Yet another product falls just short of perfection

Photo cred: Big Worm

Saturday's ride was one of those kinda rides. Lotsa trails, lotsa creek crossings, lotsa people, lotsa bullshitting, but oddly enough not one mechanical outta twelve riders.

We had a large crew on Saturday. I traveled with Jerry "Enoch" Adams and Big Worm, and we met up with The Original Big Ring and Mark from Canada, Eric and Drew from Industry Nine, Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever, yet another Eric, Bill Nye, Leyonce, and suspension tuner to the stars Mike Rischitelli (you may not realize it, but just typing the twelve names and placing links where appropriate wasted seven minutes of my morning). The route was another dynamic Pisgah epic with route changes from the early planning stages on Thursday straight through the two hour mark on the actual ride. Oddly enough with that many riders we had zero mechanicals and only a few minor trail incidents (Jerry tried to pluck his eye out with a mountain laurel and Drew attempted to insert one into his backside).

Now about the fork....

The Death Stick is in a state of disassembly due to the "25.4 is dead to me" revolution.

It was kinda nice having Mike R. there to chit chat with as we rode along. I asked him questions and gave him feedback throughout the day. The fork's performance was night and day from the way it was originally when I first got it (semi used from another Bike29 customer). It actually moved up AND down as I rode the more technical climbs on Squirrel (previously the fork could not overcome its excessive stiction on slow technical climbs). On the ripping fast descents like Laurel Creek the fork was sexy smooth through all 130mm's of its travel, but on the slower, ploppy descents I was diving through more travel than I woulda liked. I asked Mike about adding more air, but he said he would like to see me on a slightly stiffer spring without any air adjust, so we are going to go that route. Perhaps Mike thought that since I weighed as much as a little girl I would ride like one too (I only say that since I believe I have alienated 100% of my female readership by now, so what harm can it do?). Things are looking up for me in the world of squish, and since this is the only fork that I can run and have the crown clear the down tube it's a great relief to know that I'm not stuck with a fork that just plain sucks.

This fork, with it's super stiff 20mm thru-axle Industry Nine wheel, is now a contender.

I was telling Mike that I think it's a great idea that he does a ride along with all of his customers after they get their forks worked on by Suspension Experts. He informed me that his prescence was more of a coincidence and not part of the service I paid for, so with that in mind I give Suspension Experts my...

SEAL OF SEMI-APPROVAL

I was under the impression that Mike (or Kevin) must go out and ride with all their suspension tuning clients, but alas I was getting the white glove, superstar, red carpet treatment due to my elevated status and high end media connections. If you decide to get your fork worked on by the guys at Suspension Experts do not think for one moment that they are going to show up at your local trailhead for your first shakedown ride. Apparently this is a privilege reserved for the elite cycling media and industry types like me, so all you normal folks who send in your Fox, White Brothers, Manitou, Rock Shox, Maverick, and Marzocchi forks (sorry, no Headshocks or Lefties, but they do work on some other left field suspension products) will not be getting any preferential treatment. Sure, your fork will stop sucking ass, but nobody's gonna hold your hand when you go out in the woods with your now high performance, highly functioning fork. Seriously, give these guys a call if you have any suspension needs. Leaky seals, poor performance, or just want your goods to be gooder, they're the people you should call.

and finally...

Things are starting to show up to complete a few projects that needed to be completed but will be talked about later. Parts acquisition manager and sponsor liaison Admiral Ackbar is quite proud of his first actual contribution to Bad Idea Racing and the "25.4 is dead to me" revolution (not because I asked for it, but because it's over whether I like it or not).

Soon my squid like friend, soon.