Interbike- Last Vegas. Dirt Demo

Created on 24 September 2008 Conrad

The Dirt Demo takes place in the desert outside Vegas- Bootleg Canyon. The trail system is amazing. Lots of everything- singletrack from mild to quite hairy, jumps, ladders and big drops, a small BMX track and even a huge shuttle for the boinga boinga guys.

I spent the day at the Specialized “village”. Hundreds of 2009 bikes were in stock- ready for potential customers to ride and hopefully order for their stores.
I went on a ride with Ned Overend, Rebecca Rusch and a few Specialized Riders Club guys. Its always great being in Ned’s company. He rode a Specialized aluminium 29er hard tail and I had to have my wits about me to keep up. Not sure if he got faster or if it was the 29er… Ned is such a legend.

Most people recognize Ned from far away (and many calls me “Christophe” (Sauser)) because of the rainbow jersey, but “Hey! Christophe put on 40 pounds!”. Speaking of Christophe, he test rode a new (still nameless) Specialized tire that weighs 330g with hardly any knobs at all. Susi is in weight weenie heaven.

Chasing Ned Overend (on a 29er?!) down fun single track. Lake Mead in the bacground. (Yes, I did take this pic while riding…)

The sweetest bike of all. 2009 Specialized Epic S-works

Created on 23 September 2008 Conrad

2009 Specialized Epic S-works

The 2009 Specialized Epic S-works.

The press has hyped the bike up and Susi won the XC World Champs on it, but DANG, I was especially surprised by: a) the suspension and b) the weight. And, yes, it is a really pretty bike.

As you can see in the background, I tested the bike on a not-so-old lava flow at Edison snow park outside Bend, to see how the new Specialized Armadillo Elite (Fast Trak 2.00) tires would hold up through the sharp lava. I ran into big lumps of sharp lava as hard as I could (to test the tires for tire cut resistance) but every time the suspension just ate up the much anticipated jolt. When the suspension is not active, bike is 100% rigid- unlike anything I’ve felt since… well, since my Tarmac road bike. The New Epic’s suspension is definitely a few cuts above the “old” Epic. And I’m sure many cuts above anything else out there.

Training camping in the Cascades

Created on 18 September 2008 Conrad

I needed to get out of the condo and daily town life, and headed up the Cascades and camped at the foot of Broken Top. I camped and trained at 2000m, (the same alt as Tahoe- XTERRA USA Champs is in 2 weeks) enjoying the nice weather and the changing colours of approaching of fall. (Autumn) I put in some really big sessions in fun surroundings- so it felt like holiday.

Of course, in true Caveman tradition, I try to carry everything at once.

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Interbike- Last Vegas. Dirt Demo

The sweetest bike of all. 2009 Specialized Epic S-works

Training camping in the Cascades

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