Front Range MTB Wiki - www.NetCairns.com

NetCairns.com is the wiki for mountain bikers on the Front Range. The goal of the site is to maintain the most comprehensive, up-to-date source of trail information throughout the Rocky Mountains using content from the community it serves: you!

The organization of NetCairns.com is simple. The map on the homepage contains links to every trail or trail system on the site, based on geographic coordinates. Click any of the pins to pull up some stats and if you want to continue to the trail page, click the name of the trail. You can also use the search tool on the left to searh for a trail by name.

Anyone can contribute to this wiki. They rely on contributions from everyone in the mountain bike community to keep the pages up-to-date, accurate, and informative. Much like Wikipedia, the information on this site is created, edited, and monitored by its users. Everyone is invited to create a page for their favorite trails throughout Colorado and other nearby states. Users are also encouraged to add content such as personal experiences, photos, videos, or anything else to the trails already listed

So far, the response to the site has been very positive, but we still need to spread the word! Be sure to share us with your friends through social networking sites by clicking the "Add This" button on the main page (On the left side) and become a fan of NetCairns on Facebook!

"PURE" Climbing Film & Fundraiser Fri 4/24/09

Come over to the Colorado School of Mines this Friday at 7pm for the charity showing of Chuck Fryberger's new film "PURE". Tickets are $7 and 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Elizabethfontaine Primary School in Rocklands, South Africa. This school serves the children of the farm workers in the Rocklands area.

This well-managed and award-winning school sits in the middle of one of the best bouldering areas on the planet, Rocklands. As wave after wave of climbers travel to Rocklands to test their skills against classic boulder problems, visitors and locals alike brace for the first wave of access restrictions, closures, and regulations. Similar to Hueco Tanks, Rocklands is covered with archeologic sites and pictographs. Taking an interest in the community is one of the best ways to build a good reputations for climbers and will go a long ways to keeping access open in the future.

7pm Friday April 24th
Coolbaugh #209 Colorado School of Mines Golden Colorado

Tickets $7 (100% of proceeds benefit the school)

Also - special guest slide show from professional climber Kevin Jorgeson, a bake sale, and gear raffle from Scarpa, Marmot, La Sportiva, Cloudveil, and others. 

Fruita Fat Tire Fest : April 23-26

The Fruita Fat Tire Fest is coming up next weekend - here's the scoop from www.fruitamountainbike.com:

Come join the fun at Colorado's "kickoff" to the mountain bike season in the beautiful red rock country! Visit the shop that started it all - Over the Edge Sports - and join the fun at Civic Center Park in downtown Fruita!

Bring a bike, and a smile and join us April 23-26 for a time to remember of MTB fun in the sun.

If that isn't enough for you stick around for the 5th Anniversary New Belgium Brewing 18 Hrs of Fruita @ Highline presented by US Bank and supported by Shimano & the City of Fruita endurance race the following weekend, May 1st & 2nd; the famous Midnight start, all Singletrack course and grass Camping at Highline Lake State Park make this a good time even if it involves way too much riding. Join us for one of the most social and entertaining races on the endurance calender.

» Register for the Fat Tire Festival at active.com

"Golden Cruise" is back! First ride is Tue April 28th. Come Ride!

Come join Golden Bike Shop and Woody's Wood Fired Pizza for the 2009 "Golden Cruise" through downtown Golden. They are the last Tuesday of the month April thru October (4/28, 5/26, 6/30, 7/28, 8/25, 9/29, 10/27). Be sure to stop by the Golden Bike Shop mechanics stand for free minor tunes to your ride.

The Golden Cruise is free and open to all ages. Festivities start at Woody's at 5:30pm and the ride leaves at 7:00pm. Post-Cruise celebration at Woody's immediately afterwords - raffle, prizes, drink specials, etc!

Here's the official scoop:

"Here we go! Head out for the first 'official' cruise of the year! This time we have schwag AND a sweet cruiser to give away! Show up at Woody's around 5:30 for a little pre-cruise fun. The cruise winds through downtown Golden and starts around 7:00. After, back to Woody's to bask in the afterglow!

Also: Hey guys wanted to let you know we will doing things on the porch a little different this year. We won't have a server on the porch, but we will have a couple N.B. kegs. It's going to be $3 a pint and those beers will be cash only. So if you are going to eat you will need to be seated inside. Also we are hoping to have this years shirts ready so bring some cash"

Group Rides - Starting Soon at GBS

Group rides are going to be starting soon - stay tuned for details. We will generally have 1-2 morning rides a week, as well as a Sunday afternoon ride. Most are mountain bike rides, but we do a handfull of road rides as well.

A Unique 29er Drivetrain - by eTURK

Do you love single speed simplicity but you’re not willing to be left behind by your buddies? Wouldn’t you like to pick the gears you really use? Do you want a straight chain line for race performance? Then try this middle path approach for your drivetrain. Admittedly, I want too much. I am a weight weenie, speed endurance racer AND a very aggressive downhiller who aims for big air AND loves the big 29er wheels. For me it has to be light, fast and strong. If you’re in the know, then you already know about the added advantages of the big 29er wheel. However the traditional approach to the drivetrain with standard 3 rings 22-34-44 up front and 11-34 in the rear – is too many options and more complexity. When it came time for me to build my new bike what was I to do? Think outside the box – and this is what the Golden Bike Shop provided.

Today I ride with a FSA K-Force Light ceramic BB crank in “non-granny gear” 2x9 mode with a 36 tooth Actiontec cog in the rear. It works amazingly better than anything I have ever used before. First I review the crank, then the rear cog.
FSA K-Force Light

In 2x9 mode, these rings are perfectly sized to keep the front derailleur shifting smooth: a 29 tooth for the small ring and a standard 44 tooth for the big. FSA uses a 3rd generation carbon process and a patented completely hollow arm design. All aluminum components (spindle and pedal insert) are laid directly into the carbon material as an integrated component (as opposed to bonding). Adding the ceramic bearings for the bottom bracket along with the completely carbon hollow arm design makes this crank smooth as silk! Seriously, have you ever flipped your bike upside down, removed the chain, and spun any type Shimano crank and seen it resist motion? Not this crank!

Positives
I have extensively tested this for well over a year including in big races, like the Colorado Trail Race.
Bottom line: no problems and spinning performance is top notch. It’s like a manual over an automatic transmission – solid and smooth.
Its carbon, so it’s very light.

Potential Negative
Rock garden descents happen. So does smashing the crank arms into rocks. Initially I was concerned that my pedal might fall off due to the carbon material. Yes, there is noticeable scuffing and nicks formed under my pedal inserts, but to my surprise no cracks or major damage. I can confirm with experience that these cranks are strong.

This setup works great but I wanted that extra bit of race pace climbing - Colorado style. I talked to Golden Bike Shop who calculated the “roll out” comparing a 29er with my setup and a 26er with standard gears. Without getting into the geometry, the short answer is I needed a 36 tooth rear ring.

Actiontec 36 tooth cog - Actiontec http://www.actiontec.us/ticog.htm builds titanium cog sets, with options from 11 – 39 teeth. Instead of a complete set, you can order a single cog and use it with Shimano or SRAM cassettes. A spacer is provided, so you simply remove one of the smaller cogs and add the large one. Note: this is not recommended by the manufacturer, but I can positively report success.

Golden Bike Shop did a great job as usual when they removed my XTR cassette and laid in the 36 tooth Actiontec cog. Being a single cog, it has no spider attached to it so it slides directly onto the hub (more on this later). Next, they added the included Actiontec spacer (in my case, for a nine speed cassette) and put back on the XTR 34 tooth cassette, with one modification – you have to select and then remove a gear (a 9 speed hub requires a 9 speed cassette). Since the majority of my riding is in climbing to midrange gears, I chose to remove the 13 tooth cog. To illustrate, a typical rear setup is like this: 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34. Mine is 11-15-17-20-23-26-30-34-36.

Positives
My shifting has remained precise. At first I was concerned my derailleur wouldn’t be able to handle the added clearance of the 36 ring, but it works without any trouble. Although I use a rapid rise XTR derailleur (which I find superior, but that’s another story) others have reported success with standard derailleur.
Once in the ring, there is no possibility of slipping out as the teeth are “shark toothed”. The shift is precise – the chain cannot ride the top of the flats like most flat tooth designs.
It’s entirely titanium- super light.
It feels different once in gear. After all, I am shifting from XTR to Actiontec. This may be due to an increase in small lateral flex due to the Actiontec cog not being linked by a spider (unlike the XTR). This has not however impacted performance, and is thus not a negative. Besides, in this ring you’re moving slow. Further, this feeling has been useful by reminding me in case I accidentally shift into my big gear.

Potential Negative
Titanium on an aluminum hub. Like my DT Swiss 240’s, most hubs are made with aluminum. Titanium on aluminum has the potential to damage the hub, particularly since this cog is directly attached to it. For this reason I always “gingerly” shift into this ring (I don’t slam into this gear) and use it only when I “really need it”. I have inspected the hub several times and haven’t seen any wear and tear. Honestly, I think this will hold up for several years to come, but that is yet to be confirmed. Am I confident with it? Yes. I have read that other endurance riders have used this setup during the Colorado Trail Race and the Great Divide Race http://www.bikepacking.net/reviews/bike-components/actiontec-36-tooth-cog/


Overall, I am very satisfied with this setup and would recommend it to others!