Here's a video we filmed with the F5 in Southern California. It was posted on pinkbike.com and we thought we'd share it for our blog followers. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
VF2 BIKE MAG REVIEW: "SURPRISINGLY AGILE BIKE W/ CATEGORY-BLURRING PERFORMANCE."
The latest VF2 review came in this month. After months of research and testing with Cane Creek's R&D Director Josh Coaplen on the VF2 chassis, the first major review of the bicycle's performance from the media is in. (see VF2 shock tuning).
In the review for BIKE Mag, we put a heavy emphasis on making sure the bike pedaled efficiently, even while standing out of the saddle. We wanted to prove, or at least reemphasize, that a properly designed 4 bar with the right shock tuning is one of the best platforms out there for pedaling efficiency.
So what did BIKE's editors have to say after comparing the VF2 chassis against pretty much every other suspension design on the market today? They said, "Still, the bike rode surprisingly well. It bobbed marginally while standing, but seated climbing was smooth and efficient."
The editor's praised the fully active suspension, and the VF2's ability to handle tough terrain. They mentioned opting for possibly a (larger?) coil fork and more aggressive tires - to match the rear performance of the CCDB - which imo is a fair suggestion as I currently have this bike now set-up with a PUSHed 36.
Overall, they appeared to appreciate what the bike is - an all-around trail bike with a smooth, supple, and well-handling ride. Thanks BIKE Mag!
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In the review for BIKE Mag, we put a heavy emphasis on making sure the bike pedaled efficiently, even while standing out of the saddle. We wanted to prove, or at least reemphasize, that a properly designed 4 bar with the right shock tuning is one of the best platforms out there for pedaling efficiency.
So what did BIKE's editors have to say after comparing the VF2 chassis against pretty much every other suspension design on the market today? They said, "Still, the bike rode surprisingly well. It bobbed marginally while standing, but seated climbing was smooth and efficient."
The editor's praised the fully active suspension, and the VF2's ability to handle tough terrain. They mentioned opting for possibly a (larger?) coil fork and more aggressive tires - to match the rear performance of the CCDB - which imo is a fair suggestion as I currently have this bike now set-up with a PUSHed 36.
Overall, they appeared to appreciate what the bike is - an all-around trail bike with a smooth, supple, and well-handling ride. Thanks BIKE Mag!
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
12 Hours of Santos - HX2 29er Report
Report from sponsored rider Owen Simpson.
12 Hours of Santos 2/20/2010
I made my annual trip down to Santos again this year. The trip this year provided some perfect weather to finally get some good riding and a chance to really get some good miles on my new Chumba. I didn’t have the geared on finished yet, but since the geometry is exactly the same for both bikes, I looked forward to riding the single speed down there.
My wife and dad came down for support again, and this year I was doing a team event with some friends of mine, Pam and Dave Forshee. We got to Santos early in the afternoon on Friday, we had plenty of time to set up and get in a lap or 2 of test riding. The weather was perfect (around 70 degrees) and the course was nice and dry. The test lap went great, it seemed easier this year than it did last year, and felt really good on the new bike. I was running a 32 x 16 and actually considered putting a 15 on the back, but decided to wait and see. Pam had a little difficulty with the really technical sections, but did great on the course.
On Saturday I was a little late getting to the race because the GPS wanted to take us on a sightseeing route from the camper. Pam decided that she wanted to do the run and the first lap, which worked out well for me too. She took off in the middle of the mob and held position on her lap. I took the next 2 laps and I wanted to see what I had at this point. The first 2 miles or so are very technical and did not give me a lot of room to pass riders, so I took what I could until the trail opened up. When I got to the open section, I got to a pace that I could keep for a few hours if I needed to, but could still gain time. I passed my wife, taking pictures, about 5 miles in and let her know that I had passed 29 people so far (it turned into a game for me). I was spinning like crazy on a couple of really open spots on the course to keep my speed up, the bike was perfectly stable and stuck to the pine needles and sand like glue letting me keep all of my momentum with almost no drifting. I was having a blast!
Dave went next, the Pam again, and I knocked out 2 more laps. When I came in to hand off to Dave, Pam let me know that she was done for the day and Dave would only be doing one more. I was okay with that, we decided before we got there to do it for fun and do as much as we wanted too. I was just hoping I had enough left for the last 5 + hours. I got in one more lap before the night laps and could tell that I was already a little slower, but I still felt good. I put on lights and had a good first night lap and I was stoked that it was still warm enough to ride in shorts. On my next lap, I started to feel cramps on the really steep stuff, but tried to take it as easy as I could on a ss in those areas. I got to the flats and just kept it smooth, some of the faster geared guys started getting around me now, but gave me a good update on my pace. When I got to the last part of the course, which is also very technical all muscle strength had disappeared. I piled it up on the first really steep section and offered some skin to the trail as a sacrifice, then scraped a tree really hard on the way back down and gave up a little more skin. After my 4th time of testing the firmness on the ground I decided to pull in to the pits and call it a good day. The race got me really motivated for the rest of the season!! The new bike was awesome on both the really technical and really flat stuff.
You can check out more on Owen's blog here :http://www.owenjsimpson.blogspot.com/
12 Hours of Santos 2/20/2010
I made my annual trip down to Santos again this year. The trip this year provided some perfect weather to finally get some good riding and a chance to really get some good miles on my new Chumba. I didn’t have the geared on finished yet, but since the geometry is exactly the same for both bikes, I looked forward to riding the single speed down there.
My wife and dad came down for support again, and this year I was doing a team event with some friends of mine, Pam and Dave Forshee. We got to Santos early in the afternoon on Friday, we had plenty of time to set up and get in a lap or 2 of test riding. The weather was perfect (around 70 degrees) and the course was nice and dry. The test lap went great, it seemed easier this year than it did last year, and felt really good on the new bike. I was running a 32 x 16 and actually considered putting a 15 on the back, but decided to wait and see. Pam had a little difficulty with the really technical sections, but did great on the course.
On Saturday I was a little late getting to the race because the GPS wanted to take us on a sightseeing route from the camper. Pam decided that she wanted to do the run and the first lap, which worked out well for me too. She took off in the middle of the mob and held position on her lap. I took the next 2 laps and I wanted to see what I had at this point. The first 2 miles or so are very technical and did not give me a lot of room to pass riders, so I took what I could until the trail opened up. When I got to the open section, I got to a pace that I could keep for a few hours if I needed to, but could still gain time. I passed my wife, taking pictures, about 5 miles in and let her know that I had passed 29 people so far (it turned into a game for me). I was spinning like crazy on a couple of really open spots on the course to keep my speed up, the bike was perfectly stable and stuck to the pine needles and sand like glue letting me keep all of my momentum with almost no drifting. I was having a blast!
Dave went next, the Pam again, and I knocked out 2 more laps. When I came in to hand off to Dave, Pam let me know that she was done for the day and Dave would only be doing one more. I was okay with that, we decided before we got there to do it for fun and do as much as we wanted too. I was just hoping I had enough left for the last 5 + hours. I got in one more lap before the night laps and could tell that I was already a little slower, but I still felt good. I put on lights and had a good first night lap and I was stoked that it was still warm enough to ride in shorts. On my next lap, I started to feel cramps on the really steep stuff, but tried to take it as easy as I could on a ss in those areas. I got to the flats and just kept it smooth, some of the faster geared guys started getting around me now, but gave me a good update on my pace. When I got to the last part of the course, which is also very technical all muscle strength had disappeared. I piled it up on the first really steep section and offered some skin to the trail as a sacrifice, then scraped a tree really hard on the way back down and gave up a little more skin. After my 4th time of testing the firmness on the ground I decided to pull in to the pits and call it a good day. The race got me really motivated for the rest of the season!! The new bike was awesome on both the really technical and really flat stuff.
You can check out more on Owen's blog here :http://www.owenjsimpson.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
New 2010 CHUMBA Fox RP23 for XCL and VF2
After long deliberation and careful testing, CHUMBA decided on their 2010 RP23 spec for their frames. The higher volume air can should give the linear chassis a complimentary feel allowing smooth and supple progression throughout the travel stroke. Further, low compression and medium rebound will give the right mix of bump absorption and pedaling characteristics to try and replicate the feel of a properly tuned coil shock. We chose to keep the rebound at medium to slow it down so as to give a controlled feeling on g-outs and small drops, while leaving the compression tune light so as to let the suspension do most of the work.
As we've been switching between different tunes in the last few years based upon Fox's recommendations as model years change, we think we've found a sweet spot with the new RP23's internals that is a noticeable improvement over past RP23 versions. We hope that many of you can feel confident in the new technology.
As we've been switching between different tunes in the last few years based upon Fox's recommendations as model years change, we think we've found a sweet spot with the new RP23's internals that is a noticeable improvement over past RP23 versions. We hope that many of you can feel confident in the new technology.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Poll Results
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen:
We had 3 polls in the last few weeks; and had great feedback from our blog visitor on all 3 polls. So, we thought we'd post the results and talk about what we've learned.
Our most recent poll was, "What is your favorite drive train?"
Shimano XT (18 votes) came in the winner, and SRAM x.9 a close second (16 votes). SRAM x.0 (11) came in third and Shimano XTR (5) a distant fourth. The poll suggests riders are finding the XT group to be a leading choice - and riders may feel the pricier group sets just may not be worth the coin.
Full XT build from BIKE Magazine - XT wheels, brakes, and drivetrain.
The second poll asked how important waterbottles are? 62 percent of voters did not use water bottle mounts anymore at all on their frame - while 37 percent still used, or considered using them. Seems like water bottle mounts are going out of vogue - but still a significant amount of people using them should urge frame manufacturers to offer this option when possible.
The third poll asked about head tubes. This poll was set up to get some insight as to what head tube our new frames should use. After speaking with Josh over at Cane Creek, it seems like tapered and 1.5 headtubes seem to be the new rage and he showed me a lot of cool new headsets they were developing over there.
So what did our poll say? Our voters chose the standard 1 1/8" headtube as the #1 pick with 24 votes. The 1.5" headtube came in second with 20 votes, and the tapered headtube was third with 16 votes.
Thanks everyone for participating, and we will keep those polls coming! Also, please keep on posting and discussing, we love receiving feedback.
We had 3 polls in the last few weeks; and had great feedback from our blog visitor on all 3 polls. So, we thought we'd post the results and talk about what we've learned.
Our most recent poll was, "What is your favorite drive train?"
Shimano XT (18 votes) came in the winner, and SRAM x.9 a close second (16 votes). SRAM x.0 (11) came in third and Shimano XTR (5) a distant fourth. The poll suggests riders are finding the XT group to be a leading choice - and riders may feel the pricier group sets just may not be worth the coin.
Full XT build from BIKE Magazine - XT wheels, brakes, and drivetrain.
The second poll asked how important waterbottles are? 62 percent of voters did not use water bottle mounts anymore at all on their frame - while 37 percent still used, or considered using them. Seems like water bottle mounts are going out of vogue - but still a significant amount of people using them should urge frame manufacturers to offer this option when possible.
The third poll asked about head tubes. This poll was set up to get some insight as to what head tube our new frames should use. After speaking with Josh over at Cane Creek, it seems like tapered and 1.5 headtubes seem to be the new rage and he showed me a lot of cool new headsets they were developing over there.
So what did our poll say? Our voters chose the standard 1 1/8" headtube as the #1 pick with 24 votes. The 1.5" headtube came in second with 20 votes, and the tapered headtube was third with 16 votes.
Thanks everyone for participating, and we will keep those polls coming! Also, please keep on posting and discussing, we love receiving feedback.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Show Bike Builds Part I: Ano Red VF2
This will be a monthly series of CHUMBA builds that we do from our factory in Anaheim to give different build ideas and options to our customers. This month, we decided to work on a bead-blasted anodized red med. VF2.
CHUMBA frames are some of the best-manufactured frames in the business.
MSRP for these bike is $4,950.00. Interested parties may inquire at sales@chumbaracing.com or call 714-986-9100. Happy trails!
New Discounted 2010 Price! CHUMBA Lock-on Grips and Saddles!
We have anodized end caps in red and blue, and laser-etched graphics. The CHUMBA Lock-On grips offer an extremely narrow racing profile and provides a surface covered in small beads for maximum traction and gripping. Further, the lock-on technology ensures slip free performance.$12.99 a pair.
Please e-mail sales@chumbaracing.com or call 714-986-9100 to order.
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