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.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located in the Laurel Highlands an hour east of Pittsburgh, PA, has been busy this season building up their offering of chairlift-accessed trails. The resort has enlisted the services of professional trail-builder Judd de Vall to lead the construction of trails ranging from flowy, entry-level cross-country trails to expert-only downhill and freeride trails—complete with ladder bridges, rock drops, fall-line sections and 20+ foot jumps. A pump track is in the works as well.

“The trails at the Seven Springs Bike Park are all about flow,” says project manager Judd de Vall. “We want to build a diversity of trails that will provide an exceptional experience for a broad range of riders, from first-timers to experts. Some of our trails will be extremely challenging, but we also want to communicate that lift-accessed trails aren’t just for hardcore downhillers,” added de Vall. “Meandering, lift-serviced trails are a perfect experience for families who are looking for a way to ride together without long climbs. The trails can be an especially good way to introduce family members and children to our favorite summer experience.”

To showcase their goodies, Seven Springs Bike Park is offering unlimited free high-speed, six-passenger chairlift access from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on July 12–13th, 2008. Just show up at the Foggy Goggle bar (located at the base of the six-passenger chairlift), with the proper safety gear, and score your free ticket.

Seven Springs has also lined up free demo bikes from Kona, Trek Factory, Trek WSD and Santa Cruz Bicycles. In addition to their standard fleet, Trek will be packing a selection of 2008 Remedy and Session big-hit bikes. That adds up to over 100 demo bikes available for Free Ride Weekend.

The Foggy Goggle bar will be rocking with music, $2 drafts and a barbecue starting at 11:00 a.m. each day. Seven Springs is even giving away a new bike to one lucky rider. The resort is offering a special lodging rate starting at $135 (word is that the resort is filling up fast, so call 866.437.1300 sooner rather than later to reserve a room).

Click on the thumbnails below to view larger shots of the action at Seven Springs (photos courtesy of Scott Rodgers, Seven Springs Mountain Resort).

This past weekend the Dirt Rag hot air spy balloon was hovering over the M.A.S.S. Neshaminy race near Philly and spotted EWR’s very own Kenn Rymdeko putting a brand new OWB29er proto through its paces. Kenn ended up in fourth place, his best finish to date.

Before Kenn hit the races, EWR front-man Jay de Jesus had a chance to bag a ride on his very own 29er proto: ” The goal was to mimic the handling and heritage of the 26″ OWB (Original Woods Bike) on a 29″ wheeled platform, and the result is even better that I expected. I cannot believe how good it felt—so much so that I drove half of the way home with my helmet on before I realized it!”

That new bike feeling is intoxicating, so cut Jay a little bit of slack for crowing like an understandably proud papa. More information at ewbikes.com.

Shimano hosted press test rides on their new Saint component group in Whistler last week. Whistler Bike Park to be exact. Lift assisted downhill mountain biking, yessir.

The plan? Journalists (And I use that term loosely) bring a frame, fork, shocks, and cockpit. Shimano to install the drivetrain and wheels. Well, actually, we scribes did a lot of the installing ourselves, thus becoming intimate with the parts and the way they attach to the bike.

Being gravity-bike-challenged, I did not have a suitable seven-or-eight-inch-bike on hand, so thanks to Kona a Stinky was borrowed for the occasion. Since Kona provides the official rental bikes for Whistler, and they are located right down the road (construction) in Vancouver, it seemed like a natural.

So let’s get down to business. Shimano’s Saint group has been updated to address the needs of gravity riders. It has been discovered that the gravity set needs their bikes lighter as well as stronger, so this is what Shimano has been working on since the first Saint introduction in 2004.The rear derailleur now enjoys the low-profile Shadow configuration, which tucks the mech inboard, reducing the chance of being smashed on rocks. This means that guys who used to carry spare derailleurs in their backpacks might no longer need to. Plus, the derailleur is not attached to the axle as in the last version of Saint, this results in a 100 gram weight savings and much more flexibility with it’s conventional mounting method. This mech was a big hit when I brought the bike to the local shop for a little shock adjustment. It’s also worthy to point out that the spring is stronger and the mech is now designed to NOT bang the chainstay anymore. And that it’s adjustable for road or mountain cogsets, making it a good choice for downhill as well as all-mountain (still not sure what that means) applications. Shifters. The two way release introduced with XTR has found itself here. More options, more better. They worked great for me the entire two days of riding. And the positioning is easy and adjustable to either side of the brake lever.

The brakes are awesome. One need not touch them until the last possible moment, resulting in more speed for meeee. The four piston, dual diameter design has more oil in it than the previous version, allowing for better temperature management. On the trails of Whistler Bike Park, they never faltered. And I really liked the easy-to-use-by-hand reach adjustment.

Cranks? Hollowtech II is the buzz. They say 150g lighter, and now available with single (34-36-38-40-42) or double (22-36) chainrings. A matching double-specific front derailleur is also now available in Saint and SLX. While a bashguard is included, we used a E-Thirteen SRS chain retention system, which did just that.

As for the hubs, better seals and wider, angular contact bearings are the order of the day. The centerlock disc mount was easy to use as we built the bike up (had to try several different rotor/adaptor combinations).

But what about the fun part? The ride? With a solid machine under me, there was nothing left to chance but the rider’s skill. It’s not without a few butterflies that this rider went up the chair for the first run. And there was even more trepidation as I saw Francesco Maggiorelli of Mountainbike World (Italy) break his ankle on the first run (See gallery). But managed to escape unscathed, even improving my jumping skills on Crank It Up trail. Other favorites were Devils Club, Karate Monkey, Ho Chi Min and Heart of Darkness. Thanks to Shimano and Kona.

Click here for the Saint press camp photo gallery.

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/