Big Wheel Racing

Posted by Doug Young

I thought I’d take this opportunity in the relative off season to introduce the bike I’ll be racing for the Big Wheel Team on smoother terrain.  I have been piloting a Ti Seven Sola 26er HT for buff single track courses, but last fall I began to think about getting back on a 29er.  I had in the past ridden a Ti Airborne B29 with a White Bros fork.  Unfortunately, in the early days of the 29er revolution the bike was relatively heavy at 24-25lbs and steered like a truck.  That drove me to the Seven Sola.  A world class racing frame no doubt and at 22lbs one of most responsive mt. bikes I have ever ridden. 

I had heard that the newer 29er forks had greater offsets designed to improve their steering response and that there was now a few frame options that would rival the Sola in weight.  So I began looking for my next race chassis.  I decided to go with the lightest 29er frame on the market; an Orbea Alma 29er (available at High Desert Bicycles).  I had never ridden a carbon frame and I had some concerns, but I decided to take the plunge.

To keep this short and to the point, the build came in at 22.6lbs as you see it here.  The few rides I’ve done so far have exhibited a nice neutral type of handling that for the most part feels like riding a 26er.  Yes, there’s still the tendency to go wide on the apex of turns that you have to correct for in your line, but the small steering inputs required to maneuver in tight technical sections is as reactive as any of my other race bikes.  The days of a 29er feeling like steering a John Deere Tractor are gone.

The carbon frame (and perhaps it is the parallelogram design of the Orbea) feels soft but responsive.  It’s definitely not as harsh a ride as an aluminum frame, but I’m not ready to say it’s as smooth as a Ti ride.  Some where in between.  However, the acceleration snap is there.  Obviously with the 29er wheels, not as sharp as the Sola, but pretty responsive none the less.

The build includes Bontrager Race X Lite Cranks with their XXX Lite stem and bar.  The transmission is controlled by SRAM XO grip shifts and derailleur’s.  Also on tap are Avid’s Juicy Ultimate brakes.  I’ve matched these to a set of Stan’s Aluminum Rotors and Kool Stop Organic brake pads. 

This combination really woke me up.  Not so much because it’s a really light weight setup, but more because of the nice soft braking modulation of organic pads on an aluminum rotor.  The modulation on this setup is awesome.  I can’t say enough about this; it really does feel smooth without being grabby.  Perfect for giving you that minor adjustment through the technical descents.

The bike is presently fitted with Fox’s new F29er fork which feels great.  The compression damping is spot on and with the lockout you can really hammer well on it.  Unfortunately for Fox, I’m planning to replace this fork with a Rock Shox Reba 29er Race.  Why?  All the major forks today have great dampening systems, but Rock Shox is the only company offering a remote lock out.  I have come to really appreciate their Pop-Lock on my other bikes and how it allows you to lock and release without having to take your hands off the bars.  It makes me wonder why the other brands haven’t followed suit.  Oh well, their loss in my book.

I’d also like to acknowledge with a special thanks to Matt Turgeon for his insight into wheel selection.  I fitted the bike with a set of American Classic MTB 29er wheels and I couldn’t be happier.  These turned out to be some of the lightest wheels around.  And they feel smooth over the rough stuff.  These replaced a set of high dollar Reynolds Carbon Fiber wheels and they seem to have a smoother feel to them.  Then again, it may be my brain not worrying as much about blowing up a rim on a rock.  I guess I’m not ready to trust carbon in a wheel set.

I combined these with the Specialized S-works Captain rear tire and a Specialized Fast Trak up front.  I have a similar combination on the Sola with a Roll-X rear with Fast Trak front tire.  I’ve had a couple rides on the Captain/Fast Trak combination and I can say without a doubt that they are great together.  The blocky rear tread design of the Captain grabs well on the loose granite conditions of Albuquerque’s South Foothills trails.  The tight knob pattern of the Fast Trak with its nice side ribs allows the front tire to track effortlessly, roll smoothly, but bite well into the tightest turns.  I never feel like I’m going to push the front end out.

At this point all I need to do is fit a set of Ergon GC2 Grips on my bars and it will be ready to rumble.  Mas-o-Menos here I come.     

Polar Bear Sprint Triathlon was held Dec 8th, with Nate in attendance for his first sprint tri in nearly 3 years. With distances of 7km (4mi) run, 30km (19mi) bike, and 400m (1/4mi) swim this was exactly the opposite type of racing to the 135mi brevet the previous weekend. A finish time of 1:26:02 was good enough to get 2nd in the 30-34 age group, and 4th overall out of 60 male finishers. Wind on the bike proved to be the primary challange, after running a steady 30min 7k Nate made up ground in the wind with a 46min 30K bike. Kona Cola nuun provided the hydration with that little extra kick from a small amount of caffiene. The Zipp 404 wheels proved once again why they are the choice of so many riders for everything from sprints to Ironman, handling the cross winds well while just being plain wicked fast. High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho just happens to have a demo set of 404’s, so you can try before you buy….

With great pleasure Big Wheel Racing would like to announce that High Desert Bicycles & Specialized Bikes have teamed up to provide sponsorship for our team. We are truly thankful for the opportunity to work with High Desert Bicycles of Rio Rancho, NM which is by far the top shop in central New Mexico. With a line up that includes America’s top bike company, Specialized Bike, and their innovative products, High Desert also provide bicycles from Spanish cycling giant Orbea, and American mountain biking companies Yeti and Titus.

Here is part of the now full line up of women’s bikes from Specialized, the carbon fiber Safire!

Since a good majority of the BWR team likes to singlespeed, this bike caught the attention of several team members!

Drool at the Specialized roadie bling!

The women are a huge part of BWR’s team, as we currently have 6 strong female riders. We are always trying to grow the number of women on the team, and now thanks to High Desert and Specialized our teamates can ride in style!

Since we are Big Wheel enthusiasts, no post would be complete without a 29er!

Rich can hardly contain his excitement!

You can even buy a full team kit from High Desert’s road team, which are our new partners in crime!

Nate and Donnie talking with one of the store’s owners, John Kibodeaux.

High Desert Bicycles chose to sponsor Big Wheel Racing because, according to John, they wanted to support the local mountain bike and endurance racing scene. We are very appreciative of this support and we will strive to do our best to represent the shop. We can only hope that we can display a level of generosity back to the shop in equal to the faith they have shown in us. Thanks High Desert and Specialized!

If you visit, the shop, please tell them that you saw this post on the Big Wheel Racing website.

Big Wheel Racing’s newest sponsor is Albuquerque Costmetic Dentistry’s Dr. James Slaman. Dr. Slaman goes way back with team member, Jeni Turgeon. He fixed her two front teeth that were knocked out after a bicycling face plant a few years ago. Jeni’s teeth now look good as new, thanks to Dr. Slaman. Jeni now has two really great reasons to call Dr. Slaman her favorite dentist of all time!

nuun solves hydration! Convenient, easily packable, and great flavors. An optimum blend of electrolytes to keep you hydrated without all the sticky sweet sugar of sports drinks. nuun allows you to decouple your hydration from your nutrition letting you choose how to refuel.

Use it for an all day epic, or keep a tube in your gym bag for those short workouts where you require hydration but don’t need the carbs.

Big Wheel Racing made a big showing at the inaugural Black Mountain 300k Brevet as part of the New Mexico Brevet Series, founded and run by Big Wheel Racing Team members John and Liz Mazzola. John, Donnie Cole, Jeni Turgeon, and Matt Turgeon all completed the 186.6-mile route, with nearly 12,000-ft of climbing, out to the remote back roads near Beaverhead, NM in the Gila National Forest. The New Mexico Brevet Series is an affiliate of Randonneurs USA which is a relatively new organization and style of long distance riding in the US that emphasizes completion and camaraderie rather than competition. The origins of randonneuring are over one hundred old from France and this year is a Paris-Brest-Paris year, the culminating event held once every four years.

November 3, 2007–BigWheel Racing team member Brad Davis raced Day 1 of the annual Riverside Cyclocross Festival today. Despite multiple pile-ups caused by the dry/slick conditions and sand pit, Brad managed a 12th place finish out of 47 racers (Cat 4) to improve upon results from last week’s event.

With several races remaining in the season, Brad’s goal of a top 5 finish at at least one event still looks possible thanks to the continued support of BigWheel sponsors such as BikeSource, Moots and Hammer Nutrition. Stay tuned for more exciting cross results in weeks to come (and hopefully at least one race in ‘real’ cross conditions with some good mud, snow and muck!)

October 28th, 2007—BigWheel Racing team member Brad Davis experienced first-hand what the nation’s top cyclocross racers will encounter this December by racing in the early season Boulevard Cup Cyclocross Race held near the Wyandotte County fairgrounds in Kansas City, Kansas. This event was a huge success with 200+ crossers competing on Sunday and saw BikeSource, a Big Wheel Racing sponsor, on-site as a major sponsor of the event.

The course, set up along the shores of an area lake, should prove to be a real challenge at the National Championships later this year as it includes plenty of off camber sections and the ‘infamous’ double run-up (think straight up one hill with a barrier mid-way, then straight down, then back up again with another barrier). This site was also were Steve Tilford took a swim in the lake after falling through the ice on his way to win last season’s KLM race at this venue!

Brad, racing in his first cross race of the season started near the back of the field of nearly 70 entrants (Cat 4) and despite the narrow course managed to pick off a number of riders during lap 1 and continued to steadily advance throughout the race to finish 23rd. Racing next weekend turns to the Riverside, Missouri course where Brad managed a top 5 finish last season racing singlespeed and hopes to improve on his placing this year!

Thanks to all our sponsors for the support at this event–notably BikeSource, Hammer Nutrition (yummy stuff), Moots (Brad rides a PsychloX) and Sock guy–note the classic socks in the photo!

We had a great BWR turnout for this event which was hosted by Gallup Trails 2010! The Zuni 86 and 43 took place in the McGaffey Lake area. There’s an entire network of trails that cover a variety of terrain.

Jeff Hemperley scored second place in the 86, racing singlespeed, in 9 hrs, 36 min. Other BWR members on the men’s team, Nate Berg, Donnie Cole, and John Mazzola rode the 43 mile version or some version of it. Donnie ended up with a 49 mile version at 6 hrs on the singlespeed.

The women’s team, also attempting a 43-mile version ended up with Jen Albright completing around 27 miles, and Lyn Alter and Jeni Turgeon completing 38 miles.

The day started out a bit chilly, but nothing the BWR gear (the jackets were great!) couldn’t handle. 1 pair of the Sock Guy wool socks were perfect for the feet; Jen opted for the 6″ rasta colored Sock Guy socks, which also did the trick. Some of us were decked out in our new Bell bike helmets, courtesy of our sponsor, Bike Source. Rather than carrying my ID with me (which I’d most likely lose some time during the ride), I opted for my Road ID ankle strap.

By the afternoon, the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny! Honey Stinger Protein Bars and Peanut Butter Energy Bars came in handy as trail food for the day. During the afternoon, I was getting a little tired and ate 1/2 of a Protein Bar. About 30 minutes later, Lyn asked, “what the heck did you eat that gave you all that energy?!?” These bars do the trick!

We finished up the afternoon visiting with the locals, and wishing we’d brought some Santa Fe Brewing Company beer along to share with folks, since they were so generous to share their local brews. The were holding their annual micro brew tasting contest at the end of the Zuni 86 event.

The California Chapter of Big Wheel Racing (Scott) completed the 21st annual Bakersfield Spooktacular Century on October 20th 2007. Of six ride options, I completed the Hideous Hundred option, which nearly met its advertised 10,000+ feet of climbing, over 102 miles (it was really 10,487 feet of climbing across 106.1 miles)

The BWR team member rode together for most of the day, allowing for a few miles of mental separation from my body. The team was resplendent in the Big Wheel Racing gear, completed this day with the BWR striped socks and the vest. Both of which were essential as the as the cloud level was reached at 3000′, coinciding with the end of dry clothing for the day, yet I was never cold, just a little chilled during the descent. The vest is excellent at keeping the body’s core temperature up (and the pockets are invaluable, used this day to carry gobs of Honey Stingers), and the socks had a frosty layer across the front of the ankle, but the cold never penetrated to my feet..

In Juarez Mexico the Chupacabras 100km race took place on Saturday October 13th. I, Rich Capener, raced with five friends and over 2300 riders on a nice hot day in Mexico. There weren’t any divisions, just one big field of riders looking for a race. We got to the starting line about 7:40am and the race started at 9. There were a few hundred riders in front of me and more keep squeezing in as you could see bikes pass over head, over and over again. After the start the riders shot over to the levy for several fast paced dust filled miles. Well things were going quite well after the levy and lots of local people cheering everyone on calling you “Animal, Animal”. For the most part it was two track most of the way till you got to King Kong then you started the first hike-a-bike. This wasn’t so bad and wasn’t too long and I still felt good. After dropping off this mountain to the bottom you had to deal with the dry, dry stream beds that had small rocks that acted like sand making it hard to pass. Next was the trip to the church in the middle of no where.Swear that church was in some old Clint Eastwood movie. Shortly after the church I had my rear tire blowout. It had a half inch cut in the sidewall so I had to boot and tube it to get back in the race. Next was the hike-a-bike from hell (Asphyxia). I think it must have been like one mile of pure hiking on a hot day with no signs of shade. Can you say cooking your brain. After getting to the top that’s where the fun started again. There where two corners that were a little tricky but I was forced to stop due to rider backup. After descending, things got really thinned out and only saw a few handful riders the rest of the way back. In fact, there were a few times I thought I was off course but soon would see event staff every mile or so. I ended up coming in 168th out of 2300+ riders. Not too bad for my first year at this event and I’ll be back next year wanting to break into the sub 100.