I will continue posting all my trail experiences on this site, but I have launched a new site for my 2010 Tour of the USA and it’s called | Mountain Bike Trails USA  | www.mountainbiketrailsusa.com

In May of 2010, I will start riding somewhere in California, I’m looking into the “Tahoe” area. Unlike 2009, where I was on the road for 6 months, this year I will be testing the trails for a minimum of one year… Yeahhhhh, that a whole year of ripping up trails throughout the USA.

The concept of this 2010 tour, will be the same as 2009, but I will spend more time and detail writing about my experiences on the trails, but also with my bikes, and I will be testing more gear on the trails. Hopefully the video footage will also be a lot better, ‘cos this year I will be using more than just one helm cam to record the rides, and they will be HD cams.

I will be visiting local bike  shops again in search of the best shop in the USA..and this year I will also be looking into and writing about the places  mountain bikers hang out, such as certain coffeeshops, bars, restaurants etc etc..

So, all in all hopefully 2010 will be Bigger and Better than 2009.

Please help me and your area by sending me a message telling me where YOU think the best Mountain Bike Trail USA is, and also where the best shop is, for me to get parts and repairs.

Also please follow me on this tour, you can do this on the mountainbiketrailsusa.com homepage, just send your email to feedburner , and every time I post, you will get notified, also follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/YukonFX

And, if you see I am in your area, and you don’t mind sharing all your Trail secrets with me, send me a note, and you can take me your favorite trail.

Ride Safe, hopefully see you on the trails

RIP3D

Now I know that, because a shop didn’t advise me against changing my brakes, that the shop is no good.. But let me make it VERY CLEAR, I have NEVER written or said anything bad against ANY shop.. that was and is not what I was looking for. What I was looking for, were the shops that I would recommend to my friends, and that I will definitely use again myself if in the area.

The Shops recommended on the 2009 Mountain Bike Mayhem Tour were:

The Hub Brevard North Carolina : www.hubbicycles.com
Smoky Mountain Bicycles Franklin North Carolina :  www.smokymtnbikes.com
Redstone Cyclery Lyons Colorado : www.redstonecyclery.com
Single Tracks Fruita Colorado :  www.single-tracks.com

All the above shops come highly recommended, and they deserve your custom.

So which shop can officially call it self the ” Best of the Best” ?

First of all, let me tell you WHY I chose this particular Shop.

The owner is very active and helpful on Mountain Bike Forums, he is an avid and active Mountain Biker, and not just locally. He spends a lot of his free time planning, maintaining and working hard on the local trail system. He is the owner of the shop and personally stands behind his products and services. His Shop is small, but has a huge reputation among a lot of hardcore mountain bikers
And most importantly, he is friendly, honest and knows everything there is to know about Mountain Biking and the history that goes with it.
I was hard pressed to find anything bad about the owner or the shop,.. BUT I did find one thing, that I will not forget in a hurry…..  HE was the one that recommended ” Sourdough “!!!!!

So, Mountain Bike Mayhem’s BEST MOUNTAIN BIKING SHOP IN THE USA 2009 goes to

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REDSTONE CYCLERY

Lyons Colorado

Read Article

Visit the official website : www.redstonecyclery.com

Walk into Single Tracks in the heart of Fruita, and you will immediately notice how well stocked the shop is, not just with some really niffty looking bikes, but a huge selection of everything you will need and more. Single Tracks is the kind of shop, that once you are in there, you just don’t want to leave.

Usually I ask for peoples recommendations about bike shops on various Mtb forums, but I had not got around to doing this for Fruita. In this case, I approached actuall riders on the Trails, and it is without doubt that the local mountain bikers choice of Fruita bike shop is ” Single Tracks Bike Shop ”

As luck had it, I needed a new back tire, and was curious to see why everyone I spoke to, had such good things to say about this shop.

Once in the shop, I was approached by Chris, the owner, and what a great guy he is. Straight away you feel his enthusiasm, he’s not running a shop purely to make a living, it’s clear he’s running the shop, ‘cos it’s what he loves doing.
I was only in the shop for a few minutes, but in that time Chris advised me about what to, and what not to ride in Fruita and Grand Junction.

Chris is not just the owner of a great shop, and a mountain biker himself, Chris is also the author of a fantastic and highly recommended Book called ” Grand Junction Trails and Camping Guide” that is full of useful trail info.

Click here for more info about this book

Take my word for it, if you are in the Fruita area, and you need anything for your rides, just head for ‘Single Tracks’ and I can guarantee that you too will be recommending the shop to others.

Single Tracks Bike Shop is located in the heart of downtown Fruita, Colorado.
From Exit 19 off of I-70, head north to the stop sign, take a right onto Aspen Street, which leads you to Park Square.

From Exit 19 off of I-70, head north to the stop sign, take a right onto Aspen Street, which leads you to Park Square.  We are on the south side of the park

SINGLE TRACKS BIKE SHOP
150 South Park Square
Fruita, Colorado 81521
970.858.3917 ~ 800.878.3917
chris@single-tracks.com

For more info visit : www.single-tracks.com

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The 4th Annual   Moab Ho-Down Bike Festival
October 30th, 31st and November 1st, 2009

Mark your calendar for the 4th Annual Moab Ho-Down Festival, happening the last weekend in October 2009.

Moab’s original fat tire festival has changed and evolved over the past few decades into what is now being presented by Chile Pepper Bike Shop in Moab.

KEEPING A 23-YEAR TRADITION ALIVE

The Moab Ho-Down is the reborn bike festival held annually for 23 years in Moab on Halloween weekend. It is best known & remembered as the following: “Moab Fat Tire Festival”, “Canyonlands Fat Tire Festival” and the “Moab Halloween Bike Fest”.

In the beginning, a variety of entities managed and promoted this Halloween tradition that was first born in 1986. The versions of this festival coincided with the rise of mountain biking worldwide, and from 1987 to 1992, the festival saw major coverage from all the major bike magazines, as well as regular attendance by industry bigwigs like Gary Fisher and Tom Ritchey.

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In the mid-’90s, as the whole bike festival novelty was beginning to age across the country, new promoters in Moab added some fresh angles with bigger and better events, and more racing.

From 2001 to 2004, the local Moab bike shops all got together with some bike industry sponsors and ran their version of things, including adding the famous “Test Of Metal” freeride contest at Bartlett Wash.

2005 saw the festival in danger of not returning in 2006…and that is when the Chile Pepper Bike Shop jumped in and decided to keep the tradition alive by putting together a last minute “Same, Same…But Different Ho-Down” (see flyer at right). This was refined in 2007 and 2008 to become the Moab Ho-Down that we know and love today!

Help Chile Pepper keep the Moab Ho-Down affordable! So help us out by being a sponsor or a volunteer. Please contact us for more information.

The Moab Ho-Down Bike Fest is brought to you by:

Chile Pepper Bike Shop
702 S. Main Street
Moab, UT  84532
Located next to Moab Brewery
435-259-4688
888-677-4688
E-mail them at

info@chilebikes.com

Thanks for reading…now come to Moab!

So far in the first year, the $900,- Giant Yukon has performed like any $4000 bike would perform, and apart from a handful of inner tubes and  a tire or two, i have not had any issues with the bike.

However, whilst testing the trails in the DuPont State Forest, the Yukon FX started showing signs of some wear and tear, and I knew this time that some simple TLC was not going to be enough, I needed to have the bike serviced, and to top it off, I crunched my chain,  I always carry a spare chain, but decided to walk the last mile, and have the bike serviced properly and have a new chain put on.

I know from experience that you have “Bike Shops” and you have “Bike Shops” and there is only one way for a stranger in town with a funny accent  to find the best shop, and that is to ask the local Mountain Bikers on the trails where they would take their own bikes.

Now there are one or two excellent bike shops in the Brevard area, but the name that kept coming back to me, was “The Hub” , so with a bit of help from my very good friend Google, I soon knew all I needed to know about the “North Carolina’s Mountain Bikers Choice” of bike shops… The Hub

What I liked about what I read online was the fact that everyone working at the store were young, and really into mountain biking themselves, and the fact that the shop seemed to be well stocked. This was obviously not Uncle Herbert trying to get rid of a few bikes to the fella with a funny hat  and a twitch!! ( believe me there are plenty of them around … Uncle Herberts I mean)

So from my campsite somewhere in the North Carolina boonies, I loaded my bike into my pickup, programmed my very loyal GPS to the address on their website, and off we went. After 20 min. my GPS told me I had reached my destination on the right!!… Yes, I was parked in front of the emergency ward of the hospital!!… What the @$%#!!.. I double checked my GPS, and it was the exact same address as on their website. So I called the The Hub, and had to be guided to the end destination, just 3 miles ahead.

THE HUB.

First Impression from outside : Thankfully there is lots of parking in front of the shop, there were a few other people with Mountain Bikes in their trucks which is a good sign, and there were some nifty looking bikes parked outside the shop,.. all in all a great first impression.

First Impression from the Inside : A small open plan shop / workshop, seemed to be very well stocked but not too crowded. Very friendly people in the shop, and some very nice looking bikes. A Good Impression

Impression of the person that helped me : I was helped by Jon, a very friendly and young fella, who took the time to listen to my rantings and explained the procedure of servicing my bike. Jon knew what he was talking about, so that was good enough for me.

Any sales pressure? None at all, I even suggested spending more on a better chain, but was told that unless I am trying to shed weight, the cheaper one is just as good. I also asked about a few maps, and he went through them with me, and even suggested that I could get a FREE ( but crap) one at the Ranger Station. I also bought a new helmet, a $27 one, no pressure at all to spend more on a better one.. Absolutely no sales pressure at all.

Happy with the service?: So far Yes, after looking over my bike, and renewing my chain, and tightening the brakes, there were still issues with shifting gears smoothly, after a closer inspection it was pointed out to me that my chain rings were worn, and it would probably be easier and no more expensive to order a new Crankset ( $50) and that numerous teeth on my cogs were damaged, they will be replaced ($17)

Conclusion: After more than 80 miles of taking a beating on some of the Pisgah’s most notorious trails, the Yukon is still going strong, the issues I had before, have all been fixed, and the new crankset, cogs and chain have all lived up to expectation.

I can, and will highly recommend the Hub to everyone and anyone needing a bike shop in the Brevard area.

 www.hubbicycles.com

THE HUB

About the Hub:

The Hub at Backcountry Outdoors evolved from years of bike sales and repairs, done by Harvey Rosenblatt. Sam and Jordan Salman, long time Backcountry Outdoors’ patrons/ local cyclists collaborated with Harvey to bring the bicycle operation to new heights. With some blood, sweat and elbow grease, The Hub at Backcountry Outdoors became more than just a dream.

The Hub offers great bicycles lines, great service (Certified Technicians), and the latest in Demos and Rentals. The helpful and energetic staff is ready for anything. With new bicycle lines like: KONA, FOES RACING, TRANSITION, IBIS, VERSUS, AND HARVEY CYCLES,

Meet the Hub:

The Hub

49 Pisgah Highway STE# 2 Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

phone:828.884.8670

www.hubbicycles.com

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