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NEW CHRIS KING AGREEMENT & VEGAS REPORT
Greetings!
Last month we announced our new dealer agreements with Avalanche and Elka. This month we are proud to report that we we've added Chris King Precision Components to the list.  As a Chris King authorized retailer, now you can replace that crunchy old headset with a new King headset when you have your fork serviced by Suspension Experts. As a retailer, we agreed to assure the same high level of quality,
reliability, and warranty coverage you expect directly from Chris King. In other news, Kevin and Mike survived Interbike and have new product reviews from their Dirt Demo rides. Read the full reports below. And a big thank you to Mike, our lead technician and official shop photographer, for all the photos in the newsletter this month. You can see more of his work at smugmug.com.  |
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TURNER TEST BIKE ON THE TRAILS
Now that Kevin and Mike have Interbike behind them and finished with October's busy race schedule, they are out on the trails with the test bike. Our Turner 5 Spot is outfitted with the new Elka Stage 5 rear shock. (See Mike's photo from Interbike on the left.) A Fox Vanilla fork is in the shop waiting to go on the bike after we add 15 QR compatible Industry 9 wheels. It's easy to be selfish and keep it all to ourselves, but we'll let you ride it too. Maybe. Come by the shop or check it out at the next race.
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INTERBIKE PRODUCT REVIEWS
Knolly Endorphin with the Fox 36 TALAS
by Mike Rischitelli
What a great experience the Dirt Demo part of Interbike was
this year. Two days riding in the rocky desert outside Vegas trying out
some of the latest gear. I took this opportunity to ride some stuff that
I had been wondering about, most notably the Knolly Endorphin which is regarded
as one of the best AM/Trail Bikes right now. The Endorphin didn't
disappoint, but the more memorable product was the Fox 36 TALAS it was equipped
with.
As a diehard coil spring fan, I was apprehensive about the trail
performance of the air-sprung fork, but have been intrigued by the 36mm
platform lately. We do a lot of Fox 36 rebuilds at the shop and after
handling those all day, my 32mm fork seems undersized. But for the riding
at home in Pisgah, I have to be careful how much weight I'm pedaling.
That's where the air-sprung fork makes sense. The 160mm travel 36 TALAS
is considerably larger than my 32 Vanilla, yet comes with only a 3/4-of-a-pound
weight gain. Plus, it offers the ability to reduce the 6+ inches of travel
for those long 6+ mile climbs.
The ride was amazing. The 36 TALAS made the chunky rocks of
Bootleg Canyon invisible. I found myself steering straight through rock
gardens, picking lines I would have thought to be impossible. The term
"confidence inspiring " is an over-used cliche in this context, but I
can think of no better description of how the 36 TALAS performed.
Carrying lots of speed into rough terrain that I had never ridden before was a
perfect test for the ability of the fork to hold its line and keep things under
control. Obviously, the 36 platform is laterally more stable than the
32mm fork legs I'm accustomed to, but what I didn't expect was how smooth the
TALAS air spring moved through its travel. It never felt harsh at the end
of its stroke like the air forks I remember from years ago, and the small bump
suppleness was extraordinary. The air-free FIT damper provided consistent
quality damping throughout the nearly 3
hours I rode it in the baking Nevada sun and once I made some initial rebound
adjustments, I never felt compelled to touch it again.
I still feel coil springs offer a superior spring curve as well as
unquestionable reliability when you're miles out in the wilderness, but I look
at air forks like the Fox 36 TALAS a little differently now. Hopefully I
will have the opportunity to put one of these to the test here in Pisgah in the
future.
Foes FXR
by Kevin Booth
My favorite bike of the dirt demo? Believe it or not it was a Foes FXR. With all of the dual linkage style bikes out there (VPP, DW Link etc), why would I be drawn to a simple single pivot style suspension? Because it just rode well.
 It probably didn't hurt that it was set up for me by none other than Brent Foes himself, but the truth is that this bike just worked.
It climbed reasonably well for a 6.5" travel bike, but on the descent it was just gorgeous. It was outfitted with a Fox 36 up front and that combination made all of those hairy, rocky, desert drops entirely manageable.
Brent is passionate about the fact that the Curnutt rear shock is specifically designed for that bike, and after riding it, I can see why.
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RACE RECAP
 Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race
The top three were rain, cold and mud for this year's race in Brevard, NC on October 15-18. We joined the crew for the expo and as sponsors of Friday's stage. Check out racer/photographer Harlan Price's blog in Bicycling mag for a day by day report with incredible photos from the trails during the race.
Here is Mike's photo of the pro women's podium. First place went to Sue Haywood, second was Cheryl Sornson and third was Carey Lowery. Click here for the full results.
Kevin's report from the Paris Mountain Downhill Race
I took a break from Pisgah the same weekend and went to the Paris Mountain Downhill race on Saturday, October 17. After a wild party at Barley's Taproom in Greenville on Friday night, we were treated to some great racing on a spectator friendly course on Saturday. I took a run during practice and found it to be well suited to my 6" travel Maverick ML 8 with plenty of technical stuff to make you pay attention, but the bigger travel bikes may have been at a disadvantage in the pedaling sections.
I had tuned several bikes before the race and was pleased to see that all of "my people" made it though the race without issue. Congrats to Nick Gragtmans for a top four finish on a Cane Creek Double Barrel that we bolted to his bike the day before the event. Way to go Nick! You can see all the official race results here.
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 100% WIND POWERED WEB SITE
Our web site is now hosted by Fat Cow. Their offices and data centers are all 100% powered by wind energy. We're proud that the machines hosting our website and email are fully eco-friendly!
Read more at Fat Cow's green page.
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There is no off season for us. We are fortunate enough to be busy this time of year as riders wrap up their race season and want their equipment to be like new again. This is a great time to take advantage our signature quick turnaround so you can still maximize the prime fall riding season. Plus, we've got a Winter Tune Up Special until the end of the year (coupon below). Call or email us to schedule this discounted service.
Sincerely,
Kevin Booth
President & Janitor  828-255-0205
866-800-2453 (toll free) |
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Winter
Tune-Up
Special
20% off all labor
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Take 20% off labor until the end of the year! What does this mean in dollars? Standard fork service runs $100, but with this coupon, you'll pay just $88. Regular fork service includes complete disassembly, inspection of all internals, new oil seals, dust wipers, and fresh Torco racing fluid.* Call 828-255-0205 or email us to schedule your service. Just mention this offer for the reduced rate on fork or shock service. Limit one per customer. This coupon is transferable, so feel free to share with friends and family.  *The fine print: We completely disassemble all forks and shocks for service and
once we see what's going on inside, we occasionally find that more work is
needed to get your suspension in perfect shape. If that happens, we'll call you to discuss the options and additional parts required. | Offer Expires: December 31, 2009
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