2008

The Archives

Let Outdoor Retailer New Gear Madness Begin
08.07.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 1 Comment

For those of you who don't know, Outdoor Retailer is the largest tradeshow for outdoor manufacturers to showcase their wares. It happens twice a year with the Summer Market in August and the Winter Market in January. The best part... it happens right here in Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace. I've got a full plate of appointments from all the major manufacturers and will be posting about the latest gear for next Spring. Last year brought some nuggets like the MSR HyperFlow water filter, new MSR tents, and new glasses and goggles from Smith Optics and a bunch of ...
2009 Ellsworth Moment Frameset Preview
07.28.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | No Comments

Lots of new stuff showing up in my inbox these days. With only a couple of months before Interbike, most manufacturers are starting to leak some of the goods to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Most of the time, I don't get enough detail to know everything, but just enough to bring you some details. For 2009, the venerable Ellsworth Moment (2007 Ellsworth Moment review) gets a new rectangular oval top tube and all new tubes elsewhere. Officially, Ellsworth calls the proprietary tubeset "swaged, tapered and shaped," but I'll just call it sexy. Looking at my current Ellsworth ...
Giro Xen Mountain Bike Helmet Review
07.27.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 3 Comments

I should have known better than to ride with the same helmet for 5 years. Luckily, I didn't crash on it to test how well it still worked after all those years of abuse--both on and off the bike. However, it was time to step into something new. Looking around, I knew I wanted something that had a bit more coverage than normal and I knew that I didn't want to mess around with anything other than a completely fused shell design. Looking over Giro's MTB helmet lineup, the Xen instantly caught my eye. Not just because of it's solid looks, ...
2009 Kona Coilair Supreme, Deluxe and Coilair - Sneak Peak
07.24.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 4 Comments

The only thing magical about the 2008 Kona Coilair with Magic Link this year has been their elusiveness. I have yet to see one in person and my attempts at getting on a demo bike have been cut off at the pass. So, I'm left to wait until Interbike Outdoor Demo this Fall until I can swing a leg over the Coilair. For 2009, the Coilair goes through the refinement machine as some new features and tweaks are introduced. For starters, the entire front triangle is new with a tapered head tube (1 1/8" upper and 1 1/2" lower cup), beefed-up ...
Crank Brothers Multi 19 Bike Tool Review
07.23.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 2 Comments

Trail tools are an important piece of equipment. There's nothing like being out on a ride when you have a mechanical breakdown only to find that you don't have the right size allen wrench, don't have a chain tool or don't even have a patch kit to repair a punctured tube. Walking your bike down perfect singletrack sucks. Carrying a multi-tool is a good first step. I've carried a Topeak Alien II in my hydration pack for years, but have found it to be a bit clunky to use at times. On top of that, it's HUGE... like an old cell ...
Dueling 29-ers: Ellsworth Evolve & Niner RIP 9
07.18.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 6 Comments

It hasn't taken long for me to recognize the beauty of bigger hoops. Up until a year ago, I hadn't ever swung a leg over a 29-er, but now I've ridden a fair amount of them and am beginning to understand what all the hullaballoo is about. They roll fast, they climb exceptionally well and they smooth out the trail without relying on tons of suspension travel. Good timing and a little luck has me with two top-notch 29-er trailbikes for the next month: The Niner RIP 9 and the Ellsworth Evolve. Both are top-shelf bikes available as a frame-only so ...
2008 Kona Zing Road Bike Review
07.17.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | 4 Comments

Yeah, I'm truly a mountain biker at heart. But, I do enjoy a nice early-morning road ride up the canyon while the air is crisp and the morning light makes everything seem postcard-perfect. There's something about being able to start a ride from my garage that is particularly nice. If I want to put on the miles and vert, I turn to my roadie. With several excellent road rides in my backyard, I mix up my mountain biking with a day or two per week on the skinny tires. I'm not a road "purist", you might say because I don't shave ...
Santa Cruz Nomad Re-designed for 2009 - Sneak Peak
07.15.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | No Comments

It didn't take much sleuthing to come to the conclusion that Santa Cruz would re-design their ever-popular Nomad frame for 2009. With the complete re-design of the Santa Cruz Blur LT this season, it made sense that Santa Cruz would pass along all that goodness to the Nomad. I've ridden the previous Nomad and have lots of friends who currently ride and love their Nomads. The new version looks more refined and includes the many improvements that were introduced with the new Blur LT, namely: grease ports, revised linkages and suspension ratios, new frame design with a reduction in the top-tube ...
Salsa El Kaboing Mountain Bike - New for 2009
07.13.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | No Comments

Salsa Cycles has been one of those fringe manufacturers for years. yeah, you've likely ridden a bike with one of their quick-release seatclamps, but you've likely never seen a Salsa Cycles bike on the trail--I know I never have. All that is about to change with the introduction of the new Salsa El Kaboing trailbike for 2009. Coming in January 2009 (frame-only available September 2008), the Salsa El Kaboing looks to be a stellar trailbike with some interesting features. One of the first things that caught my eye was the post-mount rear disc brake bosses. Yeah, I know... a funny thing ...
Camelbak Podium 24 oz. Water Bottle Review
07.12.08 | Author: Jason Mitchell | No Comments

I've got so many water bottles under the sink it makes my head spin. Actually, my wife hates that I have so many under there and threatens to recycle them nearly every day. The problem is that mixed in the pile of water bottles are the one or two that actually work well. They are the bottles that don't leak and that squirt a perfect stream every time. Sharing shelf space with the good bottles are the leakers and "squeeze so hard you'll get carpal tunnel" bottles. When I inadvertently slap one of the hated bottles in my bottle cage for ...

2008

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