NORBA comes to AZ. this weekend NOVA National!!

You can tell that mtb season is coming fast. Many of the top mtb pros have been contacting us to make sure their new suspension bikes are in perfect balance to go with their Wobble-naught mtb fit.

This year's NOVA National kicks off the new NMBS with three races: a time trial on Friday, a night-time short track in downtown Fountain Hills on Saturday, and a long-course cross-country on Sunday.

This is the bike game that got people back onto bikes i.e Specialized Stumpjumper, Gary Fisher, etc... and it only grew.

Today the bikes are fine-tuned carbon fiber suspension racing tools with hydraulic disc brakes that allow you to power up and down steeps, as well as get the tires hooked up with optimized frames that are light, responsive, and stable. A perfect balance of man and chassis allows the racer to wheel over obstacles or hop the different front/rear or both wheels as needed. The bike also needs to respond well out-of-the-saddle for attacks on nasty rough trails. Boy, how things have changed.

Tops names like Jeremiah Bishop Trek, Georgia Gould Luna, Nat Ross Gary Fisher, Shonny Vanlandingham Luna, Nick Waite and many others with the latest in high-tech are ready.

These pros take their game as "sacred" as the road racing pros; they want to make sure their hard-tail bikes and full are set up with the correct tire pressures, sag for their shocks, stem rise, sweep of handlebars, etc... Good cornering (carving your turns) is the foundation as descending with speed.

They think in terms of approach, the apex, and the exit, as a skier would! They also race the course "man/women vs. track".

A neat thing about mtb, is as strong as you may be, it's incredibly difficult to ride away from other racers. It can be a sport of guts, aggressiveness, opportunity, patience and luck. You have to have the smarts and a strategy to deal with the conditions. You need the confidence and bike handling to race the course. Knowledge is key!

With all the new brakes, many gears, full-suspended or hard tail, terrain conditions, racing lengths (short track, XC, 24-hours), and athlete types, it is a complicated sport even on the most basic level.

First NORBA in the USA 2007.

Should be fun!