Ventana bearing service

Winter is the perfect time of the year to bring that full suspension bike in for it's annual bearing overhaul/servicing or at the very least an inspection to make sure that those linkages are running smoothly. On a typical service it's very rare that every bearing is bad or seized but it is noticeable when one or a few have gone bad. Not detectable through the slow degradation of the bearing but VERY noticeable once replaced. So if you're one of those guys or gals that hasn't had your suspension checked at all for the last couple of years then there is a good possibility that one or more bearings need replacement. Plus it's winter and i need something to do.

a bearing candidate, my 04' Ventana La Bruja

remove brake caliper, chain, rear derailleur and rear der.cable

chainstay and seatstay removed which allows access to individual bearings for inspection and possible replacement

bearings ready for retirement

in my case six bearings were bad.....keep in mind that your typical 4 bar Ventana has 16 bearings in total.

ventana's super nice and easy to use bearing press

bearing press in action

the tool also captures the bearing

and presses the new bearing back in, we like to lightly grease the surfaces of both the bearing and the bore hole of the swingarm.

bearings pressed and swingarm attached

Breg......puttin' it all back together

while we had the frame stripped down this far we also decided to overhaul the Fox RP23 with a float air sleeve kit. Mine had been oozing sludge for a bit too long.....it's okay to ooze a little bit but it's not good once it's stops as additional damage can be done to the shock stanchion from high amounts of friction.

maintenence finished and ready for spring.

Ritchey Break away Frame

Brock brought his Ritchey break away frame by the shop to have the headtube faced and milled and it's bottom bracket faced and chased before re-assembly.

globs of paint before:

during:

after:

bbbbrrrrrr

Getting out of the door and into the freeezing cold can be the hardest part of the ride during the winter, at least for those of us in the most northern sectors of these lower 48 states.......It sure was for me last night, but in need of a serious biking fix prevailed and i headed to the closet to figure out the layers of clothes that i'd be needing for a short hour long ride.

Some wool socks, winter shoes, windfront tights, ss jersey, ls jersey, fleece vest, and a stout storm jacket. Skip the cycling gloves and go full mitts, rid the helmet to wear a nice warm hat, and a fleece neck gator to keep that warm breathe close at bay. I also packed up a few essentials into the fanny pack and headed on my way. It's kinda funny how this ritual of assorting clothes and gear almost takes as long as the ride itself on nights like this.

Eventually i load the Ford up and drove to the upper portion of sleeping child road which is always completely snow/iced over for about 3-4 months of the year. Tonite it was ice covered and i was very thankful for the little tiny metal objects that are embedded into my tires (Nokian Gazza 294). I rolled slowly up the canyon road just till the dead end and then pedaled softly back down, on studs but still cautious to gain much monentum. Afterall.....i was helmetless. Yeah go ahead and flame on me Chuck......i can take it.

quiet and uneventful....the perfect winter ride.

Red Barn Cycling Caps !!

cotton-$20, wool-$30, wool w/flipups-$35

Tracy and Dan rockin' the new cap.

speaking of cold weather

While on the subject of cold weather it should also be noted that we've got a bunch of new winter clothing arrivals for those hardy souls that ride year round.

Shrek says " Cold Weather Gear is here ! "
by

Craft
Pearl Izumi

and

Bellwether

the $225 Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX

Craft rain jacket with pit zips and fleece lined collar and the Craft Storm tights with windproof fronts and lightly fleece lined. Either option for $100

Bellwether Windstorm gloves with fleece lining

so it is currently a balmy 1d outside, and heck no i'm not riding in this weather. Hopefully everyone is some place warm, but if you're not might i recommend a swig (or two) of Glenlivet Nadurra to warm you up a little bit. Thanks to Thomas for sharing the fine spirits.

on the tuner: Medeski, Martin and Wood; Note Bleu

1937 Schwinn LaSalle

here's a couple of pictures of a beautiful fully restored Schwinn that was done by Bob of Bobs Bicycles from southern California. Kurt.....the new owner was explaining just how nice this bike was for about a month and until he finally brought it in for a FULL assembly words really couldn't explain how nice and straight everything was. Typically the fenders would have a few dents, and some scuffs towards the bottom of the fender....the tank may have a few dents or dings here and there, maybe a little rusting on the chrome....but everything and i do mean everything was in super clean condition. Pretty amazing considering it's a 70 year old bike. Thanks for letting us build her up for you Kurt !

the six seater

yes it runs......BUT, we'll need a waiver signed first

speaking of pedals

the Straitline

the urban camo Twenty6

Meddle with the custom pedal

so we were placing an order with Tyler over at twenty6 recently and he was telling us about these Special Edition set of pedals that he just finished. Intrigued by things of special intent we craved more details and before i knew it and by the end of the conversation Tyler had us sold on a set. Yes they are expensive.....very expensive but constructed and finished with perfection. Limited run of twenty-six, introducing you to set #6.

new Red Barn waterbottles

that are

100%biodegradeable and made from 20% recycled materials

20 oz - $3

24oz - $4

read more about the new Biogreen bottles

MT State Championships

Nov 23rd was the MT State Championship CX race and also the last race of the year......you know, i kinda fell in love with cyclocross this year. It's just a blast to be shot of the line with a group full of fellas that all have the same interest of diving into that first piece of singletrack at 25+mph. That holeshot......worth an hours worth of agony to me. But it doesn't stop there, after 2 or 3 short laps you'd eventually recover from that all out starting effort and settle into a good pace that made riding the track a bit more enjoyable. Hitting a nice piece of off-cambered singletrack on 700 X 32c tires is a fantastic experience. The slippin' and sliddin' when the ground has moisture and being able to keep that damn bike upright or in my case, sometimes not just brings a grin to my face that goes ear to ear.



The folks that put on the races this year all did a fantastic job. Every race was promoted well and ran smoothly and we'd like to give a shout out to John Coulthard and Geoff Proctor for putting together a nice series. Hopefully the Red Barn crew can host a race down here in Hamilton for 09'. Hamilton needs a local CX race.....it's been years since Jeremy Oury hosted a few races out on his family's ranch and i think we need to bring CX racing back. Whatchu folks think ?? I'll be calling upon you locals for support.

But anyway......i suppose a 3rd place trinket isn't too darn bad of a placing for a pop of three and a full timin' bike shop fella that likes to ride but doesn't like to train.

Happy Thanksgiving Folks !!

Turkey day stroll with Shrek around Como Lake.

Shrek says to ride it and i say....heck no, i can barely walk across it.

650b Ventana stylie

the Ventana El Bastardo

here's a few pics of Sherwood Gibson's spin of a 650b wheeled full suspension bike. We've had this beautiful bike built up for a couple of weeks now and it's honestly been heading out the door almost everyday for demo rides. Same response each and every time. Big grins coming in the front door followed by a Holy $hit that felt goooooood !! And since i've now ridden the bike a half dozen times on a variety of singletrack i can also comment on the behaviors of the 65o Ventana .

on my first ride out on a very rocky Blodgett Canyon trail which climbs slightly uphill along a streamside gradient i noticed that the gearing of the 650 wheels was fine and i could push that middlering much more often as opposed to dropping into my inner ring on a 29" dually. It should be even more noticeable once the real climbing of summer approaches. I also noticed that when in technical terrain that required quick bursts of speed to get past or up and over a certain obstacle the 650 wheels accelerated very good. It also wheelied well when trying to get the wheel up and over a rock, waterbar, etc. I pretty much credited this to the chainstay length (17.5"), which is a half inch longer than the 26" wheeled equivalent ElCiclon (17") and much shorter than the 29" wheeled El Rey (18.3").

Climbing, the bike really handled much more like the ElCiclon, which could have also come from the shorter stays and possibly the combination of gear ratios being closer to the 26" bike. I honestly didn't seem to notice any benefits of the 650 wheels, but it did perform well and the wheel size certainly didn't hinder any climbing abilities.

Decending at medium to high speeds was the true surprise of this bike in my opinion. This bike carved tight turns so well, and once it got really rocky with speed was the first time i really FELT the benefits from the larger wheel. I could pretty much pick the straight line through a section and the bike really kept it's momentum very well through the chunk.

all in all....another well designed bike from those folks at Ventana and to make bike purchasing even more confusing another wheel size that works very well too. I suppose the only hangup for a consumer at this point would be the lack of tire, rim and true 650b suspension fork options. Only time well tell if the bicycle industry gets behind the idea. For 5" + full suspension bikes i think the idea really makes sense as it doesn't disrupt frame geometry's or put constraints into frame design. We also reap the benefits of a larger wheel size that does indeed roll over obstacles easier.

the 2.3" Pacenti Neo-Moto

if i really had my wishes granted i'd take one of each....26", 650b, and a 29er ! A cup of tea for just about everyone.

come on in and demo the El Bastardo to see if it is your favorite flavor.

CX Loop

One of the nicer areas to ride the skinny tired cross bike in the bitterroot valley would have to be the slice of State Land located at the end of Hamilton Heights road called Calf Creek. The trails are numerous and have no official numbering sytem but you can easily put together a few nice loops. It's elevation also allows cycling late into the fall and it's south-west facing hillside typically dries out first, come springtime. One of the reasons it makes for such a nice cross ride is the fact that most trails are lacking much technical difficulty and the buff trails are perfect for the narrow tires which also makes it a perfect place for the beginner/intermediate mountain biker. Be cautious though as it is an area that is also well visited by our equestrian brethren.......if you see a parking lot full of horse trailers be wise on the decents....grab a little brake.

a link if you need better directions or information on the area: http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_280490.aspx

here's a few pics taken from a my wed afternoon spin on the Felt F1X:

remnants of Hamilton's once apple orchard boom

new Hadley front

one hub - 4 different axle configurations.

Here's the hub that we've been asking for, thanks to Mike and Suzanne over at Hadley Racing for making it. A high quality front hub that converts to most of the popular fork axles. 20mm thru, standard QR, 9mm thru axle, and now the Fox Shox 15mm thru axle.

Price $160

halloween cross pic

Here's a great picture of Aaron 'Joe Dirt' Riley tearing it up at the halloween cyclocross race last week. Gotta love the front pocket beer cuzzi.