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I’m still in love with my Remedy. One switch (no pun ;-) ) and it rides like a hardtail and a switch-back (get me going) and it’s a playfull ride down the hill. But there are a few things I would like to upgrade.

The SLX gearing for one, it’s by far not accurate enough as I’m used to, using SRAM. So that’s gotta go as soon as possible. The cranks however are quite good, except for the rings; they wear too fast.

Go for Elixir?

The Juicy 5′s are not that bad. The white paint chips easy, that’s a shame. To me, the modulation of the lever is not good enough, and the disc bend just by looking at them. I got a new pair with the bike, as the ones that came with, where bend, but now these are bend too.

What do you think, is it true that the G3 disc’s the Elixirs come with, are better for braking and more durable? They’re only a few grams lighter and the levers are better modulated. But I want to go bigger for the rear brake anyway, so eighter pay extra for new discs and adapters, or go Elixir… what’s your advice?

Avid Elixir R

Read about Avid Elixir @ sram.com

My verdict you know, these tires are some of the best around, the’ve replaced my Kenda Nevagals, that I never thought could be beaten. The Conti’s are better protected, lighter and easier to get your hands on (here in Europe).

Conti’s rule

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Continental tires are rapidly becoming the best option for your ride. Might have something to do with Ritchey Schley being in on the development side. Previously I’ve owned the ‘Vertical‘ tires, who are especially suited for loose soil terrain. The Mountain King is a new all-round option, and comes in several sizes and versions:

• Mountain King
  26 x 2,0    26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 84tpi / foldable
• Mountain King Supersonic
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 180tpi/ foldable/ Black Chili Compound
• Mountain King Protection
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 180tpi/ foldable/ Duraskin/ Black Chili Compound
• Mountain King UST
  26 x 2,2    26 x 2,4
  3 plies/ 330tpi/ foldable/ UST
• Mountain King 29inch
  28 x 2,2    28 x 2,4

Mountain King Protection

I choose the Mountain King Protection version, with thick sidewall protection and Black Chili Compound. They weigh about 820 grams per tire and are the same front/rear, just reverse the threads. Thankfully rather easy to mount on your wheels and look really sweet because of the ‘carbon’ look argyle print on the side.

Ride the Mountain King (Protection) >2.2 psi when the terrain is mainly rocky, like the Alps are. Last years Passportes du Soleil went on without a single puncture! Under normal circumstances you can ride with 1.8 psi. I’ve tried the Bontrager Latex anti-puncture inners, they rock, but count on an extra 400gr per tire! I’m opting to go UST, only if these’re just as good; according to their list it doesn’t come with Black Chili compound.

What makes the Mountain King so good?

• Grip in corners (or just about anywhere)!
  Pick your pleasure: thick muck, dried out dust, roots or rocks: I just doesn’t matter. Carve like there are none: only fun here! Black Chili rules!
• Sidewall protection
  Like I said, 90km’s in the Alpes on a day and no puncture! On downhill speed, that usually can only be said by downhill specific tires. You know, those that weight more than a kilo a pop.
• Durability
  Mine show slight wear and tear after more then 1.000 km’s!

Anything on the downside?

• Not suited for downhill races of bikepark visits.
  When you go for downhill races, or for a day on the downhill track, it’s likely the sidewall protection doesn’t hold the impact. That was the only (!) flat I’ve ever had.
• UST not Black Chili?
  I would like to save some extra weight, but not if it means giving up the sweet Black Chili compound.
• If you’re picky: resistance is somewhat high
  They’re allrounders, not xc! So expect a higher resistance on tarmac, comes with the nature of the very sticky Black Chili Compound.
• They are oval!
  I thought it was the Bontrager inners, but I learned from other riders, that it’s the Mountain Kings that are oval. Pepare to be annoyed on asphalt!

Well, I kinda didn’t have to. The nice people of kaliprotectives.com are so very convinced of the quality of their stuff, they send me their Durgana helmet to test for them. It arrived yesterday and so far, it’s so good! I’ve never had a helmet that’s so slim to the head as this one, it’s also very lightweight with compromising the safety (EN1078 and CPSC).

The best thing about it, it’s not shiny as the picture shown (have to make one of the actual product asap), it’s mat and silky and that looks awesome!

So I now have another excuse to go bikeparking asap, and I’m thinking… what if I add Trek Session to my wish list, will some nice people of Trek then send me a Session 88 to review for them?? :-P

Chances are that you’ll find MULE bars in your local (dutch) bikeshop soon, because it’s now being distributed here in the Netherlands by Greenwickedfoods.com. MULE bar is the labor product of Alex and Jimmy who thought energy bars tasted and digested poorly. If you’ve ever tryed and Isostar bar, you’ll agree.

So they decided to cook up their own special brew, made of real and organic ingredients and Fair Trade accredited when possible (two out of five bars and they want to improve that score!). To top that of, they donate 1% of sales every year to environmental groups protecting our natural world, governed by 1% For The Planet.

Eat and do good

So eating a MULE bar is the best thing you can do for your body, the environment and and making the planet a better (work) place for some others. Need more?

You might be picky about taste. I’ve tried the Pinacolada: pineapple + coconut + some Chinese Ghoji berries (vitamin C) =  343kj of calories per 100 grammes. Pineapple and coconut: my favs. You know what I only like more? You won’t believe this because they HAVE a bar with my favorite stuff in the whole wide world: liquorice! I’ve yet to try one of these, but I’m sure it’ll be heavenly!

Other bars on the menu are called: Mango Tango, Hunza Hut, Chocolate Fig Fiesta, Strudel and Chocolate Fig Mud. You can find details and ingredients on this page here, if you’re allergic to nuts and stuff like I am, it’s good to know you’ll find out exactly what types of nuts are used.

I’m not sure when they hit the stores, I’ll let you know when I find out. And more important, if the Liquorice Allsports bar delivers!