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- Nov 12, 2015
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@Tricia and spent the morning on the on the Pivot Mach 5.5 and Cannondale Trigger 3 and we both had a great time. We headed down to Carson City to the Clear Creek trail with a friend that lives near by. The Clear Creek trail is a gradual climb for a couple of miles and part of this experiment is to see if we do want e-bikes and will a modern "all mountain" one-by will be enough to get us out riding. Both bikes are mediums which seemed to work for both of us, Tricia is on the smaller end of the medium range and I am on the larger end. For a comparision, Tricia took the Trigger small out a couple of days prior and it jsut felt too small and I had tried the Monterra (similar geometry) in a large and it just felt cumbersome, another point of reference is the Specialized I have had in the past were 18" or Med so the size feels right.
Tricia started the day on the Pivot and I was on the Cannondale. About 3 miles in we switched without discussing our experiences after another couple of miles we stopped and compared notes. It really wasn't an apples to apples comparision in that the Cannondale has a list price arounf $4K and the Pivot and list of over $7K. In realilty the Pivot is not an option for us based strickly on price and if the Mach did blow either of us away, we would look at a lower price version of the Mach like the Mach 6. There is no question that Pivot makes a great bike and the Mach is no exception but price aside it was the feel of the Pivot that didn't resonate with either Tricia or myself the same way one brand or model of ski doesn't float someone's boat. The Pivot felt heavy and I wouldn't say cumbersome but a bit more disconnected than the Cannondale. The ride position was also a little different in that the seating position was a but more upright with the pedals feeling a little more under my feet and I felt it took a bit more to efficiantly actually comfortably pedal.
The Cannondale Trigger felt perfectly comfortable from the first pedal stroke. I had tried the Jeckyl and that had just too much slack in fork then I tried the Habit 6, but a lower priced one at $2K and it just felt like a bike. The Trigger was fun and responsive more like a 90mm ski verses a 100mm ski. The shorter rear stays on the Trigger made the bike extreme responsive and both Tricia and I had the same opinion of the Trigger and agreed IF we had buy something today, both Tricia and I would be happy with a Trigger.
Where does this leave us and e-bikes? Well they absolutely still on the table as are other options. Aditionally, we have been talking to bike manufacturers to get on more bikes so we can review them. We are starting with manufacturers that are both ski and bike brands that we can help create awareness. In Setpember we will be going to Interbike to preview the following year's bikes and have reports from the floor like we do at SIA. So, you expect more bike reviews and talk here and we are looking to host bike discussion that mirrors what we have going on with skiing.
If you're gonna be testing bikes, you'd better get a shock pump. You and Trish switched bikes at the mid-point of the ride, I'm guessing there's pretty sizable weight difference between the two of you. You are both getting shortchanged on performance if you didn't change suspension settings when you switched. I carry a nice little Lezyne pump with a gauge that I can barely read, if I were testing, I'd bring my digital Fox pump. Really, if you plan to do a lot of testing, you should get a Shockwiz to help guide you through setup. Until you have a lot of experience, you are going to need it or your test will be blind leading the blind. I mean there's a difference between demoing a few bikes and testing bikes.