Rob English has procured me a PUSH suspension linkage (as mentioned previously) – PUSH don’t have a UK distributor it seems, and wouldn’t supply me direct. Tut tut. It should be arriving soonish, and it’ll be interesting to see how the bike feels before and after.

I had planned to take the Nomad to Australia this Xmas, and it might still go with me. It all hinges on how the bike performs during longer (i.e. all day) rides that involve a fair amount of up as well as down. I certainly don’t want to take an all-out XC bike with me – I’m enjoying my Whyte 19C at the moment, but mainly because its speed uphill is so flattering – I’ve lost quite a lot of fitness since July in the Alps, but the Whyte and I are still flying around my local XC loop at record pace. But I still find it quite a challenge to descend flat-out on the 19 – it’s pretty twitchy and the front end is low too.

I’ve also been toying with taking the Cove Stiffee, which I’m currently rebuilding in parallel with the Nomad. But again, whilst that bike is amazing fun downhill, it’s also a bit of a compromise, being a bit of a pig to ride uphill (not helped by the fact that it’s a 17.5″ frame and I’m nearly 6ft3.

So, I was looking for an alternative, and that’s when I discovered the Santa Cruz 4X (pictured above). Santa Cruz bikes have been off my radar for quite a few years. I hankered after a Chameleon before I bought the Cove, and was always aware of the V10, but the rest of the range has slipped past over the last few years without me noticing – shame on me really, as the brand as been so innovative over the years. The Blur 4X in particular (uncharacteristically) crept past as if it was in disguise. This amazing, rare and completely cult frame was only produced for a limited period, and has become the stuff of legend. Totally new school geometry – super low BB, slack head angle, relatively short seat tube but longer in top tube and wheelbase. Perfect for aggressive fun riding. They’re very few and far between, and the one I had set my heart on was an ex-Syndicate team bike – probably one of only a tiny handful in the world. Alas, it slipped out of my fingers…

Over the last few days I’ve been musing over some other options, as well as researching more about the riding in Tasmania and near Melbourne. I’ve just fired off some questions to Vertigo Mountain Biking, who organise guided rides around Tassie about the kind of terrain to expect.

I’ve also been reading about the Santa Cruz Blur TRC. The TRC could be considered the spiritual successor to the Blur 4X, although there are some notable differences. Number one of these being the fact that, rather than the slightly overbuilt aluminium chassis of the 4X, the TRC is constructed entirely from carbon fibre. The frame weights a scant 5lb, with the shock, allowing a lightish build in the 24lb area. A tougher build would still put the bike well under 30lb, making it eminently suitable (in principle) for longer ascents.

In principle, because the geometry and attitude of the TRC is entirely focused on handling and behaviour at speed and in the bends. The BB height is 13″, head angle is 68deg, and the wheelbase (of the large size) is 44.4″. Ok, the seat tube (of the large again) is 19.5″ when the same measurement of the large 4X was 17.2″, which helped when you wanted to get the saddle out of the way, but I don’t think that would do too much to detract from the qualities that this new bike is proudly sporting.

It’s not cheap though!

(On the other hand, having got over the acquisition and subsequent disposal of some truly shit bikes – most notably a 2007 Kona Stinky Primo (a bicycle so heavy and pig-headed it ruined every single ride I took it on, tried to kill me twice, and cost me a fortune to get rid of – rather like a bad divorce) I have since decided that life is too short to ride around on crap bikes. So watch this space…)

Wildkogeltrail from miraculix on Vimeo

Santa Cruz UK

Vertigo Mountain Biking

Rob English completed my bike and here are the first set of images – it’s a stunning piece of engineering! The brakes and saddle are not the final versions (the Ciamillo brakes hadn’t arrived in time, and I have a carbon Arione saddle waiting here) but the rest is all complete. Better to let the pictures do the talking I think…

Whilst waiting for my English I have been musing what to do with my venerable Litespeed Tuscany. It’ll become my second bike – something to use for racing (especially when I think there’s some crash potential) and something for the winter. It’s fairly understated, with pre-carbon Campag Chorus drivetrain and brakes, but with some new FSA SLK additions. Wheels are 32 spoke Mavic Open Pros on Ambrosio hubs. What it really deserves is a ti seatpost. I’d really like to go to work on it, sanding off logos and graphics from the bars, stem, cranks and forks, removing the (slightly peeling) downtube decals, etc with the aim of turning it into a sleek, metal and carbon beauty.

In the meantime, check out some other tasty Ti offerings…

This bike is going to be so pimping it’ll need its own East Coast record label…

Up until this winter my cold weather riding kit was a bit of a hodgepodge, with jerseys of various thicknesses and arm lengths usually combined in assorted configurations depending on projected temperatures and wind conditions. I must also declare that I spent a couple of winters dressed in the decidedly non-pro Gore paclite jacket / black tights combination which, though at least warm, is possibly about as punter as it gets. Not least because, despite claims concerning breathability, as soon as you hit a hill at pace you rapidly start sweltering. The fact that you also tend to look like a twat, with the billowing jacket blown up like a balloon (either because of the ingress of air or the outward pressure of flab) and skinny black lycra legs poking out underneath like some sort of lolly from hell.

No, looking pro and riding hard in winter is all about softshells and / or decent jerseys. (It’s also about beards too…) My plan for the 2010 / 2011 winter season was to get hold of the much lauded RaphaSoftshell. This elegant, well-tailored offering is about the smartest piece of cycling clothing in production, and certainly the only item of such clothing that appears to excite non-cyclists as much as the dedicated peletonese. It’s the kind of jacket that encourages you to take up cycling just so you can wear it every Sunday…

It’s also very expensive. Which is why I ended up buying something else…

Since discovering Craft a few months back, I’ve been really impressed with their range of kit. Quite a bit more tech looking than Rapha, and as such not quite so easily transferrable to post-ride pub wear, but then again – how often do I end up in the pub after a long winter ride? The quality is really impressive, and the cut is perfect when in the on bike position.

The jacket is warm whilst not being bulky, and decently windproof. Sleeves are long, the fit is slim and it feels a world away from more old school baggier winter jackets. I’ve worn it in the rain, and it took a while for the water to penetrate. I wouldn’t rely on it during a downpour, but I think it would do pretty well during prolonged drizzle, and I would certainly prefer it to a full-on waterproof unless the latter was really necessary. Full marks.

The Craft jacket was delivered in record time by the guys at Always Riding, who also supplied a very smart grey merino wool buff in grey. This has been a welcome addition to most of my recent rides. I’ve marginally overheated when riding at speed – it’s surprising the difference that the buff makes. It functions with the Craft jacket rather like a heat-loss regulator, preventing cold air entering at the neckline. I’ve not transformed it into a balaclava style affair yet – it hasn’t really been cold enough for that recently.

I picked up a new pair of overshoes too, also by Craft. Previous incarnations (Endura, Pearl Izumi and most recently Nike) had fallen apart more quickly that they really should have. The Craft ones though seem to be overbuilt in various areas, with heavy reinforcement around the toe and heel area. They are warm too, and I’m delighted with them so far.

I had intended to invest in a new pair of winter tights, but my trusty Endura ones are still going ok, and despite not featuring the most up-to-date windproofing and water resistance, the think roubaix fabric is still warm and comfortable enough for me.

I’m riding a 200km Audax on Wednesday and the forecast isn’t fantastic – should be a decent test for all the new kit…

Rapha
Craft
Always Riding

Nice stuff I’ve seen recently…

Nicolai
Intense
Yeti
Point One Racing
BOS
Moots
Speedvagen
Richard Sachs
Ricky Feather
Ritte
Canyon
Tune

I picked up my new Whyte 19CS last week and have only just got around to taking some photographs of what is undeniably a beautiful bicycle. I’ve not had a super light hardtail for years. The last such racy machine I owned (a Marin Indian Fire Trail) got pinched in London at the end of a very tough year that included riding it across France, Spain and half of Morocco, and then some DH racing when I got back. This was 1998 by the way – turning up to a DH race on a fully rigid aluminium hardtail being considered fairly laughable but not completely insane as it probably would be these days. I came second to last (I think), beaten only by a Frenchman with a pink lycra covered helmet and a huge saddlebag. Anyway, I digress…

The Whyte 19CS is the midrange model in the Whyte carbon HT lineup. I was originally keen to go for the uber-spec XX Works version, but the CS ended up seeming the best option, offering as it does a pretty awesome specification at a more sensible price. Gearing is SRAM X0, brakes are Hayes Stroker Carbon, and contact components are FSA SL-K with a Fizik saddle and seatpost.

I want to use the 19 for fast trail riding and racing. Probably with an emphasis on the former, but we shall see. As such, I’ve already made some changes to the spec. Gone are the 100mm SL-K stem and straight bars – instead I’ve swapped in a 80mm stem and SL-K riser bars. I’m not used to a really racy bars over the front wheel setup, and for trail riding I think the bike will handle better with a wider, shorter reach.

I bought a beautiful pair of Point One Racing Podium flat pedals for the bike – I’m a flat pedal man through and through. However, it’s a thoroughbred race machine and I thought it about time I gave clipless pedals another go, so on went a pair of Crank Bros Eggbeaters. They certainly look nice – whether they end up getting relegated to another bike will depend on my ability to stay attached when required and to detach myself when things go wrong.

As far as the gearing is concerned, I am very tempted to swap the two chainrings for one. Probably a 36 or a 38. On my existing bike I probably spend 95% of the time in the middle ring, and I think the sweet spot for general riding as this bike is currently set up is somewhere in between the chainrings. I can see the front shifter flicking backward and forth unnecessarily. Plus moving to a 1×10 system will drop a fair bit of weight in the process.

The bike came fitted with Conti Race King 2.0 tyres which while being an obvious and high quality choice for a carbon rocket of this caliber are not best suited to the British winter. These have since been swapped over to Panaracer Trailraker 2.1s – not a tyre I’m familiar with, but a well-respected mud performer by all accounts. I’m actually not really used to narrow tyres full stop, so I think it’ll take me a while to get used to the smaller carcass feel. Incidentally, the maiden voyage on the 19 ended up with me pulling half a dozen thorns out of the back tyre, most of which had penetrated the tube as well. Not really the fault of the tyre though – after going off course we ended up pushing along the side of a just trimmed hawthorn hedge bordering a farmer’s field, and all the bikes suffered from multiple punctures afterwards.

The Fulcrum Red Metal 3s look like decent enough wheels, but there’re not super light, so I have been debating getting another pair for race duties. Not sure what yet though – maybe Stans ZTR Crests on Hope Pro III hubs. Or something in carbon? The bike has definite potential for a super light build though – the 19C XX Works is reputedly around 19lb, and I reckon mine (minus chainring, shifter, front mech, with light wheels, tyres, light cassette, etc) should be in the same ballpark. 18lb would be something nice to aim for.

I’ll try to get some action pics up soon, plus some comments on how it rides.

Whyte
Point One Racing
Crank Brothers
Panaracer
No Tubes
Hope Technology

Or not. The image above beautifully sums up the fact that throwing loads of money at a bike won’t suddenly turn you into a cycling style icon. Not only does Lord Sugar look like a hairy old troll dressed as a court jester, he is standing next to the very definition of a midlife crisis bike.

We are talking wheels today, so what is wrong with the examples Lord Sugar is rocking? Well, they are Zipp clinchers. I hate Zipp clinchers. They are heavy. They look crude. They’re just not sexy. They’re just like those original Mavic Cosmic Carbones that were basically an aluminum rim with a carbon aero fairing. I hated them too. Mainly because they weren’t the real deal. Those Zipps probably ride well. I bet they’re stiff, and they probably brake pretty hard. But I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

Fancy wheels are, for 95% of us, an expensive irrelevance. They’re probably more relevant to those of us who time trial, but unless you’re pushing the low 20s for a 10 mile or sub hour for the 25, I reckon your money is better spend on sorting your position, coaching, and training harder. On your standard road bike, they are just an unnecessary luxury.

But unnecessary luxuries are what often makes life worth living. The beuatiful leather bag my girlfriend bought be from the Dover Street Market sale for example. Now I could get the train to London and spend the day carrying my bits and bobs from meeting to meeting in a Sainsburys plastic bag. Tough, resilient, capacious. But also ugly and uncomfortable. I put my things in the Comme des Garcons number? Instantly my day gets better.

Lets face it – having and using tasty kit makes you feel good. The exception that proves the rule is the satisfaction of hammering it past someone on a bike (preferably someone like Lord Sugar) that clearly cost a fortune whilst you yourself are on something ancient / knackered / extremely unfashionable. My old, paint-stripped Cannondale was such a bike – perfect for pasting some AmEx gold card sporting weekend warrior. Alas, when I swapped that frame for a Litespeed (albeit a second hand Tuscany) I immediately had to watch out for fast guys on 20 year old 12 speeds. This phenomenon will be crucially important to me when my English arrives. Despite the fact that my training is supposed to be focused on certain key events this season, the reality is that I will be training to ensure that no-one overtakes me on that bike. Ever. The point at which the owner of a fancy bike decides that being overtaken is not such a big deal is, quite possibly, the most tragic point in their riding career. A point of no return. A veritable nexus, where all dignity dissolves, and they find themselves taking all their mirrors down…

Anyway. Back to wheels. Fancy wheels are, for me, an exercise in aesthetic statement making. Light weight, stiffness, ride quality and longevity are of course considerations too, but they are of less interest.

So, first up we have Zipp. Tasty looking wheels, as long as they’re tubulars. I wouldn’t mind a pair of 303s on my English, but they’re getting fairly ubiquitous on the roads (as far as fancy wheels are concerned anyway), especially when you get nearer London. There is also the triathlon connection to bear in mind. Not something that particular bothers me, but some folk have an issue with anything that looks like it should be bearing the weight of a dripping bikini-wearing bloke with numbers drawn all over him.

Corima. I was never particularly fond of Corima in days gone by. Rather like Spinergy, I thought the four spoke wheel not quite as appealing visually as the trispoke. I have relented somewhat as of late, and indeed recently purchased a Corima back wheel for Project Lo Pro. This decision was based on my desire to maintain something of a late 80s / early 90s look with the bike. The wheel in question was a bargain buy on eBay, and should lend the machine a suitably vintage speed machine look. I don’t think I would put such a wheel on the English though – it could start to look too much like something this NYC uber commuter might ride.

Next up we have, for many, the ultimate choice. The CarbonSports Lightweght. As German as Jan Ullrich, wearing lederhosen, drinking beer and anticipating his next sausage.

The Lightwheel wheel system is pretty awesome. Light as a feather, stiff as corpse, with stealthy all-carbon good looks. Also fiendishly expensive. I’d have a pair. Dunno about the clinchers though, and there’s the rub. With the ultimate wheels, you’d need to be rocking tubs I reckon. Fancy tubs at that – either FMB Records or Veloflex Extremes. The more money you spend the more deliciously impractical your ride should be. So Lightweights for me would always be the icing on the cake – for when I’ve got my training wheels, nice summer ride / race wheels, and then have enough cash to blow on something for really special occasions. In the meantime I leave you with Jan riding his Lightweight rings around Mayo-naise and Lance on the way to another not quite really special occasion.

Now, Madfiber is a new(ish) kid on the block, and a company I have been paying more and more attention to as of late. Their wheel design is spectacular and exudes a similar weapons grade aerospace feel to the Lightweights. These wheels look mean and fast. They are apparently planning to bring out a set of clincher versions before too long, but I must admit that I’d be pretty keen to pimp the English with a set of the tubular versions. Again, very tasty…

Next, Enve (previously Edge Composites). The connoisseurs choice perhaps. These are Rob’s favoured high end rim, and I do like the idea of having him build the entire bike, wheels too. Perhaps with these Enve 45 clincher rims built onto Extralite or Alchemy hubs. Fiendishly light, nicely aero, and exuding deliciousness.

Last but not least, the local option. I’ve already been in touch with the guys at Strada about some carbon-rimmed wheels for my new Whyte hardtail. They are best known for their road wheels though, and have various options including these lovely 50mm carbon rimmed lovelies. Seriously tempting.

I have a few months yet before I have to make my mind up. I will almost certainly get Rob to build up a pair of training wheels for the bike – probably Kinlin rims on Alchemy hubs – which will be more than adequate to be getting on with. Ahhh, this is so much fun…

(Thanks for Bikesnob NYC for drawing attention to the uber commuter above.)

My mountain bikes have suffered a bit as of late, with my Whyte 46 out of action thanks to a knackered rear shock, and the Cove Stiffee seatpin and saddle-less since the departure of its overweight and underused sibling with whom they were shared. The Whyte is set to be replaced with something more 2011 (the Ibis Mojo HD), and the family will shortly be joined by a sprightly young carbon Whyte 19C, but the Cove deserves more than mere dust gathering, so I’ve recently made the effort to return it to trail readiness.

At 6ft2, a 17.5″ mountain bike is never going to pedal particularly fast, but when I first (over)built it up, the Stiffee was a total pig. I have since managed to shed some of the weight, with lighter wheels, tyres, etc. Yesterday I stuck an ageing Flite (a Marco Pantani signature Flite no less) on a new Thompson seatpost, and swapped some lighter bars and stem over, replacing the Hussefelt ones which must be hewn out of mild steel. I’ve still got to swap the Hussefelt cranks and BB, which when replaced with XT should drop things another pound at least. This is all very boring anyway. Who cares about heavy cranks. Zzzzz.

Right. So fitted with the new bits and bobs Alex and I headed out for an exploratory ride from his new place in Crundale, situated at the foot of the North Downs near Wye. The going was moist to say the least, and neither of us were sporting particularly suitable tyres. Still, we managed to piece together a decent enough loop. Mainly low tech XC, but with mud-clogged tyres it sometimes took a bit of effort to stay upright. The Cove wasn’t an enjoyable ride uphill, but at least it could go uphill. Unlike when it made its debut at Coed Llandegla – I ended up in some sort of hypoventilatory exhaustion fit that had the others assuming that I’d prepared for the weekend by preceding it with a five day bourbon and crack marathon. Ahh, but those were the days…

We did manage to find some nice little lines down through the trees though, and also an amusing little quarry. With fading light and an appointment with a fry up, we didn’t linger long. We had planned to push north west into King’s Wood above Godmersham, but in the end we cut through along a bridleway via Chilham and back to Crundale. King’s Wood reputedly sports a few more established trails, so we’ll try that out next time. Hopefully I should be on the carbon speed machine then, and the Cove will hopefully get to return to its favoured habitat – mini DH trails – if I get the nod from Piers. After a few months of riding solely on the road I’m expecting to get brought back down to earth fairly fast…

Ibis make very tasty carbon bikes. I think they’ve been around for quite a few years, but they only came to my attention recently when I heard about the original 140mm Mojo. This tough trail-suited five incher manufactured from beautifully sculpted carbon weighed a paltry 6lb and immediately jumped to the top of my most wanted list.

Since then, Ibis have also added the superlight Mojo SL, a superlight hardtail called the Tranny, a lovely looking cyclocross bike (the Hakkalügi) and, most recently, the longer travel Ibis Mojo HD.

This frame, suited to forks with 160 – 180mm of travel promises to build up into an awesome all mountain machine. Frame weight is a scant 6.3lb. 160mm of rear travel comes courtesy of a DW-link setup – arguably the most efficient pedalling platform for longer travel bike designs. The wheelbase is a touch longer than my Whyte, but not as long as a Nicolai Helius AM or an Intense Slopestyle. The head angle is 67deg, although this would slacken to 66 with a 180mm fork. Play bikes are being specced with slacker and  slacker angles, but I think anything below 66 is pushing it for a really versatile all mountain ride.

The Mojo HD could be built into something devilishly light – Fox 36 Floats, light wheels, 1×10 gearing, etc. Or a tough Alpine-ready machine – coil forks, coil rear shock (previously not recommended, but now Ibis are suggesting the Fox DHX RC4 would be fine, thanks to its ability to have dialled in bottom-out resistance), dual ply tyres, etc.

It’s the carbon that makes it, and for a lot of people it might be the carbon that breaks it. The Mojo HD is supposed to be super tough, but I can imagine that there are a lot of potential customers who might be finding the concept of a carbon all mountain bike quite hard to swallow. However, with more and more carbon coming onto the market, especially from Santa Cruz with the Nomad and V10, I think there are a lot of other people who are convinced that this is the future.

As far as I’m concerned, it is. Having spent some time musing over these various choices (as well as admiring the images below) the Mojo HD is definitely the natural successor to my Whyte. It has the potential to be so much lighter than the competition, whilst still retaining a tough, all mountain readiness. I think my mind is made up…