26 improvements

Just a few days after my Point One Racing Podium pedal-fail, a small box arrived from the Americas.

Its the 2014 Twenty6 Predator Pedal.

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Upon first inspection I had some trouble seeing where the improvements where, compared to the previous Predator pedal that I snapped, so I wrote to Twenty6 Components. Tyler, the man behind Twenty6 Components, told me that "On the supporting arms that come off from the center, I removed a few through holes and replaced them with counter bored holes." So there you go.

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2014 model, Ti-axle, alu-body and alu pins. The 2013 model was pretty much identical, coming in at 343g.

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Destroying pedals, is what I do best..

Seriously?

My second-generation Point One Racing Podium Pedal failed. Whyyyy!? 

But wait...

...Its as if I've been there before?

Lets take a stroll down the memory lane;

It started with the Superstar Components Mag Lite-Ti. The titanium-axle broke during a ascend.

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Invested a bit more money, and got the first-generation Point One Racing Podium Pedal. After a year of use, the body fell of the chromoly-axle one day.

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Invested even more cash, and got myself a pair of Twenty6 Predator Pedal Ti. The CNC shaped alu-body snapped during a jump-session - without drama if I may add.

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Why do these things happen to me? ....Im not FAT!

Review: FiveTen Diddie Schneider

FiveTen hasn't made a shower proof shoe yet, well that's until recently. Meet the Diddie Schneider FiveTen shoe.

Providing loads of protection, albeit a bit bulky, the 5.10 Diddie Schneider shoes are surprisingly comfortable. Initially developed due to a demand of a trail-builder-shoe, the Diddie Schneider shoe is constructed from the ground up to provide the best protection and traction while building. This comes at a price however, the grip on platform pedals is not as good as, say, the FiveTen Freerider VXi -and that's something to consider. The grip on the ground however (soil, loam etc) is noticeable better than most FiveTen shoes - that's the good news. The shoe itself is beefy; thick, heavy duty, with a stone-hard toe cap; this shoe means business.

I have been using this shoe in heavy rain, snow, mud, and everything in-between, and the only way this shoe got slightly wet was from the opening crack at the top where the foot goes in. Otherwise this shoe stays comfortably dry. Lastly, its worth noting that these boots oozes quality, they have a solid feel, and I have no doubt that they can take a beating, and wont fall apart anytime soon. 

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At 1150g these are definitely among the most heavy FiveTen shoes. In comparison, the FiveTen Freerider VXi are 855g

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Good luck getting wet feet.

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Having these shoes in your hands for a few minutes, and you are left with a feeling that these shoes are of a higher quality. Good job FiveTen.

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If you are making a first entry into a platform pedal specific shoe, then i wouldn't recommend the Five Ten Diddie Schneider. If you are like me however, riding in rain and snow, and want a more specific shoe for those days, or if you are into trailbuilding and want a FiveTen shoe with a bit more grip on the ground, and some added protection, then you should definitely consider the Diddie Schneider model.

The Good:
-Can take a good shower
-Good for snow as well
-Very protective
-Grip is good on ground (Considering this is a FiveTen shoe)
-Comfortable
-Quality all the way

The Bad:
-A bit bulky
-Not the best grip on pedals among FiveTen shoes

4/6

Solving a luxury problem

A little DH oriented post this time around.

The luxury problem:

My BOS Stoy RaRe is tracking the ground too good. Its probably a downhillers wet dream, but for me its an annoyance. I want my rear end to be playfull and easy to pop, and that's just not possible with the BOS Stoy RaRe, no matter how I tweaked it.

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The Stoy RaRe had to go:

267x90mm with mounting hardware, coil size bs_250_100_190, for those of you who are into weight numbers:

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The solution:

Cane Creek Double Barrel Air CS. Problem solved.

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267x90mm with mounting hardware.

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But why Cane Creek, and why the CS version?

Well I would have preferred a RockShox VIVID Air to be honest, but they are not produced in the obscene size of 267mmx90mm. CCDBACS is. The CS version is appealing to me because the dials are reworked; no more need for that stupid special-tool in case you want to add a single click of rebound. I obviously don't expect to use the CS feature on a downhill bike, but switched off, the shocks functions as a normal CCDBA. (CS stands for Climb-Switch, and adds compression and rebound with a flip of the switch) 

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A little snow, a little post.

Tiny update this time around. While its definitely been the warmest winter in several years, some snow did fall. Luckily its already melting away. I miss my usual trails, so its fine by me ; )

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For those of you who still have a whole lot of snow be sure to check out my review of the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro HERE.

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Most Wanted 2014

The mtb scene has alot going for it, and the evolution of gear has never been as fast and rapid as it is right now. Its a great time to be a mountain biker, I love gear, so I salute it all. 

2014 is going to offer alot of new interesting product; a new body-armor company (7IDP) two brand new AM forks from DVO and Manitou and a few things based on the rumor mill as well.  

I took a look at whats interesting for 2014, and why you should keep an eye on it. Its also a list of whats WANTED for 2014, take a look;

Evil Uprising 
Whats not to like about the Evil Uprising? Very low, and ultra slack, strong, ISCG tabs, lightweight, adjustable and stiff. This is definitely a frame I would feel at home at. But wait! Its not 27.5" you say!
You are damn right its not. Its 26 inches of EVIL.
(Evil is also working on a new bike called Insurgent, its a 170mm'ish AM bike, but I'm afraid we are talking 2015/2016. You read it here first!)

7IDP Armor

Doing things differently are one of the things that made me celebrate the body armor products of POC, a few months back. 7IDP is doing exactly the same; thinking outside the box, innovating, using exotic materials, and THINKING. They are not new to mtb products either, so this is definitely a brand you should be watching.

Next Gen AM forks

Oh, I'm not talking about the pike, I'm way ahead of the Pike actually. What catches my interest, is the next generation of AM forks from people with big ambitions. Forget Rockshox and FOX for a while. Take a look at DVO and their Diamond fork, or the Manitou Mattoc, or the CaneCreek AM-Fork (yes, its existence is actually confirmed in an interview). These forks will be tailored for aggressive riding, and DVO and Manitou already confirmed that they will be sharing a very strong genetic with their DH forks. This might open up for a new kind of performance, where mid-travel, sticktion, end-travel control, and overall damping will be the pinnacle of importance for these manufactures. Bring it, and change the way AM forks are performing.

Bonus: Coast Gravity Park

Yet another excuse to visit the Vancouver area, again. Ill keep it short; The Coast Gravity Park is being built by one of the most experienced crews in the mtb world. And if you recognize any of these guys, you are sure to be exited as well. I don't expect to hit it in 2014, but man, it sure is on my wishlish for the future!

Random Stuff

Random stuff. Pedals, jumps, anthills, and fallen trees.

After my Predator pedal fail, I've dusted off the Crampon Mag, and decided to give it a go again. One of my gripes was the lack of grip (compared to the predator), so what I did now was to remove 3 pins on each side (a total of 12 pins) to allow more weight-per-pin. Initial impressions a cautiously optimistic. Stay tuned.

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Testing 2 new jumps. 

I thought I've seen some pretty big anthills, but this one rises above the rest with its 1.7m (5.5 feet) height.

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Christian dropping in, with some goodly light behind him : )

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Mr Madsen in action.

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A massive storm has re-decorated the forests around here. Pretty much every single line has been impacted to some degree. Try riding this trail path..

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Another new jump undergoing some testing, the kicker (not visible) is long and steeeeep. Stay tuned..

Bad news. Good news.

The Bad news:

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The Good news:

Tyler Jarosz (the man behind Twenty6 components) contacted me directly, and told me that he got me covered. I will get a new improved pair asap.

Stay tuned. And read more about this pedal here.

Lost Pics of 2013 Part 3/3

Last batch of lost pics of 2013, enjoy;

Being lucky with sun light. Henning posing in a omnipotent manner only makes this pic more interesting and fun.

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A improvised drop on a XC course, during a snowy time.

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Hitting the final jump on the very bottom of a freeride line in Malente. I remember that my '36 was underachieving, and it was sent to TF-tuned shortly after.

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Jan working his technical climb.

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The mini-train is hitting the church-line! I'm at the landing, Drea just departed.

That's it for this year!

Lost Pics of 2013 Part 2/3

Part 2 of forgotten or lost pics on my harddrive from 2013:

Drea hitting the Tree-Gap. All discussions whether you carry enough speed/height to actually pass the tree should hereby end ; )

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Snow-Braaaap

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Christian hitting a (then) brand new jump on his Spitfire. 

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Karl, aka Bender, on a descend on his full carbon GT force.

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Henning hitting a jump in Malente. Poor trailbike, you could almost hear it cry once in a while ; )

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Stay tuned for Part 3.

Lost Pics of 2013 Part 1/3

So its that time of the year. I take a look at whats left untouched on my hard-drive. We shoot alot of pics during the year, and obviously not everything is going to be published on this blog. There are however, a little gem here and there, pics that have a quality to it, whether its a good story, some sentimental value, or it might just be a really cool pic. For whatever reason, you can enjoy them in this 3-part post.

Lets start off with a pic that's almost a year old. Henning is in the middle of a snow session on frozen dunes, lit by the golden rays of the sun. Its about turning something you hate, into something that's fun. 

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Kim hitting the trail-gap on his Norco, the everlasting debate whether his bike can handle the impacts is always entertaining for the rest of us : )

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Putting the nose down (a little sideways) on a jump in Malente. What a fun place to ride, I hope to revisit soon!

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Sessioning usually involves a lot of push-pedal as well, this pic was taken fall '13, with me being complete unaware, in the middle of it. The contrast to the "twisted" nature around me made this pic interesting.

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Mr.Madsen, the only person on this planet that rides a SX in spandex :)

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Shot this pic in Yosemite, the half-dome simply looked breathtaking from this angle.

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