First Impressions...Giant Anthem XO

With the snow arriving later than usual in Whistler this year the trails have been painstakingly slow to open up this season. After numerous salt and grit road rides this spring, I finally got the new bike into some singletrack. I have to say, in the dozen (or so) mountain bikes I have owned over the years the Giant Anthem XO is easily the best first ride on record. Right out of the box it feels like it's dialed in and the Maestro Suspension is absolutely plush. This bike is built to go fast up and downhill and I am stoked to test its limits as the weather improves and more of the fine Whistler singletrack becomes snow free. Here's to hoping the rider is as fast as the bike!

Mega XC Ultimate!

Connor Macleod, fresh off the plane from San Fran and already making business calls. Looks like his CapU business degree is making dividends. Fully kitted out, in fresh Steed steez its good to have Connor back out on some trail rides.

Tristan Olk enjoying a refreshing cuppa joe from the one and only Bean Around The World coffee shop. A little caffeine never hurt to prepare for another round of xc action. The wonderful people at Bean take their coffee as seriously as we take our riding. Thanks for always being there to fill the empty tank.

An xc ride on the North Shore is never complete without a couple ladder-bridge rides. Don't let the excessive Lycra fool you, Connor is showing us how its done on the Giant Reign 0. The conditions couldn't have been much better on the North Shore that day.

How sweet it is. Its not just the riding, or the bikes, or the fresh green spandex kit, its the good times had with friends. Recapping the the days events, Tristan, Brett, Connor and I soaked up the warm sunlight at the end of an epic day of "xc" on the shore. This ride was so complete I couldn't have asked for a better day on the bike. Going out for a couple shuttle laps later made me appreciate what these all-mountain bikes can do. From gear grinding climbs to steep and deep, technical descents these bikes never says never. And most importantly you are riding the bike the whole time. The Reign continues to impress!

At the end of the show we replenished our energy stocks with an ice cold refreshing beer. Gotta get those carbs back! Can you think of a better way of spending an afternoon?...exactly.

Brought to you by Steed Cycles, Giant Bicycles, spandex clothing, the north shore trails, Bean Around The World cofee, beer, and good friends.

-Scott

Trail Day May 10th

The New Jackal

The Jackal is Santa Cruz' pit bull dirt jump and street ripper. Its a stout little hardtail frame, but in the past generation was too bulky and heavy for what today's generation of smashalete's are looking for. There are some great new features like 15.3" chainstays, 12.8" bottom-bracket height, and a low 4.5" headtube.
Here's a happy Alex Janin, our first proud owner of the new Jackal frame. He's replacing and previous Jackal frame. The full build will be a nice one!

-Scott

I Predict a Promising 2010

..And here's why. Hotter than the Whistler bike park line-up in full body armor is the 2nd generation prototype of Giant's 2010 Reign X! The Current Reign X bikes from Giant have been known for their ability to to pretty much do it all. Thanks to Giant's renowned Maestro suspension system the bike pedals up, down, and all-around like Sherpa on speed. What makes it so much fun is that with 6.7 inches of plush travel, and confident angles it can be pointed down the gnarly downhill and freeride runs as well. All-mountain defined.

The main goal with the re-modeling of the Reign X for 2010 was to reduce weight while maximizing strength and stiffness. Check out pinkbike.com for more details on your next years love affair. You might want to keep an ice-pack close by to cool things down as this thing is HAWT!

-Scott

GOTTA Love It!

New clothes, new bike and a new season.

NEW BIKE
Ok, the new bike is on the top of the list as the best new thing. I’ve been suited up with Giant’s new cross country bike the Anthem XO. Looks super hot with the white, light gray and vibrant blue (matching blue front fork and rocker link), this bike definitely stands out. Climbing has become easier because the bike weighs in at approximately 24 pounds. Crazy! With the Anthem XO, you get a sweet looking, top spec'd, 4 inch full suspension technical XC bike.

NEW CLOTHES
What is that swishing sound? That would be my new shorts. Over the winter I have been wearing layers and layers of clothes and yesterday was the first ride that the chamois hit the seat in a long time. The difference between new and old shorts is really unbelievable. Updating your cycling wardrobe makes for a happy bottom.

NEW SEASON
The weather has finally turned around. I think spring is here and the trails are in great condition. Sticking to the training plan sometimes becomes difficult at times like these, the sun is out the trails are buff and I’m suppose to go for a short ride at easy intensity! What! You run into friends on the trail and that short easy ride turns into a lengthy fun fest with lung busting technical climbs that you have to clear. Maybe it’s the new bike, maybe it’s the new clothes but heading home early is not always easy.

The first BC Cup race is coming up soon. Only a few more weeks, and the calendar becomes packed with races for the next three months. See everyone in Roberts Creek on May 9th for the Rat Race http://www.racetheratrace.ca/

North Shore XC

Who says you can't XC ride on the North Shore? Take 5 minutes to see what Mike Traslin and Dave Norona were up to on this past Easter weekend. Mike is on his new Giant Anthem X2!

Carbon Blur LT

Take our beloved all-duty trailbike, the Blur LT, complete with 140mm of plush, sophisticated, no maintenance VPP suspension. Now, make the frame a pound lighter, make it several orders of magnitude stronger and stiffer, make it out of carbon fiber. Don't candy-ass out and make just a carbon front triangle, make the whole bike out of the stuff, and use a proprietary one piece molding process that ensures maximum strength and minimal weight.

The result? The strongest bike we have ever built, bar none. It's a nimble, fast climbing, flex-free, confidence inspiring, trail bombing demon of a bike. Build it up however you want - there are no weight restrictions or fork travel limits to worry about - then ride it hard as you dare. Try to refrain from cackling like a madman in the process.

-Santa Cruz

Golden Road Ride

Today was another gorgeous day in "Frisco". I wonder if bladed spokes like on my Ksyrium ES's  are popular here b/c it has been incredibly windy here everyday - so much so that I had to hold onto my bike while taking these photos or it would have launched into the Golden Gate. Its really cool how in 40 mins you can ride from the downtown core to Marin and feel completely removed from the city. 

Looking back on the Golden Gate

Rockin the new kit

That's it that's all

California Stop

Today Diane decided to take me on the "Paradise loop" just a quick 3:30 hour ride from the Bay Bridge, over the Golden Gate and into some of the most awesomest road biking that Ive ever experienced, and the experience didn't stop there. I was eager to shed a few layers off the hot new Steed kit, to soak up the sun - so I traded in the green and white arm warmers in for a pair of hot new red ones! Check em out they fit like a glove!

After stopping in Sausalito for a delicious coffee and almond cake we started our ride back to the Golden Gate Bridge; however, no ride is complete with out a run in with the Police, the American Police - they don't #$%^ around. Being in Cali, I thought I was a law abiding Canadian adopting the "California Stop" - apparently not so much. After cruising through my five hundredth stop sign I hear WOOP WOOP. I looked back thinking big #$%^'s popping and.... nothing so I continued hammering the Masi 3vc up the hill. Cresting the hill, a 5-0 cruiser pulls up beside and I hear "you! pull over next lights!" Im thinking wtf? maybe I dropped something? 

Next thing I know, Ive broken at least 2 laws and am about to be fingerprinted and spending the night on Alcatraz, the cop wasn't playin' round. Luckily Diane rolls up thinking I'm asking the cop for directions,  and helps cool the rapidly escalating Cali stop situation.  Women always have a way of smoothing things out - apparently I'm a tourist who was just enjoying the scenery and missed the stop sign - ya that's right.  

In the end Mr. Officer had his moment of fame and realized there is bigger fish to fry like the Ram 3500 that was swerving lanes doing 80 down the country road, luckily we saw that nob pulled over round the corner with about 5 cops. 

All in all the road biking was great, the cops are serious, and the Cali stops are not so much. 

Custom Blades

With the BC Bike Race consisting of 7 days of pedal pounding single-track Kim thought that his pinner torso might not be able to push the standard wheels that come on his Giant Anthem X1. The decision was made to build up a set of custom blades. Enter the sub 300 gram! Stan's Race rims.
The light, and dependable DT Swiss 240s hubs were perfect for the 7 days epic race. Stainless steel bearings keep things rolling without a worry of corrosion. This wheel package is crazy light, and with the Stan's rims you can run any tire tubeless. The Weight for these pizza slicers was sub 1400g! some quarter-pound lighter than Mavic's Crossmax SLR disc.

Hopefully Kim can manage to keep these baby's spinner for all 7 days of the BC Bike race.

-Scott

NSMB review of Santa Cruz Driver8

Hey everyone here is the "Test Shot" I put togther for NSMB. Expect some tasty eye candy from Derek Dix for the second review comming up soon.

http://nsmb.com/page/s/2938/test-shot-santa-cruz-driver-8/

Whip of the week

2000 Chrysler Cirrus LX

This is my new whip 

pros

24,000km

mint condition

white

decent sound

2.4 dohc

cons

Chrysler

Chrysler

Chrysler

Roam The Loam

PRESS RELEASE:

We've all been waiting to get back on our bikes after the long winter months. In celebration of this new riding season the students of the Capilano University Mountain Bike Operations Program are hosting the inaugural Roam the Loam: Sunshine Coast Bike Festival.

This two day bike festival will include a trail building session and film night, followed by a day full of activities ranging from the unveiling of a new trail to a jump jam. There will be lots of swag and prizes for participants. Everyone is encouraged to pull out their bikes from storage and come out to ride. Nothing to ride? Kona will be there with a demo fleet of bikes, so if you're looking for a new rig for the upcoming year this is a great time to come and try some of the sweet bikes that Kona has to offer.

Roam the Loam will be taking place at the Sprockids Bike Park in Gibsons, BC on Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th, 2009. So if you're looking for a good alternative to Sea Otter, head to Gibsons for a stellar weekend of biking fun.