Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Keith
Hey guys just wanted to pop in here and let you know that Keith had to go into the hospital for a little bit. He's doing well and will be back online soon.
In the meantime if you have sent him an email and haven't heard a response back that is why.
I am being forwarded all his emails but not sure if some could possibly be dropped or fall through the cracks, also some are not being forwarded with the original senders email so if you have asked him a question and need an immediate response please resend it to {info@bansheebikes.com} and i'll be able to get back to you right away.
In the meantime if you have sent him an email and haven't heard a response back that is why.
I am being forwarded all his emails but not sure if some could possibly be dropped or fall through the cracks, also some are not being forwarded with the original senders email so if you have asked him a question and need an immediate response please resend it to {info@bansheebikes.com} and i'll be able to get back to you right away.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Riding with the Fakawi Tribe
Wow is all I can say.
What an amazing trip...
I'll be flying back to Taiwan tomorrow but I am so glad I came here - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
First let me start with saying Kuala Lumpur is probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. Its clean, very modern, people speak English well and if I didn't live in another beautiful city which is Vancouver Canada I could easily live here. Its very multicutural just like Vancouver but with a different ethnic mix but still diverse nonetheless. That being said it means you can get just about anything to eat and if you like Malay, Indian or Chinese food then you're in for a real treat.
The other really cool thing is its just so green and lush... there are trees and stuff just all over the place and its because of that it feels less clutered with the dull harshness of nothing but concrete you find in most city's... its like it was built in a park.
First day of riding we went to this super flowy area that the name evades me at the moment. It felt like a mini Aline and really reminded me of Cypress when Digger was doing the trail work before they shut it down for the Olympics. Burms were big and flowed back 180 on each other in sections, there were nice tables and a decent gap, with hips and basically anything you'd expect from a groomed trail.
Check out Aaron manning the helmet Cam following me and Rizal through a couple runs
I have to admit I did suck on day one. I've been off the bike way to long and was 50/50 the gap but by day 2 I felt a little better. Its kinda reminds me of Whistler where your first runs down Aline you're not landing deep into the transitions as you try to get your flow back until you get a few under your belt and your hitting them with all your speed again. I'm also still getting used to the Legend coming from riding mostly a hardtail which just naturally has a ton of pop of jumps.
Still I had a great time -except for the pushing up parts. Temperature was around 30C so it kicks the energy right out of you. Your completely soaking wet in your own sweat by the time you get to the top, but thankfully there is a cool breeze always that helps a little.
We spent all day there and had a blast.
Riders were Rizal, Nick, Aaron, and Allan... a great bunch of guys to ride with who also all have skills so it was great.
To be perfectly honest I was not expecting a couple things. One was that the riders were as good as they were and second i didn't expect the amount of trail work that is being done over here and that the level of trails were requiring a good amount of skill to negotiate properly.
After we left the one side of the mountain with the flowy trails we checked out the other side just as the rain started to fall. Whoa was I blown away... the city is working on a mountain bike park and they pulled out all the stops on this one.
The park had 2 sets of 8 jumps in a row - 16 total- that had a big set and a small set. The big set were tables about 20 feet across at the tops... comparable to say some of the jumps on dirt merchant.
Down the hill were 4 graduated drops... exactly like you see at whistler where there is woodwork out to a point and then it falls away down the hill. After that you can hit the small box or big box which consists of a step up gap to the top of the box -much like the boneyard boxes at whistler and then after you have this huge wall that you can roll or even fofanu with the speed you've built up.
Around this whole area is a big recreation area that when open will have resturants and i'm sure a bike and skate shop in it. Its seriously a really big building. The skate shop is because they also have a killer skate park just below the slopestyle area and it looks like a serious skate park with deep bowls and lots of different areas to ride in - its big.
I have more from the trip but I still need to get some pics from Nick and then I can tell you about day 2 and the rest of the trip.
Let me just say if you're a mountian biker and want to go on a wicked vacation then this is a pretty nice place to go.
Thanks to all the riders I rode with. Nick, Rizal, Allan and Arron on day 1... day 2 was Nick, Rizal, Andy, Josh, and Arron. Biggest thanks goes out to Nick Ong who really made this trip awesome. He rode, took pictures and was just a great guy to hang out with. I'm so stoked that i'll see them again in a few weeks in the Philipinnes for the Terry Lazarbal festival and races.
I will miss Malaysia when i leave but I will be back for sure... and we're going back to that place where you eat indian food with your hands off a banana leaf... I still can't get over how awesome that was.
What an amazing trip...
I'll be flying back to Taiwan tomorrow but I am so glad I came here - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
First let me start with saying Kuala Lumpur is probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. Its clean, very modern, people speak English well and if I didn't live in another beautiful city which is Vancouver Canada I could easily live here. Its very multicutural just like Vancouver but with a different ethnic mix but still diverse nonetheless. That being said it means you can get just about anything to eat and if you like Malay, Indian or Chinese food then you're in for a real treat.
The other really cool thing is its just so green and lush... there are trees and stuff just all over the place and its because of that it feels less clutered with the dull harshness of nothing but concrete you find in most city's... its like it was built in a park.
First day of riding we went to this super flowy area that the name evades me at the moment. It felt like a mini Aline and really reminded me of Cypress when Digger was doing the trail work before they shut it down for the Olympics. Burms were big and flowed back 180 on each other in sections, there were nice tables and a decent gap, with hips and basically anything you'd expect from a groomed trail.
Check out Aaron manning the helmet Cam following me and Rizal through a couple runs
I have to admit I did suck on day one. I've been off the bike way to long and was 50/50 the gap but by day 2 I felt a little better. Its kinda reminds me of Whistler where your first runs down Aline you're not landing deep into the transitions as you try to get your flow back until you get a few under your belt and your hitting them with all your speed again. I'm also still getting used to the Legend coming from riding mostly a hardtail which just naturally has a ton of pop of jumps.
Still I had a great time -except for the pushing up parts. Temperature was around 30C so it kicks the energy right out of you. Your completely soaking wet in your own sweat by the time you get to the top, but thankfully there is a cool breeze always that helps a little.
We spent all day there and had a blast.
Riders were Rizal, Nick, Aaron, and Allan... a great bunch of guys to ride with who also all have skills so it was great.
To be perfectly honest I was not expecting a couple things. One was that the riders were as good as they were and second i didn't expect the amount of trail work that is being done over here and that the level of trails were requiring a good amount of skill to negotiate properly.
After we left the one side of the mountain with the flowy trails we checked out the other side just as the rain started to fall. Whoa was I blown away... the city is working on a mountain bike park and they pulled out all the stops on this one.
The park had 2 sets of 8 jumps in a row - 16 total- that had a big set and a small set. The big set were tables about 20 feet across at the tops... comparable to say some of the jumps on dirt merchant.
Down the hill were 4 graduated drops... exactly like you see at whistler where there is woodwork out to a point and then it falls away down the hill. After that you can hit the small box or big box which consists of a step up gap to the top of the box -much like the boneyard boxes at whistler and then after you have this huge wall that you can roll or even fofanu with the speed you've built up.
Around this whole area is a big recreation area that when open will have resturants and i'm sure a bike and skate shop in it. Its seriously a really big building. The skate shop is because they also have a killer skate park just below the slopestyle area and it looks like a serious skate park with deep bowls and lots of different areas to ride in - its big.
I have more from the trip but I still need to get some pics from Nick and then I can tell you about day 2 and the rest of the trip.
Let me just say if you're a mountian biker and want to go on a wicked vacation then this is a pretty nice place to go.
Thanks to all the riders I rode with. Nick, Rizal, Allan and Arron on day 1... day 2 was Nick, Rizal, Andy, Josh, and Arron. Biggest thanks goes out to Nick Ong who really made this trip awesome. He rode, took pictures and was just a great guy to hang out with. I'm so stoked that i'll see them again in a few weeks in the Philipinnes for the Terry Lazarbal festival and races.
I will miss Malaysia when i leave but I will be back for sure... and we're going back to that place where you eat indian food with your hands off a banana leaf... I still can't get over how awesome that was.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Mythic Rune on bikeradar.com
bikeradar.com is Future Publishing's internet site for all their magazine titles including Mountain Biking UK and What Mountain Bike...and their road titles too whatever those are called
The Mythic Rune that Freeborn custom built, recently got reviewed in the MBUK print magazine coming second in their all-mountain grouptest beating some tough competition from the "big boys" (cannondale and commencal)
as usual, its now on bikeradar in their gear reviews, check it out!
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/rune-pro-build-09-34066
cheers!
Rob C
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pandora's Banshee RUNE Review
First off,
let me tell you where I come from in terms of riding bikes. I’ve been riding mountain bikes since 1994 and have always been a keen XC only rider. That all changed when I decided that racing is not what pushed my buttons anymore and all I wanted out of my rides were weekend casual trail rides. As I stepped into the world of casual trail riding I found myself pushing more toward aggressive trail riding....drops, jumps, and basically just going faster where ever you can.
Well, aggressive is all relative; my aggressive mode could be somebody else’s peanut easy ride . I also do enjoy climbing which makes the downhill all so more rewarding. And so the search for a rig that could do it all within my riding capacity, that is. What do we call that....All Mountain?
Let me confess, when I first laid my eyes on a Rune, I found the frame design aesthetically not ‘Hot’ and never in my wildest dream considered that I would even think of buying one at that time. I better cover my ass here and say that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. After much time spent on researching my needs on a frame that would suit me best and also putting looks aside , I decided to pull the trigger on a Rune. My purchase was based on good value for money, suspension design – Virtual Floating 4 Bar (VF4B) and finally a very intangible aspect of bike purchases; the Banshee guys seem like an easy going bunch of mountain bikers.
I will try to be as neutral as possible with my review of the Rune. I understand that it’s only human nature to be positively biased toward the bike you own as saying anything negative about your own purchase makes you look and feel bad and probably stabs at one’s own ego. By the way, this review is my own opinion and may not be agreeable by all.
My new frame:
I saw a Rune about several months back and the weld beads were not as consistent and smooth as the current Rune frame that I own now. Mind you, it’s not as good as a Yeti that I had but it was still way better than some bigger brands that are sold here. It is a black anodized medium sized frame. The slightly matt anodized finishing was spot on with its contrasting white logos. I was thinking of going with a DHX coil shock but after coming upon an article that stated the frame designer (Keith Scott) developed the Rune to work better with high volume air shocks, I decided to go with the DHX air.
I was quite astonished at the stiffness of the rear triangle. When I tried to flex the rear triangle laterally with the shock (DHX5 Air) off the frame I could not feel any flex in it. It felt like it was one tough dog of a frame. I was feeling good about that as I wanted a sturdy frame. With the shock off, the rear triangle took some muscle to move. I guess it was because of the use of Igus Bushing instead of ball bearings in the pivots.
The finishing of the rear bottom suspension link (gold anodized) was slightly scratched up at the edges. I would assume that it was probably a handling or storage issue at the factory. Yeah! Yeah! It’s a mountain bike and it will eventually get scratched up but we all like it new when you pull it out of a box, don’t we?
The weight of the frame I thought was 7.4lbs for the medium (I may be wrong) but when I weighed it on a scale at the shop it showed at 7.7lbs. This didn’t bother me as weight was not really an issue for me. But let’s just put the blame on the scale for the inaccuracy.
The following is what I built her up with:
Fork: Fox Van36 ‘09
Wheelset: DT5.1 rims laced to MacMahone hubs
Drivetrain: X9
Crank: XT
Brakes: XT
Profile low rise handlebar – 26”
Stem: GAP 60mm
Pedals: Z Time
Headset: CK Devo 1.5
Saddle: WTB
Seatpost: Banshee (provided with frame purchase)
Tyres: Nevegal 2.35(F) / Conti Vertical 2.3(R)
Total weight: 32lbs
My first ride on the dirt @ Bukit Kiara Trails:
I wasn’t planning on pushing hard on the first ride as I wanted to work on the shock and fork setup. Ended up adding 10psi on my DHX Air to a total of 150psi. Other than this, I did not do anything else to the setup for the day. In the first few minutes on the bike, everything felt right, not perfect but right. I had ridden bikes that just didn’t feel good and a lot of changes had to be made to fit me.
Climbing up the asphalt toward the crossroad, I felt that pedalling the bike was very efficient. I say efficient is because there was no need to use the propedal lever on the DHX 5 Air shock. What a revelation! The suspension design alone made all the difference in the climbing ability of the Rune. With every crank cycle made I did not feel the bike bouncing about. Please remember that this is a 6 inch frame and it didn’t feel like I was on one climbing the tarmac.
The previous 6 inch trail bike that I had, the propedal lever on the shock had to be used to stop the rear from moving with every pedal stroke on the asphalt climb. It made for a tiring hike up the asphalt hill if the propedal was not activated. Suspension bobbing does make you feel like there is a loss of energy going into the shock instead of going into the wheel and effective forward motion. As a result, I can conclude that certain suspension designs do make a difference in pedalling efficiency. And a suspension design that needs some sort of ‘on the fly’ shock management may not be the perfect solution for my ‘All Mountain’ rig.
One of the first things I realized was that the suspension felt rather harsh on small bumps. It wasn’t as plush as what one would believe a 6 inch travel bike would have you experience. My previous sub 6 inch bike (Yeti 575) was very compliant on small bumps and made for a very comfortable trail bike. It could also be that the bushings need some break in period. So if you were looking for a bike that feels plush/good on small bumps, this might not be the right bike. What I think I understand is this is also due to the Rune’s VF4B suspension design as it compromises on small bump compliance for an efficient ride. I can’t tell you how it feels on the big hits yet as I haven’t gone there....yet.
I felt that the frame’s stiffness did make me feel more confident on the technical downhill sections as I was pushing harder than I did on my previous bike and this is on my maiden ride. The rutted fire road at ‘Upper Shot’ and the DH trail from ‘Shriners’ connecting to ‘Bunion’ used to be quite sketchy if you pushed it a little too hard but I was feeling good on the Rune as I didn’t feel like I was pushing the limit of the bike yet. I’m sure the Fox Van36 contributed to the solidness of the ride. For your info, I was on a Rock Shox Pike on my previous bike.
Even with the penalty of a heavier bike, all the technical climbs on the Rune were amazing. The traction I got from the rear wheel biting into the ground was apparent as I found that I didn’t have to work as hard with body english to get the traction needed in the rear tyre. I had a smile ear to ear. Even when I stood up to power through some short steep climbs, it felt solid in the rear (Propedal off) without the feel of the rear bobbing. My experience with standing and the rear bobbing on my other bikes is that it can cause sudden loss in rear wheel traction as well as reduced efficiency to burst up to the top. The multiple switchbacks at “Wasteland” were cleaned without a hitch even though I had a Fox Van36 fork up front. I really don’t see a need for a travel adjust fork on this frame as it does well on most climbs with the 160mm fork.
Conclusion:
I’m pretty happy with the bike at this point and it has done what I had expected of it. I can’t ask for more as it didn’t disappoint me in most of the bike handling elements on my first ride.
Psssst! Remember what I said about the Rune not being a pretty bike. Well, she’s growing on me! She really is
Have a great day...cheers!
GALLERY HERE<<
- Andy "Pandora" Dass
let me tell you where I come from in terms of riding bikes. I’ve been riding mountain bikes since 1994 and have always been a keen XC only rider. That all changed when I decided that racing is not what pushed my buttons anymore and all I wanted out of my rides were weekend casual trail rides. As I stepped into the world of casual trail riding I found myself pushing more toward aggressive trail riding....drops, jumps, and basically just going faster where ever you can.Well, aggressive is all relative; my aggressive mode could be somebody else’s peanut easy ride . I also do enjoy climbing which makes the downhill all so more rewarding. And so the search for a rig that could do it all within my riding capacity, that is. What do we call that....All Mountain?
Let me confess, when I first laid my eyes on a Rune, I found the frame design aesthetically not ‘Hot’ and never in my wildest dream considered that I would even think of buying one at that time. I better cover my ass here and say that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. After much time spent on researching my needs on a frame that would suit me best and also putting looks aside , I decided to pull the trigger on a Rune. My purchase was based on good value for money, suspension design – Virtual Floating 4 Bar (VF4B) and finally a very intangible aspect of bike purchases; the Banshee guys seem like an easy going bunch of mountain bikers.
I will try to be as neutral as possible with my review of the Rune. I understand that it’s only human nature to be positively biased toward the bike you own as saying anything negative about your own purchase makes you look and feel bad and probably stabs at one’s own ego. By the way, this review is my own opinion and may not be agreeable by all.
My new frame:
I saw a Rune about several months back and the weld beads were not as consistent and smooth as the current Rune frame that I own now. Mind you, it’s not as good as a Yeti that I had but it was still way better than some bigger brands that are sold here. It is a black anodized medium sized frame. The slightly matt anodized finishing was spot on with its contrasting white logos. I was thinking of going with a DHX coil shock but after coming upon an article that stated the frame designer (Keith Scott) developed the Rune to work better with high volume air shocks, I decided to go with the DHX air.
I was quite astonished at the stiffness of the rear triangle. When I tried to flex the rear triangle laterally with the shock (DHX5 Air) off the frame I could not feel any flex in it. It felt like it was one tough dog of a frame. I was feeling good about that as I wanted a sturdy frame. With the shock off, the rear triangle took some muscle to move. I guess it was because of the use of Igus Bushing instead of ball bearings in the pivots.
The finishing of the rear bottom suspension link (gold anodized) was slightly scratched up at the edges. I would assume that it was probably a handling or storage issue at the factory. Yeah! Yeah! It’s a mountain bike and it will eventually get scratched up but we all like it new when you pull it out of a box, don’t we?
The weight of the frame I thought was 7.4lbs for the medium (I may be wrong) but when I weighed it on a scale at the shop it showed at 7.7lbs. This didn’t bother me as weight was not really an issue for me. But let’s just put the blame on the scale for the inaccuracy.
The following is what I built her up with:
Fork: Fox Van36 ‘09
Wheelset: DT5.1 rims laced to MacMahone hubs
Drivetrain: X9
Crank: XT
Brakes: XT
Profile low rise handlebar – 26”
Stem: GAP 60mm
Pedals: Z Time
Headset: CK Devo 1.5
Saddle: WTB
Seatpost: Banshee (provided with frame purchase)
Tyres: Nevegal 2.35(F) / Conti Vertical 2.3(R)
Total weight: 32lbs
My first ride on the dirt @ Bukit Kiara Trails:
I wasn’t planning on pushing hard on the first ride as I wanted to work on the shock and fork setup. Ended up adding 10psi on my DHX Air to a total of 150psi. Other than this, I did not do anything else to the setup for the day. In the first few minutes on the bike, everything felt right, not perfect but right. I had ridden bikes that just didn’t feel good and a lot of changes had to be made to fit me.
Climbing up the asphalt toward the crossroad, I felt that pedalling the bike was very efficient. I say efficient is because there was no need to use the propedal lever on the DHX 5 Air shock. What a revelation! The suspension design alone made all the difference in the climbing ability of the Rune. With every crank cycle made I did not feel the bike bouncing about. Please remember that this is a 6 inch frame and it didn’t feel like I was on one climbing the tarmac.
The previous 6 inch trail bike that I had, the propedal lever on the shock had to be used to stop the rear from moving with every pedal stroke on the asphalt climb. It made for a tiring hike up the asphalt hill if the propedal was not activated. Suspension bobbing does make you feel like there is a loss of energy going into the shock instead of going into the wheel and effective forward motion. As a result, I can conclude that certain suspension designs do make a difference in pedalling efficiency. And a suspension design that needs some sort of ‘on the fly’ shock management may not be the perfect solution for my ‘All Mountain’ rig.
One of the first things I realized was that the suspension felt rather harsh on small bumps. It wasn’t as plush as what one would believe a 6 inch travel bike would have you experience. My previous sub 6 inch bike (Yeti 575) was very compliant on small bumps and made for a very comfortable trail bike. It could also be that the bushings need some break in period. So if you were looking for a bike that feels plush/good on small bumps, this might not be the right bike. What I think I understand is this is also due to the Rune’s VF4B suspension design as it compromises on small bump compliance for an efficient ride. I can’t tell you how it feels on the big hits yet as I haven’t gone there....yet.
I felt that the frame’s stiffness did make me feel more confident on the technical downhill sections as I was pushing harder than I did on my previous bike and this is on my maiden ride. The rutted fire road at ‘Upper Shot’ and the DH trail from ‘Shriners’ connecting to ‘Bunion’ used to be quite sketchy if you pushed it a little too hard but I was feeling good on the Rune as I didn’t feel like I was pushing the limit of the bike yet. I’m sure the Fox Van36 contributed to the solidness of the ride. For your info, I was on a Rock Shox Pike on my previous bike.
Even with the penalty of a heavier bike, all the technical climbs on the Rune were amazing. The traction I got from the rear wheel biting into the ground was apparent as I found that I didn’t have to work as hard with body english to get the traction needed in the rear tyre. I had a smile ear to ear. Even when I stood up to power through some short steep climbs, it felt solid in the rear (Propedal off) without the feel of the rear bobbing. My experience with standing and the rear bobbing on my other bikes is that it can cause sudden loss in rear wheel traction as well as reduced efficiency to burst up to the top. The multiple switchbacks at “Wasteland” were cleaned without a hitch even though I had a Fox Van36 fork up front. I really don’t see a need for a travel adjust fork on this frame as it does well on most climbs with the 160mm fork.
Conclusion:
I’m pretty happy with the bike at this point and it has done what I had expected of it. I can’t ask for more as it didn’t disappoint me in most of the bike handling elements on my first ride.
Psssst! Remember what I said about the Rune not being a pretty bike. Well, she’s growing on me! She really is
Have a great day...cheers!
GALLERY HERE<<
- Andy "Pandora" Dass
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Black and White Amps limited run
Decided to try a batch of Amps in black and white.Raw is pretty awesome but was curious to see what these looked like.
I'll try to get some better pics when they're dry. I didn't want to pic them up off the rack as they still need to go in for a clearcoat and didn't want to get my grubby fingerprints on them and then have them permanently imprinted under the clear.
Hopefully the pics give you some idea what they'll look like
Bootleg Canyon's Thomson Dies
LAS VEGAS, NV (BRAIN)—Brent Thomson, mountain bike industry legend and trail master of Bootleg Canyon, has lost his battle with complications from the quadruple bypass surgery he underwent in January.
More on the Brain here
and here
I didn't know him but I was talking to Lance Canfield who knew him well along with Bender former Banshee rider. Anyone whose golden in their books is the same in mine. I have ridden the Canyon and appreciate all the work he put in.
We wish him happy trails in the next life.
What i do want to do is bring attention to the huge medical bills that will dog his family and would encourage anyone who can, to give a little if they have the means.
You can click for the paypal link here, it just down in the middle of the text.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Back in Beitou
I've 
been back in Taiwan for about a month now and most of the time its just work work work but got out for a little day of digging and managed to get in 1 run before it got too dark.
It must be kinda strange for the Taiwanese people seeing 2 white dudes [me and lance canfield] heading up the mountain with shovels and other digging tools cause we sure get a lot of strange looks. One dude stopped us and asked me if we were looking for treasure.
Of course they have no idea that anyone is digging mountain bike trails so I guess the imaginations run wild.
We did manage to build a little hip with a burm before it and then tore down a wall ride that was totally rotted and rediverted the trail back onto the new section of trail. Thankfully we had the help of some local guys who love to dig and love to ride.
There is quite alot to do over here if you know where to go for fun. Before I came over I always heard horror stories and how most people couldn't wait to get back home. Maybe it is a pain in the ass for some but so far I always have a blast and also get a bunch of stuff done.
Soon
it'll be off to Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur to see the Fakawi Tribe. I'll be grabbing my Legend and hope to get to see their local trails and do some riding.
Should be lots of fun.
I'll only be gone a couple of days as I have a ton of work to get finished.
Currently working on a catalog which should be completed in a couple weeks. Ryan has been the guy whose been working on it and he's done a stellar job.
Also were working on the plans for Interbike. Yeah its in October... or is it september??!!! anyway if you don't start planning now you end up going crazy doing everything last minute and I hate working like that.
I also have a bunch of other stuff to do as well but thats boring stuff that I'm sure you have no interest in hearing about... like a S&OP for 2010.
So after I get back from KL we will have lots of people showing up for the TPE show, so its gonna start getting a little Zoo-ish around here.
Steve, John and Chris from Niner will be here soon. Peter - another Canadian who is working on a folding bike thingy. Chris Canfield might also show up unless he gets selected for the US national DH team... hopefully he doesn't show up cause that means he got on the team - good luck Chris!! and I think Todd and Gabe from Evil might show up. Gabe is a cool guy and would be fun to party and ride with so I'm hoping he comes along with Todd. Stijn will be back and then my good friend and Banshee distributor Gabriel from Brazil will also be here and we'll be hanging out with Ollie,
Lynn and the rest of the Funn components gang.
Hopefully I can stay on top of all my emails during this crazy period and still get some riding in.
So I'll leave
you with some other interesting sights and sounds from Taiwan.
From the Latern Festival, gokarting, to my crappy drum solo at a local spot called Jalepenos where you can actually get Mexican food and a tasty margurita, and lastly some pics I took of Stejn doing a little urban jibbing on the Paradox.
been back in Taiwan for about a month now and most of the time its just work work work but got out for a little day of digging and managed to get in 1 run before it got too dark.It must be kinda strange for the Taiwanese people seeing 2 white dudes [me and lance canfield] heading up the mountain with shovels and other digging tools cause we sure get a lot of strange looks. One dude stopped us and asked me if we were looking for treasure.
Of course they have no idea that anyone is digging mountain bike trails so I guess the imaginations run wild.We did manage to build a little hip with a burm before it and then tore down a wall ride that was totally rotted and rediverted the trail back onto the new section of trail. Thankfully we had the help of some local guys who love to dig and love to ride.
There is quite alot to do over here if you know where to go for fun. Before I came over I always heard horror stories and how most people couldn't wait to get back home. Maybe it is a pain in the ass for some but so far I always have a blast and also get a bunch of stuff done.
Soon
it'll be off to Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur to see the Fakawi Tribe. I'll be grabbing my Legend and hope to get to see their local trails and do some riding.Should be lots of fun.
I'll only be gone a couple of days as I have a ton of work to get finished.
Currently working on a catalog which should be completed in a couple weeks. Ryan has been the guy whose been working on it and he's done a stellar job.
Also were working on the plans for Interbike. Yeah its in October... or is it september??!!! anyway if you don't start planning now you end up going crazy doing everything last minute and I hate working like that.I also have a bunch of other stuff to do as well but thats boring stuff that I'm sure you have no interest in hearing about... like a S&OP for 2010.
So after I get back from KL we will have lots of people showing up for the TPE show, so its gonna start getting a little Zoo-ish around here.Steve, John and Chris from Niner will be here soon. Peter - another Canadian who is working on a folding bike thingy. Chris Canfield might also show up unless he gets selected for the US national DH team... hopefully he doesn't show up cause that means he got on the team - good luck Chris!! and I think Todd and Gabe from Evil might show up. Gabe is a cool guy and would be fun to party and ride with so I'm hoping he comes along with Todd. Stijn will be back and then my good friend and Banshee distributor Gabriel from Brazil will also be here and we'll be hanging out with Ollie,
Lynn and the rest of the Funn components gang.Hopefully I can stay on top of all my emails during this crazy period and still get some riding in.
So I'll leave
you with some other interesting sights and sounds from Taiwan.From the Latern Festival, gokarting, to my crappy drum solo at a local spot called Jalepenos where you can actually get Mexican food and a tasty margurita, and lastly some pics I took of Stejn doing a little urban jibbing on the Paradox.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
MONSTER SHOWDOWN
MONSTER ENERGY drinks have confirmed their support as the main sponsor of the 2009 Esher Shore Freeride Bike Jam - to be known as the "Monster Showdown"
Its set to be the NUMBER ONE event of the year for the UK Freeride Scene, so make a date in your diary for Sunday 28th June 2009, the event will run from 11am-5pm at Esher Shore Bike Park, with registration open at 10am for all riders
Mythic will be one of the co-sponsors of the Monster Showdown, expect to see a big representation from Mythic Bikes at the Jam ;)
More info coming very soon....www.eshershore.com
Its set to be the NUMBER ONE event of the year for the UK Freeride Scene, so make a date in your diary for Sunday 28th June 2009, the event will run from 11am-5pm at Esher Shore Bike Park, with registration open at 10am for all riders
Mythic will be one of the co-sponsors of the Monster Showdown, expect to see a big representation from Mythic Bikes at the Jam ;)
More info coming very soon....www.eshershore.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Mark Mathews is on Banshee
Mark is a ripper and a trickster from Vancouver Island and already rides for our buddies over at Straitline. And We are proud to say that he is now riding for Banshee.
Not only is he a great rider, but Mark is also one of the founders of Freeride BC Bike Park. See more on that here.
Check out Marks Amp on his blog.
Awesome photo skills by Alex Webb. check him out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)