Sunday, January 29, 2012

Reveal

A new ride.



2012 - Giant XTC
Frame - 2012 Giant XTC 1
Fork 2012 - Rockshox Reba 29 RL 15mm Thru Axle
Brake - XT Disc
Rotors - F/R Aligator 160mm
Cassette - SRAM PG 1030 11x36, 10-Speed
Chain - SRAM PC 1031
Crankset - SRAM X9 2X10 26/39
Derailleur Front - SRAM X9
Derailleur Rear - SRAM X9
Grips - Ergon GS-2 S White
Handlebar - Truvativ T30
Headset - FSA orbit 1.5
Headset Cap/Bolt - Giant
Nipples - DT Swiss Brass
Pedals - Shimano XTR
Seat Binder - Salsa Lip Lock
Saddle - Fizik Gobi White/Grey
Seatpost - Thomson Elite 30.9 X 367mm
Shifters - SRAM XO 10 Speed
Stem - Ritchy WCS Axis 4 110mm Wet White
Hub (Front) X9
Hub (Rear) X9
Rim (Front) Stans Arch 29
Rim (Rear) Stans Arch 29
Spokes - DT Swiss
Skewers - Salsa Flip Offs
Water Bottle Cages - Serfas NC-100





j.rider out



Saturday, January 28, 2012

We Ride Econo

I was doing a basement session on the trainer while watching the Minutemen documentary "We Jam Econo" and realized that pretty much sums us up as well.

We Ride Econo.

To the uninitiated it is pretty difficult to explain. Essentially, we are doing things our way. There is respect and even admiration for how others are doing their thing but it many ways it is not for us. We Ride Econo.





j.rider out

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Less Talk More Rock...

Slow news day here at the Death Camp... Just the usual pre-season stuff, rigs being built and tuned in, supplies being ordered and what not. The Black Death kits have been tweaked and are ready to go to full production. Nothing else is fit to print just yet... Yeah Yeah I hear ya, less talk more rock...



Gravel Grinder Playlist 1.0

Cursed - 1974
Kiss It Goodbye - target practice
Every Time i Die - emergency syndrome
NORA - scars are supposed to last forever
A Life Once Lost - firewater joyride
Coliseum - children of our own creation
Maylene & The Sons of Disaster - memories of the grove
Deadguy - pins and needles
Turmoil - killing today for a better tomorrow
108 - martyr complex
Ringworm - the cage
As I Lay Dying - forever
Will Haven - climbing out of this bottle
Buried Alive - six month face
Doomriders - heavy lies the crown
Every Time i Die - floater
Glassjaw - siberian kiss
The Minor Times - the pugilist at work
A Life Once Lost - vulture
Kiss It Goodbye - choke
Norma Jean - murderotica
Coliseum - detached
NORA - wave goodbye
Coalesce - vehicle
Pusher - don't cry messiah
Converge - when forever comes crashing
Kiss It Goodbye - helvetica
The Minor Times - +++
Dead Swans - thinking of you
A Life once Lost - surreal atrocities
The Minor Times - casket city lights
Coliseum - no benefit
Ringworm - razors line
Doomriders - come alive
Botch - spaim
As I Lay Dying - 94 hours
Breather Resist - just do it

Doomriders - black thunder
Coliseum - skyline fucker
Cave In - crossbearer
Every Time i Die - logic of crockodiles
Will Haven - egos game
Trap Them - pulse mavens
A Life Once lost - detest
Breather Resist - a social workers nightmare
Cave In - terminal diety
As I Lay Dying - the darkest nights
Doomriders - ride or die
Poison The Well - botchia
Turmoil - playing dead
Deadguy - die with your mask on
Trap Them - the protest hour
Botch - to our friends in the great white north
A Life Once Lost - rehashed
108 - guilt
Glassjaw - pretty lush

Monday, January 23, 2012

Vehicle

There is a new ride in my quiver. It is a bit of a departure for me and is all about bang for the buck. No spy shots to post yet but those should be coming soon.






We needed more music and this is one of the best covers ever.

j.rider out

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Dark Horse

Nothing like getting to work only to find an odd shaped package on the corner of you desk. I could tell by it's silvery plastic what was held inside... that's right. the long awaited 'Black Death' test pressings.


Getting to do things exactly the way you want is pretty awesome and having someone else who enjoys your design and aesthetic choices is even better. I feel a black plague coming on.


Saturday, January 14, 2012

Snow Blind

Since the ice man has cometh I was at a bit of a crossroads of what to do today... I wasn't really feeling the idea of some trainer time, so I took off to sneak in a snow ride before the freeze/thaw cycle hits later today or tomorrow. Way more fun than sitting on the trainer for sure, but it still didn't make me a lover winter. I was on a solo mission today, J.Rider had other obligations.  I took along the old MP3 player and had her  pumping a pretty nice set of classic east coast youth crew jams. Somehow I kept hearing Black Sabbath in my head...Oh the irony.


Friday, January 13, 2012

Black Thunder

Test pressings of the official Death Riders 'Black Death' kits are on the way. I am super excited to see the finished product, should be here in a week or so. We are still refining the 'Gray Matter' aka summer kits... Both kits should be pretty awesome and deliver some serious heaviness...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Ghouls Night Out

I got out and rode at LV last night. 24 miles in just under two hours. Good times and the trails were in decent shape but I am still trying to work out the bugs in my lighting setup . I saw quite a few folks out there enjoying the night. You could say that it was a "Ghouls Night Out."






j.rider out

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Tune A Fish?

While j.rider and I may be pros at tuning a guitar or bass... Sadly I must admit I have never been a great tuner of forks. After a bit of Internet poking about I found this method repeated a few times, so I gave it a try. I have to say it is a pretty good baseline starting point and I have been happy with how the 29er Reba feels using this set-up.



The 411 via the blog-o-sphere:

After a load of research and reading, I finally found the right formula. Since you’re dealing with a negative and positive air chamber that work together it made sense that there would be an air pressure ratio at work here. I was absolutely correct. First off, the positive chamber does the majority of the work and absorbs the big hits due to it’s larger air volume. On the flip side, the negative chamber is used to absorb all the small hits and literally gets the fork moving early in it’s travel and requires a smaller volume of air. Now, if you put 60% of your body weight into the positive chamber and 10lbs less than that in the negative chamber you should be set. In my case I weigh approx 185ish with all my gear on. Knowing that, I put 110lbs of air pressure in the positive chamber and about 100lbs in the negative chamber (as opposed to the 140lbs suggested by RockShox). I knew that was the right mix as soon as I measured the sag at a perfect 20% of my total available travel. With that setup I left the compression dial all the way open, the rebound just shy of full fast, and the flood gate at 2 turns towards the closed position.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Good Looking Out

Great MTB ride with k.rider yesterday. I'll take 55 degrees and riding single track on 12/31.


"True friends will always be there".

j.rider out.