Sedona Sunset Ride on the Niner I.M.Baaaaaa

Something you don't see everyday....

At least in Sedona and it's a hardtail.   Full Squish carbon rigs with dropper posts seems to be the logical weapon of choice and on past trips I have rented a Santa Cruz Tallboy so you really can tell the difference on trails comparison.  One thing the hard tail does better is climb and that was on the menu today.  The pic below is the Chicken Point lookout after climbing up Little Horse Trail.  Will hit Mystic and Hogwash etc. another day.

Can you believe this is JANUARY ?

My Local....

Depending on who you talk to there is anywhere from 4 to 6 hours of trails to ride in the Don Valley.  Taylor Creek, The Ridge, Dirt Jumps and all the usual suspects only account for about 2 and those 2 are also the most traveled.  Having done a few recon rides with Thorben I think I have a good idea on the network now and still finding new stuff...

Don Valley

Niner MCR 9 - 2 Months Later

May is turning out to be a month that does not bring good news. I have not posted to the blog in a few weeks so I thought I would throw up a quick post on the new bike. I also wanted to thank all of you who have sent me emails from Spain to Maine, I am glad you find this little corner of the inter-web inspiring.

I have put about 200 km of dirt on this rig since I finished the build. I'm not going to be able to shed any new ' magic ' information on a steel 29'er with a rigid fork except to say this bike is bringing lots of grins. Maybe it's the topo maps themed artwork that has made me feel like exploring. Riding new trails and getting back to a simple kind of riding with a 1x9 drive train. Sag settings - lockouts + good rubber = high fun factor a.k.a Niner MCR 9.

I tweaked a few set up details like adding the Salsa Pro Moto Carbon bar with 17 degree sweep.

The bar is great and I am liking the hand positioning it gives you. The Rholoff chain guide is on and doing what it should be doing. Only drag is no bar ends allowed. Not sure why but ?

The Bontrager XXX Lite stem was off my Superfly from 2 years ago and the Suntour thumb shifter would further add to my vintage status.

The piece that is really impressing me on this bike are the 2011 Shimano Deore Disc Brakes. No need to spend hundreds on a brake set up when you can buy these. They have great modulation and reach adjustment and benefit from the Shimano no pad rub that they are known for.

Finally got my Mavic Crossmax back with a new rear hub from a 26" wheel. Not sure what the problem was but they failed again after 8 rides post original warranty fix. Not good but they are back.....for now. I honestly don't think I could buy another set again unless they completely change the freehub / pawl set up. Not too much to ask given the $ they are fetching.

Niner M.C.R. 9

Finally got the Niner MCR 9 up and running. Picked this up in North Carolina from Liberty Bikes. I think it was the I.M.B.A limited edition frame that won me over because it's not like I need a new bike or anything. Scroll down this post for the skinny on the frame.


The M.C.R stands for Magic Carpet Ride and the frame & fork are made up with Reynolds 853 cromo tubing. I decided to set this bike up with a 1x9 drivetrain. Truativ Stylo 1:1 32 ring with bashguard. Still waiting on the Rohloff upper chain guide but on todays ride the chain did not drop once so ? I used my old Suntour thumb shifter in friction mode for the rear cog and Schwable Racing Ralphs tires front & rear. 2.4 up front and a 2.2 in the back. Front ran at 35 psi today with no pinch flats and loads of confidence going into corners and on rooty downhills.


Look for some detailed ride reports in the weeks to follow and also some comments on set up tweaks. First one I did post ride today was swap out my Syncros bar for a Titec H bar which offer more hand position and control which is warranted with the fully rigid bike. This thing climbs like a goat and goes were you point it.