EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out the all-new Niner RIP 9 for 2009
After riding the Niner RIP 9 at last year’s Interbike and posting a quick review of it, I knew I wanted to get one to ride here on my local trails. The Outdoor Demo at Interbike is a great way to get a couple of quick laps on a bike, but it doesn’t always reflect the true nature of the bike. Plus, there’s nothing like riding a bike on your local trails.
I happened to get a hold of the RIP 9 at the same time I had the Ellsworth Evolve 29er, so I had two great all-mountain 29ers at the same...
Continue reading...
The Wasatch Crest Trail is the pinnacle of mountain bike trails in the Salt Lake City area. This high-altitude romp hovers around 10,000 feet and is sure to please all riders with its stout initial climb, curvaceous singletrack, technical rock sections, log drops and fun descents through thick aspens. There’s no question that this is one of the most popular trails in the area and rightly so.
Over the years, this trail has been very good to me personally, but has also been the cause of some casualties amongst friends. A pogo landing sent one of my partners to the hospital with a nasty concussion. A tire caught in a rut and snagged on the...
Continue reading...
I don’t make it out backpacking as often as I used to. Once the kids are a little older, I’ll get back after it, but for now a few times a year is all I’ll get. Since my camping days are limited, I want to enjoy it to the fullest, but one of the things that often gets in the way of that enjoyment is a bad night’s sleep.
Often times the root cause of a tossing and turning, dead arm, stick poking you in the butt kind of sleep is the poor quality of sleeping pad I’m using. Though they are light, thin foam pads or lightweight, self-inflating pads don’t typically provide the kind of...
Continue reading...
It still amazes me how many mountain bikers still don’t ride with bike-specific shorts–yeowch! The chaffing, the bruised sit bones… it makes me cringe just thinking about it. Some might call me weak for depending too much on that cushy little chamois between my legs, but I’m just fine with that.
Since baggy MTB shorts came into fashion, a number of manufacturers have been improving their designs little-by-little. Gone are the days when a standard board short was mated to a spandex liner and called a bike short. And, there are new players on the block, such as Descente, who are more well-known in skiing and road biking, but are making a strong play in...
Continue reading...
Salomon continues to refine their product offers in both footwear and apparel for 2009. While at Outdoor Retailer, I got a glimpse into the future of Salomon’s trail running shoes, water sandals and lightweight, performance outerwear. They are definitely pushing the line in a great direction with lightweight and technical products for active outdoor pursuits.
Of particular interest was their trail running and apparel lineup for next year. With killer athletes and smart design, Salomon produces smart products that are built to last.
Salomon XT Wings GTX Trail Runners
With new colors for 2009, the...
Continue reading...
In their pursuit of footwear domination, Keen continues to expand their product lines with both niche products and expanded products for the masses. Every time I get the rundown of the Keen product line, I’m impressed with both the product quality and sheer expansiveness of the line.
Not only does Keen offer some of the most protective and trail-friendly sandals on the market, but they also produce river shoes like the Keen Hood River Boot, casual shoes for a walk around town, bags and packs and also left and right-specific socks.
A couple of new products that I’d like to highlight represent both product refinements and an expansion into a new market....
Continue reading...
We are getting close to Interbike and that means that all the manufacturers are starting to release more information on their upcoming products. I got a great preview of the Fox/Shimano 15QR system and actually have my 2009 Fox Vanilla 32 RLC mounted up and nearly ready for its first ride. I’ve also seen tons of other great new bikes and products come my way over the past month or so.
But, this one is bound to be one of the most amazing new products of the season… the Truvativ HammerSchmidt bike transmission. Aimed at providing dual-ring function in a single-ring design, the HammerSchmidt will change the game when it comes to shifting....
Continue reading...
A quick stop at the Yakima booth yielded a couple of sweet new products that will be introduced in early 2009–something to look forward to. The battle for bike-carrying supremacy is one of the sweet spots of the roof rack market. Between Yakima and Thule, you’ve got a variety of options to suit your personal tastes and vehicle type.
Hefting a bike on your roof is never an easy task–unless you drive a Mini Cooper–however, sometimes it’s the quickest and easiest way to get your bike from your garage to the trailhead. I’ve been pretty vocal about my love/hate relationship with roof racks. In my 15 years of using roof-mounted bike racks, I’ve done...
Continue reading...
I must say I’ve become quite a believer in the 29-inch revolution. However, my enthusiasm is a bit tempered because 29-ers aren’t for everyone. Still, there are a whole lot of riders out there who can benefit from the increased momentum and smoothness only bigger hoops can provide.
So, from cycling’s counter-culture to mainstream, 29-ers are coming out of the woodwork and who else to wave that banner than Mr. Tony Ellsworth with the newly-introduced Ellsworth Evolve 29-er. Ellsworth knows a thing or two about building bikes, but can we expect the world from a first-generation product? If it’s an Ellsworth, I think we can....
Continue reading...
I’ve tried a number of sunglasses from all the top companies over the years: Smith, Oakley, Scott, Ryders, Julbo and others. Each one offers something unique and is made to fit different size faces or made to serve a specific function. Lately, I’ve noticed a trend towards offering more and more polarized lenses.
As such, I’ve had a number of polarized sunglasses and goggles come my way. Polarized lens technology has been around for a long time, but some do it better than others and some lens materials are better suited to it than others. I had a chance to sit down with Derek Newton, the local Kaenon Polarized sales rep...
Continue reading...
A
foot of April flake just buried the 'Bird, the Crack House is warming
up and the Rollercoaster's drying out. Epic spring lines are calling
and you better be dialed. From bike helmets to top-shelf bike parts, Arc'teryx shells to Marmot sleeping bags, Mountain Hardwear tents, Patagonia footwear, The North Face backpacks and The North Face fleece, Backcountry.com is the outdoor gear dealer who's always holding when your addiction hits. Whether you ski sweet corn, get filthy rad on a snowboard, camp and climb in Moab, or burn it up on two wheels, there's no better place to feed your habit than Backcountry.com.