The Bike Search....

Ah, cycling fans it's that time of year again. Nailing down the perfect ride for the upcoming season. My quest seems longer or more hell bent this year for several reasons -- first, starting with too many great bikes to chose from! Secondly, my less than optimal 29er Salsa purchase last summer has made me look longer and harder for the right ride before dropping down the cash.


I know some or actually many of the serious racers get a new bike each year. I however was so in love with my Trek Top Fuel 100 it's stayed with me a season or two too long. But the collective experiences of last year were helpful in pulling together my thoughts on what type of bike I'd like to be racing in '08. What it has lead to......

Ah, hell, I'm just kidding... though I wouldn't rule it if my wife has any say about it.
Actually, there's a chance I'm going to take the best of the two bikes I road last year and put it together. The full suspension 26" Trek Top Fuel is just a nice fast lightweight bike that has served me well and the 29" hard tail Mamasita opened my eyes to the aggressive handling & cornering that is possible with a 29" front wheel -- hence is giving way the 69er concept brought forth by Trek. I think outside of Travis Brown and few others (namely Iceman '07 winner Brian Matter ) not alot of people give this concept a fair shake. But sorry folks, in the rear end dept of a bike -- the 29er hardtail ain't the same as a full suspension 26" bike. Bigger wheels don't have quite enough to equate to benefits of a full suspension. Also if you've never road a 29er give it a shot and see what you think of the front end handling and how aggressive you can be in corners. To me, the 29er is a better handling bike, not a faster bike. With my longer torso I'm a pretty forward leaning rider and always had to be delicate with the front end on the 26" bike, on a 29er I can just rip into a corner with alot less caution, not to mention it does handle the bumps better.
So you marry the two ideas -- great! Well, here's the drawback, if you're racing ideally you'd like to be in the 25lb or less category, the stock Trek Top Fuel 69er only comes with the lower cost, slightly weightier components (seat, handlebars, wheel set, derailliuer, etc) making it tip those scales. However, dress that bad boy up with lighter items and you're back in the ball game. (No plans at Trek to currently make a stock model like this however). Or you can take a Top Fuel 9.8 or 9.9 and put on a different fork (my suggestion to min. geometry change is the Fox 80mm that comes on the Gary Fisher SuperFly). Mixed reactions on doing this but if one looks at the geometry specs on the website for Top Fuels or Top Fuel 69er -- they nearly identical in all aspects. But of course the proof would be on the twisty single track and hairpin turns if it gets the job done.
I'm looking to do a few more test rides on the stock models of the Top Fuel 9.9 & Top Fuel 69er before I absolutely go one way or another. And there's also a very viable outside contender in the Gary Fisher HiFi Pro Carbon trail bike, it doesn't take a lot to be very satisfied with that ride either.

Big thanks to the many folks I've talked to in compiling insight and ideas, Brian Matter not just a great racer but a great guy to talk to. Thanks for you time Brian I very much appreciate it! (I'll also plug - he's got his Trek TopFuel 9.9 for sale from last year, I'm toying with that idea as well so don't get ahold of him too quickly....). And Matt Gutowski, former Northlander, now a regional rep for Trek in California, with the inside info only those guys seem to have.

In a few weeks I hope to have a decision made and be on the new ride late Feb or early March. If you're in the market for bikes this upcoming season may the perfect ride fall in your lap. If not, feel free to inquire with me, I might be able to save you some leg work of where to go.

Weather finally looks to be heating up just in time for some nice long training rides to go with the XC skiing this weekend.