Diabloween went off last weekend! It was my first, but it definitely won't be my last. There can't be many things more fun than riding with a bunch of people dressed in rediculous costumes. Me, Nick, and Dan pulled out our NJ Dirt baseball jerseys from a past Diabloween that never happened (for us anyways), and rode in those all day. George Ryan took first as Michelangelo the bad-ass ninja turtle that can do backflips. I forget who got second, but Dave from NYC took third dressed as something I can't remember, riding Lower Dominion (and the rest of the mountain) brakeless. Nick posted some pics at the link below, and then I found a video from the day, also below. The quality is bad, but what can you do?

Nick's Pix



See all of you there next year!!!!

-Mark

Be There! I've tried to go before, only to have the whole thing cancelled because of high winds. I expect the powers that be to hold off the rain for this weekend so we can all have some fun before the frost sets in. So, click the flyer to see it big, and I'll be seeing you there.

Click it to pick it

I've had trails on the mind lately. Check this out, I think most of it's from Posh and those trails remind me why dirt jumping is so rad.

It's sad, because it really is a funeral. Little Devil is done--but I guess they'll be focusing on Orchid 100% now. All good things must come to an end, and at least they are doing it with a party where you don't have to wear black. Check the flyer below. Nick is coming down to my place in Delaware and from there it's an hour to the funeral, so hope to see you there!
Think I could go dressed up as a mountain bike rider or would that not work? Mwahahahaha

Click it to pick it

It's been a while, I know. I'm going to try to start getting more quality updates on here again.

For now, I'm posting a couple of pics that my buddy Jeff took from the jam. The jam wasn't hyped up or advertised too much so it was really more of a chill session at an awesome concrete park. (Anthem Skatepark, if you're ever in Vegas...) Everybody did compete though, and here's how things turned out:

1) Adam Hauck
2) Carter Holland
3) Micah (no last name, sry dude)

Best Trick: Carter Holland with a huge transfer line (see pic)


Carter's Gap



Carter doin' an x-up on the hip


Micah, toboggan. Met him last December at Supersession, then ran into him wandering down the strip. Small world eh?


Micah, tuck no hander on the hip.


Hauck, tailwhip to tire tap. Adam ate it manualing across a 4" strip of coping that had to be 9 feet up and he dropped all the way down. It was burly, especially onto concrete, but he walked it off.


Nick, looking smooth. The trick, not his ass. Shit.


I don't even know. Looks like it's about to be a jaw full of concrete in a second, but I think he's coming around on a 360.


Thanks for letting me use your bike Micah, and let me know your last name so I can fix things straight.

-Mark

This is going down right after Interbike in Sin City's best skatepark (so I'm told). See you there.

Link to some photos I found of the park -- on some skateboard site.



-Mark

Alain from Dobermann sent over a few shots of one of their production-run dual suspension slopestyle bikes. If you saw any coverage of the Highlands event this summer, you saw Clinton riding the prototype of this frame.

Notice that the rear end pivots around the bottom bracket. That and the lack of a derailleur hanger should scream "Dual Suspension Singlespeed" in your face! I love how the shock goes through the seat tube. It obviously limits your seatpost depth, but a long seatpost is just extra weight anyway. I don't think these are supposed to be ridden up hills anyway.

That's all the info I have on it for now, as it isn't up on their site yet. Their blog has some pertinent info though. For now, some photos ought to do. Click 'em to pick 'em.







-Mark

Check out the wallride gone bad at 5 seconds. A lot of things went wrong in this clip, but the launch to wallride is awesome. So is the quick release Spinergy wheel. Watch, it'll make your day



-Mark

While trolling the interweb for bicycle frame CAD software, I came across The Bicycle Forest. The site has a ton of free frame building applets, for everything from bmx frames to full suspension frames. It even has a spoke length calculator applet. If you're thinking about building a wheel though, you'll want to check out Sheldon Brown's site first, 'cuz he has the easiest instructions to follow. Anyway, I ran through some stuff on the CAD program and built my rendition of the Black Market MOB, which is below. It's easy to get on there and start making a bike, but a lot of the in-depth features are lost because of the simplicity of the viewing screen (you can only see one dimension!). They make a $400 version of the software, which I presume is more detailed.



Oddly enough, they have a list of frame fabrication companies that use their software, and Lucky 13 Bikes is on there. Reggie, the guy behind it used to work out of NYC, but moved his operations to Portland, OR recently. Check his site, as he's got a nice looking bare-bones jump bike in his lineup. If I didn't have a brand new Dobermann, I'd probably try to get on one.



That's that for a random ramble. Shoulder still hurts, better get fixed before the ThrashJam in Vegas after InterBike. More on that in the soon.

-Mark

So, Interbike is coming up, and that is where we'll see all of this year's new designs and technology will be on display. But, for now, check out these two cool things:

Trek belt driven singlespeed:
The belt is supposed to offer a completely silent ride, require no maintenance, and last much longer than a chain. Chains last around 3000 miles, while the belt is projected to last somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 miles. It's 280grams lighter too, but who's counting. I don't think it has a place in MTB jumping and BMX, since the frame needs to have a slot cut in it near the dropout to get the belt in. It is a really cool idea though. Imagine this with an internally geared hub... :)



CLIX Wheel Release System:
Most of us ride bolt-on hubs to make our wheels stiffer, but if you ride XC or anything on the road, you can attest that this device is useful. It is a quick release skewer that doesn't require the user to unscrew anything. Just flip the lever and pull the washer to release. I like the idea, but I wonder how much these things cost, and if they weigh any more than a conventional quick release. It'll be interesting to see if they take on though. Wait and see

Click the link to see a video of what I'm talking about. It's short, so go look:

CLIX Video