Radness in Salt Lake City, UT
Last weekend I trained a bunch of high school mountain bike coaches, tried some Cannondales and rode a sick trail.
Fail: Rockshox Reverb
It’s time to tell the story of my Rockshox Reverb experiment.
UPDATED MARCH 21 with a resolution.
I need help pinning the high rpm
Hey Lee
I need help pinning it. I don’t use a watt meter, just cadence. Can’t get above 200. Is it my bike set up, my position or what? My husband can get to 215 on my bike. What to do? I’m in week 10 of Pump up the Base, which I love by the way. It’s still snowing here, so hopefully I will be ready to rock.
Julie
The connection between yoga and cycling
Here’s a nice note from last weekend’s high school MTB coach training in Utah.
If you get into your wife’s yoga, maybe she’ll get into your biking!
Chasing numbers
Yesterday I hit a personal record for sprint power — stoked! — but the extreme level of stoke got me thinking:
Why are numbers so appealing?
Your results may vary: P2PI week 5 power testing
I just finished week 5 of the Prepare to Pin It training program, and my power improvements are shocking.
If you’re into numbers, you have to see this.
Angle of your head in berms
Dear Lee,
I’ve noticed two styles of keeping one’s head while cornering. Let’s see two examples on Pinkbike:
Brian Lopes – with his head more or less in-line with the body
Jared Graves – with his head almost always perpendicular to the ground:
Is it just a matter of style and habits, or is there an advantage in keeping your head vertical in turns? Should I focus on it while training?
Cheers,
Jakub
Why did I ride my Stumpy 29 for Sea Otter dual slalom?
Hi Lee,
The Sea Otter Classic dual slalom is coming up. 2012 was my first year and it was a blast–I am looking forward to 2013. Sea Otter, when you take into account travel, entry, and the practice-qualies-main spread across days scheduling, is the most expensive race in my amateur season.
So I am trying to choose the right bike and I thought you would have serious insight. This is because you own a Specialized SX and a sweet Specialized P3 pump-track hardtail yet chose to race a Stumpy FSR 29 in 2012.
I own a Specialized SX and yet keep being drawn toward the absolutely ripping Nukeproof Snap hardtail I race USA BMX on. Incidentally, I started racing BMX because of Mastering Mountain Bike Skills and a dumb crash in last year’s Sea Otter dual slalom! Best cycling advice I ever took.
My question, put simply, is why did the trail/AM bike come out on top for you? And was that decision purely personal, or was it informed by a general principle that will help me choose to bring a 26 lbs hardtail that rules on hardpack or a 33 lbs dual-suspension slalom bike that seems tailor-made, but is a wildcard.
Unsurprisingly, my SX does not shine on the BMX track, and the only local, legal slalom course was shut down shortly after I bought the frame. Or should I just borrow my father’s old Stumpy FSR!
Thank you very much,
Matt
Here’s to sucking less
Part of the continuing saga …
A few years ago I realized (well, I was shown) that my sustained power and climbing ability pretty much sucked. Too many years as a downhiller, too much coaching, not enough riding, non-exciting genetics, blah blah.
While I suck at lots of things, I generally try to suck less, so I committed to 1) embracing pedaling as a skill, 2) learning more about training, 3) focusing on my steady-state power and, this year, 4) creating and following my training programs.
leelikesbikes is 10 years old!
Too bad I learned this when my 10-year domain registration expired, but everything’s working again and all is good.
10 years ago I had some bike stories to tell, so I whipped up a little site for my friends Now I have almost 40,000 friends each month.
Thanks everyone for your support!
Big things are afoot. Stay tuned.
Enduro 29 vs Stumpy 29 geometry?
Hi Lee
What do you think about the Enduro 29er vs Stumpjumper 29er in regard to the chainstay and head angle. The Enduro has got a 2cm shorter chainstay and a slacker head angle. What are the diffrences? Is the Stumpjumper geometry better for uphill and the Enduro better for the downhill?
Looking forward to your thoughts on this topic!
Best regards
Fun pedaling drill: Countdowns
Here’s a good way to spend a minute on the trainer, road or trail.