Gear
August 14, 2008
DIY: Tuning Your Derailleur
By VWCabrio82
First off I would like to say that this is not the type of thing you want to just tear into. The drive train system on your bike is a precision piece of machinery. If you are even remotely worried about messing with your drive train, don’t do it. Take your cycle to a shop for professional maintenance.
There are many parts that have to be working in sync for the chain to smoothly shift from 1 gear to another and back again. You can see from this picture here, a typical 9 speed transmission:
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August 05, 2008
Panaracer Cinder
By Replicator
Panaracer is a name that has been around the mountain bike scene for quite a while. If the Cinder tire is any indication of the product they continually produce, then it’ll be just one more reason for Panaracer’s longevity. Read on to find out!
The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the Cinder are the aggressively spaced knobs. On closer inspection you’ll see that the knobs themselves have two levels. The highest point of the is made of a softer rubber that flexes under torque ‘giving’ a little bit when needed. The lower, more dense section of the knob provides stability to propel you and your bike over rooty sections and rock gardens.
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August 04, 2008
Quality Over Quantity - The 2008 Kona Hei Hei
By VO2Max
T’was the night before the Hillsborough Five, and team CSD senior was short one bike - mine. I’d been expecting to race the event on my old Kula Deluxe hardtail, but the prospect of 5 hours of pounding on my back wasn’t sitting well in my psyche. hat was I to do? How ‘bout check the calendar? That’s right, the Kona Demo Tour was in town! For those who are not familiar, Kona sends out a truck and trailer each year (alternating coasts), bringing a collection of fine rides for your tasting pleasure. Not only did they bring an awesome fleet of Stinkys, Coil-Airs, and even a few Kula 29ers, but the truck rolls on 22s! Now that’s the Kona I know and love!
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June 26, 2008
Some Things From Sette
Sette is a brand of high-quality, value-priced cycling gear, exclusively available at Price Point. Price Point set us up with some products from Sette so that we could put them to the test on the East Coast. Sette carries a full line of products, we got our hands on a hydration pack, some gloves and a carbon fiber handlebar.
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June 03, 2008
The Oakley "You Wanted The Best- You Got The Best!" Spring Run-Down
By Vo2max
The other day I saw what is now one of my favorite pre-race psych-up movies: Detroit Rock City. Such pump-your-fist-in-the-air stoke is a pre-requisite for success in the saddle, and what better way to tell the world you run the ‘hood than with the biggest, most aggressive glasses out there? I’m talking about the replacement for the old Oil Drum, ostensibly a true balla’ shade in itself. However, this is Oakley we’re talking about, a company that innovates more than Specialized, Cannondale, and Lockheed-Martin combined. Their cultural stethoscope dictated that the Oil Drum must be made larger, more aggressively wrapped, and most critically: composed of a single lens. The drum is gone, now we’re talkin’ ‘bout the RIG.
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May 21, 2008
DIY: Rim Truing
By VWCabrio82
Well I’ve heard a few people ask from time to time about rim truing, so I thought I would give a crash course in very basic truing. At this juncture I would like to say that I am fully aware that this is not even scratching the surface of the many points involved in truing a wheel, and there are much more appropriate tools, and skills. This is merely something to get the weekend warrior mobile on a Sunday afternoon. There is plenty of rim building and rim truing tutorials on the Internet, especially by the late Sheldon Brown. These are definitely worth looking up and reading if someone is wanting to further their skill in wheel building and truing.
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May 12, 2008
ECMTB Jerseys
Represent East Coast Mountain Biking in style with your very own jersey! East Coast Mountain Biking’s community is one of the best kept secrets on the East Coast, what better way to advertise ourselves than to show the colors on our back when we ride and race.
We’re going to order our first lot once we get 12 orders for each type of jersey. Let us know ASAP if you’d like a jersey or two so that we can get this order going. Act quickly because once we get 12 of each we’re placing the order! We can order more later once we get enough demand, but we want the first lot quickly so we’ll have them early in the season.
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March 26, 2008
DIY: Changing a Tube
By Vwcabrio82
It seems that ECMTB welcomes do it yourself articles form its users! I contacted Replicator and O9Man with the suggestion that there out to be more DIY content. Their reply was “You’re right! Why don’t you write the first one?” How could I refuse? The first DIY will be starting with a weapon every biker must be equipped with, changing a tire and tube.
First thing is to identify what type of tube you need. There are a couple of common types of tubes, Schrader, and Presta. Schrader is the most common type found. Presta is usually reserved for higher pressures and for tubeless tires, but not always.
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March 19, 2008
Composition! Subject! Exposure!
By Jaymcneil
There are many general “guidelines” or “rules to follow” when taking pictures. The purpose of taking a photograph is essentially to capture a moment in a way that pleases the photographer or other viewers. This means that although for the most part, when these guidelines are followed the results are usually better, it is not necessary to live by the rules. A large portion of photography is creativity and taking risks to create a unique result. Essentially there are no “right” and “wrong” ways to take a photograph, only methods that have proved to be appealing.
Generally the most important parts of a photograph are the composition, subject, and exposure / lighting. For example, a photo wouldn’t be a keeper if: half of the rider’s body was accidently cut off, the photo was a boring ugly trick, or if the photo was taken at 1:00 a.m. and hardly anything was visible.
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ECMTB Stickers are Back!
By popular demand we’ve ordered a new set of die cast ECMTB stickers. Supplies are limited so act now!
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December 10, 2007
Paris-Roubaix, A Journey Through Hell
by Nelson Hansen
Slightly over twenty years ago I found interest in an oddball European sport called professional cycling. North American media was starting to follow the escapades of the first wave of American cyclists looking to make their mark in the pro-peleton. As part of an effort to bring the Tour de France to North American TV sets, CBS Sports Spectacular gave many North American viewers a glimpse of the one-day Spring Classics races where riders prepared their bodies for the major tours later in the year.
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