|
Disclaimer | The Alps 2007 | Ride with us | Rough Ride | Swinley Forest | Links |Contact me | Site Map | Shop |
|||||||||||
Date: 10th September 2006 The family holiday at the end of August meant that I haven't posted for a while and the next chance I had to take some pictures was when Rob asked me to help him build up his new frame. What is it then? Well, Rob has bought a 2nd hand dialled bikes love/hate frame. This is the latest singlespeedable frame produced by dialled bikes and named because, well, singlespeeding - you either love it or you hate it. It's that simple. The frame has been really well looked after and looks brand new - a great purchase by Rob, our master e-buyer. See the pictures below for the story of the build.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
10th September 2006 Just a local ride on my own this week to test ride the Prince Albert. That's right, I put on the chain and rear mech that it has been missing for all these months and also needed a proper test of the recently serviced Fox Vanilla 130R's. The weather was great and all I had was a Sam's MP3 player for company (the things kids listen to nowadays, I dunno) and I pounded out a good pace, dropping in at Adrian's for a cuppa halfway around. The Prince Albert was great - the steel frame gives a noticeably smoother ride than the titanium frame and the forks worked well, with just a slight amount of oil on the stanchions at the end of the ride. In the afternoon I headed out to Nonsuch Park for a family ride with number 2 son (Ben) and spotted Mikey B, Charlie and James (forum dwellers and Sam and Grant's jump buddies) at the dirt jumps in the Park. After a quick introduction I took a quick video before leaving them looking for a shovel to reshape one of the doubles. Of course I can't condone jumping without wearing a lid but those are damn fine skillz dem kidz got.
Nonsuch Doubles 'Right Click and Save Target As' (WMV file 4mb) Date:
23rd September 2006 It used to be the case that I went riding every week and if I was feeling generous, I invited the younger of the forum members out with me. Well, that has all changed as I discovered this week when they arrange a trip themselves and I don't even get invited. so, after inviting myself, Sam and I turned up at the famous Esher Shore to meet Grant, Niall and Mikey for an afternoon of riding the planks. But first I had to sign not only my life away but Sam's too and then pay £30 for the privilege (£10 each to join and £5 to ride each visit). But it was all worth it in the end and some good riding was done by all. After walking the trails I started off on the 'Shore Virgins' trail which is only 6 inches off the ground but has some good sections to test your skills. A few rides around there and I felt I was getting the hang of it even though there were repeated stops, falls and riding off the edge moments. Then I moved on to 'Stuntboy' which was still low but mildly trickier with a small see-saw to throw you off balance and some much narrower sections. The good thing about both of these trails is that there are alternate routes you can take to stop yourself getting frustrated as you see other (younger) riders moving up to bigger things. Next up was 'middle earth' which was my favourite trail. The platforms are raised much higher here and you feel like this is the real thing. Nothing too difficult although I did end up nosediving into one section and going off the edge but the soil is soft and covered with bark chippings to prevent any injuries and I was straight back on. Middle earth has a great planked berm that is wide enough to feel safe but you can rail around it at a good speed. After trying stuntmaster, I met my match. I struggled to get up the see-saw, endo'ing off the first time (see video) and just couldn't get on to it. Never mind, there's a challenge for next time. All the other riders were progressing really well and outriding me most of the time and Sam, Mikey and Grant all sessioned the demo trail although Sam suffered form a huge off when the rear suspension on my SX kicked him up the rear and he endo'd to a painful looking face plant (again see video). One thing you realise is how hard work this is. Keeping your balance, hauling the bike upright, lifting the front end up and taking the downs gives your upper body a good workout. I woke up the next day battered and bruised but looking forward to my next visit there. Check out the Esher Shore video
READ MORE: Single
speeding |
November
2008
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
