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My good friend and MRP sponsored rider Kain Leonard sent this photo over the other day. It’s a picture of him at the dirt jumps in Gunnison, Colorado. Photo by Mike Tittle. Enjoy!

Just got back from Winter Park and Crankworx Colorado. What can I say besides, wow! The Slopestyle course was the best I’ve ever seen, and that seemed to be the consensus from all the riders as well. Perfectly built, meticulously maintained, flowy and creative. Riders were throwing all kinds of nasty tricks, including superman flips, tail-whip 360’s, barrel rolls, etc….It was sweet.

After dominating Downieville, my good friend Ross Schnell showed up at Crankworx ready to continue his streak of wins. Riding his MRP equipped Trek Remedy, he crushed the competition in Super D, All Mountain Super D, and, as if that wasn’t enough, he took one of the demo Session 88’s out and won the Downhill too! This guy is unreal. “Rad Ross” “Saucy Rossy” whatever you want to call him, he straight rips. He’s heading up to Whistler for Kokanee Crankworx next, so watch out……Ross Schnell FTW!!! Here’s a picture of his sweet money makin’ Remedy.

The wait is over! XCG’s are going out the door as I write this. Protect your investment with this innovative impact guard. You’ll wish you had when you have to replace the big chainring on your new XTR crankset…….Get your order in now!

XCG Triple BB-Mount

XCG Triple ISCG viewed from the back

MRP proudly sponsored a new event last weekend. Grassroots Cycles hosted their 1st annual “Ranch Style” jump jam at “The Ranch”; a private riding paradise located just 20 minutes from our facility. The Ranch Style course was a mix of wood and dirt, with something for every rider. DJ lines from 20 to 40 feet and everywhere in between, a 15 foot tall wall ride, 15 foot tall bridge drop, and multiple options for each landing made the course super fun to ride. It seemed like each rider said it was the best course they’d ever ridden, including Crankworx Colorado. That’s some pretty high praise, and it was well deserved. With free food, beer, big jumps, tons of sweet prizes and cash payout to the pros, if you didn’t make it this year, put it on the calendar for next year NOW! Enjoy the pictures!

Also you can check out a quick video made by Joel Schaffer of www.gjmountainbiking.com.
Find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsRyMbzcFoY

Sea Otter 2008 was great all the way around. We were treated to perhaps the best weather Sea Otter has ever enjoyed. Not a single drop of rain fell on us for the week we were in Montery and at Laguna Seca. It was a bit cold and windy at times, but I’ll take it! At least we weren’t slogging through ankle deep mud and hiding from sideways rain!

I managed a decent finish (for me) in the Pro DH amongst a very talented and fast field from around the world.

Today I’m heading up to “The Ranch” for the “Ranchstyle” jump jam competition. Practice is today and the comp is tomorrow. I’ll post some pics next week, should be killer!

MRP launches patented XCG Series of impact guards for cross-country bikes

Building on their integrated guard patent*, MRP will begin shipping a new, innovative series of components designed to protect chainrings and cranks from damage due to the occasional rock or log encounter. The XCG guards consist of a replaceable polycarbonate Skid direct-mounted to a 4mm thick alloy back plate.

Lots of cross country riders don’t want to give up their big ring in exchange for a crank-mounted bash guard, nor do they want to add a large, heavy bash ring on top of an outer chainring. With an XCG, you can keep the big chainring on and not worry about damaging it on obstacles. The XCG is light weight, and costs a lot less than replacing a high quality 44T ring, so it’s a great accessory for the fast and technically aggressive XC rider or for any rider looking to protect their investment.

The XCG Triple and XCG Single install easily on any XC frame and add no rotational weight to the drivetrain. OEM deliveries of the XCG Series begin in April, with aftermarket introduction soon following.

XCG Triple
· Protects triple crank outer rings up to 44T
· Raised upper profile catches chain from inboard drops
· Bottom-bracket mount or ISCG
· Weight: 100g
· MSRP $49.95

XCG Single
· Protects chain rings up to 36T
· Great for single-speed setups
· Bottom-bracket mount or ISCG
· Weight: 90g
· MSRP $44.95

*US Patent #7066856

MRP is a small, rider-owned company based in Grand Junction, Colorado. With countless World Cup and World Championship victories, MRP has been the choice of champions since 1996. MRP’s patented chain guides and patented integrated bash guard technologies put them at the top as the leader in smooth, silent, reliable chain retention and drivetrain protection.

For more information about MRP, please visit www.mrpbike.com.

Mountain Racing Products•580 N Westgate Drive.•Grand Junction CO 81505

After a wicked winter, we’re finally riding again here in Grand Junction. Here’s a photo from my ride last night after work.

Pinkbike just reviewed the G2. See what they had to say about it HERE

The guys at littermag.com had this quick peak of the G2 mounted up on a new Morewood. MRP sponsored rider Fabien Pedemanaud will be rocking this setup on the World Cup circuit this year. Should be a winner!

Check it HERE

Click the links below and see what others have to say about MRP!

Carbon System 3 on Pinkbike.com

System 3 Alloy on Pinkbike.com

System 3 Party Crasher Installation and Review on Pinkbike.com

The G2 on sicklines.com

MRP sponsored rider Phil Wheelers new rig on littermag.com

The G2 and System 3 Carbon on Sunn Bicycles Blog

Take a look at your XC bike. Chance are, it has 3 chainrings, a front derailleur, and a front shifter on it. You probably consider yourself an agressive XC or All Mountain rider right? Then why do you have all that unnecessary junk attached to your bike? I want you to consider going 1 x 9 (1 chainring up front, 9 cogs in the back). Crazy? Not in the least. Here are the real benefits you’ll get if you can put aside your preconcieved notions of both equipment and your personal abilities (you CAN do it)!!

Consider the following average weights:

XT front derailleur: 180g
XT front trigger shifter: 126g
XT 42T chainring: 83g
XT 22T chainring: 20g
Cable/Housing: 15g
A few links of chain: 15-20g (this will vary depending on how many you can remove)

Total weight: 439-444g - That’s a pound of extra junk!

Of course, you can’t just take all that stuff off and expect to have a functional bike. You need to keep the chain on.

The solution: A chainguide! Contrary to what most people think, they are not just for downhill. They provide just as much benefit to an XC or All-Mountain rider. I’m sure you’re full of questions by this point, so I’ll start off with the first one that came to your mind.

Won’t a chainguide add weight to my bike?

NO!!!! Once you ditch all that other stuff, you’ll actually SAVE weight! Take a look below!

System 3 Mini-Me Alloy: 322g - net savings of about a quarter pound

System 3 Mini-Me Party Crasher: 400g - about 50 grams lighter with HUGE gains in durability

System 3 Carbon: 215g - net savings of about a half pound! That’s a lot! 36-40T only

G2: 260g - net savings of about 1/3 pound. 36-40T only

**Note** You can drop extra 50 grams off any of the dual roller guides (besides the Carbon) by switching to our new lightweight rollers. The Carbon System 3 comes stock with the lightweight rollers.

Now that you know you can add a chainguide and not add any weight, but in fact SAVE weight, it’s a little more appealing no? Consider all the other benefits that you’ll get -

*Lighter weight
*More ground clearance
*More protection from impacts
*ELIMINATE dropped chains!
*Reduced chain slap
*Reduced chain suck
*Super quiet ride, even in the roughest terrain
*Uber clean looking bike without that extra cable/derailleur/shifter cluttering things up

Nice and clean without all that front shifter non-sense!

But what about my granny gear? Won’t I lose climbing ability without it?

No, in fact, I think you’ll find that you can actually climb things with a 32t ring that you couldn’t before. The reasons are momentum and torque.

If you’re climbing something steep and techy with a 22t ring, you’ve got 2 things working against you - slow speed and high torque. These things are combining to reduce your stability and traction.

With a 32t ring you are forced to carry more momentum into moves. This will greatly improve your chances on big, techy moves. The other thing it does is reduce your torque, which will increase your traction! No more spinning out and tipping over.

What about my big ring? Won’t I miss that?

Unless you spend a considerable amount of time riding on the road, probably not. The only thing you’ll miss about your big chainring will be the rocks that you usually hit when you still had it (and you certainly won’t miss the $80 bill at the bike shop when you have to replace it).

So what gearing do you suggest?

The most common and versatile gearing is a 32T front ring and an 11-34T rear cassette. This will give most riders plenty of range for almost any trail.

My buddy has a chainguide and it’s really noisy.

Your buddy doesn’t have an MRP then. We use a soft urathane roller (dual roller guides) and low durometer pulley wheel (G2) to keep our guides running silently. By adding one of our guides, the tension applied to the chain will make your bike so quiet that all you’ll hear are the tires on the trail. Once you experience this silent bliss, it’s hard to go back!

Is a full guide really necessary? Can’t I rig something up?

If you want your chain to stay on *some* of the time, then sure. But the reality is, a fully dedicated guide system that provides inside & outside, upper and lower, and a tensioning mechanism on the lower guide is the only way to get fool-proof performance all of the time. If you’re into stopping after that ripper downhill to put your chain back on and clean your wounds, then more power to you. But if you’re like me, I want to be absolutely SURE my chain will be there when I jam on the gas in the corner at the bottom of the hill. It only takes 1 bloody knee-to-stem incident to prove my point. Or you could just take my word for it!

Is this setup for everyone?

No. But if you’re even remotely fit, you’ll find this to be a huge upgrade and you will enjoy your riding experience much more.

If you are just starting out, you might want to hang onto that granny gear and opt for our LRP dual-ring setup instead.

In conclusion, I would like to add that I’ve been running a 1×9 on my XC bike for the past 3 years. I use the System 3 Mini-Me Party Crasher. I haven’t missed the old setup at all. In fact, it seems silly now to have all that extra mess attached to my bike.

Tricked out. System 3 Mini-Me w/ Party Crasher and lighweight rollers. Bomb-proof and only 350g!!

If you have any questions regarding setup, just shoot me an email at: rcranston@mrpbike.com
I’d be glad to help you choose the best system.

Cheers,
Ryan Cranston - MRP Product Manager