{"id":2521,"date":"2010-05-09T00:04:22","date_gmt":"2010-05-09T04:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2010-05-09T00:12:19","modified_gmt":"2010-05-09T04:12:19","slug":"2010-island-lake-bike-demo-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2010\/05\/09\/2010-island-lake-bike-demo-day\/","title":{"rendered":"2010 Island Lake Bike Demo Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Today was the 2010 Island Lake Bike Demo Day out at Michigan’s Island Lake Recreation Area<\/a>. At this event a number of local shops and bicycle companies showed up with all manner of bikes to try out on a ~2 mile segment of relatively flat single track. Despite the on\/off rain and mid-40s weather it ended up being a rather nice day as I was finally able to try out a number of different bikes and components that I’ve been curious about.<\/p>\n

Specifically, I tried five bikes today; all 29ers<\/a>:<\/p>\n

· Mike Flack \/ Trail’s Edge<\/a>‘s Pivot Mach 429<\/a> (Formula brakes, SRAM twist shifters)
\n· Marty’s Orange Vassago Jabberwocky<\/a> (32:18 29er steel single speed, White Brothers<\/a> Magic Fork)
\n· Niner S.I.R. 9<\/a> in A&W Rootbeer Brown (32:18 aluminum fully rigid single speed, Hope<\/a> hubs)
\n· All Carbon Fiber Cannondale Flash<\/a> (Lefty<\/a> fork)
\n· Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper Carbon HT 29er<\/a> (SRAM XX<\/a> 2×10 drivetrain, Specialized Phenom saddle<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Out of all of these, the only bike I didn’t care for was the Specialized S-Works. Being a super-light race bike I think it was just a bit too stiff for me. Having a not-quite-right drivetrain didn’t help matters either as shifting wasn’t great in half the cassette but I imagine that’s just something that happens on demo bikes, especially towards the end of a demo day, which is when I tried it out.<\/p>\n

I liked all of the other bikes that I tried. Each would have needed some minor adjusting to be something that I’d be able to ride frequently, but that’s just part and parcel of any new bike. I would have liked to try some road bikes, but the wet roads, cold weather, and on\/off spray kept me away from it. It also would have been nice to try out a cyclocross bike, but there were very few of them present and I just didn’t really get around to it. After all of this I’m thinking that I might like to get a 29er single speed. However, that’ll have to wait for a bit, as I just recently picked up a new bike and I can’t actually justify one. Thankfully I may be able to borrow one from time to time.<\/p>\n

This was also a nice day for hanging out with people, both those that I regularly see and others with whom I haven’t crossed paths in a while. I also happened to meet a few new people (including the frequent-replier-to-these-posts Ali B.<\/a> and some other folks from the MMBA forum<\/a>, including someone from whom I bought some tires and pedals.<\/p>\n

Anyway, here’s two more photos from today:<\/p>\n

· Erik on the Pivot Mach 429 as we headed down the pavement to the demo single track section.<\/a>
\n· All of the Trail’s Edge demo bikes, tent, and work stand area fit in the back of Mike’s van. He packs very well.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Today was the 2010 Island Lake Bike Demo Day out at Michigan’s Island Lake Recreation Area. At this event a number of local shops and…<\/p>\n

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