New Arrow in the Quiver

It was Kent Eriksen's birthday last Friday, unbeknownst to me. On his birthday, I was fortunate enough to receive this:


Today was my first ride on it. Holy smokes, what a fun ride!!! I built it up last weekend: SRAM X.0 rear derailleur, grip shifters, and rear cassette, Hayes El Camino brakes, Bontrager Mustang hoops, Schwalbe Little Albert in front and RAcing Ralph in the back, Eriksen seat post, Fizik Gobi saddle, Easton EC70 bar, ITM stem, Race Face bb, Crank Brothers Cobalt cranks and Eggbeater pedals, Nokon cables. Almost forgot, Maverick SC32 fork and Maverick rear end.

I was a little skeptical of how it would perform in terms of climbing in particular, but Kent was pretty emphatic that I would like it. Man oh, man. I turned Poto in 1:18 door to door, my best time ever and on a bike I had not ridden before. The climbing characteristics were quite surprising - seemed much quicker going up. The downhills were less bouncy, allowing me to carry more speed. The rubber was surprising as well. I could feel them begin to break loose, then they would hook up and off I went. There is a transition from the 'meat' of the tire to the sidewall knobs. Once they grab, look out. I don't think it is as fast on the flats, but I don't seem to do many races that are flat any more.

For those of you keeping score at home: 4 Eriksen bikes and I love them all.

Mohican in 10 days!!

For those of you doing Lumberjack - beware the surprise racer!

One last pic: