoting arm and deep wheel trays, nothing touches the frame of the bike, there’s no need to remove the muddy front wheel and place it inside your rig, and loading and unloading is minutes faster every time—and easier since you only have to lift the bike to knee height. We tested two of the more popular models on the market head-to-head. Yakima HoldUp (Above) First off, these racks are fairly similar and they’re…...
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BikeWheel Surfing Cognoscenti
Wheel Surfing Cognoscenti
By Marc Peruzzi | Photo by Jon Robichaud I would never presume to put Latin on my business card, but I fancy myself more of a deadbeat literati than a strutting cognoscenti anyway. The intelligentsia? Forget those synapse Brahmans. I don’t even merit Intelligentsia Domestique status. Admittedly, I sometimes have cognoscenti dreams. But even with the pipe and the corduroy jacket I quickly get dropped at dinner parties when I try to hang with fully cognizant types. “No, no,” I say with forbidden rice in my teeth. “Don’t dumb down the dialectic for me. I’ll just draft in your mindfulness for a…...
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BikeCarbon MTB Wheels 2015: Reynolds Blacklabel 29 TR
Carbon MTB Wheels 2015: Reynolds Blacklabel 29 TR
This tester ran the Blacklabel TRs in two endurance mountain bike races and a season of training rides. The review? They’re designed for trail riding, but they’re so stiff and responsive that they boost the handling of XC bikes too. It’s hard to quantify how a wheel improves your confidence, but even after two months of testing I’m still praising how the Reynolds improved my bike’s handling in corners. The 21mm internal rim width offers the advantage of wider rims without the headaches of tough tire changes. They also appear to be rugged—stay tuned for the extended Time Tested review…...
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Bike
Carbon MTB Wheels 2015: ENVE M Series 60 Forty
Carbon MTB Wheels 2015: ENVE M Series 60 Forty
Here’s the standard issue premium wheelset for what most of us do all summer long—ride mountain bikes fast on trails with maybe a race or two on the calendar to train for. The 23mm internal rim width lets you run an XC racer’s favored low pressures, but with the extra stiffness trail riders are looking for. Like the Reynolds we reviewed, they’ll make your XC bike handle better or they’ll lighten up your trail bike to go race pace. $2,399; enve.com From the Summer 2015 issue....
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BikeCarbon MTB Wheels 2015: Rolf Prima Ralos CXC
Carbon MTB Wheels 2015: Rolf Prima Ralos CXC
A set of 29er CXCs only weigh 1,495 grams, and the sparse spoke count screams “for racing only,” but we found them more than burly enough for everyday fast riding (and occasionally jumping from buildings). Here too, the internal rim width is a modern 22mm for fast repairs in a race scenario with the benefit of wider rims. But the wheel feels a touch softer laterally than the more heavily spoked Reynolds and Kappius. $1,899; rolfprima.com From the Summer 2015 issue....
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BikeCarbon MTB Wheels 2015: Kappius KR-29
Carbon MTB Wheels 2015: Kappius KR-29
This small Colorado brand has been on the forefront of the wider rim movement. The KR-29 features a 26mm internal rim width, but the new XCW version of that same rim is an astounding 40mm wide (internally!). Both can be difficult to mount (shop for tires carefully), but the extra width offers the ability to run significantly lower tire pressure. The KR-29 is the choice for four- to five-inch travel bikes. We found them as stiff and fast as any wheel we tested. Rims from $599; wheelsets from $2,249; kappiuscomponents.com From the Summer 2015 issue....
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BikeTime Tested Gear: SRAM 1X Drivetrain Road Bikes
Time Tested Gear: SRAM 1X Drivetrain Road Bikes
Field Test: Forget trying to explain the finer points of cross-chaining to newbie cyclists. SRAM’s newly expanded single-chainring drivetrain system (dubbed Force 1 and Rival 1) means one click for an easier gear, one click for a harder gear. It also reduces the chance of dropping your chain, and thanks to new larger spread cassettes, you get virtually the same gear range as a traditional 2X drivetrain. Why It’s Timeless: Don’t be surprised if this is the beginning of the end for front derailers on commuter, criterium, gravel, time trial, and all manner of fitness and hybrid bikes. Endurance Factor:…...
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BikeDrawing First Mud
Drawing First Mud
Early feedback on the 2016 offerings from Scott Bikes. Updated Scott Genius 900 Tuned One of the most versatile XC-to-Trail bikes we’ve ever ridden just got better. New additions include a longer travel front shock (Fox 34), which in addition to the deeper and more plush travel, effectively slackens the Genius angles a tad more giving it better descending chops. The Syncros carbon wheels also seem improved with a modern U-shaped rim that at least felt stiffer in the corners. On a three-hour point-to-point—with a large net drop in vertical but a few punchy climbs to contend with—this was the…...
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BikeUphill Grind
Uphill Grind
By Frederick Reimers | Photo by David Stubbs Update: On August 7, 2015, President Obama signed into law a bill that designated 275,665 acres of the Boulder-White Cloud mountains as Wilderness, closing off the area to mountain bike access. In central Idaho, 150 miles of trail navigates the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains. It’s exactly the type of pristine but somewhat forgotten country that draws backcountry mountain bikers from nearby Ketchum. But in 2014, a local chapter representative of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) testified before the U.S. Senate against designating 272,000 acres of those lands as Wilderness with a capital W. Why? Only…...
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