MTB

In Flickr news, there’s be a redesign! The new Flickr is a million times better than the previous out dated piece of shit they’ve been offering us. So much so, that I actually feel inspired to use the service again. I used and frequented Flickr for a nice stretch, then became very uninterested in it for the last few years (stopped going there basically). Well, the new redesign has greatly changed my view on it. Same premise, just nicer presentation, ease of viewing photos and a terabyte of space. I realized that I follow some pretty rad people and it’s good to see what everyone is up too. Flickr has been a good source of content for this site, so hopefully it can stay in my rotation. Instagram likes to party with Flickr too, which is an added bonus. If you’ve been down with Flickr in the past, go poke around and give it a new shot. If you have never been on Flickr, this will all mean nothing, haha… © Nuno for Defgrip, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: flickr, Photography, redesign

© Nuno for Defgrip, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: house of the rising sun, the animals, video

Photos by Greg and Trina I came into spring with low expectations. Thinking that our dry season would leave us with few wildflowers But I kept seeing a surprising number of plants creeping upward out of the desert soil when we were out riding or walking. What were these plants thinking, besides that they'd just wither and die? Then the weather turned wetter and the flowers began to charge

Dirt Rag’s fourth annual Dirt Fest, presented by Scott Sports, was once again the best ever. A huge thank you to all who attended—friends, fans and exhibitors—you’re the ones who made it so great. Don't believe it? Just check out these photos! Special thanks go out to our official sponsors Scott Sports, Oskar Blues Brewery, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Infinit nutrition, Niner, Michelin, Take Aim Cycling, Specialized and Light & Motion. Additionally, without the event logistics provided by Rothrock Outfitters, along with support from the Friends of Raystown Lake, this never would have happened. Info on next year’s event is coming soon at dirtragdirtfest.com.Dirt Fest 2013Photos of all the festivities from May 17-19, 2013.

I rarely build unicrown forks but Daniel is the right size and the application is right (road) such that I liked the profile of some existing blades so we went with it. For full fenders (but no racks) and 28c tires, riding in any weather on both pavement and smooth dirt.Geometry:-73/73 head and seat tube angles.-57cm toptube, 61cm seat tube (this thing would fit me perfectly!)-Level/non sloping toptube for a semi-classic look (so a lugged crown fork might have looked more appropriate, but since it's all TIG welded, we decided the unicrown was fine).-43mm fork offset, 60mm trail.-60cm front center, 42cm chainstays, 27.5cm bb height-For long reach brakes, fenders, and up to 28c tires (actually, I bet 32s would fit).Pretty straightforward, really. Built to fit Daniel, with some oversized pipes to keep her stiff and tracking well, which will hopefully serve him well for a long, long time.Edit: Here is your friday fun reading: 31 charts that will destroy your faith in humanity (seriously, read it, the title is a bit of a joke...)

Reggie Styles is one of thoseEnigmatic characters that has done a lot of acid that you meet from time to time, that drinks a lot of Mountain Dew and says and does peculiar things, but it’s all so endearing that you just can’t help but love the guy… He’s the kind of guy who spray paints his bike in his own bedroom and just hangs out in the fumes listening to Slayer. Hell Ya Reggie! Check the crazy video below that Rich Hoppie sent over.

It always amazes me how I have these deep thoughts and seemingly great blog post content that rolls through my head while I ride my bike, but as soon as I stop pedaling and change back into everyday clothes the thoughts and phrases seem to disappear out of thin air like rabbits in a magic [...]

Twentynineinches and twentynineinches-DE have been in Sedona, Arizona at the Magura Press Camp sampling the 2014 versions of their forks and brakes.  We will have all that and more a little later on, including time on the new 140mm/150mm 29er fork, but we wanted to show this bit of technology first. Magura Elect, it is called.  It brings modern, wireless electronic technology to the way you control your forks damping.  Available on XC/Race forks, like a 100mm 29er version, the Elect replaces the compression damping cartridge, knob, remote cable lockout, etc, and does the thinking for you.  It works with or without the wireless handlebar remote ‘button’.  You calibrate the cartridge by holding your bike upright and level and pressing and holding the button on the fork mounted cartridge.  It calibrates, flashes to let you know it is ready, and then you go ride.  When it senses a change in pitch or angle of the fork, it unlocks.  For instance…when you tilt your iPhone or smartphone and the screen ‘flips’ around to a wide view…there ya go.  Accelerometers.   It is not bump force activated, rather position sensing.  IE…pop a wheelie and the fork locks up.  Point your bike down something and it opens.  It will at some point, in a possible future addition, allow you to download data as to how the damper has been working…how many times it opened, under what conditions, etc. This is not a long travel fork application, rather a race/XC shorter travel fork, but it is very interesting and I can see an application for race bikes where you just want to be on the gas and let the Elect do the thinking for you.  It is also backwards compatible to the older Durin line of XC forks. It also saves 20-25g off the typical DLO2 damper cartridge.  It has a sleep mode so if it sees no movement for five minutes, it stops battery drain.  A 3 hour charge time with a micro USB port gives you a 40-60 hour run time.  If the battery goes below the limit of what it needs to operate, it defaults to ‘open’ mode. The handlebar mounted remote overrides the auto feature of the Elect and makes it into a manual on/off deal, and you choose the state by pushing the button on the tidy little control module…my words for it, not theirs.  It pairs to the Elect cartridge by Bluetooth technology.  So if you want to do the work instead of the auto feature, you can be in control.  The entire assembly is waterproof. Did you ever think you would be plugging your fork into the wall charger?  As well, it is an interesting compromise as there are times you may want to have an active fork even when climbing.  Still, it is pretty cool technology and along with the other improvements in the fork line from Magura, it looks like 2014 will see them making deeper inroads into both the trail and race bike suspension market in the US. Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News

Clint Reynolds (along with various cohorts) has been an integral part of Texas Toast Jam since the very first one. Given his ability to maintain his own trails (ie- the most scariest looking jumps EVAR), his handiness and his proximity to the event, makes it a no brainer to have him involved in the construction of the dirt course. No bitching, just ass kicking. Here’s Clint enjoying the fruits of his labor with a casual/stylish/classic tuck back in 2011. I shot this photo from behind a fence outside of the site, which explains the white streaks. It was a warm, breezy afternoon. This plot of land will soon be condos/offices. -Nuno © Nuno for Defgrip, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: 2011, austin, Clint Reynolds, defgrip, texast toast jam

Cycling shoes are designed to make riding easier. The unique feature of cycling shoes is a very stiff sole. This stiff sole allows the rider to apply power to the pedals without straining the muscles of the foot.The post Do I Need Cycling Specific Shoes? appeared first on Cycling Utah.