Beautiful when the sun comes out

An intense green spring cast itself across a broad swath of central Europe but much like an overwatered house plant, there were consequences to pay for the forced bloom.  Major flooding considered, "the worst in centuries" struck many of the major European rivers bringing along with it destruction of property and infrastructure on a grand scale.  Spring in Europe this season has not been a pretty picture in general but at this point it had gone beyond complaining about the aesthetics of the weather and into being disasterous.  Although we were somewhat restricted to where we could drive and ride for the next couple of weeks, it was definitely not the worst time to be living in a mobile home. 

The bike path? 

We had the fortunate timing to have a rest week coinciding with a scheduled visit to our friends and sponsors located at SRAM's european headquarters in Schweinfurt, Germany. Mary and I had also coordinated the build up our new Seven Sola SLX 27.5" bikes here at this time; we were really excited to finally put the planning into action!  

Schweinfurt has been a regular stop over for Mary and I over the past years and once again it was a welcome change from our on the road isolation to a more social mode of visiting friends and re aquianting with people we don't actually have to race against every weekend.  

You can't beat a home cooked pizza dinner with friends! 

Many of the hard working folks at SRAM do happen to rip on bikes so it was a good chance to get in some miles with people who know these woods as their backyard.   Its always a great excuse to get out for a group ride under the guise of meeting to share some direct RnD feedback.  We had lots of positive feedback indeed from our recent experiences on the new XX1 equipment! 

Discussing the latest about bikes is best done with bike in hand or better yet while out riding them... This is the reason why the all inclusive ride/meetings, take place so often in the bike industry, beautiful stuff!  

It took the better part of 3 days for me to complete the build on our new bikes but it was mostly due to the time I spent discussing bike technology and ideas with the people who  designed and developed many of the cutting edge parts and pieces that I was bolting on.  Thanks again to all for the advice!

I was also happy to pick up some new ideas and even some deep theories that helped me  gain perspective of where bike technology is headed in the next years.  

Thanks again to our all of our sponsors and especially Kenda Tires, Stan's NoTubes and Seven Cycles for making this build happen perfectly - all the way down to the last detail. 

Some of the juicy details of our new custom Rides :

Triple butted titanium frames, individually ride tuned to our weight and specific handling requirements as per Seven Cycles "Normal" crafting techniques.


Frames built specifically for SRAM's  XX1, no cumbersome front derailleur routing or options to hold back optimal ride characteristics.

The shortest chain stays allowed by Seven's fit and ride tuning experts keep the ride characteristics lively!   

Press fit 30 Bottom Bracket

Straight 44mm head tube allows for a higher level of steering precision and is adaptable to include tapered steerer forks (or not) and the use of a Cane Creek Angle Set (or not) that allows for steerer tube angle and ride adjustment.

30.9 Seat tubes to accept a wide range of seat posts including SRAM's Reverb seat dropper!

Stan's NoTubes Limited edition Medalist wheels shod with Kenda's Karma Tires make for an amazingly light set up! 

Though the woods were not entirely dry we immediately put the tires to dirt (mud) and spent a couple of days finalizing the tune while out on the trails.  It was a great chance to feel how these bikes performed off road in adverse conditions as the riding was slippery, technical and unfamiliar.

Stoked  after the first test ride! 

Mary and I were both immediately comfortable with the  switch to the 27.5 from our recent 2 years racing only on 29ers.  We shared the feeling that the 27.5 is in many ways a best of both worlds scenario. 

Ok, so the "rollover" is not quite the same as on the 29er, especially noticeable in the cornering on the steeper descents or when encountering larger technical obstacles.  

On the plus side the 27.5 bikes feel more maneuverable and responsive to immediate rider input allowing for a greater options on last second line choice. 

Getting the bikes up to speed out of the corners and adding some quick forward momentum to any single moment or move while riding is really where these bikes shine.  Pure climbing also feels less encumbered with the smaller (lighter) wheels.

More on this later as we gather more experiences with this new sizing on some of our favorite trails, along with Garmin connect. 

Mary and I both immediately felt that these bikes would be the new hot ticket for the World Cup XC in Val Di Sole, Italy…and it turns out that they were!

Mary tearing it up in Val di Sole!

Mary made an impressive rally back into the top 20 with a great performance on a sickly steep and demanding world cup track.  It was nice to have the many short but excruciatingly steep climbs separated at least briefly by rocky chutes that offered bits of low speed technical trickery.  Still this was really the type of course that even if you had it right next to your house you might be looking for alternative places to ride as it seemed built without much  natural flow and almost specifically as a place for suffering.

Still no reason to complain as it was clearly a good venue for racing and gave us both our  best result so far this world cup season.  For me a 74th was not really something special to commit to the recurring memory, but all things considered, especially starting 91st, it was a decent ride.

Staging for the Val di Sole World Cup

Val di Sole was the first World Cup venue to host both a Gravity and Cross Country event so far this year and this offered some insight into the potential and diversity for getting out and riding any style of bike.

A moment of relaxation and bike tuning the night before the race 

The steepness of the surrounding Brenta - Dolomiti mountains and remoteness of the Stelvio National Park set the stage to make the quality of the area's trails exceptional.  The main river valley bike path is an exception to the demanding terrain and easily delivers riders along it's scenic 38 km route past abundant water fountains, pizza/gelato, bars, coffee shops and on to far out Alms (high mountain food/drink huts).  There is a top quality outdoor adventure feel in Val di Sole without much of the typical tourist traffic found at many of Italy's more popular destinations. 

Mountainous Singletrack bordering the Stelvio National Park

Mary and I were happy to enjoy a couple of days of good weather after the WC to train and sample all of the above as we continue our european RV adventure. 

Mary pushing through the last signs of winter - a dirt covered snow slide. 

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