Archive for June, 2010

Giant Anthem X1 Review

By
Local Ride Bike Shop
 – June 28, 2010Posted in: Feature Products and Reviews, News, Rider Diaries

By Steve Devantier

This past weekend I was lucky enough to have a chance to demo the 2010 Giant Anthem X1, and I must say I was thoroughly impressed. I have been racing an older model Anthem for 3 years now. It’s seen me through 3 BC Bike Races and countless other rides, and has never let me down, but when I got on this demo bike I was ready to trade my trusty steed in for a newer model. Here are my thoughts.

The Anthem X1 sits third in Giant’s Anthem line, underneath the XX full carbon and the XO aluminum model. The Anthem is a 4 inch travel bike with a geometry that swings decidedly towards XC riding. The X1 comes very nicely equipped with a full XT grouppo including the wheels, and an upspec XTR rear derailleur. The suspension duties are handle by a Fox RP23 shock and a Rock Shox Sid Team. Giant’s in house aluminum bar/stem/seatpost round out the package. All in all, it’s a work horse build suitable for a bike in the sub $4000 price range; nothing fancy, but nothing that needs upgrading.

Shimano’s XTR Shadow Rear Derailleur and XT wheels don’t need upgrading

My chosen area of attack for this bike was a pre-ride of the Bear/Red Mountain XC course. It was a beautiful day and the course was in immaculate condition. Many thanks to the race organizer who was out prepping the course for next week’s race. For those that have not ridden the course, it starts with a 15-20 minute gravel climb at an easy pace. This is where I noticed the first standout quality of this bike. With the shock in propedal mode the bike felt amazingly light and quick to accelerate. The lightness comes from Giant’s tireless engineering. They were able to significantly reduce the weight of the new X1 over my older Anthem by removing all unneeded material from the frame and redesigning the lower shock pivot area. They called this design “co-pivot” and it essentially uses a single bolt to hold the shock and one side of the dog arm in place.

Fox’s Propedal RP23 shock is awesome! Notice the co-pivot design

As for the quick acceleration, I attribute that to the wheels. Shimano’s XT wheelset is light and smooth, and the non-UST Crossmark tires save approximately 500 grams a set over my tubeless Crossmarks. That’s a lot of rotationally mass. Am I going to jump off the tubeless band wagon and go for snappier acceleration? Not a chance. I was running the tires at 38 psi to avoid pinch flats. The higher pressure never caused me any problems, but the trail never pushed the tires to their limits either. If it had been a wet, slippery affair I have a feeling I would have been begging for the extra traction of tubeless tires. Plus the extra durability of a UST sidewall gives me piece of mind. With all this being said, the XT wheelset has a fully sealed rim making it tubeless ready.

As with any good mountain bike trail, after the climb comes the descent. And this was where I noticed the second standout area of this bike. Flick the propedal off and this bike tears down the rough stuff. It really feels like it floats over bumps, never bottoming out too harshly, while sitting you just far enough into the travel to give you a certain amount of plushness. You’ll never confuse it with an 8 inch travel bike, but you’ll be happy the next time you’re redlined in a race and you take that drop just slightly wrong; the suspension will soak up your mistake without complaint. I also like how Giant specs the Anthem X with 100mm travel forks. For us here on the west coast 80mm is just not enough sometimes, and as I found out this fall, swapping a fork can be expensive. I made the move to 100mm this year on my anthem, which is why the Anthem X impressed me so much. It only has half an inch more rear travel than my bike and yet it felt like more. Can’t put a finger on why, but I liked it.

100mm travel Rock Shox Sid Team

Now of course you can’t like everything about a bike, so here are my minor nit-picks that have more to do about personal preference than anything. The crank; as much as Shimano’s XT crank shifted flawlessly, it is that good, I missed my double. I am a recently converted 2 x 9 lover. I felt like I was alway just over-geared in the 32T middle ring, but I never wanted to shift into the granny ring. If you race, or ride at relatively high fitness level, I highly recommend going with a double. Another complaint I had was with the handle bar. I found it too wide for my liking. I know the trend is to keep going wider and wider, and for trail/freeride bikes that may be fine, but on XC bike you sometimes need to get through some tight spaces. I hit the bar on trees more than once, and riding over a ladder bridge with handle rails, the bar barely fit. This is easily fixed with a hacksaw. I also found the sweep to be a bit off, but that may have been the tilt. My last complaint was chain slap. I usually tape up my drive-side chain stay as soon as I get a new bike, so maybe that is why I noticed it, but I would constantly hear the chain hitting the stay. I think this is one of the reason I stayed out of my granny ring as well. Again an easy fix with a roll of electrical tape.

My finally thoughts; if you are in the market for a XC race to everyday trail bike you have to test out the Anthem X. The bike will not let you down. It’s climbing ability combined with the maestro suspension on the downhill makes this bike fun to ride just about anywhere. See for yourself, drop by Local Ride Bike shop and inquire about a test ride, you won’t regret it.

Tags:

Banff Stage Race

By
Local Ride Bike Shop
 – June 23, 2010Posted in: Rider Diaries

by Rachel Canning

This past weekend was the 3rd Annual Banff Stage Race. For the women, this consists of 4 stages: prologue, road race, time trial and criterium. The person who had the fastest cumulative time was the winner. Having done this race the previous year, I had a bit of an idea of what to expect, but with Road Nationals the following week in Edmonton, the field was much stronger, and at capacity with 50 racers! I was the sole Local Ride racer; however my teammate Julia was also there with me, but representing Team Saskatchewan.

Banff Stage Race

The race started Thursday evening with a 1.5km uphill prologue. I can only describe it as short, fast, and hard! The hill started off with a gentle grade, and then kicked up in the last 500m. The racers were treated to cool and wet conditions, with many competitors opting to warm up in their rooms. I went a bit too hard in the beginning, so by the time I got to the steep section my legs were screaming! I was a bit disappointed with my result, finishing 36th- 57 seconds back. Julia, who was suffering from a head cold, finished a respectable 29th. Two-time world champion Tara Whitten crushed the field, riding the course in just under 3 minutes, winning by over 11 seconds!

Next up was an 81km road race near Lake Louise. The weather really cleared up, leaving us with sunny skies and warm temperatures. The course was rolling, but nothing was much longer than a few minutes. With such a strong field, the pace was very high, and full of attacks. Nothing stuck, but several girls fell off the back. The last 10km was false flat, with a steeper final kilometre, where the group shattered. Alison Testroete pulled off the win. I worked really hard to stay with the lead group until the last 500m, where I just couldn’t hang on any longer! I finished 19th, 17 seconds back. This bumped me up to 27th in GC. Unfortunately, Julia was feeling pretty sick, so she didn’t start and was out of the race.

Saturday started bright and early, with a 21 km time trial. This is one of the tougher courses I’ve done. The first and last 3km are flat, but the rest is anything but! Long climbs followed by quick descends made this course exciting. I finished in 34:24, which was 45 seconds faster than last year, and good enough for 26th. Tara Whitten demonstrated why she is the current National TT Champion, and posted a time of 30:15, winning by 30 seconds!

The final stage was a 26 lap criterium, set in downtown Banff. The course was very challenging, with 4 90 degree corners and a 180 degree hairpin in the 800 meter lap. I did my best to stay with the lead group, but about halfway through the race a crash caused a split, and I was in the second group. My group worked very hard not to get lapped, and were the only ones outside of the lead group to finish the race. Leah Kirchmann took the win, while I finished 25th.

When it was all settled, I was able to crack the top half in GC, finishing 22nd, behind overall winner Tara Whitten. I was really pleased with this and felt that this was a great prep for Nationals. Thanks to everyone who helped me out and made this happen.

LRR – Test of Metal

By
Local Ride Bike Shop
 – June 21, 2010Posted in: Local Ride Racing

This past weekend saw Canada’s largest participation mountain bike race contested in Squamish. The Test of Metal annually draws over 800 weekend warriors and pros, and was a key race for some of the Local Ride Racing crew. The event was held in perfect conditions, and saw all 7 of the Local Riders that started the race finish with smiles on their faces.

Test of Metal – Pro Women’s Podium
(l to r) Sandra Walter, Catherine Pendrel, Catherine Vipond

Happiest of them all was Sandra Walter who was the 2nd woman to cross the line, trailing only the Canadian national mountain bike champion Catherine Pendrel. Sandra’s race started slowly, with her in seventh place at the one quarter mark, but she persevered and pasted all the other women except Catherine. Unfortunately one of those ladies was Local Ride’s Jean Ann McKirdy who had a rough day flatting twice. But in Jean Anniean fashion she fixed them both (even after losing her second CO2 cartridge on the trail), and rode the rest of the race with fellow Local Rider Paul Craig.

On the men’s side of the race, Local Ride’s top finisher was Steve Devantier followed closely by Ryan Newsome (less than one second behind). The pair fell short of the elusive sub 3 hour mark by 4 minutes, but were happy with their efforts. The post race conclusion from Steve was “I just have to ride a little bit faster on every part of the course, no problem….” We shall see what happens next year, can a Local Rider go sub-3?

Wrapping up the brick and blue’s efforts were Jeanine Ball and Sue Weston. In a show of gritty toughness Jeanine took a minute off her personal best time even after crashing hard half way through the race. A quick trip to the hospital to get the “flesh wound” cleaned up, plus a buffalo burger with yam fries and Jeanine looked ready to ride another 4 hours. Sue, competing in her 17th straight Test of Metal, came across the line with her normal ear to ear grin.

Finally a big thanks goes out to Marie and Hector for feeding. A 3 to 5 hour race would be much more difficult without an energy drink and some food. Their efforts were key to everyone’s success, so thank you.

Local Ride Results

CatGroupNameTime
618Steve Devantier3:04
419Ryan Newsome3:04
22Sandra Walter3:06
47175Paul Craig3:42
1313Jean Ann McKirdy3:42
925Jeanine Ball4:17
560Sue Weston4:58

Local Ride Racing is Proudly Sponsored by:

Nature's Sunshine LogoKicking Horse Logo
LR_logoTifosi OpticsCycles Lambert
Golden Ears PhysioSugoi Logomet_logo
Tags:

Get Ready for Summer

By
Local Ride Bike Shop
 – June 5, 2010Posted in: News

WeatherIt’s true, it doesn’t feel like summer is coming at all, but it’s best to be ready when the popular season finally arrives. On warm, sunny days, the most enjoyable form of transportation is cycling, so we’ve compiled a list of hot tips from the incredibly professional staff here at Local Ride to help you prepare yourself and your bike for all that summer riding you’ll be doing.

1. Load up on sunscreen and lip balm with SPF in order to stave off harmful UV rays when you’re cruising in the heat of the day. We recommend Aloe Up products, which are natural, biodegradeable and contain a large percentage of organic Aloe Vera. For centuries, people have used Aloe Vera Gel to soothe and heal dry, chapped skin after exposure to water, wind and sun.

Tifosi Dea

2. Find yourself some nice shades. Glare from the sun can harm your eyes, plus a sweet pair of sunglasses can go a long way in increasing your cool factor when you’re cruising the streets and trails of Maple Ridge. Tifosi Optics blend function and fashion in a reasonably priced package.

3. Hydrate! Make sure you keep yourself healthy by drinking lots of fluids this summer. We have lots of ways for you to stay hydrated, from Laken aluminum bottles (BPA free, sustainable, 100% recyclable) to Camelbak hydration packs. Plus, we have a large selection of energy drinks (Accelerade, GU Brew), electrolyte replacement options (elete electrolyte add-in and tablets, NUUN fizzing tablets – yum!), and bottle cages.

4. When it’s dry, choose a lightweight chain oil, such as Tri-Flow. “It doesn’t gunk up your drivetrain, and it allows the chain to spin freer,” says Mike the Mechanic.

Giant Simple

5. Keep things simple with a Giant Simple cruiser bike. These minimalist bikes are the coolest way to get around town this summer. With comfy and great looking men’s and women’s models to choose from in a variety of colours, you can’t go wrong.

6. Make sure your bike is running properly before you head out for your ride. There’s nothing worse than looking forward to the first bike ride of the season only to find you have a flat tire or your gears aren’t shifting right. Bring it in to Local Ride for a tune-up and you’ll be rolling smoothly and unfettered this summer. Pit stops start at $35.

7. Find a riding group or buddy! ‘The more the merrier’ applies to cycling for sure, so make sure you find a group of like-minded bikers to roll with and nail down some epic ride dates for those routes you’ve always wanted to tackle. Any ladies interested in our women’s road rides are invited to inquire at the store for info.

Sit Pretty with Selle Italia Saddles

Selle Italia

Selle Italia has been manufacturing saddles in Italy for over 100 years. The company has changed the saddle from a mere component of the bicycle into an integral part of the rider’s well-being. This innovative bicycle saddle manufacturer has a huge range of products to meet every rider’s needs, be it road, triathlon, or mountain biking, touring, commuting or just cruising. Each saddle is extensively engineered and designed, but it doesn’t have to come at a price. Get on a Selle Italia saddle at Local Ride starting at $34.95.