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If you ain't ridin you ain't nuthin! 7th November 2004 I've been banging on about how great a ride the Prince Albert is but how it is hampered by the continued use of my worn but reliable 100mm 2001 Marzocchi Bomber Z5's. Well, I finally decided that enough was enough - screw the fast approaching Christmas and the need to fork out for the kids presents (did you see what I did there?) - it was time to splash out on myself. Hence the arrival of a brand spanking new pair of Fox Vanilla 130R's for me to drool over. These babies are beautiful. Strong and light they run rings around the old 'zocchi's. Now I wouldn't describe myself as a weight weenie but what would you do given the choice between a four year old pair of 'zocchi's that weigh 4lb 2 oz and sport 100 mm of travel or 130 mm of legendary Fox Forx plushness. Straight out of the box at what's that? that's right, they weigh exactly the same, 4lb 2 oz (1874g) and that's before sawing 2 inches off the steerer tube. I had already removed the 'zocchi's from the PA in anticipation but that still left me with probably the two hardest tasks in bike maintenance - removing and refitting the crown race and sawing the excess off the steerer tube. Both of these are jobs that need to be done with extreme care but after an hour or so in the garage it was all done and dusted. That only left me to set the sag. I set this at 26mm which is part way between the Fox recommended guideline of 20mm for XC and 33mm for Freeride.
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and fitting the crown race Sawing the excess off the steerer tube Buy some new forks Prince Albert review Prince Albert spec
14th November 2004 Mark and Richard - Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill It's bright but cold this morning. No cloud cover last night meant a heavy frost and with the temperature hovering around 2 degrees as I get the trusty steed out of the garage I make sure I have plenty of layers on. The best news is that there's not a cloud in the sky so plenty of winter sun to warm up the day and no chance of rain. I struggle for the mid-section of the ride. A combination of the cold and no riding last week leaves me feeling as though I haven't got any energy. We take most of the usual routes although we do the alternative descent to Reservoir Dogs. This is new to me and as I take a tight corner too fast I hit a tree stump on the exit full-on. Luckily I have my weight over the back wheel so instead of going over the bars the bike bounces back off the stump and I am dumped off the back into a bush. Other than that, the Fox Vanilla 130Rs help me out quite a few times. You now how you a bit of tiredness always seems to make you take those wrong lines or not shift your weight at the right time on a corner or over an obstacle. Well, thoe baby's rescued me from plenty of wrong decisions today. Some great sections of singletrack through Winterfold woods and a food break back at Peaslake Stores revive me as we head for home. Finally, I bought some reebok skate shoes to replace the ancient white trainers that I have been using. They haven't yet been ridden in anger but they have an aggressive sole pattern in soft rubber that looks like it will grip the new DMR V8 platform pedals well. Look out for a review over the next few weeks.
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on the Surrey Hills 27th November 2004 Richard and various riders - Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill Chris has contacted me via the site and asked me to show him around some of the better bits of the Surrey Hills and I have also agreed to hook up with some of the chocolate footers so Saturday morning sees an assortment of riders, bikes and riding styles setting out from Holmbury YHA. A quick climb and descent sees up heading towards some of the hidden goodies on Pitch Hill and we spend most of the day there with Gary and myself taking turns to lead the pack. A good ride which Chris and his mate Ben seemed to enjoy. The proof will be in the (Xmas) pudding and we'll see if they turn up for a future ride. I really enjoyed myself today and after a brief flurry of taking pictures I forgot about the camera and concentrated on some great riding. The reebok skate shoes had their first outing too and they gripped the DMR V8 platform pedals well. Here's a short video clip of part of Barry Knows Best (4.69mb).
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on the Surrey Hills
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February
2010
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