My gloves have been super worn and I’ve desperately needed new ones. Stopped by a couple of bike shops and found the selection to be very limited, and very overpriced. So naturally my next stop was Amazon, where I found these Moreok gloves, one pair at about $7.00 and the other at $15.
It’s so hot here right now that I’m using two pairs of gloves per ride. One pair I use on the sweaty climb. The second pair I use on the downhill to insure I have a clean and solid grip.
So far the gloves are well worth the money and have more padding than my previous gloves. We’ll see how long they last. Stay tuned for a possible follow-up report on that.
Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, June 5th, 2021
Categories: Gear • Mountain Biking
Needed some new tires for my 29-inch Stumpjumper, so I decided to try out some Maxxis ones. Maxxis seems to be the hip choice right now, so I’m going to find out what all the fuss is about.
I’ll post a follow-up review after a few months of testing.
Tubeless
I’m also going tubeless with these tires, and doing it myself. This is the first time I’ll have done the tubeless install myself. I plan to document that process as well.
Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, May 19th, 2021
Categories: Mountain Biking
I’ve been riding my mountain bike regularly and seriously for over a year on real mountain bike trails. I had been riding an old bike for many years prior, but just on a flat, paved trail. After a year of some hard riding my rear break was worn out. It was nearly down to the metal. In the spring around here in Northern Utah, bike shop services are booked out weeks in advance. So I decided I’d take a shot at replacing my own break pads. How hard could it be?
Not hard at all.
After watching a couple of YouTube videos related to my brand and model of breaks, I ordered some replacement pads on amazon and did them myself. It was super easy.
I had to take the break mechanism off by unscrewing two large hex bolts. Then a smaller hex bolt released the pads.
Being careful not to touch the pads with my fingers and transfer harmful skin oils and dirt to the pads, I replaced them with the new ones.
Once on I loosely put the two larger hex bolts on and lined up the mechanism with the break disc so it wasn’t rubbing and the wheel could spin freely. Once I found that spot I tightened them them down.
Done.
Here’s one of the videos I used as a reference below. This is a Tektro video. Tektro is the brand my bike currently has.
I’ve been eyeballing Little Apron at Alta Ski Area for many years. Little Apron is a small coulior in the Devil’s Castle area. It is located next to Castle Apron which is much larger.
The hike up would usually be about 10 minutes, but it was easily 20+ because the snow was not cooperating. The top layer was a breakable crust and underneath was powder. Once my foot would break through too far, I would sink. Each step took three steps to complete. By the time I got to the top I was drenched in sweat.
My season pass includes one Brighton Ski Area, one Deer Valley, and one day at Snowbird. With Little Cottonwood Canyon experiencing a closure and avalanche danger, I decided to use my Brighton day.
I expected there to be powder with the huge amount of snow we’ve gotten in the last few days, but there was literally none. All skied out. Still, I had a terrific day, mostly tree skiing.
Windy conditions loaded up Gunsight with a fresh layer of snow and made it ski GREAT. The entry is a little on the scary side but once I was in it was golden.
And here’s a view looking back at Gunsight. Amazing.
I picked up these Atomic Bent Chetler 100’s last spring when we thought the COVID lockdown would be two weeks. TWO WEEKS.
Specs
Designed by legendary skier Chris Benchettler, the Bent Chetler 100 is a versatile, all-around ski suitable for a wide variety of ski conditions.
Length tested: 172. Other lengths available are 164, 180, 188.
The dual rocker technology is distributed as follows: Front rocker 20%, camber 70%, and tail rocker 10%.
The ski features HRZN Tech in the tip and tail for increased surface area and float. The Light Woodcore, directional shape, and Powder Rocker make carving, slashing, and even sliding (when necessary) a breeze.
The turning radius of the 172’s is 18, while the 164’s are at 16.4. The 180’s 19.5 and the 188’s 21.
My Experience
I only had a couple of chances to ski the 100’s last spring before the resorts shut down due to COVID. The resorts are back open now for the 2020-2021 season and I’ve been riding the Bent Chetler 100’s exclusively.
When I first tried the 100’s, I was not used to them at all. I was coming from the perspective of much wider and much longer skis. Now I’ve got the feel for the 100’s and I’m really digging them. I’ve managed to experience quite a variance of conditions from light powder to groomers to ice. The skis are playful and easy to ski, but strong enough to take on more aggressive skiing and terrain.
In powder they float well for being relatively narrow. I’m typically on 108’s and 116’s underfoot. Here’s a little pow video.
While they don’t necessarily ride on top of super light pow, they have enough float to get the job done.
Some of the most fun I’ve had skiing the Bent’s is making quick, short turns in tight places:
Final Thoughts
The Bent Chetler 100’s are a great one-ski-fits-all solution, or a great all-mountain addition to a skier’s quiver. The ski is reasonably priced at around $600 (without bindings).
When Alta shut down because of covid last season, I still skinned up to the top of many runs like Devil’s Castle, to get powder runs. I made a few friends and many runs with snowboarders, who jumped at the chance to board Alta. It was interesting. It takes a worldwide pandemic for snowboarders to be allowed to board at Alta. May never happen again. Someone made an actual short film about snowboarders at Alta, and you can see many of the runs I skied last year in my quest for 116, skiing every run there in one season. Fun to watch. That chute they hit above East Greeley looks awesome.
