Big Mountain Riding

Review and Photos: Randy King

The Remedy eggs you to take the rough route home

Cruising Moab’s main drag for the first time, my brother and I dug all the signs of this vibrant culture we had joined: the Moab Cyclery safari truck with mounts for 20 bikes, the Gonzo Inn, the Poison Spider Bikes mural. One of our favorites was a campground that boasted: Fun Pigs stay at Slickrock. The Trek Remedy 8 is made for those self-same fun pigs. It is a bike that eggs on its rider and will feed your porcine speed-needs until you find yourself hours later, still pushing personal limits and stuttering gibberish like that laughable Looney Tunes porker.

It takes craft to make something that rides like such cheap fun, and this is a well-made all-mountain rig. Trek redesigned the Remedy with matched 150MM (6″) of quality Fox travel front and back, and it rips along the trail. Although it seemed a bit portly on the climbs, I rode a Large frame (not the XL that Trek recommends for my height), and the Remedy is spec’d with a wide, low-rise bar. I think a bit more of a rise on the bars and the correct size frame would make the bike climb better for me. As it was, I felt too low for really efficient climbing – especially in my knees and hands.  The suspension and geometry did not seem to be the culprits in this climbing conundrum.

Yet who are we kidding here, with all this talk about climbing? A bike like this pays its way at high speeds and on the descents. Know that aboard the Remedy you will not have to walk up too many hills, and when you get to the top, you can expect a stable, velvety ride during the gravity-fed madness that awaits.

The Fox Float RP-2 with DRCV shines on the Remedy

Riding the Remedy at Bedford Co’s Falling Creek Park, I instinctively veered toward the rough lines, and flowed over natural obstacles instead of following the path more traveled that swung around them. Indeed, the bike and I both wanted more challenges, although I did not test the Remedy on any drops higher than a couple of feet.

In Big Mountain Riding Review #6, I highlighted Trek’s proprietary Fox Float’s with DRCV. The extra-volume shock shines on the Remedy 8 too, making the back-end feel bottomless during aggressive trail riding over roots, rocks and features. Although I did not drop it off anything of size, the bike’s suspension, solidness and geometry feel like it would handle easily drops of 3-5 feet (0.9 -1.5 M). That’s more than enough for me – as drops above 3-feet make me grow increasingly attached to my front teeth (and to keeping them intact).

Other spec highlights that shone on the $3,700 Remedy 8:
Fox 32 Talas RL fork

Avid Elixir R Carbon disc brakes with 203 MM rotors

The Remedy 8 wears its brawn well, tipping the scales at under 30 pounds (13.6 KG) and rumor has it that a few upgrades can trim off a couple more pounds without removing muscle. Today’s efficient suspension and light weight materials enable all-mountain riding, and when pulled together in bikes like this, they inspire fun pigs everywhere to point their front wheel toward the big mountains and ride a little farther. Go for it; nobody would understand your gibberish back in civilization anyway, Porky.

© Big Mountain Riding

Fun Pigs will find much to like in the Remedy's smooth travel and light weight

Athletic rebels swathed in Lycra, zipping in and out of traffic to beat the delivery deadline, watch their livelihood evaporate.

Peddling a Service Pinch-Flatted by the Economy and Heightened Security

By Steve Hendrix

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Getting a meticulously prepared legal brief to a courthouse or federal agency on time used to require a bit of comic-book valor. Just before deadline, exhausted lawyers handed off the document to a character in the tight Lycra of a superhero, the shoulder bag of a Pony Express rider and the bulging thighs of an athlete. One of Washington’s legions of bicycle messengers would then dart through perilous traffic and any weather to deliver the goods in the nick of time.

Now, as the last of the area’s courts and agencies begin to allow electronic filings instead of demanding piles of paper, deadline dramas in many law offices are being reduced to little more than hitting the “send” button.

The courier business — for decades a quirky by-product of Washington’s No. 1 industry, paper-pushing — finds itself in rapid decline. Tighter security restrictions imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have closed off many government office corridors to couriers, and the recession has dampened activity at law firms and lobbying shops, rendering the life of a time-sensitive document in the District a lot more boring.

The number of full-time couriers in Washington has fallen from a high of about 400 in the 1990s to about 150, said Andy Zalan, a longtime bike messenger and head of the D.C. Bicycle Couriers Association.

Read the rest of the Washington Post article.

Review: Randy King

Photos: Scott Schekman & Randy King

Big wheels rolling over the cobblestones

Out of the corner of my eye I could see those skinny, semi-slick hoops spinning away over all the obstacles the trail had to offer – looking even skinnier because of their bigger diameter. This Gary Fisher Superfly 100 was my first real ride on a 29″ bike, and yet if it weren’t for that  glimpse, I wouldn’t even know I was aboard a “big wheel” bike. Frankly, I rode away a bit confused. Not with the bike, which rides like what it is marketed as – a full-suspension racing bike that is as light as a hard tail – but with the 29″ experience. More on that later; to the bike.

Riding the roots and log crossings of Bedford VA’s Falling Creek Park, the Superfly’s suspension performed as the definition of efficiency. If you asked me if I noticed the suspension while riding I’d say no. However, I also stayed seated through little bumps and bops that would have bucked me about aboard a hard tail. This bike is a competent climbing and efficient-pedaling ride. And the bigger wheels do eat up obstacles that might make a rider balk on a 26″ wheel race bike. (Of course it’s easy to forget that only a few years ago, 100MM (4-inches) of travel would have been considered All Mountain. In other words, that suspension that is so easy to forget about on the Superfly 100 is big enough to handle a lot of terrain change, especially when paired with bigger wheels.)

The aluminum flat bar is not a good match on the carbon Superfly

The boldly-painted, $5,600 bike sports nice bling like the Truativ Noir carbon crank – a beauty -  the rockstar-white Fox F100 FIT RLC 29 and the SRAM X.O shifters and rear derailleur. Yet the carbon frame and high-end components feel poorly paired with seeming oddities like the XT front derailleur and the Bontrager aluminum stem and flat bar. These are mismatches in function as well as form. Riding along, the cockpit feels a little too upright for a racing machine, and the bar feels too narrow and not damped enough. Personally, I think a low-rise carbon bar would suit the bike better and function better as well.

Designed as a racer, the Superfly 100 is not made for the rougher side of big mountain riding. It did not seem like it would handle well in say, a rock garden. However, a few mod’s could turn it into an excellent marathon racer for those who are fit enough to get the most of the efficient pedaling platform while dealing with the dicier handling in the occasional rough stuff.

Now, to the 29″ obsession. I ride with many who extol the virtues of big wheels and some who deride the 26″ wheel. Even ignoring the extremists, I had high expectations that the big wheel would roll differently. It didn’t for me. Visually odd, when glimpsed out of the corner of the eye – yes. Good traction on slippery climbs – yes, compared to a 26″ with the same semi-slick tires. However, I’d have to say I’d rather have an extra inch of travel than bigger wheels on most days and on most trails. I will be riding more 29″ bikes – because they work well for so many in the big mountain riding scene – but for now I’ll keep rolling retro-style on my 26-er.

© Big Mountain Riding

The Superfly sports bold graphics on its carbon frame

Handcrafted turns like this one set the Montvale Trails apart

Fun alternatives are built into the Montvale Trails

Ahead, the red dirt trail dipped downhill to the right and dove into a tight switchback. It straightened out for a moment, only to dive into another descending turn. This sweeper featured a robust berm, and my bike railed right around the curve, setting me up to carry through the needed momentum for the upcoming short climb. This was Ridgeline, a 1/2 mile, mostly downhill “Expert” trail at Bedford County’s newest trail system, the Montvale Trails. It bears the trademark flow and handcrafted swooping turns of its designer, Bedford County’s Trails Manager, Kenny Palmer. Trails like this bring sheer joy, and have to be experienced to be appreciated – they add up to much more than what you see on paper.

Kenny’s other work includes Bedford’s Falling Creek Park and Lynchburg’s Peaks View Park. He knows how to maximize the mileage from terrain, and he knows how to make fun trails.

The park features approximately 6.5 miles of easy, intermediate and expert labeled single track with a dirt access road running up the middle (sort of). The access road serves as a self-powered lift line for getting back up to the top, vertically-speaking. This means that you can rail the descents and save some fuel on the climb back. Don’t believe that any of these trails only goes downhill. However, many of the trails work their way down the ridge from the parking lot on Quarterwood Road, with lots of ups and downs along the way.

The hardest part is getting there for this trail system. While it is off a major highway, it is far from a town of any size. And the 10-car parking lot currently is not marked (unlike the trails), so careful navigation is a must. I’ve included the coordinates, for those with a GPSr. About a 35-mile drive from Lynchburg, where I live, the Montvale Trails system is high on my list of “Let’s do something different today” trails.

Personal fav’s:

Beale Treasure Trail (Intermediate) – Just plain fun. Starts just off the access road, which it crisscrosses on its way down the ridge. Just over a mile, the trail features lots of turns, varied terrain like log crossings, off-camber sections, bermed turns, etc. My favorite. High point, approx. 1090 feet; low point: approx. 950 feet.

The woods are dark at the bottom of Moto X

Moto X (Expert) – Although only a little more than a half mile, this trail features the longest straight downhill sections in the park. Starting out at approx. 1125 feet, bermed turns at the top lead into a straight shot of gravity that speeds the rider into the more complex part of the trail. Intersecting with the park’s only other “Expert” trail, Ridgeline, Moto X doglegs to the right and then drops to its lowest point (approx. 735 feet), an au naturel creek crossing that requires poise and balance to successfully maneuver. The remainder of the trail snakes through the dark woods, angling along hillsides and crossing the creek a few more times before dumping out on the access road.

Vital info:

Trail Map

GPS coordinates for the parking lot: 37.36317° N 079.70798° W

From Lynchburg: 460W to Montvale, pass elementary school on left, turn left directly across from the “Roadside Market” onto Quarterwood Rd (VA 691).  Go approximately 1.5 miles and the entrance is on your left.

From Roanoke: 460E to Montvale, you will pass Buchanan’s Auto Auction on your Right  and then you will take your next Right onto Quarterwood Rd (VA 691).  Go approximately 1.5 miles and the entrance is on your left.

© 2009 Big Mountain Riding