Dirty Demo

Mongoose hasn’t been a brand that commands a lot of respect. I don’t know enough about their history to trace the origins of that reputation but I can say that at this point it’s undeserved. I rode a Pinn’R Apprentice today and the bike rocked – and the first thing I noticed was the fork. The Rock Shox Domain on the front was solid and dependable – and it felt fantastic. It’s a bargain fork that – today at least – provided premium performance. It handled the shale, stutter bumps and big hits like a they were lines on the pavement.

It’s easy to get scared riding some of the lines at Bootleg Canyon – but on the Mongoose Pinn’R I felt confident enough to drop in to the gnarl.

The Freedrive system, a cousin of GT’s iDrive, allows the pedals to transfer power to the wheels efficiently. When you want some juice the bike never wallows – and it feels like force applied to the pedals pushes the rear wheel into the dirt for added traction. The rear suspension moves in a linear fashion through much of the travel and then ramps up toward the end. An issue I have with the spec is the bar with too much rise and not enough width – which would have been fine if this was 2005. I’d also like to see an internal headset to get the front end lower – but for the most part this is a fun bike that gives you a lot of bounce for the buck. In the US the Pinn’r Apprentice will set you back $2500 bones.

The Mongoose Pinn’R isn’t the ugliest bike I’ve ever seen – but it’s on the list. Despite that it works great and the price is right.

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Scott Voltage FR
I don’t need to tell you much more about the Scott Voltage FR in terms of frame or spec. because I rode it early in the summer in Sun Valley, but I can now tell you how it rides in rowdy terrain. In Sun Valley the bike was never tested because the trails are so smooth and refined – but Bootleg canyon has enough burl for any bike. The Voltage surprised me right off. It ate up the steep top sections and made me want to get on the throttle where it was loose and rocky.

The Voltage FR wasn’t tested in Sun Valley but it was in Bootleg Canyon. There were loose shale sections like the one above, steep jagged drop ins and lots of forces applied to the rear wheel.

In the six-inch, long travel mode this bike was made to eat up nasty singletrack. The bike breaks down some in terms of versatility for those who like to pedal. It’s designed to ride DH and Slopestyle and as such it’s low slung and utilitarian. That means the seat tube is short allowing for a lot of clearance – but very little seatpost if you are long legged and would like to pedal to the top. Taller riders could opt for a telescoping post to compensate for the lack of extension, but if you fit that description and prefer to earn our vert this may not be the best choice. On the other hand if you want a wicked little freeride bike that can convert to shorter travel for some slopestyle or dirt jumping this may be just the ticket. Overall I was very pleased with the way this bike performed and I’m sure it would be right at home on the Shore.

Damnit Dorothy – this ain’t Sun Valley.

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SRAM XX
Eric Schutt of SRAM was all fired up to show us their new top of the line component group: XX. This marks the first time that SRAM has put together a unified gruppo on the mountain bike side using components from their Truvativ, SRAM, Avid and Rock Shox brands. Light and svelte, these parts are aimed squarely at the XC race crowd but Eric told us they also apply for all mountain riders.

10 cogs in the rear and only two rings up front. SRAM has been listening to riders who have been doing this for some time. Will this apply to bikes for aggressive riding

The biggest revolution is the 2 x 10 shifting system. Two larger rings up front mate with a large, wide range 10 speed cogset. The stock ring set up is 26 and 39 teeth while 28-42 and 30-45 options are available. The cogset, which is one piece aside from the smallest and largest cogs, is available as an 11-32 or 11-36. Machined out of a piece of solid billet steel, the cogset is a marvel to behold and they weigh 208 and 185 grams respectively. Carbon paddles adorn the shifters and they share the continue the custom adjustability introduced on XO as well as an updated matchmaker system that allows you to adjust the angle of the shifter and brake lever independently.

Carbon paddles and customized positioning for XX? But of course! The XX group was mounted to a scary light Trek Fuel EX which was a nice change from the bigger bikes we’d been riding. It was somewhere south of 24 lbs.

Eric told us we could treat the front derailleur like rental car and Fergs and I did our best to make it bog down with terrible shifts. The bike Fergs was on hesitated some on the upshift but mine worked flawlessly. Not having to think about when and where to shift up front is a treat – as is the ability to use every combimination of rings and cogs. Want to shift into large ring and large cog? That works just fine – as does small/small.

The XX rear derailleur uses Torx fasteners because they are lighter by a tiny margin. Magnesium is also used in place of aluminum to save weight and add strength. SRP in the US is $265 ot $43 more than XO.

Riding on the Shore most riders who have a front derailleur use a two cog system as well – but it’s granny and middle because a bash ring is standard equipment. At this point it’s tough to see any ring protection could be added to the XX system but I bet something will come along down the road.

10 cogs in the rear and only two rings up front. SRAM has been listening to riders who have been doing this for some time. Will this apply to bikes for aggressive riding?

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Banshee Legend Mk. I
First thing Tuesday I had an appointment to ride a Banshee Legend Mk. I – which is the personal bike of Zac Smith from Trident Sports from North Vancouver. Trident owns Banshee and are also the Manitou distributor. Zac swapped out the spring for me but otherwise we didn’t spend any time tweaking either the Dorado up front or the Manitou Revox in the rear – but I didn’t feel much need either.

The original Banshee bikes were heavy and somewhat less refined than your average duallie. The brand’s reincarnation is something entirely different.

Zac has been racing this bike and he mentioned that it hadn’t seen much service since his last race – but that the new Dorado didn’t need as much attention as previous generations. Based on our ongoing test of the Dorado we can say that the kinks are being worked out on the fly to a certain extent – but they seem to be coming along. Zac is a Manitou tech and his fork obviously gets the latest tweaks – and it reminded me of the glory days of the Dorado. Back in the day it was one of my favourite forks because it was light, incredibly smooth and very consistent. Zac’s fork worked so well it didn’t feel like it was doing much. Hopefully the production models will get to this point soon.

All about the details. CNC machining and internally ribbed chain and seat stays are a couple of the elements that give the Banshee Legend the appeal of a rare imported sports car. Maybe we could call it the Lotus of the mountain bike world? Photo ~ Cam McRae

One of the first things that struck me was what a fine looking machine this is. On the shuttle truck I got some questions and one guy opened his eyes wide and asked ‘how did you get that?’ The ribcage is CNC machined out of a solid piece of billet aluminum and the detail work makes it look like a custom works machine. The red annodized links further the exotic yet refined impression the Legend makes.

The Legend Mk I with a 2010 Dorado up front. The 64 degree head angle liked lines liked these – but it was even happier when the throttle was twisted. One of my favourite things about the bike was how incredibly quiet it was on rough terrain. Photo ~ Cam McRae

The rear end felt to me like it was set up in race mode and it didn’t worry too much about small bumps (without being upset by them) but it was very composed when the trail served up larger forces to the rear in quick succession. I was also impressed by the stiffness of the rear end – which ramps the confidence meter immediately. Not surprisingly the Legend really came to life when the terrain allowed me to open it up some. One run interrupted by photos and flats isn’t going to tell you everything about a bike, but my initial impressions of the Banshee Legend were very good.

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Das Fürger!
We were a little busy on Tuesday and unable to fulfill all the requests Fergs (Fürgs?) was getting but we managed to make a couple of exceptions.

These young lasses were representing ‘Loaded.’ We never did find out what that was. Photo ~ Cam McRae

Darcy Turenne suggested we lay out a blanket, cue up some Barry White and make a picnic for her shoot with Fergs – but alas we struck out. The steps of the trailer would have to suffice. Photo ~ Cam McRae

If I’m ever in a shitty mood in Vegas (not an unlikely scenario) I’ll just seek out a Norco team rider. Darcy along with Hootie and Ryan Leech are some of the friendliest most upbeat folks in the bike biz. Photo ~ Cam McRae

We’re just about to get a little breakfast before heading into The Sands to get our hands on more freshies from the 2010 model year. Tune in for more – we’re here all week.

I realize I rode three different bikes and said good things about each of them. What can I say – they felt great. If you beg to differ – beg over this way…