Until recently, I hadn’t thought much about the Shimano CenterLock hub/rotor standard. I had brushed it off as another Shimano proprietary design made just to frustrate and confuse consumers (yeah, Shimano does that sometimes). But, after thinking it through, I can see some merit to the design. But, with those positives, come lots of compatibility questions and other problems. So, I’ve compiled a quick list of what I see as positives and negatives of both the Shimano CenterLock and the 6-bolt standard used by everyone else. You make the call which is preferred and chime in below with your own take on things. I’m not set either way, but always lean towards sticking with the standard 6-bolt, however,...
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Having just picked up a Rocky Mountain Hammer29 hardtail 29er for review,  I’m really liking the simplicity offered by a hardtail mountain bike.  However, I still wouldn’t even dream of buying a hardtail 26-inch bike… those extra 3 inches make a world of difference–especially with a hardtail. Apparently ScottUSA feels the same way as I do (we’ve both take our sweet time realizing it too) and is introducing their first 29er for 2010, the Scott Scale 29er. This hardtail looks to be a straight-up aluminum frame (no doubt a carbon-fiber version is either on the way or in the works) with solid, all-mountain geometry. The mid-level model (pictured here) will sport a RockShox Reba SL fork and a mixture...
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After The Collective released SEASONS, the future of the award-winning mountain bike film-makers was up in the air. Co-founder Jaime Houssein was interested in pursuing other options as well as finishing up school, but much of the crew wanted to stick to the plan of making amazing bike films. The result, Anthill Films has risen from the dust with much of the original crew including Creative Director, Darcy Wittenberg, The first project is entitled “Follow Me… No One Rides Alone” and...
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“The Ultimate Singletrack Experience”, is set to launch its third year Sunday June 28 to July 4, 2009 and will host over 400 riders from around the world. This year’s edition of the 7-day mountain bike adventure offers a revised course featuring a North Vancouver start–taking in the legendary North Shore trails–and two new stages to cement the BC Bike Race as the greatest singletrack adventure on the planet. BC Bike Race has always aimed to exceed expectations and to be ‘the best mountain bike race in the world’. Race organizers believe that their ongoing commitment to the best course possible will create the...
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With all the classic mountain bike races going on these days, like Leadville, Downieville and others, it’s about time Park City had their own part of the action! The inaugural Park City Point2Point endurance mountain bike race will take place Saturday, September 5, 2009 with a 75-mile course featuring at least 10,000 ft. of total elevation. The course will wander through some of the best singletrack Park City has to offer. And with over 300 miles of the world’s-finest singletrack at their mercy, it’s bound to be a killer race. While the final course layout has yet to be fully completed (finalized by July 15), course organizers are going into it with the following goals in...
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With the suspension world playing catch-up, Fox Racing Shox continues to lead the pack in ride quality and innovation on every fork in the lineup. I’ve had the 2009 Fox 32 FLOAT® RLC 15QR as standard equipment on the Kona Dawg Supreme, so I decided to write a quick review of the performance of that fork in general. Impressive to say the least, every Fox fork I’ve ridden as of late has delivered in spades. And with the introduction of the 15QR platform, Fox is hoping to remove all 9mm quick-releases from mountain bikes in the future (bless their souls!)....
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When it comes to trailbikes, they come in many flavors and sport a myriad of suspension designs. But, during all this time of suspension upheaval, one company has remained true to their roots and stayed the course. That bike company is Kona. Their 4-bar suspension design has carried them through as long as I can remember and while they have incrementally improved the design over the years, the core suspension system has remained the same. With that solid suspension design, you get a reliable and predictable Kona-signature ride in all conditions–especially on the down. This bike has been a ton of fun over the past several months and is a prime example of just what makes Kona’s well… Kona’s....
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With so many mountain bike manufacturers eliminating water bottle mounts, the ubiquitous hydration pack is a necessity. I find myself hauling the hydration pack on short and long rides because of this very thing. Sometimes it feels like overkill while other times it comes in handy as trailside repairs become a part of the adventure–at that point, you’re glad you stashed away the extra tube, toolkit and shock pump. I also dig having the ability to stash away extra layers without filling up the back pockets of my jersey (which sometimes has pockets but other times does not). I’ve now had enough cycles on the Dakine Amp 12 hydration pack that it’s time to deliver the verdict....
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As part of the Park City Film Series, Freedom Riders will be showing at the Jim Santy Auditorium (1255 Park Ave.) this weekend for two final Utah dates. Freedom Riders, from KGB Productions, tells the story of a group of rogue trail builders turned good guys as they forge a relationship with the National Forest to build some of the most progressive and sustainable freeride/DH trails around. Hop on up to Park City and enjoy a showing to learn the story of the Teton Pass Freedom Riders. The film is superb and the story is a testament to the dedication and the spirit of cooperation when people of different mindsets get together for a common goal–sustainable mountain biking trails. When:...
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If you’ve been following the adventures of what BikeMag calls the Sh*tbike, you’ll appreciate this video of slopestyle magician, Cam McCaul taking it for a spin… literally. Cam is one of the most talented slopestyle riders of today. His segments in last year’s SEASONS from The Collective are still etched in the DVR of my mind. This poor bike has been given the beat-down from coast-to-coast, but now it was time to test it on a dirt jump built for an “opposite front flip” in Cam’s words. Check him out, putting the Sh*tbike through its paces at his personal training grounds in California:...
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