2010 NEMBAfest: MisfitPycles diSSent

For quite some time, I have been thinking about getting a diSSent.  In fact, the other frame I was considering before I got the Dillinger was this very frame, the diSSent.  The one thing that has attracted me the most is the sliding drops.  At NEMBAfest, I finally got a chance to try one out and even though it was set up gearie, I am sold on the diSSent.  Likin' Bikin', an LBS from Alton, NH had a few diSSents onhand to demo.  The single speed version was too small but the owner Daniel said to try it geared just to get a feel for the bike and that was the best move.

Despite not being used to riding with gears and an unfamiliar cockpit the first thing I noticed about this frame was how good it felt.  19" frame with a 100mm stem and felt right at home.  It was really light but then again, it had some pretty primo parts on it that contributed to the lack of weight, for gearie bike.  In comparing the geometry between the Dillinger (20") and the diSSent (19.4"), they are almost identical but for some reason the diSSent felt much better.  I wonder if it might be the fact that it's 6061 Al vs 7005 Al on the Dillinger and bent top tube which increases the head tube angle by a degree over the Dillinger.

All I know is that after riding the diSSent I now need one!  The bike was really tight and felt really smooth.  Now, to figure out how to get one. 

2010 NEMBAFest: CTNEMBA's Single Speed Sunday

CT NEMBA led a ride on Sunday morning.  We originally started out with seven riders, 4 single speeders, and three gearies but after the first climb the gearies broke off because one person in that group of three couldn't even stay ahead of me as the sweeper.  At that point the ride turned into a Single Speed only ride.  Prior to riding the new section of trail we picked up a kid who got left behind from his group (that was smart).  He rode with us until we caught up with that group.

Kyerra took a header on the new trail.  Combination of too much speed and an unimproved trail meant she couldn't make one corner and went OTB.  She was fine but here brake lever needed to be straightened.

Pictured above is Rich.  Second time out on a single speed and he was killing it.  He did have a little mishap at the end of the ride where he fell down for stop.  Kind of embarrassing.

Ride map

2010 NEMBAFest: 29er Porn

There were quite a few 29ers at this year's NEMBA fest, including quite a few demos but I got a few shots of the big wheeled bikes.  I love the color scheme on this Niner Rip9.  That is one hawt bike!

This is the first time I have seen a MisfitPyscles diSSent in the flesh and it's an awesome looking bike.  This was the guy who was on the ride with us on Saturday riding a 32:25 with a full face helmet on.

The ride leader for Saturday's Intermediate Ride was on a beautiful black Siren, rigid.  Bear Brook State Park was great for riding rigid.

2010 NEMBAfest: The morning after

Campgrounds were great.  Perfect location, too.  Bathrooms and showers were just one site over.  Only drawback on the showers is that you have to feed quarters into a timer.  It was pretty cold Saturday night, my guess was in the upper 30s but I slept perfectly in my 1981 Cannondale Qualofil sleeping bag.  Yes, that's right Cannondale made camping equipment before they started making bikes and I have had one their sleeping bags since high school.  It's rated to 10 degrees and I slept like a baby.

Apparently, the entire camp ground was filled with mountain bikers.  I think next year, if I can swing it, I am going to come up for two nights and bring the monster crosser and spend a day riding all the dirt roads.

2010 NEMBAfest: Saturday Night Live

photo courtesy of Philip Keyes

What do you do after a hard day of riding?  Recharge with a Growler of BBC's Steel Rail Pale Ale and then get ready of the night ride!

photo courtesy of Philip Keyes

And they're off!

Kathy was the ride leader for the Novice Night Ride at an intermediate pace

There must have been 10 to 15 riders in this group and there were many stops in order to wait for the stragglers to catch up

The more advanced ride finally caught up to us and passed on the trail in the vicinity of the escarpment trail

Not sure this really qualifies as a mechanical because all he needed was air in his rear tire but didn't have a flat.  However, there was one person who lost his lights.  I think the battery went out on him.  Fortunately, someone had a back up light for him.

We rode some of the same trail that we rode earlier in the day, however, our ride leader who is from the area took us on trails that she knew making it really fun.

2010 NEMBAfest: Saturday Single Speed

The afternoon Intermediate ride at an advanced pace was led by a local Singlespeeder by the name of Ben and could that guy hammer!  In fact he was riding a rigid Siren 29er and except for the catch up stops, I never saw him.  We started out with four single speeders and three gearies.  At one point, the two gearies took off on their own and we picked two more gearies, both of which hailed from Groton, CT.

Kyierra & Ryan Tucker

The intermediate ride was 13+ miles long with a mixture buff singletrack, great climbs, awesome descents, and of course typical rooty, rocky New England singletrack. The trails reminded me a lot of Massaoit State Park.

Ben, the ride leader

Now this guy is a contridiction, he was riding a rigid MisfitPsycles diSSent, with a 25t gear and a full face helmet.  He told me at the start of the ride he broke his nose earlier in the season, mountain biking, and decided for a little extra facial protection.

At rest stop, Ben practiced his track stands while we all looked on.  The guy in the MTBR jersey, earlier in the day did a chest plan on the practice skinny at the venue.  He was a trooper but would be hurting later.  And more ironically, the guy pictured above right is a NEMBA member who called me out of the blue looking for biking recommendations down in Fairfield County.

Some where out on the trail we ran into some novices and gave them advice on how to get back to the venue.  Funny, that for such a large area that people would venture off the marked path and wind up getting lost.

Other guy from Groton

Ride Map

2010 NEMBAfest: Carver 29er Titanium

Bikeman had quite a selection of bikes on hand for demonstration.  They had a few "96ers" (what I like to call a 69er) on hand but nothing in my size.  Hanging on the stand, however, was a large, titanium, rigid 29er that looked more like the owner's bike rather than part of the demo fleet.  I asked if I could try that bike and they said sure.

The process to demo a bike is interesting.  They take your pedals off and put them on the demo bike, that is of course their bike's pedals don't match your cleats.

The hard thing about riding a demo is that the bike is set up for someone else, especially if you are riding a singlespeed.  When you only have one gear to push configuring the rest of your bike to your riding ability is paramount and to jump onto someone else's configuration is a bit disconcerting.  I think bike setup on a geared bike is more forgiving because riding geared has less to do with body position and more with having the strength to make the climb. 

The first thing I noticed about this bike was it's weight.  It was light, damn light!  I have never ridden a titanium bike and it seemed due to the lack of weight the bike seemed to just float over everything.  The carbon fork seemed to add to the float but I think what helped was the Conti 2.4 Mountain Kings.  Still, riding it through technical sections wasn't at all bone jarring like I am used to when riding aluminum.

The geometry felt really good to.  The bike was nimble and very responsive, especially with Avid BB7s although the hubs were a little loose.  I was amazed at how fast I could get up to speed and it seemed to roll over everything.  I love this bike!  Of course affording one is another question.

I started out this ride with my TA jacket because it was cold!  I took it off later in the day and rode with just a long sleeve jersey but that was probably a mistake.  I probably should have had a short sleeve jersey over it or my wind vest.

Despite being a bike setup for someone else I found the 19" frame to be quite nice.  While looking for my next bike, I have been debating on the frame size.  Both the Dillinger and Qball are 20 inch frames and I think I am just used to them but the 19 inch frame feels perfect.

The demo loop at Bear Brook was a perfect course for getting a feel for the what the bike can do.  It had three nice climbs, the first being a short up, the next one a rooty, technical climb, and the last one an almost right up the fall line climb with another little kick in the cohones once you got up the steep part.  Then there is a flat, buff trail back that you could really open it up on!

This what the flat section looked like.  These trails were pretty buff and overall Bear Brook is a real SS friendly park.

2010 NEMBAFest: Fat Bike Porn

There were a few fat bikes/snow bikes in attendance, too.  This custom, Peptol Bismol bike had two rims laced to one hub.  This configuration, according to it's owner is really only for riding in snow.

Same frame as the Pink.  These frames were made by Frank the Welder and apparently he made less than 20 frames.  What's cool is if you didn't want to put on fat wheels you could still use 29er wheels.  Now that's versatile, that's two bikes in one!

Orange on the trail

Of course, who could resist a Purple People Eater?

2010 NEMBAfest: Bear Brook State Park, NH

This weekend was a first of many sorts.  First time camping out and mountain biking, attending NEMBAfest,  riding in New Hampshire, attending a two day mountain biking event, cold weather camping since I was in the army, and riding completely at night.  Bear Brook State Park is about 4+ hours from Newtown and the drive was really nice.  Leaving at 6:30 in the morning was a good plan because there was about 10 miles of slow traffic on Highway 93.

Rather than go directly to the Fest, I opted to set up camp first.  Since we own one tent that sleeps six I was living large in the spacious accommodations.  The tent is actually a two room tent so I used the front room to prepare food and the back room to sleep in..  

On Saturday, the Fest was attended quite well but it was kind of cold, it was supposed to be warm but there was a wind from the north that kept the temperature in the upper 50s and it went down into the 30s that night.

Bikeman was there with a full line of Carver Bikes.  I demoed a Titanium 29er with a rigid carbon fork that was simply outstanding.  The bike was really light and handled really well.  Kona had a huge presence there (both Saturday and Sunday), along with Scott, Felt, and Rocky Mountain.  I wanted to try the Hammer29 but they didn't have one available.  In fact none of the factory tents had any large, single speed bikes except for Carver on Saturday and a shop from NH on Sunday.

On Sunday, Likin' Bikin', a small shop from Alton, NH and the sole US distributor for MisfitPsycles was there. I have been wanting to try the diSSent for a few years and on Sunday, I got my chance.  

Kona was there in full force integrated with JRA Cycles.  They had a Unit29 in all white but it was an 18 inch frame and I wasn't going to bother.  It would have been nice to try all steel rigid again.

Felt bikes, the SSer was too small

Scott doesn't make an SSer at the moment but the factory rep said they are coming out with an aluminum hardtail soon.  They had quite a few full susser 29ers.  The factory rep was explaining their unique system of travel that lets move from All Mountain (6" of travel) to Trail (5" of Travel) to XC (4" of travel).  I don't recall if that came on the 29er but talk about three bikes in one!

There was a long, man made skinny going down the length of the venue.  I don't think I saw anyone ride the pole.  Granted, I don't I would want to be known as the guy who rode the pole at NEMBAFest.  While it might seem an accomplishment for some it just sounds bad across the board.  There were quite few face plants, body slams, and crashes but no real injuries coming off it.

I met the Maz from EFTA.  He gave me the insights of running a race which is something I have wanted to try and might come to fruition next year.  There will be more posts coming from the fest, including two bike reviews for the bikes I demo'd, ride re-craps, and lots of bike porn, so stay connected!