2009 Will Be The Summer Of Skills

All but newbie cyclists know that the bicycle is the key to performance. Why else would we spend so much money on bikes?

With this in mind, I announce that 2009 will be my year of mad mountain biking technical skills.

I've always liked technical challenges, but I was never particular good at them. Above average, at best. But I've made a change to my bike that will elevate me off this plateau and have me shredding the stunts in 2009.

Here's how my bike used to be setup:


Now it's setup like this:


You see the change, right? No, it's not the flipped shock.

(Yes, I did flip the shock because I realized I'd installed it upside down back in October 2007. I discovered this mistake when another Prophet rider had his bike next to mine a few months ago. It ran fine upside down and I'm pretty sure the shock will operate in any orientation, but I figured it's better to run it the way Cannondale intended.)

What, you still don't see the change that's going to transform my riding? I promise this isn't as hard as dug's game of One of These Toilets Doesn't Belong. OK, let me zoom in:



That's right, I moved the shock mounting point from XC to FR. (That's Cross[X] Country to FreeRide, for the bike-tech ignorant.) I'm sacrificing a little speed for downhill dominion. Everybody knows that once you go under the magic 68 degree headtube angle your bike cannot be stopped by any obstacle; be it rock, ledge, log or junk car. I can't wait to discover this new world of riding!

The Real Story

A few Prophet riders recommended I try the FR setting. They said it makes the bike handle better without giving up much. It did lower the bottom bracket about 3/4", but it already has ample clearance so I don't think this will be a problem. I'll be interested to see if the bike feels different with this minor change.

5 comments:

Kevin Vigor said...

Dude, you are so going to own!!!

(did I sound like a real mountain bike guy there?)

KanyonKris said...

Why yes, yes you did!

Watcher said...

OK, so I just have to say, the title of this post SO sounds like a line out of Napoleon Dynamite!

BTW, the second photo shows me yet again we are kindred spirits- I too, cable-lock my bikes inside the garage. You're the only other rider in UT I know who also does so.

Anonymous said...

i double lock my bikes in the kitchen, but i grew up in hollywood where you had to ride your bike locked to your body.

i agree you will like the extra squishy and not notice any more pedal bob.

KanyonKris said...

The cable lock came after my MTB was stolen out of my garage 4-5 years ago and my friend Tall Steve told me that's how he secures his bike. I figure most bike thefts are grab-and-go affairs so the cable lock should discourage / thwart that.

Oilcan - Why do I get the feeling your not entirely joking about needing to be locked to your bike? Once I get out on some dirt this Spring I'll be sure to blog about the geometry change.