On The Pedals
By Jason Giacchino

Updates From The Mad House

If ever there were a period of the year where our staff would gladly volunteer to be institutionalized, it would be the first few weeks of January. No sooner has the buzz of the Holiday secession begun to wear off do we begin taking delivery of the 2008 model test bikes. The workshop is again alive with the moans and groans of assembly until all hours of the frigid night and early in the mornings three camera-clad test riders meet along the snow-covered trails to put these latest bikes to the test. I am thoroughly convinced that should a rider spend a day of testing in these conditions, our inbox would be instantly devoid of requests asking (begging) to be considered for the job.

To shed some insight to the process, let me provide a little bit of behind the scenes documentary to the Bionicon Edison test that appears in this very issue. We took delivery of the bike on Friday, December 30th with temperatures hovering in the mid 30s. We hustled to get the bike assembled and ready for principle photography and through the combined efforts of our resident mechanic (CG) and me, we pulled it off by Saturday evening. Knowing none of our test riders would be lining up to spend hours in the middle of nowhere on New Years Eve (or Day), the next few afternoons were filled with impromptu test sessions as often as conflicting schedules and old Mother Nature would allow. As you’ll surely notice in the test photographs, we managed to sneak a few quick rides in just before the snow and single-digit temps blasted us into submission. Unfortunately, the report wasn’t quite finished despite the adverse conditions, which simply meant that we had to bundle up and get back out there. And here you thought that some of the pics contained snow just for the effect.

While the test is pretty thorough, some things you won’t find mentioned in the actual review are the documented complaints of the test riders who struggled to pedal with galoshes on and tried their best to shift through heavy ski gloves. We all spent countless hours out in the woods fighting off numb digits and chattering teeth while making tiny adjustments to the bike before sending it off for another lap around the loop. One thing we can guarantee is that when a bike scores favorably with the abuse we subject it to, it will certainly excel just about anywhere.

I mention these things not because I want you to pity our poor test riders, but rather to offer a little contrast to the process out in the tundra versus the end result; which is a tidy article to be enjoyed over a nice cup of coffee. In fact as I write this column, the process is actually starting over again as next month we’ll be feature-reviewing the Fuji Reveal 2.0. In case you’re wondering, no the weather around here rarely improves in the month of February. Note to test riders (and self): Keep the boots and gloves out; we’re going to need them.

I also wanted to mention an interesting fact I recently uncovered pertaining to the ever-popular carbon fiber phenomenon. Apparently some of our best testing of the substance comes in the form of the automotive industry, which has been including pieces and bits on their upper-end production cars for years. Apparently, when subjected to steady ultraviolet exposure (meaning sunlight), visible carbon fiber rapidly deteriorates and yellows.

Presumably, this is a legitimate risk to all CF components but isn’t quite as drastic in the realm of mountain biking due to the simple fact that the amount of direct ultraviolet saturation is far greater to a car’s interior. If you’ve ever left your car windows up and plopped into your vinyl seats after work in the middle of the summer, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

To remedy the situation, General Motors has developed a proprietary clear coat that is sprayed onto the carbon fiber pieces on their new Corvette ZR1 to prevent the epoxy from the breakdown effects of ultraviolet exposure. I know what you’re thinking- maybe the mountain bike world should treat their carbon with a blast of the same just in case. The only problem is that this treatment costs a whopping $60,000 per gallon (and you thought gasoline was expensive). Maybe parking your bike in the shade is a more feasible solution.

Questions? Comments? Love letters? Send 'em to Editor@mountainbiketales.com.