Lights will be needed and the whole section is probably around an hour at Thursday pace.For this spare tubes, multitools, first aid kits, sweets and directions and perhaps some encouraging words may be required

Quest Adventure have asked for a little help as Jimbo was meant to be doing this but his serious accident (see forum) will mean he will be out of the saddle for ages.  Hopefully  he makes a speedy recovery and is back out with us before too long.

A topic will be started on the forum for this.

Yeti, IBIS, Dekerf, Santa Cruz, Baum, Zerode

A new bike shop has sprung up in deepest Hove and has easy access to the South Downs National Park with its miles of cycle friendly bridleways and mtb routes. We had a brief chat with the owner Stephen Roache at the 2011 Big Dog and he lent a couple of the gang demo Yeti’s for the day.  Although a new shop the owner Steve brings with him over 20 years of experience in the cycle trade and a vast knowledge of both road, mountain and tri bikes (check out the brands below – he knows his onions!). Prestige Cycles have already embraced the local scene with sponsorship of the 2011 Big Dog and weekly shop rides on the mtb trails around Brighton and Hove. Over to Steve.
The Concept
 
Prestige Cycles will cater for all levels of rider, whether they want to buy a run around bike or are requiring full racing specification.  Prestige will be offering a unique top class fitting service using the impressive Serotta International Cycling Institute Machine enabling Prestige to supply custom made or stock sized frames.   The shop concept is to be the up and coming hub for cycling enthusiasts and to act as a one stop shop for cyclists across the board, promoting cycling to all.  Prestige are very pleased to announce they are working in partnership with Baum, De Kerf and Zerode; we are the sole UK importer for these brands.  The other brands we will be stocking are listed below:
 
•         Marin
•         Wilier
•         Yeti
.         Dekerf
.         Baum
.         Zerode
•         Ibis
•         Santa cruz
.         Fixie inc
.         Argon
.         Neil Pryde 
          Guru
•         Surly
       
 
Shop rides are on Wednesday evening from 6.00pm at Stanmer park (more details to follow, check our ride calendar and link on right). Shop rides are not a race but a nice steady ride for about 2-3 hours and provide opportunity for anyone to try a demo bike or riding gear free of charge - (contact Steve at Prestige Cycles first so he can bring what you want to try!)  As well as free demo rides we also offer free loan out lights for the evening; we have some great offers on at the moment for Exposure lights:
 
Exposure Joystick MK4 £90.00 (special offer price)
Exposure Strada  £135.00 (special offer price)

Since this was written a couple of our YETI owners have had their bikes serviced by Steve and have given glowing recommendations. Following a demo ride one of the gang has also purchased a YETI ASR5, personal service and lack of pressure selling were the reasons he gave for spending the money locally.

Congratulations to John F who does not really deserve them but his wife does.

Mother and baby, Florence Beatrice, are doing fine.

BBQ rain dance!

Thanks to everyone who came to the BBQ and donated money and time, especially Matt and Alec who provided the food.

£80-00 was raised on the day and this will be donated to the Mary How Trust in Pulborough. If anyone would like to make a donation to this charity you can do so by following this link.

Total consumption; 12 burgers, 30 sausages, 6 chinese pork steaks, 6 marinated pork ribs, 4 minted lamb steaks, 2 bags of fresh prawns, 7 mackerel fillets, 20 rolls and 5 french sticks, 24 cans of beer and 2 bottles of soft drinks.

Initially we spent some time around Scotland and punished ourselves by walking to the summit of Ben Nevis on Saturday. 2h:07m is certainly not the best time in the world, but I overtook most of the people going up and managed to do it without one single stop – it is shame I can’t pedal up hills with the same enthusiasm. Then we celebrated our existence with a couple of litres of vodka, gin, vine and others….

Sunday – the big day!

Arriving at World Cup village at around 11am, we started cruising around the exhibition stands.
One thing that has caught my eye – an all mountain bike frame machined out of single block of alloy – no welds! (see picture A). The complete bike is around 14kg and the price of the frame is around £2500. The guy told me that it takes 25 hours of machining to make the main part of the frame – what a job!

This year I decided to do it opposite way – walk up the hill and take the gondola down for the descent (saving painful knees from the day before). Good idea it was – no queueing for gondola at the bottom and no sliding down on extremely messy and muddy paths around the course.

Immediately after the race started I realized that racing times were longer (+15secs) than the last year and I wondered why….
The course went through few changes just before the World Cup and those changes made it quite brutal. Seeing the course last year and being riding for the whole year, I was under impression I might be able to do it, but…

NO mate! NO way!

There are a few additions at the second half of the course like a 2m high ramp going over a fire road with 45 degree steep landing immediately followed by two crazy berms (all on gravel surface, pict.B) and a few other drops going straight into steep, very rooty and rocky sections (pict. C) This helped to change my opinion very quickly – no Fort William course for Martin this year!

The top section of the course is where real rock garden is and that’s where bikes strength comes to the test (pict. D, E)! The sounds coming out of these racing machines when riders flew through there were quite – hmm..scary I would say..
There were some light crashes this year – 3 or 4 in exactly the same place, but nothing serious – all riders always picked themselves up and finish the run.

At the top we saw a few of the top riders warming up and preparing for the final. The view from gondola cabin on the way down gave us once again a good overview of the whole course and after 10 minutes we joined a massive crowd at the village just in time to see the ten best riders bombing down (on the big screen too).

Fantastic atmosphere! Lots of noise and some really nice girls and yeah – Greg Minnaar nailed it! Flying through the course like a mad dragon he took 1st. place.

To sum it all up, it was one of the best events this year me and my friends attended and we will be definitely going back next year.

When I got back home and still full of enthusiasm from the event I jumped on my blue Orange yesterday afternoon and didn’t realize that I am just me (old, heavy and slow Martin). Jumped, flew, crashed! Got hit to the bottom three ribs and stomach. Couldn’t breath all night…hopefully will see you in couple of weeks folks!

Martin(CZ)

Innerleithen trail hill

A couple of days after our return from Scotland and reflection reflection on the trip and trails. To summarise; not all trail centres offer the same riding experience, pick one that suits you and a great time can be had, on the other hand one that doesn’t tick your boxes isn’t really going to enthuse you or your riding.

The weather during our trip was hot – mid 20 degC – with absolutely no wind and the trails were bone dry, lovely.

Innerleithen

From the centre of Innerleithen the trails could be seen snaking down the hillside above the town. We asked at the two bike shops in town for hints to the riding and came away with a plan – ride the red trail and take in some of the black options that loop off it.

The climb to the top of Minch Moor where descent starts was tough and we were all de-layering after 20 metres. The technical climbing sections were tough and mainly consisted of rocks large and small fixed across the trail, one of these wasn’t too difficult however they came in series of 6 or 7 placed very close together which greatly increased the difficulty. There were also a few sections of fun on the way up including a gravel quarry play area with a number of steep drops and bridge jump into a steep descent.

Minch Moor was a desolate hill-top with a triangle of stones built by folks adding their own rocks, this heap of stones was the only shelter and was the obvious gathering place of groups riding up the climb. After regrouping and refuelling it was time for the descent which for me was the highlight of the whole trip. Difficult to describe but it was a ribbon of singletrack about 30cm wide with small berms and rock drops. The first rock drops were just a couple of inches high and the bike skimmed off them without any drama; however as the trail progressed the drops became increasingly bigger until the final ones were a couple of feet high landing into a downward sloping

Pete on Caddon Bank

berm. We rode this trail twice and with familiarity came increased confidence, smoothness and speed, (although I got a flat trying to jump across two water barrier channels which on hindsight was never going to happen!). From here it was into a very narrow twisty singletrack, second time around I was going so fast trying to catch Pete that much to Rich’s’ amusement I lost the trail and ended up blatting across rocks and boulders before hitting the exit gate.

Caddon Bank was next up. It started well with a warning to check everything before riding and instructions to use the easy lines on the left. The descent started with a series of drops offs all of which had an easy option to the left. The first couple were fine and we all despatched them with ease; however as they increased in size we walked down the trail to check them out rather than just ‘going for it’. After the drops the trail had a switchback and was straight into a series of big roller coasters with steep roll-ins and lovely roll-outs that seemed to go on forever, we were whooping along and laughing out loud. A steep rock face was a little scary but we were in the zone and just rolled it without a care or incident (more than can be said for others we saw!).

Rich’s seat post bent on a descent which gave Pete the opportunity to demonstrate his famed trail-side repairs. After twisting it for a while a small log was brought into play soon followed by hitting it with rock, Pete was full of pride as his rock hammer did the trick, the seat post was completely broken.

All in all Innerleithen Red was fantastic.

Glentress

Rich on Spooky Wood

We rode along a river bank to Glentress and after a coffee started on the climb of the red and blue trails. The first part of the climb was via gentle switchbacks and we gained height without too much effort. Rich was dancing up effortlessly and waited for the rest of us every couple of hundred metres. The climb had some added interest with cut trees set in the ground to ride along. After the singletrack climb we popped out onto a fireroad and again headed up. A rest and pretzel break under the trees was followed by the first descent on blue graded singletrack – the berms were too tight and the section only lasted about 30 metres before dumping us back on the fireroad we had just climbed, again it was up. After consulting the map we opted to follow the red signs to the top and check out the famed Spooky Wood descent. Another warning on rock drops etc sparked our interest and we set off. Spooky Wood was a series of manicured berms and table tops, it was fast and good fun but was over far too quickly for me, on the other hand Rich loved it and thought it was the highlight of the whole trip. We dropped out onto the fireroad again to be faced with the same climb we had just completed twice. At this point the novelty was wearing a bit thin for me and Pete.

Another map check and we saw a long section of what was marked as downhill singletrack 50 metres ahead. We went in full of enthusiasm but within 15 metres the trail began to climb parallel to the fireroad. After 50 metres I gave up, the climb wasn’t steep but my mojo / flow / fun factor was at zero. I walked up and then down the other side and was looking the quickest way back to the cafe. The others rode a couple of downhill sections which I would usually be lapping up but in my fed-up-ness I walked down. At this point we decided that we should head for the cafe, we had been riding for about 4 hours for what seemed like a couple of short bits of singletrack. The final section of singletrack was probably the longest and most flowing of all the bits we did at Glentress, it was good fun but our fun was interupted by folks riding and pushing their bikes up the trail in an effort to escape the long climbs.

Rich rated Glentress an 8/9 out of 10 just for the Spooky Wood descent, Pete gave it 6 and I gave it 1. On the other hand I rated Innerleithen 9 out of 10 while Rich gave it 5 and Pete came in at 7.

More photos here

A full strip down makes this much easier so I clamped it in my bike stand and started taking off bits. If you are going to do the same then make sure you have all the spare bits needed before you take the old bits off. Small items like cable patches, gear cable ends zip ties even need to be replaced. I left some stuff grouped together to save a little time and removed the handlebars with the brakes and shifters still attached. This meant removing brake calipers and all the inner and outer cables but it leaves the frame clean. Wheels off, split the chain and remove the pedals, cranks and bottom bracket took only a few minutes.

This would have been enough but I also removed the fork,shock, rear mech and the suspension links allowing me to split the frame as well.

The protective tape that Mike recommends to everyone does a great job of protecting the frame but it discolours around the edges where the mud is forced in so I removed all the tape, removed the residue and finally removed the cleaning agent.

I washed everything using a small electric parts washer, several trays for various rinsing and most well known brands of cleaners but only those with an orange citrus label.

My ibis came with some touch up paint which was applied where the odd flint had been fired through the tape. I am always surprised at the thickness of the carbon around the bottom bracket but I think a bash guard is a must.

New tape is a fiddle but worth the time to make it neat, the suspension links checked and seemed fine but I will change these again shortly. I found on my previous Nomad new bearings never seemed necessary but always made a huge difference so I will continue the practice. I did remove the seals and add a little grease in places.

All the other bits were checked and cleaned before re-assembly but close inspection finds lots of tiny things. I re-used the pads and cables but they both need more checking when the trails run brisker. The front mech HL stops were reset and the alignment checked several times. The chainset gap is often overlooked but this can be the cause of chain ache. This normally happens in the rain at night though. Brakes back on, seatpost cleaned and michael bubled as you need special bubles in a carbon frame grease to stop it creaking and crooning.

You could rush through a good clean in a couple of hours including a little dismantling or you could allocate a sunny afternoon and do some of the little jobs that get missed. Clean and grease the quick release on your wheels or your seatpost clamp perhaps grease the screws on the cleats of your shoes rather than wait and drill them off.

Overall without servicing any major parts like the forks the whole bike feels better and runs quieter. The source of one creak turned out to be the freewheel which just needed a strip and clean to run silent once more.

The only negative comment was that the removal of my motocross mudguards made it seem less orange so one more job to do.

Formula Brakes

For the last 3 years I have used Formula ORO k24 brakes with 180mm rotors. Compared to the previous brakes I had used the k24′s were in a different league for stopping power and control, they have also been very very reliable.

At the end of 2009 CRC were selling Formula ‘The One’ brakes at half price so I got a pair. Then in September 2010 I found that Formula were selling brakes directly from their website, including VAT and shipping a set of both front and rear brakes were less than a single brake at UK prices. A few e-mails later and I had a set R1′s and ‘Mega’ brakes. I have now used all of these brakes on my FS and hardtail and this is a summary of my experience.

Firstly I would say that all Formula brakes have a unique ‘feel’, I am used to it but my buddies who have tried my bikes have all made similar comments that can be paraphrased; the brakes are very powerful but they feel spongy, I didn’t think anything would happen as I pulled the brakes on. I view this as fabulous modulation but others think they need to pull the lever harder which always results in locking the wheels. All the brakes were used with Formula 180mm rotors front and rear and were swapped between my bikes (On One 456ti, Intense Tracer and Nicolai Helius AC).

ORO K24

ORO k24

The k24′s replaced Hope mono M4 and were my first experience of Formula brakes. When new the brakes had a lovely smooth lever action that applied the brakes in a gentle way resulting in an end to locked wheels and the resulting skids. Lack of stopping power with the k24′s is not an issue.  There is a small rotating black plastic knob next to the lever that to be honest I never felt did anything so I just left it in the central position, I understand that this knob  is meant to adjust lever throw. As the brakes got older (2.5 years) the rubber sheath that holds the plastic adjuster knob split; however both the modulation and stopping power remained unchanged. Following a ‘Pete’ trail repair that involved hammering the brake lever with a fence post I had to replace the aluminium threaded cylinder and male component that connects the lever to the hydraulics, this was strightforward. Recently one of the sets of k24′s has developed a squeak that seems to result from the pistons not fully retracting into the cylinder at the front caliper. After 3 years of faultless performance I don’t think that this is too bad.   All in all very good brakes that are beginning to show signs of their age and use through 3 summers and winters. I have bled these without any problems although the ‘kit’ is necessary.

The One

The pistons of The One are 24mm diameter, much bigger than any other brakes I have used. The caliper is one piece of aluminium in a semi-gloss black finish. There are screw adjustments for both lever reach from the bars and lever throw before full power is applied. I have long thin fingers so  lever adjustment is handy. The One’s are pretty light weight but my bikes are built for use and not for scales bragging rights. I first used these brakes around local trails that we have made, they were fine but when the trail is familiar then braking when’s and where’s are second nature so performance was what I expected. I fitted them to my Intense Tracer for a trip to Afan. Hooning down the Whites level and Skyline descents these brakes were stunning. A slight dab of the brake and speed was scrubbed, almost instantly and intuitively, I soon knew how hard to brake in order to carry as much speed as I dared around every corner or off every jump etc. I tried to go as fast as possible into trouble in order to try and perfect controlled braking, every time I think I may have overdone it I braked and all was well. These are stunning brakes, simply awesome.

Mega

The Mega brakes as far as I can tell are similar to The One with only a couple of differences; firstly, there are no adjustments for lever distance from the bars or lever throw, and secondly it appears that the caliper is made from two pieces that are bolted together as with the ORO k24 (calipers on both The One and R1′s are a single cast piece ). In use the Mega brakes are very similar to The One’s but they just feel less precise in modulation, I cannot tell any difference in overall power compared to The One. I have used these brakes in the Surrey Hills where they have been faultless, with nicely controlled braking, way better than my experiences with Hope and Avid.  For the price the Mega brakes are very good and if they were the only Formula brake I had I would be very happy with them.

R1

R1

I had heard great things about the R1′s from both regular riders such as myself, from internet reviews and also mtb gods in Brighton who have raved about both the performance and the light weight. The most obvious thing to say about the R1′s is that they weigh almost nothing in the hand, they are noticeably lighter than any other brake that I have either used or picked up, in fact they are so light weight that I assumed they were delicate and would break if I faffed too much with them. The R1′s have no adjustment for lever reach or throw, as with The One and Mega brakes the calipers seem abnormally large, I understand that they have 22mm diameter pistons. In use the R1′s have similar awesome modulation as The One’s and in a direct comparison I can tell no difference in the overall stopping power. As with The One’s I can play games of leaving the braking as late as possible just to see what happens, I always stop before impending death by crashing into a gate, a tree or obstacle etc. Descending steep rooty sections and steps is much easier than with the ORO k24 as controlled braking is straightforward and the bike speed is slowed without locking the wheels and thus skidding or slipping sideways. The R1′s are excellent brakes and significantly better than both the k24′s and the Mega, overall power seems to be the same as The One’s.

Conclusion

The k24 brakes are very good but the later developments by Formula and to be honest I expect by all disc brake manufacturers in the last couple of years has resulted in noticeable improvements. The Mega brakes are streets ahead of the k24′s in terms of stopping power but I think the modulation and control is very similar to the k24′s when they were new. I think the Mega is a logical replacement for the k24 brake.

The One and R1 brakes are both stunning, they are significantly more controlled than both the k24′s and the Mega with superb and intuative modulation and immense stopping power. The One and R1 are by far the best brakes that I have ever used, get on the Formula site and buy them. Which is my favourite? value must come into the equation. I will never be the fastest person up a hill but I do like technical stuff,  I go for braking control and reliability above light weight. For a bling light weight bike then the R1′s would be an obvious choice as the performance is stunning and their premium cost is offset by the significant weight savings. For me  ‘The One’ is what I would go for.

I am a convert to Formula brakes and in 3 years I have not had any real issues with reliability or availability of pads etc (I have bled all of the above brakes, the kit is essential and with patience the results were a significant improvement). In my experience Formula brakes have a unique feel that takes a little getting used to and this is true for all of these brakes but especially The One’s and R1′s. If you have the money get the R1′s they perform brilliantly and are incredibly light weight but if you want an awesome brake at a reasonable price then The One’s are perfect. Neither are cheap, don’t think about cost just get the plastic out.

Formula direct sales

Good news folks!

The fanfare around the official launch of the South Downs National Park has been suprisingly quiet about one aspect of the newly anointed status…..parking fees.

From 24th April the SDNP Authority will be charging parking fees for most of the carparks in the designated area. Fees are £4-50 per day – not sure if there will be an hourly or half day charge but taking the example of Devils Dyke since fees were introduced I suspect not.

Is it just me, does the announcement of parking fees as one of the first decisions of the SDNP authority show a contempt for the users of the park land, or, do they see us as an untapped revenue source?  A couple of years ago Devils Dyke and Ditchling Beacon carparks introduced fees obviously this was the tip of the iceberg.  How come land that has been free to access for years can be subject to this sort of nazi-ism without any consultation or consideration of park users.

A Great way to get more visitors eh although I suspect it will be dressed up as ‘encouraging’ park users to make more use of public transport, which doesn’t allow bikes on board. My wife commutes to London from Brighton and has been told that her Oyster card will allow her free access to fenced carparks etc in the SDNP.  Madness, or yet another example of ‘encouraging’ use of public transport? The car backlogs on the A23 through Brighton on sunny weekends suggests that free access to carparks in the SDNP will do little to encourage people to use public transport.

Rant over!

Demo Day

Location is Broadwater green in Worthing

A day of demo bikes, trials displays and north shore ramps to play on. The Quest team and Scott & Marin team vans will be in attendance preparing all bikes and answering questions on anything bike related.

Demo rides take place throughout the day with a guided loop onto the South Downs and some lovely singltrack sections, all demo rides are led by fully qualified mtb guides.  The demo bikes are popular so it is essential that you book your ride in advance – you can book as many demo bikes as you would like to try during the day.

Demo Fleet:

• Marin Riftzone XC8 M & L
• Marin Mount Vision XM8 M & L
• Whyte T120 S, M & L
• Whyte 146 M
• Scott Spark 20 M, L & XL
• Scott Spark 35 M
• Scott Scale 20 S, M & L
• Scott Scale 29er Pro L
• Scott Genius 20 M & L
• Contessa Spark RC S

Folks from South Downs MTB Skills will also be there. Discuss your current riding and where you would like to take it, from complete beginner to honing your singletrack railing skills. Local mtb clubs and groups will be wandering around, just say hello if you want to chat about mtb riding in the area.

To book your demo rides and for anything else related to the Demo Day contact Quest Adventure.

Email: info@questadventure.co.uk

Quest Demo Day 'Bike Chat'

It is great to have a local bike shop putting this amount of effort into the local scene, get out and support them!