I had the chance to visit the Salsa Cycles HQ in Minneapolis for the unveiling and riding of Salsa’s two new full suspension bikes. The bikes were designed to have a similar ride with wheel size being the main difference. The 26er called the El Kaboing has 5 inches of rear wheel travel and the 29er called the Big Mamma has 4 inches.

Salsa said they designed the bikes with three things in mind: performance, reliability, durability. The most notable features, which enveloped these three things, to me, were: the post mount rear brake tabs, three sealed main pivot bearings (two drive side one non-drive), one piece linkage, no rear end pivot, and maximized weld areas. I found it admirable that salsa was able to admit a weakness in their own products specking a Race Face seatpost and stem (they said they were working on getting their own products up to par for performance).

Here are some pictures of the more notable features on the bikes:

For more specs and pictures of the bikes visit Salsa’s website.

I had a chance to ride each of the bikes over a few days in Northwest Wisconsin (See issue 115 for more on the trail system). Salsa set up a deal with Western Spirit Cycling Adventures to take us (the lucky individuals who got to sample the new bikes) riding and camping for three days and two nights.

The first day we left Minneapolis and arrived a few hours later at the trailhead, applied sunscreen and bug spray, ate lunch, then rode bikes. I had the chance to ride the Big Mamma. The trail was tight, twisty, rocky, and in some spots, swoopy. The Big Mamma was a new experience for me as I hadn’t ridden a full suspension 29 inch wheeled bike. The bike handled better than I had expected—begging to be monster-trucked through the rock gardens and leaned into corners. The first ride was roughly ten miles. After the ride we packed up the bikes and headed to the camp site. There we set up our tents and ate dinner. After dinner we had chocolate fondue with fresh fruit as a dessert (Western Spirit fed us amazing food—especially for being out doors).

I missed hot breakfast the next morning and had to settle for cereal and milk. This day’s ride was scheduled to take five or so hours. I got to ride two bikes this day. For the first half of the ride I rode the El Santo (I was allowed to choose two other bikes aside from the two new ones to ride) then I got to ride the El Kaboing. To me this bike felt like a younger, more hyperactive sibling to the Big Mamma. The bikes had the same personality, but a different attitude. The El Kaboing liked to be jumped and maneuvered more so than the big wheeled Big Mamma, which is best off as point, shoot, and ride over everything kind of bike. I also learned a valuable lesson during this ride—mosquitoes easily bite through spandex. I’ve decided baggy shorts are a good idea for areas such as this. Post ride dinner was fajitas and guacamole—simply awesome. After dinner we enjoyed some good brews and tequila courtesy of Salsa.

The next day we packed up then rode one last time before heading back to Minneapolis for showers and one last dinner out with the Salsa crew and their families.

All said it was a more than great week of riding fun bikes, eating awesome food, drinking good beer (and tequila), and making new friends!

This summer has been rather rainy here in Pittsburgh and the trails somewhat soggy. We were in for a bit of luck though when Jeff Jones dropped by for a visit and ride. It was hot and humid, but mercifully the rain had held off for another day. Jeff had brought along several bikes, including his new steel frame, and we were some of the first on this side of the country to ride the new designs.

The 3D Spaceframe is a gleaming spaceship of a bike. Gracefully flowing lines that hide their real purposes, clean and unfettered with loud graphics. But would it ride as well as everyone was telling me? I’m not a connoisseur of bikes like the rest of the Dirt Rag team, so I wasn’t sure Jeff’s re-engineering would make any difference to a less experienced rider.

Justin, Karen, Eric and Jeff had taken off on their own in the park to put their Jones prototypes through their paces, leaving me to a secluded ride on the Spaceframe “Fat Front” set-up. Under the canopy of the trees in Hartwood Acres, the sun seemed less intimidating and a breeze wandered through the woods on occasion to keep things cool. At my leisure, I was able to experiment with the bike’s new geometry and try it out on familiar singletrack as well as a newly discovered trail that wiggled off through the trees into an open meadow and up and down the banks along our resident creek.

It took only a bit of warm up on the trail before I started feeling right at home on the bike. I can’t say that the Spaceframe instantly made me a better rider, but it was easy to adapt my riding style to the new specifications. That alone speaks volumes for the frame design. So many adjustments and re-engineering, but you just don’t feel it. It all works together and makes for a better ride. In the end, I even found myself willing to be a bit more daring on descents and larger obstacles thanks to the large Surly Endomorph tire on the front.

Jeff has also extended his redesign beyond the frame and the bike I rode had a few different accessories worth mentioning.

The set-up on the Spaceframe included a simple thumbshifter system. You flick the lever on your right handlebar up or down. Up for uphill—low gear, or down—high gear, for downhill. Flicking down was a little tricky at first, but much easier on my artsy left brain than the traditional gears that require all the two-lever stuff.

I was also running with only six gears and you might think that would limit performance on steep climbs, but the gears I did have served well enough and I didn’t miss the extra rings. This again has something to do with the bike geometry and the rider’s position in the saddle. Here’s a link to more details for you gear heads. I’m just as happy to call it magic.

The handlebars are a Jeff Jones creation as well with the handlebar sweep bringing your hands and arms in closer to your body. It felt slightly odd for about two seconds. After that, my only other thought was how sturdy I felt standing on my pedals and balancing on them.

Some lucky Dirt Rag staff member will have the chance to test ride one of these Jeff Jones bikes so look for more detailed review in the future. From experience, I can say that this bike is easy to ride and a real pleasure as well, no matter your skill level. It’s definitely going on my wish list.

For more information on Jeff Jones and his frames check out the latest issue of Dirt Rag (#136) and this interview from issue #105.

We invite you to join us at the Dirt Rag World Tour stop at the Kenda Bikefest Presented by Dirt Rag, scheduled for July 25–27th in Hancock, MA. If that’s not in the cards, then we’ve got dozens of events listed from coast to coast. Check out the action!

–Karl Rosengarth

We each have our own reasons on why we love the bicycle. But I just came across this very cool list from Eco Worldy on 17 reasons many other people love bicycles. Here’s the link:

http://ecoworldly.com/2008/06/16/17-reasons-why-bicycles-are-the-most-popular-vehicle-in-the-world-today/

For three years running now I’ve been putting on and riding in a little event called Crush the Commonwealth. Pretty simple concept; start in Philadelphia (odd years) or Pittsburgh(even) and ride your bike to the other city along a route that incorporates parts of the Great Allegheny Passage, Penn Dot Bicycle Route S and the Schuylkill River Trail. Just about 400 miles, just you and your bike. No aid stations, drop bags or support. With all this comes a low entry fee of zero dollars and a prize list consisting of absolutely nothing. Sound like fun?

Strangely enough it appeals to more than just me and this year saw 10 hardy souls lined up at the Liberty Bell at 5:00 on a recent Friday morning. The forecast called for rain, and it was already drizzling and would continue to do so for most of the day. I rolled up only slightly late and we got started at 5:05.It looked like everyone, including the 4 first timers had packed light. I’ve whittled my kit down substantially from the first year. Sleeping accommodations (which I was hoping not to use) were stuffed in a Carousel Design Works Handlebar bag, 45 down sleeping bag, bivy sack, inflatable sleeping pad. Spare clothes(one pair socks, one pair shorts, wool long john bottoms, Buff, mid-weight fleece top), tool kit and tubes where in a matching CDW oversize seat bag. My small frame pack held food and my wallet and cell phone. Other than the clothes on my back that was it. No cyclo-computer and no watch, no distraction from the job at hand, cutting as much time from last years time of slightly under 48 hours.

After confusion the first year, I’ve started the race with a neutral roll out through the city. We made our way through downtown Philadelphia in a light rain and light traffic and picked up the bike trail which eventually would take us to Valley Forge. After a quick stop to send around in the rain in front of the locked restrooms, we headed back out onto the trail for a short bit before getting back on the road to head west on Penn Dot Route S.Route S is an official route signed and mapped by the Pennsylvania Department of transportation. Detailed maps are available online, and the route is well marked, with three signs at every turn, one to alert riders to an upcoming turn, a sign at the turn itself, and a sign after the turn has been made to put worried minds at ease with reassurance of proper direction.Now on my third year on this route, and second in this direction, I was pretty confident with my navigational abilities, and for the most part my confidence was justified, although there was a notable exception.

Most of the group stayed together with what seemed like some jockeying for position going on up front. A loose cleat and lack of dinner the night before kept my speed down. I was in no kind of hurry anyway. Max (who I met the first year on this ride) and I had a loose plan to just ride till we couldn’t anymore, so a fast start was not on the agenda. The majority of riders stopped for breakfast at the same place, leaving, standing around in our wet clothes out side under the awning.

Donuts and breakfast sandwich down the hatch. Max and I headed back out into a steady rain, now squarely in last. We both were feeling good though, legs fresh, spirits high. The rain increased steadily and I soon had to stop with an odd problem. My helmet pads, which are well past their expiration date, had become saturated in the rain and water was no running into my eyes, along with a few years worth of sweat, effectively blinding me. I stopped and rinsed them a few times with water and wrung them out, dribbling a milky-colored liquid on to the ground. It took a good 4 rinses before the water ran clear and we got back underway. It still stung a bit from time to time until I washed them out in a sink at our next break.

The morning went pretty quickly and we soon started thinking about a stop a Roburrito, a punk rock burrito joint on the outskirts of York. It was nice to have something to fixate on, and the hours went past quickly until we spotted the unassuming restaurant . Ken’s bike was locked up out front, and inside he was demolishing a burrito about the size of his thigh. Ken is another 3rd year rider, the first year on a brakeless fixie ending in a DNF when he missed a turn and ended up in Maryland, finished the second year on more sensible bike, and was back this year with a geared road bike and minimalist kit.

We chatted for a bit and tried to get a feel for the other 7 folks out there. There was a group of 4 up front including this year’s only fixed rider on running something like 44-17! and three geared riders who seemed to be keeping a pretty speedy space.We all left together and soon passed Nick. We interviewed him in issue 127. Nick certainly doesn’t look fast, but he keeps a steady pace and doesn’t get off the bike much, Ken must have stayed back with Nick as we didn’t see him after that, or Nick for that matter.

Fueled up on beans and rice Max and I kept a steady speed, both of use feeling fine as the miles ticked off towards the 200 mark. We knew there was a large climb looming in front of use up into Cowan’s Gap State Park, and we wanted to stop at the last town before hand to resupply. After that is was quite awhile before we would reach the truckers mecca that is Breezewood where we planned to sit down again to eat.

Between us and a warm meal was the climb up Cowan’s Gap, a multi-mile descent down the other side and some rolling terrain to get us to a 5 mile stretch of the original PA turnpike, long since abandoned but open to bike and foot traffic. We stopped and got the makings of a meal and headed out in to the growing darkness. Both of us started to feel a bit fatigued here, Max had been spinning his singlespeed all day and was not looking forward to the long climb ahead.Although the climb was not a steep as I remembered it, it still reduced us to walking in a few spots. We eventually topped out at and found a picnic table sheltered from the wind.

We ate, drank and were merry, or at least glad to be out of the saddle for a bit. I changed shorts and socks and put on the rest of my clothes for the decent, including a pair of glove liners I forgot I packed.

We then rode off to find a restroom and water. We were passed while wandering around in the dark parking lot by a park ranger, who turned his truck around and headed back towards us. I honestly expected to spend a bunch of time explaining who we were, where we were from, where we were going, etc, but the young ranger was very friendly and just wanted to be sure we found what we needed. He also told us the group in front of us had passed through before dark and was headed to the old turnpike to camp for the night.

The main attraction of the abandoned turnpike are 2 tunnels, one just over mile long. We still had a good bit of riding to do to get there and would decide on out plans for the rest of the night once we made it. With a warning form the ranger to “watch out for the drunks” we rolled out of the park and coasted downhill for two or three miles, our lights poking small holes in the darkness.It didn’t take long to get hungry again, and my mind moved on to a big hot breakfast and milkshakes. It was a nice distraction as we pedalled into night. There is a series of steep rollers before the entrance to the old turnpike, and I was convinced we had already ridden them and would arrive at the turn off just around the next corner, only to be proven wrong multiple times. It was only when we were presented with steep enough hills to require Max to walk his single speed up that I realized we were almost there. I joined him in hoofing it up the hills, hoping to save a few bullets for later on.

A big abandoned house marks where Route S goes right to climb some serious hills and we went left to take the flat route through them. A short down hill, a quick right, around a gate and we were in the parking lot of the long gone service plaza for this section of America’s original super highway.We stopped to stretch and reapply needed chafing protection and rolled off onto the broken pavement.

For some reason our lights had a hard time picking out the imperfections and gravel on the road and our pace dropped considerably. You can sense the first tunnel before you see it, and it appears looming out of the darkness. I admit to being glad to having a riding partner through this section, the tunnels are a pretty surreal place in daylight, at night they are a bit other-worldly. We kept our eyes out for the group in front of us, but the first tunnel was empty and we continued to pick out way towards the next. Our lights picked up the reflections form various shiny bits on the other riders bikes as we neared the mouth of the second tunnel. Three bundled up riders were asleep just inside the tunnel and Max and I rode past quietly, not wanting to disturb them, and perhaps not give away that that had been passed.

It seemed to get even darker after exiting the tunnel and our pace slowed more, even with the glow form the Breezewood truck stops goading us on. It seem to take an hour to make it to the the steep embankment and down onto unbroken pavement again, but soon we were seated in a mostly empty restaurant ordering up a big breakfast. If I recall correctly it was about 1 AM and mileage was somewhere between 200 and 220 putting us about halfway.Stay tuned for part two…..

To celebrate Bike to Work Day, Taylor Coffroth, seen here in the Dirt Rag Bright Idea Tee, has been organizing the City of El Cajon’s Bike to Work Day Pit Stop for the past 10 years. Each year, 70 to 80 riders stop by and are treated to free food and prizes on their way to work. Rah!

If you live in the El Cajon area, be sure and check out Taylor’s Bike To Work Day Pit Stop in 2009!