Monthly Archives: May 2012

Mountain Bike Action Rides the Entourage DL: “The perfect partner for the park rider, the serious slopestyler looking to boost it, or the downhiller who just wants more fun on the trail”

Posted on 05/31/2012 by eddy

Click the image to read the review

Posted in DirtJump, Downhill, Freeride, Review | Leave a comment

Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 4: Barry Wicks 6th in Stage, 2nd Overall

Posted on 05/31/2012 by eddy

“Nuclear”. That’s the word Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) used to describe the pace during the Raystown stage, stage number 4 of the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic presented by Dirt Rag.  Only 25 seconds separated Bishop from Barry Wicks (Kona Bikes) at the start of the day.  By the end that lead had ballooned to more than six and a half minutes.

The fourth stage of Trans-Sylvania took place on the rolling whoops and dips of the Allegrippis trails at Raystown Lake a one hour drive from Camp TSEpic.  Allegrippis has proven to be crowd favorite every year and this year was no exception.  One of two “remote” stages in the Trans-Sylvania Epic, Raystown is the fastest and smoothest singletrack of the week and racers were greeted with slick and wet conditions that left riders covered with mud at the end of the stage but grinning ear to ear.  Read More→
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Aggy & his Operator on the Cover of Big Bike Magazine (France)

Posted on 05/31/2012 by eddy

Posted in Downhill, Freeride, The Team | Leave a comment

Joe Schwartz – The Nimby 50

Posted on 05/31/2012 by eddy

I am not a cross country racer. It had been a long time since I had been herded, cattle like, into a start corral, nervously listening to the PA count down the seconds until the whole mass of spandex and bicycle pour out onto the course and into the suffer zone.

I guess that is why I have avoided XC races. But the Nimby Fifty caught my attention. Talk circulated about the 40 kilometres of awesomely technical Pemberton singletrack, the great venue of the North Arm Farm, and the good vibe created by a lot of likeminded mountain bikers out for the same reason: to ride their bikes on great trails.

So I signed up, and prepared as well as I knew how for the race. Turns out I could have prepared a bit more, but it was a great time nonetheless. The NImby was held this past Saturday on a hot day in Pemberton. The heat is something not many people have been exposed to yet this season, a fact made apparent by the numbers of riders off to the sides of the course massaging out cramps during the race. Read More→

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Dylan Sherrard: Life In The Loops – Big Lines In Bralorne

Posted on 05/31/2012 by dylan


I was the first person to stick their head from their tent that frozen winter morning on the mountainside high above Carpenter lake, and the first person of our crew to feel saddened by the snowfall. I was still somewhat oblivious to the details about how this trip should pan out, but amongst the plans I’d heard discussed were helicopters, uncharted terrain and wild big mountain chute lines. The centimeters of snow accumulated on my bicycle suggested to me that perhaps this entire trip would be a flop. After driving hours down old highways, scaling a mountainside and building a base camp this sudden change of season seemed like some kind of a cruel joke. But as I was soon to discover, there isn’t much joking around to be done in the mountains above Bralorne. Not until you’re seated by a fire after a day spent pioneering massive shale descents, that is to say. Read More

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Bike Mag (France) et le Kona Satori: “Le Satori nous a vraiment conquis par son châssis et sa géométrie”

Posted on 05/30/2012 by eddy

Click the image to read the review

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Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 3: Barry Wicks 1st in Stage, 2nd Overall

Posted on 05/30/2012 by eddy

Forty seven miles and over 5000 feet of elevation gain on a wide open gravel, paved and dirt roads made for a fast and attack-fueled stage 3 at the NoTubes Trans-Sylvania Epic. The attacks came early and often and left the men’s field strewn across the Pennsylvania countryside.

With little singletrack to break up today’s stage, a group of close to forty riders formed on the opening rolling roads with attacks from Jon Davis (40+, Trek Store Boulder Racing), Stephan Kincaid (NoTubes/AXA) and Matthys Buekes (Cannondale South Africa) coming to naught as the 5 mile descent of Sieglerville-Millheim Pike brought the group together again. Only the Duo Team of Mike Festa and Craig Lebair (Philly Ciclismo/Trans-Sylvania Epic) missed the move of those in the hunt for their respective GC titles as a flat on the first singletrack of the stage had them chasing all day.

Buekes was not deterred by the unwillingness of the group to let him go and looked to show his strength on a course more similar to those back home. As Buekes rolled away before the first feedzone those behind seemed unfazed with Barry Wicks (Kona Bikes), Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale), Drew Edsall (Kenda/Felt), Justine Lindine (Redline), Aaron Snyder (SCOTT) and the rest of the contenders taking their time through the feed. Included in this group was Tim Johnson (Cannondale) who came in as part of an Epic Team, fresh off a four day stint at the Killington Stage Race. As the realization that the South African was on a mission dawned on the rest the chase began in earnest and by the time what was left of the field rolled through the historic Poe Valley train tunnel only six racer remained in the front group.

Read More→

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Joe Schwartz: Trip Report – McKenzie River Trail

Posted on 05/29/2012 by eddy

The McKenzie River Trail (the MRT) is situated in Central Oregon, on the west side of the Cascades. This mountain range, predominantly made up of dormant and not-so-dormant volcanoes, does an efficient job of stopping the moisture from the Pacific Coast. On the west side you have temperate rainforests and old growth timber, and a stones throw to the east you are exploring an arid desert-like landscape. The MRT, being on the west side of the volcanoes, features towering Douglas fir, mossy forest floors, a raging river (complete with big waterfalls) and a cool climate. Apparently it rains frequently, but it was nice and dry for our visit down this renowned trail.

I met up with a crew that was sampling some Hood River singletrack the day before. None of us had ever been to the MRT, so it was a pleasant start to the day when we all arrived at the predetermined meeting place with in 30 minutes of each other, despite driving from different ends of Oregon. Keeping the smooth operation plugging forward, we loaded gear and people into one truck and drove to the top of the 25 mile trail. Read More→

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Ryder Hesjedal – A Kona Grass Roots Success Story

Posted on 05/29/2012 by eddy

In the 90′s Ryder Hesjedal was a Kona Team CX mountain bike racer, he did well and we enjoyed having him on our team. Now he’s won a grand tour, the Giro D’Italia. Congratulations Ryder, Kona’s proud of you and glad to have been one of the stops on your path to this historic win. Images by John Gibson

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Tom’s Bike Trip: First Impressions of the Kona Sutra

Posted on 05/29/2012 by eddy

Full disclosure: Kona have supplied Ben and I with their flagship Sutra 2012 touring bicycles in return for feedback (good or bad), photographs, publicity here on my blog, and a video review. This and future pieces about the Sutra will be published in absolute honesty; if it’s a pile of crap, I’ll tell you.

I wouldn’t agree to test anything that didn’t fit my criteria on paper first. The Sutra did indeed fit my criteria on paper for this, primarily a road tour of a developed-world nation. It’s been a pleasant surprise to ride and has exceeded my expectations. Read more

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Bike Radar Test the Shred: “The Shred lives up to its name, with a solid spec and a great frame”

Posted on 05/29/2012 by eddy

Kona are no strangers to the world of budget hardtails, and their history shows it’s something they’re pretty good at. Owning a Kona razz-around bike is almost a rite of passage when it comes to learning essential skills for the harder side of riding. But does the Shred continue this legacy?

Ride & handling: A low BB and Maxxis tyres make a singletrack shredder. Read more

Posted in DirtJump, Freeride, Review | Leave a comment

Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage 2: Barry Wicks 1st

Posted on 05/29/2012 by eddy

Barry Wicks takes stage win, now trails Bishop by 47s after two stages completed. Sornson grabs GC lead.Wet, slippery conditions welcome racers at Trans-Sylvania Epic’s hardest stage

After Sunday’s stage 1 time trial that put returning champion Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing) just over one minute ahead of Barry Wicks (Kona Bikes) in overall GC, all eyes were on the two World Cup veterans to see who would emerge victorious in the treacherous 38 mile second stage of the Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic, a stage considered by most to be the hardest and most challenging. Weather reports called for sun and 90-degree temps with maximum swamp humidity.

Click the image above to see the video of stage 2

Click Here to listen to the Barry Wicks interview from Mountain Bike Radio

Read More→

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