Reviewed: Orange Seal Endurance

 

    I have been riding tubeless for years now. I have always used Stans until this season. I will say that I have never had a problem with Stans but I always seem to make a mess. I did get to the point where I was only spilling a few drops on the floor while adding new or fresh setup. Whenever I would go into the shop to set it up I would inject Stans into my wheels but didn't have the equipment at home. Brian at EPBC tossed me a jug of Orange Seal Endurance and told me to try it out...

    I would have to say that my first impression was a good one. The bottle comes with a screw in applicator tube to inject the sealant into your wheel for leak free setup. because of this the whole tubeless setup start to finish took me just a few minutes. That in itself was an improvement over Stans. Also a bottle was less expensive. Put that on top of the ease of setup and we have a winner.

    First ride out I went to our MTB Clubs new trail that is still a little furry in spots. I intentionally rode through a few thick spots that we are planning to cut into trail. There were plenty of thorns and who knows what the trail surface looked like. I was pioneering! When I was finished my ride My pressure was close to starting but no flats. I did have a few thorns in my tires. Sealant did its job. I have been riding the Endurance blend for 3 months now and will not be going back to Stans as long as I can get Orange Seal.

(Pic was taken after I dismounted tires to see how the sealant reacted)

Bad Run of Luck...

        
        I have been trying to ride as much as I can recently. I have a lot going on right now and my work schedule has been crazy but I have still managed to get out on a few good rides. My road rides have gone off without a hitch besides one incident with my water bottles. On the other hand my mountain rides have been plagued recently with breakdowns, flats, failing components, and a forgetful rider. In a way I hope that I am the only one with this problem. One ride was just a flat on my front which was not setup tubeless, (long story)but that is fixed now.

RD was toast!

At least it was a nice day!

        Another ride I forgot my shoes, so rode my candy's in sneakers. That same ride a large stick got lodged on my cassette somehow and one pedal stroke brought it around and pulled my rear derailleur up, around, and into my spokes. Brought me to a quick stop. No spokes were broke in this incident. did twist the RD but the hanger survived as well. That  could have been  a expensive fix! Thanks to Eastern Panhandle Bicycles for having a RD in stock. Got me back on the trail in days!





      


       Next mtb ride I forgot my Osprey pack, no  water or tools I charged on, found a bottle in my car and filled it with mountain stream water. As if that wasn't enough my non-drive side crank arm came loose and worked its way off. With a walk back to my car I found a multitool and repaired the crank arm and finished the ride. Did I mention that this was not the first time that crank arm worked off, happened a few rides after purchasing the bike, I chalked that up to me not checking torque like I should have. Time for some Loctite!
  
        I hope the rest of this season turns around. I don't mind a few hiccups and breaks, proof of use, but this is getting out of hand. I'd like to get a few rides in without issue soon. Can anyone else relate?

Beef with the Industry

I have been riding bikes for many years now. I started with a beginner bike and worked my way up through bikes and now have a quality bikes for multiple disciplines. I also bought cycling clothes early on. It was mostly cheaper kits.(I tend to head straight for the closeout racks) I have decided that it is time to upgrade my clothing.

This may be more of a question/rant then a worthy post but are quality cycling clothes really worth the money?

I was reading through this months issue of Bicycle Magazine. They did a 4-5 page gallery of the new kit lineups from many different companies. There was maybe one kit that squeaked under the $300 mark. Am I alone in thinking that's a ridiculous amount of money for shorts and a jersey? Are people really spending that much regularly for cycling clothes?

I am always hunting for a deal. I also buy a lot of leftover stock from my LBS. My most expensive bibs were $70 and I cringed buying those. Maybe I just need to ride once in a top quality kit. I guess its just easier for me to see the value of a good bike and components. The same thinking roles over to clothing as well but I'm not there yet! For now I will probably replace my lower end bibs with the new equivalent.

I want some feedback from you, what are a few brands that you feel are worth their price tags? I hope to hear back from you!

T.H.U.M.B MTB Club

I have started this post many different times but have yet to finish it...this needs to stop. It has been a long time coming so I might as well start the story from the beginning...

Many years ago, Brian and a handful of friends of EPBC decided that we needed more sweet singletrack in our area. There are quite a few places to ride here in the Eastern Panhandle but not a whole lot of good trails besides rogue trails. We decided that we needed to start an IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) chapter to get things going. We had started laying down some trails in Poor House Farm Park outside Martinsburg and wanted to everything official. I took on the task of looking into the IMBA Charter. In doing so I discovered that a club needs to be in place with standing membership first. So we started to meet at the shop to grease the wheels and get something going. Needless to say that since I am writing this years later things didn't go too well. I am not ready to give it all up yet. I am ready for the second push!

THUMB stands for, "The Hillbillies Unite to Mountain Bike." That was a quick name I thought up, we can gladly change it but I know that some others like it too...My main goal here is to get a group of outdoor enthusiasts to come together to help create more outdoor recreating space not only for cyclists but also trail runners, hikers, and equestrians. Another obvious reason is to build a group of people to ride with! One of the problems that we are having is a unorganized effort. It is awesome that we are getting anything done in the woods but I believe we need a clear organized plan. I believe this club will help us be more productive and create great spaces to recreate.

I know a long term goal that many of us share is a trail system in Sleepy Creek. So much good riding up there already but its not what it can be...If we show our community that responsible trail building can bring so much good to our area I believe many doors can be opened for us in the Eastern Panhandle. I have been in contact with the regional director of IMBA and with a little effort on our parts we may be able to get them to help us with a presentation to our local government as well as help with our Poor House Project.

Trail work by THUMB

I will try my best to get some stuff going after the holidays, its such a busy time for everyone I know but I am passionate about this and want to get things going. I hope you will join me in trying to make the Eastern Panhandle more bike friendly, we do live in West Virginia, its a shame we don't have more places to enjoy riding our bike!  Stay tuned for news about a meeting...click the link below to our Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thumbmtb/

Please drop me a note below with any feedback or ideas, thanks and have a Merry Christmas!

Trail work by THUMB

Inital Review of 2016 Trek Top Fuel

Well I have done it again...I have sold my Superfly and purchased a new Trek Top Fuel. I am a little behind on this post but unlike other blogging bicyclists I haven't gotten too many miles on the bike yet so I believe an initial review is still appropriate. I would like to preface this review by saying that the Trek Superfly was a great bike...light, handled great, looked awesome, but the geometry was off for me. The suspension set up would be better suited on a little smoother trails then the gnarly rock croppings and the constant pounding from the West Virginia hills.

(Ill be honest, I was pushing the weight limit for that suspension setup)

Now that we got that out of the way; as soon as Trek dropped the news about the new and improved Top Fuel I had the blinders on. I loved everything I was reading about this bike! The styling was great, the reviews that were out so far were awesome, not to mention the promo videos from Trek. I would say that everyday I was doing more and more research on the bike and with every passing day I wanted it more and more. I was a little skeptical of the Boost setup but I also read all there is out there on it and I was digging that as well. I love the 29er wheels and getting a stronger wheel with widening the hub to allow for a steeper spoke angle to strengthen the wheel impressed me even more!



I would say by the second day of research my "old" Superfly was up for sale. I had originally decided to try to just get a frame and use my 15' Superfly Fork and components which would also force me to buy a new rear hub for the boost. After a little consideration I decided to just order a complete bike and set it up the way I wanted. I knew I wanted to run a 1X setup. I have always been a sucker for Black bikes with clean lines so the Top Fuel 8 was the perfect fit for me. Didn't take long to sell the Superfly and the next day the Top Fuel was ordered from the great crew down at EPBicycles.

After waiting for a couple days the new bike had arrived. Once assembled I already started a few modifications. I set it up with a Race Face 30T ring and removed the front derailleur. Also changed out the grips and cut the ugly decals off the wheels for a more custom look.

I tooled around the neighborhood for the first couple weeks. It was hard to find time to go out to the mountains to ride. I did sneak out to the local trail project at Poor House Farm Park and get 5 miles on actual singletrack.  Even though it was only a few miles I could tell this was the best bike I had ever ridden. I have ridden quite a few bikes too...

I felt so comfortable on the bike, the suspension responded so well. I climbed everything there without locking anything out. I didn't get the bobbing while turning the pedals with decent force. I told my wife when I got back from the ride that it was a good thing I bought the bike, because it I was just doing a test ride I would have been doing all I needed to get one. That all being said, the wider hubs and beefier 29er wheel led to better control on the trail. The bike rides like a all-mountain bike. The 30T 1X setup makes climbing fun and enough gearing for bombing the downs. I cannot wait to get more miles under the tires of this bike. I will try to write another review when I get 50+ miles.

Snotcycle 2015 Preview

This year I have decided that I would like to do a few more races than the past years. I guess there is no better way to kick that off then a race in January. I would like to start by saying that I am in no way, or shape ready to race. In fact I am writing this little nugget from my trainer on my sun porch this cold evening. 

Today I am trying to get the legs a little loose. Nothing crazy, I have decided it is what it is. I am riding 15 miles in the CAT II division. I have no place there but the only other men's category is only doing one 5 mile lap. I feel like I need a little more then that. It should be a great time! I have heard good things about this race. The forecast is showing snow so maybe if I can at least finish I'll beat out those guys that have up! This will be a humbling race to start the season. I will be posting a race recap so look out for that! 

This reminds me, my brakes need to be bleed and my rear tire is flat. Got to remedy that asap! Until next time...

2015, New Year, New Goals

         I feel like this is always the way I start all my posts but it has been awhile since I have been on here. One goal for this year is to write a few more times than last year. Maybe I should start with a little recap of last year's highlights...........that's it!

2014 Trek Superfly 9

First Podium

 It wasn't that bad but I have to say it wasn't a whole lot better. I did get to take one MTBing trip this past year. A few close friends and I drove down to Bryce Resort and ripped a day of downhill. Some of my riding buddies know that downhill is in no way an area of cycling I enjoy or excel at but I have to admit it was a good time! I borrowed a Scott Genius 650B from EPBC for the trip. I guess I did better then some, stayed on the right side of the bars and was never holding anyone up, even cleared a few of the jumps! Other than Bryce I also raced in the 9hrs OF Crank Monkey at Rocky Gap SP again this past year but in a different class then before; I raced solo Clydesdale. This class is set up for the heavies to ride as many of the 9 mile laps in a 3hr period. This race was my first podium ever! I placed 3rd amongst the big guys! my buddy Ralph beat me out for 2nd, I won't lie, I wasn't even close to beating him for 2nd. I guess looking back at those two events and all the good rides I did with friends as well as solo rides, even taco'd a wheel but it wasn't a bad year...Oh and I bought a new BIKE!

Out on the maiden voyage...got a flat!

A few goal I have set out for this year are:

• 2000 miles
• 3-5 races
• 1 podium 
• 1 Destination MTB trip (Bikation)
• A century (100 mile road ride)
• A canal century (100 mile gravel ride)
• Ride at Fountainhead SP (commute past it most days)
• Get at least one more person on a bike!

Well there was a little recap from last year and some aspirations for this year on the bike!

First MTB Ride of 2014

It was cold today!

I know, I know...Its a little pathetic that it has taken me this long to get a ride in for the first time this year. I have a decent reason. Before my deployment I rode up at Raystown Lake and trashed my bike. I just finally got it on the stand in at EPBC to get it up and ride-able again. Brian and I, mostly him were able to throw it together for the ride today even though it still needs some work.

Brian EPBC

We had a decent group today for our ride. We rode at the Frederick Watershed...many of the trails were new to me and mostly all-mountain/ downhill trails. I am not too good at super technical rocks and natural obstacles. I am pretty efficient with a little technical mixed into cross-country riding but these trails were rough! The first 3 miles felt like 10 but overall the trails were in good condition and the ride was awesome! Today we climbed 2,000+ feet over 12 miles and my legs were done! I am looking forward to many more great rides this year! I hope I can get better at the very extreme technical trails. I think a lot of it is in my head! Oh and it was COLD today as well, you can see that in the photo... 

Post ride...brake lines need trimmed

I've Got A Fever...and the Only Perscription is a New Bike...

      I am kind of in a bike dilemma at the moment, I have a road bike which has a few thousand miles and many seasons on it. The bike needs a full rebuild. It is an older Tiagra/105 mixed 9spd bike. 10spd stuff has been out for years and now 11spd groups have hit the mainstream. I had thoughts to bring my bike into the current times but I am thinking its just not worth fixing up. There is also some non-crash damage on the frame. I will always say that mountain biking is my favorite but the truth is that I get so many more opportunities to get out on the road or do some gravel road riding. I feel that I need a good all around road/cross bike. I am looking to get a 11spd, disc brake road bike.

New in 09



Yesterday (Kidding)

Crux in Blue

When I got home from my deployment my search begun. I have shared with some of my family that I was wanting to get a new bike when I returned so for them not to get me anything for Christmas but if they felt the need to get me something, I would accept donations to the bike fund and/or gift certificates to EPBC. The first decision I was going to have to make would be a full build or get a complete bike.  I did the pros and cons list and I decided to go ahead and get a complete bike. I was doing the math on a custom build and I quickly floated past my ceiling. After that I narrowed it down to two different companies, Specialized and Fuji. I settled on these two brands because my LBS carries both and I have had good luck with both brands in the past. My road bike I currently have is a Fuji and I have a good buddy that loves his Specialized Crux, which is the particular model I was looking at. If I decided on the build option I was going to go with the Specialized Crux, but I decided to go the complete route so I went with the Fuji. More specifically I went with the Fuji Altamira CX model.




Bike I ordered

The 2014 Fuji Altamira CX is a full carbon fiber frame. I am a little nervous about carbon given my Clydesdale size but I am hoping to shave a few pounds while commuting on the new rig. It is also built out with the new Sram Force 22 setup. Which is the new Sram 11spd group. It also doesn't include the road hydraulic disc brakes that are being recalled. The bike comes with the mechanical avid BB7s, which are a proven brake. Overall this bike was the most bang for my buck and Brian down at Eastern Panhandle Bicycles is making all this happen for me. Such a great shop! I cannot wait to get the bike and get a good fitting done. I hope to put 1500+ miles on this bike this year!

  

WVPedalers 2013 Year in Review...

Hello everyone, I think we all find time to look back on our past year, the decisions we made, good or bad and the life lessons that were learned from those experiences. 2013 was a good year for me. I had a great time with my family as well as on the saddle.

 This past year I got to bike a decent bit considering we had our second child months before 2013. Having two little ones at home makes it hard to get out there and ride but I have a wonderful wife. This past year our family also encountered a new obstacle, I was sent on a deployment with the military. I had a 120 day trip to Turkey. This trip has nothing on those poor soldiers that deploy for up to a year in the box but the distance would be hard for us. My wife is a trooper and I am so proud of the job she did in my absence. That all being said I was able to get a bike over there with me and I cycled close to 800 miles on my deployment. Riding a bike was a great way to get out and see the country side. There is so much history in Turkey. I encourage anyone that can to get two wheel down in a foreign country. The experience is so much better then riding in the states. Plus it is neat riding through the small villages and having children run along with you like your a Tour De France rider. There were some miles that didn't get logged when I first got to Turkey but this year I logged around 1600 miles all together. This number may not be that big to some but for me it isn't that bad and a number for me to try to beat in 2014! I hope 2014 will bring more fun on the bike, a new bike that is...A post about my bike search is on the way.

Welcome Back...To Me!

Wow it has been too long since I have sat down to write out a little bit about biking. I have running my new buddies ears off with my knowledge and amazing them with my..."Saddle Time" but something was off. Then I was looking at my bookmarks and realized I haven't visited my own blog let alone written anything in ages! That is a problem. I am currently in a situation right now that affords me the privilege to log miles on another continent.

I am currently on a business trip to the country of Turkey. There are a lot of really neat things I have seen in this country as well as many horrid smells in the air, but I am told, "that is just Turkey." On my trip I was lucky enough to borrow a slightly used cyclocross bike from Brian down at EP/BC. I was struggling with the decision of what bike to bring over here with me. I was initially thinking road bike for sure but I was unsure of the road conditions, which was the end reason for bringing a cross bike. I also thought about bringing a mountain bike. I was doing some research and there is some decent mountain biking in the area I am located. The cross bike was the correct choice although on group rides I wish I was rolling on a 25-28c instead of a 36c with knobs.

My riding frequency has increased while I am here. I am averaging 35 miles when I head out. Most group rides I go on are 45+ miles. My longest ride here so far was a 55 mile day. I am aiming to do at least a 65 mile day at the least and maybe even a century before I leave. If I take on the 100 miles I may have to borrow a set of road tires from a buddy I met here. Also besides the smells like I had mentioned before there are also a ton of stray animals here. The stray dogs have formed packs and they take their territory along the roads very serious. I have already had a run in with a dog that left one spoke bent bad and many others really loose and messed up. I took the bike down to the LBS here and Ibo re-laced both wheels with new nipples, spokes, and rebuilt the hubs for $60...can't beat that! He did a quality good too!





















There will be more posts to come, biking doesn't take up all my free time so I will fill some of it by writing to you guys, whoever you may be. Thanks for reading, someone is cause my visit numbers keep climbing...Thanks Again!

Riding For A Bulldog...

For those of you that do hop on here and read my blog it has been a while since my last entry. I believe I have had one post this year so far. The truth is that I haven't really had too much cycling related to talk about. So far this year I have logged less than 500 miles on the bikes. I did complete another Tough Mudder event this April so I am pretty pumped about that. I am also pumped for what I have coming up this weekend. This weekend I am riding as many laps as I can in support of a fellow mountain biker with cancer. I cannot think of a better subject to write my season opening post about. I will be honest, I have never met the fellow cyclist but I am really anxious to meet him Saturday.

Brian Fults is an inspiration for me in the short time I have followed his story. I have recently become friends with a few of his close friends that told me about him. Everyone speaks very highly of him and his accomplishments. I recently watched a speech that he gave at a benefit dinner that honestly had me shed a few tears. Brian is terminal now after beating cancer many times before. I think the most touching thing for me is his positive attitude and his care for others. Racing in this event is the least I could do to show some support for Brian and his family! Oh and its another excuse to throw a leg over the bike and ride! 

I will be there Saturday riding 4 hours for the Bulldog. If anyone that is reading this has some time on Saturday and could make it out for a few laps I would urge you to do so. I know a lot of the guys that are gonna be there and they are great guys. More details are on the BikeReg page which is below. There will be food and other goodies I have read but overall this is going to be a great way to get out and show support for a fellow mountain biker!

 GO TO THIS AND SIGN UP!

         https://www.bikereg.com/Net/19217 

Park Tool Tech Summit 2013!

 Hello all, it has been quite some time since I have sat down to write a new post, but if I were honest, not too much has gone on as far as cycling in my life this winter until this past week. I mean I think I have logged just over 50 miles on the saddle this year...boo! I have been a part-time wrench down at EPBC for a little while now and Brian offered me a spot at the Park Tool Tech Summit. Naturally I jumped at that opportunity to learn about many different products and techniques from some of the best in the industry. There are only two of these events every year, one on each coast. Luckily the east coast venue happened to be just down the road in Chantilly Virginia. I was worried that we were not going to be able to make it to the Summit on time due to a last minute ice storm that conveniently started right before we left to drive down, but we made it. We even had an extra trip due to Brian forgetting his clothes at his house.

As you can see to the right, we had these cool guy badges with our names and class schedules on it, I changed mine around a little to get in the classes I wanted to take, one change I regret and another I am happy that I did. I opted out of the Campy class for Cane Creek, mistake, and also went to Fox instead of Park Tool. I wish I had swapped Campy for Fox and went to the Park Tool class but you know what they say about hind sight...

 Day 1

Our first class after the surprisingly nice spread for breakfast was the FSA class. It was a pretty neat class dealing with their new adjustable headsets but the rest of the class was spent talking warranty information, it could have been a 20 minute tops subject but went way longer. I want to say that the best part of this class was the practical part of installing their new headset but the rest almost put me to sleep unfortunately. After this class which seemed to drag on was lunch. You know the Hyatt does a pretty good job with their events they host. The food wasn't bad and the service was top notch. Found out that Brian is scared of meatloaf for some reason but the lunch was good!

Our second class was Cane Creek. I really don't want to take up much room on this class, I feel it was a waste of time to me. They also had us working their new headsets but the second half was all about how to take the outer cover off their Double Barrel shock. There may have been more but that's all I
came away with, kind of dry speakers those Cane Creek Reps...

Our third and final class for the day was close to my favorite. We had the Sram/RockShox class to wrap up day one. For this class we were tinkering with their new Sram Red group and learning to dial that drive system in, after a interesting company history lesson I might add. Sram definitely had us working on some nice stuff, S-Works Tarmac frames! Once we learned the set-up of Sram Red we moved to the RockShox portion of the class, rebuilding/servicing their new forks. I was really pumped for this part of the class because this was something that I hadn't messed with too much but always wanted to...(Side Note: Since the Summit I have serviced 2 forks in at EPBC) I was in a group with a guy that has a lot of experience so that was nice too. Not gonna lie, I was ready for the day to be over when that class let out!

*The Sram rep liked my Nalgene bottle, Fox rep didn't,  wonder why...


 
Park Tool put on a little party after the last class let out. All the brands represented had tables set up to display their new products and do a little sales pitching. A lot of the people in attendance were bike shop owners. this was also a time to get some time with the products and also ask questions to the reps. There was also an open bar for those who chose too have a few and some awesome little finger foods. They couldn't keep the appetizers coming quick enough for everyone! Park Tool also coordinated with all the brands represented to get some sweet product to give away. I was really holding out hope for the brand new Dura-Ace Wheelset but luck wasn't with me this year! Below are some pictures from the different booths set up. Doesn't that new Sram XX1 set look amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2

 Well after decent nights sleep in the grand canyon that was my beds mattress it was time for another sweet breakfast then off to the first class of the day, Shimano...



As I was eating I was hearing some different remarks from others about the Shimano class. I will admit I was a little nervous for this one going in. After just a little bit of instruction I could see why some may not have been getting it. The Shimano guys are very technical and thorough. I was really liking their presentation on the theory behind their new Dura-Ace 9000 11-speed groupset and new line of coated cable, housing, and new end caps. After a little time of instruction we were working on the set. I even caught Brian working some...(haha this will be a test to see if he reads my blog)...
The only bad part of this class was a guy that was in our work group. All I can say is he had one of those personalities that just gets to me quickly. I hope for humanities sake he works alone, and if for some reason you are reading my blog, I'm sorry. This class was neat because, besides the mounting we pretty much set up the whole Dura-Ace group, brakes, derailleurs, shifters, cables, housing, and adjusting/ fine tuning all those components. Some had said that the Shimano class was hard to follow and not very fun but I thought just the opposite! Honestly I can not wait for someone to come into the shop and purchase a bike equipped with the new Dura-Ace so I can put my new skills to the test and also ride the BEAST!

Well after the Shimano class was lunch, not much special here but I did snap a picture of the room to show the crowd that attended the Summit. Also to the right is just a space filler really, I just wanted to get all my pictures put up!






My second class of the second day was one of the ones I switched to get into. Brian and I were both scheduled for Park Tool but I wanted to get into Fox, Brian did too but he decided to stay in Park Tool. I didn't get any pictures of the Fox room or anything because we jumped right in and there was no stopping until the class was over. Also I was trying to take good notes. The Fox class was cool because they had three different stations teaching three different things, all of which had to do with their new line of forks and shocks. There was some pretty cool stuff taught in this class. One little cool thing they have coming out this year is a double trigger knob for your bars that has the ability to lock both the front fork and rear shock at the same time...I will say that there was a lot of information and too much for me to write about on here but I was able to tear down another fork and get some time with that so I was happy.

The last class I took was the Mavic class. I personally love Mavic wheels. I like the design of them as well as the functionality of them. We sell a fair bit of Mavic wheels at EPBC so I was pumped to get into the hubs and learn to service them. We also got to change a spoke on one of their carbon wheels. I would have been so nervous if one of those came into the shop until now. Still not gonna say that I am completely comfortable but at least I have a little time with it.

I think everyone in the class was feeling about done with all the classes and learning, even the instructors seemed ready to be done before our time was up but we held in there and finished all they had planned for us. While we where in our last class the instructors handed out our certificates. It was like high school graduation, people where out the door as soon as they got that paper. We definitely weren't too far off their heels either. I think we where both ready to get home. I was so much in a hurry that I left my jacket in the room when we left, only problem with that is I didn't realize that until Brian dropped me off at the Park and Ride were we met. Oh and in case your wondering the hotel has not found my jacket or keys, I am still holding out hope that they will be found but its not looking good...Well I guess that's it for now, I kind of wrote a novel here and if your reading down this far then thank you! I really hope I get the opportunity to do this again in the future as well as hit up some other biking related events!

Again Thanks for Reading!
-WVPedaler