Mountain Biking by 198

Mountain Cycle Frames In For Review

For those of you that were following my Facebook and Twitter account...you are already aware that I was waiting on 3 big brown boxes to come out of the big brown truck yesterday. What was in those 3 large brown boxes...bikes of course!

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Stealth Black Turner Sultan Revisited

At that time, he was riding a 32 lbs. red RFX that seemed to be fitting the bill for the new Asheville, NC local. Due to an attempt at flying incident on Green's Lick at Bent Creek, MP dented the RFX and had to build up the newly painted Sultan in a hurry to be ready for our HIP rides over the past weekend.

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Thule T2 Bike Rack - Long Term Review

Thule Sweden bought the T2 design when they acquired Sportwerks. When this buy out was completed, Thule owned the patents to the best rack design on the market. With a couple of Thule "tweaks", the rack became what it is today. The main design stayed the same, but the addition of adjustable rails, locking arms and replaceable straps gave the rack the Thule quality with the trusted Sportwerks design.

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Wolfhound Cycles

Fred Cuthbert of Wolfhound Cycles builds what is considered a true work of art. His fillet brazed, custom steel creations not only look like nothing else on the trail, but they are the best riding steel frames that I have ever had the pleasure of testing. Hambone's orange Wolfhound 29er rigid is featured on this site.

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Bike Wrenching and Maintenance

After several failed attempts at getting local bike shops to do correct work on my bike, I decided it was time to start learning bike maintenance and wrenching on my own. In one specific instance, I was riding a local trail one hour after getting a new fork installed, and the front brake fell off during a downhill. It was at that point I realized that if I wanted it done correctly, I needed to learn how to do it myself. That next day, I went out and bought an Ultimate repair stand and several essential tools.

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The History of Turner Bikes

Thanks to the guys over on the Turner board of MTBR...We have a great time line of the events that surround Turner Bikes. I have been a huge fan of Dave's bikes over the years (even owned one and will own more in the future), so I find this story very interesting. We also included some pictures of old and new Turner bikes in the gallery below...

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2008 Trek Fuel EX - R1i Tuned Suspension

The EVO Link is a one piece rocker link that Trek claims is 35% stiffer and 15% lighter than the conventional bolt together linkages. They are also able to make it out of several different materials. I really like the idea of having a one piece rocker arm, but it will be interesting to see if the numbers they claim are accurate.

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Cane Creek Double Barrel - Long Term Review

The Double Barrel was developed by Cane Creek in conjunction with Ohlins Racing. Their goal was to produce the best performing rear shock on the market for a mountain bike. Ohlins Racing's United States branch office is located in Hendersonville, NC a stone's throw away from Cane Creek's headquarters. Ohins Racing is known for producing some of the best shock absorbers on the market and with more than 200 World Championship and other major titles, they have earned the right to claim that they are one of the best in the industry.

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Ibis Mojo and Push Industries - Full Review

he shake-down ride actually ended up being a time trail at Big Creek's Two Ways in a Day. Big Creek is a Atlanta local trail that provides great insight on how a bike will act in tight, twisty, quick up with quick down situations. As you can see by the elevation map, you really don't get a break at this place when you are going for the lowest time. The trail still, even after all of the traffic it receives, has loose rocks and steep climbs.

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Brian Lopes’s Ibis Quiver

Brian Lopes's recent announcement of a sponsorship deal with Ibis caught many of us by surprise. Much speculation quickly followed suit regarding which Ibis models he'd be riding. Bike magazine HQ happens to be right around the corner from Casa de Lopes so last week he swung by our office to give us a complete tour of his new quiver.

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