The HiFi Continues to Impress

If your unfamiliar with the HiFi or the Superfly this post will make no sense, click on the HiFi and Superfly labels under the Label List to the right.

I rode the HiFi twice on Marshall Mesa last week and it continues to impress me. Marshall's trails make a good proving ground since I'm very familiar with them on the Superfly. The first noticeable difference was how stable the bike felt. The High Plains Trail connects my neighborhood to the Marshall trails. It's a rolling, off camber trail, lined with lots of tennis ball sized rocks. Although not a joy to ride it's good to train on because it is similar to some fresh cut race courses like Nathrop or parts of the Laramie Enduro. It's the kind of trail that on the Superfly I always feel like I should be riding faster, but have to sacrifice speed for control. On the HiFi the rear suspension did all the work allowing me to shift some focus from keeping the rear end connected to just riding fast. It was an example where the combination of 29 inch wheels and 4" of travel really shinned! On the few short climbs of the ride the HiFi was still a tank, but I feel like I'm learning how to exploit the it's assets and minimize it's weaknesses. Conservation of momentum, while important on the Superfly, is critical on the HiFi. It's greater mass requires much more power to accelerate once it's slowed. Small climbs that I can sprint up and power through on the Superfly require just letting my speed bleed off and spinning to avoid going anaerobic. This will change as my fitness builds and I transition from base to intensity training later this spring. The end result will be more total power in my legs and "training bat" effect when I get on the Superfly. I'm stoked on the bike and continue to be impressed by it's virtues.

Here's a tracklog from a shorter Marshall Loop (about 14 miles) I did last week. The loop on the west end is the new Spring Brooke Trail that was opened last fall by the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance. I decided it was too windy that day to do the full loop from my house, which proved wise later when I was literally blown off the HiFi by what I estimate was a 60mph gust. Rocky Mountain Regional Airport which sits on the same plateau network as Marshall Mesa reported gusts of over 50mph that blew over a Cessna while it was taxiing (here).