December 3 2008 22.5 miles

Well needless to say I switch the tires back to the Hutchinson Pythons. I worked on the brakes a little and checked they periodically though out the whole ride and they held their position with no rotor rubbing. I think the trick when I put the rear wheel back in the frame was to take the bike out of the stand, making sure the wheel was evenly in the dropouts by push down on the frame and then I tighten the skewer. The brakes also worked GREAT. I went into a switch back a little to fast and hit the brakes thinking I was a goner but I slowed enough to make the turn.

I wanted to test out the strength of the wheels today I made it a point to take the more rock filled lines on the trail. The wheels took the abuse and I felt very much in control weaving down the technical sections. The bars are 23" and feel narrow to me but I am used to big riser bars. I will just have to lean the bike over more to get a better sprint out of the saddle. I noticed the rear end of the bike was flexing in certain situations. When I got home the main pivot behind the bottom bracket was loose. As for the fork, I will be looking for a little more small bump performance from the fork after this ride.