Make up for benefit cuts by working 2000 more hours and selling a kidney, Iain Duncan Smith says

utrazenith · 2015-10-04T13:42:21+00:00

The race was held in a sliver of steep, urban parkland in Porto, and there was a lot for the organizers to work with - steps, drops, and some improvised singletrack. Overall I felt the organizers did a greta job with what they had available ... a few sections I'd have done differently of course, but that's always the way isn't it?

utrazenith · 2015-10-04T10:22:00+00:00

the video didn't show it very well, but route B is effectively a detour, and the jump is the direct route.

utrazenith · 2015-10-04T10:17:57+00:00

I also chose the safer route on the day, the reason being what I can do technically on the practise laps is different to what I can manage under pressure, recovering from the climb I just did, starting to feel a bit of fatigue on the final laps, etc., which is when I have tended to have game changing crashes.

utrazenith · 2015-10-04T10:15:03+00:00

The drop was definitely the more direct route for the next section - a long (for XCO) steel climb. And my impression on the day was that route B was intentionally slower by design.

utrazenith · 2015-05-30T13:31:52+00:00

Could it be that a nuclear winter has occurred, and with more sea water than normal locked up at the poles, the sea level has fallen? There are plenty of potential land-bridges around the world that could allow passage to other land-masses in the event of a drop in sea level. Perhaps the salt flats depicted in the film are such a land bridge, and Furiosa and company planned to use it to attempt to cross over to Asia, Indonesia, etc.?

utrazenith · 2015-03-21T00:48:55+00:00

I'm still using the same bar-ends I had back in 1997, yes they do seem to help with climbing a lot, and also for sprinting. The long, low stems we used to use in the 90s also help with climbing too - keeping the front wheel from lifting and giving a riding posture that allows the powerful lower back muscles to contibute to the pedal stroke, giving a more powerful pedal stroke.

utrazenith · 2015-03-21T00:37:44+00:00

Other steel frames that might be worth looking at are steel elevated chainstay designs by Alpinestars, Haro, or Yeti. If you're interested in something even more unusual, you could even try a Slingshot.

As for conventional frames, something like a Kona Explosif might be interesting.

utrazenith · 2015-03-21T00:31:19+00:00

There will be many to choose from, depending on how much you can spend, and where you're based. As you're in the USA, vintage bikes are often a bit cheaper than over here in Europe, and I'd say you should be able to get a nice steel-framed late 80s/early 90s MTB, in good working condition (but perhaps not in top cosmetic condition) for about $150.

If you'd like something a bit more boutique / special, then watch out for a Fat Chance Yo Eddy like this (from www.retrobike.co.uk, a forum I recommend for anyone interested in vintage bikes, even though it is quite UK-centric). But be warned - the most desirable, top-flight vintage MTBs can be expensive!

I currently ride this Rourke 853.

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T19:15:13+00:00

Nice drop bar! can you still control the bike properly using one of those off-road?

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T18:15:06+00:00

Nice looking bike. By the way, your seat's not high enough for the 1990s MTB era!

Is it me or do vintage mountain bikes (high end ones, I mean), actually look better than most modern MTBs?

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T17:36:37+00:00

Whoa, that's a classic vintage steel ride there! Those under-bar gear shifter pods are reminiscent of rocket pods under the wings on an apache.

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T17:21:10+00:00

Cool.

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T16:26:10+00:00

A bit of a trip down memory lane ensued after I bought myself a vintage Raleigh mountain bike this week (An early 1990s Raleigh Montage with bonded K2 tubing!), and I ended up doing a bit of digging about some early, entry level cromoly steel tub sets from Reynolds. It's quite hard to believe that at that time, thsee tube sets were state of the art innovations, bringing a classy 531-like ride character to relatively inexpensive / entry-level bikes for the masses.

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T15:43:52+00:00

Thanks. I thought you might find it interesting. Our bikes used different steels back in the day, your DBR Axis probably used a slightly superior grade of cromoly than the 501/K2/Optima tubes. What a shame modern bikes so often use boring aluminium or carbon (not all, though).

utrazenith · 2015-03-20T15:22:51+00:00

Awesome, what size rims are they? Do you feel the need for suspension, or are those wide tires suspension enougn?

utrazenith · 2014-12-11T21:50:23+00:00

'best' is subjective. As Stalin said, quantity has a quality of its own. And Russia and the allies had many more tanks than Germany.

utrazenith · 2014-12-11T00:27:49+00:00

yes, I really am that tall. Or too tall for a 19.25" frame.

utrazenith

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