VooDoo Cycles Blog

So this year for my Voodoo team bike I elected to go a little different direction. I’ve already got my Ti 29 Zaka frame from last year which is still my dedicated race bike, so I needed something to expand my quiver. John Benson has been raving about his Canzo 29 for the past year, so I figured I’d give it a try for this year. I have to admit that I was a little hesitant about a full suspension 29, considering the size that I ride and the potential for frame flex and pedal slop. I built the frame up with a XT groupo and some sick new Shimano 29ner wheels, which are a must for anyone who owns a 29ner. I tried two different forks a 100mm fox which the bike was designed for and a 130mm Manitou. Once again I am amazed at Joe Murray’s ability to design a bike. It has been a few years since I have ridden a full squish and I have to tell you that this bike is like nothing I remember. The first couple of rides took place in the red rock nar of Sedona, a proper proving ground. I had the 100mm fox fork installed first. The bike handled like it was on rails. It sailed through every loose turn without the slightest hesitation. The wheel track was spot on and this was only in the first few minutes of the ride. I began to notice that I was going faster through rocky sections then I would normally, I would see the rocks, prepare for the bike to bounce around and then re accelerate out of the rock garden, uh wait, there is no bike bouncing around and I felt like I was getting shot out of a cannon rather then leaving an otherwise speed sucking rock section. Ok, so the bike flows like water on the DH and rocks but how is it on the technical up hill? Once again i amazed at the design work here, the rear shock and suspension work perfectly to provide you with what you need when you need it. Getting the traction for the steep ups was no problem weather you were in the saddle or over the front of the bars. The bike was effortless on the big pick ups and rock moves, but still had positive enough steering that you didn’t feel like you were playing ping pong with your handlebars while you were climbing. The adjustability of the Rock Shox monarch eliminates any pedal bob issues, making it feel in a sense like a virtual hardtail. I mounted the Manitou 130 minute just in time for some of the Fagstaff trails to open up. The adjustment in steering to the new fork was minimal, the bike was able to climb some of the most technical trails in flagstaff like a goat. Now keep in mind this bike already railed on the DH with a 100mm fork, it was like a beast was unleashed with the 130mm Manitou, a few that have ridden with me have been jealous. Bottom line this bike lays to rest any notions that a full suspension 29 is lacking stiffness, stability and ride quality up or down. This is one of the most enjoyable bikes I have ever ridden.

Ah spring, the birds begin to chirp the grass has a hint of green in it and the trails start to open. For the past few months my riding hunger has been satisfied my the the canyons, ledges and slick rock of Sedona and the occasional desert shred in phx or Tucson. Which would be a dream to most people, many travel far and wide just to sample the sweet redrock single track. Us here in Flag just see Sedona as some place to ride a different style and pass the time till the real riding opens back up in Flagstaff, yes we are spoiled.
Spring also means it is time to reach down into bag of courage, questions one sanity, stair physical, mental, spiritual, ecumenical, reason in the face and start thinking about doing some mountain bike racing. “After all racing is the best training”- John Benson. Now that NORBA is basically a memory, one has to start getting creative with race choices. For a diesel engine rider like my self it takes some time to warm up to the out of the gate pop, so it is nice to start the season with some good endurance races. The Arizona Endurance Series and the New Mexico Endurance Series have some great races on the schedule this year. This weekend a bunch of us will be participating in the AES Sedona Big Frigg’n loop, 65 miles of slow technical single track, with the occasional naked hippy sitting on a vortex, yikes!. I will have the pleasure of riding my new Voodoo Canzo 29, Which I will talk about soon!

As I loaded up and headed to Tucson yesterday to hang with Snake, I decided to run my 26″ bike set up with a 29′er front and 650b/27.5 rear. The VooDoo sliding dropouts allow for 650b tires to fit when moved all the way rearward. I had ridden this config once last Summer and liked it and after my last ride at South Mountain that I wrote about thought it could be pretty sweet. So we woke up early and headed out to the Star Pass trails here. Took me a few turns to figure out the handling but quickly got used to it and was again amazed at how fast 650b is. I rode the majority of the ride in the big ring and thought the cornering was pretty predictable and stable.

This set up has made some pretty interesting geometry changes and I will list those here soon. But it definitely makes me interested in a true 650b bike and now I want to try a 69′er type set up as well.

I want to announce a new sponsor for Team VooDoo this year… Athlete Octane . Athlete Octane is a liquid nutritional supplement for endurance athletes. Here is a blurb from their site:
_________________________________
What is Athlete Octane™?
Maybe it is better to start by telling you what it isn’t, Athlete Octane™ is not an energy drink; It is not an energy Gel; We are not an electrolyte replacement. Athlete Octane™ is a powerful collection of nutrients that help to neutralize the free-radical damage to your body brought on by the stress of exercise. It works on the cellular level. Then we package it in liquid form for the best possible absorption. A portion of the exhaustion and soreness all athletes report is due to, on a cellular level, energy production systems being overwhelmed and free-radical damage to their body. Our system is simple, rather than taking a hand full of supplemental pills each day our athletes take 1 ounce of liquid. Taken daily athletes will notice

Reduced recovery time
Faster gains in fitness
Increase exercise tolerance
Greater endurance
Improved performance
Reduced soreness
Huge savings
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I have personally used this product for years and while I would rather just rely on my diet to provide everything I need to ride hard and recover, it is just not that easy. So check it out and try it for yourself. We are excited to represent AO and all of our other sponsors for 2009! ~jb

It has been a little too quiet here… so let’s catch up!

First - I want to announce all of the VooDoo racers for this year:

2009 Factory Team Roster:
Angela Sucich - WA - D-Jab
Mike “The Hammer” Raney - NM - Sobo & Aizan
Adam “The Edge” Cornette - AZ - Zaka
Thane Wright - CO - Aizan
Kevin (FKR) Rice www.sexmanasian.com- AZ - Aizan
John Benson - AZ - Canzo 29
Ben “Man Candy” Withey - AZ - Aizan

Grassroots Racing Members:
Jake “The Snake” Rubelt
Becky Bjork - OR - Canzo 26, Bokor, Bondye
Jason “Big Tex” Tullous - AZ - Aizan Single speed
Chris Latham - AZ - Aizan
Jim Gibson - AZ - Zaka
Dave “The Gnome” Herbold - AZ - Dambala x 2
Randy “BGR” Mason - AZ - Zaka
Rick Doornbos - MI - Sobo, Limba, Hoodoo SS
Tyler Sandoval - AZ - Sobo

Solvang, CA

Last weekend I went to Boulder, Colorado for a little vacation, Halloween extravaganza, and cyclocross action. The weather was incredible, it was truly fall. All the leaves were changing and the trails were covered with colors. As soon as I built up my Voodoo Limba, stopped by the bike shop, and got a cup of coffee, Lauren and I went for a bike ride. We rode up the Boulder Creek path… awesome! The creek runs right through town and is loaded with trout. I wish I had my fly rod. After a sweet ride we went to the Kitchen, where my friend Jake works, to get some grub. Jake styled us out with some delicious Halloween lunch. The costumes were radical. Later that night we hit up Pearl Street for the festivities, complete with the annual naked pumpkin run. There were hundreds of naked people wearing jack-o-lanterns on their heads, running through downtown Boulder. A little disgusted, we decided to check out a few clubs, had a few drinks and made it home by 1, I think…
Saturday we drove to Nederland. This small mountain town is at about 9,000ft and is blessed with great single track. I rode the cross bike around West Magnolia while Lauren went for a run. The Boulder Cup Cyclocross C1 race was on Sunday. Man, was I ever in for an ass whopping.
This was the fastest start I have ever been in, period. For the first time ever I got an extremely good start position, 3rd row. The first few laps were fun, I felt like crap but I was in a decent place. From that point on I was just going backwards. What a humbling experience to race cross with those guys. It was also motivating for me to start riding more. I can’t wait for mountain bike season!

-Tim

The crowds were insane!!! I wish all races were like this…

Cactus Cup Time Trial

It’s been awhile… I went to Vegas a week ago to race the Cactus Cup. The racing was remarkable. I never knew that Vegas, of all places, had sweet single track. It was cool to race and chat with the World Champion, Christoph Sauser, after watching him dominate in Italy this summer. After the cross country race he suggested that I come to Europe to race and said, “The level is much higher and the fields are much deeper. And the courses are designed for the spectator, not the rider.” This means they are shorter loops that are visible and accessible, with spectators lining the entire course. Sounds pretty sweet! Anyways, cool experience to talk with that guy. I had a good weekend, beating Sauser in the time trial and super d, and ending up 7th overall out of 4 stages. Casinos and the depressing people in them gross me out. Then I headed back to Flag for a busy week of school and work.
(didn’t touch my bike once)

When Andy mentioned to me that he was swinging through Flagstaff on his way back to Durango and was going to do the Pines to the Mines I gave it some thought and decided to go for it. This is an annual event put on by the good guys at Pay N Take. I have never done this race/ride before because of other conflicting races, but this year I made it happen! So, it starts at Pay N Take and finishes in Jerome at an old mine. The 80+ mile dirt course was amazing. Good views, lots of wildflowers, technical single track, excellent company, all in all just another great day on the bike! Andy and I rode together the whole day until he decided to “shatter the record” on the last climb into Jerome. That’s where I started fading and cramping. When I got to the finish with a time of 4:49, Andy was nowhere to be found. Turns out, he missed the final turn into the finish and ended up riding halfway to Cottonwood. I jumped on Rebie’s Honda Trail 90 and mobbed into Jerome to find him. Sure enough he was pedaling through town looking beat down and confused. I explained that he missed the last turn, with a smile he said, “It wasn’t long enough, I wanted a few more miles.”

Andy shattered the record of 6 hours by almost an hour and a half and I finished second with Precious in third. Thanks to Scott, Scott, Paul, Brian and anyone else who helped put on such a great event!

Fresh from the powder coat shop to our shop. VooDoo’s Monster Cyclo-Cross bike. It takes disc brakes and fits a 2.1″ 29″ tire. Oh, and it will have a custom dirt drop stem and WTB bars. F@$k yeah!

Bitch.

This my first attempt at blogging. I know that all of you are holding your breath waiting for life changing insights from the edge, but for now all I can give you is my blogging virginity. With that said I prepare my self for another amazing day of saving the world one bicycle at a time. Satisfying the masses with bright colors, chain rings, new “S”s, the smell of fresh rubber and the promise of a glorious single track experience, well at least for the lucky ones who actually take the time to stop shuttling shultz and explore the less traveled parts of the mtn.
Yesterday I rode a bitchen new section of the AZT (Arizona Trail) on the NW side of the peaks. It is not fully completed so I am reluctant to disclose it’s exact location, but I can tell you that when this section and the rest of the peaks AZT is completed Flagstaff riders will be able to enjoy the “I rode the same single track for 15 mi.” experience similar to what one finds in the mountain bike destination towns of Colorado. It will be a nice change from the short webbed network of the dry lakes and common Flagstaff trails. Everybody needs an epic ride now and then.
Thats all I have for now, not very exciting I know, but keep the faith.

And Remember, Don’t Stand To Close To The EDGE, you might fall off!