Eingang

Sometimes its hard to see the forest through the trees, and so it is with training this time of the year. So many days, kilometers, downloads from the HRM onto the laptap, it is hard to tell where you are. The feelings are good, but until you line up against others, you don't know.

For me this season is an extra challenge. Last season I took off, with Sandi pregnant, our pending move, racing, let alone training was out. Upside was that I rode a lot new trails... Since moving to Germany, nordic skiing also has fallen victim, normally I am coming off a long nordic skiing season, this year it has been a lot of riding - I am not complaining. Last couple of weeks I have wondered where I am, sometimes not feeling that good, but lately I have felt strong and like I am getting stronger. April 12th is my season kick-off, the first German Bundesliga Cup race in Mussingen, "Das Fruhjahres Klassicher".

Looking forward to getting out to dice it up and see really where things lie, and to know what work needs to be done. Haven't decided on Houffalize World Cup, but the first weekend in May is the German Single Speed Champs, that would be a nice jersey for the collection.

Continuing to build the IF Brand over here, 29'ers are of particular interest for the Euro's - steel none the less, I thought we would be peddaling ultralight ti-lugged/ carbon race bikes...

I have some projects to consume my time, some you all will see soon.

ifbikes.de

www.ifbikes.de

Our new website is now up! We will have an English version to soon follow at www.ifbikes.eu. Give it a spin.

Xterra Winter Championships

So you think you are a badass???

Light bikes and forward thinking

There are some interesting sites out there dedicated to the pursuit of the lightest bikes in the World, and the Holy Grail of websites has to be Light Bikes.com.

On one side I am thinking "would I ride or race that bike?" Honestly, a lot of them I question their durability. Some, are inspiring and I think, "where are Shimano, Sram and others with products like these?" Owners modify and cobble even their own parts and bits to shave weight, take things to the Formula-1 degree. No piece is left to chance. The sum of all of these parts are stunning examples of minimalism and innovation. These bikes are equally intriguing and beautiful.

Here is one of my favorites, SPIN EPO Alpcross, owner Jose Luis Lobo.
Photo courtesy LighBikes.com
The vintage Rock Shox MAG21Ti is the crowning touch on this ride, weighing a scant 849! That is nearly half of a SID World Cup. The Ti cranks are nice piece of bling, but where this bike goes scary for me is with the carbon front and rear ders, along with the front chain rings. Ever had a cross-shift or piece of big debris go up into the drive-train? Two things I noticed he did not go for, which I know would have lightened this thing up more were a carbon chain, yes there is one. And carbon Nokon cables. I pretty sure there are lighter pedals out there as well.

Here is the crazy part on this bike, even at 11.69lbs, it is not the lightest mtb! This one is:

Owner: Heinz Wittmann, 11.22lbs

Devils work is in the details.

Beautifully Fragile

I admire these peoples tenacity to create some one-off machines. I have long been an advocate for a bike show like that of car or motorcycle shows, and these would be great pieces for such an event, even have a light weight category. This would also make for a great reality show, documenting the build of one of these bikes and even showing when things go wrong and they crash or blow some parts up. It happens.

Whatever may come, these guys should take pride in their pursuit, and I will for sure be one who keeps tuning in to see where things go from here.

Sauwetter

Winter is a distant memory of a deafening white landscape, replaced by musty moist scents and stark earthy tones of a maritime early spring. Wind pounds the water through everything, the ground displacing percipitation it can't absorb.

Tracers fade out behind my wheels as we course through tiny villages and back roads over here. I love to ride in these conditions, thinking of the Spring Classics, or the history of the paths we have chosen. The climbs are a harsh reality of Newton's theory, steep, out of the saddle, grunts, sometimes stretching on longer than we had hoped.

Upon retuning home, my German Grandfather says, "Das ist kein wetter zum radfahren."

Genau haben wir gefahren...