Moving house and storage is going down so we are selling bikes – 3 0f them at least.
First Up The Klein
Attitude Race Aliminium Frame S/M 2002 – only 2.8lbs in weight. (which cost £980 when new)
There are two wheel sets with the bike – A rolf Propel lightweight race set shed with bling Schwalbe Fat Franks. Gearing is 32:14 on this set.
offroad wheel set is a mix (rolf Propel UST at rear with 32:16 setup) this is shod in a Larsen TT UST tyre
Front is a Michelin XC – slightly chunkier front tyre for both a bit of shock and really great grip. Hub is Hope Pro3 and the rim is a MAVIC 819 tubeless.
Pace RC31 forks
Pace RC31 rigid forks are some of the lightest fromt MTB forks around.
Klein’s legendary paint job with very few nicks and cuts ….
Broken apart everything will fetch 800ish and more on flea bay (where it is heading next) but would prefer to sell as whole …. £600 picked up or £630 shipped in UK
why I became a roadie – nice series from big spesh …..
The first of a series of short films exploring the one word that seems to be missing from much of the bike industry – “why?”.
Dan Gronross has lived in British Columbia for eight years, and for the longest time rode mountain bikes exclusively, much of it in Whistler’s Bike Park, until a bad accident changed his outlook on the sport. Here’s WHY he rides road bikes now.
following on from the reblog below look at these 650b beauties …. they also do a 29er for taller bods …. here is their site in full glory
We are all 29er junkies over here, but let’s face it not all size riders belong on a 29″ wheel. Over the years, we have observed many shorter riders grinding through trails on a 29″ wheel. What really caught our eye were the angles of a frame that seemed so whack to have to accommodate for the shorter top tube length but yet still allow for sufficient tow clearance. We decided there had to be a better option, so we turned our sites on the 650b.
Our intentions from the beginning were to create the best riding custom steel 650 to feed this niche. What we discovered is that the 650 is not only the optimal bike for a shorter rider but it is also one of the most fun rides for a rider of any size.
A smaller wheel equals better leverage to the rear tire, plain and simple. In our prototype process, we noticed immediately the quick off the line response especially riding a technical trail with many switchbacks. The front tire seemed to roll over everything and cut through sand just like a 29er. Overall we knew we were on to something. Matched with our custom steel formula we created the fastest xc riding machine on the planet. Frame weight: 3.5 lbs (medium).
Hand selected tubing per customer ride preference
4mm custom poured headbadge
Laser cut stainless bridge plate with logo
Custom laser etched ID plate with customer name, serial #, tubing used, and year it was built
Decorative lug head tube piece (per customer request)
Custom paint with painted logo (no decals!)
Custom geometry per customer request (additional charge may apply)
The recent UCI XC world Cup stage win has really opened the debate about 650b wheels again …. So why would you care about 650B mountain bikes? Well, there has been a lot of debate about wheel size in the mountain bike industry. The basic premise of the wheel size debate is that we came to our current standard of the 26″ wheel somewhat arbitrarily. The standard of the 26″ wheel size was established long before mountain bikes came around. So nobody can say that 26″ wheels are and always will be the perfect size for mountain bikes.
If this all sounds familiar, it should. This is the same argument the 29″ wheel crowd has been using for years.
So you might wonder why we don’t actually know what wheel size we should be using. Well, in most cases it comes down to cost. It is very expensive to make new tooling for different size tires and wheels, so you can’t just try anything out whenever you want.
Then there is the establishment issue. Nearly all of the advancements in mountain bike geometry and technology have been based on 26″ wheels. If you just change the wheel size, nothing says that all of the old established standards with 26″ wheels will still work. As with most engineering problems, there are both positives and negatives to almost every option. So, new design optimization may need to take place for each wheel size.
So why 650B? The people behind the 650B movement claim that with 650B tires you get all of the same advantages of the 29″ movement (lower rolling resistance, better traction, smoother ride, etc.) with less of the disadvantages (geometry limitations, toe clearance issues, higher center of gravity, suspension travel limitations).
Much of this may be true, but as I always say, you should get out on a bike and see for yourself if it works for you.
One cool thing about these 650B wheels is that some fork manufacturers are now giving them the OK to run in their standard 26″ forks. This will take the 650B movement a long ways down the road to longer travel without other sacrifices.
I find the idea of looking into different wheel sizes appealing, but I think it may be a long time, if ever, before we as an industry can say what wheel size is best for any type of riding and any type of rider.
If we take the arguments of both the 650B and 29″ movements to extremes, we will end up with custom sized wheels, tires, and frames for each and every rider.
I think in the end here, the bike industry will learn some lessons from all of this and we may end up with some better options for different sized riders and different types of riding, but don’t expect wheels to go through a rapid evolution. There is way too much invested in the 26″ wheel for it to go away anytime soon.
wheels vs rock
From his interview – this answer sums up my belief in this topic …
Are there courses that the 29er is good for still?
It depends on your riding style and how tall you are. I would say the most XC riders they are between 170-180 cm, and at that height the 29er is not the best size. You are more between the wheels and not on the wheels. For all those riders 650B is the best choice. Also for acceleration you feel it is lighter you don’t have a heavy fork, everything is lighter so in my eyes for XC it is the perfect size 650B. 29er makes sense for tall racers, or if they are not riding that aggressive. I talked to a lot of other riders that are not riding Scott and they said that they want to have from their bike makers the 650B. Im sure in 2 years in the world cup, there will be more 650B bikes than 26″ and 29er.
via BikeMagic
Lat month at the start of the UCI World Cup, held in South Africa, with Swiss rider Nino Schurter opening up his account with a stunning victory. While Nino was sipping champagne after the race, the internet was alive with the news that he had ridden to victory on a mountain bike with 650b wheels.
2012 is threatening to mark the biggest upheaval in the development of the mountain bike since, and the debate is all about wheel size. From the beginning, despite a few brief flirtations, the mountain biking industry settled on 26in wheels, and in the couple of decades since we’ve been blissfully enjoying 26in mountain bikes. In recent years the subject of the best wheel size for mountain biking has risen to the top of the agenda.
Why are we even on 26in wheels in the first place? The reason the Repack riders used 26in wheels back in the 70s and not the more common 700c road wheels around was down to one simple thing: tyre choice. There simply weren’t suitable tyres for off-roading in the larger size. Cruiser bicycle manufacturer Schwinn however produced bikes using 26in wheels, which came shod with fatter tyres, much more suitable for blasting down the tracks those long haired guys were racing. In those early years mountain biking moved swiftly, and there was very little discussion about wheel size. 26in was simply adopted as it proved to work reasonably well. 30 years later and that debate is now raging.
In the years since the first mass produced mountain bikes, there’s been some who have held firm that 26in isn’t the best for mountain biking. 650B is claimed in some quarters to be the best size for mountain biking. It has long since been the solve resolve of French cycle tourists, but if we go back to 1951 we discover that a young group of cyclists, the Velo Cross Club Parisien (VCCP) could claim to have invented mountain biking. Only they never realised it.
They adapted their 650b touring bikes for off-road use - there’s even YouTube footage of those early cyclists in action. Suspension forks were borrowed from mopeds and improved brakes and gearing were the main changes that allowed these pioneering cyclists to embrace the essence of mountain biking that we take for granted today. If this movement had gathered a little more momentum who knows how the sport might have developed. It could have been very different. Maybe we would all be riding around on 650b mountain bikes already?
Instead the industry continued with26in. Then, along came the rise of the 29in wheel size, in recent years we’ve seen an explosion of 29er bikes. 2012 really does seem to be the year of the 29er. Gary Fisher pushed the concept of 29in wheels, larger at 622mm diameter than the 559mm of 26in wheels and 584mm of 650b.
The first manufacturer to attempt to bring a 29er to market was Bianchi in 1989, when it brought out a bike with 700c wheels and components like flat bars, thumb shifters and a triple chainset that we would recognise today as standard equipment. It didn’t catch on. By 1995 it was quietly dropped from the Italian company’s range. Gary Fisher, an early adopter and pivotal to the rise of 29ers, brought out his first big wheels bike in 2002.
Now, with the support of most US brands, 29ers are going global. European brands have been forced to follow suit, with 29ers featuring in the catalogues of most medium to large size companies. They’re creeping into more bike shops and more bike sheds and garages across the country, and more people are considering a possible purchase.
So 29ers are the future? Perhaps not, as a 650b mountain bike (a Scott Scale) has just gone and won the first round of the UCI World Cup. This sent shock waves through social media networks like Twitter over the weekend as thousands visibly recoiled in disbelief. Is the future now 650b?
Does 650b offer the best of both world? That’s the question on many people’s lips. The handling could feasibly feel more akin to a 26in (as it’s only marginally better) but with some of the highlighted benefits of 29ers; increased rolling speed, momentum, smoother and more stable ride over rough terrain, more traction. Another advantage of the 650b wheel is the more vertically challenged people will be better able to get a good fit – we’ve seen some drastic solutions taken by sponsored riders forced to ride 29ers to get the handlebars low enough to replicate a fit they happily achieved on their previous 26in bikes. And we know how racers like to slam their handlebars and get as low as possible.
That’s largely a reason Nino is said to have chosen a 650b from a choice of three wheel sizes. And of course there’s the weight advantage, there’s no getting away from the fact smaller wheels are lighter.
What does it mean for mountain biking though? Is there space for three wheel sizes, is the industry really wanting to offer the huge range of bikes that the three sizes would clearly need?
And do the public have the appetite for three wheel sizes? Is the industry gambling with people’s patience and money? Or is this leading us to have a debate about the size of our wheels that we’ve never properly had in our young sport.
What do you think?
PS
If you liked the video at the top here is the longer version – he seems to make absolon pay every time in the technical rock garden … greater skills …. bigger wheels …. who knows
Shot with Lumix Fz 38 and Go Pro2. Some Images: Patty Trespando.
A fat bike – what is that ….They are designed with adventure in mind, wide-tire frames with monster rubber are your ticket to backcountry bliss. Load ‘em up, air ‘em down, and ride ‘em into the sunset. The flotation and traction afforded by large-volume, low-pressure tires can get you over and through otherwise unrideable terrain…sand, mud, wet rocks and roots, ice, many kinds of snow and even naughty potholes …..
sean salach’s definition .. Fat Bike is a bicycle created for cycling on soft, unstable surfaces. They are used primarily on sand, snow, gravel and bogs, but can be and often are used just about anywhere a mountain bike or road bike can go. They are built around much wider tires than a mountain bike, which can be run at very low pressures to increase the size of the tire’s contact patch. This gives the bikes increased stability on loose surfaces, and lessens the likelihood of the wheels sinking into softer or more fragile surfaces. The current standard tires are marked as 3.7″ or greater in width, though the actual measured width will vary from 3.5″ – 4″+ depending upon the rim used. Rims are available for these tires in widths up to 100mm, which is 4 times the width of a standard mountain bike rim.
The next round will take us to the other spiritual home of the MTB-Marathon Series – Selkirk in the Scottish borders. But this time the Scottish round is not just earlier in the year but it will also feature the UK Marathon Championships.
Well a heavy option would be to use a mountain bike system like the cannondale scalpel to flex away the pave but treks new Domane looks sweet as a honey bees glory ….
RIDE.cc
Back when we were speculating on the sneak peek shots ofTrek’s new Domane underneath Fabian Cancellara at the Strade Bianche, we conjectured (is that a word?) that the seatpost and the main frame were separate. And they are. Spartacus himself has been heavily involved with the design process, and the bike “specifically addresses the challenges of rough road conditions found throughout the spring classics courses with a collection of key innovations unlike any available before today”, according to Trek.
The Domane (That’s Do-MAH-nee, apparently, which is latin for “King’s crown” as well as being an anagram of Madone) features a technology which Trek have christened IsoSpeed. It’s a “functional decoupler that separates the ride-tuned seat mast from the top tube”. So effectively the the seat tube isn’t attached to the top tube and seatstays like you’d normally expect, but instead is held in place by a pivot and some kind of elastomer coupling that acts as a buffer between the seat mast and the top tube. Being an elastomer it will act as a damper which also perhaps opens the possibility of further tuning the ride… not that we’d fancy trying to take it out.
IsoSpeed means lots more compliance, say Trek. Twice the vertical compliance of the nearest competition is their claim. Not only that but they claim that it’s even stiffer laterally than the Madone. A bike that’s got a bit more give should be a boon over long rides and difficult surfaces, with the IsoSpeed coupling allowing more fore-aft movement as well as in the vertical plane.
Cancellara’s certainly happy. “When you work with Trek and the engineers it’s a combination that lets you examine every detail and the details that it takes to win the races that this bike is made for are bigger than any other,” he gushed. “The end result of all that work is the Domane and after competing on this bike, winning on this bike, it’s going to be hard to get me on anything else,” he said, although that didn’t stop him swapping back to the Madone for the smooth tarmac of Milan-San Remo.
In the end it’s a comfort bike. A performance-led one. Trek have always maintained that they didn’t need a comfort bike because the Madone was comfy enough and available in different geometries, but they’ve inevitably lost out in sales against the likes of the Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale Synapse and Giant Defy Advanced, and more and more manufacturers are producing performance-comfort bikes now;BMC’s launch of the cobble-friendly GF01 is next week.
Like the Madone 6 Series the Domane boasts an OCLV carbon frame with a super-wide BB90 bottom bracket and internal cable routing. There’s a new Bontrager RXL fork to go with the frame, too. Trek call the cable routing ‘race-optimised’ and interestingly the cables on the Domane all enter the headtube on the same side (something we noticed when we spotted the bike at the Strade Bianche). We’ll be looking to see if that is an innovation that makes it’s way on to the next generation of the Madone – surely due for launch any time now.
The Domane’s geometry is different from that of the Madone. The head tube is just a little taller than you’ll get on an H2 fit Madone – Trek do three different fits, the H1 being the most aggressive, the H3 being the most relaxed. The Domane’s head tube is 17.5cm compared to 17cm on an H2 fit Madone. The top tube is slightly shorter too. You get a slacker head tube angle, an increased fork offset, longer chainstays, a longer wheelbase and more of a bottom bracket drop on the Domane too, which should translate into a more planted, stable ride which is especially useful on rough roads where hitting something hard and jagged on a standard road bike can knock you completely off-line.
Cancellara doesn’t ride with electronic gears; if he did you’d have seen the battery mounted at the bottom of the down tube, basically in the middle of the bottom bracket. For a bike that’s designed to be ridden over the rough stuff that seems like an odd placing to us, being a bit more vulnerable to debris kicking up from the front wheel than the current favourite position of underneath the chainstay.
Other pave-beating touches include super skinny seatstays and an integrated chain catcher; some of the RadioShack Nissan Trek boys would undoubtedly find that useful on the Madone too. Hopefully then the new integrated chain catcher on SRAM Red is detachable – how many chain catchers does a boy really need? Actually, we’re guessing that the one on the Damone is detatchable for those who can change gear without dropping the chain.
The new Domane is available right now in two versions (there’s three on the UCI list), and in another break from the usual the Custom version is cheaper than the Team Edition. quite a bit cheaper as it turns out. You can have a Custom Domane 6 for a mere £3,700 (although you can pay more if you want) while the Domane 6 Series Team Edition can be yours for £8,290. There must be some Unobtanium knocking about in that one. Well, do you want to beat the cobbles or not?
That’s it for now. But if that isn’t enough, we’ve got a man in the area: VecchioJo is currently hot-footing his way across the low countries to ride the Flanders sportive, and he’s even now diverting to Kortijk (picture one of those Union Jack arrows from the start of Dad’s Army) where Trek are currently showcasing the new machine. He should be able to swing a leg over it too, so stay tuned for a first ride soon… if he doesn’t get lost.
Profile of street trials rider Danny Macaskill. Using his new Lezyne Engineering tools, Danny Macaskill re-visits his old job, in the workshop of MacDonalds Cycles in Edinburgh Scotland and chats over his rise to success and how life has changed.
Featuring some new street trials content filmed exclusively for Lezyne by Cut Media’s Stu Thomson in the streets of Edinburgh. Danny also takes a mountain bike ride high on to Dumyat in Trossachs hills in Central Scotland and talks over his love for mountain biking.
The Superlight is the bike that launched Santa Cruz into the stratosphere. It was a combination of low weight and capable full suspension performance. It blended technology and reliability and offered it at reasonable price. Well those qualities are still important so Santa Cruz is offering the Superlight with 29er wheels now. Travel is 100 mm or 4 inches and geometry is optimized for a 4 inch travel fork with the head angle at 71 degrees.
Here’s the specs and available kits:
Claimed frame weight is 5.9lbs for a medium with shock.
The venerable Superlight gets big wheels this year. The addition of 29-inch wheels is the biggest change to this cross-country full suspension bike since its introduction in 1999. No VPP, no ABP links to adjust the shock rate, just a straight-up single-pivot XC bike with 100mm of front and rear travel.
According to Santa Cruz Bicycle’s marketing honcho Mike Ferrentino, the growing popularity of 29-inch wheels necessitated the development of a budget-minded full suspension platform for the masses. “The Superlight is the ‘gateway drug’ to Santa Cruz for many riders,” said Ferrentino. “Many first time buyers are now buying 29ers. These riders don’t want to buy a $5,000 mountain bike.”
The Superlight has a standard 135mm quick release rear end.
The Superlight frame retails for $1,050, complete bikes will start at $1,850. Complete bikes are available now but it will be several months before the frame-only option will be in stock.
While carving through the red Sedona dirt I felt the Superlight 29 did most everything one looks for in a cross-country full suspension.
The rear suspension is firm and did not feel as active as the company’s VPP bikes. The suspension firms up while grinding away in the granny ring—not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. The Superlight’s rear end did not feel as stiff as the Tallboy’s, though I didn’t consider the flex significant enough to be detrimental to the bike’s handling.
Full suspension does not get any simpler, nor lower maintenance than this. The Superlight 29 could be a good choice for new riders looking to buy their first full suspension, and a great option for up-and-coming NICA racers.
Was on a shoot today filming at a small house in Edinburgh when I chance upon this classic lurking unlocked around the corner of the house.
they are quite rare now most confined to a scrap heap or worse … Dynatechs aren’t made of pure ti they are made of grade 3 ti(ok nearly pure)
But ti could never be described as brittle, grade 3 is increased corrosion and fatigue resistant, and as to the bonding to the lugs was a method used by other makers and many other well known brands suffered failures as well, i think it was just your luck as some frames survive today, these were the heady days of experimentation when the choice in the fledgling mbt market was steel, steel or steel ,a very light smattering of alloys but usually steel in 1 form or another
I remember when alloy became mainstream ,oh! the horror stories ,of sudden failures ,yet now you can ‘horse it’ on an alloy bike
Raleigh DynaTech mountain bike from the famous special division of Raleigh.
History
The demise of the European team in the early 1980s led to the closure of Ilkeston but resulted in Gerald O’Donovan and Melvyn Cresswell teaming up on product development at what became known as Special Products Division. Shortly before this, and supported by his ‘indulgent boss’ Yvonne Rix, Cresswell had designed and launched the Randonneur tourer. It was based on personal experience and inspired by his first ‘serious’ bicycle, which Gerald O’Donovan had built for him many years previously. Although Raleigh’s most expensive complete bicycle, it was an instant success. The Randonneur proved that Raleigh could still sell high-end product if it was thoughtfully designed and manufactured.
The small team gathered together at Special Products built on this success. They produced many viable new bikes, which initially sold in good volumes. Derby encouraged this development work and Ed Gottesman, leader of the Derby buy-out, was particularly supportive. An avid collector of high-end Raleighs, he was always looking to add to his collection. Moreover, he always paid for his Special Products bikes.
Managing director Sandy Roberts was also a keen supporter of the unit. However, after he retired in 1990, support waned. Despite pioneering work on thermal bonding technology (DynaTech) and frame manufacture using titanium and metal matrix composites, the Raleigh board was unsure how to make use of Special Products Department. Should it be required to make a profit? Should it be a development overhead? Was it a marketing tool and hence part of marketing costs?
Meanwhile the sales department had little interest in Special Products and was so tied to the Raleigh 5-star dealer network that access was denied to quality independent dealers capable of selling the product. The decline of Special Products was therefore inevitable.
This one is for sale if anyone is interested – I can give you contact details ….
I don’t have a carbon bike but this is one of the criticisms that i have heard rolled out …. well have a gander at this.
STORY FROM ROAD.CC
If you’re one of those people whose reflex action when you see Peter Sagan or Robbie McEwen pull a wheelie on a road bike is to issue a terse ‘tsk,’ you may wish to look away now. You certainly won’t want to press ‘play’ on the video above.
If you’re still here, that’s great – hit the ‘play’ button and sit back and watch a couple of Neil Pryde frames being put through some Danny MacAskill-style moves with the help of assorted bleachers, berms, steps and picnic tables.
There’s limited info on the background to the video – at the end it says that stunts were performed by Rick “The Clutch” Roth and Tony “The Sack” Roth, and Neil Pryde gets a namecheck, as do Shimano, Enve and Tune “for making products that hold up.”
The video appears to have been put together by Tucson, Arizona-based Fair Wheel Bikes - we can’t find anything on their blog about it right now, but perhaps that’s because we got distracted by posts showcasing some great custom builds…
We’re not sure we’ll be incorporating this kind of routine into our bike tests, but road.cc tech ed Nick will be casting his eye over the video later to see if he can ID who supplied precisely which parts… the Dura Ace wheels on one of the bikes being a given, of course.
UPDATE: In fact, what happened was we received a very thorough response from Fair Wheel’s Jason Woznick which you can read after video.
The story from Fair Wheel Bikes in Tucson, Arizona
Naturally, having seen the video, we had to ask some questions and Jason Woznick from Fair Wheel Bikes in Tucson, Arizona came back overnight with his answers:
road.cc: Did you break anything? – Well, we had to ask
As far as things that got broken, the list was pretty small, one flat tire, one chipped fork (from the crash at the end) and a couple of slightly bent teeth on a chainring.
road.cc: It looked like the guys were riding different set ups so did you have different builds for different types of stunt?
There weren’t really planned differences in setup, both bikes were just typical road bikes. We didn’t build these bikes specifically for this video; these bikes were already built and being ridden. The black one is my daily rider and the blue one is Richard our web editor’s daily rider. When we decided to finally shoot the video we wanted to use our regular bikes. It’s not uncommon for those bikes to drop a ledge, or a flight of stairs on a typical ride or commute so we really didn’t have any concerns about durability or setup. The only changes that were made for the video were that the tires were swapped to 28c commuter tires and the pedals were switched to platforms.
road.cc: Oh, and did you have any reasons for choosing particular components to use on the bikes?
The reason we chose the particular components for each bike was that those are what we like to ride.
road.cc: Finally having done this video do you think there’s more that can be done in terms of road bike stunts?
There are definitely a ton more things that can and should be done. When we started planning the shoot we expected to have more time but logistics just didn’t allow it. We ended up having only 2 mornings to shoot which limited not only our time but also our locations. We had a ton of stuff which we wanted to do but just never found the time. Half of this video was Tony and Rick just trying to get used to being on bikes they’d never been on before. We had plans to do more at the dirt jumps as well as an indoor bmx/skate park, we wanted to hit some of the trails as well. There were lots of things that we planned on coming back to once everyone was warmed up, but then time would be up and we wouldn’t get back.
road.cc: Finally, finally, are there any particular things that road bikes actually work well for?
(Tongue in cheek) It would have to be road racing. They definitely do that better than they do trials and dirt jumping. Though the only real issue with them was toe overlap.
What I find most interesting about this whole thing was that this version of the video was never suppose to make it’s way out to the public. This was just a sketch put together here in the shop. We have a much better editor who was working on the actual planned release version. Over the weekend somehow an earlier copy of this sketch got leaked. We tried to reel it back in but every time we got a site to agree to pull it down, it would pop up somewhere else. Once it went over 20,000 views we finally realized we’d not be able to stop it so instead we released this sketch which was at least a more completed version.
I think that’s a little sad as I know the other version will be better. We shot on 2 days with 3 cameras, this sketch was compiled with only half of the recorded footage so just to start it was already limited from the other version. Not to mention the other version is being put together by an experienced editor. We still may release the other version when it’s done as a directors cut or something like that. We’ll also be putting lots of other footage and out takes on our face book page. We shot a total of about 2 hours of footage on each camera each day so we have lots of stuff that didn’t get included.
The Bike Specs
Bike 1 – the black one, belongs to Jason
Neil Pryde Alize Dura ace Di2 shifters derailleurs. Enve rims on Tune Mig 70 Mag 170 hubs with CxRay spokes, 20/24 Enve compact bar Enve stem Tune Concord saddle EE brakes Prototype EE cranks. (compact 34/50) 172.5mm Lizard skin tape Conti top contact tires 28c Vittoria Latex tubes Dura Ace 11-28 cassette
Price somewhere around $11,500. This one with it’s normal tires is well below the UCI limit of 6.8kg. Bike 2 – the blue one
Neil Pryde Alize Dura Ace 7900 group (shifters, derailleurs, cranks, brakes, cassette (11-28), chain.) Dura Ace C50 wheels Conti top contact tires 28c Vittoria latex tubes Lizard skin tape Specialized Toupe saddle Pro PLT bar and stem
Well according to the video. Trail looks fantastic ….
Properly set up suspension is barely a luxury for technical trails on little bikes. Arthur and his Tallboy, solo “Ladies Only” rip, thanking Todd for his hard work every time his tires touch a new patch of gold dirt.
Find part II of Arthur’s interview below: nsmb.com/4804
Incentive for the half marathon in the rain and wind – if Danny Hart can do this in downhill – a little jog shouldn’t put me off
Great Britain’s Danny Hart gave us a master class in downhill racing as he demolished the wet Champéry track in a show of dominance not seen here since Hill’s infamous run of 2007.
Coming off the back of an amazing 2nd place at the last round of the World Cup in Val di Sole, Hart went one better to cut more than 11 seconds off the time set by silver medalist Damien Spagnolo (FRA)… even finding time to showboat over the last jumps.
A defining moment in Downhill racing, the 2011 World Championships are sure to go down in history. Roll on the 2012 season…
A race weekend and I felt ill prepared. I had not bothered with the 100mile Sportive the weekend before due the remnants of the hurricane hitting Scotland’s shores. I did however make the most of it by going kitesurfing and filming it on the GoPro - see last weeks blog post for that bad video ….
I am currently working on a CH5 series which will go out in 6 weeks – I can’t give out any details but suffice to say that some of the subjects are a lesson in taking care of yourself (both in what you eat and exercise) So I was in the edit when ‘he who shall remain nameless aka NICK’ started sneezing away spreading germs by the ton.
I knew then that I would get it being confined in a small room with the sick bastard and true to my prediction come Saturday afternoon as i packed the bike and set off down the road I had a sore throat and the start of a runny nose.
In retrospect had i realised this was a 4+hr drive I might not have bothered to do it by myself. I got down to Ruthin about 9pm as the Exposure Big Night Out race was finishing … amazing to see the guys waltz in after 40km looking as fresh as a daisy.
I went to the table where they were getting tea and begged for a cup of boiling water … it was a lemsip for me then and there and quickly going off to crash. I hadn’t bothered with a tent, instead sleeping in the back of the estate which was remarkably comfortable.
Up at 8am and off to the catering tent for porridge and tea. Prepare the bike – making sure the Racing Ralph was still holding air … I ripped the sidewall out of the last one in Selkirk in August. then set shock and I was ready to race.
Porridge and tea please guv'nor
My race plan due to the cold was this:
Do the 50km race not the 75km
Keep heart rate below 150bpm
Start and better still ... FINISH
10am Start – at 10:06 hit the bottom of the hill that would only go up for the next 30 minutes, quickly wished I hadn’t started at the back as idiots all around stopped pedalling and thought about walking and in a lot of the cases did. My rohloff speedhub goes down to to about 19 gear inches so I can get up most hills as long as I have traction and can keep the nose from rising too much.
nice singletrack through moor
The weather was alright although the rain had made the course very muddy – something I regretted having the Racing Ralph on the back which held the claggy mud and made it pretty sketchy at times. Plodded along the whole way …. cleaned all the technical sections although had two very stupid falls, both times breaking on nearly level grass before a sharp turn to a technical section. A bit of back brake and the RR shot out sideways leaving me feeling rather stupid but completely unhurt.
down to the reservoir - big gaps between riders at this time
I only stopped at the first feed station but had enough to keep going through the rest. The finish was the biggest challenge trying to follow the signs through town and then not seeing the turn in to the park and the finish. Ended up down at the roundabout looking for directions before retracing my steps and eventually seeing another marker.
more mud and shorten course blob of paint for 75km entrants that did 50km
End result 3hr 54min (-2min spent looking for finish) AVE speed (a slow) 13.5 km/h
HR average 145 / 173 max
Nice to be finished – had a quick bike wash, shower for myself then treated myself to leg massage before the 4.5hr drive home.
Bontrager RXL shoes are fantastic fit and really stiff and comfy. Lost a bit of disco white with mud but cleaned right up.
proof on the speedo
OVERALL:
Course not great – pretty boring the Selkirk event was more varied and challenging
Camping and Event site – fine and would have been good if family were along as well.
Entry fee – a bit sharp
strange man and penny farthing - my rohloff'ed ti bride 96'er
Were you there at Ruthin? …. how did your day go?
SIDE NOTE
Was using the Bryton Cardio 30 on the bike as well as the Garmin Edge 305 (which is great and now around £175) and there was quite a large difference in readings.
There was a small section in woodland but not enough for this difference.
Blue=Bryton Green=Garmin
I am still testing the Bryton Cardio 30 and so far I would advise people to hold off buying … their website was playing up and there are various things missing from their functions that should be addressed.
just waiting for cold to shift a bit as Bryton Cardio 30 really bought for running … will run a regular route to compare. My Suunto + GPS on eBay if you know anyone interested?
It’s done. Weekend planned heading down to Wales for this ……
MTB Marathon – Ruthin 18th September 2011: Following the ELBNO Night Marathon on the evening of the 17th September 2011, the MTB Marathon is the daytime alternative or the extra ride for the real ‘hard core’ riders out there.
The route will cover four different course lengths: full marathon – approx 100km course middle marathon – approx 75km course half marathon – approx 50km course mini marathon – approx 30km course
The Sunday courses will use some of the ELBNO course. But we can promise you that it will feel completely different to ride this course first at night and then again in the daytime. As in previous years we will be working with LPFRA (Llanferres Playing Field and Recreation Association) who did a fantastic job providing 65 marshals and making all the tweaks to make the Ruthin course work.
For 2011, LPFRA are intending to rework the 2010 courses adding some new sections for good measure, polishing off certain sections and include lots of the best bits from the former Ruthin rounds – fast and flowing tracks along the open hill-tops mixed in with challenging and technical single and double tracks through the various wooded areas whilst providing spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and N. Wales coast.
They are all well-experienced mountain bikers with extensive local knowledge who work in partnership with North Wales Mountain Bike Association (http://www.nwmba.org.uk), so once more we keep the riders on their toes and will create an event which will stay in people’s minds for months to come. Well worth checking out if you are new to the Ruthin location or if you are a regular. The marathon will be once again based at the Ruthin RFC, which will be signposted from Friday afternoon onwards.
Start time: The MTB Marathon will start at approx 10.00am on Sunday the 18th September at Ruthin’s RFC.
Registration opens: Saturday from 12.00pm – 8.00pm Sunday from 7.00am – 9.00am
richdirector
11:48 am on September 14, 2011 Permalink
| Reply Tags: Brandon Semenuk, Cam McCaul, cycling ( 311 ), DVD, Entertainment, Evan Schwartz, Graham Agassiz, Matt Hunter, Mike Hopkins, mountain bike, mtb ( 80 ), Riley McIntosh, Thomas Vanderham, trailer, video ( 98 )
The “official” Life Cycles teaser starring… Graham Agassiz, Mike Hopkins, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Riley McIntosh, Evan Schwartz, Brandon Semenuk and Thomas Vanderham.
I love the bit in here where a young Gary Fisher (who works in a bike shop) speaks about klunking …. ‘it’s come a long way in 5 years and it’s going to go a long way ….’
This segment, Klunking, is from the late 1970s, hosted by Steve Fox, and comes from the Paul Colardo (an Evening Magazine crew member) collection. This is one of the first segments that Paul produced.
Steve Kotton was the cameraman on this shoot and remember having to climb up the steep hillside. There was also a lawsuit against KPIX brought by one of the riders. He claimed that the camera crew were in the middle of the road and he crashed. He lost the lawsuit because the video clearly showed the side of the track location of the crew.
It is believed this piece was edited by Jim Farney.
Segments from the original Evening Magazine are brought to you courtesy the School of Multimedia Communications archive at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Jan Yanehiro.
Been based in Frassinoro this break which is 1110m above sea level. Been doing lots of hilly runs and wishing I had also brought my mountain bike and road bike as there are amazing rides all around.
altitude run profile
The quick 10km run I did this afternoon/ evening was over a mountain bike trail over 300m of climbing and quite a bit rougher than my normal runs … For once I thought I needed trail shoes. Not sure what altitude does to pace as I can’t judge how much slower I am as the trails are so much rougher. I will have to look up the effect of altitude once I get a decent data connection. I don’t feel like I am struggling muscle wise although heart rate seems high and pace is slow…
Frassinoro is a bit famous for their cross country skiers – part of the trail is apparently an important training area for them summer and winter. Passed a girl this evening o the trail walk/ running with 2 poles and buns of steel – maybe she is the world champ?
richdirector
desertroadie
barroommountaineer
manofthemoors
Lewis are discussing. 
xandimusic are discussing. 
Ben and 
The Sunday courses will use some of the ELBNO course. But we can promise you that it will feel completely different to ride this course first at night and then again in the daytime. As in previous years we will be working with LPFRA (Llanferres Playing Field and Recreation Association) who did a fantastic job providing 65 marshals and making all the tweaks to make the Ruthin course work. 
Lewis 9:41 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink |
Im very interested in buying it, please message me
Lewis 9:43 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink |
Im very interested in buying your Klein, please message me
richdirector 7:06 pm on May 23, 2012 Permalink |
Lewis – if interested still give me a call O7966 91O358
0 are O to avoid spam
or rich director(at)gmail.com