Project LTHT: Flying With Buzzards

The MRP Stage Fork on the Buzzard

Last week I wrote about how the Buzzard's Reba fork just didn't have enough clearance around the big On One Chunky Monkey/Dually set up. (See here) Well, here came a new fork via UPS on Tuesday and yesterday I mounted it and took off for the woods north of town.

Loads of clearance to be had now with the new combination. I can probably put my thumb in between the brake arch at any point around the top of the tire now. No worries in terms of tire contact with the fork anymore.

The Stage is also a 34mm stanchion fork, which is stiffer than the old Reba too. I can feel this while cornering, and when pushing the front end hard. The whole package just lifts the fun factor of the Buzzard to another level. The Q-Taper axle works well, and I didn't need a brae adapter to run the 185mm Shimano rotor either. Nice.

Those big ol' tractor tires on the Duallys also make for a plush ride. I could tell I was erasing a lot of the trail chatter just with that part of the bike. In combination with the Stage fork, I felt like I had the best tracking wheels since I tested the Diamondback Sortie Black a few years ago. It was almost dual suspension like on the Buzzard, but then I'd get thwacked up the backside by the seat by a trail obstacle reminding me I was really on a hard tail.

So, I am riding along in the woods on a nearly perfect day with nearly perfect conditions and I see a rather large bird take flight ahead of me. It was obscured by a large tree, and for a brief moment, I thought it could be an owl, as I could see that its wingspan was rather long. However; the bird veered to the right and I saw it light on a branch. Looking at it I thought it may be a turkey, but suddenly I saw that it had several of its kind accompanying it. Turkey Vultures! Or in other words- buzzards! Here I was riding a bike dubbed the "Buzzard" and I was riding right underneath some trees full of real buzzards! I'd seen these birds a lot here in Iowa, but never in the woods. I surmised that they were enjoying the cooler air under the trees while the Sun rode high in the sky and had heated up the air well into the 80's.

Well, the Buzzard I was riding wasn't flying in the air, but it was flying down the single track, and it did a great job of that. I think it is a very capable design for single track and with time, I can see where this bike will lead me to learn a few new things. I'm pretty pumped about it now, and that latest piece to the puzzle is what has unlocked the door to the potential this bike has.