Do you remember how you felt on your first bike? Think about it for a minute... It was probably your first taste of real freedom, independence. You didn't need someone to drive you to a friend's house or to soccer practice. You didn't need the bus to get to school. It was liberating. I still feel that way. Throw a leg over your bike and leave your problems behind. Ride what you love, love what you ride... That can include a bike.
I can safely say that most of what I know about bikes and biking I learned while hanging around the Wissahickon Cyclery in Philadelphia. And on those rainy days, I sat around there A LOT! In the early days (circa 1998), they patiently showed me how to change a tube on my Specialized Hard Rock. They patiently answered why I can't put mountain tires on a road bike. When I'd bring in crap that I 'scored' on eBay, they'd patiently explain why I should put it back on eBay. It took a while, but I figured a few things out by hanging out there (and I'm still learning). In the later days, I was there so frequently that I had my own coffee mug in the back of the shop.
Anyway, if you want a sub-14lb road bike that floats or a dual-suspension rig so that you can film a Mountain Dew commercial, Wiss-Cycles can do it and anything in between. The display floor probably won't blow your mind (no offense guys), but what lurks in the back will knock your socks off (but you can buy a new pair of socks while you're there). It's the home of Engin Cycles, custom, handmade steel bicycles. Although relatively new to the custom frame building scene, Drew's work already won Best Off-Road bike at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS). And it's easy to see why... http://reviews.mtbr.com/nahbs/2008/02/17/engin-cycles-953-steel-29er
Call it serendipity, call it fate... Somehow, the opportunity came up to test ride an Engin 650B MTB (aka the War Machine), no strings attached. I'm 5'3" (barefoot), which is borderline for 29er. The 'new' 650B platform is perfect for someone like me, short. I won't explain the whole 29er and 650B thing here, but Google it if you need more info. This guy's blog is pretty helpful. http://650bpalace.blogspot.com
This bike (pictured above) will be officially reviewed by Dirt Rag Magazine (not by me), so I'll try not to spoil the review by giving my own opinion on it. Heck with that, this thing is AWESOME! I had a longer inaugural ride planned, but I'm saving it for this weekend. For the first test ride, I rode through some local trails here in Santa Cruz with fairly diverse terrain conditions from hard pack to loose pack, tight single-track through the redwoods, washboard fire roads, rooted single-track, and a nice rock garden for good measure.
To get to the trails, I needed to ride on the pavement for a few miles. My first impression was, 'Wow, this isn't sluggish at all!' Sure, I was on pavement, but I really had it in my mind that the fat tires were going to feel fat with a lot of rolling resistance. The acceleration was lively with instant pedal response, no mush or slop in the drive train.
Off to the trails... Like most every ride in Santa Cruz, the trails start on a climb. I felt my hand positioning was pretty good; there was a natural adjustment that needed to happen, which probably comes from riding cyclocross (CX) and road almost exclusively for the last 3 years. I will say that I'm glad that they make really wide flat bars. On my first (and only) single speed MTB, the widest bars available were Easton MonkeyLite riser bars. My biggest complaint was that my hands were too high when I was climbing out of the saddle. Any gain in leverage from the width of the bars seemed negated by not being able to really extend my arms. Anyway, flat bars... I'm stoked.
After I got into the twisty trails, it took about five to ten minutes to figure out where my weight needed to be when navigating the single track. (Again, this is the adjustment from CX. I'm usually in the drops to keep my center of gravity low and to get better braking leverage.) Once I got all the "Hi, nice to meet you" stuff out of the way, I noticed a few things. The pedal response and acceleration in the dirt (as on pavement) was instant, better than my SS-CX, which is totally weird. The handling/steering around obstacles was excellent: agile, well-balanced, and not floppy. It's stable and tracks/holds a line through sweeping turns in dusty conditions really well. The back wheel slid out a few times, but I was really flyin' through corners.
Since I peeked at the geometry, I'd guess that the steering benefits have a lot to do with the relatively sharp head tube angle combined with a 45mm rake fork (also built by Engin). It's got super-short chain stays, which is probably what helps to make it accelerate so quickly and climb so well. The short chain stays didn't appreciably affect the weight distribution. More weight on the rear wheel can cause the front wheel to lift on seated climbs. No problems with that.
Here's the critical feature: after a couple of hours of riding, I had no pain. No pain around the man parts, none in the lower back. The pain-free aspect is huge because I was carrying a relatively light backpack with work gear. Now, I stopped and took pictures and stuff, but even a short ride under load usually kills by lower back. I was going to drop off my stuff at work, but I felt so good that I just kept going. The comfort comes from fit and ride quality. Even though this bike was not custom for me, it fit great. The ride quality of steel and the fatty tires meant that I was less fatigued after riding.
Alright, I'll have to finish this up later... I've been rambling for a while when I should be working. And if you're not working, you might as well be riding (not writing). To be continued...
Ride safely and happy trails.
-the bighairscientist
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Engin 650B review, part B (no pun intended)
The Dirt Rag review article hit new stands this week, and although I agree with the reviewer on most points, I have a few things to say about it. The bighairscientist likes to keep things positive here (bighairscientist cannot believe that bighairscientist just referred to bighairscientist in the third-person). I'm not going to point-counterpoint the article, but I will highlight some of the details that I think she overlooked, namely aesthetics and craftsmanship.
The frame was constructed using a combination of TIG welding and fillet brazing. The brazing speaks for itself, but the TIG is also very clean. Drew also made the steel seatpost and stem. The seatpost is made of the new Reynolds 953 stainless steel, lugged, and painted to match the frame. (BTW - the DR article incorrectly states that it is titanium. Sorry, I won't counterpoint again.)
The brazed stem is a one-piece design, and the lack of a removable faceplate gives it a clean look. I appreciate the single-bolt attachment for two reasons 1) it makes the headset adjustment super-easy and 2) there is an element of symmetry between the seatpost clamp bolt and the stem bolt. Also, please note that in the photo below the silver head badge made by Philadelphia jeweler Jen Green comes STOCK on all Engin frames.
Okay, while I've got your attention, have a look at the rear hydraulic brake hose... Now you see it, now you don't! Internal hydro hose routing through the top tube. Single speed bicycles are beautiful in their simplicity anyway, but this really streamlines the frame.The frame also features a chevron bridge on the seatstays. I particularly like this feature on the CX bikes because the 'V' approximately parallels the straddle cable on most canti brakes. It works just as well on an MTB (probably better b/c you don't have the cable hiding it).
Oh, fork that... I almost forgot the fork. Rigid, yes, rigid. If you're into shocks, whatever I write here probably isn't going to persuade you, but rigid forks (on hardtail frames) are generally superior on climbs and singletrack. That's my opinion, you're free to have yours (and blog it). I'm not a cycling purist. I don't think that we should be riding on wooden wheels (a bamboo frame is a different story). However, I think that for the terrain that I ride, the ideal set up is rigid hardtail. I'll gladly give up a little speed on a downhill if I can gain control through singletrack and gain speed uphill. Is rigid hardtail perfect setup for dual slalom? Na. Is this the dream setup for the Great Divide Race? Eh, probably not. Is this what you'd want to ride in the Tour de France? The kids do like the carbon (and EPO) for that. You get the point.If you've actually read this far (all three of you), you deserve a prize: you should buy yourself an Engin.
Ride safely and happy trails.
