Ode to Aaron Danger Mecham

Show off!

Friday, April 29, 2016 at 1:00pm, The Bike Shoppe lost a valuable member of their family.  Aaron Danger Mehcam has decided to move on in his career, and he'll be missed.  In the short time he worked with us, he became a favorite of employees and customers alike.  We'll miss his witty remarks and his quirky humor.  We'll miss him giving meaningless details about artists as they come over the radio.  We'll miss his ability to remember every detailed spec of every product known to biking.  We'll miss riding with him (we've enjoyed some pretty epic adventures together)!  Thank you for the time you spent with us Aaron.  You've definitely had a positive influence on our lives, and we hope you'll remember us fondly.  We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.  We love you. 

The Bike Shoppe

Trying out the new Trek Madone in Wisconsin cornfields.

 

Tearing it up Enduro-style on his Yeti SB6.

...Always the best at impromptu strike-a-pose.

Don't ask...

Last day at work.  See you around amigo!

SRAM Red eTap

Every now and then something comes in a box so awesome that you decide you have to have it. SRAM Red eTap is that something. I've always been impressed by Shimano XTR and DuraAce packaging, but none of it compares to eTap. It is nice enough I've started planning out my next bike build, despite LOTOJA being my freshest memories on a road bike. (Man was not designed for that many hours on a bike saddle.)

 Some information about how eTap runs:

-The right paddle shifts the rear derailleur into higher gears.
-The left paddle shifts the rear derailleur into lower gears.
-You press both paddles at the same time to shift the front derailleur.
-You can swap batteries between the front and rear derailleur in case you forget to charge them. The derailleur will stay in the gear it was last in when the battery dies or is removed.
-The wireless technology it uses was created specifically for SRAM eTap. It relays signals instantly and can send multiple signals at once. Being able to send multiple signals at once means you can shift the front derailleur while shifting the rear.

Why does it even matter? The mechanical Red is lighter and less expensive. But it's not as cool. The benefit of electronic shifting is that your shifting is consistent, accurate, and extremely quick. The benefit of wireless is that it works well with any bike you add it to. Being a bike mechanic, this is a big deal to me. I've had numerous issues trying to get electronic cables and junction boxes to fit where they weren't meant to. Keeping cables in a good position on frames with external routing can look unsightly. Very few people are going to be adding eTap to a bike that has external routing, unless that frame is a gorgeous, lugged steel or titanium frame.

eTap is available now. It's in stock at The Bike Shoppe. Its cool. And should I stumble upon a large sum of money that takes care of my financial woes, it will be on my bike. Or I'll put it on a credit card and have Future Me take care of Present Me and pick up the bill when it comes due. It may help me ride Salt to Saint as a solo entrant. There's my justification, I must have it now.

Fat biking is inconsistent

I've been fat biking for about 4 years now. I've learned a lot about what makes it fun. I've learned a lot more about what makes it not fun. Just like any sport on snow, you can decide you don't like it your first attempt. There are some things you need to know before you can make a decision about whether or not you like fat biking. (There are many more factors that come into play for you to make a decision about whether you should buy a fat bike.)

The biggest factor in enjoying fat biking is managing your expectations. If you expect fat biking to be exactly like mountain biking, you will likely get discouraged unless the conditions are perfect. Comparing fat biking to mountain biking is like comparing cyclocross to road racing. They have similarities, but you will probably spend some time off your bike pushing it. I've spent more time than I care to admit walking a fat bike through snow drifts and fresh snow.

Don't expect the same conditions on the same trail two different days. When it's really cold, the snow can turn into a sugary consistency. If it's warm, the snow turns to mashed potatoes. If the conditions are just right, the trail will pack out and it will get better each time it's ridden. I have never experienced the same conditions two separate days. It is either better or worse, never the same.

On a similar note, you cannot expect the same conditions in the afternoon or evening as in the morning. Winds may pick up, temperatures change, more people use the trails. So if someone says the trails are perfect, give them a try, just keep an open mind because that could change. Often the trail is better on the way back compared to the way there, but could be worse if it doesn't pack down.

Don't expect your skills and abilities to directly transfer from mountain biking to fat biking. If you are a very well rounded rider, you'll be fine. However, even if you are a strong rider on the dirt, riding on the snow could become frustrating. Snow riding requires you to shift your weight to gain and keep traction. You will be forced to learn these skills as well as how to take a slam. The trail can be packed well enough and then you hit a soft spot or get off trail slightly and you find yourself rolling in the deep. Tuck and roll, you'll be fine. It's easier to learn how to take a slam in the snow than on dirt. Change your mindset about what you should be able to do. Be humble about it also. You'll get faster on snow and on dirt.

When you do decide to buy a fat bike, there are some things you should keep in mind to avoid frustrations also. You cannot expect to be able to swap wheels and tires between bikes. This year bikes have started to become more standardized with 190mm or 197mm rear hubs and 150mm front hubs. This allows bikes to have either 4" or 5" tires. But you can still find bikes with 135mm front and rear hubs, or 142mm front hubs and 170mm rear hubs. As long as you are expecting this, you shouldn't be disappointed.

If you want the conditions to be perfect, there are some places that have really figured out how to groom trails. Powder Mountain's Fat Bike Nationals course is amazing, but they do charge for access to it. The cost to keep the trail in fantastic shape is what you're paying for. If you don't want to deal with all of the inconsistencies of fat biking, this is a great way to ensure a better experience. But sometimes the worst experiences become the best memories.

Exercising in an inversion

If you've lived in Northern Utah for long enough, you are well aware of what THE inversion is. Ski resorts will see 40 degree weather, while valleys are stuck in the teens. Inversions are naturally occurring, cold air falls and warm air rises. But it is compounded when particulate matter creates a "lid" on the valley. High pressure systems just scoot over the top of us. Car emissions are the biggest culprit of expediting the magnitude of the inversion, but burning anything is the problem.

If you drive your car during a high pressure weather system, you make things worse. For most reading this, the other transportation option would be riding a bike. However, if you ride your bike during the inversion, you will die...eventually. Exercising in an inversion is often compared to smoking. The particles are small enough that your lungs can't filter them. It also effects you very quickly. You start coughing and it sticks with you for a while. Exposure to this dirty winter air effects people differently, depending on health conditions and development. Sensitive people, such as the elderly and very young or those with respiratory issues, can't handle as much exposure. Exercise accelerates the effects of exposure to the bad air.

It appears that the only option would be to stay home. This will work for those that can telecommute, or those that have found a way to properly work the system. For the rest of us, we need to be able to ride our bikes. Cue Respro masks. Respro makes masks that have filtration systems built in that can filter out very small particles. Last year I rode my bike in to work to help the air quality. You're welcome. The side effect of riding 10 miles was me coughing for the remainder of the day. I decided I should purchase a Respro mask and wore it home. I didn't have the temporary, initial sting in my lungs from the cold. But even more important, I didn't cough when I returned home. I'm sold on it. If you are from Cache Valley, you really should wear a Respro mask all winter.

You need a dropper post.

KS LEV

I can't ride without a dropper post anymore. I would honestly give up suspension over my dropper on any trail. I'm not saying I would like to give up suspension, but if I were tight on money, I would gladly go hardtail or rigid rather than forego the dropper. And the lower I can get my seat, the better. My reasoning is I move around a lot while cornering and descending. I stay pretty well upright but my bike moves around a lot, pitching forward and laying over far more than my body does. I also drop my saddle a little when I'm trying to start moving on loose or technical climbs. It helps me get traction so I can ride instead of pushing my bike up if I have to stop for some reason(like my lungs are on fire).

You may have heard some horror stories about a dropper post blowing up on an epic trip. I've heard similar stories of hubs and derailleurs blowing up also. But some people look at a dropper as unnecessary, so they remember the story about a dropper that ruined a trip rather than an emergency bike shop trip for a freehub body that gave up.

Dropper posts need to be serviced just like suspension, drivetrains, or bearing units. It's true that it adds something else that needs to be serviced. But it helps you to enjoy the ride, and if we were all incredible riders that wanted to avoid servicing our bikes, we would ride singlespeed 26" bikes and have very few problems ever.

Thomson Elite Covert

Now that we've established that you need a dropper, which one should you get? Honestly, it doesn't matter. They all have their quirks and advantages. If you have external routing for cables I recommend the KS LEV. The cable is stationary so it doesn't move regardless of whether the saddle is up or down. If you have the option, always go for stealth, or internal, routing. If your frame can accept it, Thomson's Elite Covert or RockShox Reverb Stealth are my favorites. The Thomson feels more solid in the post itself, but I personally prefer the hydraulic actuation and remote of the Reverb. I've ridden both and both have comparable reliability in my experience.

RockShox Reverb Stealth

You need to make sure that whichever post you go with, you store your bike with the post extended. When it's down, it puts extra pressure on the seals and will cause them to fail prematurely. You also need to top off air pressure once a season on most posts.

I have found that when the post is quicker to respond, I use it more. I had a KS eTen on my fat bike a few years back because it was cheap and I didn't think it would matter much. But it was so slow to return to full extension that I only used it when I really felt I needed it. I ended up replacing it with a KS LEV.

If you're still not sure you would use it much, or if you have one that you only use occasionally, ride The Whole Enchilada in Moab. You'll see the benefit and start using it a lot more.

Fast Fat Bikes

With snow in the forecast on Monday, we decided to ride to the Ben Lomond saddle from North Ogden Divide. We were planning for maybe some rain in the valley and a blizzard on the pass up to Ben Lomond. There wasn't even a skiff in the valley and hardly a trace in the parking lot at the Divide summit. We encountered mud on the lower section, then packed snow, fluffy dry snow, and finally wind and frozen dirt with snow coming down.

We were all on fat bikes, one of us on Salsa's Bucksaw (affectionately known as the Hucksaw), two of us on Trek Farley's, and Matt on his Fat & Furious Carbon Fatty. All of us had suspension, dropper posts, hydraulic disc brakes, and 3.8 inch tires. Half of us had 26" wheels, the others on 27.5". (Aside from tire width, sounds like a traditional ride from a couple years ago)

Previously in these conditions, I wouldn't go out. It was either ride on snow on a fat bike or ride on dirt on a regular mountain bike. When I first started riding fat bikes on a Surly Pugsley, it wouldn't have been an option to ride up or down most of that trail. However, in the few years that fat bikes have become mainstream, they have also started to ride like regular bikes. It was amazing how a bike could just float over the rough, rocky sections, as well as those riddled with roots, grip on snow in turns, and hold a line in loose shale at full speed. It felt as smooth and fast as any bike I've ridden on that trail, and I've ridden everything from a Trek Superfly to a Fuel EX to a Slash to a Yeti SB-6c. There are a few drops on the trail that remind me that I'm on a hardtail, but with super high volume tires, it was never a harsh reminder.

Fat bikes have come a long way. They've always been fun, but now they are fast also. They extend the season...infinitely. I've ridden a lot of fun bikes, but I have never had one bike that I felt could actually do it all. The Trek Slash 9 and Yeti SB-6 have been close. I used them both for all of my trail riding. But the Farley 9.8 I rode on Monday makes it so that I can ride wherever and whenever I want. The massive footprint floats on top of mud so I don't tear up the trails in the wet and doesn't loose grip in the snow. It doesn't bounce around on super rocky technical sections or loose grip on off-camber rooty sections. You can also ride any angle on slickrock or float over sand in areas like Virgin, UT or Moab.

I have said numerous times that a fat bike couldn't be my only bike. I didn't say it as much after my first ride on a Trek Farley 8 with a Bluto. Now that I've ridden a Farley with 27.5" wheels on the super grippy rolling hills outside of Waterloo, WI and on one of my favorite local trails, I can say that it could be my only bike and I would be very, very happy. It is that awesome.

Metaphoric Fountain of Youth

Matt making good use of an e-bike.

I do not own an electric bike. I don't have plans to buy one. (But if I did buy one, it would be a Yuba Spicy Curry.) I really have no reason to be an e-bike advocate aside from working at a shop that sells them. I would rather sell the bikes that I plan to ride; the more people on 6-inch travel trail bikes, the more options and the lower the price. However, I also understand that the more people on bikes, the better. Giving people options that tear down the barriers to getting them on bikes will get more people on bikes. 

It will also bring more people that are willing to contribute to somewhere to ride their e-bike. That means more bicycle infrastructure, singletrack, paths, and group rides. I doubt that you're going to want to tuck in on the rear wheel of someone that just picked up their new e-bike, but the camaraderie is going to be the same. Also, imagine going for a 25-40 mile ride with your elderly parents and actually having everyone enjoy the ride. For those cyclists that weren't lucky enough to marry a spouse that shares their love of two-wheels, just picture climbing Mont Ventoux and both of you loving the experience. You could also go out for a LOTOJA training ride and take your spouse, yet still get more than just some extra base miles out of the ride.

There are also many former cyclists that haven't been able to ride like they used to because of injury or chronic illness. At The Bike Shoppe we've sold several e-bikes to customers that were previously regular customers that couldn't ride more than casually any more. One customer hopped on a Haibike RX 29 and pedaled a route he would take as a child. He climbed the hill to his former home and then to his old school. He purchased an electric mountain bike, but had no intentions of going mountain biking. He just like the extra durability. He also liked that while he was on that bike he didn't feel like an old man.

One of the first electric bikes we sold, the Stromer ST1, went to a regular customer's wife. He would ride with his sons often, but never with his wife. She took our demo bike out and he said he had to push it to keep up with her. We've heard from a few different customers that have seen them out riding together, him on a Trek Madone in a cycling kit and her on the Stromer in jeans.

So you may ask, why this all needed to be mentioned. Because I don't understand why so many people are in such opposition to e-bikes. I regularly read comments from organizations that have posted something about e-bikes. It's the same arguments, mostly regarding e-bikes on trails. People have this misconception that people on e-bikes are going to be running everyone else off the side of the mountain. The argument continues that those people will have access to places that is beyond their capabilities and battery range. But I want to ride with people that might not be able to keep up otherwise. I truly don't care if e-bikes are ever granted to access to non-motorized off-road trails as long as I can ride my non-motorized bike on e-bike trails, and I don't think they should have access to wilderness areas. I won't be able to keep up with an e-bike on the uphill and I would like to think that someone on an e-bike won't be able to keep up with me on the downhill. So I won't be riding with someone off-road anyway. I do want to be able to go on non-motorized multi-use paths. Otherwise, might as well buy a motor scooter. And that would suck.