By: The Clairebarian
*{Cover photo & other action shots by Hardtail.Life}
{A Short Forward:
I just want to jump in here for 30 seconds and recognize that this is a really nice machine for a nine-almost-ten-year-old. We received a priced-to-move deal on this used Samurai from some really nice folks and that up-ended our other new-to-Claire bicycle plans. The Cane Creek Helm fork she’s sporting is well used and better than new thanks to SuspensionWerx and the only fresh components are a 160mm Canfield crankset, Chromag saddle, and a chain.
I wrote a bit about this bike as part of a mid-month SBTISAOAF. If you missed it there’s a little easter egg in there on how we made the bike fit Claire. In terms of growth, if Claire doesn’t get a few inches on her mom she’s going to be riding the Samurai for a long time. Hardtail geo is fairly decided. As she grows we’ll be planning to add 1-2cm wider to the bar each year. At some point, we’ll bump up the telescoping action of the 120mm dropper post and grow the cranks as well.
Here are Claire’s first thoughts after a couple of weeks of riding and as we prepare for Cumberlandworx, year four.
-Andrew}
Buying the Bike
Hi, this is Claire, and I’m going to talk about my new-to-me Chromag Samurai. I’ve already gone on a few rides on my new-to-me bike, but it’s pretty fresh. It all started when my papa sent my mom’s 26″ Chromag Sakura to Victoria to have the headtube cut off by WZRD Em. Before Em could change the geometry on the Sakura, this Samurai came up.
The seller said that her husband was coming down and we could meet him at Tsawwassen Mills. We kind of lost our way on the way there, but we arrived and there it was with two motorbikes in the back of a truck. We jumped out and said “Hi” to the man and we talked to him for a long time. Then I received my new-to-me bike, in my favourite colour, BLUE!
Building the Bike
One of the things that I was so excited about was the fork because Uncle Jimmy who owns SuspensionWerx built me up a Cane Creek Helm (a blue one which is my favourite colour) and it ended up matching my bike.
My Papa thought that Kelsie (who is the person who made my Clairebarian stickers) made us white stickers but then turned off the light and realized that they were glow-in-the-dark. Really Cool!
I have the same handlebar with all the same stuff that I had on my 24″ Marin except my shifter. My dropper post is different but I kept the remote that I reviewed. It’s the same stem (the one that I “found” in my Papa’s drawer). And of course my tool, right in the middle of my handlebar. My Chromag Contact pedals are the same. New seat, same model. My Papa added a LOVE IS LOVE sticker. Nice MEATengines bottle.
Testing the Bike
To test the bike, me and Papa went to Green Park and ate tons of huckleberries. We didn’t even make a dent in the huckleberries. Green Park is our local park about 20 minutes from our apartment. When I was four and five years old my gramma, my Papa, and I went to Green Park and we ate huckleberries. I thought we ate tons of them but when we went to Green Park this year I knew I was wrong.
My favourite bush is one with huge berries and they’re kind of egg-shaped. Most of the big ones are way too seedy. You know what? I think I have a different bush that’s my favourite maybe even two. The first ones are super light pink. You’d think those would be the tartest but they’re actually a lot sweeter than some of the darker ones. My second favourite ones are tiny and dark and they’re quite sweet too.
Riding the Bike
I went for my first off-road ride on Dreamweaver. I was a bit slower than usual but I rode everything that I was riding on my old bike (the 24″ Marin). We rode Dreamweaver a couple of times, then Forever After with Brixton-Jim, and then we went and rode with Meg and Steve (Hardtail.Life) on 7th Secret.
I rode the entrance of 7th which is a good start and we kept going. I did really well, actually I rode my best 7th Secret lap ever. Then it was time for Leppard. My Papa and Steve went zooming off so that Steve could get a picture of me on the high-curved ladder and so that my Papa could spot me. I rode it and then right after it there was a super steep rocked corner climb and I cleaned it for my first time ever. I rode all the rest of Leppard and then it was time for Crinkum Crankum.
I rode all the rock corners on Crinkum including the one that I didn’t ride for a while. I rode one of the ladders (the third one) and there is even a picture. Then we rode the rest of Crinkum Crankum. Then we rode Kirkford and then we road Griffin and then we rolled into the parking lot.
In conclusion, I love my new bike so far and I’m so excited about writing about it at Cumberlandworx!
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