#TheShed

Bonding

Every time. Every time my little boy Rhys comes into my Bike Shed he is absolutely stunned. He is fascinated by the bike and all the gear that comes with it. And of course as a mountain biker dad I'm super happy to see this! Brilliant to see a 3 year old to go mad for the bike and all it's details!! :)

  

The end of the tunnel

Niner Carbon Fork // First thoughts

I'm riding on this rigid carbon fork from Niner for almost a month at this point. I've done just a bit over 350 km on it, so I figured why not write a few words about it?!

Going off-road and hit the trails on a rigid fork was a completely new experience to me. I was very curious and I also had about 1% doubt. Sure, I didn't worry about the durability or strength of the fork as the carbon fibre technology is very advanced these days. I was thinking more about the technique and riding style that's requested to handle something like this.  

Alright, let's see what my thoughts are at this point:

• the font end of the bike feels very light thanks to the total weiht of 565 g that's stated by Niner
• the handling feels very precise
• the whole thing feels super stiff
• thanks to it's unique design it takes advantage of the damping characteristics of the carbon fibre and this make the fork feel very comfortable indeed 
• on rough trails it takes a little getting used to it as there's no forgiveness if you hit a big rock with a high speed

All in all I like this fork. First thoughts are absolutely positive: it's light, it's stiff, it's comfortable and it look super sexy! What's not to like?! I also like the way it changes my riding style a bit as well, it seems like I pick my lines a lot more carefully 'cause I know if I make a mistake I'll pay the price. 

Oh, and one more thing: riding a mountain bike with rigid fork is badass! :)

Back to normal

It's time for me to get back to reality. My awesome 2 weeks holiday is over, I'm back to work already. So, it means I'm waiting for the weekend like a little kid and then I'm heading out for my usual "once a week" type mountain bike ride.  

But hey! The hardcore Hungarian Summer is in full swing with it's gentle 35 degrees heat, stone splitting sun and dusty dry trails, so there's nothing to worry about! 100% pure MTB action coming my way every weekend! Bring it on! :)