58 hours: Day 1

I have always wanted to go to Interbike, but have never really been able to carve out the time. It comes down to the fact that while bikes are cool, they are toys for the most part, and other things in life were higher on the priority list.

This year, I found out that my best buddy who I only get to see once a year or so was going to be in Vegas for the last half of Interbike. Renewing old friendships is definitely high on the priority, and since it is only a few hours away, I cleared the calendar so I could hit a bit of Dirt Demo, have a day in the show, then meet my buddy for a second indoor day before heading home that night. Frantic schedule, but that is life.

As I was making preparations, I asked Mikesee if he was going to be there to see if he wanted to get dinner or something. He countered with an offer I couldn't refuse: a guided tour of Gooseberry Mesa demoing the new Lenz 6" Lunchbox. A day indoors at the show versus Gooseberry? I had to think about 10 seconds before saying yes. It added 6 hours of driving that second day, but totally worth it.

Tuesday/Dirt Demo:

Worked until 1230, then grabbed lunch at home and started driving at 1330. I actually enjoyed the drive alone. The desert is beautiful right now, and I am constantly running and around pelple in my life, so it was nice to just sit and think.

Rolled into Bootleg at around 1600, and started hunting for rides.

Turner Sultan

This bike was very high on the list with the buzz regarding the suspension redesign. Hit the Turner booth to find plenty of rides available. They set me up with a large. I only had about 30 minutes on it, so I rode the XC trails, Loop 4.

I have been thinking about how to describe it since.

Positives:
Super plush suspension, nicely balanced front to rear with the Fox 120. Very responsive and comfortable. This bike was totally amenable to single speed riding style which I employed on the rollers purposely. Zero bob, no perceptible feedback. Handling was neutral and confidence inspiring. The front felt heavy compared to my current ride. It would manual and wheelie, but wasn't eager to do it.

Negatives:
The build was a racer boy XC, lightweight set up. Narrow bars, long stem, very light wheelset. This bike was a complete noodle, and I am not particularly clyde like in my build. It was whippy and I don't think it was the frame, but rather the wheel set. Hard for me to tell

Conclusions:
The Sultan is an awesome singletrack bike with incredible suspension action. There seems to be a strange disconnect, however. Here is a bike with 120mm of travel set up like an XC race rig. I'm sure that is how some folks will use it. I personally would in the futurelike to see two Turner 29" frames, a shortish 80-100 mm travel rig set up like this one, and the current Sultan set up more as a trail bike. That is how I personally would build it up. I found the geometry a little bothersome, and would find it hard to go back to the low BB (bashed pedals like mad), and the long chainstays. Definitely a bike that prefers to keep both wheels on the ground in my hands.

Niner RIP 9

I have wanted to ride one of these for a long time. I only had 30 minues again, and hit XC Loop 4

Positives:
Appropriate build with Flow wheelset. It felt bulletproof and well balanced. I had the occasional creak, but it had been punished for two days. I launched off an unexpected jump and it just eased me down, no problems. Front end lighter than the Sultan, felt well balanced. Nothing stood out, seemed like a nice bike.

Negatives:
The suspension felt over damped to me. This may have been set up, but I had to check several times to make sure the lock outs were not on. It certainly bobbed worse than the Sultan. It did not soak up the bumps front and rear anywhere near as well as the Sultan. Steering was very light and somewhat nervous compared to what I am used to.

Conclusions:
Another nice bike that I wish I could have for a month or two to tune to my preferences. If I had to pick between them, I would take the Sultan with the RIP 9's build kit.

I got a chance to talk with Dave Turner who is a heck of a nice guy and a great enthusiast. Nice to meet him. I also got to finally meet one of my "pushers" Larry Mettler who was working the Niner booth. Also ran into Mikesee and K-Rob for the first time. It was nice to put a face on so many folks finally.

At this point everyone was packing up, and the sun was setting. The trails were empty, and I had no place to be, so I headed out for one last run around Loop 4 on my personal Lunchbox. "Ah, that's it", slack angles, short chainstays, slow steering, frisky handling. It simply felt like home. Let's just say I did not have any bike envy leaving dirt demo.

I headed to the Expo center, and cursed the Vegas traffic. Found the Bionicon folks, and bothered them while they set up their indoor booth, then went out to dinner (cursing traffic again) at Gandhi on Flamingo. Unbelievable Indian food. I have no idea what I ate, but I ate a lot of it and it was awesome.

Cursed traffic again on the way to the evening's lodgings, and got to bed around midnight.