Tag Archives: Mountain biking

Bike Of The Week: Kona Explosif 650B

New for 2013, Kona’s Explosif model continues in steel but adopts the 650b tire size.  For those not familiar, 650b tires (and wheels) are sized between “traditional” 26″ mountain bike wheels and the “newer” 29″ wheel size.  The bike sports a SRAM X7 group, Avid hydraulic disc brakes and a Rockshox fork and is available at NYC Velo for $2199.

Trail Maintenance: Sprain Ridge Park

For more info contact Hastings Velo  or NYC Velo!

Bike Of The Week: Indy Fab Steel Deluxe 29er

Michael’s new mountain bike, a Steel Deluxe from Independent Fabrication, is the latest Bike of the Week, and extends the “Month of Indy Fab” just a bit farther.

This Deluxe is, like all bikes from Indy Fab, handmade in Newmarket, NH.  Michael had his bike designed around 29-inch wheels, the larger cousin of the once-standard 26-inch mountain bike wheel.  Are 29″ wheels better?  Who knows – there are passionate folks with “irrefutable” evidence on both sides of this argument, so we’ll take the Swiss position.  One thing they are is bigger.  While in many conditions, the larger wheels offer an advantage, they offer a distinct challenge to the frame designer, as they now have more wheel to cram into the frame made for a regular-sized rider (whatever regular-sized means…).  Luckily, designing 29ers (as they’re called) is something that the folks at Indy Fab do well (exceedingly well, actually), so Michael received an off-road-ready bike that is precisely designed to offer him the best trail ride possible.

Michael selected the Deore XT component group from Shimano for his new custom rig. He chose a Fox 32 Float 29 100 CTD tapered fork, Mavic Crossride wheels and WTB tires, Chris King sealed bottom bracket and headset bearings, and a cockpit from Thomson.  He topped of the bike with a Tundra saddle from Fizik and Time’s venerable ATAC off-road pedal system.

While the frame specs and the component list may be impressive, it’s the 5-color paintjob that truly impresses.  Chris Rowe and the design and paint team at Indy Fab finished off a paint scheme on Michael’s MTB, one with a great shot of color, that is both daring and restrained (not possible, you say?).  That being said, there’s no shame in covering their work with copious amounts of dirt and mud. Off to the trails!

Bike Of The Week: Surly Moonlander X2

Welcome to the latest edition of NYC Velo’s Bike of the Week feature!  The focus this week is on the Surly Moonlander (actually, two of them), a bike that’s meant to go beyond where all other bikes, even other Fat Bikes, can go.  In fact, explorer Eric Larsen is riding his to the South Pole!

The Surly Moonlander extends the “Fat Bike” category past the mark established by another Surly model, the Pugsley.  The Moonlander utilizes extra-wide 4.7 inch tires on 100mm-wide rims, yielding a large contact patch (with the ground) and an otherworldly amount of traction.  The fork and rear triangle are both asymmetric so that a 135mm rear disc wheel can be used as a front wheel (the industry’s been clamoring for this for decades!).  Moonlander owners can run the bike with lotsa gears, one gear, rack, fenders (if you can find ‘em), no racks or fenders, internally geared hubs, chicken wings and dream catchers.  If there was an Armageddon (c’mon Mayans!), this bike will be there to ride over the piles of cockroaches.  As an added bonus, Revelate Designs produces customer Moonlander and Pugsley frame bags, allowing riders to enter every adventure prepared.

The farmers say that we’ll have snow this year, so at least one person (or two) will be prepared.

5ive Points with Jeff Jones

NYC Velo is proud to present a 5ive Points interview with Jeff Jones of Jeff Jones Custom Bicycles, a custom bicycle builder from Medford, OR.  Jeff’s bikes have garnered a staggering amount of acclaim throughout the bike world, as well as in the design world – he was featured in New York City’s Museum of Arts and Design exhibit, Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle, in 2010.

In Jeff’s own words, “I’m a cyclists committed to the non-suspended bicycle.  My ideas and passion have created an exceptional ride – a geometry that delivers superb handling, comfort, and efficiency.”

We, like many cyclists, are big fans of Jeff’s work and look forward to seeing more of his bikes here in NYC!

NYC Velo: What bike do you ride?

Jeff Jones: I have about five bikes built up and ride them all. Recently I’ve been riding a new bike I built up with a longer wheelbase. Yesterday I rode with the kids to school on my old GT tandem.

NYCV: What’s your favorite ride/route?

JJ: Ride from the shop, over the mountain, sleep in the woods and ride home the next day.

NYCV: What’s your favorite post-ride food?

JJ: Homemade pizza and a big fruit smoothie.

NYCV: What’s one think you always carry on a ride?

JJ: My tool kit with my old Ti Cool Tool.

NYCV: What’s next for you in cycling?

JJ: More bikes and riding.

Bike Of The Week: Indy Fab Deluxe 29′er MTB

NYC Velo is proud to welcome Georges’ Indy Fab Steel Deluxe as our Bike of the Week!

The bike, in the owners own words:
When I was asked if i minded if my IF was feautured as a bike of the week, I agreed with the caveat being only if I could write and photograph the post.
I will forgo the superfluous descriptions that can be found in the pages of most bike magazines and instead just say that the wheels, the seat and bars are all in the right place. In my opinion, this bike is the correct tool for racing and riding in the woods.

With design input on the geometry from Andrew at NYC Velo and Jesse at Independent Fabrication, my vision of the lifetime bike was met – she is a keeper. It is a confidence-inspiring ride and surely will serve me well.

While the wheels are mere a part of the bike, it merits mentioning that they are Bill Spaceman-built. These are the 2nd set of wheels he has built for me – they are certainly a highlight of the machine, and deserving of their own post.

For those that may not know,  Bill has attended most of the Single Speed World Championship mountain bike races and clearly knows a few things about building great wheels – especially single speed mountain bike wheels. Off the shelf wheels are not a fitting substitute for well made, made to measure for the rider (might be more succinct if you just say bespoke) wheels.

With its roots in the fertile crescent of US bike culture, just saying “Independent Fabrication” conjures up the Fat Chance mountain bikes I coveted in high school and college.

The build process, the ride, and the aesthetics of the final product have exceeded expectations.

Thank you NYC Velo and Thank You Indy Fab.

Mountain Bike Trail Maintenance Day @ Sprain Ridge with Hastings Velo

5ive Points with IF#1

The 5ive Points Interview is breaking the mold again, creating a new paradigm in the uber-competitive world of oversimplified short-form bike shop interviews.  To say that Indy Fab #1 (rhymes with the nonsensicle Prince symbol, though hates to be called “Purple Rain”) is an inanimate object and thus not appropriate as an oversimplified short-form interview subject would be short-sighted, and missing the point at best. The bike frame in question is Independent Fabrication frame #1, the first production frame to come out of the Sommerville, Mass factory over 15 years ago.  IF #1, or IF1 as it prefers to be called, is a steel mountainbike frame, a hardtail in dirtbike lingo.  It wears a contemporary (for the mid ‘90s) triple fade paint job, and a wealth of component manufacturer stickers.  IF1 sports a one-inch headtube, a downtube gusset, cantilever brake studs, and the scars of a solid case of chain-suck.  IF1 will be residing proudly at NYC Velo (in a live-work capacity to get around 2^nd Avenue zoning regs) for the foreseeable future.  While not for sale (that would be wrong), IF1 is always game to crack open a beer and chat about New England bike building history.

NYC Velo: What bike do you ride?
IF1: Dumb Question

NYC Velo: What’s your favorite ride?
IF1: Mount Snow NORBA Cross-Country Course in Dover, Vermont

What’s your favorite post-ride food?
IF1: As a steel bicycle, I consume little other that J.P. Weigle’s Framesaver, didn’t you guys interview that dude?

What is one thing that you always carry on a ride?
IF1: A rider.  Are you sure you’ve done this before, these questions are ridiculously off-point.

What’s next?
IF1: Inspiring the hype-free production of hype-free bikes, hand-made in New England, and I think 1 inch headtubes will make a comeback.  And fade paint jobs.

Bike of the Week: Independent Fabrication Ti Deluxe 29′er

Independent Fabrication is, if anything, lustworthy.  This week’s Bike of the Week certainly fits that bill, and is of titanium, that most wonderful of bicycle frame materials.

Our friends at Indy Fab describe very well their Ti Deluxe mountain bike on their website, but research shows that readers really just want to see the photos. So, without further delay, Charles’ Indy Fab Ti Deluxe MTB, with components from Fox, Shimano (XTR), Industry Nine, and Thomson.

Engineering: it’s what they do. The 2012 Scott Carbon Scale Expert 29′er

The engineers at Scott Bicycles are back at it again. Like kids set free in a toy store, these bike gurus head straight to the best tools, materials and technologies they can find to build the ultimate toys for the bike enthusiast. The 2012 Scale 29 Expert (little brother to Scott’s 899 29′er aka the lightest 29 mountain bike frame around at 899 grams) is an impossible mountain bike model to ignore given its enviable combination of cutting edge technology, extensive R&D, and affordable price.

For 2012 this softer riding hard-tail has more built-in compliance, meaning that the bike can flex vertically to absorb trail or street feedback, yet is laterally stiffer for more efficient climbing and faster acceleration — a few more steps towards the “holy grail” of ride qualities. Scott has once again raised the “laterally stiff/vertically compliant” bar for the MTB industry.

Though the 29′er wheel is larger than its cousin the 26″, the Scale’s carefully considered geometry makes it a tight and nimble handing machine, dominating rocks, trees, cars and street construction. The Scale’s nimble handling, combined with the inherent ability of the larger 29 inch wheels to roll over technical terrain, its light/efficient/compliant carbon frame, Shimano XT/SLX components, DT Swiss wheels, and Reba Rock Shox fork make this a ride we highly recommend.