BikeRumor.com

Jackson County, Alabama, tourism director J.P. Parsons is pitching the idea as a way to build tourism revenue for the area…which is smart.  Not only are then in a good area for potential trail building (good terrain, close to several major urban areas), but there’s precedent for believing a quality trail network and facilities can bring riders to the area.

Our friends at BMCC in Wilkesboro, NC used an initial $10,000 grant from their local Chamber of Commerce to build the incredible Dark Mountain and Over Mountain Victory Trails, and they continue to build more.  This has helped the area land several large events (BURN 24 Hour) and let’s the club host their own events.  Ski resorts like Mammoth, Whistler (photo above is from Whistler’s online gallery) and more use their growing mountain bike parks to keep business up when the snow melts.

Even IMBA supports the concept and offers seminars and training for areas that want to develop mountain bike parks and resorts.

Read “more” to see a map of the area…

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What do you get when you combine the long travel of a Freeride bike with the geometry of an XC racer?  According to Dreamride founder Lee Bridgers, a mountain bike that does everything better than any other bike out there.  Lee creates Dreamrides one at a time, custom measured to each buyer, runs a Moab tour company and runs the Dreamride bike shop.

Founded in 1996, Dreamride takes your measurements, riding style and other information and designs the bike, then they’re built by Ventana, Moots, Lynskey, Pegoretti or Land Shark…depending on which frame material you desire. Their newest creation, the Fully 69 (pictured above), combines a 29″ front wheel with 5″ of travel and a 26″ rear with 6″ of travel to create an aggressive handling XC/All Mountain style bike.

After coming across this unique brand, which is based in Moab, UT, I sent Lee a few questions.  What came back is a very interesting (and opinionated) perspective on other mountain bike brands, his history of directing extreme riding for film companies and the genesis of the Dreamride brand.  Hit “more” to read the interview and check out pics/deets of the bikes…

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IMBA has issued a call to action.

If you’re interested in preserving and creating opportunities to mountain bike the National Parks, you need to act now.  There is a lot of opposition to this from the usual suspects (hikers, equestrians, etc.), and they’re well organized and vicious.

Read “more” for the full press release, but this is the deal:  There is a proposed rule change that will give individual park managers more decision making authority over whether to allow mountain biking in their National Park.  The benefit is that decisions are made on the local level based on local usage, trail conditions and environmental concerns.

Critics don’t like this because they still (ignorantly) believe that mountain bikers erode trails and they don’t like the concept of shared-use trails (which, honestly, is understandable…but then again, we don’t want to ride horse trails either).  The real threat to opponents, though, is this:  If decisions are made on a local level, they will have to fight battles on a case by case basis all over the country to try to keep mountain bikers off the trails.  Right now, they simply pay a lobbyist to go to D.C.  If this makes you as angry as it makes me, click here to use IMBA’s auto-fill form with a prewritten letter.  Seriously, it takes two minutes.

If you want to read an opposing view, there’s this post from NationalParksTraveler.com…but the funny thing is, most of the comments following the article do not support their anti-mountain bike rant.  Actually, there are some pretty well written, well researched comments…worth perusing if you have ten to 15 minutes. 

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Yes, this is not exactly new, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s got a cool wipeout at the end when the bike catastrophically fails. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.

VeloPress recently released the 2nd edition of Weight Training for Cyclists, which includes updated pictures and exercises developed specifically for improving your riding.  We asked coauthor Ken Doyle to pick three exercises, one each for core, arms and legs, that would have the most impact on your riding.  Ken is USCF licensed coach and an exercise physiologist certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Of course, there are a lot more in the 224 pages of the book, and I’m not advocating that you focus on just these three, but if you’re pressed for time, click the “more” button to get FREE printable pages of Ken’s top three picks…

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After much anticipation, the dynamic duo of Sam Hill and Brendan Fairclough recently announced their new ride with Specialized. While this will be a new frame partner, the two time World Cup DH Champion Sam Hill chose to remain on SRAM. Both Hill and Fairclough will compete on SRAM drivetrain, RockShox suspension forks and rear shocks and Avid brakes. New starting in 2009, the team will also ride Truvativ cranksets. The agreement is for the next three years.

Hill has been part of the SRAM racing family for the past six years. Since 2003, he’s been a part of the elite BlackBox® program. Once BlackBox riders become part of SRAM’s racing development program, they provide feedback that is imperative to industry leading product development. Recently, Hill was instrumental in testing the newest RockShox BoXXer®, which will start shipping early 2009. Sam says, “I’m really excited to be back on SRAM, RockShox and Avid for the next 3 years. It’s important for me to have confidence in the products I use. I’ve won World Championships with these components on my bike in the past and feel that they are the best. It’s going to be great using Truvativ cranks. They make a great product and seem to keep coming up with cool new ideas, so I look forward to working with them.”
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Planning on going to Sea Otter Classic next April?  Want a discount?  Watch this short video to get a promo code…it’ll give you a 15% discount on online registration.  Offer good only thru Dec. 22, 2008.

Want to learn more about Sea Otter’s founder and backstory?  Read our interview with Frank Yohannan, the founder and owner of the event, here.

2010 TOUR DE FRANCE START: Cyclists will ride in a nine-kilometer time trial through the streets and across three bridges in Rotterdam for the opening stage of the 2010 Tour de France.  The start of cycling’s premier event returns to Holland for the fifth time and the first time since 1996, race chief Christian Prudhomme said.

2009 GIRO, LANCE’S FIRST, STARTS WITH TEAM TIME TRIAL:  Lance Armstrong will race the Giro for the first time in his career in ‘09.  The race, celebrating its 100th year, will start with a team time trial, covers five mountain stages, and ends with an individual time trial, playing to Lance’s former strengths.  Read more here.

USA CYCLING ANNOUNCES 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS: USA Cycling announced today dates and locations for the majority of its 2009 National Championship events. Next year, a total of 17 events will provide amateur and professional cyclists with an opportunity to claim a coveted Stars-and-Stripes national champion’s jersey in road, track, mountain bike, BMX and cyclo-cross racing. Read more here.

2008 USA CYCLING CYCLOCROSS NATIONALS PRO/ELITE RACE SUNDAY: Get the full schedule here and better coverage from CXMagazine.com, including video.

Ever wonder what it’s like to put on an event like the Sea Otter Classic, the world’s largest consumer bicycle event and expo?

When I first conceived this story, I really wondered if the original founder of the event was still involved in any way…so many large races and events these days are put on by professional event management companies, and many are designed as marketing vehicles first, races second.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the man who started the Sea Otter, Frank Yohannan, is still actively involved in the event…and during our phone interview, he came across as a very friendly, down-to-earth guy.  Here’s my interview with Frank about how the Sea Otter started, how it’s grown, what challenges and mistakes were made in the almost 20 years since its inception and what his favorite thing is about the race.

BIKERUMOR: Where did the concept for Sea Otter come from?

FRANK: In early 1991, a friend and I started a new business after I retired from the Marine Corps to do event management. We went into a local bike shop and the owner suggested we put on a mountain bike event. That was about the time mountain biking was really taking off, so we did, and our first race was in April 1991.

For the first couple years, we just focused on mountain biking. The first non-mountain bike event we added was a duathlon, a run-bike-run, in ‘92 through ‘94, followed by roller hockey and inline skating on the raceway from ‘93 to ‘95. We even had grass volleyball one year.

We introduced road cycling on the (Laguna Seca Raceway) in ‘93 and that’s stayed with us.

Click “more” to continue…

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SpinPower bicycle lubes, cleaners and degreasers is a line environmentally responsible, biodegradable, non-toxic, super green bike care products.  On top of all that, they smell really, really nice and they have some great foaming cleaners that stick to the dirty parts and help really keep the cleaner where it needs to be rather than just dripping right off.

The products are manufactured by Prudent Enviro Products (PEP), which is local to us here in Greensboro, NC.  PEP has been private label manufacturing lubes, cleaners and other products for several mail order companies and brands for years and recently launched their own brand.  Besides the bike care goods, they also have an HR electrode gel and bottle/hydration pack sanitizer.

This review is Part 1 because we’ve only had a chance to test a few of the products, which is good for editorial purposes, because to try to review the full line would be a bit much.  To start, we’re reviewing the Foaming Degreaser Cleaner, Foaming Bike Cleaner, Bike Envy Silicone Polish and Natural Chain Lube, which is formulated with renewable vegetable oils.

Read “more” for pics and to see why this Foaming Degreaser is the best cleaner I’ve ever used…

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The Canadian Cycling Association has announced the 12-event mountain bike series with a total cash purse of $40,000.  Now, if they’re talking Loonies, that means it’s about $31,800 USD.  The series includes two UCI World Cup events and the Canada Games.  Events include XC, Marathon, Downhill and 4-cross.

Read “more” for the full schedule and links to all the event websites…

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Check out this app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Called ‘Bike or Die‘, it’s $6.99 in the iTunes App Store (this link will open iTunes).  The video shows the action, which is a little unrealistic, but looks pretty fun.  The buttons and controls, as well as the rider and bike, are totally customizable…you can drag the controls to where you want them on the screen.

The game is also available for the Palm OS, and you can download a free trial for that system on their website.  The Palm version has more than 2,000 downloadable, user submitted levels and maps.

This is what USAC needs to do to get people excited about XC.  The Urban Rage MTB Assault Race is a sick little event that puts mountain bikers across every sort of city obstacle you can think of.  Here’s how their website puts it:

“On Sunday, December 7th, the HP Urban Rage presented by Jeep Apparel kicks off for the first time at Durban’s, Ushaka Marine World and will be mountain biking to the city of Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Athletes will be expected to cross beaches, race through skanky garages, zoom through allies and abandoned buildings, cross draw bridges, floating walkways and slip down pipes and that’s just some of the fun and games waiting for them.”

Seriously…can you imagine an XC race, even a short track event, through a major metro?  In fact, if someone puts on something like this in 2009, Bikerumor will throw $100 into the purse…but it’s gotta be nasty.  Check out this course map (left, click to enlarge) and read the list of obstacles here.  There’s a beachside afterparty and stuff for the kids.  What more do you need?

Gore Ride On cables used to enjoy a premium position in the mind, if for no other reason than the cost and “cool” factor…but that was five-plus years ago.  I had a set on my mountain bike, but to be honest, I don’t remember how they performed, it’s been so long.  One of the issues with the original cables was the teflon coating frayed too easily during set up, leading to further degradation of the coating over time.

At Interbike this year, they released their new fully-sealed system after being off the market for a few years.  We’ve got a set of the derailleur cables that we’ll be doing a long-term mountain bike test with over the winter, which gets good and wet here in NC.  In the meantime, read “more” to see what’s in the box, what’s new and how they’ve improved… 

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The Greensboro Fat Tire Society / Velo Club will be having their Christmas Party on Friday, Dec. 12, and it’s open to all, members and non-members alike.  Food and drinks will be served, just bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to the Salvation Army.  7pm at the old Ed McKay’s behind Cycles de Oro.

If your club is having a holiday party, email us and we’ll post it (you can include a club logo on this form).