The Telegram Article by Kenn Oliver

http://www.thetelegram.com/Sports/2011-07-02/article-2627245/Local-rider-reaches-elite-status/1

Bromont Canada Cup #2

Bromont has one crazy race course! It has some very technical sections and to make it harder, it rained a lot...again! Check out this video by Vicent Allard:


I got a little wild in my race run and had a small spill. I finished 9th and only 5 seconds off first place, but had fun all weekend. I'm still learning how to get warmed up for my race run and still stay relaxed enough to focus. Hopefully the result I want will come soon!

The Adrenaline Festival at Sugarloaf, NB - July 9-10

If you ride bikes and live in Atlantic Canada, go check out this event!

http://www.sugarloafpark.ca/bikepark/node/129

Lots of free prizes and sweet trails to enjoy!

Mont Saint Anne Quebec Cup

The Quebec Cup at MSA this past weekend was great practice for the world cup round which, is taking place on July 3, because it used 90% of the world cup track. There was a lot of speculation as to where the track would start as rumors started between peer groups.

MSA has around a 2200m vertical drop, nearly to sea level, and winning times are close to four and a half minutes. This track is very high speed for the most part and has every good feature a proper downhill track should have.

This race brought out some big names like Olypmic Skier Cross gold medalist, Chris Del Bosco and Trek World Racing's, Neko Mullaly, plus all the competitive Quebec racers. Friday and Saturday brought thunderstorms and some rain. It wasn't a down pour, but it was enough to convince me to run Wetscream tires, with the knobs uncut. Those tires are just so much fun when it's muddy! Practice went well and on Saturday there was timed seeding to arrange the start list for Sunday's final. I seeded 2nd with a run that felt below average. It was a surprise to me to be so close and knew I could push a lot harder for finals.

I woke up to sunshine on Sunday morning, but there were some threatening clouds not to far away. By this time though, the track was rapidly drying out. I did two practice runs Sunday morning, one on mud tires and another on dry condition tires. The mud was tacky enough that traction was available even with dry tires which roll much faster, so that was my choice for finals.

Everything was looking good and I was going for the win. I wasn't feeling pressure and was relaxed in the start gate. I just wanted to pin it to the bottom because the course is so much fun. I pedalled hard out of the gate with only one rider behind me to start. After the first turn was a short flat sprint that had some small but deep mud holes along it. There was a sneaky line on one side of the track that I was hitting great in practice. I stayed left and jumped off a root to clear two consecutive mud pits and did it fine in my practice runs, but either my chainguide or pedal hung up on the root and pitched me over the bars in my race run. I landed softly in the mud, uninjured, but my goggles and helmet were crooked and covered in mud. The rest was ok but trying to recover and go faster to make up time on a run that is already supposed to be your fastest isn't ideal. It usually results in small mistakes so I finished 11th. I was really disappointed and pretty bummed out about the unusual crash.

This weekend is the Bromont Canada Cup and I'm looking to turn things around. The forecast is rain... A lot of rain actually! It should be tangley!

- Helmet cams videos will uploaded shortly

MSA finals - home stretch
Photo by - Edouard Levesque

New Dual ring guide from MRP

After using the XCG triple ring chain device from MRP myself, I know this will be even better. They both feature a skid plate that also prevents the chain from dropping below the smaller front ring. With the addition of the lower pulley wheel, it should be even quieter. A dual ring setup with a 10 speed setup allows for smaller front rings, better chainline, less weight and more ground clearance.

Inside the Chromag Warehouse

Watch the most stylish and colorful pieces of aluminum be machined and assembled right in Whistler.

Chromag Space from chromag on Vimeo.

My Intense M9 FRO and Bike Test on Pinkbike

Here is a pretty accurate review of the M9 by Fraser Britton:

Pinkbike Intense M9 Review

Some people will argue that there are too many adjustments with this bike, but right out of the box, all the middle settings work great. I weigh 170 lbs with riding gear and am 5'9" and ride the medium size. To be fair, the cockpit seems a little longer than some mediums, but the 2011 trends in geometry lean towards longer front centers and shorter chainstays in combination with slacker head angles/ lower bottom brackets.

I have tried most of the settings and have stuck with the -1 angle set cup (sits at 63 degrees with fork stanchions at 8.25"- crown to seals), top shock mount on the front triangle (gives a more linear shock ratio). This makes the shock do more of the work and is a little easier to tune the shock. I moved up from a 350# spring to a 400# and use the middle 9.0" travel setting on the shock link. The bottom bracket height is average (14.0") in the middle G3 dropout setting and the chainstays measure to 17.5". I ride this setup for more technical trails like Bromont, but will probably try the longest and lowest G3 setting for faster tracks like Mont Sainte Anne and raise the fork stanchions in the crowns by .25 or .5" to maximize the wheelbase and traction. It would be a good idea to use 165mm length cranks and a chain guide that has a maximum ring size of 36 teeth for better clearance.

The Fox RC4 is a huge improvement over the older DHX 5. I have been liking the shock set to 165 PSI in the boost chamber, 1 full turn on the bottom out, 3 click of high speed, 3 of low speed, 6-7 of rebound with one turn of pre-load on the 400# spring.

I am glad to be back on the Fox 40 for it's stiffness and confidence. Nothing eats bumps like a fresh 40. They require maintenance, but it's quick and easy even for beginners to change the oil and clean the seals and bushings. Pick up a the newest copy of Dirt Magazine to read their thoughts on the best fork of 2011. The stock blue spring works best for me in conjunction with 3 clicks of high speed compression from open, 2 of low speed, 9-10 of rebound and 1/2 turn of pre-load. If the spring clicks when you compress the fork, check to see the rubber cover on the spring is in the middle. You can also go to an electrical supplier and pick up some shrink wrap and cover the entire spring if the other suggestion doesn't help.

If the travel chips in the frame linkage start creaking, clean them and wrap them with a two turns of teflon tape. Intense has changed the grade of aluminum used here, so contact OGC if you have this minor problem. This also works for the gimbles on the Cane Creek Angle set if you run the offset cup and they move under braking or big compressions. A 2mm steer tube spacer between the crown and headset top cap is also known to top the moving gimbles.

Everyone has a different riding style and bike setup, but this is just some feedback of how I like the settings.

Don't hesitate to contact OGC who distribute Intense and Fox in Canada at info@ogc.ca and ask for their assistance!