Is it Time to Show Your Bike Chain a Little Love?
01 year ago
Is it time to show your chain a little love?
Have you ever been riding your favorite trail and it seems like that awful squeak coming from your chain is going to break your eardrums? Let’s face it, without a chain your bike would be nothing more than a hunk of metal hanging in your garage. Water and dirt are a chain’s worst enemies. Dirt can get in between your chain links and cassette causing premature wear and possibly your chain to break. Cleaning your drivetrain could be the most valuable maintenance you can do to your Fezzari. Here are a few tips on cleaning your chain and keeping it properly lubed so you are able to ride more efficiently. Bottom line, a happy chain means a happy rider.
Cleaning Your Chain
You will need 3 things to properly clean your drivetrain, a mild degreaser (bike specific ones work the best), a coarse household scrub brush, and a lint free towel. A chain cleaning kit has everything you need and does an excellent job. First, spray down the chain with the degreaser and let it soak for a minute. Second, give the chain and cassette a scrub with the brush ensuring to loosen all the dirt and mud. On a muddy mountain bike rinse the chain and cassette with mild pressure from a garden hose as well. Finally, wipe your chain clean with the lint free towel until it shines. If your chain is really dirty give it another shot of degreaser and a scrub to get all of the dirt and old lube out of the links. Make sure your chain is completely dry before applying chain lube.
Lubing Your Chain
One of the biggest misconceptions cyclists have is more lube the better. Too much lube attracts dirt and is actually worse for your chain. Make sure you use a bike specific lube. Things like WD-40 are not actually a lubricant and can attract more dirt, loosen your chain links and, in the long run, do more damage to your chain. There are many different types of lube out there. Wet lubricants are good if you are riding in wet conditions because they repel water. Most cyclists use a dry lubricant, which is a great all-around lube. Don’t hesitate to call the Fezzari factory shop if you have questions on which lube is the best to use in your riding area. To lube your chain, lean your Fezzari against a wall, a tree or place it in a Fezzari Quickstand service stand (link to bike stand) so your cranks are free to spin. Apply a small amount of lube to the center of the chain link while turning your cranks to lube the entire length of the chain. Ensure the lube penetrates the center of the links and doesn’t roll off the side of the chain. Be sure not to over lubricate. Use a clean, lint free towel to wipe the excess lube off your chain. For the longest life possible clean and lube your chain every couple of weeks. If you are riding in muddy conditions you will need to clean your chain more often.
Now that your chain is squeak free go hit the trail or road on your Fezzari bike and see if you can’t notice the difference a clean and properly lubed chain can make on your ride. Your bike will love you for it.
2010 season
01 year ago
by Fezzari Factory
in Contests
2 
2010 is gonna be a crazy year. It will be my first year competing in a full slopestyle season. I have been training really hard, and I’ve never felt better. My bikes have been amazing — especially the 801 — its such a amazing bike.
Micah Hintze 2010 Races
Goat Style Bike Jam, Creston, British Columbia, Canada
Crankworx, Winterpark, Colorado
Crankworx, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Highland Claymore Challenge, Northfield, New Hampshire
I am also going on a dream-come-true, 2.5 month road trip with Demon Dirt to pretty much everywhere a biker dreams of riding. We will be traveling all over the U.S. and Canada. We’ll be visiting.
Woodward West
Woodward East
Windells Camp of Freeride
Ray’s Indoor MTB Park
Camp of Champions, Whistler Bike Park
Highland MTB Park
All the amazing Washington/Oregon trails and too many others to name.
Im so excited and I will be doing it all on my Fezzari bikes 
I will be posting as much as I can on the road — video and pictures very soon. Hope everyone has a great summer of riding.
Dave Beeson 1st @Triple dip DH Sol Vista Colorado
01 year ago
I just got back from the Triple Dip DownHill stage race in Sol Vista Colorado. For any of you that have not ridden Sol Vista I highly recommend that you road trip out and enjoy the amazing mountain that they have made into one of the best mountain bike parks in the nation. The Three stages where all Down hill with one chainless race in the middle, and all combined times determined the winners.
My first race I had a great run and ended up Second overall with the fastest Vet Pro time. In the chainless race I had a small fall and ended up .03 seconds behind the stage winner for the day, and it gave me a 8 second lead over second place my division. On the third stage I won by .15 seconds and held on for the win in my division, and I ended up 8th overall (pro). If only i had not crashed.
I had a great weekend and my Fezzari Widows Peak downhill bike kept me going fast, and got me down the hill fast. Thanks to Chris, and all the guys at Fezzari for the help and I will report soon.
Next up = Wolf Mountain 6 hour enduro downhill. Where I happen to be the defending Champion.
Erin Collins 1st place Expert @ Stan Crane Memorial ICUP in Draper
01 year ago
I was a little worried how my legs would feel on Monday morning since I did a triathlon just 2 days before.
I did everything I could to get my legs to recover asap after the tri on Saturday…I ate some good food immediately after and even managed to get back into the icy lake that we swam in. This is a big recovery secret! Sunday I went out for a nice spin on my cross country solitude bike. Monday when the race began I just thought to myself be patient and don’t start out too fast. I was sitting in the middle of the pack for the first few miles of the first lap and I had the first place girl in my sights. I started feeling good so I picked up my pace a bit and passed 3 girls…now I was in 2nd position.
On one of the last steep climbs before the final descent for that lap I saw a pro girl up ahead and thought ‘no way is the KC Holley’ well it wasn’t, but it was another fast girl that races the pro circuit Xterra race series. I rode in front of her for the remainder of that lap and then right behind her for the 2nd lap. On the second lap I saw the first place expert girl stopped to “unsuck” her chain, I yelled some words of sympathy and encouragement and took off. I managed to put four minutes on her during my remaining descent and half lap. She told me after the race that one of the expert riders was giving her a hard time and told her that we both needed to move up to pro. Well that’s good I told her because I was planning on doing the next race in the pro category!
Draper Cross Country MTN bike race
Timp 1/2 Marathon & Daybreak Triathlon
01 year ago
by Fezzari Factory
in Contests
Last weekend (May 22nd) I raced in the Timp Half Marathon. I had been excited for months for this race. I really wanted to do well since I have been waiting for years for the opportunity to race a trail half-marathon. Trails and uphills are my specialty so I wasn’t going to pass this up! Race day I woke up to it snowing….snow turned to rain…and right before the race began the precipitation stopped.
I started out really slow because I knew I had plenty of uphills to put time on my competitors. At mile 2 I was in first place with second place on my tail. The trails were so incredibly muddy that it made it hard to run without rolling my ankles. I slipped and fell right on my tail bone down one of switchbacks. I had to be very careful of my every foot step so I wouldn’t sprain an ankle. Long story short, I had a great race and ended up coming in the first overall female and was tickled to death!
I don’t know what it is about me and racing in freezing temperatures but this year has been very generous in this matter. If you know me at all you’ll know that I’m chronically cold. It could be 80 degrees outside and I’ll insist on wearing my puffy coat. What’s worse is that I HATE to be cold. So today the weather decided to test my mental strength and see how I’d race after swimming in 56 degrees and hopping on my bike and wearing close to nothing in 55 degree cloudy weather. I can’t even begin to tell you how much snot I lost today. I was completely miserable on the bike, I could barely use my hands to shift gears up or down. There were only 3 tiny little climbs on the course and I enjoyed every second of them. It finally gave me a chance to get some blood flowing to my feet and hands. I rode as hard as I’ve ever ridden in a road Tri race. I pushed it as hard as I could every second because I had 16 females to catch up to after the swim! By the end of the bike I had passed 13 girls. The run was pretty uneventful except for the fact that my feet were completely numb. They stayed that way until part way through the 2nd lap and at this point I began to have the pins and needles sensation. I don’t think I got full sensation back until 10 minutes after my race ended I passed another female on the run.
Highlights:
- I love how fast my T3 tri bike is! I feel like I’m flying when I’m on it! I do need to wok on building the proper muscles so I can go even faster! I’ve only done a handful of rides/races on a tri bike and the different muscle use versus a mountain bike is dramatic!
- Road tri’s are so easy compared to Xterra’s! They’re shorter and just plain easier!
Lowlights:
- Super long time in-between racer meeting and start of the race….like 45 minutes
- Freeeeeezing on the bike ride!
Results: 2nd Overall Olympic Female
1st place @ Sundance Spin ICUP
02 years ago
by Fezzari Factory
in Contests
What a beautiful day it was at Sundance, the trails were in great condition (despite a few wet spots), and the competition was great. There were around 300 competitors, kids to Pros (I’m talking world circuit Xterra winners) at the race and the battle was set to be great.
After the race took off I settled into 3rd position. About 5 minutes into the race I realized I had more in the tank than the 2 girls in front of me so I asked them to let me pass (passing on this section of trail is impossible unless the rider pulls over). After I passed them I just kept ticking off male riders in front of me. I put a good distance of about 30 seconds from me and the second place rider up to the top of the climb. After the descent I had gained another 20 seconds on her. I rode the final 2 laps in first place. It was a great race and, I had so much fun being back in the scene of mountain bike racing! I can’t wait to do the next one which will be the Stans Crane Memorial ICUP in Draper.
If at first you don’t succeed….Race recap for St. George Ironman
02 years ago
So, my goal this year was to qualify for Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii. I actually won a free entry to Ironman New Zealand, held in March of this year, and figured that was going to be THE race that I would reach my goal.
So, after I went to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships held in Clearwater, Florida (last November, 2009) I figured I would just keep the ball rolling and train right through to IM New Zealand. I actually had a terrific winter of training and really enjoyed being so focused and excited for a great adventure. It was a great adventure! I loved New Zealand and thought the race was really quite wonderful…all except my knee that disagreed with the run for the last 13 miles. So, needless to say…I DIDN’T qualify for Kona with a marathon that became a death march. Also, needless to say…I was pretty dang bummed about the whole thing. But, I was still so grateful and lucky that I got to even go to New Zealand and have such a memorable and awesome experience!
Next up….Ironman St. George on May 1st. After New Zealand, I really wasn’t too excited about doing another Ironman. My body and, even more importantly, my mind were just plain TIRED. I was also a bit discouraged and just didn’t feel like getting all intense and focused for IM St. George like I had for IM New Zealand.
IronMan St. George
So…I didn’t! My training was much less in both intensity and quantity. I even took extra days off and wasn’t quite as strict with my nutrition. So, going into Ironman St. George…I was…relaxed, recovered, well stocked in the extra energy stores (that’s a nice way of saying…not super lean)…
The 2.4-Mile Swim
And…I felt GREAT! I am a decent swimmer so I came out of the water feeling great. My bike was absolutely wonderful! Not only was I SO comfortable on my Fezzari, but it looked SO good! I remember thinking at mile 70 that I was still comfortable on my bike. No real discomfort of any kind, great hill climbing, smooth descending, strong through the whole day and a great looking bike to boot? How much better does it get! (Oh yeah..and run was fun, too!)
The 112-Mile Bike Leg
I felt NO pressure from myself to do anything more than just enjoy my day and finish with a smile on my face. I KNEW the course cause I had trained on it for the past year on my Fezzari, so I was comfortable and familiar with how my bike handled the course. I also knew what my gearing needed to be and how I needed to be fit on my Fezzari for the course.
The Marathon
The run was an absolute party for me! I knew SO many people and had so many athletes on the course (27!) and friends cheering us all on…it was just like a rolling block party! Before I knew it the finish line was in front of me and I was crossing the timing mat with a big smile on my face.
YEAH…Mission Accomplished!
Not only had I finished happy, but (I got a LOT lucky) and qualified for a spot to compete at the Ironman World Championships in Kona! Whoulda thunk it??
The best part…I got to stay at the finish line and cheer in ALL the rest of my athletes as they crossed the finish line (except for 2 of my speedy men that finished WAY before me)! It is such an amazing feeling to see someone that you care so much about finish something that they have worked SO hard to accomplish!
In fact..the whole reason that this race in St. George was so unforgettable was because of all the wonderful and awesome friends and athletes that were involved. Cementing my already firm opinion that triathlon is so awesome and amazing because of the PEOPLE that you get to know and the FRIENDS that you get to make along the way!
Spring training
12 years ago
by Fezzari Factory
in Contests
I have been doing my best to get in some spring training, but this weather just wont cooperate. I’ve been on a bike at least 4 days a week but that just doesn’t seem to be enough so Saturday I went out for a simple training ride on my T3 Tri Bike to get ready for some upcoming triathlons and well…. I just kept riding and riding. I was headed into a major headwind on my way to Mona from Provo and boy was i glad to have my T3. My poor training partner was on his road bike and just couldn’t keep up. True it is partly because he is just not as fast as me but when i would drop into aero position it was as he said; i had “turned the afterburners on”.
We chose to alter our route to catch a bit of a tail wind and turned our efforts to Utah Lake and the sweet push on our backs was a welcome treat… for about 11 miles then wouldn’t you know it, the wind switched and we were facing the same battle. What a great training day. I was able to put 100 miles on my T3 facing the most grueling conditions. I loved it.
We have been Mt Biking too, in the snow. Infact, the Weekly races at Sundance and Soldier Hollow are getting into full swing though this weeks at Sundance got pushed a day due to snow
