24 Hours of Great Glen- Team Back Bay / Papa Wheelies, podium finishers!

Bottom row left to right, racers- "Papa" Dan Houston, Dakota Martin.
Top L-R racers Chris Rebula, Matt Fowler, Steve Jacques, Chris DeGrace, Dania Magri and being shouldered to the top place, Team Manager Rick Starry.

Just back from a successful and fun weekend racing mountain bikes at the 24 Hours of Great Glen at the base of Mount Washington in northern New Hampshire. This was my first ever 24 hour mountain bike race so I really had no expectations going in, other than expecting to suffer. The race course was fast, with some long downhill sections of fire road, making the roadie legs happy. I was able to put in some long hard efforts in these sections and sit up to recover just before the more technical climbs. 


Sponsored by Dan and both Back Bay and Papa Wheelies Bike Shops, we were fully stocked on fluids, energy food and bikes. I was racing the Stumpy 29'er test bike, and we had Chris Rebula racing our new 2012 EPIC Comp 29 test bike. Racer Matt Fowler rode a 2011 EPIC S-Works 29'er. We were all on Specialized mountain bikes in either 26 or 29 inch. 


A special thanks to industry friend James at Exposure Lights USA for setting up our team with lights, a couple of us already ride only these, the finest cycling lights on the planet, but the rest of the group was pretty psyched to check them out. We were well stocked on the super bright Exposure Diablo with single cell piggyback battery on the helmet and MaxxD on the handlebars. Of the two night laps we each did, we only had to charge up once and had more than enough fire power for the race and we were able to maintain daylight lap times thanks to the brightness of the Exposure Lights.

Out of two specific shop teams, we had two podium finishes. Our Coed five person team fought hard through the last lap to firmly hold third place in class after completing 30 laps, racing 249 miles, ascending 35,550 feet, and finishing 15th place overall.
 
Here is a link to our total stats- Team Back Bay - Papa Wheelies

Our two person duo Back Bay / Papa Wheelies - Warriors of Radness Part II team held on to their third place finish after an impressive 27 laps completed, racing 224 miles and ascending 31,995 feet on course. We can't thank our Team manager Rick Starry enough for wrenching our bikes, keeping us on time for the our next lap, feeding and hydrating us, and just for his impressive overall professionalism. Thanks Rick! To the rest of our support staff, Anne Marie, Ollie (grilled and buttery banana bread man), Roxy, and a few forgotten names, a big thanks to you all as well...

Other Back Bay Bicycles notables from the race. Shop Manager Mike Wissell, racing on the super strong four person BoLoco / Going Down Swinging team completed an impressive 36 laps on the course! They firmly took first place in the Men's Pro overall and first in class. I took a pull from Mike out on my last lap through some of those fire road sections and he was super fast, I held on for a couple of minutes as he faded into the distance, but what a help it was to grab his wheel for that short amount of time. Thanks, Mike!


The 2011 Queen of Dirt, Back Bay employee Lauren Kling, dominated the Women's Solo 0-39 age category and completed 14 laps, totaling 116 miles and climbing 16,590 feet on course. 

Friends of Papa Wheelies also racing and powered by Specialized Bikes and Exposure Lights, Rich Matthes and Rami El Rayess racing on the Foggy Goggle / NorEast Team also held a firm grip on their category for the team win.

This was a fantastic event, we all suffered a bit, but in the end, we all had great time out on our bikes. 

Here is  a look at one of our laps on course. Like most of my laps, I started the timer late after starting the lap. 

Thanks for reading!

Steve

2012 Specialized Dealer Product Launch- Mountain Bike Demo day.

After a morning where I needed more coffee than I would normally, I was ready for a few more product presentations. Actually, I wanted to hang around at breakfast a little more and watch the finish to that day's Tour de France coverage they were showing in the dining hall of the Monterey Convention Center. Instead, I filled a to go cup full of caffeine goodness and went up to the ATB/Kids presentation. After that, we were off to the Performance Mountain product overview. Surviving both of those and anxious to go ride bikes, I was in my room changing for the Mountain demo ride. All of the East coast dealers hopped on the shuttle bus headed to Toro Park in Salinas, about a 25 minute ride east from Monterey. Bike riding is fun!

 The 2012 S-Works EPIC 29'er.

One of my goals with the MTB demo was to compare the EPIC 29 to the Stumpjumper 29. Selfishly, so I can narrow down my choice for my next mountain bike investment, but also to be able to give a good idea on the different handling characteristics of both bikes to folks looking at purchasing either of these two bikes. 

The EPIC's handling is exceptional, it climbs very efficiently and also descends quite well. This bike made from Super-light FACT IS 11m full carbon with dedicated 29er geometry, PF30 bottom brackett (PF= press fit), of course, all the suspension pivots have sealed cartridge bearings. The rear frame dropouts are 142mm wide which make the bike handle great and keeps frame flex at the axle non-existent. The rear shock is a FOX shock made specifically and exclusively for Specialized and designed for this bike. It has the new Kashima coating on the shaft which helps reduce friction and provide longevity and durability. New for 2012 a special tune on the shock that delivers a seamless transition from efficient pedaling on smooth terrain to fully active on rough terrain. Providing the front suspension is the RockShox SID 29 fork with Specialized Brain inertia-valve damping and has 100mm of air-sprung travel. Specialized rolls this bike on the Roval Control SL 29 wheelset with carbon rims. They're wicked light, stiff, & durable. They climb and handle fantastic. For drive components it is spec'd with SRAM XX 10 Speed 2x10 gearing. It was plenty of low gearing for any of the climbing we were about to encounter.  

 Cows and Mountain Bikers always mix!

 

I rallied with a couple of other dealers I had become friends with while at this event so we could all ride together. Myself and another guy, Stu, out of the four of us, wanted to do the harder loop that Specialized had mapped out for us and so Tom and Scott just agreed to follow us. Little did they (or I) know how much climbing we would end up doing. Along the way, about half way up, we met up with these cows just grazing on grass, some in the middle of the trail. We don't see anything like this back east, but we just waited for them to move out of the way and off we went.

Monterey Bay can be seen of in the distance.

I'm a climbing junkie, some times I just can't get enough. So, while I was suffering from the self inflicted pain I was putting upon myself, I was giddy inside looking up at the remainder of the climb. Though not technically difficult terrain, it was quite steep and pretty warm out, so I was feeling it.

 We rode the grassy skyline ridge to the summit.

 Representing Papa in the West

Arriving at the summit, I found this high altitude cow just grazing.

1800 ft above sea level, prefect grains to eat here.

We figured out at the top of this really long climb that we had gone well beyond the route that was mapped out for the demo ride, but thankfully one of us had the map, which had the trails we needed to ride down. For a little bit, it was a "finger in the wind" approach to find our way back, but this just added to the riding adventure and gave us some sweet single track and a nice long descent to the Demo venue.

My second demo ride and first love, the 2012 S-Works Stumpjumper 29.

We eventually made it back with enough time to take another ride and I immediately took out the S-Works Stumpjumper 29'er. Within the first few feet of my ride, I just knew, the Stumpy is the bike for me! Everything about it, the seating position, geometry, superior handling, increased travel and more...This bike rips! I took the shorter of the two loops and had a blast! Great single track, desert/western style with a few good launcher jumps and some fun berm corners. This bike is just incredible and with the Specialized Purgatory and Ground Control tires mounted up on the Roval Control Trail 29 wheel set the hook up was mind-blowing! The 130mm travel Fox F130 shock was super plush and responsive mated with the all new proprietary to Specialized Remote Brain Auto Sag rear shock it allows for maximum pedaling efficiency and bump compliance.

This is my GPS track of the EPIC & Stumpy demo rides at Toro Park in Salinas, CA, courtesy of Strava (check them out).

Thanks for reading, I had a blast representing Papa Wheelies and Back Bay Bicycles at the event. I got to speak with Mike Synard after dinner on the last night and thanked him for having us and complimented him on a great team he has working under him, including us here at Papa's and Back Bay, as he said on the first day, "We are Specialized".  


Steve

Two Timer on a Twenty Niner

2011 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29 Test Bike.

Only recently have I exposed myself to the beauty of the 29'er bicycle. This post title says Two Timer because I'm feeling like I've been cheating on my regular old 26 inch wheeled bikes on the last Two Rides and because I have now done Two Rides on our 29'er test bike. Everything I'd heard and read about before actually trying the Big Wheels was all summed up quite nicely once aboard. Just Riding Along (JRA) in the parking lot of the shop on a few different bikes, was an instant attention grabber. They all felt incredibly stable and rolled nicely along.


Here at Papa Wheelies, we have two 29'er Test Bikes from Specialized, an EPIC Comp 29 in a large frame, and a Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29, medium frame size. I personally have a 2007 Stumpy FSR (26 inch wheel/ 5 inch travel bike) so I have been gravitating toward the Stumpy Test Bike, because it's in my size, but also because I like a little more travel than the EPIC has. I took sometime last week on a day off to ride some of my favorite trails at Mount Agamenticus, these are trails I know quite well and that I have been riding for a long time. I thought that would be the best way for me to compare the 29'er bike. Instantly, I was hooked as I climbed up Ring trail with ease, rolling over rocks and roots quickly and smoothly. What I noticed as I climbed up the switchback Horse trail was how less twitchy it was compared to my regular MTB. It seemed as if I could roll around the switchbacks more smoothly, where if I was riding my 26" bike, I might have had to do a bit more negotiating with my front wheel at every turn, using more energy in the process. The wheels and bike went directly to the position I pointed it, when and where I needed it, all my effort in pedaling making the bike propel forward.

 
As I summited the Big A, I looked forward to the descent toward Second Hill. I love to climb, but who doesn't love to go down hill too? As I started down Chestnut Oak I was absolutely amazed at the handling of the bike through big rocks & roots, into corners, flying with a smooth flow down the trail. Again as compared to my 26'er, I would have had to pre-jump and compress the suspension through a couple of sections to make it through smoothly at my acceptable rate of speed. Railing into some of the tighter corners, I could counter my body weight into the rear suspension, much like my 26, but even faster!  There's a rock drop/ roll off as you start the traverse over toward Second Hill that I've never felt totally positive about rolling over on my 26 inch Stumpy, I've always felt like I had to get way back off the saddle or even in some cases, I've walked down through it if the conditions were super slick or if it was really dark on some of my night rides. The 29'er just made me feel super confident going in that it was no big deal rolling down the rock and I did it with great skill, thinking to myself how much fun it was on this bike. 

Every question I asked in my head about the bike, I was given the answer in the handling and responsiveness of the bike. For example, as many riders who frequent Mount Aggie know, often times you'll be riding at a fairly quick clip and come into left a corner, through a stream and there's a rutted root section as you exit the water and corner. See pic below.

You can see at the far end of the stream the roots. On my 26 Stumpy, I would hit the first root and have to pull up hard on the front end to get my wheels to clear the roots better. With the 29 Stumpy, I was able to pop my front tire on top of the first root, along with my momentum I only had to apply a quick and easy pedal stroke and the wheel just rolled over the second root with minimal effort and less energy used. The rest of this first ride was pretty tame and I ended, feeling less "worked". 

My second ride on this bike was just the other night after a mostly rainy day. I was unsure how the bike would handle through slick rocks and roots and with other riders to influence the speed of the ride. As I reached the top of the first real technical climb on the Lime trail, I just knew the 29'er was/is for me. The whole ride I nailed the real technical climbs and rock/root sections. At the rides end, I felt great, not nearly as tired as I would have felt if I had been on my 26. Now one of the regular old 26 inch wheel bikes I own sits quietly up for sale to fund my next big bike purchase, some 29'er, bike model yet to be determined.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

Winter Clothing Sale

All Winter riding clothes and gear on sale now! Save 30% on all winter clothes!

We also have Cycleops Mag Trainers on sale, save $60! 
Stop into the shop and check out our selection of trainers and winter clothes.
 Warm gear you can use now!

Cycleops Mag Trainers

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