Dirtbox VII
I’d been looking forward to riding the 2010 Genesis Alpitude, I rode last year’s and loved it so I was keen to see if this year’s model was as fun to ride.
The Alpitude differentiates itself from the Altitude by it’s slacker angles, beefier tubing and longer travel fork. When you first lay eyes on this bike the low slung frame and long fork make it look mean as hell and you know it means business.
The top tube is dropped with a neat gusset linking it to the seat tube, not unlike the Pace hardtail frames. The main triangle tubes are made from Reynolds excellent 853 steel and are oversized (although still skinny when compared to an aluminium frame), the compact rear triangle is made from much more slender tubing and the overall result is a very pleasing looking frame. It also has the nice (almost essential) UK friendly addition of crud catcher bosses on the underside of the downtube, which proved very handy on my two test rides! It also has chain guide mounts should you want to fit a chain retention device or perhaps a Hammerschmidt crank.
Genesis Alpitude
It’s kitted out with pretty much an entire SLX groupset, the only differences being the rear mech (upgraded to XT) and the shifters (downgraded to Deore). As is usual with a full Shimano build it all works together faultlessley, with the light action of the shifting a real pleasure to use. The highlight though is the buttery smooth Rock Shox Revelation fork, but more on that later.
After a bit of fiddling with the set up I finally arrived at what seemed to be a good compromise on the tyre pressure, it was very muddy and 25psi seemed to stike a good comfort / grip balance.
One of the unique features of this bike is despite the slack head angle the seat angle is quite steep, this makes it an exceptionally well mannered climber, there’s little in the way of front wheel wander when climbing, except on all but hte steepest climbs, and even this can be dialled out by dropping the fork down to a shorter travel temporarily.
Genesis Alpitude
So how does it ride? Well in a word fun. It wants you to ride quick, it needs you to ride quick. When you really start to push it the bike comes to life, the ‘twang’ of the steel frame is really enjoyable as you speed your way through the singletrack. The compact back end makes manualling over roots and obstacles a piece of cake.
Turn the terrain steep and gnarly and it excells. It’s easy to get your weight off the back and the fork does a great job of keeping everything tracking smoothly in the direction you want to go. Popping of jumps and drops with ease is the name of the game, again the fork saves you if you get it a bit wrong.
You can push it as hard as you like on the downhills and it just laughs back at you, it’s a bike for scaring your mates who have paid significantly more on a full suspention bike as you buzz their rear tyres and then overtake with a grin on your face!
Genesis Alpitude
The only real downside would say is maybe it would climb a bit better if it was a bit lighter. But that said it would probably be at the expense of it’s bombproof descending ability, so perhaps it’s just that I need to get a bit fitter.
For the price this is an amazing bike for riding round these parts, South or North downs singletrack will be hammered with ease and in all likelihood the only limitation will be your ability to hang on when it encourages you to really go for it.
Hummerlicious
The Alpitude differentiates itself from the Altitude by it’s slacker angles, beefier tubing and longer travel fork. When you first lay eyes on this bike the low slung frame and long fork make it look mean as hell and you know it means business.
The top tube is dropped with a neat gusset linking it to the seat tube, not unlike the Pace hardtail frames. The main triangle tubes are made from Reynolds excellent 853 steel and are oversized (although still skinny when compared to an aluminium frame), the compact rear triangle is made from much more slender tubing and the overall result is a very pleasing looking frame. It also has the nice (almost essential) UK friendly addition of crud catcher bosses on the underside of the downtube, which proved very handy on my two test rides! It also has chain guide mounts should you want to fit a chain retention device or perhaps a Hammerschmidt crank.
Genesis Alpitude
It’s kitted out with pretty much an entire SLX groupset, the only differences being the rear mech (upgraded to XT) and the shifters (downgraded to Deore). As is usual with a full Shimano build it all works together faultlessley, with the light action of the shifting a real pleasure to use. The highlight though is the buttery smooth Rock Shox Revelation fork, but more on that later.
After a bit of fiddling with the set up I finally arrived at what seemed to be a good compromise on the tyre pressure, it was very muddy and 25psi seemed to stike a good comfort / grip balance.
One of the unique features of this bike is despite the slack head angle the seat angle is quite steep, this makes it an exceptionally well mannered climber, there’s little in the way of front wheel wander when climbing, except on all but hte steepest climbs, and even this can be dialled out by dropping the fork down to a shorter travel temporarily.
Genesis Alpitude
So how does it ride? Well in a word fun. It wants you to ride quick, it needs you to ride quick. When you really start to push it the bike comes to life, the ‘twang’ of the steel frame is really enjoyable as you speed your way through the singletrack. The compact back end makes manualling over roots and obstacles a piece of cake.
Turn the terrain steep and gnarly and it excells. It’s easy to get your weight off the back and the fork does a great job of keeping everything tracking smoothly in the direction you want to go. Popping of jumps and drops with ease is the name of the game, again the fork saves you if you get it a bit wrong.
You can push it as hard as you like on the downhills and it just laughs back at you, it’s a bike for scaring your mates who have paid significantly more on a full suspention bike as you buzz their rear tyres and then overtake with a grin on your face!
Genesis Alpitude
The only real downside would say is maybe it would climb a bit better if it was a bit lighter. But that said it would probably be at the expense of it’s bombproof descending ability, so perhaps it’s just that I need to get a bit fitter.
For the price this is an amazing bike for riding round these parts, South or North downs singletrack will be hammered with ease and in all likelihood the only limitation will be your ability to hang on when it encourages you to really go for it.
Hummerlicious
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Dirtbox VI
28/02/10 22:28 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
Ice Bike 2010 – Saracen Kili Flyer Ti:
Originally uploaded by 18bikes
A lot of you guys out there probably see Saracen from their ‘Ur bike iz saracen’ Halfords days, but some of us can just about cast our minds back to the first explosion of popularity this MTB’ing thing we love so much had.
Saracen were there and their steel frames were something to aspire to, the top end models were sweet. Well Madison have set out to rejuvenate the brand and they have some pretty nice looking bikes too.
But here we have the Saracen Kili Flyer in Ti. Will it get made in 2011? Well I hope so, it makes me go all misty eyed and nostalgic!!
Hummerlicious
Originally uploaded by 18bikes
A lot of you guys out there probably see Saracen from their ‘Ur bike iz saracen’ Halfords days, but some of us can just about cast our minds back to the first explosion of popularity this MTB’ing thing we love so much had.
Saracen were there and their steel frames were something to aspire to, the top end models were sweet. Well Madison have set out to rejuvenate the brand and they have some pretty nice looking bikes too.
But here we have the Saracen Kili Flyer in Ti. Will it get made in 2011? Well I hope so, it makes me go all misty eyed and nostalgic!!
Hummerlicious
Dirtbox V
24/02/10 19:43 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
It’s taken me a while to get round to writing this review, mainly because I was hoping to get another go on this bike. But it’s popularity has proved such that’s it’s been pretty much booked out from Quest since it came in.
I’ve managed to get two good rides in on this - one on the last month’s Quest ride on the south downs and one on a Sussex-MTB ride on the north downs. Also I did the SD ride with the chainstays on long and the ND ride with them short just to see the difference. Unfortunately though the weather was pretty appaling for both so I’ve not really had a chance to fully let rip on the 19, hopefully I’ll get it again some time in the future though, I certainly hope so as it’s great fun to ride!
So what about the bike? Well the first thing I really noticed was the weight. This bike weighs around 24lbs and as such is nearly 4lbs lighter than my Hummer! My god you notice the difference, though most of that is probably down to the fact I have a coil Pike on the Hummer and that does make it rather lardy.
Whyte 19 trail - excuse my fence!
Back to the Whyte, it’s really nicely specced, to be honest the same sort of spec that any of the Sussex-MTB boyz (or indeed lots of other riders) would actually choose themselves; Fox forks, SRAM X0 gears, Thomson seatpost and stem, Easton carbon bars and of course the lovely new Hope brakes which look like lush machined jewels!!
Hope brakes
So really there’s nothing there that you would want to change from the off, except maybe the crank, but that really depends how much of a tart you are. Truvativ have come a long way with their styling now and the Stylo chainset fitted not only looks good but goes with the styling of the bike very nicely.
Bling!
The ride? In a word nippy! They say “light enough to race, tough enough for trails”. I certainly wouldn’t argue with that. Point this bike uphill and it’s like having an invisible hand pushing you, it’s so light it flies, the balance is great with the 120mm fork long enough to soak up the bumps, but not so long you struggle to keep the front end down the the steep climbs.
Adjustable drop outs - in 'short' mode
The bike is super stable descending, especially with the chainstays on their ‘long’ setting. However I enjoyed it the most with them as short as you could run it. It gave the bike a more playful feel and made it a piece of cake to manual off roots and drops. Initially I struggled to bond with it on the more technical trails of the north downs, however I stopped for a while and took the time to adjust the fork more for my riding ’style’ (I use the word loosely). Speeding up the rebound made all the difference to me as the fork was packing down a bit over multiple root sections. With the rebound adjusted though it was more to my taste and I was able to forget that I wasn’t on someone else’s bike and really let rip on it and just enjoy the ride. Most notably when Michael shouted “Come on grandad” to me at the top of ‘Barry know’s best’. He was forced to eat his words as I overtook him into the first big berm and beat him to the bottom.
So what do I think? This bike is a lightweight trail mashing monster. You’d be hard pressed to find something as light and as durable for blasting around these parts. Thoroughly recommended.
Now I’m looking forward to trying the next demo, the new Genesis that’s in the shop.
Don’t forget you can swing your leg over the Whyte or indeed any of the other bikes that are lined up for the 2010 DEMO DAY which is on March the 20th. Contact the shop for more details...
Hummerlicious
I’ve managed to get two good rides in on this - one on the last month’s Quest ride on the south downs and one on a Sussex-MTB ride on the north downs. Also I did the SD ride with the chainstays on long and the ND ride with them short just to see the difference. Unfortunately though the weather was pretty appaling for both so I’ve not really had a chance to fully let rip on the 19, hopefully I’ll get it again some time in the future though, I certainly hope so as it’s great fun to ride!
So what about the bike? Well the first thing I really noticed was the weight. This bike weighs around 24lbs and as such is nearly 4lbs lighter than my Hummer! My god you notice the difference, though most of that is probably down to the fact I have a coil Pike on the Hummer and that does make it rather lardy.
Whyte 19 trail - excuse my fence!
Back to the Whyte, it’s really nicely specced, to be honest the same sort of spec that any of the Sussex-MTB boyz (or indeed lots of other riders) would actually choose themselves; Fox forks, SRAM X0 gears, Thomson seatpost and stem, Easton carbon bars and of course the lovely new Hope brakes which look like lush machined jewels!!
Hope brakes
So really there’s nothing there that you would want to change from the off, except maybe the crank, but that really depends how much of a tart you are. Truvativ have come a long way with their styling now and the Stylo chainset fitted not only looks good but goes with the styling of the bike very nicely.
Bling!
The ride? In a word nippy! They say “light enough to race, tough enough for trails”. I certainly wouldn’t argue with that. Point this bike uphill and it’s like having an invisible hand pushing you, it’s so light it flies, the balance is great with the 120mm fork long enough to soak up the bumps, but not so long you struggle to keep the front end down the the steep climbs.
Adjustable drop outs - in 'short' mode
The bike is super stable descending, especially with the chainstays on their ‘long’ setting. However I enjoyed it the most with them as short as you could run it. It gave the bike a more playful feel and made it a piece of cake to manual off roots and drops. Initially I struggled to bond with it on the more technical trails of the north downs, however I stopped for a while and took the time to adjust the fork more for my riding ’style’ (I use the word loosely). Speeding up the rebound made all the difference to me as the fork was packing down a bit over multiple root sections. With the rebound adjusted though it was more to my taste and I was able to forget that I wasn’t on someone else’s bike and really let rip on it and just enjoy the ride. Most notably when Michael shouted “Come on grandad” to me at the top of ‘Barry know’s best’. He was forced to eat his words as I overtook him into the first big berm and beat him to the bottom.
So what do I think? This bike is a lightweight trail mashing monster. You’d be hard pressed to find something as light and as durable for blasting around these parts. Thoroughly recommended.
Now I’m looking forward to trying the next demo, the new Genesis that’s in the shop.
Don’t forget you can swing your leg over the Whyte or indeed any of the other bikes that are lined up for the 2010 DEMO DAY which is on March the 20th. Contact the shop for more details...
Hummerlicious
Dirtbox IV
11/02/10 20:25 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
OK so it turns out I have to eat my own words from the last post a little bit. I was bemoaning my experiences of SRAM's 'agricultural' style shifting. Well as luck would have it was was able to use a Whyte 19 trail demo bike at the weekend (review to follow after I've had the chance to ride it on some north downs technical trails). This bike was fitted with an X.0 drive train.
I must point out that my experiences of SRAM transmission have obviously been tarnished by my previous set up. I had the PG990 cassette (in red of course), but it was mixed in with a shimano XT chain, race face chainrings and XTR mechs. I was never happy with the shifting performance and ditched the cassette for an XT one at the first chance I got.
However riding the Whyte with the full X.0 drivetrain was a bit of a different proposition. Yes there is definitely still a 'clunk', rather than the 'snick' of a shimano shift, but it all works beautifully together, a really positive shift which I liked. So much so that I could say I feel like I may be a convert. My next bike will have an X.0 drivetrain with Hammerschmidt cranks on it and if I have that I think I may need to switch over to X.0 or X.9 for the hummer too, but what colour? Choices, choices...
Hummerlicious
I must point out that my experiences of SRAM transmission have obviously been tarnished by my previous set up. I had the PG990 cassette (in red of course), but it was mixed in with a shimano XT chain, race face chainrings and XTR mechs. I was never happy with the shifting performance and ditched the cassette for an XT one at the first chance I got.
However riding the Whyte with the full X.0 drivetrain was a bit of a different proposition. Yes there is definitely still a 'clunk', rather than the 'snick' of a shimano shift, but it all works beautifully together, a really positive shift which I liked. So much so that I could say I feel like I may be a convert. My next bike will have an X.0 drivetrain with Hammerschmidt cranks on it and if I have that I think I may need to switch over to X.0 or X.9 for the hummer too, but what colour? Choices, choices...
Hummerlicious
Dirtbox III
31/01/10 09:40 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
Time for a few more wibbles of the old thrusset pouch! Well one definite wibble, and one undecided!
First off we have the new SRAM XG999 cassette. I've got to admit I've been a fan of SRAM's cassettes in the past. I was seduced by the red anodised cassette carrier, sad I know, and had to have one. Personally I wasn't overly impressed with the shifting performance. I think SRAM can feel a little agricultural on an MTB. You either love it or hate it I guess, I've always loved the super light action of XT but anyway I digress...
This thing is a super lush bit of machined goodness:
First off we have the new SRAM XG999 cassette. I've got to admit I've been a fan of SRAM's cassettes in the past. I was seduced by the red anodised cassette carrier, sad I know, and had to have one. Personally I wasn't overly impressed with the shifting performance. I think SRAM can feel a little agricultural on an MTB. You either love it or hate it I guess, I've always loved the super light action of XT but anyway I digress...
This thing is a super lush bit of machined goodness:
Just check it out, machined away to nothing, and weighing in only slightly more than a pair of spaniels testacles [checked and verified I trust?! - Bike Tart]. 50g lighter than the mighty XTR!! Lushness indeed, imagine all those recesses rammed full of lovely south downs mud ;-)
Next up is the Rocky Mountain "UK Special". Yet another attempt to pigeon hole some sort of riding niche. A "trail centre / singletrack bike". Oh you mean a bike then? Well it looks nice at a glance but closer inspection leaves me feeling a bit underwhelmed.
The frame looks like your typical low slung hardcore hardtail fare, but check out those rear stays, monsters! Couple that with the incredibly stiff iBeam seatpost and those with dodgy lower backs (like me) need definitely not apply. For the money I think I'd have to go for a Marin Rocky Ridge, but then that doesn't quite fit into the Bike Tart's way of thinking, it's just not niche enough. He really should try one before he condemns it though, great bike!
Until next time,
Hummerlicious
Decisions Decisions...
25/01/10 17:59 Filed in: Dirty Bikes | Dirty Tingles
As you may well have read on my Twitter feed, for 2010 I have decided to enter two mountain bike endurance events – the Bontrager Twentyfour12 in July (12hr solo) and the Brighton Big Dog in August (6hr solo). Two events I have tackled previously (although when I did the Big Dog is was called ‘The Long Good Saturday’ and was 8hrs long) and both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Being much fitter and a fair bit lighter though, this time around I want better results.
One problem – at the moment I don’t have a mountain bike. Slight setback that. And so comes the decision on what to get…
Given that it’s a bike that will likely only see a day or so of use each month most people would probably be thinking that something reasonably cheap would be the way to go – that is, after all, plain common sense and outright good logic. However, given that the events the bike is to be used for are already fairly lengthy affairs my logic is to go for something light and fast to make those events as easy on me as possible. Well, that, and the fact that as a Bike Tart cheap and cheerful just won’t cut it (I can sense your eyes rolling in their sockets). Besides which, I’d only end up spending an arm and a leg upgrading it anyway.
So what to get?
Well, I do have a rather lush and extremely rare Scapin Bandit frame hanging up in my parents’ garage back in Sussex. At around 4lb with headset, chainstay protector and seatclamp fitted it’s incredibly light for a steel frame, it would build up into something quite lovely (and in fact it did just that for the whole week or two that it was a complete MTB around this time last year, before I decided I needed to sell bits of it off to fund a new road frame… are you rolling your eyes again?!). It would make for a classic and classy XC race weapon, and already having the frame and some of the bits remaining means it would be relatively cheap to do…
BUT (saw that coming huh?!), I quite fancy trying a 29er.
The Gary Fisher Superfly caught my attention last year before I decided to build the Scapin. It’s not cheap, but it’s a stunning bike and is very light. At around 5’11” the 29” wheel route is not a bad one for me to take and would be a new experience for me to try – if the theories and word-of-mouth surrounding this big-wheeled approach are to be believed then the fact that it only has 80mm of fork travel shouldn’t really be an issue either. That said, for around £3k I’d be a lot happier if it had 100mm travel (for no real reason other than 80mm mentally being a hefty backward step from the previous 140mm of my old Santa Cruz) and it could be quite an expensive mistake if I don’t get on with the 29” wheels.
If we’re talking ‘dream build’ then the Niner Air9 Carbon would be the bike for me, most likely with SRAM XX draped all over it, and a set of Stan’s 29er wheels built in some kind of exotic manner (I9 hubs per chance?!). Except that’d set me back somewhere in the region of £6k – an even more expensive mistake if I didn’t get on with the big wheels, and frankly that’s also money I’d much rather be spending on a road bike (as is the £3k for the Superfly for that matter).
Reeling myself back in again, and sticking with the ‘tried and tested’ standard 26” wheel size, I quite like the look of the current Cannondale range of MTBs. Whilst I’d love to go with the top-of-the-line Flash Team Carbon, £6k on a hardtail MTB is obscene. Thankfully it has a cheaper aluminium baby brother called the Flash F1 which is still quite nice and reasonably well kitted out at a good price… but the wheels are heavier than I’d like – straight away we’re back into unnecessary upgrade territory. My god I’m a pain in the ass!
The Scapin does make sense, but I reckon I’d spend most of the price of the F1 on building it up. It also feels a little bit “been there, done that”. I’m also not sure I can resist the lure of the 29er… Decisions decisions.
It won’t be the Niner Air9 carbon, that much is certain. That said, I could save some money by building it singlespeed…
One problem – at the moment I don’t have a mountain bike. Slight setback that. And so comes the decision on what to get…
Given that it’s a bike that will likely only see a day or so of use each month most people would probably be thinking that something reasonably cheap would be the way to go – that is, after all, plain common sense and outright good logic. However, given that the events the bike is to be used for are already fairly lengthy affairs my logic is to go for something light and fast to make those events as easy on me as possible. Well, that, and the fact that as a Bike Tart cheap and cheerful just won’t cut it (I can sense your eyes rolling in their sockets). Besides which, I’d only end up spending an arm and a leg upgrading it anyway.
So what to get?
Well, I do have a rather lush and extremely rare Scapin Bandit frame hanging up in my parents’ garage back in Sussex. At around 4lb with headset, chainstay protector and seatclamp fitted it’s incredibly light for a steel frame, it would build up into something quite lovely (and in fact it did just that for the whole week or two that it was a complete MTB around this time last year, before I decided I needed to sell bits of it off to fund a new road frame… are you rolling your eyes again?!). It would make for a classic and classy XC race weapon, and already having the frame and some of the bits remaining means it would be relatively cheap to do…
BUT (saw that coming huh?!), I quite fancy trying a 29er.
The Gary Fisher Superfly caught my attention last year before I decided to build the Scapin. It’s not cheap, but it’s a stunning bike and is very light. At around 5’11” the 29” wheel route is not a bad one for me to take and would be a new experience for me to try – if the theories and word-of-mouth surrounding this big-wheeled approach are to be believed then the fact that it only has 80mm of fork travel shouldn’t really be an issue either. That said, for around £3k I’d be a lot happier if it had 100mm travel (for no real reason other than 80mm mentally being a hefty backward step from the previous 140mm of my old Santa Cruz) and it could be quite an expensive mistake if I don’t get on with the 29” wheels.
If we’re talking ‘dream build’ then the Niner Air9 Carbon would be the bike for me, most likely with SRAM XX draped all over it, and a set of Stan’s 29er wheels built in some kind of exotic manner (I9 hubs per chance?!). Except that’d set me back somewhere in the region of £6k – an even more expensive mistake if I didn’t get on with the big wheels, and frankly that’s also money I’d much rather be spending on a road bike (as is the £3k for the Superfly for that matter).
Reeling myself back in again, and sticking with the ‘tried and tested’ standard 26” wheel size, I quite like the look of the current Cannondale range of MTBs. Whilst I’d love to go with the top-of-the-line Flash Team Carbon, £6k on a hardtail MTB is obscene. Thankfully it has a cheaper aluminium baby brother called the Flash F1 which is still quite nice and reasonably well kitted out at a good price… but the wheels are heavier than I’d like – straight away we’re back into unnecessary upgrade territory. My god I’m a pain in the ass!
The Scapin does make sense, but I reckon I’d spend most of the price of the F1 on building it up. It also feels a little bit “been there, done that”. I’m also not sure I can resist the lure of the 29er… Decisions decisions.
It won’t be the Niner Air9 carbon, that much is certain. That said, I could save some money by building it singlespeed…
Dirtbox II
21/01/10 21:09 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
I've had quite a few sexy wheelsets pass me by in the last month for some reason. XTR hubs on Stan's olympics, Tune on Stan's, as sexy as they are they just don't quite tick the necessary boxes for the tart in me. Enter Industry 9, super CNC thrusset pouch wibbling goodness in a choice of colours. Just check out these hubs, pictured here in blue or red. Straight pull spokes, individually etched with the logo! 120 point, three degree six pawl cassette means super fast pickup, they need to be twiddled to be believed. Very nice, me want, consider my thrusset pouch well and truly wibbled!!
While we're on the subject of wheelsets, check out this prebuilt goodness from Easton. This UST set come in the new QR15 flavour, will take a 2.5" tyre, and is a reasonable weight too. I rather like the detail machining on the hubs too :-)
Untill next time,
Hummerlicious
Dirtbox I
16/01/10 15:22 Filed in: Dirtbox | Thrusset Pouch Wibbles
So as mentioned in my intro I am an off road equivalent of the bike tart himself. I like nice looking, well engineered kit and I am a sucker for red anodising! So in my first proper post I thought I'd just show you a few things that have interested me recently.
I saw quite a lot of nice frames at the bike show last year, there were three which I really loved. First of the Pace 104. This thing is just sublime, I could easily see myself on something like this. Classic lines, really nice construction, topped off with a really nice paint job. One of our dudes Martin has the Pace freeride hardtail (whatever the number is) and I've got to say if this baby handles anything like that does not only will it be sweet to look at but an absolute blast to ride as well.
Next we have the Demon Frameworks jump bike. A lugged steel jump bike? Ooh, suits you sir! This thing looked just phenominal, they are definitely one to keep your eye on for the future...
Finally the Niner hardtail, I know the bike tart has already mentioned this elsewhere on the site, but I've got to say when I first saw one at Mountain Mayhem this year I was totally blown away by it. Not to mention the super sweet carbon fork too, man that thing is totally lickable! I could see something like this appearing under me in the not too far distant future.
Now on to bottom brackets, a totally mundane yet essential piece of equipment. We seem to be fairly settled on the outboard bearing type, unless we all go BB30, but I don't plan on changing my Hummer frame any time soon! Shimano and Race Face aren't particularly good as far as bearing longevity goes and a few new boys have entered the fray this year with some interesting twists to the standard format.
Both Pace and Chris King have launched BB's along with a dedicated grease gun to push all the old gunk out and refill with fresh life giving spooge. There's something highly satisfying about purging contaminated grease from bearing seals, or maybe that's just me. I reckon this has got to be the way to go though and I can see my Hummer being adorned with a nice anodised red Pace unit as soon as the current Shimano BB dies.
Also getting in on the game is Phil Wood with his super polished bit of stainless steel bike jewellery. Man this thing looks so sweet it almost seems a shame to put it in a bike, you'd definitely need a bit of 'time alone' with it before you fitted it! I'd want a frame with a clear bottom bracket shell to show it off too. [Hubba hubba - Bike Tart]
Amazingly all three are a similar price, but I think the Pace will win the day for me, it looks sweet and I don't think there will be a delay getting your hands on the regreasing tool unlike the Chris King which seems to be in short supply at the moment. Imagine it, bottom brackets that last more than six months!!
Until next time,
Hummerlicious
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I saw quite a lot of nice frames at the bike show last year, there were three which I really loved. First of the Pace 104. This thing is just sublime, I could easily see myself on something like this. Classic lines, really nice construction, topped off with a really nice paint job. One of our dudes Martin has the Pace freeride hardtail (whatever the number is) and I've got to say if this baby handles anything like that does not only will it be sweet to look at but an absolute blast to ride as well.
Next we have the Demon Frameworks jump bike. A lugged steel jump bike? Ooh, suits you sir! This thing looked just phenominal, they are definitely one to keep your eye on for the future...
Finally the Niner hardtail, I know the bike tart has already mentioned this elsewhere on the site, but I've got to say when I first saw one at Mountain Mayhem this year I was totally blown away by it. Not to mention the super sweet carbon fork too, man that thing is totally lickable! I could see something like this appearing under me in the not too far distant future.
Now on to bottom brackets, a totally mundane yet essential piece of equipment. We seem to be fairly settled on the outboard bearing type, unless we all go BB30, but I don't plan on changing my Hummer frame any time soon! Shimano and Race Face aren't particularly good as far as bearing longevity goes and a few new boys have entered the fray this year with some interesting twists to the standard format.
Both Pace and Chris King have launched BB's along with a dedicated grease gun to push all the old gunk out and refill with fresh life giving spooge. There's something highly satisfying about purging contaminated grease from bearing seals, or maybe that's just me. I reckon this has got to be the way to go though and I can see my Hummer being adorned with a nice anodised red Pace unit as soon as the current Shimano BB dies.
Also getting in on the game is Phil Wood with his super polished bit of stainless steel bike jewellery. Man this thing looks so sweet it almost seems a shame to put it in a bike, you'd definitely need a bit of 'time alone' with it before you fitted it! I'd want a frame with a clear bottom bracket shell to show it off too. [Hubba hubba - Bike Tart]
Amazingly all three are a similar price, but I think the Pace will win the day for me, it looks sweet and I don't think there will be a delay getting your hands on the regreasing tool unlike the Chris King which seems to be in short supply at the moment. Imagine it, bottom brackets that last more than six months!!
Until next time,
Hummerlicious
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Introducing Dirtbox
14/01/10 18:25 Filed in: Dirtbox
I've been invited by the bike tart to be the MTB guest blogger for Brain Farts, and this will be the first post of what will henceforth be known the 'Dirtbox', just to keep in with the Brain Fart theme!
As I'm a Brain Fart virgin I figured I'd best introduce myself. Going under the psuedonym Hummerlicious I've been a mountainbiker for twenty two years this year and although I totally love MTB'ing I tend to describe myself to outsiders as a 'cyclist' rather than a MTB'er. I've raced XC for getting on 15 years, I now tend to do enduro's both as a team and solo rider. I ride BMX in skateparks too! I've raced on the road and done cyclocross as well and a look at my recent 'Naughties in bikes' post will show you what a diverse selection of bikes I've had in the last decade. I also run MTB rides for my local shop Quest Adventure and do organised MTB rides for the general public too via SussexMTBTours.
In the end though all the other stuff is really secondary, deep down the road wasn't really for me. Although I loved the thrill of racing in a pack and even scored a few points, I love the thrill of nailing it down some steep technical singletrack, getting a buzz from clearing a drop or section of trail that looked like it would end in death or at least a trip to A & E. The Bike Tart may keep it quiet but indeed he has ridden the lush rocky trails of Southern Spain with me and yes, he did enjoy it!
I have a serious cake addiction and run Cakeaholicsanonymous which is my personal blog, but most of my time is taken up with Sussex-MTB. It's probably as close to a club as you can get for a bunch of mountainbikers, but ultimately it's just a bunch of mates having fun on their bikes :-)
The bike tart likes to post his 'Kahuna Tingles' but I prefer to think of having my 'thrusset pouch wibbled' so this column will bring to your attention some of the more interesting and truly lickable items from the world of mountainbiking, those which are likely to produce a good wibble.
So there you go that's me, as ever any feedback is welcome, as well as bringing to my attention any bits of MTB lushness that may have passed me by, or indeed any stuff you want me to get muddy, let's try to make it all a bit interactive...
Hummerlicious (twitter.com/jimbosussexmtb)
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As I'm a Brain Fart virgin I figured I'd best introduce myself. Going under the psuedonym Hummerlicious I've been a mountainbiker for twenty two years this year and although I totally love MTB'ing I tend to describe myself to outsiders as a 'cyclist' rather than a MTB'er. I've raced XC for getting on 15 years, I now tend to do enduro's both as a team and solo rider. I ride BMX in skateparks too! I've raced on the road and done cyclocross as well and a look at my recent 'Naughties in bikes' post will show you what a diverse selection of bikes I've had in the last decade. I also run MTB rides for my local shop Quest Adventure and do organised MTB rides for the general public too via SussexMTBTours.
In the end though all the other stuff is really secondary, deep down the road wasn't really for me. Although I loved the thrill of racing in a pack and even scored a few points, I love the thrill of nailing it down some steep technical singletrack, getting a buzz from clearing a drop or section of trail that looked like it would end in death or at least a trip to A & E. The Bike Tart may keep it quiet but indeed he has ridden the lush rocky trails of Southern Spain with me and yes, he did enjoy it!
I have a serious cake addiction and run Cakeaholicsanonymous which is my personal blog, but most of my time is taken up with Sussex-MTB. It's probably as close to a club as you can get for a bunch of mountainbikers, but ultimately it's just a bunch of mates having fun on their bikes :-)
The bike tart likes to post his 'Kahuna Tingles' but I prefer to think of having my 'thrusset pouch wibbled' so this column will bring to your attention some of the more interesting and truly lickable items from the world of mountainbiking, those which are likely to produce a good wibble.
So there you go that's me, as ever any feedback is welcome, as well as bringing to my attention any bits of MTB lushness that may have passed me by, or indeed any stuff you want me to get muddy, let's try to make it all a bit interactive...
Hummerlicious (twitter.com/jimbosussexmtb)
Share