We closed the shop on Tues and went to Providence to ride some 09 bikes.
The riding spot was lame-o but i did ride a LOT of bikes in a short amount of time.
First off, let me say that with an open mind I tried some 26" bikes. I am now done with 26" for x/c anyway. The bike that i really wanted to love in 26" was the Giant Anthem 26". Chris crashed really hard on this bike. Chris never crashes. That was the last 26" we tried. For what it is this bike is insane. Light, quick and agile. I am just over 26" sorry Giant.
Here is quick recap of fav new stuff
-Felt 29er Carbon. This was BY FAR the best bike I rode. Very smooth and light enough. This is a solid bike but with carbon smoootheness. KILLER ride. This bike had the New Reba. The new Reba is WAY the F better in every way. This is the year for SRAM. The Small block 8's were so nice. I thought they would be useless. They were not. The new Avid Brakes are such a jump forward from the juicy brakes. They are better in every way. I am not a Felt dealer. I might have to be..
-Salsa Big mamma- This is in the top 3 of may fav 29er dulaies ever. On that list for me is the Jet 9 and the Moots XZ. This is an even tempered and predictable bike. It didn't scream $4000 + bike but it was nice. Good parts pick too. I could ride this bike and be happy.
-Salsa Selma ss. I rode a med and it was a tad small for me. This thing is so flickabe and just fun. It was a touch rougher riding than the Felt but I thought this was the best riding Salsa ever. I will be selling and stocking this bike. This bike might be as nice as some ti bikes. They have a winner here. Just for fun I was jumping the heck out of this bike. Did I mention that this bike was fun.
-Fargo. I didn't ride it but one of my guys did. He was smiling and laughing so much on this bike. We all agreed that while this bike should be stupid.. it just isn't. This might never be a primary bike but a great 2nd or 4th bike.
Road-
-I rode 3 bikes. All of which i will be selling in 08. All are made in the far east and all were carbon.
-Giant Defy.
This was my fav of the 3. Giant knows carbon. This is there performance/club rider bike. I rode it with some Zipp 404s. Um.. Fast as hell and really stable. I could be very happy with this bike. I am not a racer so for me this is it.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_upload_us/bikes/models/zooms/2009/Defy-Advanced-1-Red_Silver_Comp.jpg
-Giant TCR Advanced.
If you want to go Really fast and every sec counts then this is your bike. Maybe. There is no faster bike that I have ridden. Giant did there homework. I Didn't hurt that the bike worked the best of any demo bike I rode. I missed the Zipp wheels. For a better test I should have tried it with Zipp wheels.
-C-dale 6 carbon..
This is a china built c-dale. I didn't want to like this bike. It was so middle of the road in every way that it was sort of boring to me. I own a Super Six and I think it is by far a better bike. The made in china stamp killed this bike for me. I am thinking that if it is not made in the USA than I might as well give the business to Giant. Maybe.
other stuff.
-Love the new bell Volt Helmet. Best ever for me
-By riding so many round gripped biked I found out how much I love ERGONS!
-Felt has my attention. I SO don't need another bike line. ugghh.
-Salsa can't be overlooked anymore as a player. They make great stuff. It is all very well engineered and produced. I am a big fan.
-I rode the hammerschmitt and loved it. It won't be on any bikes of mine soon though. If I were a DH or FR guy I would have it. Wait till you try it. Truly amazing.
-Nicholai- I rode a 6" ish bike out of the SRAM booth to try the HS shifting. This was a well made bike. I haven't spent much time on a 26" bike made for kicking ass for a while. It was a slow climber but a great overall bike.
sorry to ramble... tired as I get.
j-
The riding spot was lame-o but i did ride a LOT of bikes in a short amount of time.
First off, let me say that with an open mind I tried some 26" bikes. I am now done with 26" for x/c anyway. The bike that i really wanted to love in 26" was the Giant Anthem 26". Chris crashed really hard on this bike. Chris never crashes. That was the last 26" we tried. For what it is this bike is insane. Light, quick and agile. I am just over 26" sorry Giant.
Here is quick recap of fav new stuff
-Felt 29er Carbon. This was BY FAR the best bike I rode. Very smooth and light enough. This is a solid bike but with carbon smoootheness. KILLER ride. This bike had the New Reba. The new Reba is WAY the F better in every way. This is the year for SRAM. The Small block 8's were so nice. I thought they would be useless. They were not. The new Avid Brakes are such a jump forward from the juicy brakes. They are better in every way. I am not a Felt dealer. I might have to be..
-Salsa Big mamma- This is in the top 3 of may fav 29er dulaies ever. On that list for me is the Jet 9 and the Moots XZ. This is an even tempered and predictable bike. It didn't scream $4000 + bike but it was nice. Good parts pick too. I could ride this bike and be happy.
-Salsa Selma ss. I rode a med and it was a tad small for me. This thing is so flickabe and just fun. It was a touch rougher riding than the Felt but I thought this was the best riding Salsa ever. I will be selling and stocking this bike. This bike might be as nice as some ti bikes. They have a winner here. Just for fun I was jumping the heck out of this bike. Did I mention that this bike was fun.
-Fargo. I didn't ride it but one of my guys did. He was smiling and laughing so much on this bike. We all agreed that while this bike should be stupid.. it just isn't. This might never be a primary bike but a great 2nd or 4th bike.
Road-
-I rode 3 bikes. All of which i will be selling in 08. All are made in the far east and all were carbon.
-Giant Defy.
This was my fav of the 3. Giant knows carbon. This is there performance/club rider bike. I rode it with some Zipp 404s. Um.. Fast as hell and really stable. I could be very happy with this bike. I am not a racer so for me this is it.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_upload_us/bikes/models/zooms/2009/Defy-Advanced-1-Red_Silver_Comp.jpg
-Giant TCR Advanced.
If you want to go Really fast and every sec counts then this is your bike. Maybe. There is no faster bike that I have ridden. Giant did there homework. I Didn't hurt that the bike worked the best of any demo bike I rode. I missed the Zipp wheels. For a better test I should have tried it with Zipp wheels.
-C-dale 6 carbon..
This is a china built c-dale. I didn't want to like this bike. It was so middle of the road in every way that it was sort of boring to me. I own a Super Six and I think it is by far a better bike. The made in china stamp killed this bike for me. I am thinking that if it is not made in the USA than I might as well give the business to Giant. Maybe.
other stuff.
-Love the new bell Volt Helmet. Best ever for me
-By riding so many round gripped biked I found out how much I love ERGONS!
-Felt has my attention. I SO don't need another bike line. ugghh.
-Salsa can't be overlooked anymore as a player. They make great stuff. It is all very well engineered and produced. I am a big fan.
-I rode the hammerschmitt and loved it. It won't be on any bikes of mine soon though. If I were a DH or FR guy I would have it. Wait till you try it. Truly amazing.
-Nicholai- I rode a 6" ish bike out of the SRAM booth to try the HS shifting. This was a well made bike. I haven't spent much time on a 26" bike made for kicking ass for a while. It was a slow climber but a great overall bike.
sorry to ramble... tired as I get.
j-
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