.. a serious question- why do all the 4x/DH teams race carbon bikes? Easier to repair, still lighter material (or cheaper to make carbon bikes in Taiwan, and they can push trickle down technology as a selling point in their non-WC bikes)? I'm just curious why they chose carbon over Ti when these bikes are built without any budget in mind.

Carbon allows them to build super stiff bikes at a reasonable weight. It might only take a pound or 2 off the weight of a bike, but since they can use bigger tubes, monocoque designs, and optimize the carbon layup they can make the frames far stiffer than any metal bike. A stiffer frame enables the bike to hold more aggressive & faster lines and lets the suspension work better. And if one of the factory pros breaks a frame they just pull out a new one from the truck.

I can say with roadbike fit, I expect all of my numbers to be met precisely by the frame of choice. Much of this has to do with the nature of handling the terrain its designed for, and the long periods of repetitive motions involved.

With mtb's I still want the right sized frame, but there is a lot more leeway. In terms of fit a custom mtb frame has little benefit for my needs, so its value over a production bike will rest on what it brings to the table in terms of suspension design and handling.

So Ian and I got back out to Fort Rock today for a little cold weather ride through the woods. Much fun was had with one exception. We saw a hunter on the trail actively hunting. Not cool. While I don't wear brown when I ride I don't (or didn't) wear blaze orange either. You have to understand, much of what we're riding here is within a mile of one major highway and several residential areas and major secondary roads. From where we saw the guy you could see traffic on the highway through the trees. WTF? Anyway, something bright and orange will be procured. Other than that the bike performed very well. If I hadn't had a minor off causing me to put a foot down in a puddle during mile one I'd have loved the whole day. As it was my foot was fairly frozen after the loop despite wringing my sock out before proceeding. We also tried a new section of trail called HIllzilla on the southern side of the loop. It was pretty freaken crazy. Much walking was done as there was no way I (or Ian) was going to try riding some of this stuff. We both agreed that a video of the loop needs to be taken at some point. We also agreed that next spring is going to be a lot of fun.

Ride Data

Screen cap from the short video that Ian shot of me acting like a 10yr old.

The vid isn't that impressive but holy shit this section of the trail is a lot of fun.

[edit]Wow, Raffy, those were some sweet bikes to take a spin on. Not sure I'd want to do that for the pain of knowing what could be.

Isn't it so much more fun to go 5 miles in an hour in the dirt than 20 on the road?

**BRENT**

Isn't it so much more fun to go 5 miles in an hour in the dirt than 20 on the road?

**BRENT**

It's entirely different and I enjoy both.

So I may be a little biased. I'm glad that bike is working out for you. Let me know if you find a tent city if you're riding in the woods just off a major road. I found a trail after I took off down a rocky road once. Turns out it was an unofficial campground. Sometimes it's crazy what lurks just beyond those trees you fly by at speed.

Good luck tracking down the right color of orange for the helmet/jersey combo!

**BRENT**

Great pic, Nate!

^This!

Awesome!

Me: Another weekend without any riding. I hate this damn cold.

Awesome Nate!

It's going to be in the 50's for the next few mornings. I need to pick up some arm warmers today.

No riding this weekend (or actually work today.) I got the bug the girls had. Feel like crap. My last ride was my short commute to work this past Thursday.

Great pic, Nate!

4x!

That looks like a nice area to practice those. Indeed to get out again on the trails. We had a blast last time.

Looks like a great time Nate. I am pissed that this DeQuervan's Tendonitis is still nagging me. Not very painful, but it is so slow to completely go away, that I don't want to risk riding and making it worse.

Mike:

Here's a bike for you... don't remember your size but I think this is close. You could be riding Chris' (DH) bike's father (or grandfather)

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=118691&highlight=lemond

That is pretty sweet. I think I saw that when it was originally listed. I emailed DeSalvo this morning to go with a Ti road frame. He is getting me an Enve 2.0 fork, which I have on my Gunnar, for close to cost. I wanted to have it painted the color of the bike.

Mike:

Here's a bike for you... don't remember your size but I think this is close. You could be riding Chris' (DH) bike's father (or grandfather)

http://forums.thepac...ighlight=lemond

Pretty amazing that that bike was made in the early '90s.

25 year warranty I'm checking my tracking number 3x a day....

Mike I think you made the right call. I did my fork through Calfee too for the exact same reason.

Edited November 19, 201213 yr by Dreadhead

I haven't been around in a while given that with the season here in NY is getting shorter and colder by the day I haven't had much to contribute other than to mention that some of the photos and rides that you all have posted look really great! I finally have something small to add which is that I've got some different parts to hang on the Kirk and the Bridgestone. The Kirk will be getting a Force compact crank for a while and the standard road crank will go on the shelf for a bit as I'm hoping to keep my knees together and I'm just not up to doing some of the hills these days with a 39 up front. The Bridgestone is getting Deda bars and stem along with some 10 speed bits to bring it into the present. That bike has been 8 speed friction for a long time so it'll be decent once things come together.

Picked this one up on the local classifieds. I haven't decided how I want to build it up yet.

Also, anyone know how to pronounce "Dedacciai"? Cause I sure as hell don't.

Da da chee aye

http://www.pronouncehow.com/english/dedacciai_pronunciation

Edited November 20, 201213 yr by swt61

Parris, most of us don't have much to contribute, but that never stops us.

How's the Kirk been for you now that you've had it for a bit? I didn't even get on the waiting list until last day (or close) of June, so I'm looking at Spring just to get things started.

Areius, I know zip about mountain bikes, but I hope that's one you'll like once you get it the way you want.

Hey Vicki You guys for the most part seem to be doing a fair amount of "stuff" when it comes to the hobby from where I sit:).

I'm playing around a little bit with the position on the Kirk but that's just the process that happens with me when I get a bike and not a reflection on that bike in particular. It's little things like adjusting saddle angle, saddle fore/aft position, and handlebar height. things are very very close at this point which is a good thing. It doesn't seem to matter how well I measure bikes and such there's always some adjustment.

The bike is lively with a good amount of "jump" when I get on it. The mix of tubing along with the design and the Terraplane seat stays allows the bike to have the best of both worlds as far as ride. I continue to be impressed by how the Terraplane option lets me carve higher speeds on corners with bad and rough pavement. one of the things that's nice is that when I do lay it into a corner it doesn't try to climb out or fall into the turn. It holds the line nicely which actually took a little getting use to when compared to the Bridgestone which requires a little more input to change direction.

I know the want for the bike to be in your hands once the decision has been made. But the waiting period isn't really that long when compared to other types of custom items. The time also gives the time needed to figure out the components, wheels, bar, saddle, wheel/tire combo, and the toughest thing paint scheme. TAKE YOUR TIME with this last item. I waffled on going with white panels behind the builders logo and decided to save the money by not going with them and that's the one choice i should have done differently. To my eye the large block logo could really use some contrast to balance it out. Also don't let someone talk you out of components you may have in mind. If you want to go red go with red, DI2 go DI2 etc. saving a few hundred now may have you wishing that you went with your first choice a few years down the road. I asked Dave what he liked and had good luck with as I was coming from old school gear. What he said was that even the basic stuff that's out today is light years better than the stuff that he and I worked on back in our shop days and he was right. I couldn't believe how easy the bike went together. It really was silly in how easy it was.

If you've got particular questions about paint and that part of the process I'm happy to pm you with my experience good and bad.

Parris

On the truck for delivery a day earlier than the FedEx estimate

just in time to get some miles on it during the 4 day weekend!

Yup. It will definitely get built for pickup today or tomorrow which is awesome. I was worried that it was going to arrive too late and I'd have to wait until Friday. As a plus the weather is looking awesome!