Considered taking a ride at my local mall like this....

Cannondale's Peter Sagan cycling skillz

Peter Sagan take's racking his bike very serious...

Have an excellent weekend !!!

@thehoggles

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime

2013 Summer, let's do this !!!

Road Bike Party - Martyn Ashton style

Martyn Ashton - Road Bike Party (Yes this is over the top)

 

2013 Scott Spark 910 

2013 Scott Spark 910 Review via: @Mac5bikes

First thing that I can tell you that the 2013 Scott Spark 910 is with out a doubt is an exceptionally fun bike to ride. I was a bit skeptical to be honest with you...but once my pedals were on it I knew I was in a committed single-track relationship. Geometry and fit wise out of the box, I felt to be a very comfortable cockpit (size med I weight 185lbs), plenty of rider room to move about as they say. This trail worth steed took off like a rapped ape...from the very first pedal stroke. Big plus I have to say that is pretty much dominating the suspension marketplace right now is Scott's patented;  "Twinloc" Lever System.

It's rather intuitive from the get go..three simple adjustments to both the front and rear suspension make the Spark 910 hungry for pretty much anything you could throw at it." The open position allows full travel, front and rear. One click switches the rear shock to Traction mode, while the fork remains fully active. Click again and rear shock and fork lock at the same time. No other bike in the world offers this user friendly system. Found on the Spark & Genius and Genius LT models. Only available for Nude2 shocks on 2013 or previous year models."

In a nut shell I found myself using the Twinloc shifting feature more than I would have anticipated. Alot goes into this particular feature, and I'm deff a HUGE fan. Bottom line if you have not had a chance to demo this technology, get into Mac 5 Bike today !!! 

Scott Spark Suspension Technology video

Nude 2 Shock

Geometry wise I found the bike to definitely be race inspired, the front fork spec was the Fox 32 Float Factory CTD. Stable, decent riding fork with minimal adjust out of the box to get it trail ready. The rear "Nude 2" shock handled every aspect of the ride with east, this particular spec. complimented the Spark 910 very nicely. Torsionaly very predictable, liked varied single track, dicey rock gardens, sketchy downs alike. The one attribute that most certainly makes this ride what it  is is the massive oversize head tube. I can tell you that when this first trickled down from the road marketplace I knew we would be seeing it out on the mtn platforms as well. Another key details the Scott really did their homework on was their direct post mount for the disc brakes. May not make much sense out of the gate, but for those of you wight weenies out there this is a HUGE !!!

Tapered Headtube

Direct Post Disc Mount

Bottom bracket height wise I did feel was a bit low. One feature that I do want to point out but did not get a chance to play with was the adjustable BB height; 

2013 Scott Spark w/ adjustable BB height

This is another key factor with the 2013 Scott Spark that unquestionable helps you dial the ride to your particular riding style as well as the local trail system you frequent.

Torsion-ally from a power transfer perspective, spot on, sprints, climbs, rollers etc...yeah the good stiff. Very crisp an reliable acceleration in and out of corners..bonus!!!

Shifting was a dream, I definitely have not spent enough time riding the new Shimano XT group, excellent trail performance all day long, Hats off to the Shimano camp for really doing their homework on this one. Couple of big take a ways; the shifting even under a ridiculous pedal load was truly effortless (which I LOVED) Can't tell you how many drive-train fails even in rec riding situations I can recall. Crisp, to the point... also was digging the fact that you did'nt necc, have to always use the thumb shifter to up shift as well as down shift!!! Shimano even adds up an additional "micro"shifter paddle adjust as well !!!

Overall I found the 2013 Scott Spark 910 that I demo'd from Mac 5 bikes to be definitely well worth ones time and investment. If your looking to get a bike that has the absolute best technology suspension on the marketplace...here you go!!! The Spark 910 offers up a very race inspired chassy, yet finds it's self very much at home to the rider that want's a very balanced trail experience. Looking for that unique value oriented bike then the 2013 Scott Spark 910 is for you.

 Please stop into Mac 5 bikes and get yourself set up with Scott Spark 910 today... and remember be sure to tell em that; "The Hoggle" sent you !!!

A big thanks to both Chris & Laura, you guys rock, love what you did with the new shop!!!

 For more info please contact; 

Mac 5 Bikes 

585-264-4106

21 East Main Street Rochester, New York 14580

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter @TheHoggle  !!!

 

 

Yeah this is some sick riding, only wish I could do half of what this dude is throwing down. Mad respect for these skills...

 

 

Bike Guy ~

2013 Specialized Epic Expert Carbon 29r

Specialized's 2013 Epic Expert Carbon 29r offers up an amazing amount of value and incredible on trail performance. Starting with the simple aspects of easy suspension set up is the all new "Auto-Sag" feature. This was done in little less than a few minutes and I was ready to ride. The way it works; over inflate rear shock, have customer hop on & straddle the bike then back of the rear brain shock valve. Typically out of the box for most consumers this works ideal. For myself as I was putting it into more of a race scenario you'd want to run it with about 20lbs more give or take.

 So now you're probably going to want to know how it rides....As an 185lb expert level marathon racer I was pleasantly pleased. The Epic offered a quick and complainant ride, very good in a variety of single track situations. The acceleration off the line was spot on, I felt that the bike didn't hold me back once I was able to get on the gun and start sprinting.Climbing actually I found to be surprisingly easier believe it or not seated. Having spent a good number of years racing hard tails as many of you folks out there know this is a hard habit to break. The over all geometry and fit out of the box was very confidence inspiring, I seriously felt like I had been riding & racing this bike all season.

 Big take aways on the noticeable pluses, I was really impressed with the bikes over all cornering and stability. One of the big pluses I like was the over size head tube, this really made the front not only super stiff but very predictable at higher speeds and cornering. Bottom bracket height was a charm as well.. Had to really seek out bigger logs etc...which still were no match to slowing the Epic's sword like performance. Specialized has put a ton of r&d into the body geometry saddles...the Ti railed Phenom was very comfortable and impressive, def would be a great all around performance saddle as well. One note to consider these saddles do come in difference widths and getting a proper fit is key. So please no matter what bike you are getting definitely consider it.

The Shimano SLX shifters we are real treat as you didn't necessarily have to use the larger thumb paddle to change gears. Gearing from a racing perspective... perfect, from a consumers perspective more gears to play with than ever !!! When it comes to disc brakes XTR is the way to go. These are the only brakes I ride personally period!! Rec riding etc, your gonna have a blast with this baby!!! Shimano's XTR rear derailleur featured the new "over-drive"which at first I really didn't notice much difference at all. However once I have realized it's "stabilizing feature, this deff cut down on the amount of high speed braking  / chain slap. Tires....decent spec out of the box, I'm a Kenda man all the way however the stock Fast Trak 2 bliss tires were solid. Rims, deff a nice partner spec to the Epic, Roval  has been winning on the mtb WC, and local citizen race scene for many years !!! Over all I really felt this bike was an excellent ride, whether you're an aspiring marathon xc racer, or someone that simply has to have the bike that is "the s#86". The 2013 Specialized Epic Expert Carbon 29r is for you !!! Contact; www.parkavebike.com for more info today and tell em "The Hoggle" sent you !!!

2013 Specialized Epic Expert Carbon 29r  @ Park Ave Bike 

RockShox Brain/ with Solo Air front fork 

2013 Shimano XTR / Overdrive

2013 FutureShock/ Brain Rear Shock

SRAM 2 X 10 / Crank Set

For more info on how you can get your ride on; www.parkavebike.com

"Roval Control SL 29 142+ wheelset with carbon rims, OS28 end caps, 142+ spacing, and DT Swiss spokes and internals is insanely stiff, light and durable for greater control and quickness "  ~specialized.com

The full-suspension, carbon fiber, S-Works Epic 29 is the first 29r to win a World Cup event, and the bike Mountain Bike Action magazine describes as the