Product Review: Mavic Fury Mtb Shoes-Great Race Shoes--But Not a Unique Choice

I won a certificate redeemable for these shoes at the MMRacing raffle early in the fall. Matt joked that the winner sends in the cert. and gets the shoes like 6 months later. I thought Matt knew something terrible about Mavic’s supply chain. In fact Mavic turned the certificate around with a week of my mailing it. Impressive. Matt was making a joke about Mavic’s incredible efficiency and customer support and I just didn’t get it. All these years of cycling and this is my first experience with Mavic. So far, so good.

Originally I had planned on ordering these Fury’s for my tiny-footed wife, but Mavic does not make a shoe small enough for her. Juniors and petite women, look elsewhere.

These yellow shoes have become ubiquitous in the New England cyclocross scene. They are everywhere. Mavic appears to be sponsoring everyone who asks and comping everyone else in an effective saturation campaign. Always trying to be different, I was initially put off by these shoes. I was concerned that wearing what everyone else was wearing would somehow hurt my standing as a rebel, an outcast and most importantly, a dedicant to Italian cycling heritage. In fact I did get heckled a bit during my first few races wearing these.

But these shoes perform. F--- appearances. While I may be a rebel and an Ital-o-phile, I am a racer first. Competitive advantage trumps fashion (only slightly). After my first 2 rides in these shoes, I was sold. Maybe all these other riders are onto something and I was just the last to know.

The first thing you notice is that these shoes are stiff, the upper particularly. The upper is a combination of smooth synthetic leather and stiff plastic (maybe it’s some form of carbon fiber) and durable, yet breathable mesh. The hard parts offer stability and clean up easily, while the mesh breathes well (both air and liquid pass in and out of the shoe easily). The hard parts clean up well time and time again, but the mesh went from a eye-popping yellow to a dull yellowish brown after my first race (I hosed them off after the race and scrubbed them in the tub at the motel). But isn’t that what you’d expect after saturating the yellow fabric in mud for two days? I find that the open mesh pattern allows more solid matter to get inside the shoe than a less open design (Sidi, Specialized). On the flip side, water and muck can easily flow out as well, instead of pooling and squishing inside long after went through the puddle.

Unlike many competitors, these uppers are not trying to imitate leather, they are hydrocarbon and carbon, which does not conform or deform. Luckily they are shaped well for my feet, so this isn’t a problem. If these don’t fit like a glove in the store, DO NOT BUY THEM! Your foot might conform, but that seems like too much discomfort just to jump on a cyclocross fashion bandwagon.

The top of the shoe is capped with a hard plastic. When a rock bounces up or you mistakenly jam your toe into an obstruction, the cap protects your toes from harm.

The ratcheting system is well designed, though does not feel as durable as competitors’. The bed that strap rests in is purposely shaped to stabilize the strap.



Maybe this allows Mavic to use a smaller, seemingly less durable strap? Once the shoe is on, I don’t think about it. But the ratchet can prove stubborn to remove when packed with mud, more so than competitors’. The middle spider strap has a length adjustment, which I found useful (my narrow feet required me to shorten the strap).

One of my problems with Sidi’s off-road shoes is that they are basically a Sidi road shoe with lugs glued onto the sole. Mavic has designed a highly function and well thought through off-road shoe.

The sole lugs are grippy yet durable, even in sloppy conditions. They even have rubber on the arch of the foot so that you can grip your pedal well if you are a user of the “step through/ mark McCormack” method of cyclocross dismount.



This middle grip is also useful if you miss a clip in, allowing you to apply some power even when not clipped in.

The über-stiff carbon sole transfers pedaling power efficiently, offering the racer assurance that they are not squandering precious Watts in flexing the sole (another problem with Sidi off-road shoes). The shoes come with a thin metal plate that goes underneath the cleat to prevent the pedal from wearing/damaging the sole of the shoe (a problem that has plagued my 5 sets of Sidis).




I have found that this little bit of replaceable metal (shoes came with 4 plates), makes clipping in more positive.

The stiff sole and protective upper offer noticeable advantages on run ups. They behave similar to a rigid hiking boot, allowing you to jam your toes into cracks without fear of harming your feet. Also the stiff sole allows you to leverage your toe hold and use the sole as a lever to raise yourself quickly and efficiently.

Overall I am impressed with the Mavic Fury’s performance, though I feel like a fashion victim when wearing them. While eye popping yellow is a statement, I am not quite sure what it says: “I am a follower;” “I jump on bandwagons;” “I like garish colors;” “I want to be just like [insert cyclocrossworld.com pro of choice here].”

I got my shoes for free, so I took what was offered. But you can get yours in black if you pay for them; I haven’t seen white offered yet. Before trying them, I would not have bought these shoes with my own money. But now that I have sampled them, I am sold.

As for durability, time will tell. But so far so good.

Product Review: Ergon GR2 Grip--RMM May Have Been Saved From Arthritis

>

So I started mountain biking this summer. I have been racing regularly and riding offroad at least once a week, usually twice. While I have noticed an increase in bike handling skills, I have also noticed that my hands are really sore after a long ride. I asked other off road riders if they had the same problem and most of them indicated that it came with the territory; they told me to man up.

A stranger to manning up on the bike, I got to thinking about ways to fix the problem. Carpal Tunnel affects many cyclists, and I don't want to be one of them. After investigating the available handlbars and grips, I settled on the Ergon GR2. I got these because the grip is actually shaped like the palm of a hand. Ergon's website pointed out that both the grip angle and the bar end are independently adjustable, and if that wasn't enough to justify the expense, they come in two sizes and Ergon has a bunch of scientific looking diagrams.

Set up was simple. My first time out, I set the grips how I intuitively thought they should be and then adjusted them on the trail to dial them in. Overall, it took about an hour of riding and stopping to adjust before I was happy with them. I haven't touched them since that first ride.

My hands are no longer sore after a long ride. The grips do exactly what they are meant to do. They spread the stress of offroad cycling over a larger section of your hand than normal grip. Instead of your hand adapting to the grip, the grip is adapted to the hand. I won't try to sell you on bar ends, you either already have them or you think that they are for dorks.

Since I have a larger contact area with the bars, I have noticed differences in how I grip the bars in various situations. For instance, I no longer get the white knuckle death grip when situations get hairy. I am not saying that the grips are making me a better bike handler, but they are making me more comfortable, which inspires confidence.

My only functional complaint about this particular model is the bar end. If you are going to have a bar end, I would prefer it to be longer. Ergon offers a model with a longer bar end, I just didn't choose it, which is my mistake.

The grips are not light. If you are hyper concerned with grams, you can upgrade to the model with carbon fiber bar ends, but that increases the cost to about $100. But even these baubles are heavier than standard lock-ons or Oury's.

Speaking of which, even the magnesium grips I bought weren't cheap at around $50 retail. My justification for the expense was as follows: Wait, do I need a justification for spending money on a part that will improve my cycling experience? If you think that I do, perhaps you are reading the wrong blog.

The last question most people ask when they are considering a new part is: does it improve the overall appearance of the bike? Or: does it look fast? The answer to both of these questions is "No." These grips look goofy. Natasha laughed when she first saw them.



I have grown used to them, but I expect that my friends will laugh at them when they see the bike. I have never been one to succumb to peer pressure. Furthermore, I am almost 10 years older than most of my cycling friends with all of the amplified aches and pains associated with increased age.

I am a sucker for ergonomics. I sleep on a Tempurpedic mattress; I am current sitting on a high falutin' multi adjustable office chair with memory foam cushions. On my road bike, I use ITM K-Sword handle bars, because the handlebars are shaped exactly like my hands (I'd review them, but they are no longer in production). Basically, Ergon had me in mind when they developed their product line.

If you are experiencing hand pain after rides, you should consider checking these grips out. If you have no issues with pain, stay with what you are running because those grips are definitely lighter than Ergon grips. I had hand problems. Ergon's have helped alleviate them. I am very happy with my new grips. Based on my experience with this model, I will be trying some of Ergon's other grips when I get my next mountain bike.

Race Report: Hodges Dam Village Dam Race 2009

Beforehand/Background

Perhaps I am delusional. Or perhaps I have am hyper averse to sandbagging. All summer I have maintained that I would be upgrading after this race. This season, I have consistently placed top 5 in Root 66 cat 2 races, podiuming most of the time. My plan was to rest up and slay this race. It is the Mtb Massachusetts State Champions and I like gold medals. But we all know how that goes, planning on slaying a specific race...

While this is my first season racing mountain bikes, I have raced this course the previous two years with my wife. It has become sort of a tradition with us. She is more involved and interested in mountain bikes while I am more into road. Obviously we both share a love of cyclocross. But this race has become "our" race, since it is the only mtb race that I have done before this season and I used to do it in order to race "with" Natasha. I usually do well on this course, so I was confident.

Pre race there was little drama. The wife and I (who I had to prod and cajole into racing [she had hoped to upgrade before this race, she didn't feel good, she isn't trained], in fact, I had to give her registration money in cash in order to finally convince her to prereg) arrived about two hours early. We dressed, ate, got numbers, warmed up and prerode the first third of the course without incident. I felt good. Normally, I show up to mountain bike races after hard training weeks, sore and already broken. Today, I felt supple and relaxed.

Earlier this week, I learned that Scott Rosenthal planned on racing the cat 2 race with me. I consider him my prime nemesis. In anything off road, I can't beat him.

When I was riding back from preriding the course (against the course direction), I passed Rosey going in the opposite direction. I felt that we were close to start, so being the gentleman that I am, I asked my opponent how long til start, indicating that we should be heading to staging. He assured my that he had time.

On the start line I was more nervous than normal. But no Rosey. I looking up from my fidgeting and adjusting, expecting to see him barreling the wrong direction down the starting straight. No dice. We started without him.

The Race

I didn't get the hole shot. In fact, I was about 8th in a tightly packed line heading through a long packed sand straight away. The lead rider tried to turn onto a trail that wasn't part of the course. He nearly took down Michael Wissell of Back Bay and caused major confusion.

After I settled in, it was clear that riders ahead of me had overextended themselves; I didn't want to overextend also, so I sat tight.

At about 3/4 of a kilo in, there is a slight kicker with loose gravel and sand. I should have used a match to gain a place or two, because the guy who's wheel I was on bobbled, which forced me to dismount, as I was riding his wheel way to close. Luckily, I dig hard when I run up and was able to pass him there even though he was riding and I was running.

The first single track section runs through a severely degraded forest. I suspect that sections have been recently harvested for lumber. The trail alternates between single track and twisty, gnarly dirt work roads. Most of the sections have a clear line that is smooth and flowy some with berms. The shoulders of the track are rideable, but bumpy and rooty. Passing in this section was possible but difficult since we were riding fast, the trail snakes around and undulates and when you built some speed to make a move, it was often squandered when you came off the smooth line to pass. I remained tight on the leaders' wheels through here, but was growing antsy, as I had gas in the tank and opponents were stacking up behind me.

About a quarter of the way through the lap, the trail becomes bumpier and somewhat slippery from a recent shower. There was a split in this section. 3 riders got away and I found myself behind the two riders who allowed the gap to form. I wasn't happy with the pace and was infuriated to see that I was getting gapped. No one was on my wheel. I panicked. I started darting into any offshoot that looked promising only to find the increased momentum causing me to bump around wildly. After 3 expensive attempts I settled in, planning to pass at the forced walk.

Yes, you read that right. There was a forced walk this year. There has been an over abundance of rain this season, and while most of the course was dryish, it seemed to become more saturated as the lap progressed. This first of four water sections was a flooded stream. Apparently it was deep. They had thrown a bunch of pallets in the water, called it a "floating bridge" and stationed a marshal there to make sure that you didn't try to ride it. Getting onto the pallets required you either to leap over 3-4 feet of deep water and risk slipping on the partially submerged wood or step up to your knee in the water and then up onto the sinking, sloshing pallets.

It paid to keep running after the floating bridge since remounting in the ensuing mudpit with its slick longitudinal roots didn't seem like the best way to clip in and build momentum.

After trying to pass for a mile or so, I was finally able to power around the guy ahead of me while on foot right after the bridge. Of course I did a wild cyclocross remount right in the middle of the trail to insure that he knew I was serious and so that he'd think twice about passing with my legs flailing about. I had to fight hard to keep my spot. He fought back and started playing chicken after we were back on the bikes. I yelled at him not to chop my wheel. He chastised me for passing him. I had the front and the advantage, but he took a few digs. I am no stranger to knocking handlebars, throwing elbows and shouldering. It didn't come to that. After he figured out that I was assertive, he backed off. When I finally dropped him, he was gone, long gone.

Now I was bearing down on Maison Chen whom I have been battling all season. I powered around Maison on a slight rise, apologizing for how close I cut it. I didn't endanger him, but it was a bit narrow. I had the momentum and there was a tiny space...

I dug deep to create a gap. Half of dropping someone is quickly creating that gap in order to break their spirit. If someone hovers in front of you, you'll be tempted to reel them in and pass. If they quickly ride away from you, you know you are bested and you sit up.

I got a 15-20 second gap inside of a kilo. The trail left the rocky section and fed onto a flowy, but slick and tacky section. I was still in the red zone intent on getting out of Maison's sight. I slid out and fell on a wet diagonal root at the top of a roller. This was not a tricky section. I literally riding far above my limit, with the vomit in my throat and seeing cross eyed. I just didn't see it. Of course it took a few seconds to untangle and remount. In my panicked mind, I had conceded the race to the 2 chasers. In reality, I got up quickly, recovered well and rode even faster.

There are a number of single track and also work road sections, all rather flat. These were good riding, but uneventful. I powered hard on the work roads, putting my roady power to good use.

But, but there were flooded stream/swamp crossings. There were 3 or 4 sections of trail/road that were fully immersed under water. They were all more or less rideable, but the water came up to my knees in one of them. One of the others had hidden rocks and ruts under the murky water that would knock you off balance unexpectedly. These crossings/wadings, didn't present a problem, but they were noteworthy. After reading Sweeney's rants about trail maintenance vs. abuse and about mtb race organizers losing venues because of trail abuse, the routing seemed ill advised.

There were a couple of sections of deep mud. One was about 20 meters long with roots. I ran this. The other was basically a deep divot on the trail filled with squishy mud. It had a high root on the other side. Visually, it looked like you could ride over it, but your whole front wheel sank in up to the quick release (26 inch wheels) and was unable to get over the root. I hit it every lap. First lap I made it through, second I endo'ed and bounced out of it while dabbing my foot, last lap I lost my front wheel and went over the bars. I can't be sure, but I think that it was getting deeper every lap.

The second lap was uneventful until the start/finish where Rosey was loitering in street clothes. He told me that I was 8 minutes down on first place. 8 minutes in two 30ish minute laps! Who the hell is this sandbagger? Well he is actually a friendly acquaintance of mine, Mike Wissell of Back Bay. I prerode the course with him. He was telling me that his upgrade requests have been denied by USAC since all of his results are at local races (read Root 66) instead of larger national events.

Mid Race Report Rant

I didn't realize that the new strict "national level event only" upgrade policy was in effect for cat 2 to 1 upgrades. Jesus Christ. To reiterate Sweeny's complaint (one amongst many): it doesn't matter who enters a local race and how much time you put into them, a Root 66 race is a regional race and results from those races can not be used for upgrade points. Let's use an example. If I beat the current cat 2 national champion in a clean Root 66 race (no mechanicals) and I had other Root 66 podium results, no matter, they will not allow me to upgrade.

Thanks USAC, thanks. Now I will have to explain to everyone why I am still racing cat 2 despite podiuming almost every race. Thanks. (Note: I am sending in an upgrade request later today. I expect that it will be denied)

Back to the Race

Seriously, my whole race happened in the first lap. After that, I kept the pace as high as possible and wished for death. I became sloppy in the second lap. I didn't crash, I just noticed that my lines weren't as precise and that I was hitting roots and rocks that I normally would have avoided. I passed a number of riders, most of them from other fields. Some may have been from my field, but I wasn't keeping count.

I finished strong. Sloppy, but strong.

Oh and I beat Rosey. He got to the Start late. He claims to have been putting a dent in the 6 minute deficit when he ripped his derailleur hanger off after either failing to change his chain or using a chain that was too short (his text left the details unclear). Getting to the start on time and maintaining a bike are part of racing, so I will call this my first win against Rosey offroad.

I rode as good a race as I am able. Every race I handle the bike better, becoming less of a roady and more comfortable off road. I kept my power high throughout, evenly dosing my effort so that I was able to finish strong.

I finished 4th. While would have preferred to win, but I rode a good race and I can't complain.

Reflection

So, I guess the question that we have to ask is this: Do I deserve an upgrade? I can't seem to win a cat 2 race. I never finish outside of the top 5, often 2nd or 3rd. I am consistent, but I consistently don't win.

Also, I am now 2nd in the Root 66 series. I am behind Maison Chen by very few points (under 10). Considering that he has never beat me, if I don't upgrade, I could very possibly win the whole series if I show up to the rest of the races and achieve decent results (better than Maison by a couple of places). Considering that the highlight of my 2009 racing season has been winning a prime by coming around Colin H. Murphy (after he dragged me around for 3/4 of a lap) at Wells back in early April, I could use the results to affirm that I am actually racing bikes as opposed to just pinning on numbers and getting dropped.

The Wife

Natasha, on the other, hand killed her race. She finished way ahead of her nearest competitor. She is the Massachusetts state champion. Last year one of her season goals was to win this race. She took second behind Rebecca Wellons (to be fair, RW was forced to race Sport since that is/was the highest cat you can race with a one day license).

Since I paid her registration fee, drove her to the race and because I have been considering buying one, Natasha gave me the Blackburn Airstick 2 Stage mini pump that she got for winning today. Seriously this is the actual pump that I have checked off on my next group buy order sheet. Even though I got 3rd in the state, one could argue that I won, since I got to make out with the female state champ and took her prize as a present.

Race Report: 17th West Hill Shop Mountain Bike Race--Root 66--2009

My first impression of the course, as shown by Cary:

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

I learned a few things this weekend. First and foremost, racing mountain bikes involves far more suffering than criterium racing. Saturday I raced the Twilight Criterium and was able to pull a couple of breaks back, get in a few breaks, bridge to and then sit in a break or two and then give the initial leadout to my riders during the final sprint. 4th and 8th (?) for Kyle and Ryan respectively. I worked hard in this race. But man did I work harder on Sunday.

I had been told that the West Hill Shop Race had some climbs. I had been told that it was hard. Little did I know. Second thing that I learned, when competitive cyclists of all stripes tell you that something is hard, believe them.

Wilcox and I left Cambridge with plenty of time to get to our 2pm start. The Pros and cat 1's were racing before us, so I was hoping that we'd get both a pre-ride and course intelligence from finishers.

It was raining as we drove into VT. They looked like passing showers, but when we got to the dirt roads near the venue (after getting lost when the signs that the promoter told us to follow proved to be flopped over and thereby not visible) we found them to be quite pasty and saturated. Lesson Three: If a mountain bike race promoter tells you that there will be signs, Google map it anyway, the signs are usually useless.

We got to ride the easy part of the course and listen to blown riders tell us that it was hard...and oh, Cary pointed out that my tires that were poorly suited to the course.




Then right before staging, Colin Reuter questioned my low tire pressure (though once he found out that I was running tubeless, he approved). Since I have only the tires that came with the bike, Racing Ralphs it was, tough shit for RMM.

The start was fairly tame. 20-30 dudes in my field (cat 2 30-39), most of them behind me. I was settled at third place,

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

fighting hard to keep it. After the hole shot, which was at the end of a 150 meter field, the course had some smooth single track that was slick though tacky. I was feeling good, though I was working quite hard. I eventually came around 2nd place and had the leader in sight. I was near my limit, breathing hard and panicked since we were only 3-5 minutes into an hour and a half race. I considered closing the gap and coming around 1^st too...lost opportunities.

I remained in 2nd with a traffic jam of better bike handlers behind me. I would gap them on the flats and climbs, stay about even in the smooth "S" turns and get caught quickly on the descents and the technical sections. The trails were narrow enough in the middle of the course, that it was difficult to pass. I was riding fast enough that a rider would have to dig deep to get around me, but not fast enough to create a gap big enough to make up for my poor descending and technical skills. It was frustrating to clearly outride people on the climbs and then have them close a 15-30 second gap in less than a minute by just not being pussies. Lesson Four: skill trumps fitness in mtb racing.

My tires were completely compacted with mud within 5 minutes and I was slipping all over the course. Damn you Cary, I probably wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't pointed it out. Lesson five: tire selection is really important in mountain bike racing.

On the first really fast descent, I missed a corner and went off the course by a few feet. I didn't crash, but I had to unclip a foot and hop back over to the trail. The line of riders stacked up behind me came whooshing by in an evenly spaced line and I had no choice but to wait for each one to pass before I could resume embarrassing myself. I was now in tenth and pissed.

I kept this group in sight. They remained about 30 seconds up the road until the first big climb. The climb was steep. Not so steep that you'd loose traction, but the tacky slickness combined with the roots, left you in danger of slipping out and being forced to dismount. Even on the first lap there were riders walking. I started in my middle ring and locked out my front fork and inefficiently stomped while out of the saddle. This worked well until I realized that this was not a power climb, that the climb wound up much further than it originally appeared to. Lesson Six: PreRide the course.

I made contact with my original group and came around a couple of riders. I was digging quite deep. It was only halfway through the first lap and I was doubting my ability to keep the pace.

I fell in Eric Petterson from Back Bay at the top of the climb. I was in front and flailing in the corners. He graciously pointed out the he had prerode the course and offered to lead. I gladly allowed him to. Minutes later, he announced that a certain descent was a place to go fast. He rode away from me and then yardsaled into the woods after missing a corner.

There were a number of short, technical power climbs. They were rideable, but if you bobbled, you were dismounting and running (read trudging) the remainder, as they offered no place to remount. I saw many riders dismount before these sections. I gamely tried to ride every section, even in the last lap. I was able to pass riders as they walked. Often I'd bobble halfway up, but sometimes I didn't and either way, I got around those competitors. Lesson Seven: try to ride everything, every time.

The final climb is right before the finish line. On a dry day, it would just be a moderately steep, straight dirt climb on a relatively smooth fire road. Today, it was a slippery muddy mess. Most of the time you would have fairly good traction, but then you'd deviate from the packed part and sink into squelchy sucking mud that sapped your momentum.





Then you'd stand to power out and hit an exposed root and your rear wheel would slip out. I was able to remain on the bike, but I was in the little ring and cursing the whole time. Hecklers took thier shots, but I was enclosed in a silent fortress of pain that mere taunts could not penetrate.

I was forced to relent on the second lap. I had overdrawn my account on the two climbs in lap one. In a road race, the peloton would take it easy on the flats, maybe set people up for the climb, in the leadup to it and then suffer up the climb. In this race, I was arriving at the base of the climbs blown and then putting out watts. Unsustainable. Lesson eight: pacing oneself is important.

There were no split times, but I think that I was faster in the second lap. Since I now knew the course, I was more confident in the tech sections and the descents. I recovered on the flats by riding a little below all-out. I still put in efforts on the climbs, attempting to ride everything. I passed a rider or two. On the final climb in the second lap, I seriously considered pulling out. I was struggling to complete the climb and was doubting that I would make it up it even this time, let alone a third. I think the only thing that kept me going was the fact that Cary would make fun of me forever if I did.

The third lap was pure hell. I knew the course, but was spent. Getting out of the saddle to go over a technical section was a chore. I was sloppy.

Near the bottom of the first big climb, a rider from my field came out of nowhere and passed me. I felt like I was at my limit, but I dug in and kept him within spitting distance, getting right on him at the crest. He easily gapped me on the descent, taking crazy risks to hold me off. I stayed off the brakes and kept him in sight.

He took a corner into a mud bog poorly. I didn't see the crash, but I sensed it. I passed him as he sorted out his bike (mechanical failure). I didn't see him until the final climb a few minutes later.

At the base of the final climb, I set a pace that was sustainable. The climb was steep enough and the mud squishy enough that keeping enough momentum to remain upright and moving was difficult. People were cheering. But wait, they were looking through me. They were cheering for the mud bog crasher who was closing on me. I looked back and estimated his speed versus mine and dug for a little more. My left hip flexor and my right inner quad were both threatening to cramp up irreparably. He continued to close as his friend cheered and I struggled.

Once I got over near the crest of the climb, I knew it was over. I wasn't sure how far he was from me, but no matter how blown I am, I have a sprint left. I locked out the fork, got to the big ring and laid it down like I was at the track.

I felt like I won, but the officials thought that I got 5th. The evidence was on their side.

On the other hand, Wilcox won the single speed (out of 2 riders), but got 4th overall out of his starting group (cat 2 19-29) and put 2 minutes into my time.

New Bike in the Stable: Fuji SLM 2.0

I have been making room in the stable and in the budget for a race worthy mountain bike.   One of our team sponsors, Fuji, was offering this awesome carbon hardtail at a great price, so I snapped one up. 

Obviously the full XT parts spec, the wet white Ritchey bits, and the 22 lb built weight (actual with pedals) and the fancy fork with pop lock  helped push me in the direction of this bike.  

Initially, I was sceptical of getting a carbon fiber XC frame as my first foray into carbon frames, but after talking to enough experienced riders, it seems like a solid frame.  

Better pics and product reviews to follow.