OH, THANK GOD!! For everyone who was heartbroken when we heard that SuperSession 4 wasn't happening in 2008, Atomlab pulls together 2 events to take it's place! Both events take place just before Sea Otter, so there will be riders from all over the world converging on Woodward West. Check the press release that Mike dropped my way...



"Saturday April 11 & Sunday April 12, 2009 - Superslope will be the first Slopestyle contest at Woodward West. The slopestyle course is sure to be a rider favorite with a huge assortment of big drops and massive jumps. We will be taking the already amazing slopestyle playground and grooming it for flow and amplitude. We are also working on a nice big purse. The judging will be done by top pro riders. The event is the weekend before
Sea Otter so you can be sure that it will have an International field.

Saturday April 11 - Qualifying - 2 runs, best run counts
Sunday April 12 - Semifinals/air contest in the morning, Finals in the afternoon. There will be a big party and awards banquet after the finals.
Entry Fee - $100 Click here to register ($150 after March 15)

SUPERSESSION 2009 - April 13-15, 2009, Woodward West
Supersession will be three days between the Superslope contest and the Sea Otter Classic. Supersession will be 3 days of riding at the premiere action sports training center on the west coast. The entry includes meals and drinks. Entries are limited to Pro riders who are over 18.
Entry Fee - $180 Click here to register ($225 after March 15).

CABINS-
If you wish to stay in the cabins, it will be $37.50 per night. The cabins are like a camp dorm with bunk beds
with 15 people per cabin. It's a lot of fun and a good bonding experience. You will need to bring a sleeping
bag and pillow if you are staying in the cabins. Click here to register. Enter how many nights you need in
the Quantity space and list the nights you want in the Special Requests.

THE LODGE-
Hotel rooms are available at the lodge for $100 per night (per room, not per person).
E-mail mike@atomlab.com to get the proper forms.
Check out http://www.campwoodward.com/wwwest/main.html for more info and directions."

-Mark

I just saw this on The Come Up. The long and short of it is that bikes 24" and under are considered toys and will need to be screened for lead before being allowed entry into the US.

What do I think it means? Aerican Bikes, baby! This new law will bring the bikes made in America by Americans into a competitive price range with the bikes made overseas. Sure there are some benefits to the buyer and even to the producer to make bikes overseas, but if both bikes are not the same price, I'd pick an American bike any day. Maybe this will bring some more of the bike industry back to America. Won't that be f'in sweet?!

-MarkI just saw this on The Come Up

For some of you, this many be old news, but for many, it probably isn't. Since the Replacement Jam in Cali, this name has been in the posts of a ton of MTB blogs. Why? Because he f'in rips. I've also never heard of Republik, the company he reps -- until now. They ought to be glad to have him. Keep a look out for that name in future events, but for now, here's some video I ripped from Thrash and The Sensus. The Sensus is a new site which is pretty dope, run by the Zink boys, Kyle Strait and Taylor Sage.

For now, the videos:

Republik in Nor Cal from Republik MTB on Vimeo.


Republik in So Cal at the Replacement Jam from Republik MTB on Vimeo.

These hubs caught my eye at Interbike:



Now, they look relatively standard, but there's something special inside. These hubs are supposed to have zero backlash -- the quickest engagement of any hub on the market. Ordinary hubs, even I9 and King's hubs, freewheel with ratchet pawls, which work just like a ratchet to allow you to pedal in one direction and coast in the other. No matter how many stop points you have on the pawls, you'll still need to pedal foward a tiny bit before the hub starts driving. On crappy hubs, you'll have to pedal up to 12 degrees before the hub engages. On Chris Kings, 6, and on Industry 9's, 3 degrees. The Stealth hubs claim to engage in 0 degrees.

True Precision's hubs come in a whole array of axle sizes and hub types. BMX, DH, Singlespeed, Disc, Non-Disc, 12mm, 15mm, 20mm, QR, Bolt On, you get the idea.

Having picked these hubs up and held them in my hand, I should note that they are a little heavy. I don't have numbers, but I immediately noticed that they weigh more than a standard mountain hub, at least for the rear one.

I think these are cool because the technology is proprietary (they own and probably invented it) and because it offers something that no other manufacturer has figured out how to do. For that reason, I'll try to get some numbers and info on these daddies. I do know a hubset can be had for about $550. Pricey, but that's what you pay for quality (I9, C.K., Profile will all run you about that).

Here is an interesting thing: True Precision and Industry Nine are not specifically mountain bike or even cycling companies. No. They're both high precision machine shops who use their machinery to make bad ass bike parts. Word up.

-Mark

Nowhere really. Sorry for the lack of posts on here, slow Fall/Winter so far. For now, check out this video of gnarly crashes from slalom and downhill, mostly. Makes me excited to race Plattekill 4X this season, if they didn't go back to lame slalom. Also reminds me why I'll never race downhill again haha. Maybe creek will hook something up...


WCP GREATEST Mountain Bike Crashes - The funniest movie is here. Find it

I'm working to get some product review action flowing through here again, so sit tight. Also, at least one Ray's trip this winter. Drop a comment or something if you're interested.

Ignore trends, ride where you want, with who you like, and do what's fun. Peace!

Ok, combining 2 posts into 1:
Supersession 4 was cancelled, which sucks because that's the event of the season, and because it takes place at Woodward West.

But, Nick picked the weekend up by organizing a Replacement Jam in San Diego that same weekend. It's not a contest, just a 3-day jam including dirt, park, and street. That Saturday is also Rick Nolte's birthday party. If you don't know him already, he's the dude whose been behind most of the ThrashBike jams. He rocks and has the photos on his phone to prove it, just ask him...

Check the flyer:

So many familiar spots in this video...anyone know where that Sayreville lookalike park is? Have a watch...


Mini East Coast Roadtrip from FBM BMX on Vimeo

-Mark

As I'm sure everyone's heard, Mike Aitken, one of the best riders around had a horrible crash recently and is not in good condition. It really hurts to see another rider down, but the best thing we can all do is show our support by contributing to a fundraiser that a bunch of his close friends are putting on.

They're having a trail jam at "Rancho Relaxo" next weekend to raise some money for him...the entry fee is $20.00 and there will be trails and a good time. It's in PA, but follow one of these links, probably the first one, to get the nitty gritty. I'll be there for sure, hope to see you too.

http://www.jorba.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=999

http://bikevmb.com/?q=node/3186


I get the message of the song, but come on...

Best wishes Mike!!

-Mark

The bike world is filled with events in fall, it seems. I guess everyone is getting their fix before winter grips the land. I didn't know of Jumptoberfest at Highland went down until I caught the video on Vital. Here's the video, because the trails look sweet. Not much mountain biking, if any, but it's got 20" dudes ripping the trails to shreds.



-Mark