It’s been a busy spring at Eminent with new bikes, new faces, new challenges, new successes, and as always, the relentless push to offer the best riding mountain bikes in the industry. We are lucky to be down in sunny San Marcos, but... it hasn't been all that sunny. So Cal is now officially drought free and getting there took a lot of rain. This has definitely made it feast and famine from a riding standpoint; our trails don't handle water as well. On the other hand, now that the worst is over, riding is primo.
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New Bike:
Photo Credit: Satchel Cronk
If you didn’t know by now the Onset is here and it’s proving to be a game changer. The bike looks as amazing in person as it rides in both the 120 and 140 configuration. It just made the cover of Mountain Bike Action and media has been lighting it up…
“The Onset is one of the most confident all-mountain bikes we’ve ever ridden descending steep, sketchy lines. It even took some getting used to, as a result. Trails that normally bounce and buck can be ridden faster than we expected and we had to learn to trust it. Manual into rocky steps, brake through a chunky turn, dive into off-camber lines—the Onset doesn't flinch"
“Balanced and Planted” are the two words that keep coming up. The 29" optimized AFS hugs the ground and tracks it with surgical precision making for a super predictable platform… but it is still agile, poppy, and flick-able. Going uphill most riders are finding it tracks so well they hardly touch the climb switch, but it’s a nice feature to have none-the-less.
The Haste remains super popular, so much so we've blown through almost all of our first order 2019 order, but more will arrive any day now. The new satin black team color way is a great addition for those that prefer a stealthier look. It provides a nice contrasting option to the vivid gloss team blue, which will return. The new shock tune from Fox is dialed. Both the DPX2 on the Comp and X2 on the Advanced and Pro provide next level sensitivity while still staying high in travel.
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New Blood:
We've added some new faces to the team...
Pictured from left to right: John Valera, Jeff Paulson, Jeff Soncrant, and Erik Saunders
Photo Credit: Francis Cebedo
Erik Saunders has taken on the Director of Sales position and has extensive bike industry experience in product, sales, marketing, and coaching. Erik lives in Santa Barbara with his family. He'll also be representing Eminent during the entire California Enduro Series and put up a solid result at his first race in an Eminent jersey. More on that below...
Jeff Paulson has stepped into the new Marketing/Sales/Operations support role. Jeff comes from outside the industry and is thrilled to finally be "plugged in" where he belongs. Jeff and his family moved to San Diego about a year ago from the SF Bay Area.
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On the Road Again...
The needle is pinned. So far we’ve hit up the Sea Otter Classic, in Monterey, CA; The Fat Tire Festival, in Fruita, CO; the first California Enduro race, in Ensenada, MX; and too many California demos to count with our partner, DemoWorx. Impressions of the bikes range from, “holy S**T” to “can I just buy the demo bike I’m on right now?”.
This summer we are also venturing beyond Cali and will be in Oregon, Colorado, and Washington for the first time. We are very pleased to continue to offer ongoing demos at Sky Park Santa’s Village and at our HQ in San Marcos, CA.
You can find our entire demo schedule here .
Be sure to check often as new dates are being added all the time.
Each trip to show case the brand takes some effort, but reactions are well worth it, as is the opportunity to ride somewhere different. After Sea Otter, Jeff S and Erik hit up the Soquel Demo Forest in Santa Cruz Mountains (birth place of the Haste) with the MTBR crew. They rode Braille and the Flow Trail, both of which provide solid duration thrills that are well worth the climbing effort. In Colorado, Jeff S and Jeff P attended the Fruita Fat Tire Festival and rode trails in Grand Junction and Fruita. The trails at 18 Road were a great demo ground, but the real highlight was hitting Ribbon to Holy Cross in the "Lunch Loops". The zone is directly adjacent to the Colorado National Monument. As a result terrain and scenery was right out of a western. About half way through the ride the clouds rolled in and opened up. We got our Onsets filthy, caked in mud… not common factor back in So Cal. The bikes performed flawlessly. Regardless of being cold and wet, both Jeffs agreed they had
unfinished business in Grand Junction. We're stoked we'll be back in CO later this summer for more. The people, festival and trails were solid.
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Racing
Our team has been working hard in the off-season and put up some serious results/podiums during the SoCal Enduro series. At Sea Otter they proved they were out for blood. Emit Hansen and Jakob Snow tore up the men’s junior Enduro field with Jakob taking a 1^st and Emitt getting 5^th. They then went on to shred the DH track, with Emitt getting 1^st and Jakob 3^rd. Xylena Hoppen also managed a solid 3^rd place in women’s juniors… with a busted derailleur cable!
Our very own director of sales, Erik Saunders and Emitt just hit the first California Enduro Series race in Ensenada, MX. Once again we came back with solid results. Emitt bagged the top spot with a first for men’s juniors. Erik took 4^th in Expert.
Big thanks to our team sponsors: DVO Suspension, Magura Brakes ,Protaper Bars, Kenda Tires, SunRingle Wheels, andMaxima Racing Oils.
Lastly, we want to wish Jakob Snow all the best with his new team (GT). We are sorry to see him go after such a brief amount of time with us, but that’s racing. Good luck!
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Service
By now all Haste owners should have received the new bronze brake bushings to replace the existing IGUS plastic ones. If you haven’t yet, please replace them. We recommend using a light layer heavy pressure mechanical grease between the bushing and bracket interface. Be careful not to contaminate your pads or rotors with the grease. Tighten the two nuts evenly until the tops are FLUSH with the top of the bolt threads. Do not tighten past this point. Be sure to refer to your manual or reach out if you have any other spec questions.
Brake Bushings
Give your bike the love it needs! We recommend freshening the brake bushings up approx once a year or every 1000 miles. Bushing kits can be found on our parts page.
TIP OF THE MONTH: When installing rear wheel it's way easier to line up/thread the rear axles if you push the derailleur forward and put some slack in the chain.
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Jerseys
We now have jerseys in black or team blue colors. Material is super breathable and light. Perfect for a hot summer and fit is spot on. They aren't on the website yet so we're giving you early dibs. Price is $59.99. Hit up jeffpaulson@eminentcycles.com if you are intersted!
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Thanks for your continued support of Eminent! Remember to follow/like us on Instagram and Facebook.
Enjoy the long days and see you out there!
Cheers,
Jeff, Erik, Jeff, & Blake
