Sea Otter Adventure 2010: Day 1

OK everyone, it’s on. Reporting from a random spot in the desert:

Yesterday I loaded the Sprinter, rocked some last-miniute work, did Family Hug Time with Mom and Babies, then hit the road at noon.

Drove I-25 north to I-80 west, took a mandatory nap somewhere in the hills then stopped in Green River Wyoming.

Took the new Enduro carbon on its first ride. Fiddled with the rear suspension, fine-tuned the saddle position. The bike is already beautiful, and it’s going to be amazing, but it needs some dialing.

Checked out the under-construction Green River Bike Park. It’s big and well laid out: rock/bridge lines, a long pump track and lots of jumps. They’re doing a dig day out there this weekend. www.greenriverbikepark.com. I have photos but no time to process them now.

Drove until 12:30 a.m. and stopped here on a hill overlooking the salt flats outside Salt Lake City. Slept a straight eight hours — unheard of since the babies came! Plowing through 100 emails, updating you guys, then back on it.

Tonight I stop at Laguna Seca Raceway. Tomorrow I start building the pro pump track.

Day 1 Braaap!

— Lee

3 replies
  1. Walt says:

    Hi Lee,

    I’m finally getting aroung to building a dirt jumper (from a NS traffic frame). It’s the biggest size but I have a question about stem length. I noticed all dj bikes have a really short stems, but would it be okay to have 70mm on there or should I go shorter? How exactly do you go about determining fit on a dj bike? (My bar is a 3″ rise dj bar) And for derailuers… I’m running just a single 32t in the front and an 11/34 cog. Could I use a short cage or do I need a mid care derailuer? And finally, if I were to go single speed, what is the best gear ratio for 26″ wheels. I hope you can help.
    Walt

  2. Simcik says:

    There are guys who run longer stems like a 70mm, but I would say 70 is about as long as you want to go. I am personally running a 25mm stem with my 3 inch rise bars. How tall are you? What is the top tube?

    If you run a derailleur with a 32×11-34, you can run a short cage derailleur. I would say you want to run maybe a 32 or smaller cassette for the max tooth. On my singlespeed, I run a 2 to 1 plus 1. So basically a 25×12 and it works great. Just depends a bit on personal preference.

  3. Walt says:

    Thanks, Simcik, that helps. I’m 6’2″ and have a 22.5 top tube. (23.5 effective top tube) Also, are Shimano road short cage derailuers as good as a mountain derailluer for this application?

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