Mountain Biking Nutrition 101
Askany roadie and they will tell you that mountain bikers survive on a diet of burritos, pizza and beer or soda. While that is mostly true, it turns out that good nutrition helps out no matter what kind of cycling you do. Food preferences are fairly subjective, so you will need to experiment a little …
Mountain Bike Night Riding 101
NO BRUNCH!!! We’ll come back to that in a minute… If you’re reading this article chances are good you’ve heard your buddies raving about how awesome it is to ride at night or perhaps you want to check out 24 hour racing. Whatever the reason, you’re intrigued and you want to give real, “on purpose” …
Old Hardtail to New Commuter: How to Convert Your Rig for the Daily Grind
After upgrading to that shiny new full suspension, disc brake equipped, 25 pound trail slayer, your trusty old hardtail gotrelegatedto the back of the garage. You look at it from time to time and remember the good times you had on it: your first crash, your first all day epic, that trip to Moab where …
Help Save 24 Hours of Moab
Photo courtesy Granny Gear Productions, Inc. Last fall I rode 24 Hours of Moab as my first mountain bike race ever. Seeing a tent city pop up in the middle of the desert, riding a fairly technical course at speeds I didn’t think I had in me, and doing it again in the dark while …
Kenosha Pass: The Most Epic Ride You’ve Never Heard Of
While technically part of the Colorado Trail, the section from CO Highway 285 to Georgia Pass is commonly referred to simply as the Kenosha Pass Trail, and is typically ridden as an out and back. It features 24 miles of signature Colorado Singletrack and includes roots, rocks, creek crossings, stunning scenery, a long, death march …
Liv/Giant Relaunches Women’s Mountain Bike Line; Trance X1 W Test Ride
Over the last couple of model years Giant has made an effort to create women’s-specific versions of their more popular mountain bikes: the Trance X and Anthem X. Unfortunately, no one really noticed. For the 2012 model year, Giant has renamed the women’s bike models to match the men’s, but with a ‘W’ appended, and …
Upgrading Your MTB Suspension Fork
People frequently come to the Singletracks forums looking for guidance on mountain bike fork upgrades. Will it fit my bike? Tapered headset? How much travel? Disc or V-brake compatible? QR, 15mm, 20mm thru-axle? How much should I spend? What brand? What on earth is a Terralogic? These are all variables that can come up when …
On Test: Focus Black Forest 29er 1.0
After three seasons on my Giant Trance full suspension 26er, I was feeling the itch to try something new. Specifically, I was jonesing for a hardtail 29er with a 2×10 gearing setup. Enter the Focus Black Forest 29er 1.0. With its 72 headset angle and 11×32 cassette, this bike falls squarely into the XC and …
Monarch Crest Trail is OPEN!!
Monarch Crest, an IMBA epic ride,is definitely one of the top trails in Colorado. Factor in the ratio of downhill to climbing, and it’s even sweeter. The only downside is that due to its high altitude, there is but a short window of opportunity to ride it between the leftover spring snow and new autumn …
Hardtail vs Full Suspension Mountain Bikes
Hardtail or full suspension? This question comes up all the time on the Singletracks Forums so hopefully this quick list of the pros and cons of each of mountain bike style will help you decide which one will work better for you. My Perspective I will be 40 this year, and although I’ve ridden bikes …
MTB Hydration Pack Buyer’s Guide
Like many great outdoor products, hydration packs were first developed for the military and later modified for civilian use. While there are several brands and a number of different models on the market today, the basic functionality is to carry gear and liquid, and to provide a means of drinking without stopping what you’re doing. …
DIY: How to Build Your Own Bike Work Stand
A good bike work stand makes cleaning, maintaining, and repairing your bike exponentially easier. Commercial models start at about $150 and a really good one can be as much as $275. But what if you could build a decent stand for a fraction of that? I decided to see if it could be done, and …
