For the month of July, 2009  the  Bicycle Times Buddha T-shirt will be on sale for $12.50—that’s $5.00 off the regular price.

Perfect for your everyday cycling adventure, the Bicycle Times T-Shirt is camel colored, 6 ounce, 100% preshrunk cotton shirt featuring our “Buddha on a Bike” full color graphic with Bicycle Times logo. Available in size S-XXL. Click here to order….

On Wednesday, July 1st at 5:30 p.m. the City of Santa Barbara, California’s Front Country Trails Multi-Jurisdictional (FCTMJ) Task Force will hold the first public hearing since the Jesusita Fire. The agenda for this meeting, which will be held at City Hall, will include a review of trails affected by the Jesusita Fire and discussion on when they may be re-opened.  It is unknown if the Task Force will make a recommendation on re-opening the trails.  More information about the meeting agenda is available at the FCTMJ Task Force website.

Interested mountain bikers are encouraged to attend the FCTMJ Task Force meeting and offer their comments. The Multi-use Trails Coalition—an organization dedicated to maintaining equal and safe front country trail access for all trail users while promoting outreach and education efforts, and providing an independent voice for responsible mountain cycling and other trail use in the Santa Barbara community— will have representation at the meeting and the organization will post a meeting summary on their website.

The Dirt Rag Mega Event Calendar is chock full of action for the month of July. Find an event near you and join the fun.

I’ve been testing the Top Fuel 9.8, Trek’s 100mm travel full-suspension race bike, for over four months. During that time, I’ve taken the Top Fuel on a winter vacation to Florida that included a 6-hour race, made road trips to some of the most rugged and beautiful MTB trails in my home state of Pennsylvania, and raced the bike in both XC and 100k mountain bike races. Now, as I roll up my sleeves and start working on my product review for Dirt Rag Issue #144, I find myself reflecting on the current state of mountain bike technology in general, and full-suspension bikes more specifically.

When I bought my first mountain bike, fully rigid was the only option. I remember the early days of full-suspension bikes—there was a lot of trial-and-error involved in sorting out what worked and what didn’t. I found those early full-suspension bikes inefficient, heavy, sloppy and prone to mechanical troubles (other than that, they worked just fine, heh, heh). In full-suspension’s “formative years” I gladly stepped aside and let other product testers sign up for the dual-boingers. My legs and back were strong, and there were plenty of hardtails to catch a young man’s fancy. In those days, I’d have argued that “full-suspension race bike” was an oxymoron.

My, how things have changed. Now I’m older, perhaps wiser, and the aging back just ain’t what it used to be. And full-suspension race bikes are no joke—they’re a serious reality. Bikes like Trek’s Top Fuel are efficient, lightweight, well-mannered steeds—with amazing suspensions that allow me to ride faster and with more control than I could ever dream of riding on a hardtail. If I’m going to race, especially at “endurance” distances, it’s full-suspension or nothing at all.

I know, I know, there are plenty of studs and studettes ripping up the endurance race circuit on dual-rigid singlespeeds. But that’s their personal choice. I’m telling you what works for a 52-year-old guy who likes to sit and spin, and has to get by on guile. I’m all about conserving energy where possible, making up time in the technical sections and letting ‘er rip on the downhills. I also love a snappy-handling bike. Without spilling the beans on my upcoming Dirt Rag product review, suffice it to say that the Top Fuel was my cup of sweet tea.

[Click on thumbs below for full-sized photos. For complete specifications, geometry and close-up beauty shots of my Top Fuel 9.8 test bike, click here. ]

         

For the first time since 2005, the USA will host a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event when the series finale rolls into Windham Mountain Resort in New York on August 28-29th, 2010. Windham will offer cross-country, downhill, and four-cross competitors one last chance to hone their game before heading to Mont-Saint-Anne, Quebec for the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, slated for August 31st – September 5th.

“We are very excited to have a UCI World Cup in the U.S. again,” said USA Cycling’s Mountain Bike Events & Program Director Kelli Lusk. “Rick and his crew at Windham have shown great enthusiasm and support of mountain biking in the United States with their successful bid.” For more information regarding mountain biking at Windham visit www.windhammountainbike.com.

The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will include six rounds each for the cross-country, downhill, and four-cross disciplines.

2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Calendar
April 24-25: World Cup XCO #1, Dalby Forest, Great Britain
May 1-2: World Cup XCO #2 & 4X #1, Houffalize, Belgium
May 15-16: World Cup DHI #1 & 4X #2, Maribor, Slovenia
May 22-23: World Cup XCO #3, Offenburg, Germany
June 5-6: World Cup DHI #2 & 4X #3, Fort William Great Britain
June 19-20: World Cup DHI #3 & 4X #4, Schladming, Austria
June 7-10: European Continental Championships, Haifa, Israel
July 24-25: World Cup XCO #4 and DHI #4, Champéry, Switzerland
July 31 – August 1: World Cup XCO #5, DHI #5 and 4X #5, Val di Sole, Italy
August 8: World Marathon Championships, St. Wendel, Germany
August 28-29: World Cup XCO #5, DHI #6, and 4X #6, Windham, New York, USA
August 31-September 5: World XCO, DHI, & 4X Championships, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec

Augusta, GA will host the 2010 International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) World Summit on May 5-8th. The summit is open to the public, and topics will include: destination and urban trail networks, land conservation and sustainable trails, youth outreach and new programs designed to grow local capacity for the 700+ clubs and patrols in IMBA’s global network. In addition to the business of seminars and networking, the summit will feature parties and stellar riding—including a catered tour of the Forks Area Trail System (FATS), an IMBA Epic.

“The Augusta summit will serve as an essential clearinghouse to advance information on everything to do with mountain biking and trail-based recreation,” states IMBA Executive Director Mike Van Abel. “We will bring leaders in trail design together with land managers, the bicycle industry and IMBA’s thriving grassroots clubs. These are the key influencers that shape the sport, and only an IMBA summit can connect them all in the same place, at the same time.” Attendees will receive plenty of educational materials, while connecting with mountain biking enthusiasts from around the globe.

For additional information about the 2010 IMBA World Summit, contact IMBA Events Manager Patti Bonnet. Sponsorship inquires should be directed to IMBA Development Director Rich Cook.