[Internal14]

...went for a little ride yesterday called Hole in the Ground in Tahoe.

I sold my fork off my El Salt a few weeks ago and waiting for my Magura to show up, so I used the demo Ciclon from the shop. I had used this bike on a few other mellow rides, and let me tell you, this thing came alive in the rocky technical trails of the HitG fare.

Here's a handful of pictures. Was a great day, with the wind blowing just right to keep the smoke going away from us.

A bit more in depth review is on my blog here: http://www.velocitybicycles.com/blog/ if you want to see more pics.

 

[cbrossman]

Nice Shots!

Thinking hard about moving from my Salty to the Ciclon and I'd like to know your thoughts on the differences.

 

[crisillo]

great shots!

 

[Internal14]

Thinking hard about moving from my Salty to the Ciclon and I'd like to know your thoughts on the differences.

Man, you'd think an extra inch of travel and going to Nevegals 2.35's from some Maxxis 2.1 tyres there wouldn't be that much of a difference. But I am here to tell you that is a wrong assumption. The bikes are worlds apart. The Ciclon is so much more planted in every way. Even on the tricky rocky climbs the ciclon was easier to just point it straight and go for it. I was shocked over and over how easy the bike floated over stuff that I know on the Salty would knock me side to side. And all this was on a front fork that wasn't sprung stiff enough for my weight and running a float R on the back. I was definitely railing the downhills right off the bat like I had been riding the Ciclon for months already.
If I wasn't trying to play racer boy a bunch of weekends out of the year I'd for sure be on the Ciclon instead of the Salt, for the type of riding I like to do at least.

 

[jawndoe]

Good Job Myke, Jeremey, Clif, and Bill. You guys convinced me that I need to change my ways and get a Ventana. Watching you 4 ease around the trail with your Ventana's while I had to muscle my bike non stop I think has been the deciding factor. I spent a good 3 hours that evening lfinding as much info about Ventana's as possible. Then again my Spesh is a race bike that climbs like a goat, but any climbing advantage was lost by the extra efforts used to make the bike do what I wanted it to do. Oh yeah and those Ventanas just look great, even with dirt and mud on them.

 

[Mr Bling]

Great! thnks for sharing!

 

[CharacterZero]

THanks for the pics! Beatuiful riding, makes me miss CA.
disclaimer: not CA, of course...but makes me miss that drastically different terrain that central Texas doesn't offer.

 

[Internal14]

THanks for the pics! Beatuiful riding, makes me miss CA.

If I ever moved out of the area, I'd sure miss this ride. Has so much of what makes Tahoe riding so special, all wrapped up in a quick 17miles.

 

[cbrossman]

Man, you'd think an extra inch of travel and going to Nevegals 2.35's from some Maxxis 2.1 tyres there wouldn't be that much of a difference. But I am here to tell you that is a wrong assumption. The bikes are worlds apart. The Ciclon is so much more planted in every way. Even on the tricky rocky climbs the ciclon was easier to just point it straight and go for it. I was shocked over and over how easy the bike floated over stuff that I know on the Salty would knock me side to side. And all this was on a front fork that wasn't sprung stiff enough for my weight and running a float R on the back. I was definitely railing the downhills right off the bat like I had been riding the Ciclon for months already.
If I wasn't trying to play racer boy a bunch of weekends out of the year I'd for sure be on the Ciclon instead of the Salt, for the type of riding I like to do at least.

Thanks, I run big tires (Geax Sturdy 2.25) on my Salty currently and I think that contributes to increased travel significantly. I wonder if I would notice a big difference with the Ciclon considering I would run the same tires, or something just as large.

 

[Internal14]

Thanks, I run big tires (Geax Sturdy 2.25) on my Salty currently and I think that contributes to increased travel significantly. I wonder if I would notice a big difference with the Ciclon considering I would run the same tires, or something just as large.

I think if you ride technical and rocky trails you'd notice a big improvement in the trailbike-ability of the Ciclon. If that makes any sense. Hard to put into words....it just feels so much more planted in the rough, going uphill or downhill. It definitely felt better when I stayed in the saddle though, but that could have been due to the fact that I've been running a RP23 on teh El Salt, and the Ciclon just has the Float R on it. I really curious to throw on a more stout fromt spring in the shock and throw my RP23 on teh rear of the Ciclon and give it another go. Can only get better!:thumbsup:

 

[El Salt]

Myke - NICE!!!!! Brings back memories of last week! Writing from Mammoth.