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?

Mucky Nutz Face Fender Review

I was down at Eastern Panhandle Bicycles the other day just looking around shooting the breeze with Brian the owner about a big group ride we were organizing and I saw the Mucky Nutz fender on his bike on the stand. Of course I ask him about it, next thing you know I bought one! Rushed home right then to install on the bike.

The Mucky Nutz Face Fender is such a simple yet effective design. Very easy to install on the fork. Package included nice velcro straps to secure the fender most likely every fork out there. After just a few minutes including time for pictures and off/on of the front wheel the fender was secure and ready to roll. Luckily for me it wouldn't be long before I tested it. To make things better there was a light rain that evening followed by unusually warmer temperatures in my area giving me a tacky riding surface. It was a day to have a fender!

200+ Mile Review Trek Top Fuel 8

I wanted to start this post with a picture from one of the many adventures I have taken with this bike. This picture was taken at Raystown Lake, which fortunately for me is about a 1.5 hour drive away. Its great to be able to ride epic trails like that so close to home! I wrote my initial review back in September. I know to most of you only having a little over 200 miles on a bike in 6 months is pathetic but for me being a father of 2 young boys and having a job with alternating shifts as well as my military obligations I am happy with that!

I can say that everyone of those miles have been great! Even the grinding out of the climbs we have here in the mountains of WV and surrounding areas. Speaking of climbing, I had always rode a hardtail in the past. I had some reservations spending up for a full squishy...NOT ANYMORE! This bike climbs better then my hardtails. Maybe some of that is because my legs don't take the blunt of the descents anymore but I'll get to those later. I am running a 1X set-up on this bike. Yes I am in the stone age it seems only running 10spd with a normal sized cassette but may upgrade soon! My fitness has improved so I am able to pedal more consistently on the climbs. With the geometry of this bike and the stiffness I do not get the "hops" while climbing. Its tuned well for me by the awesome guys down at EPBC so I don't need to worry about locking/unlocking at all. I can just go ride this bike!

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.