TRAIL RIDE:CLASSIC RED TOP

Tuesday saw a smaller group turn out for the ride, maybe their bikes are getting fed up with the mud and water, probably more like summer and holidays getting in the way. The Gang will keep on riding and I will keep getting ride reports, even while I am on holidays.

 We had planned a sojourn to Full Monte but phased that back and decided on a trip up Red Mt to ride the classic Red Top single track was in order. There are a couple of ways to get to the trail head. You can ride right up the single track and then turn around and ride back down or you can ride up the ski area haul road and jump on to the single track at different places on the way up. We prefer to use the haul road for that feeling of riding a loop instead of an out and back, so up the haul road was our choice.

The bugs were ravenous as a result of  the increase in air temperature in the last few days. This made it quite uncomfortable to stop and rest on the way up. Up went by very quickly and padding went on just as quickly, more to keep the bugs off than to prepare for the extreme nature of the trail. Red Top is just a wonderful single track. It has many banked switch backs and swicked  GS turns through the trees. Down went by super quick other than a quick stop to fix a flat.

The evening was a perfect temp for riding so we milked the single track on the way back to the shop by taking Larry's and Curly's back to the highway tunnel. Curly's is a smooth track that can be ridden without pedaling if you take all the corners smoothly and pump the bike. We had a comp to see if anyone could make it.  Good ride.

HOW TO:MIKE HOPKINS SHIMANO WHEEL BUILD

Years ago, when mountain bikes had rim brakes, I used to have trouble with factory wheels taking on the shape of a taco or popping spokes or just plain going out of true all the time. It was in that time that my brother introduced me to a book, "The Bicycle Wheel", by an engineer named Jobst Brandt. The book discussed the physics behind the bicycle wheel, and then described a wheel building process to use in order to build the strongest wheel possible. I have followed his recommendations ever since, with great success.

With the advent of disc brakes and the improvement of factory wheels, the wheel builder is less busy today than he used to be, but the torque of the disc brake rotor and the abuse that the younger riders are putting on  wheels, still requires the methods learned in "The Bicycle Wheel". I have been building wheels for Mike Hopkins for a couple of years now and I thought it would be good to document the process for the world to see, so here goes.

The component selection is most important. The construction of a strong wheel that will withstand the forces applied to it in a competition like the Red Bull Rampage, requires the best of materials and build processes. Mike uses Shimano Saint hubs and rims and DT Swiss Double butted 2.0-1.8 spokes. These are great choices. The double butted spokes are one of the key things in the whole build because they provide the ability to pre-stress (stretch the spoke ) the supporting spoke columns so that when heavily weighted the spoke remains under tension and the spoke nipple does not float. If the nipple floats then it will start to come undone and the result will be an out of balance(tension) wheel that will go out of true and lose its strength.

Components choosen, let's get to the build.

1. Measure spoke nipple to spoke nipple diameter of rim.

2. Measure the dimensions of the hub, these include hub width(2 hub widths required because of different offsets on disc and non disc sides), flange hole spacing, flange hole size, and overall hub width. Make sure the number of holes in the hub matches the number of holes in the rim. I have always used 32 hole rims myself but there are a growing number of different configurations possible.The diagram below shows the required measurements. Decide on the lacing pattern. I always build a 3 cross wheel because Jobst Brandt(The Bicycle Wheel) concluded that it was the strongest configuration for the most general use.

This is from the ProWheelBuilder.com site. Useful site for some hub dimensions.

3. Feed this data into a spoke length calculator. There are many available on the internet but I use my own spreadsheet(I did the math) because my results have turned out to be more accurate over the years.

4. Gather 16 (assuming 32 hole hub and rim)of each spoke length. Typically the disc side will have a different length(up to 2mm different) than the non-disc side but this varies from hub to hub. Dip the threads in motor oil or a good lubricant because I will be turning these to a fairly high tension and I want them to turn easily.

5. Lube the spoke eyelets in the rim with grease, for the same reason that you oiled the threads on the spokes.

6. Now I am ready to start to lace the wheel. I always feel like I am knitting when I do this, knit one perl two, yeah I learned to knit a little from my mom. The first spokes to go on are the critical ones, get these wrong and the whole thing can end up just plain wrong. These spokes are the puller spokes as I call them, and they thread from the outside in and must line up with the offset in the rim spoke holes(yes they are slightly offset to each side). I usually set these up so that the disc pulls on these when braking and the spokes will not interfere with the air valve of the wheel.

7.Time for the cross over spokes. Three cross means that these cross over spokes will pass over two other spokes and under a third before being secured to the rim. This takes hand strength and mom's knitting instuctions to get the right result. The hand strength is required in order to bend each of these spokes at the elbow so that the contact between the spoke and the hub flange is as large as possible.

8. Make the wheel round by doing up each of the spokes the exact same amount, not tight but to the same spot, each of them. If my spoke lengths are good then I should be able to use the threads on the spoke as an indicator. Do up the nipple until the last thread is just covered.

9. Take the spokes up to tension by turning each nipple a set amount. Don't get in a hurry because you will wreck the roundness of the wheel. I start at the valve hole all the time and turn each nipple 1 turn, then around again using half a turn, then a quarter turn after that until the tensions start to rise. I keep going until my tension gauge starts to read close to my desire tension.

10. Relieve the stress on all spokes at the hub. I tap the spoke elbows with a hammer, which seems quite extreme, but I must get the spoke to contact the hub as much as possible. This ensures that the spokes will not lose as much tension as the wheel is ridden for the first 5-10 times. This process is worth doing to your factory wheels along with a tension balance in order to have a long lasting stable and true wheel.

11. Tension balance the wheel. I have not paid any attention to the trueness of the wheel from left to right just the roundness to this point. No use worrying about left right true, because I am not sure that all the spokes have equal tensions and are doing their part. At this point I use my tension guage(mine is a Wheelsmith but there are others) to make sure that all the spokes are sharing the load. Unfortunately the tension on one side are often different than the tension on the other side, due to different hub offsets and the angles these creat. It would be nice if the hubs set up a symmetric wheel, but if you remember your physics and your trigonometry we should be able to get everything to add up to zero. The forces in all dimensions should balance and every spoke should be doing an equal share of the balancing. I have to do this globally because one spoke has an effect on all the others, so I mark the slackers with a little piece of duct tape(lower tension than the average) and then up the tension of these by a quarter turn, check and repeat until equal tensions have been achieved. Remember one side will probably be different than the other. For example the disc side on a front wheel will typically be higher than the non-disc side due to the offset required to make room for the disc. I repeat this step until I get the required balance.

Using tension gauge.

Duct tape marking slackers.

12. Eliminate wind up. As the tensions get higher the spokes will turn at the same time as the nipples. In order to eliminate this I always go an eighth of a turn more then back up and I use an old pair of ski gloves to grab spoke pairs on either side and squeeze allowing the nipples to float slightly and unwind if necessary. Good hand strengthening exercise.

13. True the wheel. Now I pay attention to the left right and through a series of tension checks and loosen tighten steps get the wheel to run true and be in the middle of the wheel stand(this id call setting the dish), then repeat steps 11 and 12. A poorly dished wheel will cause the bike to track poorly and handling will be compromised.

14. Repeat 11 thru 13 as many times as it takes to get a balanced true wheel.

15. Final tension. I now take the wheel up to its final high tension. I usually go to 90 on my gauge for the highest tension spokes and the others just follow. Jobst Brandt said the higher the better. Watch it because the rim will distort if you go too high.

Mike's wheel set resting against the cooler. Time to open that cooler.

So there you go, a set of super balance Shimano Saint wheels with DT Swiss spokes destined for Mike Hopkin's Knolly Podium. If I can get him to bring them back for a quick retension after a weekend of riding at Silver Star Bike Park they will be even more bomber for the rides to come.

HW FLASHBACK:MOAB 2001

I was thinking about Moab and remembered the old web site I did back in 2001. Went looking for the source code and could not find it. Thought I would try the school server that I had put up the site on if just by chance the site might still be there......FOUND. HOLY WOW !!! computers. Anyway, I redid the site roughly on another Google Tool and here is the link Old HW Moab. Visit and take a ride back in time.

TRAIL RIDE:DRAKE'S DUKABOR DRAW EXREME

Ahh what a night? It poured , there was thunder, there was lightening, there was mud, and there was Farmer. At first we thought it was just an apparition, but clearly it was the return of one of the original Holy Wow Gang members. Farmer, the king of Subway Sandwiches, had dusted off the bike and decided to join us for a Tuesday night ride. It was great to have him back and we hope that the ugly weather and trail conditions on this night won't scare him off . WELCOME BACK FARMER!!!! You can take off the hockey gear now, we are going riding.

We started the ride under the usual criteria, it can't be raining when we leave, but it changed quickly. A down pour filled the old puddles on Drake's single track, and turned the climb and traverse over to the top of Dukabor into a mud fest. This ride is usually just a pleasure but the rain put a little damper on the occasion. The gang was still smiling when we stopped to hide under a tree during the major falling of the sky took place. But there were no Chicken Littles or Henny Pennies or Ducky Luckys in this group, even though the sky was falling, we ventured on. That's what you do when your twelve.

Ride we did, and Dukabor served up some sweet snotty single track, super fun and very dirty. The only suffering was done by the bikes and our clothing' which are taking a kicking in all this wet and muddy weather. I don't think my shoes have been dry at all this spring. No sooner have you washed your bike than it is filthy again. I have held off washing it every time but paid the price tonight as dirt and muck rendered my seat post remote inoperable. Gues I need to wash the poor thing more often.

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We had hopes for a cold one and a fire at Greener's, but had to settle for the heater in his garage. Still had the cold one though.

TRAIL RIDE:WHISKEY ROCKS THE HOLY WOW GANG

Tuesday night is always special because we get together to ride our bikes. This Tuesday was especially sweet because it was warm out for a change and it truly was the longest daylight day of the year. We had decided to tackle Whiskey on the Rocks to celebrate the change of weather.

Whiskey is one of the more technical trails in the Rossland area. It is usually a real fun ride, so there was a great deal of excitement among the gang. That mojo was soon put to rest when we realized we would be climbing Malde Creek Road for the third time in a week.

Many riders car drop this ride but the Holy Wow Gang likes to pay the gravity gods on every ride, so pedaling up is the way to go. Besides, the work out justifies that extra pop after the ride. Malde is a bit of a grunt and the top of Whiskey is a little further up again, combine that with the new found warmth in the air and the perspiration and the bugs were abundant.

Whiskey was it usual cantankerous self and the traffic from the car drops has left it a strange rocky mess that requires all your skills. We left some blood, sweat and tears on the trail as numerous riders groomed the trail with their bodies.

Still smiling at the end of it all, we decided that we should ride this trail more often just to keep our skills honed. Now for a glass of whiskey on the rocks or a cold beer.

NEWS FLASH:HOLY WOW ROOKIES ON TOUR OF GASPE QUEBEC

Brett Ferguson, George Tennant and Grocery Pete are heading out on a tour of the Gaspé in Quebec. Brett has started a blog that he hopes to post to as the trip unfolds. Hopefully he will remain faithful to the task. It would be great to follow the boys on their journey.

Click here to link to the blog or use the link listed to the right under blogs worth visiting.

DOUBLE DOWNHILL 2011

The biggest event of the Rossland /June mountain bike social calendar went off without a hitch. Twenty-six riders showed up for a downhill single track extravaganza, including Jono and Ben Foulger from Nelson. We are so fortunate to have these young guys show up every year with their talent and enthusiasm. They never fail to entertain the crowd.

Every year the Holy Wow Gang hosts the Annual Double Downhill as close to the summer solstice as possible. This gives us the opportunity to squeeze two rides into one evening. The two rides are possible because(I am sure you have all figured it out already) it is close to the longest daylight of the year. Can you imagine that the days are going to start getting shorter already? Anyway, the rain held off and the trails were tacky. We did our fair share of up and were rewarded with plenty of excellent down.

The 26 riders warmed up on Cemetery and the nostalgic Old Rubber Head before heading up Malde Creek (no shuttle assistance) to ride SMDLB(Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt). This trail lived up to it's name, shocking the new to SMDLB riders, into laughter and screams of delight with it's banked corners and trail surface features. SMDLB is a long ride too. Those of us who had ridden it once before, enjoyed it even more, knowing the trail and it's features.

Check out some pictures.

We did shuttle up from Patterson. Enough climbing for the night. Arriving at Greener's to find the sausages already on the barbecue (thanks girls) and the refreshments cold. Lawn chairs were spread out drinks were readied and the celebration began. Awesome single-track, good friends, fabulous food, cold drinks, and a warm fire, does it get any better? LG!!! HOLY WOW!!!

My venture into YouTube. Enjoy. Maybe one day I can get a pro with a camera to join us.

MTB REVIEW: NORTH SHORE RACKS

There always comes a time when you have to transport your beloved steed(mountain bike) to or from the trail head. If your experience with bike transport is the same as mine then your bike will have seen more damage being transported than being ridden. The Holy Wow Gang tries to ride to and from trail heads as much as possible but bike transport is just a fact of the ride.

The classic way to pack your bike around here is to hook the bike over the tail gate of the pick up truck and be done with it. This method works, along with a variety of racks that are available at you favorite bike shop. Most of these methods require some form of padding to avoid damage to the vehicle and bike and no matter how hard you try the poor bike ends up with a bruise or a cut

that will never heal. Then along comes North Shore Racks NSR-2, NSR-4, NSR-6. On our last ride a member of the Gang showed up with an NSR-6 and it attracted a great deal of attention.

Bikes flocked to this rack for ease of loading and no chance of wounding. North Shore Racks has really done their homework on this one. The rack uses an 1.25 inch receiver for the NSR-2 (2 bike rack) which will work on any car, and a 2 inch receiver style hitch for the NSR-4 or NSR-6(4 and 6 bikes) which is very common on most trucks and SUVs these days. This may be the only draw back, if you don't already have a trailer hitch installed. This rack is so good that I would get a trailer hitch just so I could use a North Shore Rack.

Bikes are loaded with the front wheel pointing to the sky with the fork crown hooked on the

patented double horseshoe cradle located on the top arm of the rack. Once resting in the saddle the back wheel is secured to an innovative bottom bar that facilitates a very secure hold for the rear tire. Elegance is the best way to describe it.

North Shore Racks has included many nice features in this rack. The rack tilts away from the vehicle to give you room to open your trunk or tailgate. It also has a folding feature in the NSR-2

and NSR-4 so that it can be made more compact when not in use. Pricing ranges from $400(NSR-2)-$700(NSR-6) a little expensive but well worth it when it comes to ease of use and

besides it is nice to your bike.

MONTE COLA ON ICE

Rossland has it's own version of Whistler's A-Line. Fortunately it is not lift served and really quite remote but packed with just as much fun. Tuesday night was the nicest evening in a while and the Holy Wow Gang decided to give Monte Cola a try even though there was a chance that we would have to make our way through some snow. This spring just will not warm up.

There is a lovely piece of climbing single track called Larch Trail. This is the trail that you follow to get to the top of Monte Cola. On the way up, we picked up the ice(snow) for this wonderful Cola drink. Judging by the laughter coming from the riders as they made their wet disk brakes sound like Canadian geese honking to each other, the climb was quite tolerable( KCTS -Kootenay Columbia Trails Society has done a superb job of eliminating some of the ugly pitches that used

to adorn this ascent), but maybe someone had already added a little rum to the Iced Monte Cola drink. Anyway, we arrived at the trail head in excellent spirits.

Now the real fun starts. This trail is full of natural whoop-dee-doos, banked corners, and table tops. Unfort

unately, from a video stand point, everyone was having too much fun to stop, so when I stopped to shoot a piece of video near the top, I never again got ahead of the bunch to film the part of the trail that rivals A-Line. Oh well, I was having too much fun to stop myself. If this trail wasn't already named Monte Cola, I would lobby to call it R-Line(the R standing for Real or Rossland). What a blast. Check out this short clip below.

R-Line, still feels like mountain biking. You still have to ride up to get to the trail head, no chairlifts in the vicinity. The forest and the wild is all around, signified by the moose droppings

and hoof marks that adorned the trail. We are truly sharing this trail. It is not wide enough to pass, so you have to stop and smell the moose dung for a while and then see if you can catch the rider ahead of you. Hopefully you don't catch up to the moose because it will win the encounter, should you co

me face to face. A real mountain bike outing. HOLY WOW!!!

If we weren't already drunk from the climb, Monte Cola sure completed the mission, because we were inebriated by the audacity of its vertical. The beers after the ride had little effect on spirits that were already soaring and primed to howl at the moon.

LAST MAN STANDING AFTER CIRCLE RIDE

Missed the ride on Thursday due to a previous commitment. There was a huge turn out. Guess everyone was anxious to ride after all the rain we have been having. The weather was perfect for riding and of course I couldn't ride.

It was the first circle ride of the season. What's a circle ride? Well, sometimes the night's ride has not been determined, so whoever turns out, rides in a circle until a decision is made and a leader determined. Then off you go. They are fun.

Guess they ended up doing a classic Red Top using the Three Stooges Trails (Curly's, Mo's and Larry's). These are buffed single track and great for riding up or down. Access to the Stooges is on the Centennial Trail just as you emerge from the highway tunnel headed toward Red Mountain.

Red Top and Red Head Trails are a bit steeper than The Stooges but KCTS trail crew has done a superb job of providing a special route down Red Mt. I didn't get to take pictures, obviously because I was not on the ride but I tried to make the social afterwards.

When I arrived there were only three riders left, huddled around the fire on Rick Greene' deck. Soon two more headed for the showers and that left the last man standing Rick Greene. This was the first fire at Rick's for the season, but we are excited about The Double Downhill Summer Solstice Ride on Thursday June 16th, which involves a huge post ride party on Rick's deck.

Needless to say, Rick and I enjoyed a refreshment and debriefed about the ride. Got to remember to get that Seven Summits trail building video from .

FIRST RIDE:SMDLB SINGLE TRACK ROSSLAND

The weather outside was frightening, the sky was full of lightning, but the Holy Wow Gang thought it was brightening, so we headed out to sample a new piece of supposedly prime single track. Fourteen riders showed up for the Gang's regular Tuesday night ride.

The outing started slowly, with everyone milling about waiting for Mother Nature to finish with the rain. True to our age (we behave like 12 year olds), especially in a larger group, we shamed each other into going on the ride. Just as we left, the sky started falling and the temptation to call off the ride was as strong as the thunder and lightening that was battering the Malde Creek ridge. But, ride we did.

We were all soaked by the time the climb up Malde Creek forest service road started but the effort required made us warm in spite of wet. This climb is usually hot and uncomfortable so some guys thought it was more tolerable this way. For the rest of us, the lightening strikes and resultant thunder all around us took away any feelings of comfort. Maybe we should call this off.

Ahh, wet already, most of the climbing done, let's find this new trail head. The constant rain made us antsy and waiting for each other took a back seat to pedaling madly and in random directions. As a result (mostly my fault) we ended up in two groups and in two very different places. Both groups finally figured out where to go and the Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt trail began to yield huge amounts of voltaic fun.

The trail surface was surprisingly tacky considering the rain. The trail dished out one amped berm after another and threw in resistance in the form of tapered jumps and hips all over the place. HOLY WOW!!! it just kept getting better. This is the longest piece of single track in the area with the exception of the Seven Summits Trail and perhaps the BEST ten miles of total mountain bike riding you might ever experience.

Finally, one group caught up with the other. We were very wet and cold but the grins on our faces warmed the air. Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt had given us life and warmth. Everyone agreed that this was one of our best rides ever.

It all ended too quickly even though the ride was very long. Can't wait to do it again. Sorry for the lack of picture quality, but the poor camera had been dealt a heavy dose of moisture and it was also very foggy.

We loaded up the truck and headed back to the warmth of the shop and a cold refreshment.

Super Mega Death is the trail builder's name for his masterpiece, but Super Mega Death Lightening Bolt will always be the trail name for the HOLY WOW GANG. If you want to ride this trail, you may have to bribe Gang members with bike swag or amber refreshments in order to get them to take you because sometimes you just hate to share something this shocking with others for fear that they might be electrocuted by SMDLB.

MIKE HOPKINS JOINS TEAM KNOLLY

Mike Hopkins, the son of a long time Holy Wow Gang member has just joined Team Knolly. Mike is the second son of the infamous Norm Hopkins. He is a pro mountain biker and skier.

Mike has a real flare for the camera and has been featured in many videos. More recent ones include, Life Cycles a hometown Rossland production that has made a huge impression on the mountain bike video world and Mike's escapades at Red Bull Rampage. But most recently he can be seen riding a Knolly(Canadian made bike) in video clips introducing him as a member of Team Knolly. Looks like there will more even more entertainment on the horizon on board his new ride.

Check out these links and the video on them that introduces Mike as a new member of Team Knolly.

http://blog.knollybikes.com/

http://bicycling.com/blogs/thestraightdirt/2011/06/03/lance-armstrong-knolly-bikes-and-why-sponsorship-matters/

http://ptaillefer.pinkbike.com/album/Mike-Hopkins-on-Knolly-Bikes/

Mike has ridden Rossland singletrack with the Holy Wow Gang on many occasions and has never failed to amaze us with his talent on a bike. Congrats on the new ride Mike. Maybe you should join us in Moab in September for our celebration of 20 years of riding mountain bikes together.

7 SUMMITS: TRAIL BUILDING DAY

Holy Wow members and other volunteers helped the KCTS Trails crew add a new 500m road bypass to the Seven Summits epic trail. The work crew met at the Centennial Trail parking lot at 9AM Saturday morning. They got their instructions and loaded vehicles for the shuttle up to the top of the Cascade Summit. From the summit they hiked in about .5 km and built a new piece of prime single track that replaces a road and a climb on the old route.
Amazing how many hands make light work. The new section was completed in approx 3 hours. It is a sweet addition to an already wicked single track. Check out the video below

RED TOP SINGLE TRACK PREMIER

Even though the snow is slow to melt the Gang felt that we should give Red Mt and Red Top Trail a go, so off we went. Taking a selection of the great single track available in the Rossland area, we navigated our way up to Sally's Alley and the mid way trail head for Red Top. The track was generally good other than some mud that behaved like contact cement on Miners single track. Stew Spooner and the KCTS trail crew had been through and spruced up the route.

Ten Holy Wowers embarked on the first descent of Red Top for this season. Spring trail conditions are always the sweetest. There is just something smooth about a trail just after the snow has melted. It is kind of like the powder snow of mountain biking. Huge fun. Couple of crashes. Nobody hurt. Another great outing.

Rode O'Flanagan's and Centennial back to Larry's and took Curly's home to Dave's. The refreshment selection had improved to include some green ones causing the spirit to be higher than usual. Riding mountain bikes in Rossland is just awesome.

MTB REVIEW: KINDSHOCK SEAT POST MOVES IN

At least 6 of the Holy Wow riders have recently acquired a KS adjustable seat post. This is quite a big event, so I decided to do a bit of a write up on the product.

The riding around Rossland is very up and down, and the down can be very challenging, especially if you are perched atop your seat in pedaling height. Historically a rider would stop to lower the seat of the bike before descending. This move gets the seat out of the way and allows the rider to get lower on the bike and prevents endos and other downhill mishaps. But if the trail pitches up again, this requires another stop to raise the seat post. This causes a very stop and go type of ride.

How do you solve this problem? In the past there was a gismo called a height rite, which was a giant clothes peg spring that attached to the seat and the seat tube. When the seat was lowered the spring loaded up and then when the seat post quick release was loosened the seat popped back up to ride height. It worked but messing with the quick release while riding proved to be a dangerous thing. Along comes the adjustable on the fly seat post.

A number of companys including Crank Brothers, Rock Shox, Kind Shock (www.KSsuspension.com)and others have entered the adjustable seat post market. Holy Wow riders have embraced the KS offering because of its infinite adjust ability and bomb proof construction. Tyler at Revolution Cycles(www.revolutioncycles.ca/) in Rossland had torture tested the post ahead of time and highly recommended it. Enough said, we were in.

The i900-R is the model of choice because of the remote leaver that mounts on the handlebars. Here is the post installed on my Nomad.

Notice the slick mounting system. The Kind Shock remote integrates into the grip mount by replacing the inner lock ring of the lock on grip. This makes a convenient mount and does not take up any more room on the handle bar.

One of the best features of the KS seat post is it's ability to be adjusted to any height. Just press the red leaver on the handle bar and sit to any level you want and release the leaver. The seat will stay at that height. Hit the leaver and the seat returns to the height you set for pedaling. The posts that we are using have 125mm ( 5 inches) of total up and down movement along with the adjustment available through the use of the seat tube quick release.

The installation is pretty straight forward. Remove a grip. Take off inside grip ring and replace with KS adjust leaver. Remount grip. Zip tie cable to bike. Insert seat post, fully extended, to pedaling height. Connect cable to seat post. KS has simplified the cable connection so that cable removal and replacement is easy if necessary. Check for cable clearance in both up and down positions. THEN RIDE.