More Riding

I have been out on a few more rides at various trails and I am starting to really like this bike. Here are some random thoughts on the riding.


The singlespeed thing is pretty challenging on the hills but I expect after a while I will be able to power over most of them. If you listen to the people on the singlespeed board at MTBR, riding with just one gear will greatly increase your power in a matter of weeks. I am not totally convinced of this and I'm sure that just like any miracle diet pill, results may vary. Right now my average speeds have been comparable to when I was riding a hardtail so it doesn't look like riding single will slow me down much, if any at all.

The rigid fork is still fairly comfortable most of the time and the ride isn't any worse than Gennie over the small stuff. The only time I really feel it is over the bigger obstacles, taking the bike of off drops, and on fast descents. Even at these times the ride isn't terrible and I will definitely keep it rigid for the time being.

Yesterday I went out to Crabtree and had a really good ride. Most of the hills out there can be powered over without much trouble and the bike flies through the flat flowing sections of the trail. The bike really handles nicely and takes turns really well. I think this is at least partly because of the tire upgrade over the stock Bontragers on Gennie.

At one point during yesterdays ride I came up behind another rider as he was trying to go up a short but fairly steep section of trail. As I approached he tried to downshift and ended up dropping the chain, forcing him to get off of the bike and hurry out of my way as I stood up to ride past him and inflate my ego. I usually don't like to watch people fail but it feels good to see someone on a full suspension bike with all of the bells and whistles move over for a bike with one gear and no suspension.

The only bad thing about the riding lately is that the heat has been brutal. For the out of towners, it has been up in the low hundreds the last few days around here with a heat index of around 110 most days (All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit). I have been carrying just the two bottles for water and putting all of my gear in my jersey pockets. This is a little less convenient than the camelbak but it is nice to not have that extra weight hanging on my shoulders and to be able to let my back breathe a little. Most of the trails that I ride around here are fairly short and keep you within a few minutes of riding from a water fountain when refills are needed.