Category: News & Events
A sneak peak at the new Avia trail racing shoe. From the Avia stand at Interbike
TaDAA!
This is the Avia trail racing shoe I helped design. Yes, trail RACING shoe. Avia Product Manager Ike Alvear extended the offer and said I could basically build my dream shoe for XTERRA racing. What an honour!
Bike porn from Interbike 2007
The Avia bike drew a lot of attention and explained bike show goers why there’s running shoes at their “bike show”. Triathletes!
Interbike- Last Vegas. Dirt Demo
The Dirt Demo takes place in the desert outside Vegas- Bootleg Canyon. The trail system is amazing. Lots of everything- singletrack from mild to quite hairy, jumps, ladders and big drops, a small BMX track and even a huge shuttle for the boinga boinga guys.
I spent the day at the Specialized “village”. Hundreds of 2009 bikes were in stock- ready for potential customers to ride and hopefully order for their stores.
I went on a ride with Ned Overend, Rebecca Rusch and a few Specialized Riders Club guys. Its always great being in Ned’s company. He rode a Specialized aluminium 29er hard tail and I had to have my wits about me to keep up. Not sure if he got faster or if it was the 29er… Ned is such a legend.
Most people recognize Ned from far away (and many calls me “Christophe” (Sauser)) because of the rainbow jersey, but “Hey! Christophe put on 40 pounds!”. Speaking of Christophe, he test rode a new (still nameless) Specialized tire that weighs 330g with hardly any knobs at all. Susi is in weight weenie heaven.
Chasing Ned Overend (on a 29er?!) down fun single track. Lake Mead in the bacground. (Yes, I did take this pic while riding…)
The sweetest bike of all. 2009 Specialized Epic S-works
The 2009 Specialized Epic S-works.
The press has hyped the bike up and Susi won the XC World Champs on it, but DANG, I was especially surprised by: a) the suspension and b) the weight. And, yes, it is a really pretty bike.
As you can see in the background, I tested the bike on a not-so-old lava flow at Edison snow park outside Bend, to see how the new Specialized Armadillo Elite (Fast Trak 2.00) tires would hold up through the sharp lava. I ran into big lumps of sharp lava as hard as I could (to test the tires for tire cut resistance) but every time the suspension just ate up the much anticipated jolt. When the suspension is not active, bike is 100% rigid- unlike anything I’ve felt since… well, since my Tarmac road bike. The New Epic’s suspension is definitely a few cuts above the “old” Epic. And I’m sure many cuts above anything else out there.
Epic long ride over McKenzie pass, Oregon.
I did a 4 hr ride with a short hard run off the bike. I started in Sisters, just outside my home Bend, Oregon. I rode up and over the lava covered McKenzie pass and dropped down to the green lushiousness (its my blog, I can make up words if I like)- of the west side of the Cascades to almost sea level, (500m) before turning around and climbing back up and over the arid 1600m peak. Nothing but climbing or descending for 4 hrs- great training mixed in with soul riding. About as much fun as road riding gets…
