Superbikes

Early in the 2011 racing season is became very apparent that the new line of 29er full suspension bikes were excellent.  At one point I had only lost a few races and all of them were to these new "superbikes".  I doubt it was all because of the bikes, but thats beside the point.  A few years ago I remember saying there was no way I would ride a 29er dually.  Way too heavy and slow.  Heck I switched back to smaller wheels from a 29er hardtail because it was too heavy.  My first glimpse of the advantage of the big wheels and big suspension was climbing Blowout Mtn in Arkansas behind Wiley Mosely and his Epic 29.  If you have ever made that climb and descent you know it is extremely rough and rocky, and he just rode away.  Im pretty sure the bike had something to do with it as I would eventually catch back on when we got through the rocks.  Later in the year I had the chance to spend a little time on an Sworks Epic 29 and it was indeed awesome.  That bike was a bigger advantage than I had dreamed.  Then I rode a few hours on the Trek Superfly 100.  While maybe not quite as quick, that bike was soooo smooth and comfortable.  You just get up to speed and cruise through anything.  The only drawback to the Epic is the brain, which is also its best asset.  That bikes pedals extremely efficiently but the brain has to be adjusted before you go out and race.  Because you cant adjust it on the fly it seems like you might have it perfect for one section of trail but then it wont be perfect for another section so I lean back towards the Fox RP23 suspension.... The new RP23 is super adjustable.  It has three levels of propedal and then 3 levels of openness.  So you set your preferred level of propedal and openness and can flip between them on the fly.  This is exactly how I wanted my rear shocks to work the last few years as the "open" setting on the previous version was basically useless unless you were bombing down a mountain.  And I dont buy it that some bikes pedal well in open, this is only true if you like that super soft spongy feeling.  Anyways....the ultimate superbike is hitting the shops now and it light..

And my version is sure to be a few pounds lighter.... now if i can just get used to the odd sized wheels and half a fork....