Junk Drawer

Product Reviews

• Vail Cycle Works Mega-one frame review by Jungle Jim Smith

  The Mega-one is the end of a 2 year quest to find the perfect bike for me. The fact that I have ridden it nearly everyday since I got it means I was successful. I'll begin my review, with some background and specs for the techno-weenies.

  VCW has been in business for 14 years in the Vail Valley. Jack Rossman the owner and builder is a U.S. Government certified journeyman machinist and a graduate of the Gary Helfrich Bicycle Institute of Titanium Frame building class (I believe Gary Helfrich started Merlin cycles).

  The Mega-one, from the brochure: After 3 generations of single speed frame development, the Mega-one has reached the pinnacle of single- mindedness. Ultra stiff and ultra stable. The Mega-one uses Columbus Navicrom butted tubes along with the 35x50 millimeter teardrop shaped mega downtube.

  Mega-one Geometry, 19" frame: head angle 71, seat angle 72.5, top tube length 603mm, chainstay length 425mm, bottom bracket height 301mm, stand over height 780mm.

  OK, now for the review of my personal ride. I un-packed the box 2 months ago with the feeling of a 5 year-old on Christmas morning. I wasn't prepared for the surprise when I opened the box though. Inside was the most beautiful bike I had ever laid eyes on. It looked like it should have cost more than the $699 that they charge for a Mega-one!! Don't tell 'em that though ..

  I assembled mine with the following parts, Club Roost riser bar, Kore Light stem, Rockshox coil and oil fork, Lx brake levers and brakes, Ritchey seatpost, Flite saddle, 175mm Lx splined hollow tech crank, 32 tooth ring, Shimano 545 pedals, Sun-Ringle Rhino-lite rims (I think Timex helped in the design of these, they take a lickin' and keep on tickin') and of course Surly hubs, which I think are the best buy in the SS world!!!!

  I did this by mistake, but if you live where its hilly I would suggest under-gearing for your first few rides. I started with a 19 tooth freewheel, not very streetable but sure was a help 'til I got the hang of SS riding. Within 2 weeks I was tooling around in the classic 32/16 everywhere I ride. This bike really is smooth, stable, and rigid. I've been riding for 30 years and this is the best bike I've ever thrown a leg over. I ride about 50 miles a week off road and commute to work 10 miles each way. My off road rides are usually a 5 mile climb up forest roads then bombing down steep, rocky singletrack.

  I can't really find anything bad to say about this bike. There are a lot more choices of single speed bikes than there were 2 years ago when I started looking, most of them are pretty good and I consider the Mega-one to be one of the better one's.

  If your interested in the Mega-one, you can contact VCW at www.vailcycleworks.com or 970-476-6417. They can supply you with a frame and fork or a complete bike to your specifications at very competitive prices. In addition they offer custom wheel building services.

  Tell them JJ sent you. If you have any questions I can answer feel free to e-mail me @ JJsinglspeed@webtv.net

• Time ATAC Composite Pedals - JW

  Reliable entry, reliable exit, a cleat design that is compatible with all SPD shoes. No funky tension adjustments. There is a wide target area for cleat engagement making getting in easy, especially in the tricky sections. I was a little worried about the composite body being able to stand up to the abuse I like to dish out. After 9 months of heavy use, cranking through rock gardens with no regard for bashing the pedals, they have held up strong with nothing more than some scratches. What ever this stuff is they are made of, it's tough. The springs are slightly stiff when new, but they break in fast. The asymmetrical cleats can be swapped between shoes to offer either 15 or 20 degrees of float. The Speedgoat site offers "shaved" cleats for faster exit, but I don't think it's necessary once the pedals are broken in. Best of all, your shoes and cleats can be packed with mud and you can STILL get in. Replaceable cartridge bearings mean you can rebuild them. Mine are constantly getting soaked from all of the stream crossings on the local trails and are showing no sign of the bearings needing attention, so the seals must be good. Picked mine up from Webcyclery for $115. Sure, you can get some SPDs for a lot less, but you probably can't rebuild them, they won't be as easy to get in and if you are riding in the mud, well, have fun. Highly recommended. For the more budget minded, an aluminum version is $79.99, a carbon body model is $130 and for the trustafarians the Carbon body Ti axle models runs $249.99 (OUCH!).

Press

• Not to long ago, in a country far, far away , the Single Speed World Championship 2K+1 took place. We've got coverage in the Features section. For another angle on how things went down and some pictures to boot, check out Alex's write up over at John Atkins Cycle's website.

  Then, if you haven't read enough about the event already, head to Singletrack Magazine for their coverage and lots of photos.

  As most of you already know, winners get mandatory tattoos as trophies. Keeping their coverage of the event complete, Singletrack Magazine has photos of women's champ Alison Rushton's trophy and men's champ Jeff Wherlock's ink.

• The September 2001 issue of Outside Magazine features commuter bikes and gear in their review section. One of the bikes reviewed is none other than the Surly Steam Roller fixed gear.

• California riders, take action. According to The Warrior Society MTB club, "The Sierra Club is lobbying to designate all (100%) of our singletrack trails in the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County California off limits to mountain bikes." Read the full article here, then spread the word, write letters and do whatever it takes to keep your trails open.

• Dirt Rag magazine's Issue #88 has plenty of SS coverage with reviews of the On-One Inbred single speed bike and the Razor Rock single speed disc hub. Plus, even more coverage of the SSWC 2K+1 by Surly's Wakeman Massie and quick little write up called "The Poor Man's Single Speed". Go pick up an issue, it's the best MTB mag out there in my opinion. Plus, the cover art this month is very nice.

• Enter the twilight zone on this one. I get this magazine called Visual Basic Programmer's Journal. Start flipping through it and notice a picture of this editor type looking like Zap (from Mountain Bike magazine) in a suit. Then I read his rant and he's using Single Speed Mountain bikes as an analogy to programmers who don't want to embrace new technology. Seems he thinks single speeds need to use outdated geometry and heavy parts. Sounds like he just doesn't get it and probably doesn't have the strength or skills for our sport known as SS. Read his article and see if you agree me. I'm guessing he just wanted to spend half of his column letting everyone know what a cool mountain biker he is. While you're at it, maybe you should shoot him an eMail on your thoughts about the column. He does have his eMail address posted and would like feedback on the column. Probably not expecting it from a bunch of single speeders though. Might be fun. Here's the rules if you send him an eMail: 1. Read the article first 2. Respond to what's in the article. I'm sure he would think this web site is low tech in a retro-grouch sort of way. Well, it was designed that way.

• Even the apparent Single Speed haters over at Mountain Bike magazine get it right once in a while. Got to love this quote they printed: "Smoke weed, drink massive amounts of alcohol - then ride your single speed. That's the future of mountain biking." -John Parker

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