First Ride on the Siren John Henry 02/23/2010
After a spritzing of Framesaver on the insides of the John Henry frame's tubes, it was time to build her up. Carried over most of the parts from the Zaka, but installed a Chris King BB and a Syntace cockpit. A Syntace seatpost is in transit as well and will join its other German brethren on the John Henry (aka Manila Vanilla). Inaugural ride was during a dawn patrol at the Camp Aguinaldo trail. So, here are initial impressions: The bike feels low and long, not sure why, but this to me is a good thing. Will compare geometries with my former ride and see. The JH goes where it's pointed and there's no unwanted flex from the rear end. Seems what little leg power I have goes to driving the bike forward. The Syntace goodies also help with steering precision - it felt like I was taking corners faster. Especially switchbacks. The JH was nimble, yet stable. Contradictory I know but that's the best way I could describe it. While not as supple as the ride of titanium, I personally dig the smooth all the time, stiff when needed qualities of steel. Can't wait to get more saddle time!  Hanging out with some heavy metal. Photo by Gary  Hammer time. Siren John Henry style. Photo by Gary.  Lean in, carve, then power through the corner. Buttah. Photo by Gary.  Managed to get some air too. Photo by Gary.  Back at the home base. Dirt matches the vanilla powdercoat job perfectly. Bandit on your six 02/21/2010
Here's some footage from the Aguinaldo track. Hehe. Feeling light-headed 02/08/2010
Here's a little something I conjured up to sort out the lighting situation. The ideal setup, in my opinion, is to have one bar-mounted "flood" light and a helmet-mounted "spot" light. Now, prudence had gotten the better of me and instead of purchasing a dedicated (and pricey) lighting system from say, Lupine or Dinotte, I decided to buy a pair of BJ's LED lights. Basically they are Cree Q5 LEDs done up in a flashlight or torch configuration. Comes with a charger and rechargeable batteries. Claimed output on high is 250 lumens. With a run time of 3 hours on a full charge. Now for the price (P1,900 - around US$45, each), and the versatility—these can be used as flashlights as well—I don't think there's anything out there that can match these babies. Initial tests have shown these lights give out adequate output for their size. Plus, they have no wires to snag. The beam pattern has a nicely-defined spot, but there's enough spill to illuminate the radius. I snagged two of these for redundancy's sake, and at the same time I wanted to experiment with using them as a helmet/bar-mounted duo.  Here's the result. The light is secured to a base salvaged from a plastic container via cut-up sections of inner tube. Another section of tube then wraps around the base, keeping everything together. The base neatly and snugly plugs into one of the vents of my helmet. Initial rides have proven The Plug stable and secure. The perfect partner to the bar-mounted version.  Coming to some night-time singletrack near you. That'd be the real test of this setup. I won't bore you with more photos of the bar-mount. It's not as sexy as my DIY jobbie. Hehe. Introducing: HYGIA 02/01/2010
MTB Guru Keith Bontrager has a famous saying: "STRONG, LIGHT, CHEAP—PICK TWO," this theorem basically summarizes the qualities you can find in any one MTB part (or frame). It's held true for quite a while. But we may have found something that has all these three qualities. OK, substitute CHEAP with AFFORDABLE, and you know what we mean. Hygia designs and manufactures brakes that tick all the boxes in terms of weight, price and performance. We're giddy with excitement as these brakes will be landing on our shores soon, and they'll be in All Terra and Gran Trail soon after that. We've been testing them for more than a month now and so far they haven't disappointed us. We're sure they won't let you down as well and you will be pleasantly surprised as to their performance. Did we mention they're lighter than other similarly-priced and more affordable than other similarly-spec'd brands? Let's take a closer look at one of Hygia's offerings. The Usagi.  HYGIA USAGI The Usagi is billed as Hygia's XC brake, and that very much it is, offering a good combo of modulation and power in a svelte package. You can dial tool-free, with the red knobs and pad contact can also be tweaked with an allen key. The brakes use DOT and we've spec'd them with stainless steel braided lines, so no need for aftermarket hop-ups there. The levers are designed to be used by one or two fingers, and give very good tactile feedback without being overly firm. Weight for the front is around 320g with SS lines, and 335g for the rear also with SS lines.  All Hygia brakes use Shimano XT/XTR brake pads, so you can replace, mix, and match pad compounds to your heart's content. We paired them with Ashima Airotors initially, but when we swapped over the stock Hygia rotors (around 102g each), lever feel and power improved dramatically. The Usagis come in black and in white Mike B's Aizan 01/12/2010
 Here's Mike's Aizan getting a little TLC from the handy wrenches at Gran Trail Makati. Mike is suffering from the early symptoms of upgraditis, but we expect it to become a full-blown case soon enough. No doubt the Aizan and Rock Shox Reba are a solid pairing to build on. Mike runs a Kenda SB8 on the rear to provide drive traction, while the always-dependable Nevegal takes care of directional duties up front. Other build details include: Truvativ Stylo crank SRAM x9 fd/rd/shifters SRAM x0 cassette Avid juicy 7 brakes with alligator rotors easton monkeylite xc handle bar easton ea70 seatpost mortop headset - still waiting for the ea70 stem to arrive - wheelset will be upgraded soon! Ride on! Jun & his D-Jab 01/12/2010
 Here's Jun. The proud owner of a VooDoo D-Jab. Jun's got a well thought-out build going, with a Marzocchi Marathon SL fork, Spank polished rims (which match the frame!), and a host of other low-key components that only a seasoned rider would recognize! He's set it up singlespeed, naturally! Happy New Year! Happy New Gear! 12/30/2009
Before we suffer a massive hangover from partying like it's 2009, we're giving you guys and gals a quick update on what's in store for 2010. Specifically this January. Here we go, by the numbers... 1. Siren John Henry frames are in transit, and are headed from the chilly hills of California to our more temperate shores. Details of the first batch, below. If you want to be one of a select few riding these works of art, drop us a line pronto.  Siren John Henry in Vanilla, size M  Siren John Henry in Blazing Orange, size ML  Siren John Henry in Drop Dead Red, size M  Siren John Henry in True Blue, size M 2. Homebrewed Components are on the way. We're addressing the need for quality singlespeed cogs with these trick CNC machined bits. Made in the USA but we requested for a custom color set that we call Pinoy Pride.  Homebrewed cogs in 18,19 and 20T configurations  Custom anodized spiders for the cogs  This is how they'll look on your SS 3. Soul Cycles also in the mix. In case you haven't heard, we're also the Philippine representative of Soul Cycles! And we're bringing in a batch of Dillinger framesets. Yes, frames AND rigid forks. Here's some soul candy for you...  Soul Cycle Dillinger Gen3  Soul Cycles Dillinger cromo forks  Soul Cycles Dillinger EBB We'll be offering the Dillingers as a frameset - complete with matching rigid fork and anodized EBB. Check out the Soul Cycles website for more info, or hey, give us a holler! 4. That pretty much wraps it up. Or does it? Meet the 2010 VooDoo Soukri 12/13/2009
What's crafted out of Reynolds 631 tubing, is singlespeed or geared capable, runs 29" tires, has the legendary, mystical VooDoo ride? Well. the 2010 VooDoo Soukri of course! Other details include: - under the top tube cable routing - accommodates a 100-125mm fork - downtube reinforcing gussets - v or disc brake ready - white-hot paint job with red panels, and human spine details - "soukri" means "sacred temple", and this frame will be your new place of worship in 2010!  Canzo29 build by Joseph 12/03/2009
I finally got it all together. The special thing about this build (besides the special frame, thanks to you) is that I fully assembled it myself. Here is my spec: Size 18 Voodoo Canzo Frame (Can't thank you enough for this) Driven NMX Crank and hubs Sram X9 RD, FD, and shifters. Sram PG991 chain Sram PG990 cassette Ritchey WCS Carbon handle bar Bontrager race x-lite seat post Truvative Stylo Team 100mm stem Manitou Drake 120mm fork Magura Julie HP brakes FSA Headset WTB Prowler SL tires and tubes Alexrims TD20 rims w/ generic spokes I-link shifter cables and housing Current weight is 27.8 lbs. Yup, I did not make my target weight but I'm sure when I replace my rims, spokes, and tires, I'll be reaching a 25ish form.  Gearing up for 2010 12/03/2009
Just a short heads-up as to what's in the pipeline come the new year: - arrival of the first batch of Siren John Henry frames! - arrival of our first batch of Homebrewed Components cogs and rings. In Philippine colors to boot! Yes, we are the authorized local rep! - a wickedly-cool new model (or two) from VooDoo Cycles. - unveiling of a new brand that's got quite some soul in it. (won't let this cat out of the bag yet) - more 29er rim options for the local market! We're working real hard behind the scenes to make the last two possible and feasible for the local market. Because we strongly believe there shouldn't be a premium on 29er-specific parts! More details and good news soon. Till then, happy trails! |