"Do you guys have demo bikes?"

Posted by Charles Wed, 13 Jun 2007 07:15:00 GMT

I’ll get asked “What do you ride?” in the course of most business days, and while I sometimes tailor a glib answer to support whatever bike I happen to be showing that person when they asked the question, the real answer is quite complicated.

Right now, I own a Maverick ML-7, an old one having been in the stable for 6 years, and a Giant Reign. I also have a Salsa cross bike and a Giant STP that I use for urban riding. The Reign has been disabled with a fork issue for a couple weeks, and I have a grand plan to rebuild it with a new Reign X frame and Fox Van 36 fork, so while that bike has seen plenty of hours, and has inspired me to buy the latest and greatest Reign model, its not getting any use by anyone right now. Similar story with the ML-7. Slow air leak from a neglected rear shock, and its rideable, but I have other options.

I have my buddy’s Santa Cruz Nomad right behind me here, and after I go through its suspension and brakes, it will need some extended test riding. I’m thinking Waterdog tomorrow night. Last Wednesday, I did a couple loops in there on my cross bike, and in the spirit of swinging the pendulum both ways, I think I am overdue for a little overkill, and my stutter bump battered wrists agree completely. I’ve ridden this Nomad before, and another one with a completely different build, and each time its been a pleasure. I’ve also had a Titus Racer X on the Wednesday night ride, a Spot singlespeed, an Astrix Monk, an ML-8 and probably some other really cool bikes I just can’t think of right now.

Two weekends ago I was in Downieville and Nevada City riding a new Specialized Enduro with the S-Works Carbon frame and E150 fork. This weekend I will be back in Downieville on, well, I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know. Last Fall, I know I was riding a bunch of different 29ers, anything I could get my hands on, Turner Sultan, Racer X, and Niner left the strongest impressions.

In some ways I am blessed that I am in a position to try out so many different really cool bikes, in real world conditions both where I ride every weekend, as well as Bootleg Canyon, Northstar, Oakridge, and Oat Hill. In addition to some pretty positive trail experiences, and a small amount of familiarity with just about every bike I run across on a daily basis, I have an idea of just about any bikes trail worthiness, or in some cases, trail unworthiness.

Yesterday I got to experience the down side of a small amount of familiarity. I remember being told by a customer that his bike “felt like an extension” of him. He felt he knew where every part of that bike was at all times. I charged into a little uphill rise during a downhill run, out of the saddle, over the bars, trying to keep just ahead of Patrick. While I had some familiarity with this bikes low bottom bracket and long travel fork and rear end, I never recognized that low rock on the left side of the trail as an obstacle of consequence given my line through the turn. Until my pedal hit it and stopped dead. I was just completing the power stroke, so my crank was pointing directly at the rock, and it stopped too, and so did the bike for the most part. I, however, seemed to speed up. What followed was sort of like skipping a rock across the river, except there was no water, and I was the rock. I landed sort of like Steve’s Austin’s test plane in the Ojai desert, skip, skip, tumble, vault, tumble, dust, quiet. Now, like a well used Vanagon, I have a little bit of body damage on each corner, and am moving pretty slow.

It didn’t ruin my ride, or my bike, and I now have a bit more respect for at least that bikes little quirk. I learned something yesterday. Today, a friend asked me if he could demo a bike, so he could figure out if that bike really rode well, if it was really so much better than his old bike that it justified its outrageous price. I thought for a second about the 15 hours and 50 miles I had spent on yesterday’s loaner bike, only to find out it could demonstrate a Linda Blair-like spinning head response to a sprint when I least expected it, and I didn’t know what to tell him. I’ll probably go out of my way to get him a demo bike, though, because almost all rides are good, and of course its worth the price. I rode one, and it was great.