11-19-20 BikeCo Weekly Email

New Moon Lights, Tips & Tricks and Carbon by Tag Metals

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Moon Meteor Lights

It’s that time of year again where the sun seems to go down about an hour after lunch. Well, time to update your night lights and have some adventures in the dark.

Night riding makes even trails you know by heart different and fun.

Riding at night also helps you learn to ride “loose” not fighting each and every bump but “catching” the bike when you need to for direction changes.

Check out these new lights from Moon. We have an introductory coupon with special pricing you can see in the cart!

Moon Meteor Storm Cycling Light Included in Box

Moon Meteor Storm 1700 Lumen Dual Light

A great handlebar light, or a really robust headlamp if you’re looking for maximum illumination.

MSRP 136.99 – limited time pricing available in cart!

 

Moon Lights Vortex Pro Cycling Light included in box

Moon Meteor Vortex Pro 1100 Lumen Light

This is an excellent helmet mount light or a light weight handlebar option.

MSRP 91.99 – limited time pricing available in cart!

Trail Tips with BikeCo

We’ve been asking the sales team for some additional input and have been getting great info on new products, riding tips and trail etiquette basics that we’re going to share.

Heels Down Trail Tips

from Garrett@BikeCo.com:  Drop those heels!

Dropping your heels is one of the simplest ways to drastically improve your riding in almost every circumstance. When you drop your heels you lower your center of gravity and it puts your weight behind the bike, helping to drive the bike through terrain. In nearly every scenario, from cornering, to sketchy rock gardens, to big rock rolls, dropping your heels helps give you the confidence to conquer terrain of all types and degrees of difficulty.

Trail Etiquette

With so many new riders on the trail we feel like it’s important to share, and we invite you to share these emails or concepts on trail! Some of these trail etiquette tips will be self-explanatory while others may be more outside the box. Have an idea we should publish? Let us know!

from Jack@BikeCo.com:

If you’re like me and ride your mountain bike to free yourself from physical and mental crowding, you’re in good company.

However, if you’re on a trail, you’ll eventually come in contact with other non-riding people. I’ve noticed that in those times, showing kindness will go a long way.

So I make it a point to be on the lookout up ahead, finger on the brakes, always in control of my speed. A friendly “Hello” lets them know I’m there and if it makes sense to pass them I do it nicely. Or if it is more logical, I go the extra mile to stop and let them go by.

My point is, be nice. It will come back to you. The last thing I want to do is give this incredible sport a bad name by being the jerk who rips down the trail leaving carnage in my wake.

Trail Etiquette Meeting in Corners

Meeting in the Middle. Of a Corner…

Sometimes trail etiquette can be a bit controversial it seems. So I’m going to stick my neck out a bit on this one but keep reading and I think the logic has it all make sense.

When climbing I generally stay on the right side of the trail (kind of like driving – I assume that might change in other countries? Maybe I’ll ask our friends over at [R]evolution MTB in Oz…). However in corners it’s not as simple as “stay on your side”.

Whether riding up or downhill the late apex technique gives me the most visual input for better cornering. You can read more about Late Apex versus Early Apex Cornering Here.

If I come across another rider while I am climbing I move to the inside of the corner (shown in shaded green in the image above). There’s a reason for this.

Sidenote: Climbers have the right away but generally the ground speeds are lower and it can be easier to maneuver. Also, having had the right of way isn’t a pain killer after a collision. I don’t care to be right but hurt so I try not to let it become an ego thing.

So why not go wide? After all descending we want an inside apex as well? Well the physics of a bike make it easier to increase the radius of a corner, go wider, than decrease, or tighten, your turn.

If the rider descending is at their skill limit (which I believe in riding at like 70% of your skill level but that’s another thing for another day) they may struggle if you impede the ground they need. What tends to happen is the descending rider grabs a handful of brakes. This compromises the available cornering traction which stands the bike up and increases the corner radius driving them towards the outside of the corner. Or the descending rider might simply fold the front end and go down. Well, if you politely moved way over to the outside now you’re possibly in the path of a sliding bike/rider combo.

If you’ve seen the rider with some distance and made your intention to take the inside obvious (don’t be the last minute I jump back and forth three times guy) the descending rider then takes the outside of the corner (illustrated in shaded red) providing them with an increasing radius corner. This should allow the descending rider a ridable line with more control to slow down as needed.

The caveat: if you’re both looking down trail as far as possible there’s time to react and make it all happen – this method doesn’t work if you see each other like two wheel lengths away!

See you on the trails! Nate@BikeCo.com

Tag Metals Ovaltech Carbon T1 Handlebar DetailCarbon, by Tag Metals

We’re excited to offer the MTB lineup from Tag Metals including the Carbon T1 Handlebar as well as T1 Stem.

Tag Metals has produced top tier moto handlebars for years and took the concepts over to the MTB lineup.

Illustrated above is the OvalTech layup allowing for less material away from points of stress. This produces a lighter bar as well as allows Tag to design the best balanced vibration control to aid small bump compliance.

Tag’s T1 bar is 800mm wide and close to the Renthal and RaceFace layup and feel. Unlike super stiff carbon which tends to behave like aluminum bars introducing a lot of input to the grips a well balanced carbon fiber bar should help damp the trail for less arm pump and hand fatigue.

Wondering what the right bar is for your riding? Call, chat or email today and discuss cockpit setup for your size, riding style and aggression.

The Bike Company
BikeCo.com
21098 Bake Parkway #112
Lake Forest, CA 92630
CustomerService@BikeCo.com

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