Group rides with Specialized

The SBCU classes ran Monday-Wednesday. In addition to classroom learning there was some real world application of the acquired knowledge, in the form of bike rides of course. On Tuesday we loaded the (rather large) van with bikes and gear and set out into the Demonstration Forest. Not a place to demo bikes, but rather a place for university level forestry experiments/research. Tons of amazing mountain biking trails though. Dual suspension bikes with 4+ inches of travel were the order of the day, so I grabbed an S-Works Stumpjumper FSR. The bike climbed great, went down hill like crazy, and the smooth suspenion saved me from a few potential crashes. It was also the first time I rode a bike with SRAM XO shifters. The push/push mechanism worked great and was really easy to get used to, despite coming from a push/pull Shimano rapid fire type experience. Shifting was quick and had a really solid feel. The Magura hydrolic brakes never took more than an index finger to operate and had incredible modulation.

The ride itself was a blast, 2 miles of fire road climbs followed by 4 miles of fast, technical downhills, often with a couple line choices depending on skill. It ended with a 3 mile fireroad climb back to the van.

The road ride was also incredible. Wednesday under clear skies upper 60s temps, we set out for a “easy 40 miler.” Rolling hills, fast decents, and a bit of wind made the ride fun and mildly challenging to a midwesterner like myself. The bike for this ride was an S-Works Tarmac. Super light and super stiff are the best way to describe this bike. Maybe 16 pounds and so stiff that ever ounce of power I put down was instantly translated into forward motion. The handling was so sharp it was almost as thought the bike anticipated where I needed to go and was already on its way when I touched the steering. This was also the first time I’d ridden a bike with the new SRAM Force road groupo. It involves a single lever on each side to perform all shifting duties. They call this technology “double tap” and it works great. It took maybe 20 miles to get the hang of it, and after that it was second nature. The easiest way to explain it, is it’s like the small lever on the Shimano or Campy shifters does both jobs. Push it a little it shifts up, push it further it shifts down. A little weird to be sure but once you get used to it, it’s awesome. My only complaint is that the breaks, while light, weren’t as strong as I’d have liked. Other than that the bike and groupo were incredible.

Here’s a shot of the terrain around Morgan Hill, similar to where we did the road ride. This shot is actually looking out from the hotel, but you get the point.