Ready to Drink a Growler

Things are a-changin’; again, and always it seems.  Getting ready for the Gunnison Growler this weekend meant changing my bike setup a bit.  I have been running my Niner Air 9 with a Cannondale Lefty 80mm fork.  I love the Lefty fork for being super light, stiff, and extremely plush.  That being said, 80mm of travel, and the resulting sketchy handling, was not a preferable setup for the super rocky, technical, tight, and steep trails in Hartman Rocks.  So I put on my new and unused White Brothers Loop 100mm fork.  First things first; I had to get the front end dropped back down to a more “XC” stance.  A quick trip to Boulder Cycle Sport fixed that, and I was all set up with a sweet stem that can provide either 20° or 28° drop.  This is more “negative rise” than I’ve ever run, but corrected my positioning on the bike.  During my first ride on some local trails I was instantly impressed and happy with the “new” handling of the bike.  The extra 20mm of travel seemed to have slackened the geometry just a hair, and I was throwing the bike around corners faster and more comfortably than I ever could with the Lefty.  And OH MAN was I having fun blasting through rock gardens, pummeling roots and hitting every jump I could find with the increased travel of the Loop fork.  It is so plush when you get into some rough stuff, but then stays nice and stiff when climbing.  Needless to say, but after one short spin on the new setup I’m extremely excited to really put it to test at the Growler.

Niner Air 9, White Brothers Loop, Ergon SM3, Maxxis Ikon, Crank Brothers, Formula R1

Here’s a short interview with multiple-times Leadville 100 Champion Dave Weins, about HIS race, the Growler.  The nature of the course is all up-and-down, all the time.  I hope this suits me well.  It should make for perfect singlespeed riding, provided I selected the right gear. Hopefully I have enough energy left to post after the race.  Cheers.