Bike Reviews

Pacenti 650b
We’ll I’ve ridden the piss out of my new 650b now and I’m really digging the wheelsize, the frame, the fork, the steel frame, the handling… I’m really diggin the new bike!

The first ride was a bit squirrely for the first couple of miles while I got use to the smaller wheel size compared to the 29er I had been riding. I finally realized that it wasn’t the bike, but the fact that I was over steering. So as I got use to the snappier response and handling of this bike, I finally got a feel on it’s handling and I just love how it carves through a corner.

Pacenti 650b Steel Frame
One of the first things that really stood out about this new bike was how great riding a steel frame felt. After riding an aluminum hardtail for the past year, I can say without a doubt that I’ll never buy anything other than steel from this point on, except when considering a full suspension frame. The steel feels amazing and alive, likes it’s part or you, an extension of your body and not just something you’re riding. I really dig how snappy the bike feels, how it easy it is to flick around and I’ve found myself staying in the saddle much more because it just doesn’t beat the hell out of you like aluminum does. Props to Kirk Pacenti on the frame design… he got the tubing dialed in perfectly and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way this bike handles and feels!

White Brothers 650b Magic 100mm Fork
The White Brothers fork feels great too! Considering it hasn’t even broken in yet, I’m really pleased with how great it feels and handles. I’ve notice zero lateral flex in the fork and it takes the bike where you point it with confidence. That’s a lot more than I can say for a few other forks I’ve owned over the years. I can’t wait to see how this fork handles once it’s pasted it’s break in period.

Pacenti 650b Tires and Stans 650b ZTR 355 Rims
The Pacenti Neo and Quasi Motos seated into the Stans ZRT 355 rims nicely. I’m not running this bike as tubeless as of yet, since I’m waiting for the wheelset to stress out a bit more and get it retensioned once I have a few more rides on them. But once that’s done I’ll be taking this thing tubeless. I’ve read a few threads about the Neo blowning off the ZTR 355 rims, but considering how snug the tires where during installation… I think this was more of operator error and these guys where just over-airing the tires. I just can’t see these tires turning loose from the ZTR 355 rims and I think they’re going to seat up perfectly once I go tubeless.

Pacenti 650b Neo-Moto
The Neo tracks and carves great. I’m use to riding Panaracer Rampage tires on my 29er and the Neo feels very familiar and I know what the Neo is going to do, how it’s going to handle in a corner, what to expect in a loose sandy spot, mud, rocks and the flat-aways. The Neo-Moto has my tread of choice and I really like this tire a lot.

Pacenti 650b Quasi-Moto
The Quasi is nice, it’s not a the kind of tire I would typically choose for my bikes, but that was the whole point of choosing the Quasi in the first place… I wanted a rear tire that I could spin up fast. The first thing I noticed about the Quasi is that it wasn’t like the Neo. It was a little looser than what I was use to, coming from a 29er with a Panaracer Rampage in the front and rear. But unlike the 29er with the Rampage on the rear, I can spin this thing up really fast. Part of this is because of the fact that’s a 650b and takes a lot less effort to get this bike moving along, but the Quasi really does spin up fast and that’s why I chose it for my rear tire.

Now that I’ve have a few miles on the Quasi, I’ve begun to understand what to expect from the Quasi and have adjusted my technic accordingly. I’ve gotten in more miles than I can remember now on this new bike now and I like the Quasi-Moto tire. It’s predictable and tracks well. It’s not the Neo-Moto and will break traction a little sooner than the Neo, but hey… it’s not the same tire and has a considerably lesser tread profile and this is expected. I dig the Quasi and it is exactly what I expected, a fast tire that tracks well, spins up fast and corners good.

I’m really digging the 650b experience!
Hell of a fun ride! If you’ve ridden one… you’d know what it’s all about. 

Follow-Up:
Over the weekend I made a few adjustments to the While Brothers’ 650b Magic 100mm fork and air’d down the tire pressure a bit. The White Bros’ fork feels great! I’m really diggin this fork a lot and couldn’t be more pleased with it! Dropping the air pressure on my tubed tires also helped out a lot and both the Neo and Quasi are hooking up great! I had the tires bumped up around 40lbs starting out. Dropping them down to 35lbs made a huge improvement! I can’t wait to get the tires set up tubeless.

2 Month Follow-Up:

Kirk did a bang up job on designing this frame! This is hands down the best Mtn. Bike I’ve ever ridden!!! I had planned to have a preliminary review posted up by now on this bike, but I’ve been riding it so damn much that I haven’t had time to sit down and pull together some thoughts to best describe how great this bike handles and how perfect the steel feels!

When I contacted Kirk about designing this frame, we talked, I told him what I was looking for in the new bike, what kind of trail conditions I’d be using it for and my riding style… we hammered out the details and the end result is nothing less than riding perfection!

3 Month Follow up:

I absolutely love this bike! 650b wheels ROCK! I’ve been having more fun on this bike than any previous bike I’ve ever owned! My 29er is gathering dust and will be torn down in March when my second 650b frame arrives.

White Brothers 650b Magic 100mm Fork

The White Brothers Magic 650b 100mm fork is handling great and I’ve been very impressed with how it handles cornering, floats through rock gardens and over roots. But what has really got my attention is how well it handles while climbing or hammering out of the saddle… there’s zero bob! It’s a solid fork and has exceeded all my expectations.

6 Month Final Review:

I told Kirk I wanted a bike that cornered great, was fast and snappy in turns and technical trails. Carving is one of my strengths and I wanted a bike that would would be very responsive and turn on a dime. A bike that felt fast and highly responsive… we discussed it in much more detail that that, but that was the basic overall request for the Pacenti frame. I also wanted to go on the smaller frame size spectrum to tighten up the cockpit and yet have a high bottom bracket so I could pedal through corners none stop without striking my pedals. I like smaller frames with high bottom brackets for riding the locals trails here in Charlotte, NC. I wanted a frame that was Fast, Nimble, Responsive, for technical flat to rolling hill trails like what we have here in my home town. Kirk nailed it and the Pacenti is like a bullet… It’s exactly what I wanted for my Charlotte bike.

White Brothers Magic 650b 100mm Fork:

The White Brothers Magic 650b 100mm fork is hands down one of the best performing XC forks I’ve ever owed! It’s laterally stiff, the IMV Damper Technology rocks and I really dig how well this fork performs! There’s zero bob when hammering, zero bob when climbing, yet when you need the suspension it’s there and feels super plush. The Magic 650b is the first fork I’ve owned in a long time that has WOW’d me with it’s performance.

I’ve wanted a GPS for sometime now. But I really felt like it was just another gadget that would be nice to have for capturing my routes, but not a necessity to have for biking. I’ve been riding for 17+ years now without one and have gotten by just fine. However there have been times when I’ve been on a unfamiliar trail in the mountains that had to break out the map and compass. That’s always worked well for me and I must say I pretty good with a compass. But when you’re at an intersection of two or more trails staring at your compass, all the while your legs are getting cold and tightening up, the idea of having a tour guide sounds much better. And when it comes down to it… I’d prefer to ride, rather than to practice my compass and map reading skills.

The main reason I was interested in getting a GPS was to capture the routes I ride, so that I could come back to the trail at a later date and ride it again without the need to check my map at every intersecting trail. So when I came across a deal on a GPS that I couldn’t pass up I took the plunge and bought one.

I ended up purchasing a Garmin Edge 305 with Heartrate and Cadence. Only interested in the GPS I didn’t give the heartrate accessory much thought and figured the cadence accessory would probably be useless to me for mountain biking. When I got back home I unpackaged the GPS, the first thing I noticed is that it was surprisingly light, weighed less than a food bar I might carry and compact. While it was charging, I browsed through the manual and had a good idea of how to get it setup in time for my next ride the following day… I just had to wait for the charge to finish to adjust the settings.

Later that evening I checked the GPS and noticed the display indicated that the charge was complete, so I started it up and began browsing the settings. I expected it to be difficult to setup, but was pleased to find that it was quite simple and within about 20 minutes I had the entire device setup and all settings dialed in for me. I entered in my body weight, adjusted many settings to auto capture laps, auto start and auto pause, adjusted my display settings, in fact the settings where so simple that I moved forward with setting up the heartrate monitor as well.

The next day I loaded up the bike, grabbed my biking gear and the GPS and headed off to the trail. At the trail head I strapped on the heartrate monitor and snapped the GPS on to the handlebar bracket that came with the GPS and pushed the “start” button to begin capturing my route. As my bike began to roll forward I heard a sound indicating that the GPS had gone from auto pause to auto start and my route was now being captured. I didn’t give the GPS much thought as I was riding and when I finally finished one lap I heard another sound indicating that the first lap had been captured. I continued down the trail for my second lap and when I finished up the second lap and rolled back out to the parking lot I heard another sound come from my GPS indicating I had reach the starting point of my ride yet again for my second lap. I reach down and hit stop, took off my riding gear and head off to the house.

Later that evening I took a moment and loaded the GPS data into the software “Garmin Training Center” that came with the Edge 305. With my route loaded I began reviewing the data collected, like my max speed, average speed, elevation and heartrate. The next day I hit another trail, collected my route data and loaded it into “Garmin Training Center” and compared the rides against each other. Third ride… same as the previous, capture my route, uploaded and compared the data. At this point I started uploading my routes to Motionbased.com Garmin’s own GPS route website and while I was on Motionbased.com I noticed that I could download other people’s routes to my Edge 305. The idea that I could download MTB routes that I had never ridden before was really exciting. I now had a way to hit a trail that I had never ridden before and in theory navigate the route without having to stare at a map constantly trying to navigate my way.

So I began browsing various MTB routes on Motionbased.com to find trails that I was interested in riding, the kind of elevation and distance I want to cover, trails I have wanted to ride for many years, but just haven’t made my way to as of yet. I now have a growing collection of GPS routes stored on my computer, just waiting for the time when I’ll need them.

Three days ago my buddy Rick and I decided to ride at DuPont State Forest in North Carolina. We’ve both ridden there before many times over the 17+ years we’ve been riding together, but not enough lately to have a good idea of where we’re going, nor what trails to ride. So the evening before the ride I began to browse the DuPont routes I had download and found four bike routes that seemed like the kind of ride we’d be interested in. I loaded the four routes to my GPS and using “Garmin Training Center” I printed out a hard copy of each route. At the trailhead of Corn Mill Shoals we reviewed each hard copy and decided on a route and I loaded it up on the Edge 305 and pressed “Do Route” and we began our ride.

I didn’t even bother to look at my map and therefore starting out was a bit rocky, since we didn’t know which trail to hit and there was two to chose from. But as we rolled along the wrong trail it quickly became obvious that we needed to turn around and hit the other trail. On the right trail the Edge 305 guided us along perfectly and with a quick glance I was able to tell Rick that we had a left or right turn ahead of us and just as the GPS indicated there it was. For the most part the Edge 305 guided us along the entire route without a hitch through a 20+ mile trail and even though we did check our map on a few occasions, It was quite clear within about 50 yards if we had taken a wrong turn. And we did take a few wrong turns and I suspect that this may have been a result of poor signal when the original route was captured, since my signal for the entire ride was excellent. But even with the occasional wrong turn we made, the Edge 305 had us correcting the mistake quickly and much faster than breaking out a map and compass to get our bearings. We also didn’t stick entirely to the same route that I had loaded on my GPS either. So as we left the route, I would back out of the viewer to display a larger area in the display and as we rolled down the trail I could see our position indicator as we rolled away from the route and draw nearer and eventually back on route.

We ended up riding about 22 miles or so, guided entirely by the Garmin Edge 305. Never once did we feel lost and for the most part we where right on track the entire ride. I really liked not having to stop at ever trail crossing, digging out the map to determine which trail to take and the bonus was that our legs didn’t get cold at every intersection while staring at a map. The only regret I have is that I didn’t get a GPS sooner.

As for the Garmin Edge 305, this is the first biking GPS I’ve ever had, so I can’t compare it to any other device. But I am 100% satisfied with my choice to purchase the Garmin Edge 305 and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in having a cycling GPS.

On a final note… I dig riding my bike and when I’m on the trail “it’s all about the ride”. I don’t pod, I don’t carry a cell phone, I don’t want to mess around with devices and gadgets… I just want to ride! So any device that I can take along for the ride to capture a memory, the experience, without interfering with the ride is a definitely a plus and any device that can help me get more ride time in, is a must have. That day at DuPont the Garmin Edge 305 definitely allowed us to get more ride time in, because we didn’t waste our time gazing at the map at every intersecting trail and I really dig that!

Stans 355 ZTR, Industry Nine Classic Hubs & DT Swiss Competition Double Butted Spokes

I picked up a set of Industry Nine Classic Hubs about 11 months ago. I wasn’t sure what bike I would use them on, I had a brand new wheelset built up 13 months ago and two spare wheelsets laying around the garage. Not in any rush, I set them on my office desk and there they sat for the longest time.

While the months pasted by I caught a bug… the 650b bug and instantly knew how I was going to put the I9 hubs to use. So I ordered my 650b frame, and dropped the I9 hubs off at the local bike shop for a wheel build.

Considering there aren’t many choices for 650b rims, I opt’d to go with the Stans 355 ZTR 650b rims, laced up with DT Swiss Competition Double Butted spokes and the Industry Nine Classic Hubs. I got my wheelset back, a couple of weeks later my 650b frame arrive and I built her up.

I’ve hammer the hell out of this wheelset on some very difficult terrain and brutalized the wheelset a few weeks ago while riding in the Pisgah National Forest. Matt at Ultimate Bike did a bang up job lacing the wheelset up and it’s quite obvious to me that without his excellent wheel building skills, knowledge and experience I wouldn’t have the great wheelset I have. I’ve put this wheelset through the wringer, ridden terrain that I would consider is beyond what the Stans 355 ZTR rim is designed to handle and had one nasty (almost vertical… land on the front wheel) endo that should have folded a wheel up like a taco… yet the front wheel is still true, round and solid as the day it was built and the same goes for the rear wheel.

The Stans 355 ZTR rims have exceeded all my expectations and I’m really impressed with the beating I’ve dished out to these rims. I haven’t converted this wheelset to tubeless as of yet and I’ve been really pleased with the fact that I didn’t get a pinch flat while riding the rocky terrain of the Pisgahs. I suspect that this is directly related to the lower sidewalls of the 355 ZTR rims and why I haven’t experience any pinch flats at all. The Pacenti Neo-Moto and Quai-Moto tires I have installed on the Stans 355 ZTR rims seated up nicely during inflation and considering how tight these tires where during the installation, I suspect that they’ll seat up perfectly once I make the conversion to tubeless.

Some thoughts and comments on the Industry Nine Classic Hubs
As for the Industry Nine hubs, the first thing I noticed on my first ride is the sound the I9 Classics make is like a low constant hum. This constant humming sound is produced by the speedy paw engagement of the I9 hubs. The paw engagement is practically instantaneous, solid and with only 3 degrees between the engagement, you can’t find another hub that will engage as fast. The I9 rear hub also spins easily, with little to practically no resistance coming from the paws and the front hub spins like there’s no tomorrow.

As for the craftsmanship… these hubs are beautifully designed, machined with attention to detail and precision, they’re tight and show no play in the freehub at all. I’m really digging them! I’m confident that I’ll have this hub set for many years to come. I’ve actually got plans to build up a second wheelset for my 650b and the hubs I plan to use are another set of Industry Nine Classics.

Mickey

Hope Pro II hubs
I had read and heard positive comments on the quality of Hop Pro II hubs and at the price point… they where hard to overlook. So when the time came for my next 29er wheelset, I decided to drop some cash on a set of Hope Pro II hubs. I had the Hopes laced up to a Mavic TN 719 rim using DT Swiss Champion spokes with brass nipples.

From the very first spin of this wheelset I could hear the distinct buzzing sound of the paw engagement… it was loud! And for the first couple of weeks I called my new wheelset “The Tommy Guns”. The buzzing sound of the hubs has subsided to a low buzzing sound now that some time has passed.

As for the hubs, they have performed great over the past year with only one instance. While out on a ride about 9 months into riding this wheelset I heard a loud ping come from the rear of my bike. I thought it must of just be a rock and kept on rolling. Later down the trail the guys and I stopped for a break and when we spun up our wheels to continue riding I heard the ping again. I got off the bike and checked out the rear of the bike for anything hung up in the rear wheel, loose spokes, a crack in the frame, etc, but found nothing visible on the exterior. Back on the bike and rolling I heard it happen again as I slowed to round a corner and then torqued up the cranks for a climb… ping! That time I heard where the ping came from and felt it through my drive train and had a very good feeling that there was an internal issue with the rear hub. We where on our last loop, I took it easy on the bike, hoping that I’d be able to finish out the ride without pushing the bike all the way out to the trail head.

Back at the home shop, I un-mounted the rear wheel, popped off the end cap of the Hope Pro II hub and disassembled the freehub. Maintenance on Hope’s freehub is a thing of beauty and accessing the internals of the freehub couldn’t be more easier. Hope’s paw spring design is so simple and yet smart! Unlike other hubs I’ve owned, you don’t have to worry about the springs flying across the shop when you disassemble the Hope Pro II hubs, because they are interlocked into the hub with an round loop at the end of the spring that slips into the body of the hub. This also creates the springs tension that is applied to the engagement paws.

Once I had the freehub removed it was quite obvious what was causing the ping… one of the springs had snapped off at the loop and was floating around inside the hub. The pinging sound was caused by the piece of spring as it would get lodged in the teeth of the freehub. The springs are not a coiled spring, but are actually more like a single leaf spring that creates resistance against the paws that pushes the paws outward and away. There are four of these leaf like springs within the freehub each with a loop that holds the spring in place as mentioned earlier.

So I contacted my LBS and they ordered me a new set of springs. Within a few days my LBS had the new springs I went to pick them up. Back at the home shop, I slipped the four new springs into place, slipped the freehub back on and snapped it back together. The entire process took under a minute to complete, I spun the wheel and it had that low buzzing sound I knew so well.

All in All, I’m really pleased with the Hope Pro II hubs and would definitely consider purchasing another set without giving it a second thought. But I do plan to change my springs out about every 8 months now as a way to avoid having one of the springs break on me while out on the trail. But don’t let this discourage you from considering one of these hub sets… the Hope Pro II hubs are nice, well built and very easy to perform maintenance on.

Hope Pro II
Manufacture Information:
Front Hub Specs:
Convertable to 20mm or Maverick by using the Hope Pro2 Hub converter sold separately
Front Axle Type: 9×1
Hub/Brake Compatibility: 6-Bolt Disc
Color: Black
Front Hub Spacing: 100 mm
Intended Use: Mountain
Front Wheel Type: Mountain

Rear Hub Specs:
The all new Pro2 range of hubs include a further development of our proven ratchet mechanism. This features a one piece 7075 aluminium rotor body and pawl carrier. Four pawls engage into a twenty-four tooth steel ratchet which is fixed into the hub shell and is sealed with a frictionless, non contact labyrinth seal. The axle runs on four cartridge bearings. The hub shell is machined from a solid
Hub Body: 2014 T6 aluminium
Hub/Brake Compatibility: 6-Bolt Disc
Bearing type: Cartridge (5 off)
Cassette Body Type: Aluminum Shimano 9/Shimano 10
Weight: 295g
Ratchet type: 4 pawl (24 engagement)
QR = Quick Release
Bolt On = Threaded axle with bolts that screw in
10mm Thru = 10mm bolt on thru axle

After spending a few months research helmet cams I decided to drop the cash for a V.I.O POV.1 helmet cam. It wasn’t easy letting go of the cash I dropped for the POV.1 cam either. I kept thinking… That’s a wheel set, a new fork, all most enough for a new frame, new tires for my Jeep. But I found a place that I could get one and they offered me a discount, so it made the purchase not so painful.

About a week later the POV.1 arrived in the mail. I unpackaged it, checked out all the accessories, changed the batteries and tried to figure out where to mount the cam on my helmet. A couple days later I got my first chance to ride and had my POV.1 mounted up to my helmet to capture some video.

At the trailhead I messed around with the POV.1 for awhile, running through all the video capturing features and settings. After about 45 minutes I felt like I had a good enough handle on the settings to of the device to start my ride. Not wanting to disrupt my ride, I turned off the loop feature to let the video run constantly while riding, tested the video with my helmet on and then deleted my video test and set the recorder to stop. Next I looked for a place to mount the remote controller. I tried my wrist, but figured that wasn’t a good option, because I’d have to reach across to hit the buttons, so I ended up mounting it on my stem. Next I tested the remote and could hear a little beep sound when I hit the record button, capture a little video, reviewed it and deleted the file.

All set, I dropped the POV.1 recorder into my camelback, rolled over to the trail entrance and hit the record button and rolled into the tail. About a mile into the trail I stopped, hit the stop button on the remote and reviewed the video I had just captured. For the first run, it wasn’t bad, but the cam angle was off a bit, because I had not accounted for the angle of the cam while in a riding position. So I made a few adjustments to the cam, hit record and peddled on down the trail.

The deciding factor in getting the POV.1 was the fact that it had a remote. I want to capture video, but I don’t want my rides to become all about capturing video. So I figured having a remote would allow me to hit a button and forget about it… just ride, because that’s what I’m out there for! That’s what I did, just road my bike and never gave the cam another thought and I had actually forgotten I was carrying the cam and recorder until I got to the end of the ride and removed my helmet and felt the cable brush my neck. Wondering what the video I just captured was like I pulled the recorder out of my camelback and started thumbing through the controls, only to find that the recorder had not captured a single bit of video.

After a bit of testing I finally figured out that the mounting the remote on my stem and carrying the recorder in my camelback, interfered with the remote’s signal to activate the recorder. So I replenished my camelback and rolled back over to the trail entrance. This time I leaned in towards the remote, hit the record button and heard a muted beep come from my camelback and rolled onto the trail. As before I gave no thought to the POV.1 and just road.

Back at the parking lot I pulled the recorder out, thumbed through the controls and was pleased to see that I had captured video on my second attempt. But the it didn’t take long for me to realize that the cam angle was still too sharp and capture footage only about 30 foot out forward of my front wheel.

Back at the house I messed around with the cam, tried different mounting options, different helmets and finally got the angle right on one specific helmet. The following week I decided to capture video and grab the recorder and the alternative cam helmet and hit the trail. I’m glad I had taken the cam that day, because I captured a wreck I had that put me in the hospital with a concussion. The impact hurt like hell and the helmet got trashed… so much for finding a mounting solution. but the good news was that the cam survived with flying colors and didn’t miss a beat… captured the wreck, impact and considering it too took much of the impact I was really surprised to find it still worked.

Back to drawing board for the cam mount, I tried all kinds of things:
• Solid core foam, hollowed out for the cam to slip into. This caused the video to be blurry because there was too much cushioning in the foam.
• Strapped down with a velcro strap, but I could never get the cam’s angle right.
• Zip tied the mount that the POV.1 cam with. This worked good, but left the cam riding high and exposed in my opinion.

While browsing the garage looking for something to manufacture a mount for the cam from I found an old bicycle pump mount made of stiff rubber. The cam fit perfectly into the space where the pump would have mounted and I other side of the rubber that was made to wrap around a bike’s frame made for good bracing once synched down to a helmet with velcro straps. So I mounted the cam on my helmet using the bike pump mount, tested the video in a riding position, made a few more adjustments, tested the video more and found that I was able to get a decent cam angle using the pump mount with the cam.

A few days later I was out at the trail and capturing video again. Upon review of the video I found that the cam angle was still a bit low, but exceptable… good enough for now. A few videos later and I was back to fiddling with the cam angle. Tried another helmet and I think I now have a good solution in place. I haven’t had a chance to try the POV.1 mounted on this different helmet on a trail as of yet. But I have tested it in the neighborhood and I think I finally have this thing dialed in.

As for the video quality, I’d have to say it is what I expected. After all it is a bullet cam, but I am pleased with the video’s quality and really like the wide screen capture. The POV.1’s play back screen is a really nice feature and I like the ability to scan through and delete footage I don’t need so as to make room for more video. The clarity of the video is good, sharpness is nice and only on a few occasions have I noticed any artifacts like brightness blow-out. For the most part the video quality is very exceptable and I have no complaints. Now I’m not some video guru, so I can’t shed any more light on the video’s quality. But compared to most of the better quality mountain biking videos I’ve seen on the internet, I’d have to say that you can’t go wrong with the POV.1. It’s not as good as video like what you’d see at Peter Fagerlin’s website, but the POV.1 is a good choice for a bloke looking to capture video.

The loop feature is really nice and allows you to tag your video as you ride. For example while riding if you hit the tag button in the first 1/3 of a 15 minute loop the recorder will save your previous 15 minute loop and the 15 minute loop you’re presently in for a total of 30 minutes worth of video. This is nice because when you’re railing down some sweet single track the last thing you want to do is worry about capturing video. So the loop feature gives you an opportunity to tag and save video even after you just cleared a section of trail that demands your full attention. But you have to remember to hit the tag button… or the recorder will not save what you just captured.

I like the loop feature… but I tend to just set my recorder to capture continuously and forget about it and then swamp out the card about 45 minutes into the trail. This has worked well for me and I capture everything. The only draw back to this is that you either have to watch the entire ride, or know the trail well enough to forward to the sections you want to work with from the video. Watching a hour or two of riding is not something I’m interesting in, so I only use the continuos capture feature on trails I know really well. Otherwise I use the loop/tag feature and just hit the tag button when I finish a section I wish to keep video for.

The microphone is not too shabby. You can control the amount of noise it picks up by adjusting the recorder settings. I set my noise cut out threshold very low, but I found that this caused the mic to cut on and off and this was more distracting and irritating at times. So I eventually cut the microphone setting down as low as it could go to kill off all sound until I found a solution that worked for me. So after some thought I decided to make a fuzz wind muffler for the mic. I found some man made fur at a fabric store and sewed it into a sleeve that I pulled up the cable and around the mic. This worked well, cuts out practically all the wind noise, while allowing me to set the microphone level up to a setting that I’m able to capture all the sounds of the wheels rolling down the trail. If you get a POV.1 you should definitely consider making a sound muffler… it will improve the sound quality. I’ll post up a photo as some point to show you what I did.

As for the battery life. I’ve been using rechargeable batteries and it’s a must! You’ll run through a lot of cash just buying batteries otherwise. I’m able to get about 3 to 4 hours out of my rechargeable batteries and considering you can get a package deal for about $30.00 at the hardware store for the batteries and the rechargeable, you can’t go wrong.

The only thing I’ve been displeased with so far with my video is my video editing software. I still haven’t found any software I really like to edit my videos and I don’t want to drop any large amounts of cash for new video editing software. So I guess I’m stuck with the free stuff that I have on my computer for now. But it works for now.

All in All,
I’ve been very pleased with my POV.1, it’s everything I had hoped it would be and I haven’t given another thought to “That’s a wheel set, a new fork, all most enough for a new frame, new tires for my Jeep”… so this is proof enough to me that I made the right choice.

Follow Up:
I’ve had the POV.1 for almost a year now and I’m very happy with the video I’m capturing, the video quality and ease of use of the POV.1 and that was the whole point. I really didn’t want to be distracted by a helmet cam, I just wanted to go out and ride! During the past year the POV.1 has worked flawlessly during extreme heat, humidity and cold conditions. It has taken a few direct impacts from limbs, wrecks and the major wreck I had and not once did it give me any trouble and continued to capture video.

The only thing I would like to have is a polarized filter that I could add to the lens to knock off sun glare.

All in all, the POV.1 is a great helmet cam for the guy who is more interested in the ride, with no distractions form devices and yet wants to capture good video at the same time. I wish I had purchased a helmet cam years ago and if I had to make the decision all over again… I’d chose the POV.1 Helmet Cam.

Descente Leibnitz

My clothing line for biking has been very limited for many years… it just never seemed to be a priority of mine. I found some shorts and shirts I liked and just wore them.  In fact up until two months ago I had been wearing the same two pair of shorts for over 8 years and as you can image… they have a permanent stench to them that nothing will remove.

Don’t get me wrong, I have purchased other shorts over the years, but I never found a pair that fit as well and all the other shorts I had purchased turned out to be a huge disappointment. So back to the tried and true… old smelly shorts.

But as spring came around this year and as things started warming up… the stench was just too unbearable! I couldn’t stand the smell any longer and I can’t image what my buddies and other riders where thinking. So I finally decided to ditch the old shorts and find a new pair.

Not wanting to drop a lot of cash I started looking for a pair of shorts that were on sale and came across the Descente Leibnitz for $38.00 (58% off $90 msrp). For that price I figured I could go too wrong, but I was skeptical that I would actually like them enough to stick with them and quit searching for other short options. So I checked the sizing chart and ordered a large size and waited. About 4 days later the shorts arrived. I pulled them out of the box and started inspecting them.

The stitching seemed clean, tight and double bar sewn at all the stress points. The snap front closure seemed decent and I liked the fact that the side buckles where no too large so as not to dig into my gut as I ride. But I wasn’t too impressed with the material at first inspection, because they felt more like a pair of swimming trunks than biking shorts. So I put on the inner shorts, felt good and then the outer shorts. Before I even snapped them up, I knew that they would never work. The large size I had order felt more like an X-large and they slipped right off me and around my ankles.

Back in the box and shipped back.

A few days later my new Medium Descente Leibnitz shorts arrive. Out of the box I slipped them on and to my surprise these where border line too large to fit me as well. Now according to the chart on the web site I should be wearing a size Large, but considering the fact the Medium sized shorts I now have are as tight as I can get them and are maxed out on their adjustment, I know I should actually be in a size Small. But I’m able to make the mediums work for me, and I figure if I loosing any more weight, I’ll just get the wife to take them in a bit for me.

So I finally got to use the shorts. As mentioned I wasn’t impressed with the material because it felt like swimming trunks and not what I would have expected out of a pair of bike shorts. But I was mistaken! The outer matte Nylon shell material is perfect for riding! This matte Nylon shell has zero drag on the saddle, is really comfortable, light-weight, are cool on hot days and dries super fast! The hip pockets of the outer shell are a bit shallow and tight, but I can’t image actually carrying anything in my hip pockets while I ride anyhow. The side pockets are nice and the perfect size for carrying gels, blocks, bars or a map. The snaps stay closed well and do not irritate the flesh at all and the side buckles stay put with zero slipping. 

The inner shorts are just as comfortable as the outer shorts. The Chamois is really comfortable and I have experienced any discomfort at all. The Chamois has good coverage, the hip and leg bans stay put and hug nicely and the inner shorts breath well too.

Pros:
Extremely comfortable
Excellent moisture wicking
Very breathable and cool on hot days
Dry really fast
Light weight
Zero discomfort! No abrasive rubbing seams or anything else that irritates the skin
Zero saddle drag, nor any areas that can snap on the saddle.

Cons:
Sizes run about two sizes too Large
Side pockets are a bit tight and shallow 

All-in-All
I would definitely recommend these shorts to anyone who is looking for a pair of baggies. And for the sale price, you can’t go wrong. I plan to purchase another pair as soon as I get paid again.

At 5 ft 6 inches tall, I’ve been real interested in the whole 650b thing.

So I got to ride a demo “Pacenti” 650b steel frame this past weekend. One of the guys I ride with got the 650 demo from Kirk Pacenti of Bikelugs.com. Kirk also supplied a White Brothers 650 fork too. Upon mounting the bike I felt like it had been built for me. Considering my riding buddy and I are practically the same height and same build, I wasn’t surprised that I felt comfortable on it from the first spin of the cranks. Within a couple of miles I had gotten use to the handling of a different frame, wheel size, touchy hydraulic brakes (I use mechanical) and from that point on I had a blast!!!

The 650b demo cornered great, it accelerated fast, climbed great, snaked through tight technical spots, I could flick it around with ease - like I did with my old 26er frames, the front wheel didn’t dive on ledges like those larger wheels.

The Pacenti steel frame was unbelievable! The frame reacted perfectly to every action I made and I felt one with the bike. Considering this is a demo bike, I was really impressed with how great it felt to me and how quickly I felt more at home on it, than my own bike that I have setup for myself. The steel felt lively, active and was more pleasurable to ride than my aluminum frame. Combined with the 650b wheelset, the bike railed through corners faster, tighter and accelerated out of the corners so fast that it was like I was a kid riding the Himalaya Carnival Ride at the beach. With a giant Grit-Eatin Grin I just couldn’t get enough of this bike and the 650b wheels.

The White Brothers Fork hooked up great too! At no time did I notice any lateral flex in the fork, it held my lines perfectly. My buddy had the fork set a little stiffer on the compression that I normally prefer, but regardless it performed perfectly and I would definitely get a White Brother’s fork for my 650b I plan to build.

The Neo Moto & Quasi Moto 650b tires hooked up great and never once did they break traction in a corner. It’s hard for me to say if the wheels seemed so fast because of the tires or the 650b wheels, because I have nothing to compare them to. I got to ride a demo 650b and it was the first 650b I’ve ever ridden. But I can compare the Neo Moto & Quasi Moto tires to past experiences from other tires on 26″ and 29″bikes and the Neo Moto & Quasi Moto performed great, tracked perfectly, had great traction on hard packed earth in slightly sandy corners and climbed over roots and rocks without spinning from loose of traction.

I wish I had only had more time on the demo. Considering how perfect of a ride the bike was, I can’t even image how much better it would have been if I had my preferred saddle, shifters and fork air pressure set. The Pacenti frame and 650b wheels are rolling perfection!

All in all this is the best riding bike and wheel size I’ve even been on. I told my buddy, “If Kirk was here and I could convince him… I’d trade him bike for bike”. The Neo Moto & Quasi Moto tires hooked up great too! Never once did they break traction and I was taking lines I normally avoid on my 29er. Yea a 29er can roll over stuff, but my 29ers are not nearly as nimble through the tight technical local trails as the Pacenti 650b demo bike I was riding.

After a 10 mile loop I knew I had to have one… I’m sold on 650b wheels. When I got back home from the ride I tore down one of my 29ers. Time to sell off some parts for my 650b.

The bike build:
Pacenti Custom Steel 650b frame
Pacenti Neo Moto tire on front wheel
Pacenti Quasi Moto tire on rear wheel
White Bros 650b Fork
DT Swiss 240 hubs
Stans ZTR 355 rims
DT Swiss double butted spokes
King Headset
SRAM X rear D
Time peddles

Follow Up, Second ride on the demo

Quote “I wish I had only had more time on the demo.”
Well my wish came true today, and I got the opportunity to ride the Pacenti 650b Demo bike for about half a loop at a local trail called “Poplar Tent”. With hair-pin turns as tight as a bike is long, scattered rock gardens you can launch from or snake through, washed out ruts that will suck your wheel and throw off your line, multiple log obstacles and then there’s the Gravity Cavity… there’s plenty of stuff to prove a bike’s handling capabilities!

I had my 29er with me and that’s what I rode for most of the ride. My buddy had the Pacenti 650b demo. It was a perfect day, the trails where slightly tacky from a rain two days ago, the sky was a perfect blue and the temperature was cool. We hit the trail at 9:30AM. From the very start of the ride, I found myself constantly having to get out of the saddle to build up momentum just to stay on my buddy’s rear wheel. At every corner he walked away from me because he could navigate the turn faster, tighter and accelerate out of the corner faster than I on my 29er. Every climb we came to was practically the same situation, he could spin up the 650b wheels faster and leave me with ease. In order to stay with my buddy I was constantly out of the saddle and hammering just to keep my momentum up on this tight technical trail.

Eventually he asked me if I wanted to ride the 650b… I didn’t hesitate! Spinning up the wheels I quickly put some distance between us and I got to drop the hammer on him for a change. The 650b snaked through the every tight little nook and cranny of Poplar Tent with ease and shot out of the corners like a rocket. It navigated every log crossing and rock garden better than my 29er and I got to have more fun flicking the bike around and off the various trail obstacles.

Eventually he wanted the demo back and I found myself playing catch up for most of the ride. The only time I could stay on his wheel without having to spend more energy than him was on the straighter sections of the trail, but those are few and far between at Poplar Tent.

Poplar Tent was also a great location to ride to get the full experience of riding a steel frame too. It was unbelievable and my next frame will most definitely be a steel frame. I’ve been riding aluminum frames for the past 12 years out of 17 years of riding. I really dig the bikes I have and have had over the years, but the feeling of riding a great designed bike with premium tubing was truly remarkable and I just can’t get around it…

I must have steel!
I must have a 650b!
I must have a Pacenti designed frame!

When I first got my Reba Race and had a chance to ride my bike with it installed, I really wasn’t too impressed with it. I had just made the switch to 29ers and the whole big wheel thing was new to me. The first two weeks I had my 29er, I noticed my lines sometimes seem to drift while cornering. The first thought that came to my mind is it maybe the Reba Race fork is not solid enough for my preference. It’s a Reba Race, more of an XC fork and I should have gone with an all mountain type fork. I wasn’t hucking off stuff, nor hitting any big ledges, just typical trail conditions in the North Carolina Mountains and local surrounding trails in Charlotte. But maybe I was was pushing the fork beyond it’s designed capabilities. Still even on flat flowing XC trails the front seemed to drift in corners, I found myself eating dirt more often than usually and bent a perfectly good wheel when my line drifted while in a tight corner and striking a log.

After the wreck my front wheel useless and needed a new rim. I stripped the Reba off my bike and dropped off the wheel for a rebuild. I then used a back-up front wheel and installed an RST M-29 fork. From that point on all my issues with line drifting in corners where solved, but the extra weight of the RST M-29 was a sacrifice that I really didn’t want to make. So after about two weeks of riding with the RST M-29, I eventually re-installed the Reba Race to give it another shot and if pleased with it’s performance with a different front wheel, I could lighten my bike by a pound of weight.

With the Reba Race installed and a different and stronger front wheel I notice the lateral stiffness of the front while in corners was much improved. There was still a little flexiness laterally, but I could live with it. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the Reba Race combined with a light weight wheel set is where the real issues existed while cornering. So when I got my repaired front wheel back I just hung it on the garage wall and continued riding with the Reba Race and the stronger spare wheel I had installed.

After about 4 months I got a new and even stronger wheelset built up and my lines while cornering have improved greatly. I still notice a bit of flex coming from the Reba Race, but with the right wheelset, it is at a minimum and I don’t have any plans to replace the Reba… I can live with it’s performance as it is.

But would I buy another Reba Race in the future?
Well the answer to that is possibly, but I would research other fork options before I just dropped some cash on one.

And would I recommend it?
Yes, but that all depends on the rider and what kind of trail use they intend to use it on. It’s an XC fork and considering I ride XC and All Mountain, I feel at times I am pushing the fork beyond it’s intended use.

If your local trails are as rooty as the trails in my area, then you know the benefit of being able to sit in the saddle and hammer away without being bucked off the seat. There are alot of places where a hardtail can be faster than a full suspension bike, but riding a hardtail over consistenly rough terrain can take it’s toll on you. A suspension seatpost allows you to keep the best attributes of your hardtail and improve the performance over rough terrain that’s too choppy to stay in the saddle and lasts too long to ride standing.

Cane Creek’s Thudbuster is a great option in a suspension post. It’s parallelogram design gives up to 3 inches of travel to allow you to ride stronger for longer. Telescoping posts can suffer from stiction and their action changes the seat height more dramatically. The Thudbuster’s travel works in the natural path of the rear wheel, so it soaks up bumps fluidly and it’s travel has less impact on saddle height. The posts add some weight to your ride, but the weight increase is less than what would be added by moving to a full blown FS design. The LT model weighs in at around 460g depending on the size and length, and can be had for around $150. I have used several models over the years and they have held up well to quite a bit of abuse. Cane Creek has refined the post construction and pivot design over the years so the quality seems to keep getting better.

Thudbusters are available in 2 travel ranges, the 3″ LT model tested here and a 1.3″ travel option labeled the ST. There are several seatpost diameters and post lengths available to choose from. Give your lower back a break and pick up a Thudbuster.

For the past few years I’ve been dealing with some hand soreness on longer rides. I’ve tried larger grips and even rode with a wrap of road tape over my standard grips. The tape wrap worked to provide more comfort, but the wrap just wouldn’t hold up to offroad riding. My hands are pretty big and conventional grips just weren’t getting it done for me.

Since then I’ve been using the Ergon GP1 grips. The large grips are designed with an ergonomically thickened profile that is intended to distribute pressure evenly over a larger surface of the hand. The grips take a bit of getting used to, but once you get their angle adjusted to your liking and spend some time with them, they do just as advertised. I’ve seen some folks comment on feeling less in control of the bike, but I think that’s just part of getting used to them. I feel as in control as ever and don’t have the same soreness problems that I once struggled with. The grips are a bit pricey coming in at around $25. There are options that include nicely designed, though small, built in bar ends, and a couple of the grips come in 2 sizes.

Specialized has their own ergonomic grip options on the market that include a grip that is similar to the Ergon along with a couple of smaller models. The grip I picked up is a new one from their line called the Comfort II grip and it sells for around $20. It is like a smaller version of the Ergon model that provides a platform designed to relieve pressure, but the grip section that is located at the heal of your hand is a little smaller. This grip is a great option for folks who are looking for increased comfort but don’t want to take the plunge to the larger Ergon style grips.

Both grips include lock-on style clamps that lock the grips to the bars. If you’re looking for a little more comfort you can’t go wrong with either of these options.