Moar pikshures

**joetron** · 11-04-2009, 09:37 AM

Doing my part.....here's some highlights from this fall.

We'll start with a few from a Steamboat classic: Rabbit Ears to town. We opted for riding into the resort and down their trails, rather than Fish Creek. Gonna have to go back and do Fish Creek, although there were a bunch of fun turns and great aspen riding on the resort.
Here's a pic of Nora, trying to wrap her head around all the riding we've done to this point, and we still have aaaalllll that vert to get down...such a burden.

Game face....notice the complete lack of brake fingers. I love my wife.

Up on the Continental Divide Trail there was a miles of wide open meadows, and then you dive into sections of incredibly lush forest that still had shoulder high green grass well into september. These guys were chowing down, and I couldn't help but think how delicious they'd be after living the good life up these mountains.

Fast forward a week or so to another Colorado fall classic....Kenosha (der hey!) to Georgia. We actually did Kenosha to Jefferson Pain Cave because we listened to our friend who weighs 135lb and rides a Kona Kula faster than most people. Interesting choice.

Jefferson Creek is awesome...to ride down...a little hurtful to climb up. We ran into Crinkle as he was riding down...he laughed at us. Jefferson is a few miles of rolling, rocky singletrack. The top of which looks like this.

**scrublover** · 11-04-2009, 09:44 AM

Nice.

Up Jefferson? Ugh.

Not going down Fish Creek? I say, ugh again.

**joetron** · 11-04-2009, 09:55 AM

Jefferson Creek was so good, I went back the next week after the snow melted (We got chased out on that first ride). I rode the more traditional Kenosha, up Georgia, down Jefferson. It was good. I love the Knolly Endorphin....such a ripping, capable bike.

Got a little carried away on the way down Kenosha and pinched. Not a bad place to take in the aspen grove vibe. I love Co2.

Did someone say aspens? Soo good.

At the top of Georgia pass. Just a little snow left over from the previous week. Red Bull and sesame sticks...the lunch of champions.

The enticing alpine entrance to Jefferson. A lot of this section is on matted down grass and rock....not much dirt...which is cool.

Gratuitous dog shot. Most of the clothing on the bed is bike related, however.

**tone capone** · 11-04-2009, 10:03 AM

Very cool. Gotta visit.

**pechelman** · 11-04-2009, 10:11 AM

i swear ive got the same blanket set.
which is also usually covered by laundry
which also has a similarly sized and colored furball lying in the middle of it

fun pics, thanks for sharing.
bummed i missed fall riding this year it seems
especially those kenosha rides.

**bagtagley** · 11-04-2009, 10:24 AM

Nice shots, thanks.

I didn't know you were rocking an Endorphin.

**gravitylover** · 11-04-2009, 11:36 AM

Need more pics of the Rabbit Ears stuff (1101 I assume.) I miss that trail so much. Agree with Scrub, no Fish Creek descent = bad boy!

**joetron** · 11-04-2009, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by bagtagley

Nice shots, thanks.

I didn't know you were rocking an Endorphin.

Its a demo bike from the shop. I've been riding it a fair amount this late summer/fall. I would probably sell my body to get one, cuz even at the hookup price its a little much for my budget at the moment....but the bike absolutely rips. Pedals waaay better than I anticipated, and the the performance of the suspension and the stiffness of the rear-end is ridiculous.

**kidwoo** · 11-04-2009, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

notice the complete lack of brake fingers.

Judging by the angle of that front wheel, I think she's gunnin' to take you out yo!

**mtnjam** · 11-04-2009, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

....but the bike absolutely rips. Pedals waaay better than I anticipated, and the the performance of the suspension and the stiffness of the rear-end is ridiculous.

same thing i've heard about that bike too...what fork on there? 36 RC2?

**joetron** · 11-04-2009, 03:04 PM

The one I was riding i set up with a Float 150 TALAS with 15mm. No complaints. I've been having a harder time finding a light/stiff wheelset to do justice to the rear end. Crossmax SX would prolly do it.
We have one on the floor with a 36 TALAS.

**kidwoo** · 11-04-2009, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

Crossmax SX would prolly do it.

Yes it would.

Those goofy looking crank bros wheels are pretty badass too. Yes I'm serious.

**marshalolson** · 11-04-2009, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by kidwoo

Those goofy looking crank bros wheels are pretty badass too. Yes I'm serious.

x2 - i was blown away at how well the orange ones (iodine?) road. they are really really nice. and there is a good demo dating/price on them.

**kidwoo** · 11-04-2009, 06:20 PM

I saw something happen to those same wheels that would have destroyed some dh hoops.

think landing sideways (like 90 degrees sideways) over a 35 ft jump that was overshot

Fuckers weren't even out of true.

**uncle crud** · 11-04-2009, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

Its a demo bike from the shop. I've been riding it a fair amount this late summer/fall. I would probably sell my body to get one, cuz even at the hookup price its a little much for my budget at the moment....but the bike absolutely rips. Pedals waaay better than I anticipated, and the the performance of the suspension and the stiffness of the rear-end is ridiculous.

say more. say more.

**joetron** · 11-05-2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by uncle crud

say more. say more.

Ok.
I was kind of expecting a somewhat overbuilt, sluggish bike. Its a 5.5in bike that with a solid build weigh and Float 32 TALAS weighs about 31lbs. On my initial ride at Buff Creek I was expecting to be hauling around a bit of an anchor, but what I got was a very stable, smooth pedalling, lively feeling bike that did not mush around at all. It 'rides lighter' than the scale would lead you to believe. I know the 4x4 is somehow different than Horst link, but with the pivot/axle relationship I was kind of expecting that dead-feeling(active!) that I've felt from FSR bikes. Not at all.

Things got even better when I took it to Apex for the second ride. I let a little air out of the r. shock for a touch more sag and started climbing up the roughness of the gut like a monkey. Good traction, even with a Larsen TT (I'm over that tire). Got up to the top and dropped into Enchanted Forest, again expecting a bit more of a DH sleddish bias, but what I got is what I have been describing as a samurai sword ride. Powerful, extremely nimble, unflinching. I was saying 'singletrack scalpel' first, but those blades flex and break, this bike's stiffness makes it feel nimble and able to change direction at a thought, while also eating up any mistakes you might make in line choice. The rear end does not flex or deflect, the suspension just does its thing, and does it well...like LL.

We had some of those Crank Bros wheels, and for giggles I put the Cobalts on to see what a lighter wheelset would do. Bike climbed even better, felt fun and whippy in the air, but I did feel nd hear some weird wind up and pinging from the spokes when under drive pressure and riding up and over ledgy off camber stuff. Never did get a chance to put the Iodines on. We have mixed feeling about those wheels. Good ideas in theory, "easily serviceable" freehub body is neat for tech geeks, but may have the opportunity to fall off into the dirt when a customer is changing a flat. We decided we don't want to have that conversation and we're gonna stick with Mavic and Easton prebuilt wheels.

Back to the Endophin: In a nutshell, nimble yet powerful. Awesome suspension performance. Super cool company that is doing it right. It just plain feels good to have a bike that solid underneath you...confidence inspiring from the ground up.

Rontele agrees:

**uncle crud** · 11-05-2009, 10:17 AM

sounds excellent. and I'm surprised on the Crank Bros wheels, I thought they'd be more like the pedals... looking like a better design than their performance proves. I'm still not interested in them but I am glad to hear they feel decent. I remember the weirdly-spoked Rolf wheels craze from the late 90s and early 00s, that's what the Crank Bros wheels remind me of.

the Endorphin sounds good. Noel's thoughtful and thorough and a big dude, so I'm not that surprised the rear assembly feels flex-free, that's what he needs for himself. now I just want to find a way to get one.

**joetron** · 11-05-2009, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by uncle crud

sounds excellent. and I'm surprised on the Crank Bros wheels, I thought they'd be more like the pedals... looking like a better design than their performance proves. I'm still not interested in them but I am glad to hear they feel decent. I remember the weirdly-spoked Rolf wheels craze from the late 90s and early 00s, that's what the Crank Bros wheels remind me of.

the Endorphin sounds good. Noel's thoughtful and thorough and a big dude, so I'm not that surprised the rear assembly feels flex-free, that's what he needs for himself. now I just want to find a way to get one.

Let me know when you need one.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the Crank Bros this upcoming season. As Marsh was saying, they had a very aggressive demo/pricing program this fall and there should be a lot of shop dudes hammering on them. I personally feel they are a 'give em a year' product at this point, we'll see what happens. With Crossmax SX out there about the same price theres no need to hurry, unless you have to have burnt orange ano wheels.

**mtnjam** · 11-05-2009, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

Let me know when you need one.

still gotta somehow get a demo ride in on one of these up here in potato land. I'm still on the fence between medium and large

**pechelman** · 11-05-2009, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

unless you have to have burnt orange ano wheels.

those would match dave's gloves

**Rontele** · 11-05-2009, 12:16 PM

Rontele does agree. Its a sick sick sick bike.

**skiergirl** · 11-05-2009, 12:28 PM

Great shots! I wish we had trees that changed pretty colors in the Bay area... Though I'm enjoying the grass turning green again.

I have a friend putting the endorphin/iodine combo together at this moment. He demoed a bunch of bikes and is pretty stoked on it.

Arghh! Still so pissed I missed the Sea Otter promo! Heard about it after the race. Every time I see a set of those iodines...

**marshalolson** · 11-05-2009, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

With Crossmax SX out there about the same price theres no need to hurry, unless you have to have burnt orange ano wheels.

they are without question a stiffer, better riding wheel than the sx - in my opinion. dude, you really should get dell to let you ride a pair.

**givethepigeye** · 11-05-2009, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by flowtron's ghost

With Crossmax SX out there about the same price theres no need to hurry, unless you have to have burnt orange ano wheels.

FWIW - I must admit the color was the attraction - been nothing but happy w/ mine on the 575. As true today as the day they came out of the box 8 months later. YMMV.