Origin 8 Gary

First time out on some serious single track to test out the new bar/stem setup.

3 laps of the burg was in order today which offers a good mix of smooth rolling single track, tight technicals, decent climbs and a few downhills. The first lap started out pretty dicey as it took me a bit to get used to the bar. I was having a hard time holding a line but that was taken care of after I figured out I had my front tire flipped, the unfortunate thing, I didn’t realize that till after the ride. Mid way through the first lap I could hold a line better but was still a bit hit and miss.

My back was feeling great till I exited the third section when it started to tighten up. The short 2 track to the entrance of the 4th section allowed me to loosen it up and by the time I entered the 4th section I was rolling with no pain again. I’ve never ridden the burg where the 4th section was as dry and sandy as it was today, but I seamed to have been able to float easier with this set up as long as I stuck the line and get into a 60-40 position (60% weight to the rear, 40% front...).

With the first lap done I was surprised that my back was feeling fine, the only issue was my wrists now. I felt like I was riding a jack hammer. I think I’ve diagnosed the problem to having my bar positioned too low, forcing me to lean into the bumps, not to mention I over inflated my tires! I forgot that I put 40psi in them, so I put them at about 35psi and it made a pretty big difference, but not enough to satisfy me.

I plan on fixing this issue by getting a fork with a longer steerer tube to bring my bars up 1.5” or so, I’m also going to double wrap my bars to make for a larger diameter to hold. My hands are sore!

My second and third laps we’re the same as the first with the only difference being a bit less jackhammering and I could hold a proper line better. The main difference in the third lap was my control over the bike. I’m finding that I have more control with these bars in climbing and getting through technical stuff. I think that’s the benefit of the hand positioning, it’s a natural position vs. a traditional bar. I found my self almost doing track stands on rocks, roots and climbs. This felt great. The hard uphill in the second section was easiest on the third lap, which caused me to tapout on the first two laps due to picking a bad line at the top going into the switchback. The downhill section before the climb was horrible. I’m used to bombing this downhill but I couldn’t today, I need to get those bars up a bit so I’m not leaning soo much.

Changes I’ll be making:
-Fork with longer steerer to bring bar up. If you have one let me know.....
-Double wrap the bar.
-Put on vintage scott pedersen brakes, just because.