Sunday 31 July 2011
Thursday 28 July 2011
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Monday 25 July 2011
Sunday 24 July 2011
Saturday 23 July 2011
Friday 22 July 2011
Thursday 21 July 2011
After an entry level fork upgrade?
These could be a good starting point if they can sort out the issues from last year.
SR Suntour 2012 Forks And Shocks – First Look - BikeRadar
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Great vibes caught on film at round 5 of the DH WC from Lappiere.
Vital MTB | Mountain Biking Videos
Vandeyk Unveil €16,500 Mountain Bike - BikeRadar
A bike much like a car can never be art no matter how beautiful as it serves a purpose.
Vandeyk Unveil €16,500 Mountain Bike - BikeRadar
Sunday 17 July 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
Riding the Surrey hills.
Leith Hill.
An early start to miss the misery of the A12 was thwarted by leaving 45mins later than intended and as we crawled along that miserable road the thought that within a few hours we'd be clattering through some of the best trails in the Surrey hills seemed a million miles away. After the slow arduous journey we hit the M25 and things improved slightly, speed increased and we were soon over the Dartford bridge heading for the trails. The day was overcast but with no rain, strong winds when exposed and tempratures around 20 degrees, it was a pretty fine day to be blitzing through the trees feeling like you're on a Star Wars speeder bike. The first port of call was Leith hill, Leighton and I followed Adam to a car park that I don't think I would be able to find again on my own. After a short spin we arrived at the tower atop of Leith hill, we headed straight for my old nemesis Deliverance, I'm sure I could still see the forearm skin I left all over the roots on the last visit. The top of the trail was even more technical than usual as all the roots seemed more exposed, presumably due to the amount of rain that's been blighting the dusty trails lately, about three quarters of the way down we took a right to join on to the top of Summer Lightening. The top of the trail was full of weirdness first time round as the trees along the trail had all been felled, the lack of trees either side of me to slam my body into had clearly relaxed my reactions as I drifted haplessly wide on every corner and couldn't find my flow, I had to smile as the next section had not been felled I soon had my eye in and was back in the game. Amazing how the threat of body checking an immovable object sharpens up the senses, The three of us came out at the bottom grinning and the chat about the trail began as we spun gently backup for a second run. This time the top section came together and we flew through it straight into the second section, I nearly stacked as I was in awe of the way Adam was off the brakes setting an incredible pace slamming his back wheel into tree stumps intentionally as a control measure....apparantly!. After this we looped back round to the bottom section of Deliverance, which popped us out on a byway near The Plough Inn, we then had to ride back to the top to get back to the cars. At the risk of sounding cocky I was the only one to clear the climb right up to the tower, Leighton made an impressive initial effort but the final super steep rocky section saw him off and, well it's no secret Adam doesn't like going uphill, I graciously accepted some props from a guy who witnessed my incredible feet while doing some maintenance work at the tower, and we stopped for a bit of sustenance.
Holmbury Hill.
The next stop on our little adventure was Holmbury hill, I was uber excited about the four awesome trails I know of up there but Adam and Leighton seemed more excited about the pork and leak sausage roll offered by the post office in Peaslake, so from another obscure car park we headed straight for Barry Knows best. Taking the lead on this one I was unaware of the chaos that was ensuing behind me, Adam had to stop as his chain came off and Leighton wore completely through his rear brake pads pretty much using the copper back plate of his pads on his disc to keep his speed in check. As I went full tilt through the last set of huge berms I reached the bottom turned round and was alone, waiting.... waiting.... and then Leighton appeared, granted I heard him before I saw him due to his ruined pads, then Adam came down looking angry about his chain situation. With this it was off to Peaslake for a Sausage roll and a quick nip into Pedal and Spoke who although have a small shop had the right pads for Leightons brakes in stock and were good enough to let him use a screwdriver to whip out his old pads and resit the pistons, (Thanks guys). While Leighton was faffing about with his new pads I was suffering some severe bike envy about the brand new Santa Cruz Heckler and Butcher which were just outside the shop, those bikes really look so much more special in the flesh. In the post office Adam kindly let me order first and then to his disgust I went and bought the last pork and leek sausage roll, both he and Leighton were not amused, but all the baked goods from that little Post office are packed full of awesomeness so I knew once they started eating they would forget about it.
Time was ticking by and we were on a bit of a tight schedule from here on in, we slugged it out up the road to the right of the post office cut through where the logging lorries park up and pushed on to the top, took in the stunning (even on a overcast day) views before heading for yogurt pots. I love this trail it's like a roller coaster sweeping left and right round trees and off rooty drops you really need to be focused for the whole run or it could end badly. Once we were spat out of the end we rolled down and straight into Telegraph Row, over the initial hump of this trail it starts dropping down hill, speeding up, getting narrower and rougher all the time. As you approach the end the speed on the loose rooty terrain is ridiculous for the wideness of the little gully your nestled in and at the car park we all agreed we felt like we had been truly battered by it in a good way. Sadly that was the last run of the day, after popping back to Adams, Leighton and I left buzzing but with heavy hearts that we were leaving this great little spot behind. The journey home was a blur, we slipped through some sort of rush hour black hole, it seemed like it took about thirty minutes I guess the adrenaline was still pumping, As soon as it wears off i'll be planning my next trip back.
Quick edit from the day here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXxQV_MNIA
Thanks again Adam for the guide work.
ReatinRides.
An early start to miss the misery of the A12 was thwarted by leaving 45mins later than intended and as we crawled along that miserable road the thought that within a few hours we'd be clattering through some of the best trails in the Surrey hills seemed a million miles away. After the slow arduous journey we hit the M25 and things improved slightly, speed increased and we were soon over the Dartford bridge heading for the trails. The day was overcast but with no rain, strong winds when exposed and tempratures around 20 degrees, it was a pretty fine day to be blitzing through the trees feeling like you're on a Star Wars speeder bike. The first port of call was Leith hill, Leighton and I followed Adam to a car park that I don't think I would be able to find again on my own. After a short spin we arrived at the tower atop of Leith hill, we headed straight for my old nemesis Deliverance, I'm sure I could still see the forearm skin I left all over the roots on the last visit. The top of the trail was even more technical than usual as all the roots seemed more exposed, presumably due to the amount of rain that's been blighting the dusty trails lately, about three quarters of the way down we took a right to join on to the top of Summer Lightening. The top of the trail was full of weirdness first time round as the trees along the trail had all been felled, the lack of trees either side of me to slam my body into had clearly relaxed my reactions as I drifted haplessly wide on every corner and couldn't find my flow, I had to smile as the next section had not been felled I soon had my eye in and was back in the game. Amazing how the threat of body checking an immovable object sharpens up the senses, The three of us came out at the bottom grinning and the chat about the trail began as we spun gently backup for a second run. This time the top section came together and we flew through it straight into the second section, I nearly stacked as I was in awe of the way Adam was off the brakes setting an incredible pace slamming his back wheel into tree stumps intentionally as a control measure....apparantly!. After this we looped back round to the bottom section of Deliverance, which popped us out on a byway near The Plough Inn, we then had to ride back to the top to get back to the cars. At the risk of sounding cocky I was the only one to clear the climb right up to the tower, Leighton made an impressive initial effort but the final super steep rocky section saw him off and, well it's no secret Adam doesn't like going uphill, I graciously accepted some props from a guy who witnessed my incredible feet while doing some maintenance work at the tower, and we stopped for a bit of sustenance.
Holmbury Hill.
The next stop on our little adventure was Holmbury hill, I was uber excited about the four awesome trails I know of up there but Adam and Leighton seemed more excited about the pork and leak sausage roll offered by the post office in Peaslake, so from another obscure car park we headed straight for Barry Knows best. Taking the lead on this one I was unaware of the chaos that was ensuing behind me, Adam had to stop as his chain came off and Leighton wore completely through his rear brake pads pretty much using the copper back plate of his pads on his disc to keep his speed in check. As I went full tilt through the last set of huge berms I reached the bottom turned round and was alone, waiting.... waiting.... and then Leighton appeared, granted I heard him before I saw him due to his ruined pads, then Adam came down looking angry about his chain situation. With this it was off to Peaslake for a Sausage roll and a quick nip into Pedal and Spoke who although have a small shop had the right pads for Leightons brakes in stock and were good enough to let him use a screwdriver to whip out his old pads and resit the pistons, (Thanks guys). While Leighton was faffing about with his new pads I was suffering some severe bike envy about the brand new Santa Cruz Heckler and Butcher which were just outside the shop, those bikes really look so much more special in the flesh. In the post office Adam kindly let me order first and then to his disgust I went and bought the last pork and leek sausage roll, both he and Leighton were not amused, but all the baked goods from that little Post office are packed full of awesomeness so I knew once they started eating they would forget about it.
Time was ticking by and we were on a bit of a tight schedule from here on in, we slugged it out up the road to the right of the post office cut through where the logging lorries park up and pushed on to the top, took in the stunning (even on a overcast day) views before heading for yogurt pots. I love this trail it's like a roller coaster sweeping left and right round trees and off rooty drops you really need to be focused for the whole run or it could end badly. Once we were spat out of the end we rolled down and straight into Telegraph Row, over the initial hump of this trail it starts dropping down hill, speeding up, getting narrower and rougher all the time. As you approach the end the speed on the loose rooty terrain is ridiculous for the wideness of the little gully your nestled in and at the car park we all agreed we felt like we had been truly battered by it in a good way. Sadly that was the last run of the day, after popping back to Adams, Leighton and I left buzzing but with heavy hearts that we were leaving this great little spot behind. The journey home was a blur, we slipped through some sort of rush hour black hole, it seemed like it took about thirty minutes I guess the adrenaline was still pumping, As soon as it wears off i'll be planning my next trip back.
Quick edit from the day here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXxQV_MNIA
Thanks again Adam for the guide work.
ReatinRides.
Thursday 14 July 2011
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Boardman HT Pro Carbon - First Ride Review - BikeRadar
From a distance this bike doesn't look that special, have a look at the larger photos though, very nice.
Tuesday 12 July 2011
Monday 11 July 2011
YouTube - Joe Barnes rides Ben A'an
Blissed out riding from MTBcut. Lovely.
YouTube - Joe Barnes rides Ben A'an
Saturday 9 July 2011
Thursday 7 July 2011
Charge Blender (Thrash bike project)
Oh yeah! received a frame sized box today containing a second hand Charge Blender frame in white, it has some marks on it but not too bad considering what the frame is designed for. My plan is to use as much good stuff from the shed as I can to build up a bike for general thrashing, jumping and winter riding. The frame had to tick some boxes first, which were: Be able to use on jumps, 4x etc, be reasonable to ride to trails and finally to use in the bleak winter months. After much research I settled for a steel Charge Blender frame which will run a 1x9 setup when finished. Although I don't want to spend much on it (yeah right!) I already have the idea of a smattering of British racing green or Lime green bits splashed about, all just ideas at the mo. I plan to recycle what I can and then have a massive sell off from the shed, follow the build here. I'll try to put up regular updates and also tech videos as I go.
ReatinRides.
ReatinRides.
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Gopro handlebar seatpost mount review.
I believe the Gopro HD hero itself didn't really warrant a review. The fact is that every time you see any point of view action being filmed by pros or on a t.v. shows the Gopro's always there, if however, like me you have bought one and looked at the cost of the official mounts and thought go Bo***ks then please read on.
Don't be confused by the look of the mount it is not just plastic, it is made from polycarbonate, the same as lots of bash guard and some high end mud guards meaning it's very strong. The strength of the material was confirmed after a couple of off's with this on the bars and it laughed them off, even if it should break the mount comes with a 1 year warranty. You can place the mount on any post between 0.75" to 1.4" (1.9-3.5cm), it's finished with stainless steel nuts and bolts so shouldn't go rusty either. Operating the mount is simple, with just two thumb screws to open up the bar clamp one of these has a cut out of the polycarbonate so you don't have to completely unscrew both thumbies to get it round your bars.
The camera then mounts with the standard interlocking Gopro thumbie set up, some rubber on the clamping area to stop damage to your frame or bars would have been a plus, but this is easy enough to do yourself. In the past I have knocked up a few different mounts for the Gopro but have never quiet achieved the stable image I craved. It was obvious this would not be the case as soon as the mount was attached. It felt very solid, no twisting or slipping, a little tap on the side of the camera showed very little wobble and out on the trail the results showed this to be the case. Overall although the mount looks like a very expensive piece of plastic once you put it to use you realise that quite alot of time and testing must have gone into it and that this effort was not wasted. It will give you masses of extra mounting options and leave you with footage which is stable and clear, all in all it's a great product. I would like to see some rubber on the clamping areas and maybe a slightly lower price, but if you have been trying to get a good stable image from your Gopro and have avoided this due to the price stop being tight and get one! You will not be disappointed.
Below are links to two videos straight off my Gopro unedited. note how stable the image stays even when landing jumps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqzLskagocc
This second video is shot with the camera upside down on the bars, again note the smoothness of the image and also the feeling of speed this angle gives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOZD3Jcogk0
Thanks for reading / watching.
ReatinRides.
The camera then mounts with the standard interlocking Gopro thumbie set up, some rubber on the clamping area to stop damage to your frame or bars would have been a plus, but this is easy enough to do yourself. In the past I have knocked up a few different mounts for the Gopro but have never quiet achieved the stable image I craved. It was obvious this would not be the case as soon as the mount was attached. It felt very solid, no twisting or slipping, a little tap on the side of the camera showed very little wobble and out on the trail the results showed this to be the case. Overall although the mount looks like a very expensive piece of plastic once you put it to use you realise that quite alot of time and testing must have gone into it and that this effort was not wasted. It will give you masses of extra mounting options and leave you with footage which is stable and clear, all in all it's a great product. I would like to see some rubber on the clamping areas and maybe a slightly lower price, but if you have been trying to get a good stable image from your Gopro and have avoided this due to the price stop being tight and get one! You will not be disappointed.
Below are links to two videos straight off my Gopro unedited. note how stable the image stays even when landing jumps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqzLskagocc
This second video is shot with the camera upside down on the bars, again note the smoothness of the image and also the feeling of speed this angle gives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOZD3Jcogk0
Thanks for reading / watching.
ReatinRides.
Monday 4 July 2011
Friday 1 July 2011
Crazy weather, new bits of singletrack.
Wow! A high of 30 on Monday and anticipation for the Tuesday ride was almost as high as the temp. Tuesday dawned promising to be cooler which was kind of a relief, as the day rolled on it was looking peachy, then 3pm heavy cloud, thunder and torrential downpours, luckily it had eased off by 5pm but I was going to get soggy and dirty - nice. With thoughts drifting towards skipping the ride, a memory of something I had read quickly popped into my mind: "Mountain bikers don't depend on the weather", so off I went. Lately my legs have been struggling and every ride has been an effort, the plan was to go in search of some single track I had heard murmurs about and ride everything else in between as fast as my legs would allow. So heading towards Melford along Valley walk my first piece of exploration began, I had seen some track running along the side which looked promising and bit's were, with a bit of axe work and some clearing it could become a good way to avoid the dog walkers that have a habit of taking up the whole walk, giving you evils and allowing their dogs to chase you. "Don't worry he won't bite", yeah won't bite you, will bite a strangely dressed man on some sort of mechanical beast! Is it just me or do dogs hate cycle helmets? After blitzing half the Melford route I reached a bit of track that I had rode about a third of but had it on good authority there was more hidden around. Riding up the road my eyes were darting about looking for an opening to get round the back of the houses and into the trees, eventually it appeared. Once under the cover of the woods I started following a nice tight piece of winding track that appeared to get little use, stingers and sticks were slapping on my shins, stinging nettles are more vicious in the wet. The track split at multiple points mostly going off to dead ends leaving me to double back on myself, there were also some old jumps which could be fun with a bit of spade work. The track narrowly meandered down to a road crossing which then spat me back into the trees for the final third which I knew, it's not as overgrown as the stuff previously and has a lovely little jump at the end. Now I had figured out the path through the woods I belted back up the road for another run to hit it with more flow. The end of the second run approached and I could feel a familiar sensation on my shins, they were cut, whipped and stung to oblivion ( I couldn't get to sleep because of the constant itching and tingling). Realizing that time was pushing on and wanting to take my mind off my shins, revolutions upped in line with speed and everything felt good, no aching legs or back and even my elbow was feeling strong. With this I pushed hard for the last part of the ride powering up climbs and thrashing the downs grabbing air wherever I could, all the time generally grinning like an idiot. Stacey was less than impressed with my mud faced appearance at the back door.
Route here: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/jgrB0R1EUL4
Reatin rides on.
Route here: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/jgrB0R1EUL4
Reatin rides on.
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