Karen at Dirt Rag asked me to go to the Specialized product presentation, since I live a short bike ride away from it, and that saves the magazine a big airfare that they weren’t going to pay anyway. It’s a press party, and I get some stuff published in the Rag, so I could probably talk my way in as a "journalist."
A free archive of Dirt Rag articles.
Dirtscrolls
SSWC08, Here We Come!
It’s been three years since the circus known as the Singlespeed World Championships touched the shores of the United States. While we here at Dirt Rag aren’t as fortunate as we were in 2005 to basically have SSWC in our back yard, we still plan on running away from home out to Napa, California to ...
RockShox SID with 2008 Olympic Games Decals
On August 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. the women’s cross country mountain bike race in the XXIX Olympic Games will take place in Laoshan of the Shijingshan District in Beijing. The men’s competition is the following day, August 23rd on the same course and time. Thirty women and fifty men will compete for the three ...
Truvativ HammerSchmidt Unveiled
Truvativ has just released details of HammerSchmidt, their planetary gear front transmission mechanism. Using just one chainring, the mechanism produces two gear ratios: a standard 1:1 and a 1:1.6 Overdrive. In the standard gear everything is locked and spinning together—turn the pedal once and the chainring goes around once. In Overdrive, turn the pedal once, ...
Kokanee Crankworx Whistler, BC August 13th
Day five of the Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler BC is Dirt Rag’s first for the 2008 event. Most of the day has been spent on two planes and a bus, a small price to pay to be here. As far as the day’s competitions go, I was only able to see the final runs of ...
Dirt Rag Merch Special: Stacked Logo Wool Socks
For a limited time, you can score Dirt Rag‘s cozy Merino wool socks for the special price of $9.00 per pair (regularly $12.00). Oh Yeah! The comfort of Merino Wool. This Dirt Rag wool sock is made for us by SockGuy and manufactured in the USA in a blend of 50% Merino wool and 50% ...
First Annual JORBA Bike Festival
When: September 13th, 2008, 10:00 a.m. until ? Where: Waterloo Concert Field adjacent to Allamuchy and Stephens State Parks, NJ. Why: The goal of the “fest” is to promote responsible trail stewardship and cycling advocacy and awareness in New Jersey. Wuzzupwidat? Free admission. Guided trail rides in Allamuchy, Deer Park and Stephens State Park for ...
Lost and Found
Thanks to Klunkerz director Billy Savage for sharing the following story: From the very beginning of my project I told anyone that would listen that I’m a storyteller with a mountain bike, not a mountain biker with a camera. Sure, I like to ride a little bit, but I’ve never been much of a climber. ...
COMBA Hosts Open Space Trails Public Forum
The Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA) has set up the first ever public meeting between the Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) land managers and the mountain bike community—scheduled for Tuesday, August 19th, 2009 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Jefferson County Administration and Court Building, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO. The planned agenda ...
Crankworx Colorado Final Days
Day three of the Colorado Crankworks begins with more runs down the 28 miles of mountain trails. Today we are given the pleasure of riding some of the 2009 Commencal offerings. I am sampling the Supreme, and the Meta 5.5, while my friend Matt Weatherbee demos the Furious CG. Matt has also been assisting me ...
Japan: Bikes Here, There and Everywhere
I recently returned from an amazing trip to Osaka, Japan with my wife, Maggie, and her awesome parents/tour guides, Bill and Kazuko. We saw many great sights, we ate way too much good food, and saw more of the country than the most seasoned Japanese tourist.Before we left for our travels, I thought that I ...
Charlie Kelly’s Press Camp Experience
Long-time Dirt Rag contributor Charlie Kelly filed this report:
24 Hour Mountain Bike Nationals
The cast iron skillet was the last item to be placed into the red 1998 Ford Windstar with the crumpled left-front fender. I would say “crammed into” if it were not for the fact that there was a small patch of daylight that provided, via the rear-view mirror, a clear view of the four bikes ...
Dirt Rag and Ray’s MTB Park Photo Contest
It is hard to believe, but Ray Petro is working this summer in his 100,000 square foot warehouse to reconfigure his world famous indoor mountain bike park for a FIFTH season this winter. Lots of changes in store, for both riding and hanging out. Keep an eye on the Ray’s MTB Park website for ...
Press Camping
Thanks to a veritable press camp plethora, the Dirt Rag staff has been racking up the frequent flyer miles at a breakneck pace this season. Below is a compilation of our reports from the cutting edge of bicycle technology. Read about Ryan’s adventures at Chequamegon with the Salsa crew in his blog posting here. Read ...
Conventions Bike Project
Delegates, party officials, and the national media attending at the Democratic and Republican national conventions later this year will have the opportunity to borrow free loaner bikes to use during the events. Bikes Belong, in partnership with leading health insurance provider Humana, will bring 1,000 bicycles to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO, August ...
Crankworx Colorado Day Two
(Friday, August 1st) The first full day at the 2008 Crankworx Colorado has lived up to my expectations. It would be hard to have a bad day that begins with a few good chair lift-assisted runs on freshly prepped Kona demo rigs (thanks Scott and Willy.) The afternoon was completed with mind-blowing performances from the ...
Crankworx Colorado – Winter Park
(Thursday, July 31) It has been one year since its inception to the mountain bike world. The Colorado Crankworx course is set, and it is intense. No…not like camping in-tents. It IS intense. Our late arrival on the opening practice day denied us access to the chairlifts, however, the Winter Park staff was immensely helpful ...
That Was Fun!
I wasn’t expecting to have a blast on a road/race bike this weekend, but I did. In truth, this was my first time at the Kenda Bikefest and I wasn’t sure what to expect. As it turns out, the weekend was filled with extremes. Mild weather, and incredible blue skies interspersed with intimidating thunderstorms in ...
Cactus Cup Update
As we previously reported, the Mountain’s Edge 2008 Cactus Cup is scheduled for September 19th – 21st, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. The latest incarnation of this venerable event sticks with the tried and true Cactus Cup formula, combining a three-day festival and a mountain bike stage race. The latest news is that the Cactus ...
Mega Event Schedule Update
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Handlebar to handlebar racing action! Thrills, chills and spills. Mud, blood and gears. Bring your camera! Date State City Event Title Hyperlink 7.31.2008 CO Winter Park Crankworx Colorado www.crankworxcolorado.com 7.31.2008 CO Crested Butte Powerade Pinnacle Summer Race Series www.ridecb.com 8.01.2008 CO SolVista Bike Park Mountain States Cup #6 Sol Survivor www.racemsc.com 8.02.2008 ...
KendaFest Tech Report
One of the best parts about the KendaFest is the opportunity for attendees to be right in the thick of things, just as much as us journalists, as far as new bike products go. There were a lot of opportunities for folks to not only see, but to ride the latest offerings from a large ...
Three Days of Awesomeness
Three days of awesomeness. This is the second installment of our documentation of the Kenda Fest Presented By Dirt Rag. There was so much going on at the Kenda Fest, it was tough to keep track: group rides for everyone from kids on up to hardcores (and even some for those roadie people), skills clinics, ...
Kenda Fest Fun
We are live at the KendaFest presented by Dirt Rag and we are having a great time. This 13-year-old festival has long been an East Coast summer ritual, but it has grown into a huge, all-inclusive smorgasbord of everything good about the bicycle tribe that draws members from all over. The entire office staff, plus ...
Brain Fart: Cat Herding and Pet Photoggery
I’ll be the first to admit that attending the occasional press camp is one of the primo perks of my job. Case in point: jetting into Durango to ride Gary Fisher’s all new Roscoe and Trek’s updated Fuel EX bikes. It should come as no surprise that riding the latest and greatest bikes on world-class ...
First Look: 2009 Trek Top Fuel
My first day at 2009 Trek Camp was spent learning about and riding their updated carbon OCLV Fuel EX (report here). Later in the day, as I rolled into the group dinner, I was not prepared for the surprise that Trek had waiting there—samples of a radically re-designed carbon OCLV Top Fuel 100mm travel XC ...
Project SingleSpeed Racer- US National Champs
Pedal boats suck. So I just got back from racing in the US National Mountain Bike Championships at Mt. Snow Vt., and let’s just say that things did not go as planned. Last year I raced in my first XC Nationals and surprised myself by coming away with the Stars and Stripes in the Expert ...
Gearing Up for KendaFest
There’s lots of bustling activity going on at DRHQ today. The entire Dirt Rag staff is getting ready to head north tomorrow to Hancock, Massachusetts for the KendaFest Presented by Dirt Rag this coming weekend, July 25-27 – see, we take our “presented by” role seriously. There are a lot of great activities planned for ...
First Look: 2009 Trek Fuel EX
Immediately after wrapping up a two-day Durango, CO press camp where Gary Fisher introduced their all-new Roscoe 140mm trail bike, I was scooped up by the folks from Trek and transfered a short distance to their host hotel, for two days of riding their new Fuel EX. With day one of riding the new EX ...
First Look: Gary Fisher Roscoe
I’m in Durango where Gary Fisher bikes is introducing their all-new Roscoe—140mm of front/rear travel trail bike sweetness—to journalists from around the world. Roscoe is designed to be a versatile machine, suited for a bit more aggressive riding than Fisher’s 120mm travel HiFi. After my two-day press camp, I’ll post a full-blow report, but ...
Access Action Alert: Montana Trails in Danger
The Gallatin National Forest, near Yellowstone in Montana, has proposed a ban on mountain biking that would affect the popular trails in the Lionhead area. The deadline for comments is today, Friday, July 18th – click over to IMBA’s site now and let your voice be heard! The word from IMBA:With one day left before ...
Brain Fart: Self supported road racing?
Anybody else see any road racing coverage lately, particularly the Tour de France? Anybody else blown away by the amount of motorized vehicles that accompanies the peloton? That’s not even all of it. There are multiple team buses, camera helicopters and all the weird little product placement vehicles that travel the route before the racers, ...
Nomad Gets Next-Generation VPP Makeover
Back in February, 2008 Maurice attended Santa Cruz press camp, where the NorCal bike-maker introduced their next-generation VPP suspension, via a redesigned Blur LT. Maurice followed up that trip with a full-blown Blur LT bike review that appeared in Issue #136. Santa Cruz has just announced that they’ve brought their next-generation VPP to the Nomad ...
Tour de France Coverage on Versus TV and Website
For the eighth straight year, the Versus network is bringing TV viewers Tour de France coverage, with an average of 14 hours of coverage per day. Daily coverage includes a pre-race show followed by live morning race coverage, race action replays four times daily, and an expanded prime-time show. During the key mountain stages, Versus ...
Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day
For the fifth consecutive year, IMBA will be providing support, schwag and publicity for clubs that host “Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day” events. This year’s celebration will be held on Oct. 4, 2008—with help from Schwinn, Smartwool, CLIF Organic ZBar and Trips for Kids. Participating is as simple as organizing a kid’s ride in ...
Penn State Mountain Bike Survey
Andrew Purrington and Harry Zinn of Penn State University—Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management—are conducting a study of mountain bikers’ perceptions of trail access. They need mountain bikers to help by completing a quick painless 15-minute online survey. Purpose of the Study: In the past few decades, mountain biking has increased in popularity and ...
Brain Fart: Two Wheels, One Love
I’ve been rolling this around in my head for quite a while, but one of the photos in Karl’s Rider Profile of Sarah Hansing really solidified the point; I know quite a few bicycle people who are also motocycle riders, and visa versa. Having recently been re-bitten by the motorcycle bug, I can certainly sympathize. ...
New Dirt Rag Merch: 20th Anniversary Water Bottle
As Dirt Rag prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we’re begun rolling out Dirt Rag merchandise with our brand spanking new 20th year chainring logo. The first bit of swag to sport this swanky new graphic is our 20th anniversary edition water bottle. Made by Specialized, the 24oz. clear, food-grade plastic bottle has a wide ...
Scott Bikes Get Smart: The Genius
The Scott Company began in Sun Valley Idaho 50 years ago with the first tapered aluminum ski pole. It was the most sophisticated pole yet created. And that continued into the bike world as well. Scott made their first mountain bike in 1986, aero bars for Greg Lemond’s Tour De France win in 1989, and ...
Project SingleSpeed Racer- Part Five: Riding Tips
Getting the most speed out of your singlespeed bike requires learning some new skills, and perfecting old ones. Well mastered basic skills for cross country mountain bike riding are essential to singlespeed riding. The nature of riding a singlespeed tends to magnify any lapses in your technique. With only one gear, there are also some ...
Rider Profile: Sarah Hansing
Sarah Hansing swings a mean wrench. I had a chance to see her in action at this year’s 24 Hours of Big Bear, where she wrenched for me and my teammates on the Bontrager Masters team. The 2008 edition of the 24 Hours of Big Bear was a rather muddy affair, and my team broke ...
The most incredible thing I’ve ever done was NOT on a bike.
That’s right, I’m leaving myself wide open for ridicule and derision at work and at home with a bold statement like that. Those at the office live and breathe bikes and for me to have the most incredible experience of my life NOT on 2 wheels borders on travesty. Similarly at home, after marriage and ...
Salsa Cycles Sol Sessions First Report
I had the chance to visit the Salsa Cycles HQ in Minneapolis for the unveiling and riding of Salsa’s two new full suspension bikes. The bikes were designed to have a similar ride with wheel size being the main difference. The 26er called the El Kaboing has 5 inches of rear wheel travel and the ...
Jeff Jones Visits DRHQ
This summer has been rather rainy here in Pittsburgh and the trails somewhat soggy. We were in for a bit of luck though when Jeff Jones dropped by for a visit and ride. It was hot and humid, but mercifully the rain had held off for another day. Jeff had brought along several bikes, including his new steel frame, and we were some of the first on this side of the country to ride the new designs.
Seven Springs Free Ride Weekend
Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located in the Laurel Highlands an hour east of Pittsburgh, PA, has been busy this season building up their offering of chairlift-accessed trails. The resort has enlisted the services of professional trail-builder Judd de Vall to lead the construction of trails ranging from flowy, entry-level cross-country trails to expert-only downhill and ...
Cannondale Pledges $200,000 to Bikes Belong
Cannondale Sports Group President and CEO Jeff Frehner has pledged an additional $200,000 to support Bikes Belong and its mission to get more people riding bicycles more often. This contribution will be an annual donation of up to $200,000—in addition to membership dues—that will begin in July 2008. “We are very grateful for this additional ...
White Rim Blues
The White Rim trail of Canyonlands National Park is a mostly dirt road loop of one hundred miles along a dramatic shelf of pale stone beneath the more accessible Island in the Sky plateau, but above the maze-like terrain created by the Green and Colorado Rivers. It is typically ridden in a few, heavily inebriated ...
Raccoon Rally Report
It’s late Sunday night and I’ve just rolled back from a three-day road trip to western New York. Rather than sifting through a stack of press releases, looking for a newsworthy nugget to post in this space, I’ve decided to tell you about my trip.
Project SingleSpeed Racer- Race Report 3
The drama is supposed to happen on the race course, not in the parking lot. On a hot and dry June day I pulled into the Neshaminy High School parking lot in plenty of time for the Guy’s Racing Neshaminy Classic. After getting checked in, I kitted up and started my warmup circling the parking ...
Mega Event Schedule Update
We invite you to join us at the Dirt Rag World Tour stop at the Kenda Bikefest Presented by Dirt Rag, scheduled for July 25–27th in Hancock, MA. If that’s not in the cards, then we’ve got dozens of events listed from coast to coast. Check out the action! Date State City Event Title Hyperlink ...
Birthdays, Bike Races, and Music!
The great city of Pittsburgh, PA is celebrating its 250th birthday and a mega-watt of bicycle activities are planned for this weekend. Included in the celebration is the Tour of Pennsylvania, a 420-mile road stage race that began in Philadelphia on June 24th and ends Sunday with a 33-lap circuit race through the streets of ...
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] Page 87 [88] [89] [90] [91] [92] [93] [94]
This site is an independently-operated mirror and is not affiliated with Dirt Rag, Rotating Mass Media or any of its current or former subsidiaries. No copyright is claimed for any content appearing herein.