I'm No Retro Grouch! Sweet Rides: Entry #15

I'm no retro grouch!

Well, at least that's what I have to tell myself sometimes. Telling myself sometimes, because, I have to convince myself I'm not! Hahaha

I have strong opinions in cycling. I have staunch beliefs as to what is good with cycling and what isn't and I have a very strong hatred for what I believe to be marketing tripe: and there's a lot of that right now.

Here however, with this example, it is a fine example of all that is well in the world. Those who read my posts somewhat regularly (or at least as regularly as I post) will know of my penchant for steel, but this freaking sick ride gets me tempted to jump ship!

Built by my buddy James at Blackwell Cycle (or on Facebook), I watched this ride come together and waited with bated breath. It's the one upside to owning your own shop that's for sure. I watched as each part would arrive and be laid out on the bench or hung off the frame in advance of the next component's arrival. The intent James had was to build himself up one hell of a fine hardtail and one that would not only stand the test of time and be race ready but, also, be extremely worry and maintenance free. Nice job!

He jumped back into the less plush world after years on a full squishy; choosing an as-plush-as-possible full carbon Rocky Mountain Vertex as a base for his build. Clearly with the component selection he made, "feathery" was going to be a word associated with this new build of his.

RaceFace Next SL carbon cranks mated with SRAM XX1 shifter, derailleur and cassette make for one sick combination. That damn cassette alone is a fine piece of art and needs to be seen to be appreciated. Ridiculous!

I snapped these photos and it was tough to take a bad shot. The silly thing is so damn nice. Of course James can't take "all" the credit. Rocky Mountain did a fine job too with the frame graphics in my opinion. Just enough colour to make the bike pop out there on the trail but not so much that it's all flash. Fit and finish is very nice and this bike has a nice aggressive racey geometry: there is no doubt. I wan't to race it..................bad.

James also, by choice (and tastefully I might add), kept everything RaceFace.

He wanted to keep with that Rocky Mountain/West coast tradition. Pieced together with RF stem, carbon Next seat post and matching RF carbon Next bars, his mission was a success and did the bike worlds of good.

A DT Swiss OPM O.L 100 fork softens the front end and the latest offerings from Time (XC8 carbon) secure the feet in place. The textbook Odi lock-ons (why anyone would ever go with anything else I'll never know) for the trouble free secure grip no mater what the conditions and Maxxis Ikon tires keep the ride on track in the slick stuff. To finalize the controls, James slapped on some Hope Race Evo X2's (the lightest Hope has to offer) and they finish this thing off right. They absolutely belong on this bike. 

All told, as built with everything you see in the pics, the bike weighs in at a mind-blowingly light 20.08lbs. That's right. Before he put the pedals on, it was sub 20lb mountain bike capable of full on race conditions. That's sayin' something.

How can anyone be a retro grouch when time, engineering, and sure, a bit of cash, gets you numbers and beautiful lookers like that??

I still love my steel rides but I'll tell you what, I'd throw my leg over this freaking thing any time of the week!

Sick bike, James. Nice f#$%ing job!

Fall Ride After a Crazy Schedule.

Just a quick entry today since I finally managed to get out and we took a few shots during our loop.

It's been a ridiculously long time since I was able to turn any cranks (aside from a few commutes). My work schedule was INTENSE as of late. I'd been working 13hr night shifts straight through since August 13th right up until mid October. There were a scant number of days off - maybe 4 or 5 in two months. It was insane but we got through it.

Any days off were quickly (and obviously) filled with chores to catch up on and hanging with my kids who were missing me dearly. I can assure you, that feeling was mutual.

Now that life and workload are back to normal, I have time again to make a few things happen. The other day, I called a buddy James and off we went for some fall riding. I hate fall but I enjoy riding in it.

A pre-ride shot taken by my buddy. I missed my bike. I was dying to roll.

Once we rode in, the colours were intense in some areas and the lighting was perfect. The sun popped in and out of the clouds and all was wet so this helped to really make the colours contrast and pop. Especially in the more dense areas.

There, when the sun hid, the blackened bark of the pines contrasted beautifully with the rust coloured trail and its green coloured edges. I didn't capture a good pic of that because every time I reached for the camera, the sun would pop out again! GRRRRR...... missed out on that.

I did capture this in the more leafy, less dense part of the trail though. Gives you a good idea of some of the glorious colour to be seen.

The ride was wet and quite slick since, below the layer of wet leaves was a rain-soaked, saturated trail just waiting to catch you out. We were rolling some pretty low pressures. I did go down and slide a fair distance through some sticky gumbo. This, after my front wheel washed out on one of a billion hidden wet roots. Serves me right though. I was getting complacent on a flowy downhill section. No harm done though. The bike and I both slid for a bit before coming to a stop half off the trail. As you know, always better to slide than to come to any abrupt stops.

Thick gumbo is quite good at dissipating energy!

Got up, mud-soaked on my right side and laughed a minute or two. The bike was fine too so all was good: great in fact.

I missed this stuff and I didn't even begin to know just how much until I got out there. I missed the trails, my bike, chatting with my buddy, the unique challenges of riding in the fall, the smells, sights and sounds - all of it.

God damn. That was good stuff.

June?? Wow.............June. Sweet Rides: Entry #9

I surfed into the blog after a long hiatus and only now realized just how long it has been. I can't say that it was laziness entirely that has kept me from coming up with a new entry but a busy life, a crashed laptop (housing all my "Sweet Rides" photos) and *gasp* actually getting out riding and racing my bikes have all been contributing factors as well.

I was, however, pleased to discover upon my return here that there were a couple of comments that I hadn't seen before which tells me that there are a few who occasionally swing by and read! Even if it's only once, perhaps this is your first time here, I'm very flattered and I thank you for that! Certainly makes me want to come back and continue these entries; even if I am the only one who ends up reading some of this stuff.

The other thing that pulled me out of my hibernation was the spotting of this stellar ride.


It's a custom Engin (Engin Cycles) that blew my mind and the parts hanging from it is exactly what I’ve been trying to get through in my messages of “Sweet Rides”.

I absolutely LOVE that the owner, who probably spent a relatively large sum of cash for some stuff, like the frame for instance (one would have to assume as we all know what "custom" costs), but balanced it all out with some "budget" stuff as well. Smart! I don't want that to sound sarcastic either. I want to be clear: I'm a big fan of components that work; regardless of cost. Wether they cost a week's wages or just what is in the average wallet at any given moment, they just have to work. It's a real thing of beauty. Smartly done! I don’t mind spending a small fortune for stuff if it’s going to work (I have and still do) but I’m not too stuck up to feel I have to buy the best shit for my bike “just because”.

A custom Engin frame with some older gold colored Race Face Turbine cranks (at least that’s what they appear to be in the pic I came across) setup in my favorite 1X9 configuration..........YUM! The owner also spec’d it with some mechanical Avid disc brakes which is sure to provide consistent stopping power when he/she needs it.

Believe me, I know, to a bike snob this may seem distasteful or maybe even a crime to the most discerning, but, to me, it makes good sense! It is in my opinion that this bike was assemble by someone "in the know". I too have done similar things to my rides; most recently, to my Niner.

For example; I ditched my billion dollar hydraulic Avids and went with a set of BB7 calipers teamed up with some Paul Love Levers for a good, working, trouble-free brake system. No need to worry about it anymore - at all. I was sick and tired of the problems I was having and frustrated with the time I was wasting repairing them or having to adjust to inconsistent performance as opposed to riding. I won’t even get into the time they failed on a descent and almost killed me. I know that not all hydraulic brakes are poor performers and I know that, on average, they are far more powerful than mechanicals, however, consistency plays a huge role in happiness when it comes to brakes so ditching the “top-of-the-line” brake offerings from Avid for a more consistent performer was a no-brainer for me.

“Most expensive” doesn't always mean “best” but, I digress, this isn't about me, my opinion in brakes, or my choices. This is about this fantastic bike. Whether it was by choice, or the parts selection was based on budget, or, perhaps, a bit of both, the bike is outstanding and definitely deserves a place in the blog in my opinion.

Other details like the gold colored hubs, top cap, King headset, quick releases and housing tie the Engin decals in beautifully. On their own, brown and gold would not be a color I’d consider but seeing this bike together makes me think I’d have been missing out!! God damn! What a beauty!

The Engin seat post (with brown accents) capped with that beauty of a brown saddle is just another nice touch which cemented this ride’s place in the blog. Engin’s beauty of a frame, with its bent top tube and arched seat stays screams “all-dayer” as much as it does eye-appeal.

Beauty!!

I'll try to submit another post in quicker time next time.

Cheers to those who are/have read.

Please submit any bikes you feel should be featured (especially now that my old laptop self destructed) to skabikes at hotmail dot com