ALPKIT-BIGSHAKEOUT FESTIVAL 2013

ALPKIT-BIGSHAKEOUT FESTIVAL 2013

I'm really exited at the moment as along with my girlfriend Debs we have been accepted as  Alpkit Shaker Makers at Alpkit's Bigshakeout Festival 2013 which is a celebration of getting out into and enjoying the Great Outdoors.

Alpkit are a fantastic online outdoors retailer based in the UK selling some of the best value for money outdoor gear money can buy.  I own quite a few bits and pieces myself like their Hunka bivvy bag,My-TiPot,MytiMug and Numo sleeping mat and in winter I practically live in their Filet Down gilet which they have stopped making for the time being. One of the most versatile products is their Airlock XTra dry bags which are brilliant for strapping to your bike for bikepacking trips, something that I love doing and it's fair to say that Alpkit were instrumental in me getting the bug for bikepacking in the first place through the Daring deeds & Spotlight sections of their website. Alpkit are making a big move into bikepacking at the moment with their bikepacking range of goods, especially the brilliant & affordable bikepacking luggage which is set to smash the UK market.

Daring Deeds highlight's the exploits & adventures of people using Alpkit products, from Mountain climbing expeditions, kayaking & bikepacking to adventure racing and a whole lot of other outdoor activities & adventures. The Spotlight section shows you how you can best utilise the Alpkit products for the various activities that they have been designed for which helps you to get the most out of their equipment.

As a Shaker Maker we will be "hopefully" helping the Alpkit staff to make the event  run smoothly and for that you get a free weekend pass & a place on one of the half day School of Adventure courses that are running throughout the weekend.

Here's a list of just some of the courses over the weekend

Navigation skills
Girls only navigation skills
MTB Core skills
Girls only MTB core skills
Bouldering
Lead climbing
Belaying
Canoeing & Kayaking

There will be talks & Q&A sessions with adventurer Alastair Humphreys which is going to be really interesting and which I'm particularly looking forward to.

There's going to be live music on the Saturday night which will help give the weekend that festival feel along with all sorts of other activities all weekend from cooking to photography and plenty more that are too many to mention.

So if this is your kind of thing and you think you would like to come along too, follow the links and get booking your tickets but be quick because they are selling like the proverbial "hotcakes" .

Hope to see you there...

Another Lurcher Update

The Lurcher has had some of the planned upgrades in the shape of the Blackspire Super Pro chain rings and the uber light hollow pin & slotted plate black & red KMC x10sl DLC (Diamond Like Coating) chain that comes in a nice box, and so it should for a £60 chain.  I replaced the FHM mixer headset which was showing signs of rust in the cups already, with a beautiful Chris King Inset 1.8-1.5 headset which I don't think I need to worry about rust after 3 months.

nice jewelry box for the chain

kmc black&red x10sl dlc

The KMC chain retails for about £89.99 rrp and by sourcing from Taiwan I managed to get it for £56 posted which is a bit of a bargain if you ask me. Now I'm sure there are plenty of people thinking I must be mad to pay that much for a chain let alone think it's a bargain but I did a lot of researching before I bought it. I don't think you could use anymore acronyms to describe a chain but KMC have certainly packed a lot of technology into it. The pins are riveted  with "Lat step" processing, which supposedly uses 350kg of force to seal the plates together making what is claimed to be the strongest chain connection on the market. Both the inner & outer plates are slotted to reduce weight with the outer plate using X-Bridge technology and due to X-SP friction reducing coating and the precise manufacturing tolerances gives it a longer life.

What makes the X10SL DLC differ from the rest of the X10SL chains is the Diamond Like Coating which is a process KMC uses to get a coating of carbon on to the chains to make them harder/smoother making the chains more resistant to wear which causes chain stretch and causes the wear to the rest of your drive train. So what seems like an expensive initial outlay could save you money in the long run and at least prolong the inevitable of replacing chain rings & cassettes.

Blackspire Super Pro

I have used Blackspire Super Pro chain rings before and know how good they are, and that they shift every bit as good as Shimano, they even improved the shifting of the Truvativ chain rings on my girlfriend's Deb's Inbred, but what they do best is give your bike a nice bit of colour and bling. But with my groupset being the new Dynasys with a directional chain which I have to say is definitely the smoothest shifting I've ever used I wondered is it worth sacrificing that smooth shifting for the sake of trying to make the bike as nice looking as I could.

I took the gamble in the name of bling and I'm glad to say I didn't need to worry, everything is just a smooth and crisp shifting, but possibly a little bit noisier but that's negligible . I have stuck with the 38t middle and 26t inner size's that the XT crankset came with. I had already experimented with a DIY 2x10 setup on my old Inbred and found that it made more sense for me and my XC riding , but these new dedicated 2x10 systems have taken it to a whole new level with the big range cassettes.  The new drivetrain with the red aluminium kcnc jockey wheels,red Blackspire chain rings and the black & red KMC chain in is looking pretty cool, even if I do say so myself.

Chris King Inset 1.8-1.5 mixer

As you can see in the pic above I leave a lot of steerer above the stem for which I get quite a lot of stupid remarks when I've posted pics on forums before especially Singletrackworld about taking my eye out with it and about being careful with my manhood. Ascetically a tall steerer doesn't bother me as it seems to a lot of other people but the main reasons I like to leave it tall is that if ever I want to swap the forks out on another frame I shouldn't have any problems and if I ever want to sell it it makes it a lot easier with a longer steerer. I've never understood why you would want to take what is an expensive item and chop it down to make it probably useless to use with any other frame ?

A Lurcher in it's natural enviorement 

There have been a couple of more changes to the original build but they have been because I haven't been happy with them, the first is the ESI Chunky grips which I just couldn't get on with, they were an absolute pig to get on the bars but in use they were a big let down. I had read that they were comfy & shock absorbing, well for me they weren't, they gave me wrist ache and I just couldn't get used to them so they have been replaced with a pair of Oury Lock On's in white. I had these on my old Inbred a few years ago when they only came in black and they are much comfier, soft & sticky and were my first choice but after reading all the hype about the ESI's I chose them, a lesson learnt, stick with what you know works for you where comfort is the issue!

The second of the changes as been the most disappointing and is the Look S-Track pedals. I'm a big fan of the Look Quartz pedals, I had them on my stolen Inbred and have them on my Pompino and really like the amount of float you get with them and how easy they are to engage/disengage when setup right,but I know a lot of people have struggled with this as you have to use wedges to get the cleat height right but I have always had no problems and the bearings last forever so for me they have been great.

The S-Track is the new model so I was expecting good things especially as the tension of the retention bars is adjustable  but I just haven't been able to get them set up right. It seems I have had the problems with these that I had read about other people having with the Quartz. I would struggle with getting clipped in and out which as been a nightmare at times because Deb and I have been riding a lot of very rocky trails and I have had a couple close calls clipping out just in time. I'm sure they are good pedals if you can get them set up right but I have had to go back to the Quartz and have been much happier with the positive feel I get with them so I shall be sticking with the Quartz.

I'm just starting to really gel with the Lurcher and it's 29" wheels, it definitely gives you more confidence and makes up for any lack of skill a lot better than a 26" wheel bike does and I certainly feel faster than I did on my 26" . I find it better for riding up hill too as you just roll over stuff that would stall you on a 26" and downhill those big wheels give you more grip. It felt weird at first almost as if you are sitting on horse but I'm really starting to feel like I'm part of the bike now and getting a good feel for how far it can be pushed, which is a lot further than my skills can take it I'm sure.

I've been asked if I'm a 29er convert ? I think I have to say I am and long may it continue,  bigger wheeled bikes are definitely the future for me.

Bikepacking Fright-night

I took the chance this week to give Deb her first taste of bikepacking with a trip up to a great little wild camp spot near Luds church/chasm, Gradbach in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Luds chasm or church as it is sometimes known is a deep gorge that is carved into the landscape at the back end of ridge line of rocky outcrops. There are many tales & story's going back to prehistoric times, it's been used as a meeting place by persecuted religious groups hence church being used in it's name, smugglers, and is also thought to be the location for the story of Sir Gawain and the Green knight. It is a very atmospheric place and has got an other worldly feel to it.

It's quite a trek up to Luds church in day light and not somewhere you would want to go looking for at night but I will come back to that .

Deb & I had planned to ride up to the bivvy spot from where we live which is about 30km and something I've done a few times, but time was against us and with this being Debs first foray into the world of bikepacking, I didn't want to make it some kind of a suffer fest to get there before dark and put her off,
.So we decided to drive up with the intention of getting in some riding the following day. From the car park it's a short rocky decent to a small stream crossing and then a steep rocky push up to the bivvy spot.

The bivvy spot from an earlier trip

As you can see from the pic above it's a great spot for a bivvy. We pitched the tent just before it got dark and the only thing bothering us were the midges, but this is the moorlands in summer so there's no escaping them but it had warmed up the last couple of days so they were out in force, but once zipped up we were nice and cosy and happy. We settled down for an early night. At about 1.30 am we were woken by voices, and by the kind of talk they were using we could tell they were not the type of people you would find around this neck of the woods, they were talking like they were in some kind of gangsta rap video and obviously drunk or off their heads and as we had a few grands worth of bikes outside we were a bit concerned. The next thing we know they've shaken the tent and screamed/shouted really loud over the tent frightening us both to bloody death, at that point I've jumped out the tent as quick as I could expecting a confrontation but they were hiding in the trees making stupid noises, obviously thinking they were scaring us which I'm man enough to say they were but I wasn't going let them know that. I was shouting at them to man up and show themselves instead off hiding and that I was with my girlfriend who they were frightening (in hindsight probably not a good idea). After warning them I was going to call the Police if they didn't show themselves, I did when they didn't respond. After a few minutes a black guy came out from the trees and walked towards me obviously worse for the ware holding out his hand and flashing a torch in my face killing my vision saying he was sorry and wanting to shake my hand.  I was very wary, had he got a knife ? It was very dark with the tree cover and with my night vision gone I couldn't tell. I told him where he could stick his hand and a few choice other words too. Then another fella appeared this time an Asian guy so now it's two against one so now I was even more wary but things were about to take a turn for the surreal. Things calmed down after they apologised and I could see that they were just a pair of drunken idiots, not what you expect to find in this neck of the woods. It turns out these two guys who said they were from Birmingham had seen a program on BBC 2 a few nights before about Luds church and had driven up see it for themselves. They were adamant on seeing it but I warned them that it was very dangerous to go up there in the dark but being drunk they wouldn't listen, I warned them that I had called the Police but they weren't bothered so I pointed them in the direction of Luds church and fully expected to be reading the papers in a few days time about two body's found at the bottom of the gorge. The Police called back and I explained the situation and that we would be ok  and not to send anybody out to us.

About an hour later we had a phone call from the Police who were making there way up to us anyway to make sure we were ok, and just when they found us the two comedians appeared and were promptly searched and questioned. After speaking to them the Police informed us that these to guys were known to the Police in the Birmingham area for various things and that they would be a lot happier if we could pack up and escort us back to our car, I said we would be ok but they really weren't happy about leaving us so that was that. We packed up and had to scramble back down to the car park in the dark just using the torch light from the Police, nearly coming a croper a few times on the way down.

Debs first foray into bikepacking will certainly be a memorable one but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons thanks to a couple of numb nuts from Birmingham, I just hope it hasn't put her off ?

Carneddau Mountains camp & ride

Deb & I had the chance to get away for a couple of days last week so we decided to go to North Wales for some camping and an epic ride or two. I love North Wales and Snowdonia but don't get to go there nowhere near enough,  especially as it's only just a couple of hrs drive away. Snowdonia has got some of the best riding in the UK, road & offroad, but it was the offroad flavour Deb & I were after. We decided we didn't want to do the forest trail centre's but instead search out some adventure in the high mountains. With the summertime voluntary ban on cycles on Snowdon, Wales & England's highest mountain, which asks cyclists to not ride on the mountain between 9am & 5pm, we decided to do one of the hardest, remote and most technical rides in the Wales mtb guide book. The ride is in the Carneddau mountain range situated between the Snowdon mountain range and the Clwydian mountains to the east.

Llyn Colwyd Reservoir

Double track from the campsite in the Ogwyn Valley

Debs trophy shot after carrying her bike 300m up through the pass behind her

Somewhere up there is a pass

As you can see from the photo's the Carneddau is a beautiful place to ride which made up for the ride being anything but, in short the ride was brutal but the guide did warn us so we're not complaining as it was quite an adventure which was what we wanted and it was certainly what we got.

The ride started with a steep double track climb up from the campsite to a gate that was locked, so we threw our self's & bikes over and then for the next hour and half it was a case of pushing and carrying over marshes where there was no obvious trail which meant we went a bit off course and had to double back on ourselves which cost us about an hour.  This was also mentioned in the guide book so we stayed philosophical and trudged on, crossing streams and bridges made from big stone megalithic slabs. It was a relief when we finally got to the top of the hillside and the view of the Llyn Colwyd Reservoir opened up before us. After stopping for some photos & refreshments we pushed on, it would be rocky technical singletrack all the way alongside the reservoir but we didn't realise just how technical, with big drop offs,  step ups and loose jagged rocks just waiting to rip your tyres & legs to shreds. I must admit this was pushing the boundaries of my skills but poor Deb, who's confidence had been shaken recently by a couple of nasty falls was visibly nervous to say the least, and after all she is still a novice and this was graded a black route so she deserves a lot of credit for just being there.  I didn't want Deb trying to follow me and hurting herself especially as this was as remote as you can get in North Wales so I decided it was best to just walk the really tricky bits and ride where we could safely.

After the reservoir we had to climb what is probably one of the steepest road climbs I've ever seen and I'm proud to say I rode all the way to the top. The views from here were magnificent, it was just a shame our batteries on our phones were now running low so we couldn't take any photos.  The houses down in the valley looked tiny, it was like looking down from an airplane , in fact an RAF Herculies transport plane flew by in the valley and we were looking down on it, pretty cool stuff.  After the steep climb came an even steeper decent which took a good half hour with countless switchbacks and two stops to let my brakes cool after they started to fade.

A nice steady climb followed up to the Llyn Crafnant and a quick stop for some scones at the lakeside cafe.

It was a good time to refuel because what was to come can only be described as full on mountaineering or scrambling at least to reach a pass through the mountains.  I've got to say a few words about my amazing girlfriend here as I was blown away how she managed to push & carry her bike which is heavier than mine up the steep climbs, I wanted to push it for her but most of the time she wouldn't let me, she really is a tough little cookie. I was knackered by this point and she is tiny compared to me so I really want to give a big shout out to my mtb goddess of a girlfriend,  Chapeau Debs !

I just want to give Debs a plug, she has started a blog about her slide into cycling obsession that I've saddled her with, sorry Deb,and no pun intended either, anyway her blog is called Gearly Bird . It's a new blog so there isn't a lot of posts yet but she would love a follower or two so please be kind and follow.

When we got through the pass we were hoping the trail would be more rideable but if anything it was even more rocky and technical. We rode where we could and carried & pushed where we couldn't but we were on the last leg and it was now all downhill into Capel Curig. We were rewarded with a nice steady double track ride back to the campsite.

The guide book said 4-5hrs for fit & experienced riders, we came in at 7 1/2 hrs totally spent which is what we had wanted to be and isn't too shabby as we had quite a few stops along the way. Debs has said she wants to go back and do it again when she has mastered a few more skills and built some more confidence.

I can't wait.

Peak District camping & ride

These were taken a couple of weeks ago now but I just haven't had the time to do a proper post with them because of helping my girlfriend Debs move house. We decided that a couple of days camping in the Peak District near Hayfield, would be just the ticket for a bit of a respite from the strains & stresses that moving house can be.

We arrived late at the campsite around 9.45 pm and had a bit of a shock when we were told it was going to cost us just over £50 for a pitch for a little two man tent. Well we decided that we would only be staying one night and proceeded to our pitch, within seconds of being out of the car we were being eaten alive by midges, they were in our eye's ,up our noses,  everywhere.  We got the tent up rapido, and even though there were quite a few in the tent,  we were glad to be zipped up in our little refuge. The heavy rain & thunderstorm in the early hours was welcome and would hopefully break the hot humid air and clear the midges in the morning. The next day the midges were still about but nowhere near as bad and seemed to be leaving us alone now we both looked liked we had the measles,  Debs said we were sporting a King of the mountains look with our red polka dots, always best to try to see the funny side.

I wanted the ride to give me and my new Lurcher a chance to really get to know each other but it probably wasn't the right place for that as it was a very rocky, techy trail, that required a lot of pushing and stop/start kind of riding and I was also having to make sure Debs didn't come a cropper on the steep drop off's. 

I didn't really gel with the bike during the ride but I did realise I had fitted a stem that was too short which I have rectified with a 90mm 10º rise Thomson stem flipped negative, which now feels much better and more like I remember my old mtb feeling. 

I did enjoy the extra control and grip that your told that 29er wheels give you, you really do feel more confident when things get steep and after being a 29er sceptic before having ridden one I can say that a lot of what I had read about 29er's is quite true.

I think I won't get truly acquainted with the Lurcher until I can get out on my local trails by myself for a couple of hours to really put it through its paces, I think Debs will understand.

Lurcher has Lift Off

The Lurcher is finally up and running after what seemed like the longest bike build in history. I have been helping my girlfriend Debs to move house which has meant we have had no time to ride let alone time to build a bike, but we somehow managed it and we got to squeeze in a ride here and there too.

Full specification as is in the pics
On One Lurcher carbon 29er.
Rock Shox Sid 29er 120mm XX tapered forks.
FRM 1/8-1/5 zero stack headset
Stans Crest tubeless rims on red Hope Pro 2'S wheelset.
Schwalbe Rocket Ron 2.10 tubeless ready tyres.
Shimano  XT m785 2x10 silver groupset with a direct mount front mech & Shadow rear mech, 38t-26t XT chainset and full XT cable outers.
Shimano XT m785 silver brakeset.
Aligator Aries 160mm discs (red)
Look S-Track pedals.
Red Token press fit BB92 bottom bracket.
eXotic carbon ti in line seatpost 350mm.
Selle Italia Flite XC ti saddle.
Red Planet X seatpost collar.
Truvativ noir 700mm flat carbon bar.
90mm 10º rise Thomson stem flipped.
ESI chunky grips.
Hope bar end bungs.
KCNC red jockey wheels.
KCNC red cable ferrules.
Red Thomson faceplate & top cap upgrade kit.
Red Middleburn cable oilers.
Red Mt Zoom shroom bottle cage bolts.

Planned upgrades are some red Blackspire chainrings which in my experience are lighter, harder wearing and shift just as good if not better than the stock Shimano chainrings. A KMC X10 SL DLC red&black chain which are bloody expensive for a chain but they are bloody good too with a special coating that makes them very hard wearing and one of the lightest 10 speed chains around which KMC developed  for some Pro Tour teams.

I have weighed the bike with luggage scales and the lowest reading I got was 21 1/2 lbs or 9 1/2 kg's so I reckon I can safely say that its about 22 lbs which I'm more than happy with and with the planned upgrades it should come down a little further. I'm not trying to make it a weight weenie but if I can shave some weight then why not.

Well there it is my newest member of my growing On One quiver of bikes.

How does it ride ?

Tune in next time to find out...

Lurcher Update

The Lurcher is coming together nicely now with just the finishing touches like the fitting of the gear cables and the brake lines to cut to size . After trying the 0º rise 70mm Thomson stem off the Pompino with a low riser I have had to fit a 0º rise 50mm Thomson with a flat Truvativ noir 700mm wide carbon bar to keep the front end low, a 60mm would probably have been just right but  Thomson don't do a 60mm. I thought with being tall and long in the arm the 70mm would work but Jez you were right ! I've fitted some pimpy bits for a bit of individuality and to make it stand out from the crowd. The Aligator aries discs give great stopping power,  way more than stock discs and they only weigh 75g and look great too. I'm just waiting for the bleed kit so I can cut the brake hoses and then I can take it out and give it a good thrashing and I can't wait !

Aligator aries disc rotor

Want it Wednesday- Planet X Pro Carbon Tour De France Limited Edition

Anybody that's read my blog lately will know that I'm a big fan of Planet X / On One and that I'm building a nice collection of their bikes but there is one type of bike that's missing and that's a road bike. Currently in my stable I've got a single speed cross Pompino , urban single speed/fixie Macinato , my girlfriend's Inbred  mtb and a carbon Lurcher 29er mtb that's still in the build stage, but I would love to add a road bike to my collection at some point in the future. I love the look of road bikes, I think they are far more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than mtb's and if I were to have one it would have to be from www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk and the one that's caught my eye at the moment is the Pro Carbon Tour De France Limited Edition in homage to the 100th edition of the race . I would love to have a high end all singing all dancing pro level racing machine and Planet X have got them but I think I would probably look a bit stupid on one so the Pro Carbon Tour De France Limited Edition will do me just fine. It has a mix of Sram Rival and Force groupset with an FSA Gossamer crank but what gives it a bit of an edge are the 50/50 carbon rimmed wheels and a stealthy all black finish to give it that pro look and all for a very reasonable £1,299,99. 

So there you have it folks my Want it Wednesday and if you would like to see some more have a pop over to Jez Andrews Following the Chainline blog where it all started.

On One Lurcher new build- Shimano 2x10 XT groupset

On One Lurcher 29er

The Lurcher has been patiently waiting since I fitted the Token BB92 press fit bottom bracket  and FRM D-SET 1,5" Tapered headset  for the arrival of a lovely Shimano XT 2x10 groupset . Well it's arrived and what a sexy bit of kit it is.

2x10 XT Groupset-lovely shininess

I have chosen the 38-26 chainset and the 11-36 cassette. I did want the 40-28 chainset but for some reason that option wasn't available with the direct mount front mech, also as you can see I chose the silver group over the black because I think it's more classic looking and also in my opinion the black looks like it's OE component's. I'm not sure if it was a mistake but the front mech supplied  is black but I'm glad because as it's direct mount on to the black frame I think it looks better black. Bonus ! I chose the massive 11-36 cassette because I might go 1x10 at some point in the future. I think my favourite bits though are the brake levers, they are just gorgeous. I can't wait to get it all fitted.

Also arriving this week are the carbon low riseCrankbrothers Cobalt 11 bar  which look real quality and my favourite saddle the Selle Italia Flite XC   which I have on my Pompino SSCX and will be my third Flite saddle. I had pondered about trying a different saddle as the Flite on my Pompino had a bit of the stitching and cover come away but I have decided better the devil you know. Both these items were bought from www.on-one.co.uk at half the manufacturers rrp, yet another great deal from them. I'm picking up some Stans Crest/hope 29er wheels from 18 bikes later this week. Just the tyres,seastpost grips and discs to get then and it will be ready to roll.

Hot cross Pompino Fun

Today's ride with Deb was our biggest ride so far and It was a scorcher too with the thermometer hitting about 26-27 C and probably our hottest day for a few years. It was a nice steady ride and nothing technical on farm tracks/bridleways and forest trails. Deb had her first puncture from the usual suspect, a thorn ! It gave us a chance for a breather and Debs a lesson on how to fix a puncture. I'm running tubeless with Stans rims and haven't had a puncture since I had the wheels before Xmas so I've told Deb we will get some tubes with removable cores and put some sealant in so she doesn't get anymore punctures, which she likes the sound of.

It's great to watch Debs confidence grow with each ride, she really does try hard but I think I might be a bit hard on her sometimes, it can be difficult finding the balance between pushing her just hard enough and too hard, I think I might expect a bit too much at times but it's a learning curve for both of us, and one we are both really enjoying.

Greenedge Rocks-Tour De France Highlights

Look Quartz pedals - Debby goes clippless

Debbs took the plunge this week with her first ride on her new Look Quartz pedals. I had been trying to persuade her that clipless was the way to go but I think she just couldn't get her head round being attached to the bike and not being able to bail in an emergency which, of course she could.  Debbys flat pedals were nice but they terrified me with all those sharp pins just waiting to shred her shins to pieces. The pins they came with were basically just rounded off screws, so we replaced them with some nice colour matched pins with bolt heads that screwed in with a little spanner, very tedious.  They were a lot safer but they would still make a mess of her legs if she stacked or her foot slipped.  Debbs was struggling with getting her feet positioned right on them which was starting to bug her so she finally agreed to give clipless pedals a go.

My first experience with clipless was in the late 90's with a set of Ritchey copies, which themselves were a licensed version of Shimano's SPD setup. I never really got on with the direct feel you get with the SPD type of pedal as I have a bit of Osteo-Arthritis in my left knee which gives me pain from time to time, but is generally ok as long as I don't play football as it's mostly sideways movement that causes the problems.  I did a lot of reading of mags and stuff at the time and they were saying that if you suffered with knee pain you were better off with a pedal that gave you lots of float, which basically means a pedal that gives your foot a bit more movement and a less direct feel when your clipped in. At that time to my knowledge there was really only one company that was making a pedal that provided lots of float and that was Time with the Attac. I bought the Attac and used them for a few years and much prefered the open twin bar design that gave your feet more movement and good mud shedding ability but still gave you that connected to the bike feel that clipless pedals give you. The Attac is a great pedal but they weigh a ton so when Crankbrothers came out with the Eggbeater pedal which was a lot lighter but a similar twin bar system and which I liked the look of straight away, I had to try them. They were great from the off with a 4 way entry and easy to service too as they had a grease port so you could pump fresh grease in and force the old grease out, but you would end up using a lot of grease. I happily used the Eggbeaters for the next few years even though the bearings didn't last that long, until I came across the Look Quartz . Like the Eggbeater I liked the look of them straight away, but what was most striking was the weight ! The standard model weighed less than the bling carbon ti models of their counterparts offerings and they were cheap as well, about £50 if you shopped around. I've used these pedals for a few years now on my mtb's and now on my Pompino and think they're great. I have read a bit on some forums that people can't stand them, that the cleats are a nightmare to setup , well I just don't know what they are doing because I have found just the opposite,  you get some different thickness wedges that enables you to set the cleat up easy to clip in and lots of float or setup to make it harder to clip in and less float, simple.  I had no problems in advising Debs to go for the Quartz and that goes for anybody new to mtbing who is thinking of trying out clippless pedals, they make sense for a new rider because of the easy way they clip in/out and the generous float they offer.

Debby is using the pedals with Shimano SH-WM62 womens mtb shoes which are a great shoe for the money and makes Debb look quite pro. She loves the pedals and shoes and has found them to be quite easy to get the hang off and she admits to being quite frightened off them at first, but to her credit she just got to grips with them and is now clipping in and out without incident but I'm still expecting her to have the falling over clipped in moment that most of us have had when we first started out riding clipless, I just hope there's no one around unlike when it happened to me many moons ago.

I'm still pinching myself with how much my girl has taken my passion for cycling to her heart...

On One in the Peak District

Hi de- Hi Campers

Deb and I spent a night under canvas on Saturday. It's been a couple of years since I slept in a tent and several years for Deb, although I have bivvied a few times, but the way Deb slept like the proverbial log and I tossed and turned you would of thought it was the other way round,  the campsite being near a busy road didn't help but it didn't bother Deb so I shouldn't really complain about that.

home for the night

The tent is only a cheap little two man or a one man & one woman to be precise but it did the job although we very didn't nearly make it only arriving at the campsite at Newhaven in the White peak, Derbyshire at 9 pm and it's only just over an hour drive from where we live in Stoke on Trent. We decided to camp because I wanted to give Deb a flavour of some real offroad riding that you get in the Derbyshire Peak District and because we are pretty crap at organising ourselves, always getting side tracked with kids and all the other stuff you have to deal with day to day, so I thought it would give us more time to spend on the ride.

As I said I didn't get much sleep so we took it easy Sunday morn not putting the coffee pot on till about 9.30 am but that and the bacon butties soon got me going. We weren't in a rush but that didn't stop me from leaving one of my bidon's in the camp toilet block ..Doh

The ride started in Youlgreave and followed some quite technical bridleways along small valley gorges that characterize the area. Most of the climbing was on roads which were long but not too steep, again I was amazed how Debs toughed them out and kept the hammer down trying to keep up with me because as I was on my sscx pompino I have to keep my cadence up. We did a bit of hike a bike & pushing along Gratton Dale which was a bit too technical in places and hemmed in with overgrown Hawthorn bushes making it even more difficult without getting off and pushing. Debs was on her new 14" Inbred which she was glad of or else she would of had to get off and do more even more pushing.

Gratton Dale

By the end of Gratton Dale Debs was beginning to flag but with 2/3rds of the ride done I wasn't too worried but I couldn't say the same for Debs though because after I showed her the map she was convinced we had another 15km to go instead of the 5 there really was. We had a little steep push up out of Long Dale, which was rewarded with a fast 1.5km 80m decent along rutted double track, across some fields, dodging the cows down to Smerril Grange which put a big smile back on Debs face and a Queen of the Mountains award on Strava and 10th place overall out of 34, pretty good for a novice.  She says she was glad that she was following me or she wouldn't have gone that fast. I came 9th overall which I'm pretty pleased with, I would be interested to know if any of those that are higher were riding a ss cross ?
There were a couple of little road climbs left but it was just a short ride left to where we started after that.

Overall it was a great little taster for Deb for the hopefully bigger and better adventures to come, I for one can not wait and I hope Debs can't too

14" Inbred

Debs new 14"Inbred frame arrived today and I managed to get everything swapped over and even found time to press the headset & bottom bracket in my new Lurcher frame.

14" Inbred

Debs looks a lot better on the smaller 14" but only just.  At just over 5 ft tall she only just fits the smallest of adult frames and it takes a lot of messing about with stem lengths and rises. We had put a 50mm 6º rise stem and flipped it so it was negative but it looks like the 70mm 9º rise stem that was on originally will have to go back on flipped negative too and possibly a flat bar so that she isn't in a too sit up and beg position. But she says it feels better than the 16" but she's not had chance to ride it yet so we will just have to see how it all fits.

My new Rock Shox Sid's arrived too and jolly nice they are too. They are the 120mm XX tapered steerer 15mm maxle light with the hydraulic remote lockout flavour, which is quite a mouthful. The Lurcher is stated as being suspension corrected for 100mm MAX but On One aren't getting anymore 29er 100mm Sid's in stock so a 120mm it is.  I don't think 20mm shall be catastrophic and I can always reduce the travel on the forks which isn't too difficult, I've done it on a set of Reba's before,  but I'm just going to see what they are like setup with some extra sag before I start stripping them down. 

The Lurch is starting to take shape nicely now, it's just a case of being patient now..

SPAKCT CYCLE JERSEYS

Cycle Diaries

Mens long sleeve

 I have always had an interest and fascination with the Che Guevara story and an admiration for the man himself. I'm a bit of a Socialist at heart and like to think of myself as a bit of a rebel (in reality more of a dreamer) so when Deb and I came across these Che Guevara jerseys from Spakct we just had to have them. They came up in a search for pink ladies cycling jerseys as the ladies version is pink. I had never heard of Spakct before as it seems they are quite a new brand made in China for the US market and we had to buy direct from China but you can get them them on Amazon now. The jerseys are really well made with mostly flat stitching and the material looks to be quality stuff and price wise they are a bit of a bargain costing about £45 for the long sleeve version and that's including the shipping costs. The only issue we had was the sizing.

womens short sleeve

I had to get the XXL and it's still a bit tighter than I would normally wear and Debs got the S long sleeve but went a size up to medium when she bought the short sleeve. I'm normally a large when I buy UK or EU made stuff but saying that a Santini jersey I bought recently was XXL but that was what the sizing guide said I would need and that top fitted great. The sizing guide for these though was wrong and I was just lucky Debs had bought her's first so I took a gamble on the size I'd need and it paid off.

So if your looking for a jersey that's a bit different you won't go far wrong by checking Spakct out. Just be careful with the sizing !

Mountain bike Goddess

Today's ride broke the 20km mark, big deal you might think and so probably would I before I started riding with my girlfriend but for my girlfriend who has never ridden anywhere near that on a bike before it is a big deal.Most people have no idea how far you can ride on a bike with a little effort. In the past when I've told friends and family that I have ridden 60-80 km they seem unable to comprehend that it's possible to travel that far under your own steam and that isn't that far for some riders.

My girlfriend Debs was over the moon today with her achievement and rightly so, I'm really proud of her and how she is doing, the way she hauled herself up a fairly steep and extremely rutted farm track only dabbing her foot down once when a big boulder caught her out  was pretty amazing considering she has only been riding a couple of weeks, she is even a Queen of the Mountains on a downhill segment on Strava.

It's difficult riding with a novice at times as you don't know if your pushing them too hard or on the other hand not hard enough as to help them to improve.

Debs worries that she is holding me back and says she feels sorry for me having to wait for her to catch up when I've rode off thinking she is keeping up with me. That's another thing when riding with someone who is not as fast as you, you keep forgetting and before you know it you have dropped them, which then makes me worry that she is working to hard to catch me up and she's not enjoying it.

It's all a learning curve and on the whole we are having a blast, there have been a couple of moments where we have got a bit annoyed with each other but we quickly got over it. I have done most of my riding by myself for the last 20 years so it's great to have some company and especially good to share something you love with someone you love. I've never looked forward to my rides so much as I have these past couple of weeks and I'm enjoying passing on some of the stuff I've learnt over the years as Debs is really picking my brain with loads of questions  about all things cycling. She is even talking about wanting to get a road bike, she has been truly bitten by the velo bug..

I'm starting to wonder who's more nuts about cycling, me or her ?

A Trio Of On One's + One

A Dream Come True

I've always done most of my riding by myself as none of my friends are into riding and I'm not really into the club thing, so when my girlfriend (Debby) said she wanted to get a mtb I was like a cat that got the cream. 

I have always dreamt of having a girlfriend who I could share my passion for biking with and now that dream has come true. She is really throwing herself into it and genuinely seems to be interested, asking all sorts of questions, even wanting me to show her how to do some wrenching, I'm over the moon. 

My rides have gotten a lot slower and shorter and my fitness has suffered but it is all worth it.

I'm helping Debs to build up a lovely white On One Inbred with pink highlights adding a further addition to the growing quiver of On One's. It's a real girly bike but I don't mind I think it looks great. The bike was in the clearance sale, it came with a 16" frame,steel rigid forks and road tyres as it was branded an urban mtb, a misnomer if you ask me ? After seeing her ride it a few times I think she would be better on a smaller 14" frame so we're just waiting for them to come in stock. Also she has bought a lovely set of white Rock Shox Sid RLT forks with a poploc lockout lever to go on the new frame but we couldn't wait so I've fitted them to the 16" and will just swap them out with the rest of the components when the new frame arrives. I've fitted a lovely pink 34t Blackspire chainring with pink bolts and in the process doing away with the big ring making it a 2x9 group. Also I got rid of the heavy Avid discs and replaced them with some lovely light (80g) Aligator aries discs and again in pink. Nice. The oversized handlebars have been replaced with some narrower Race Face bars I had in my parts bin and I've replaced the 70mm stem with a lovely 50mm kcnc jobby and finished off the cockpit with some limited addition bubblegum pink Oury grips. Probably the most important change has been swapping out the On One Big Nose saddle for a beautiful white with pink flashes Selle Italia SLR lady id match saddle, not cheap but worth every penny !

Debs new Inbred

Debs
 my cool & sexy bike chick 

SS/Fixie Macinato

I finally got the Macinato finished and I'm pretty pleased with it, I've not gone mad with the spec this time like I did with the Pompino as it will be just a little bit of fun for getting round town on. I bought the frame and forks cheap just after Xmas and  have only had to buy the crankset,brakes,seat,tyres and chain as I already had all the other parts. It's a lovely ride, very smooth but firm due to the thin 23c tyres. I'm not sure about the flat bars, I've cut them down narrow which has given the bike laser sharp steering which is good but I think I'll chop down some risers I've got in my parts bin and see how they feel and at some point I'll throw some drops on too to see which I prefer.

Plus One

A Trio of On One's

The expanding quiver of On One's will soon have a fourth addition as I have taken advantage of yet another amazing half price deal on the carbon Lurcher 29er frames, a deal too good to miss.

On One Lurcher 29er

This will be my fifth On One build including my first Inbred that was stolen but my first 29er. I've really enjoyed riding all my On One's, they really do give a great ride for the money so I'm fully expecting the Lurcher to follow in their tyre tracks and be a great ride too. The frame is pictured with a Token press fit BB92 bottom bracket and a FRM mixer 1-1/8 to 1-1/5 headset in red. Red is going to be used for some of the bits and pieces with a bit of white here and there to tie in with the white forks. I've ordered some white Rock Shox Sid 120mm XX tapered steerer forks with the hydraulic lockout which are going to look great with the black frame. I was originally going to fit rigid carbon forks but with On One again doing some great half price deals on Rock Shox forks it was another deal to good to miss. The wheels will probably be Stans Crest tubeless rims on red Hope hubs, a nice and reasonably light wheelset and I have always coveted some Hope hubs so now's the time.  The groupset will be Shimano 2x10 or 1x10 and I will be keeping it light and staying with the carbon theme with carbon bars & seatpost.

Looking forward to sharing mine and the girlfriend's adventures in the near future..