Specialized

While riding yesterday, getting ready for the race on Sunday, I took a
spill. It was pretty bad, but only because I landed on a pointy rock
right on my lower back/upper butt.

I laid there in the trail,
too much in pain to move if anyone came. Luckily it only hurt really
bad for about a minute. Then I was able to stand up.

After I got
back on my feet and inspected my bike, I decided to finish the ride.
But, after riding just a few feet, I noticed my left crank arm felt
loose.

Great.

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The fashion world is calling brown the new black. For fall, if you're not wearing brown, then you don't know what's going on. Could it be that Mountain Bikers also have a fashion sense; about suspension?  

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Well, I made some serious project on my project bike.

Let me give some background information... I recently got married. As a wedding present, my wife and I both got new bikes. She is new to mountain biking but I have been doing it for years. I got an 06 Epic and she got an 06 FSR comp. But my old 03 Hardrock was feeling pretty neglected. It had a few problems... rear derailleur issues, crankarm loosening.. and others. So I decided to turn it into a single speed commuter

Ok, that's pretty good.

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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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Well, I have had my new (06) Epic for just over a month now, and I can certainly notice the differences between it and my old Hardrock. Besides the obvious details of hard tail vs full suspension, and weight, the Epic is just a phenomenal bike.

Things I have noticed while riding:
The front end is very light. This was a little unnerving at first because while really mashing those pedals, the front wants to float. But its lightness s a very good thing when you learn to control it.

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