I spoke to a surfer once and he described to me the difference in the types of waves and how it affects the way you surf. For them the shape of the beach, the structure of the ocean floor and the type of material its composed of (coral, sand, rocks) can make a difference on the surfing experience. 

I have to say the same thing holds true for mountain bikers. The type of soil on the trail, who else uses the trail, and the incline of the terrain can play a big part on the ride. During last weekend’s ride I just realized as well that there are so many different types of mud! Sta Rosa itself has about several different types of mud.   

Take the mud on Coffee Trail for example. Coffee trail is actually double-track trail used by the jeeps that farmers use to access their crops (coffee, coconuts, pineapples etc.). Jeeps leave deep ruts that fill in with water during the rainy season. Since there is a lot of tree-cover the water doesn’t try out in some parts so you get these really slushy puddles in the lower areas. When I first heard it was called coffee trail I really thought it was named after the mud.  It’s a little sticky like the clay in San Mateo and fills up your chain stay and seats stays in no time. When it dries up it tends to get flung from your tires into your face.  Remember to keep your mouth closed!

You gotta keep a steady pace and try not to spin out even when your bike’s going sideways. Just keep ‘er steady!

Its still not as bad as real clay. Clay sucks!.  I got stuck in Bataan once and had get rescued in the middle of the night by truck.  It doesn’t even come off when you spray it with water. You got to scrape it off by hand.  Uhh those are SPD pedals and not platforms in the pic by the way.

Of course after hitting a slight amount of mud followed by a gravel section you get the “granola bar effect”.

I’m tempted to post pictures of Mango Trail from our Sta Rosa ride, but lets just say the trail is also used as a cow pasture and the mud on your tires are suspiciously green for a reason.

Mud is always a challenge its question of equipment, technique and lots of determination. Sometimes though, you have to know when its time to call it a day.

On riding a Siren
What a wonderful bicycle. I built Big Red up with a mainly SRAM drivetrain and a Manitou Drake TA fork. Velocity Blunt Rims and Hygia Usagi brakes. Finally saved up enough for a Chris King rear hub. Buzzzzzzz!

 The only way I can describe it is it sort of disappears under you.  I just bike and forget about everything else. It goes where I want when I want. When I screw up launching from a curb or taking the wrong line she’s pretty forgiving and she wont punish you for your mistakes.  Big Red is going to be my epic all day long ride.

Special thanks to Lars at Black Cat Bikes for the hook up on the Ragley Carnegie bars. I realized my cockpit was a little short so the bars helped stretched me out a little bit while at the same time putting my arms in a very natural riding position.

On Velocity Wheels
Blunts are fun!  Wider then your normal rims yet still light enough not to make you regret your choice.  It gives you that extra contact patch for extra grip.

VXC’s are for you weight weenies out there light and thin for those that want to go PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick).  I still have some on hand in black and white if your interested.

P35’s  Hoooo Boy.. nothing makes you smile like these rims.  Hella wide! Perfect for guys who want a little more meat on the ground.  They don’t have a big weight penalty so you can use these rims for XC.  We mounted a pair of this on DD (Demo Dillinger). Its just too much fun, redefining what a stable ride is.  Give you lots of cush and contact patch even when using 2.1 tires. 

Still fiddling with my finger positions.  The reach adjust is pretty sweet. sort of like the Avid Speed Dials. Set and forget really.  Dig the braided cables too!

Reposting a review I made for the Hygia Aspire. These beefy, DH oriented hydraulic disc brakes coem pre-bled with steel braided cables. Very tasty!

The original review is on the Hygia MTBR thread which can be found here.

Original review is on the Hygia thread on MTBR which can be found here.


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been running the Aspire's for about 2 rides.

things to think about:

1. I'm a retro-grouch, having been traumatized by early gen Juicys which spent more time being bled then being ridden.

2. I'm a Clyde so regular disc brakes will have me go right into the bushes in downhill turns. i've never wanted to go hydraulic since whenever i try the bikes of my ride buddies they never seem to stop me. this may also be because of how they were tuneds since my buddies arent as clydey as i am, but for the high price of hydros i didnt even want to experiment. BB7s have been stopping me well enough (most of the time) so i didnt really see the urge to shift at the time.

3. ran the Aspire's on shimano centerlock rotors. the smallest size- (that makes em 6? or 7?).

findings:

Pros.

1. easy install! got it done in no muss no fuss installation in less than an hour (you'll need a torx wrench for the brake handle mounts though. set the pad clearance once and away we went. this is a big factor for someone who doesnt do his own bleeding and is normally all thumbs.

2. ninja-quiet braking with no howling. not even any *ssssss* noise as you slow down. just stopping power with no sound effects.

3. STOPPING POWER! jamming on the brakes produces fork dive and rear wheel lock. something i have not been able to do on the bb7s. this says a lot for a clyde of my size who weighs in at about 230-245 with equipment.


Cons:
1. them's long-*ss levers. as was pointed out to me they are downhill brakes with three finger levers. so to set them for one finger braking you have to set adjust them way inboard on your bars and dial down the reach adjust. this compromises the modulation a bit. Of course thats just my setup preference. modulation and setup would definitely improve if you install them for 2 or three finger braking.

2. slightly chunky when compared to the othe brakes on the hygia roster. I'm chunky too so i dont really mind. im willing to sacrifice a little weight for something that will stop me when i need to- for Clyde's like me, thats the bottom line.



So far so good for these brakes. liking them more and more as i do minor setup tuning.
i'd love to see them in two or one finger levers which would really help my setup. i wonder if Hygia can swap the levers on these too, or if these will work with aftermarket levers out there.


more inputs as i get more rides in.

Update:  Swapped them back to the two finger layout.  Still need to test them on some heavy duty runs on Upak trails or the downhills on Cardiac or The Wall.  will keep you posted.