Wednesday Bikes: Vol 1

Welcome to the very first volume of Wednesday Bikes. Such a momentous occasion and will mark it with something very cool!

So Wednesday bikes, what's it all about. It's pretty simple really, every Wednesday I will try my very best to post a different, exciting, weird, wonderful, cross bikes from all over the world. Whatever CX bike I post I will try and put up as single speed version of it from the same manufacturer.

This week is something that I only came across today and I thought 'WOW that shit is Hot!.
Here's the link to their website
Speedvagen
This contains other bikes in their very small range of top end bikes.



Check it out and see what you think..…

Very neat dropouts

Really useful looking cable guides, allowing for longer lengths of covered cable to keep the dirt and grit out
to keep shifts smooth and consistent. Note where the rear brake cable comes from.

Another angle for the rear brake cable routing. This keeps it looking so tidy. No need for ugly,
external seat tube adapter jobbies. Well you wouldnt be able to use a seat tube guide as this is the first intergrated seatpost that i have seen on a cross bike.

Some more internal routing for the front brake. This really does create a very clean look throughout. I cant help but think how tricky it would be to route them, especially the rear.

Images courtesy of BikeRumour

And now for you Singlespeed fans.

Super Pimp. Super clean. And can only imagine how fast this sucker is!

Got this image from Vanilla Workshops Flickr

Click on the link for many more awesome pics from this brand..

thanks for looking

and stay tuned because i have some weights and comparisons with a couple of very shiny carbony parts to come very shortly!

Race Report: CX RD 3, Barnstaple

 UPDATE: 26/09/12 - i have just found out that i came 6th overall at this race which is pretty sweet!  

 Yesterday, 23^rd September, was round 3 of the south west Cyclo cross in Barnstaple.

I knew that the weather wasn’t supposed to be very good at all for this race but all week it had been pretty dry and I couldn’t help but think, it really can’t be that bad?! I woke up Sunday morning looked out of the window to be greeted by dark grey clouds and loud a spattering of rain on the window. Ughh.. It had started to get really cold this week. I just knew by looking outside, I didn’t want to ride in this dreary weather.

On the brighter side of things, I feel that I’m pretty handy on a bike, skill wise, and I also know, that most of the people riding are rodies. They don’t tend to be very good at cornering, let alone cornering on slick, greasy, muddy corners. I was feeling confident.

           I rocked up to the joint with no problems this week; I probably have to owe that to the latest iphone update, ‘IOS6’. Before on the iphone, you had to rely on Google maps directing you, which is always a bit of a struggle, but included in the new update is, in its simplest term, is a TomTom gps system. This was the first time I used it and the new GPS routing system is very good. It worked without fault. The screen stays lit up so u can always see where you are and how far away the next turning is. There is also a little man in my phone that shouts out which way to go so you don’t even have to look..

           I got out of my toasty hot car and it wasn’t very pleasant outside. I signed on and started putting layers of clothes on. My kit consisted of Bib shorts, low cut socks, an Endura BaaBaa merino base layer, race jersey, arm warmers, windstopper jacket thingy and a one of those sweet cycle caps that go under the helmet. I obviously didn’t wear all of this for the race; this was just to do some warming up in.  The cap and jacket came off just before the start.

               I ran into an instant problem with tyre pressure as soon as I started my first practice lap. The course was very soft and muddy which I decided needed a very low tyre pressure. I set the front & rear tyre to 25psi. I went to bunny hop up a curb and I thought I was going to die! Literally I have never felt so unsafe and out of control on a bike in my life. As soon as I put any pressure on the front end, the tyre rolled over twisting the wheel to the side and nearly throwing me over into the curb. Luckily I got away with it. The rear tyre was absolutely fine and felt very good. 

        I should probably mention that I’m running different tyres front and rear; A Kenda small block 8, 700x32c in the rear, and a vredstrein 700x30c front. I have recently started to not like this vredestrein tyre much and this recent problem has strengthened my view on it. I really need to change it. I find this tyre to tall for its skinny profile and the sidewalls can’t cope with any side loads at pressures below 40psi. It just really isn’t stable at all. Anyway I sorted this by putting the front up to 30psi and coped with the slight rolling.

         The race got underway and I found myself in the top 10 pretty quickly. The course was also pretty lame. It was basically a playing field with lots of corners in it, with one section that went off the field with some stairs to run up back up onto the field..There wasn’t as many people competing this week, maybe 30 plus people. Results still aren’t up as I write, so can’t be sure.

         We got into the first of the tight chicanes and some guy left the door open so I nipped into the gap on the inside. As I did this, I must have caught this guy by surprise because he jack-knifed and fell to the floor creating a gap between the front group and the chasing group.  I was luckily in the leading group. I was following them around for a couple laps and it felt like I was cruising pretty easily so I pushed forward, over took some people and tried to pick the pace up.  

          As time went on, the course started to get very sloppy, especially on the uphill, headwind section of the course. I started to struggle for speed on this section and found two guys closing me down. They both overtook me and I just sat in behind them. As they passed by I noticed they were team mates working together. I found the pace they were going at was pretty good and being sat behind them, really helped on the head wind section. The front runner off this 3 man group started to get away and I found the other guy was defending the inside line on every corner making it pretty difficult to overtake. This didn’t frustrate me as I knew that if I needed to catch up, I wouldn’t have a problem. I decided to bide my time and use this guy in front to keep me feeling fresh. The ‘2laps to go’ sign came out and I figured this would be the lap to bridge the gap that had been created. I followed this guy for about half of the lap, until it came to a straight, fast section where I decided to jump this guy and sprint up to the next. This wasn’t actually very hard and I was right with him in no time.

          Again I sat in behind the next rider for most of the last lap waiting for the moment to make an attack. I followed him around for about half the lap until we got to the uphill, headwind section, where he slowed right up. At first I wasn’t sure if he was out of energy, or trying to slow us both up to let his team mate catch up. Whatever it was I wasn’t sure, so I took the lead, constantly checking over my shoulder, watching both of their movements to make sure they weren’t planning an attack. 

        All of a sudden one of them attacked out of nowhere. I was very quick to react and matched his attack with plenty left for the inevitable final sprint. He got in front of me and started to pick the pace back up. This time, I knew it was just between him and me. We went through the tight chicanes mentioned earlier. Coming out of this section is where I made my attack, knowing there was only 1 slow and 2 very fast turns to the finish. I grabbed hold of the drop bars, shifted through the gears and got my head down. I passed him just before the 1^st fast corner. Whilst cornering, I had to overtake a couple of lappers the long way around making sure I was ahead before the slow corner. Nailed it. But so had he... checking over my shoulder just before the exit, I could see he had closed the gap but this was fine with me. With one fast corner and a slight uphill headwind finish ahead of me, I knew I had to make sure I didn’t fall on the final corner, which would have been easily done under pressure. I checked my speed coming in, not caring if he was right behind me let the brakes go and flew though the corner, foot out, not quite flat out, whilst pedalling one footed. I stomped the other foot back into the pedal, grabbed the drops tightly and hammered it home. I turned around just as I crossed the finish line to realise the other competitor had cut his losses and must have given up not long after the corner. I was well clear.

         This has definitely been my best race so far. I raced and fought to the very end beating a couple of guys who had finished in the top 8 the week previously.  I have improved quicker than I thought from week to week. And, it would be really awesome to keep this momentum going to hopefully challenge for a win by the end of the season.

I have also just noticed how much I have written and I realise this is supposed to be a report, so I apologize for the ‘race essay’... but what you guan do.

Cheers

Matts Tamar Valley Bike Route & Pics

I went for a mellow ride this evening and decided whilst riding to take some pics on the way. Youll be able to realise pretty quickly why i decided this. I went out prepared and knowing the heavens was going to open. But to my surprise, the rain held off. It turned into a pretty cool evening and made my ride pretty fun.  I left my house rocking some cross tyres, the same set-up from the last cross race, and intended to mix up my ride and try and find some off road trails to burn along.

I have lived nearby the river Tamar all my life and is probably one of my favourite places i have ever been to and holds many memories spent with my friends getting crazy drunk out camping.

This area is fairly familiar and i knew there are some tracks out there that i have never rode and have always wanted to. I doubt many people would have taken the route i took as i don't think you are allowed to go through points '4-5'.  i have a feeling it is private property, but i didn't see any signs saying otherwise, so im going to claim my right to roam!

Heres the pics of each number dotted on the map. I did a bit of the old 'Instagram' photography for these ones, but i tried to capture the mood and feeling off each place. Some felt warmer and inviting, others where quite hard and cold. All of these were taken on my trusty iphone. Let me know what you think. Cheers and enjoy something easy on the eyes.....
no, not pictures of me.. :)


1.

This is on the first bit of off road on the route. Lots of logs on the track that kept taking me by surprise.

2.

Thought it was very necessary to put my bike on this fort style wall. I think this looks sweet!

3.

Halfway up the hill there was a gap in the hedgerows directly in front of me and this was the view!

4.

The Train Bridge '17 arches' on the Plymouth - Gunnislake line

5.

Top view of the same bridge. 

6.

Tamar Bridge

7.

Stopped here because i thought it looked pretty cool at high tide, then just my luck...

....the train came along 10secs later. I couldn't have timed it better as this train comes along every couple of hours.

8.

It started to get a bit dark and made this shot kind of dark and ominous.

9.

and lastly, i past the water treatment plant. This looked even more ominous than the last pic.

Rd 2 SW Cyclocross - Wellington

Today was an earlier start than i would have liked as the race is one of the farthest away this season.

My bike and kit was all sorted the night before to make getting away that much easier. I didn't take as much wheels this week, as I learnt from last week that it's probably not needed. I only did it before as a precaution so I was prepared for whatever.

         I arrived in Wellington, Somerset, an hour and a half later and i was at the place where the race was supposed to be, but I was pretty sure that this housing estate that I had ended up in wasn't the best place for a race....

The race starts at 1230 and I had got into wellington at 1145 to make sure I had enough time to ride the course and warm up properly.

I kinda realised that this definitely wasn’t the place. I drove around trying to find anything that looked like a park.

Now I have never heard of this place Wellington before, but apparently it seems like a bit of a tourist place. I asked 5 people if they knew where the college was and they all said I'm not from around here... seemed a bit weird as its a tiny town and not much there to do.

I finally found a guy who directed me 15 mins before the race.

I parked up, jumped out, threw my race kit on, grabbed my bike and sprinted over to sign on. I then Fiddled putting the number on and rode to the start line not warmed up and not having a clue what to expect around the course.

I was on the line for about 30 seconds and we were off. Damn did I notice the difference not being warm. I got a good start but I was gasping hard for air as my heart wasn't ready and was working over time it felt. I dropped back a few positions, from 16^th first lap, to 20^th ,over first 25mins and then started to settle in really nicely. The course was a pretty flat/ fast course on grassy fields, followed by some weaving through trees and school buildings. It wasn’t a very challenging course skill wise and only had one section where i had to get off the bike to run.

       I had been following a couple of dudes for the past two laps who were about 100m away from me and they didn't appear to be getting away. A guy caught me up and I mentioned this fact to him. We decided to work together taking turns at the front.

We must have caught them in about 1 lap which was pretty cool because these guys, who I previously thought 'I ain't guna catch them', sounded like they were struggling and I had loads of beans still left in me. We kept working together and caught up with at least two more people. I went from 20^th to 15^th in 4laps. 

I was ready to really start upping the pace for the coming last lap but, before I knew it, two corners before the finish and the leader was catching up. We had the choice of carrying on at our pace and he wouldn't have caught us before the line or, slow right up and let him pass so we didn't have to do another lap.  We had no idea how far ahead the next position was. Would it be worth carrying on? (For people that don't know, in a CX race and most races, everyone finishes on the same lap the leader finishes. So if you’re a rider about to be lapped, and cross the finish line in front of him, you have to do another lap. If you let him pass you before the finish line, your race is over).

We decided to let him pass us..

I finished in a fairly strong 15th position out of a field of 60ish. I'm pretty happy with this as it was a hell of a lot better than last week and I still have more to give. Let's hope I can keep it together next week.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I always like to put them in to keep it a bit more interesting but I really don't have any. Maybe next time.

Race report from round 1 in Bodmin

I woke up this morning with surprisingly little nerves and with plenty of time to get ready. First thing on my mind was food. I have porridge every morning and today was no different. I loaded up the car with all the wheels that I have and got on my way to Bodmin, in Cornwall.

there is a bike in there somewhere

Once i had signed on practice got underway. What I like to do is to go very slowly so i can stop and practice any of the technical sections to make the most of any extra speed I can gain or to find overtaking places. Next lap was to link all these together and up the pace. This time I sprinted/ rode as fast as I could through every hard section and rest on the flats. This is to get my heart rate up without tiring myself too much.

Start time; on the grid 5th row back and ready to go. Looking around, there were a lot of people here lined up. More than I can ever remember at a cx race.
The whistle blew and we were off. There were some tight turns and tricky sections coming and I was trying to make sure I was ahead of the main bunch before the first very tight technical section. I figured if I didn't get stuck behind loads of people, it would make the rest of the race much easier. So off I sprinted, diving into any gap I could and got to the first corner on the inside and took some more places. Took a quick look around and noticed how many people where behind. I found myself running in 5th, behind, what looked like, some elite dudes. And that's how it stayed for 20 + mins. I found myself starting to struggle along the bottom field that was boggy and energy sapping. I kept finding these guys getting away every time. Trying to catch up every lap started to take its toll and i was feeling the burn, so I decided to drop off and go at my own pace if I were to make it to the finish. 30-40 mins in, I found my self running at the high end of the top 10, biding my time and fairly comfortable, waiting for that bell lap and lay the hammer down. I passed the pit and into the tight off camber tech bit I explained early and as I dropped from the high part of the ledge to the lower and I must have caught my tyre sidewall because it started to make that dreadful and soul destroying hissing. Shit... I got off the bike as soon as I could rotating the wheel at an angle hoping the tyre sealant to work its magic and block the hole but with absolutely no luck.

Having just passed the pits I knew I had a very long run ahead of me if i wanted to change the wheel. I had two choices. Firstly, I could give up and face the fact that I was going to get a crap result if I carried on. Or I could man up and decide its only the first race and need more practice. Soo of I ran, bike on shoulder. As I was running I saw a lot of people overtake me. I was surprised how well I was running. It might have been because of race mode and blood was flowing and stuff. But it was almost easier than riding which was weird but made it a bit more fun. Definitely slower though. I finally got to the pits. Off came the rear wheel and on went the spare. As I tightened up the qr skewer I heard a cracking crunchy sound. The lovely noise a thread makes when it is being stripped. Arrrgh. What a nightmare. So I fiddled taking the other one off and putt it on my wheel. As I got on my way, I noticed the group that I had previously been riding with just lapped me.
The bell being rung meaning 1 lap left, so I gave it everything. I must have overtaken 8 people on this lap but it was all in vain as I was soo far behind. Still, my pride was intact despite feeling pretty gutted at the result.

So one race down and a lot to take on to the next race. It's only 1 race and there are loads left. So not the end of the world.

So to conclude. My race went brilliant, then good, then full blown shit, then a bit better.
I'll be back next week to try again.

Redline CX Final build.

Boom here it is, my complete bike, race ready all set up ready to go.
There have been quite a few changes to it since the first instalment so ill show and explain why I have changed those parts.
This is a list of everthing in this pic.
Redline CX frame
Alpina CX Carbon fibre forks wiht alloy steerer
Hope Pro 3 hubs
Stans no tubes ZTR alpha 340 rims 28h, DT swiss comp spokes
Stans no tubes tubeless sealant.
Vredstren premiato 700x30c tyres
Sram Rival Cx cranks 170mm 46-38t
Crank bros Egg beater pedals
Controltech 100mm stem -5deg rise
Shimano dura ace 7700 Shifters/brake levers
    "             "           "      Front mech
    "             "           "      Rear Mech Short cage

Zipp service course sl bars size 44cm with a short and shallow bend
Zipp service course CX bar tape
Selle italia Flight saddle
Did have an Easton EC70 carbon post but the set back (lay back)
   was too much so just got some no brand post on.

weighed the bike the other day and i have dropped a fair bit from the start weight.
it started off about 22.9 lbs
and is now 17.4 lbs which is pretty sweet!

heres some more pics...

The Sram Rival cranks that i changed to was only due to the other cranks , Shimano dura ace 7700 175mm, being too long for me.  I was doing a fair amount of rides and my knees started to really hurt. I tried lower saddle position and my knees hurt the same tried higher and my hips started to hurt as well so I figured that I really needed smaller cranks. since the swap, no aches or pains..well except from the usual cycling pains i.e jelly legs, sore legs, nausea...etc.

I choose these cranks because I don't like the look of the new shimano cranks, Ultegra, 105, in my price range. I obvoiusly wanted the shiny carbon Sram Force/Red cranks but slightly pricey and the thought of bashing carbon cranks on rocks and destroying them doesn't sound awesome.

Hope Pro 3s on Stans ZTR alpha rims were a pretty cool idea also. Hope hubs were a must for CX racing.
Iv used them in DH riding/racing and have known almost every person iv rode dh with to have used them and i haven't heard of anyone who has had any problems with hope hubs.. if they had it was quickly fixed due to the availability of spare parts and ease of assembly/disassembly. The seals in these bad boys are also dam good which is useful in muddy conditions. Alpha rims were chosen because of the tubeless tyre setup design and are pretty light..370g a rim.

Zipp bars because the older bars bent and flexed way too much for my likings. I also dropped from a 46cm to a 44cm. Not intentional,  but because i miss calculated the size of the other ones...the writing had rubbed off.  Still not 100% sure if i prefer them wider or narrower but i reckon that if i went wider again, it would feel weird.

And thats that...
Tune back tomorow to find out if i sucked or not!

Race day prep / Final Build

Tomorrow , 9th sept, will be the start of the southwest Cyclo series, that I have been preparing myself for the past couple months. The race will be held in Bodmin, Cornwall.

I haven't seen the track but almost all week I have been thinking about which tyre to use. I only have 2 tyre choices of the two extremes, semi slick "Michelin jets" or super muddy skinny "vredstren prematio" tyres. This has left me in a bit of a predicament... I have no in between normal conditions tyre like the 'schwalbe racing Ralph'. I couldn't get them in time.

For the past month, the weather in the uk has absolutely sucked. It has been pissing it down at every opportunity making it one of the wettest summers for years. Thus being the reason that I hadn't even thought that using anything else but wet tyres. But ohhh noo. As soon as sept has come around, the sun has been out and blazing. Now, I thought that the weather was going to turn again for the weekend but it seems it might be dry. But I still think that a semi slick isnt the right choice. Still I can't tell until race day. Let's hope for rain cus I'm not changing the wet tyres to dry, its a massive pain in the ass switching from tubeless to tubeless.... It makes a bit of mess.

So training this week has been focused on high intensity. I have done a couple, hour, high paced rides, rode flat out (sprinting) on my Cyclo cross coursed for,hopefully, 20 mins ( this is very hard) and a slow paced 35 mile ride just to ease the legs a bit. And today, Saturday, I have done jack shit. Except for truing some wheels and sorting out my rear tubeless tyre, it exploded last night just as I rode to the end of my street.... I put too much pressure in it, 70psi. But at least now I know not to go over 60psi as that has been fine.

I'm off to go stock up on some carbolicious pre race food. Pasta.
Stay tuned as I'll post my final bike build pics and notes later in this evening. And report about how my race went hopefully tomoro eve if I'm not too sleepy.

Thanks for reading
Matt