Customer Interviews: Mountain Biker Scott Sumner

Scott Sumner is one of the most devoted Rohloff converts we know. We've set up four of his mountain bikes with SPEEDHUBs, and he says he'll never go back to a derailleur system. He has even convinced a number of his riding buddies to try out the Rohloff internal gear drivetrain, and afterwards they had us build up bikes for them.

Read on to learn why Scott is such a fan of his Rohloff SPEEDHUBs.

Sea Otter Trail Ride Video

Neil and Phil headed down to Sea Otter Classic earlier this month to have a look at some of the most exciting new product releases in the bike industry. Sea Otter, held in Monterey, California, is one of the largest bike festivals in the world, offering races, product demos, and amazing trails. We showed off Neil's Oxide Battleaxe and Surly Krampus to customers at the festival, and afterwards went for a trail ride at the neighboring Fort Ord National Monument. Neil rode his suspension-equipped Surly Krampus and Phil rode his rigid Krampus.

Neil and Phil Head to Monterey for Sea Otter Classic and a Trail Ride

Last Friday, Neil and Phil were joined by Cycle Monkey friend Charlie for a day in Monterey at Sea Otter Classic, one of the bicycle industry's largest festivals. Sea Otter is the event at which most companies debut their most anticipated new products, so our trip to Laguna Seca raceway, where the festival is held, gave us a chance to do some important product research. After a long day at the festival seeing old friends and checking out new products, we got a chance to get an evening ride in at the neighboring Fort Ord National Monument.

Neil and Phil Ride into the Sunset in Olympia, Washington

On our way north to the Seattle Bicycle Expo, Neil and I stopped just west of Olympia, Washington to ride the dense woods of Capitol State Forest. The first half of the ride – the climb – was very scenic and relaxing after a long day of driving, but the descent portion of the ride turned into a bit of a fiasco. The ride was incredibly fun for the most part, but it became another trail that we couldn’t ride at our full potential, and we had to promise ourselves we would return in better conditions.

After a long, winding drive through the woods just west of Olympia, Washington’s state capital, we reached the trailhead deep in the forest. Capitol State Forest is a relatively isolated area, and as we drove through the trees and clearings it was a nice break from the monotony of the freeway. We had been driving north toward Seattle for hours, so we were excited to be getting out into the wilderness after a long day of driving.

Neil and Phil's Autumn Annadel ride

Neil in front of the Annadel State Park trail map, ready for the climb.

A few months ago, Neil and Phil drove up north to ride Annadel State Park, one of the most technical and fun mountain bike trails in the Bay Area. Annadel is popular among local riders for providing the kinds of long rock gardens, jumps, and other challenging trail features that aren’t as easy to find closer to home in the East Bay. Any time we make it up to Santa Rosa to ride Annadel, it’s a treat.

Neil and Phil met local Cycle Monkey friend Jake at the trailhead. Neil chose to ride his Lens Sport Lunch Box, a 29er trail bike set up with a Rohloff hub. Neil built up the 150mm travel bike specifically for aggressive riding, with sturdy rims and a laid-back seating position. It’s the bike he takes when he’s able to make it up to Tahoe and big mountain trails in Colorado, Utah or other parts of the Southwest.

Neil's Lens Sport 29er trailbike with 6 inches of travel.

Guest Post: Colorado Downhill and Cross Country Trip, by Mark Tingwald

Wallride on the Valhalla Trail in Snowmass, Colorado

Last summer my brother and I took a trip to Snowmass, Colorado to ride at the ski resort and in the mountains around Aspen. The plan was to drive down to Los Angeles to pick up some friends, then road trip straight to the resort and get a hotel room for a week of riding and fun. I was excited to take on some more challenging, rocky terrain that we don't have here in the Bay Area and test out the new Rohloff hub the Cycle Monkey crew installed on my Felt Virtue Ltd. My plan was to ride the Felt at both the downhill-oriented bike park and on a longer cross country loop, and I was looking forward to seeing how it would perform on both.

Our trip started in Berkeley, where my brother and I loaded five bikes into my van. After getting the bikes packed we made the trek down to L.A. to pick up two more friends and four more bikes, and then went straight through to Snowmass.

Riding a drop on the Valhalla trail.

Neil and Phil's Muddy Santa Cruz Trail Riding Trip

Neil at the Demo Forest trail map. 

This Thursday, Neil and I headed down south early in the morning to ride the famed trails of Santa Cruz. We were itching to get out on a proper ride and had been watching the weather all week, waiting out a rain storm for a chance to hit the dirt. There was no rain in the forecast Thursday, but with the storm the day before it looked like we’d be hitting the mud instead. That was fine by us. Some of the most grin-inducing rides we’ve ever had have been in the sloppiest conditions imaginable.

We decided to ride Soquel Demonstration Forest State Park (A.K.A. Demo Forest), which we prefer to the trails above the UC Santa Cruz campus because of the abundance of jumps, steep berms, and other trail features it offers. We drove through the San Jose morning traffic, pulled onto Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains, then drove down a little country road, eventually parking on the side of the road in a secluded section of the woods. Stepping out of the car, we realized everything in the forest was dripping wet, we were surrounded by puddles, and it was breezy and overcast. We thought this should make for some interesting trail conditions.

One of the few flat sections of trail.

Big Mountain Riding: Neil & Xan's Tahoe Trip

Neil (right) and Xan before heading down the trail.

Neil and Xan loaded up the van early one morning this fall to do some riding around South Lake Tahoe. Henry, a friend of Xan's, joined us for the trip. The goal was to ride the famed "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" trail, officially called the Saxon Creek trail. This would be Xan's first ride on his new white Rohloff-equipped Ventana Zeus, a 160mm travel trail bike with 650b wheels. It was also an opportunity for Neil to get away from the office and have some fun after a busy summer. Neil brought his Lenz Sport Lunch Box, a 150mm travel 29'er, which has proven to be a very capable bike over the past few years.

The bikes all loaded up and ready to go.