Repair/upgrades

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Yeah, I admit to being lazy when it comes to keeping my bike in tune -- specifically my suspension. Went on a ride the other afternoon and the bike (my Blur LT) felt like crap. I guess it had been a while since I tweaked the suspension settings, and it'd gotten far enough out of whack that I really noticed it.

The next morning I spent some time with the bike and properly dialed in front and rear suspension, including adding a few pounds of air to the rear shock which had gotten too low.

What a difference!

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Here is a link to some cool pictures of the 2008 Cannondale Scalpel. You have to scroll down a little to get to the photos. Enjoy!
Mike

http://forum.mountainbike.be/viewtopic.php?t=34899&postdays=0&postorder=...

I went riding the other day and my bike got all nasty with mud. I skipped cleaning it yesterday (which I regret) but I tackled it and it's perfect now. I bought that Park Tool chain cleaner and some Pedro's citrus degreaser. I also bought some White Lightning lube for after the cleaning.

Anyway, I gently sprayed my bike down, then I used my soft brush to remove an big chunks of dirt, prayed it down again, then cleaned the chain.

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Does this happen to anyone else? It seems like my bike is the fully functional, smooth shifting, tight braking, creak free ride that I expect it to be whenever I don’t have to ride it. Although this is my first race, I have taught mountain biking through my school’s outdoor education program (www.coe.cornell.edu) for 2 years now. Through the whole semester I forget I even own repair tools. Then my classes start up and I can’t leave the house without brakes rubbing and gears jumping. Scouting rides turn into repair clinics. Repair clinics turn into anger management sessions. Anger management sessions turn into frantic trips to the bike shop to get things straightened out ASAP before my next class where something else breaks… Damn hex.

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In the last two weeks I have demo'ed the 2007 Cannondale Rush 4 and Prophet 4 on the same trail with similar conditions to come to a conclusion concerning my next bike purchase. Both bikes were a lot of fun to ride and I am not comparing them to see which one is the better bike, but which bike is better for me. I have been watching the reviews for these bikes over the last couple of years and had decided to purchase a Rush based on the descriptions and conclusions of the reviews. So after riding each bike back to back I was surprised at the results. But first, in a nutshell here is what I found out.

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In this segment I am testing the 2007 Cannondale Rush 4. I am going to discuss the Rush by itself and try not to compare it to the Prophet just yet. I will save that for the final post and base my decision on that.

The Rush is Cannondale's 24 hour racer/epic trail bike. The large frame Rush 4 weighed in at 29.8 pounds. Certainly not a lightweight bike for its intended purpose. And the Rush 4 is a middle of the line bike with 2 other models falling in below it.

The Rush 4 comes equipped with Shimano LX shifters and an XT rear derailleur. It also has LX hydraulic brakes. Other highlights are the FSA crankset and Mavic 117 wheelset with CST Caballero 26X2.0 tires. A Cannondale Lefty fork and a Fox RP2 rear shock give the Rush four inches of balanced travel.

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In the pursuit of the perfect bike, I demo'ed a new Cannondale Prophet 4 this past weekend. I currently own a Cannondale Jekyll that has seen better days and plan to upgrade to a new bike this summer. I have narrowed the search down to either the Prophet 5 or the Rush 5. I have researched tons of bikes and due to cost, component spec and many other factors I know I want a Cannondale in this price range. My riding style falls somewhere between the Scalpel-Cannondale's cross country race bike- and the Judge-Cannondale's downhiller. The Prophet and the Rush fill in the gap between these extremes.

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Have you ever meant to do something good, but just never found the time to do it? That's the way I've always felt about trailbuilding and repairs. Well, this last weekend, Sarge and I went up with two guys from SOMBA to get some first hand training about trail maintanence. Let me tell you if you haven't been out working on the trails, you are actually missing out on a big part of mountain biking.

We worked hard, got alot acomplished, and had some good times as well. It is truly an experience that, quite frankly, you have to experience yourself. We shared some good stories, traded secret trailrides, and spoke of grand adventures both past and future. We ran into a group of other trailbuilders that were just as excited as we were. In total, we cleared up about five miles worth of trail. We started about 11:00 and finished up about 4:00. Then the fun we had of riding the trail back that we just repaired.

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Saturday was a good ride day (even a bad day riding is a good day doing anything else sometimes!). The weather was cold though. There was a heavy, misty fog before daybreak. At the times we stopped to regroup, there was ice forming on our front brake cables and the fronts of our helmets. I kept on wiping my glasses off because they would fog up.

I also noticed that my brakes got really sticky, to the point that they would seize shut. The cable was getting stuck, and it would naturally slow me down. Look's like something I'd have to look at when I got home. I noticed lately that they were especially sensitive to the cold.

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