Living the dream….

Towards the end of 2021, The Absa Cape Epic had been pushed out to an October date. A bummer post Covid hesitancy made the Epic fall into a time of year that made a few stars align for me.

October is usually a month that work picks up just before Wines2Whales, but that’s at the end of the month. So the beginning of October is a time of drumming up work and hustling some work opportunities. I got a message from a long time friend, Cherie Redecker, who at the time was racing for a RSA Mtb team and racing overseas in Europe. She had received the go ahead to race the Epic. Cherie was particular about her bike and support and wanted to know if I was available to work this Epic wrenching on her bike. As it turns out I was available. Cherie had a conversation with her Team Principal and that was that. I was wrenching for a UCI MTB Team. I would look after 4 bikes daily, JUST 4. Normally at Epic there is a “tweede kamp” (supporters village) adjacent to Epic where businesses pay to be there to support and service riders. In previous years, I have had up-to 15-20 bikes daily to get through. It’s tough graft, up at 05h00 to be at the bike park exit every morning to do tyre checks and assuage your clients nerves about today’s war they would wager with the route that day. Work started straight after the last rider was loaded into the chutes and the camp would need to be packed and moved to a new location. We would often be putting the last gazebo up when our first riders arrived and the endless daily routine of receive bike, take notes, wash bike, rack bike, service bike, make invoice, rack bike and later take bike to bike park….repeat until the bikes ate all finished…..often the last bike is completed in the small hours of the morning . Then the whole process repeats itself. 7 days of it. This year, 4 bikes sounded like a holiday in comparison.

The week before Epic this UCI Team whisked me away to a hotel where we all stayed and i started preparing bikes for the race, the riders would tell me their setups, give me their spares and ride and train and every day I would go through the bikes and dial them in.

I’m dipping my toe in the big leagues and loving it.

As it turns out, the Team’s (men and women’s teams) races extremely well and it was a great way to experience the “pro” side of Epic and my beloved sport of MTB.

Post Epic things stopped as abruptly for me with the team and I went on coaching amd preparing for Epic Bootcamp. Resuming my Coaching job full time again.

December roles around and I get a phone call from the team principal, Do you fancy being Team Manager and Wrench for the Team. Never having run a team or been to a World Cup before, it was a daunting task. I wanted this opportunity, I had dreamt of this my whole life. I said Yes.

Contract signed, and then suddenly every riders contract roles onto my plate, every sponsor agreement and order, it was amazing and overwhelming at the same time.

Realizing I was going to need help, I was brought to the conclusion that we need a dedicated wrench for the team, someone who’s skill and temperament would be valuable. I chose my best friend, Paul Gibbings. He was keen and we signed him.

My first World Cup, well it was a shock to the system. First and foremost the traveling and distances needing to be covered, which is unseen by us on the TV, is exhausting. The scale of the race and it’s infrastructure, the paddocks……all new to me. Imagine learning everything as you go, driving on the wrong side of the road, new road systems, speeds and rules. Then arriving to your accommodation and you have 4 bins, 3 for different recycling and one for trash trash, all which you have to pay to dispose of and also take to the disposal point yourself……that wasn’t the worst of it. You see, in most of Europe, Sundays are not a day to go shopping as they are closed. So imagine arriving, driving for 10 odd hours on the wrong side of the road, after 2 long flights, and you can’t do any shopping to feed yourself or the athletes you are charged with caring for……it was frustrating and a hard lesson.

Paul was an amazing friend and help, taking his role very seriously and making the riders feel a difference in their bikes. That part I never had to worry about. Thank you Gibbo!!!

Fast forward to the last World Cup for us in Andorra and we have a well tuned team and slick crew. Every detail of what had to happen at what time was buttoned up and happened in a fashion that I didn’t have to think it worry. Everything ran smoothly, it was insane. I can do this job and I can do it well enough to enjoy myself whilst doing it.

December 2022 roles in and I get a new contract, new rider and a new wrench. Living the dream again for another year. This year I promised myself to enjoy the journey, take time to so little things….have fun and live in the moments, something I lacked last year because of my nerves and taking the job seriously.

Meeting my team for the first time at a Team Launch ahead of the Stellenbosch double header weekend was a seriously stressful outing. I had to meet our new team mate, a U/23 Women who I had to take on a training ride. I took the job of her safety (not letting her ride alone). We spoke about 10 words before and during our ride. Our ride was longer than planned, great Lance now you’re first act as Manager and you’re going to be late for team supper, and with the new rider! In a team where we teach manners, discipline and hand out fines for any little thing I was in for a fine myself. Tyler and I arrived with 10 min to spare, we showered and arrived before anyone else and supper was served. Tyler, a strong willed introvert was hard for me to come to terms with. Being a vocal, loud and outspoken person, not getting responses more than “yes”, “ok” and so on was tough.

Tyler hit Stellenbosch hard, and I mean that literally. She was so set on impressing the team ad not disappointing us that she was borderline reckless. Her crash clip got 50000 impressions! It was spectacular. She went down, from hip to toe just big purple bruises. The pain would’ve had most pull out and not complete. Tyler racked up a 10th in a stacked field that saw two of the Top 5, 3 of the top 10,15,20 and 30 in the world. Well done Tyler. It was hard establishing authority over her, we bumped heads and it couldn’t have been easy for her. Being in a team who have all been together for two year’s already is hard enough, so to have to be at a particular meeting and place at set times were completely foreign her. I’d like to say that she easily adapted to this, but it was a struggle for her. Fast forward to our first trip to Eu and Tyler saw that what we do in RSA was mickey mouse compared to how we role and operate over there!

Lenzerheide, it was beautiful and we spent the days riding and bonding. It was bliss, until a heated discussion between Tyler and I happened because she missed a funny comment Johan had made so she threatened to poor oranges juice over my head. I had to hold my ground, you know, for my authority. Needless to say we both lost, I didn’t budge and she wasn’t blushing. What followed was an akward laugh and silence.

We got an invite the next day to do a cold water plunge in the lake with another team, racers Tyler looks up-to, and the ones that she raced in Stellenbosch. We got up early (myself, Ockert the wrench and Tyler) it was cold but very invigorating. It’s funny, it was at that moment that I can see this was going to be the rest of the Eu trip. The 3 amigos! Tyler unfortunately crashed super badly at the XCC, amd we had to pull her out. The next day battered and bruised she also told me she was sick. In that situation I had to do the most horrible thing and isolate her from the team of the team for obvious reasons. It felt cruel. It was clear that she wouldn’t race sick for fear of being worse for the next weekend’s racing. It was either rest now or we ship you back home.

Johan also had drama and crashes in The XCC and cracked his read triangle.

We had to make plans to help him source a frame replacement, which was unfortunately 3 days away and very pricey . So we stripped my bike to help him out…no riding for the rest of the trip until the frame arrived. This arrives from RSA with another RSA rider who i drive 4 hours to collect at the airport and four hours back. When I arrived back, Ockert immediately built Johan’s bike for him over night. Team work!

Finishing the season off we went to Lavigno for a training camp (the 3 amigos and Johan had to return home for World Champs prep) which was incredible, then racing in Val di Sole. Tyler had an incredible season and improved so much. Proud.

During Wines2Whales, we paired Tyler up with Candice Lill who happens to be someone Tylers had races locally all season long and someone she looked up to! They one every stage and the race overall. Insane.

These years in the team I learned what I can do, how much help i can offer developing riders and to believe in myself. The memories i have made, make me feel like i have lived many years. What a privilege. Below are some of the memories, each photo has a story. Enjoy

The Plush and the Quick!

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Sending it with confidence and ease!

DT Swiss are are well known spoke/hub/wheel manufacturer. They make arguably the simplest and high performance hubs on the market. Their quality is only eclipsed by their precision. All their parts are meticulously produced to a super high standard. I love their stuff, anything they engineer and then produce is just going to be drool worthy and solid.

When DT Started producing suspension back around 2004/5 (I can’t recall) they had taken over another fork manufacturer called PACE. These forks had a unique reverse arch lower leg design and where fabled with extremely hard to beat seals. The forks did however suffer from stiffness issues, or rather the lack of. Fast forward to many iterations of the forks and rear shocks to what is currently available between 2016-2020 and you will find a similar design and manufacturing ethos as their hubs. Simple and meticulously made parts with jewelry like knobs and levers only tells half the story. The plush feel fo the suspension stroke defies what you expect , leaving you staring at the forks to try figure out how a fork that feels this plush isn’t bottoming out or too soft. The fork has this ultra low brake away feel that makes you think your air pressure is too low, yet on the trail the fork has incredible poise and traction. There’s no dive and poor manners, in fact, the fork has far better mid-stroke composure of any fork I’ve had the pleasure of riding. My last fork was even custom tuned with new pistons and a custom shim stack to try achieve my ride profile. Despite having spent time fettling my old fork, I could never get it “just right”. Believe me, it was amazing! It’s just that the DT OPM is just so much better.

When it was time to replace my kit, I wanted to tick one box: same weight or lighter BUT Stiffer. I mean, I’m my mind, I had already tweaked my suspension to the best it could be! So when my good old Friend, Robbie Powell from RBC Tech suggested the DT fork and rear shock as a system, I’m not going to lie, I hesitant at first. I listened to Robbie’s sage advise and I’m his clear passion for the product. A week later a care package arrived for me, in it was the DT OPM ODL 120mm, and a R414 read shock both sporting a 3 stage lockout with a nifty lockout lever. The system promised to have your bike feel like 3 bikes, a DH bike a XC ales and a road bike by virtue of the 3 stages of damping.

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I was really taken aback when unpacking the fork and rear shock from it’s wrapping by just how sweetly machined all the little parts of the fork and rear shock are. All the little Knobs and dials where so much more than just a dial, they were precision made pieces of jewelry. But strangely enough everything oozes a sense of solid ruggedness. Each dial and knob turns with a smoothness of a Swiss watch and has clicks at the designated indentations. Everything on the DT Swiss suspension is quality and you can feel it, there’s a tangible feel to that, things are finished to a higher level compared to other companies. I don’t know how to say it, it’s like they polish things to that next level smoother before anodizing it. You can just tell that the components are just better made and well though out.

Fitting my front wheel to the fork, I can tell you the tolerance between end cap to end cap is tight. There is no need for the QR to squeeze close the gaps between the fork and the wheel. It’s a tight fit, and I like that, it means that the fork stays straight and isn’t being distorted by “narrow” hub tolerance issues. It’s fantastic, it just adds to the general feeling of precise engineering here!

Setting up my suspension always starts with my dampers open (not locked out) and by measuring sag. (How did the suspension sinks in with your weight when seated). I like to start with 25% sag on both. Once I’ve achieved that, I then turn my focus to Rebound adjustment, I run the front on the faster side of the middle setting and the rear similar. From this setting I’m able to ride and get a feel for the bike. Mid ride I would stop and make a single rebound click here and there to fine tune my ride feel. It sounds simple, but sometimes it’s a nightmare as front and rear play against each other sometimes. This was not the case, I fitted my suspension, adjusted to the “mid “ settings and the next day I did some big rides on new trails on Stanford with my friend Paul Gibbings from White Stone Cycles. Paul is a master bike fettler, having swung spanners for Topeka Ergon for a while and is a suspension geek. Plus, Paul is my ideal riding buddy, he keeps me honest on the trail and we are well matched as riders. On the first downhill of the day I shot passed Paul, this isn’t unusual, but normally he would jump on my wheel and give me a hard time from behind. This day, Paul said I looked noticeably smoother and faster while he felt sketchy and rough. At the end of the day, Paul was found fettling his bike and Tuning his suspension to get some extra plushness in it. Now, all I’m saying here is that I fitted a speed to my bike. I honestly didn’t feel like I was sending it fast or even trying to, the suspension just gives you so much confidence! Paul is a fantastic bike rider and is my ideal Epic Partner (if our ship ever comes in 🎟💰💸) he is smooth and fast. We compliment each other’s style on the bike but this was the first time I could gap him. It’s not me it’s the suspension.

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The remote lockout is remarkable, the 3 stages are so different that you really don’t actually understand how good it is. Open is so plush you literally feel the bike has double the travel it has. Drive (middle) is firmer, in fact it feels almost like a lockout but it actually tracks the ground (the wheels don’t bounce off objects like a bike in a lockout mode does) and it absorbs medium to large bumps like it was open. So Drive mode allows you to stand and pedal squares but the bike doesn’t bob. Then Lock mode….think Road bike, no movement! It really puts you in control of how you want the bike to perform. You literally have a bike with split personalities now!

Having spent summer on the fine dust, extreme heat (46 degree days) and extended hours of abuse I can tell you, this stuff hasn’t even flinched. Remote lockouts have always made me nervous with how they seize and stick from dust and washing……DT have some serious black magic going on here. My lockouts don’t feel different today than they did in the workshop the day I fitted them. The suspension soon action is still seriously plush, it’s actually stupid plush. It’s crazy! It’s 3 weeks till the Cape Epic starts, it’s there that I will hand Robbie my suspension for a service and to shake his hands and thank him for putting me on a product I truly admire and trust.

GO RIDE YOUR BIKE

Everyone is so hung up on training, and it’s important to keep consistent training to make the improvements, but we forget balance.

Balance isn’t just the skill you need to stay upright on the bike, but I mean balance in life.  You have to balance work, responsibilities and training with having fun.  Training can be fun, but the freedom you get from leaving the “stats” behind and just riding is really important.

The best times I’ve had on my bike are shared with riding buddies on some adventurous and hard day, which in itself was hard training.  The days theme wasn’t training though, and was filled with childish man banter, wheelies and hot-dogging it down dodgy rock gardens.  We stopped midday for a beer at the half-way point and shared our stories about the dodgy lines the rider in front of us took. Riding home on tired legs and novel “beer lines”, we  make our way up the final hill home and find the legs are not as co-operative as they where at the start of the day.  What this tell us is, that you can maintain balance and have loads of fun.  Finding balance really isn’t about putting training, or work or something else aside, it’s about shifting it (prioritizing if you will) as needed.  When work requires more time, you work more, when you need a holiday you prioritize rest. Most people are under the wrong impression, that to gain balance you have to give something up, when in fact it means shifting things around to gain balance…..life on a life boat, you only have 4 items inside, and if they are all at the back, the boat will tip, so you put them in all 4 corners to balance it.  When you need one of the 4 items, you stay in the middle to use them, thus maintain your balance.

Pedalling

Ever considered pedalling technique?  I mean really just thought about it?

I’ve been riding bikes a good long while now, and probably 20 years of that in clipless pedals, so pedalling should have been easier and more efficient right?  Well in a manner using clipless pedals offered the potential of greater efficiency and power on the bike, but it needed practice of the right technique.

The key here to note is the word efficiency.  Understand what it means, to do the same or more with less effort……..that’s what I want on my bike, to go further and faster but with less effort!  The big trick that the shops told us back then was you can push and pull on the pedals to increase your power.  So for a very dumbed down explanation, this is correct, but that only adds efficiency on the up stroke of one leg at the same time as the other is forcing the pedals down.  What I wanted was an increase in my pedal smoothness and in a part of the pedal stroke that I’m not capitalizing on.

Technique and Practice.

So over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about how to beat my personal bests on the climbs (which are my weakness) and, it dawned on me the other day while scouting a tricky loose section for the 2018 Absa Cape Epic. You had to ride a gear or two harder than you usually would on a similar incline (cadence gets reduced from 85/90 rpm to 65/70 rpm) and you have to “ROLL” the cranks, without rocking and without breaking breaking traction.  You have to not pull on the handlebars for fear of pulling yourself skew in that split second slip of the wheel.  You had to be rock solid and yet supple all at the same time.  I mastered a little trick that helped me do this (more on this if you wish to attend a skill session with me).  Once this trick was mastered, I set out on some of my favourite rocky, sandy and technical climbs that boast low traction, and more importantly, have a reputation for claiming non smooth riders.

I set off, not thinking I would best my record of 8:59min.sec but I set off with the purpose of holding the best technique I could.  I rolled a fat gear, low cadence and I kept my core engaged.  I toiled and struggled to the top and thought nothing of it.  It didn’t feel faster, in fact, it had felt slower.  But I noticed I wasn’t tired.  I thought maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough.  It was only when I got home and downloaded the file that I saw I had bested my time by 46sec but with ease.  The thing is, I took the KOM also BONUS!

Since then I’ve concentrated on the importance of the technique and have had other fantastic results, reaching top 10s and higher on sections I would normally on feature in the late 30s!  All of this made possible with not having to push High outputs, but pushing more of my pedal stroke with a medium high power (higher average through out the pedal stroke) than a high push and pull stroke!

Go practice rolling your pedals around rather than just pushing down and pulling up and go see for yourself!

Custom Built Push Industries Shock by RBC.

So today a parcel arrives at home for me.  I haven’t bought anything or am I waiting for anything so it was pretty cool and a huge surprise.  I opened the parcel, and the thick bubble wrap tells me about the contents….precious cargo!  After getting halfway through the roll of bubble wrap I notice what it is, it’s a sleek black rear shock!  Now I remember, Robbie (suspension guru of note and my suspension sponsor) had told me he was going to build a rear shock for me, from the ground up.  Here it is, in my hand and I’m like a dog with two tails!

 

RBC is a small company from Port Elizabeth that imports/distributes and services Push Industries Tuning kits/parts and Shocks.  But don’t let the “small” part of the company sway your opinion of this company.  Small means that every customer is known by every employee.  Personal service is the name of their game.  Robbie Powell is the captain of this ship and he has an impressive racing history.  Robbie has ridden most things two wheeled, he’s a legend in observe trials and has represented RSA in DH!  Robbie has experienced the revolution of the mtb with suspension forks becoming prevalent in the 90s.  He has seen the good ideas become standard and the bad ideas fail.  Robbie has years of riding experience, shop experience and mechanical experience that you just don’t find nowadays.  In short, when it comes to understanding suspension, Robbie’s the real deal.

In my previous Review I had my standard rear shock tuned up by Robbie……read the review, because it was awesome.  This article is to explain the huge difference I experienced with my shock today.  When Robbie told me he was going to cook something up for me that was bespoke for my riding style, he wasn’t kidding.  What Robbie did was take a standard Fox RP23 Rear shock, and throw away the following parts: Normal Alloy Annodized Shock body (normally the gold coloured shaft that you see on your shock that is the thinner part of the shock), Plastic Independent Floating Piston or IFP (the pistion that sits between the oil and the nitrogen), Fox piston (medium flow), Medium Shimstack tune for Compression and rebound.  He replaced all these parts with Push Industries upgraded components, the Shock body on my new shock is Epoxy coated for durabilty and smoothness, this coating is more scratch resistant than standard annodizing plus it’s way more slick so the shock is more responsive on small bumps.  The new Push IFP is ceramic instead of plastic so it doesn’t buckle under the opposing pressures of the oil vs nitrogen inputs.  The magic with only starts happening now though as Robbie knows my style of riding, my weight and what type of suspension my bike has.  He fits a high flow piston kit and then fits a FIRM tune shim stack to get the desired ride feel, but he’s not done.  Knowing my weight and what “feel”  need, he fills the shocks nitrogen chamber with a custom pressure for me!  So now the effect is sublime.  I’m such a unique rider you see, I like a plush suspension (meaning I like it soft so it can gobble up small bumps and float along) but I don’t want it banging through it’s travel on medium and big bumps.  So what happens on standard tune off the shelf shocks is, you control the shock movement with air pressure, which means you lose sensitivity and traction.  So Robbie knows I like running low air pressure and has used the valving (custom valve and shim stack tune) to control the shocks movement, but then has tuned the nitrogen pressure to keep the shock riding at the right height in it’s travel.  So this means if a 80 kg rider gets on my bike and sets air pressure for his weight, the shock still won’t ride correctly for that rider.  This truly is TAYLOR MADE SUSPENSION. 

 

My bike ride today was so composed and balanced today, I forgot I had a new piece of hardware attached.  It was such a incredible ride, I had forgotten about the shock, and that is a good thing.  Think about what I’m saying, it did it’s job so well, I didn’t notice.  It didn’t have any situation that it didn’t cope with.  It’s so hard to nitpick here, there’s just nothing to report that is negative.  I set my desired sag on the bike, and I tweaked my rebound feel, and I rode my bike.  Why is that such a big thing?  It is because I’m “Mr stop and fiddle” when I ride, I like tweaking and faffing with the settings.  This ride was bliss, the shock didn’t need faffing…….Robbie has built me a Taylor Made shock.

 

In the weeks to come I will review more and give me detailed feedback.

For now, keep it rubber side down.

PUSH Industries Upgrades Review

I love riding my bike, it’s a massive part of my day.  I’ve passed the stage in my life were lightweight equipment is the answer, I want products to be light, but functionally perfect for the job of MOUNTAIN BIKING.  This involves anything from long rocky descents at speed, to slow technical on the brakes type of drop-offs with your bum buzzing the back tyre.  Most of the XC/Marathon products out there are lacking the “MTB Tough” approval nowadays. My own equipment choice is based on performance, functionality and reliability.  If the product is better for a certain job and is heavier, I’ll put it on within reason. I mean I won’t fit a DH fork to my XC/Trail orientated bike, I’ll rather choose a fork suited to the bike.

Recently, due to some bad luck, I had to upgrade my trusty old Rock Shox SID XX WC 100mm.  My first instinct was another Rock Shox, as I’ve been a fan for a while now.  My bad luck happened during the amazing three day MTB Stage Race, the Wine2Whales, in my hometown. I took my bike to my friend, Robbie Powell, for inspection. Go check out RBC.  The news wasn’t good.  So my choice was to replace my fork, but with what?  Robbie is the PUSH Industries FOX Service Centre in RSA, and supplies forks and upgrades to FOX forks and rear shocks.  He services any suspension fork you can think of and he works his magic, in particular, on FOX suspension.  Upgrades that Robbie does vary from Push Industries Dustwipers to shim stack and valve tuning. While my fork was out of commission, I had a planned service on my FOX RP23 Kashima rear shock, which was custom tuned to my bike from Niner Bikes and the FOX engineers.  I watched as Robbie stripped my shock in front of me.  I told him that my rear shock wallows under hard hits and packs down after repeated mid-stroke hits.  Meaning that it damping gets over worked on big hits, and it barely copes to return the shock to full travel on repeated mid-stroke bumps like a flight of stairs.  We measured the Nitrogen pressure in my shock at 300psi, which for a 68kg rider is way to hard, I wanted my shock more plush and this was one place to tune that. We tested a few different pressures and settle on half that at 150psi.  The other thing we noticed, was that my rebound setting was on it’s fullest adjustment, meaning I could dial off the rebound (to make it faster) because it was at the end of it’s range.  All these issues add up to the factory tuning these shocks to the “Average” rider, meaning 80kg.  Once we had tuned this with a shim stack to accommodate all this, Robbie replaced the Shock body with PUSH Industries own Epoxy coated body, which is harder and smoother Kashima.  This sexy little black number promised to be slippery and longer lasting, increasing small bump sensitivity and longevity of product.  BONUS!

Fork wise he suggested I get, taking my riding style into consideration, a FOX 32mm Factory Fork 100mm sporting the FIT4 damper, with a PUSH industries firm tune.  I was hesitant at first, I heard the word “FIRM” tune and I wasn’t convinced.  I’ve known Robbie 25 years odd, so I trusted his expertise and judgment. I told Robbie that I love a plush fork with small bump compliance (so soft air pressure) but I hate how my current fork dives through a high speed corner or berm.  The nose of the bike would just dive down at the most inopportune time, so to counter this I had to firm up my air pressure to fight this, leaving my fork not so plush with very little if no small bump compliance.  Well, my fork arrived at the agreed deadline, and I fitted in earnest.  In my Fork box was, a card of PUSH Industries stickers, the manual, the star-fangled nut, front brake hose clip, a fox fork sticker and a number of fork air tokens. (these are plastic spacers that clip together and are inserted into the air chamber to reduce air volume and in so doing, increase spring ramp rate making it more progressive and less linear) On Robbie’s recommendation, I fitted an extra token, the factory fit 1 as standard.  I followed the manual’s recommended air pressure for my weight and off I went on my first ride.

 

My first impression was that the fork was way to soft for me.  It was ultra plush and moved on every small bump.  On the first downhill near my house are 3 speed bumps, these normally kick the back end of my bike up and leave my hands rattled from the impact.  I hit the first one at full speed as per normal.  I heard “shooshing” sound and carried over the bump without leaving the ground.  I pulled over quickly expecting to see a very soft tyre.  Both my tyres were perfectly inflated!?  I was confused, Did my bike just float over that now when normally just riding into the bump sends me air borne?  I set off again hurtling towards the next one, this time making myself light as hit the next bump and the bike took a little air and landed, but so gently as if gravity itself was greatly reduced.  At the bottom of this hill is a T-junction, so I slammed on anchors at the latest possible moment, only to find I had to release brakes and roll forward more.  I chuckled to myself.  Was my old fork so bad?  This new fork had just outperformed my trusty old SID on speed bumps and braking.  This fork had not dived under a sudden hard braking force and therefore also stopped me in a much shorter distance, and I can prove, from a higher speed.  My old fork would dive and “brake-away” under hard braking and my weight would transfer onto the handlebar, which upsets the bikes overall balance bios to mainly frontal balance.

Out on the trail, I noticed how clean my cockpit was.  No pesky extra cables, and thus giving my cockpit a very clean and tidy appearance.  Riding wise, I was very keen to push my bike to test the fork and rear shock.  I sprinted and bounced and slammed the wheels into every hole and bump I could find.  I bermed and railed every corner in reach, and found none of the old characteristics of the bike.  The bike was reborn, and felt like MY bike.  I can’t quite explain that statement without equating it to having a suit tailored to you by an artisan.  The fork would smash a gap jump and land like I was riding off a pavement.  I could rail hard and push through a berm and the bike stayed balanced.  I could brake hard facing downhill without the rear wheel lifting.  After riding myself to exhaustion, I went home.

On arriving home, I got off the bike and just starred at the machine.  I suppose I was looking for answers.  The facts were, the rear end stuck like velcro to the terrain and never fluttered or packed down.  The fork isolated so much of the terrain from my hands and steered so positively.  The fork seemed way to soft to start off, but it was so plush out on the trail, and despite jumping and going crazy, I still had more travel left in reserve!

What I can conclude is, it’s been 2 months, and I can tell you that my bike hasn’t skipped a beat since.  It has done 2368km with 37890m of climbing and descending.  The conditions have been super hot and dry, on powdery dust and rock. I have done 169 hours of riding! I have cleaned the wiper seals with a rag and I store my bike upside down to let the juices flow to the seals to keep them wet for the next ride.  The performance and the behavior of the bike is just sublime.  Single word adjectives that describe my experience riding this setup: Smooth, Compossure and Balanced.

Why should you have your current shock tuned by Robbie’s Bicycle Concept? Robbie has years of riding experience, I mean since MTB hit South Africa, and he has ridden every type of fork invented.  He has pinned it and binned it in every mtb discipline you can imagine, including observed trials, DH, Dual Slalom and XC.  Robbie brings years of riding knowledge together with years of running a bike shop, designing bikes and bike parts for the overseas market and companies, he consults to engineers and factories in the industry and has spent time with PUSH Industries to learn specifically how to get the most out of each shock.  Robbie in a word is a guru.  How Robbie can help you is simple, take your fork or shock in for a simple standard service and you’ll get it back better than you sent it in.  More than though RBC can tune your suspension for you to get the most out of your bike.  Most of you are the “Average” weight (80kg) which is how the “factory tune” is, but this doesn’t take in consideration terrain which they also “guestimate” so what you end up with is a fork that works for 50% of the Average people, and lets not forget riding style that also effects your suspension setup.  RBC will ask you questions about where you ride, how you ride, tyre pressures and all sorts of things to get clues and a bigger picture of how you ride.  He even has an electronic shock setup gadget to attach to the front and rear shocks to suggest how to dial in your suspension even more!  RBC has decked out their workshop to look after suspension in a drool worthy fashion, having spent R300 00 on the suspension servicing specific tools ONLY.  Which is the upper level in his workshop, downstairs has an equal spend of standard bike repair tools all set out as tidy as you can imagine.

Go visit his site, and see what a difference he can make to your ride.

 

robbiesbicycleconcept.co.za/index.php?route=suspension/servicepricing

 

Suffering

We’ve all had those days when we feel good.  Those days when you may not be the fastest, but you feel like you pedal with ease and you can suffer all day.  I’m not talking about those days here, I’m going to talk about those dark days on a bike, when you feel like you’re done.  Like what you’re doing to yourself is not good for you.

Understanding why we suffer during a race or training is difficult, but only because of the many factors that influence it.  Things like, starting to fast, or poor sleep, nutrition, illness and even lack of form.  Look, any of us are open to the dangers of the above at any time, but limiting those factors that you can control can greatly reduce your possibility of suffering during a race, with a negative outcome.  What do I mean here?  I mean that not all suffering ends with a negative outcome.  Think about suffering to a point of wanting to give up but you eventually win your race?  Suffering ended up with a positive.  In this vein of thought,  suffering during training is the point here.  If your suffer in training, you should race more positively.  The idea I try keep convincing myself during intervals!  I try associate the bad with being good for me.

Getting back to the suffering during an event now, I have often wondered to myself what exactly got me through that.  I have done a few 24Hour races solo, I’ve done them on a singlespeed and stood on the podium amongst riders with gears.  I suffered like hell during that event.  I’ve done them in better condition and a more equipped bike and I’ve had to give up.    What made the one suffering more overwhelming than the other?  Who knows, but with each instance I like to think I learned a few things about myself, and the situation.  With careful reflection, I was able to see my own mistakes, and how I can avoid them for next time.  Basically making me better at my race craft.  It’s an ever changing goal post though as I get better at racing.  My last 24Hour I struggled to eat or drink for 6 hours, which required me to keep going on an empty tank.  My motivation and pride is what I used to get me to keep going.  I was slumped in a chair at 07h00 that morning, struggling to hold myself up, when I suddenly just got up and flopped back into the saddle and carried on.  I know that last year I would have thrown in the towel.  Learning about my character is what let me overcome my suffering.  It was a mental state of mind, an attitude.

Every person has their own suffering and motivation.  They are somehow inter-twined.  What I call suffering may be normal and easy for another.  Or visa versa.  Suffering is personal.  You learn a lot about yourself in those moments of suffering.  One thing I’ve learned is to never give up.  Not that I’ve used to, but my bench mark of where the point of throwing the towel in is has moved substantially.  We all have that battle to fight.  This is what makes sport so wholesome and amazing.  Sport is the closest thing to war we can get.  It’s special for me to watch my heroes race their bikes, because I can relate to the training and suffering they’ve gone through to race as that level, and I can relate to good and bad days, but most of all I marvel at the beauty of an athlete suffering and fighting back.  Even if he comes stone last or first.  Overcoming ones own suffering is honourable.

Next time you are suffering, be it in training or racing, remember that this to shall pass and you will be better for it.

 

Keep it rubber side down.

Les Alps, a dream and a bike.

Tags

Climbing, coaching, Courcheval, Dreams, French Alps, goals, La Tania, Meribel, power, SPEED, Training, Val Thorens

I’ve had my sights set on riding in the French Alps for a long time, maybe 15 years.  I’ve had friends go and then torture me with their pictures and stories of their adventures.  I smile and pretend not to be hurting deeply inside with jealousy.

This year,  I got the opportunity of a lifetime to go and ride in the French Alps, in La Tania in the Courchevel Valley.   It falls part of the the Famous 3 Valleys, Courchevel-Meribel-Val Thorens.  To describe to you what the place is like is difficult, but imagine you have 360 degree sights of mountains that are all almost 3000m in height.  Not all are but the lowest in the region is 2300m.  Mont Blanc is not very far away from our chalet, it’s a megalith climb and we get to stare at this fabled mountain from our balcony. We don’t have places like this in South Africa.  Our Chalet was at a height of 1400m above sea level.  All around us was either mountains high or valleys low.  Literally a steep climb up or a deathly drop down.  This may scare you, however the chairlifts dotted over the valleys make getting up there accessible to everyone, no matter fitness or skill.  This truly is a magical place to be.  The French town ambiance is tangible, the people are very outdoors orientated.  The amount of hikers, bikers on the trail this time of year is surprising low, I mean it’s busy, but there is so much mountain to ride that you hardly bump into people.  You see them at the chairlifts and that’s about it.  This particularly makes for a fantastic experience, no traffic!

So Why would someone come and do this every year instead of something like the Absa Cape Epic?  The cost is similar.  Right?  Not at all, actually this is cheaper.  Currently the entry fee to the Absa Cape Epic is R30 000 per person.  Just the ticket.  You will need to pay for a mechanic during the race (I mechanic at the race so I can tell you with confidence that things go very wrong daily at Epic), a mechanic will charge you around R4800 (average) per bike for the week.  You will need to have message for the duration of the race, or your legs will seize on you and that’s not good, a massage package is R2700 per person for the week.  That’s R7500 on top of the R30 000 ticket price.  None of this going to cover the cost of training, wear and tear on tyres and equipment.  Oh and let me just say, the Epic requires teams to have matching kit!  So throw some extra into the pot for matching team kit, nothing less than R10 000 here for the two of you.  The company I went with is called Msaro.  What they offer in 950 Pounds(R17100) for the week, includes a chef and massage!  Inclusive!  You get 2 solid meals (breakfast and supper) which are massive spreads and are occasions for sharing stories.   Lunch is not included as you are actually on the mountain.  Taking some cash to buy something up there is advisable, but I took fruit and made a sandwich at breakfast for the trail and this worked out perfectly.  The Chalet we stayed in has a hot tub.  Yes a friggin hot tub to soak the body in and is a great place to exchange stories of the day.  There is a TV downstairs and plays so many channels and is linked to the web, so we caught up on some of the Olympic events while we were there.  The place is magic, but the Msaro staff didn’t let us lift a finger while we were there.  We got yummy protein shakes post ride without fail.  We were given water ,juice, coffee and tea all day.  You want for nothing while you are there, which is a huge contrast to Epic.  Epic you rush through breakfast and get home midday and start scrounging for food.  You recovery zone is hot and full of other bodies who are grumpy.  Nobody helps you with your bike until you hand it over to the mechanics, every service you need at Epic such as clothing washing is an extra cost.  You have to bloody well do everything for yourself.  And you pay more for this.  This Msaro trip is also very forgiving if your fitness is not up to climbing to much, you can just take a chairlift.  Simple.  The ticket to fly to France from Cape Town was R14 000 on Emirates, which was very comfortable. If you do the numbers, the trip to the Alps next year is looking so much cheaper than just paying for Epic.  Msaro arrange a shuttle from Geneva Airport so that’s included.  Financially it takes more than the entry to do Epic, you are going to spend another R20 000 to get to the start line of Epic, and you can’t avoid those costs.  The volume of training and riding is going to suck your bank balance dry.

This trip into the Alps opened my eyes, riding my bike is about adventure and trying new things.  Experiencing new places.   Meeting new people.  The Epic crowd race the same guys, and that is quite cool, to catch up with guys but really it’s also getting boring now.  This trip was many things for me, exciting, scary, adrenalin, sense of achievment, altitude, friendships and dreams.  This trip has left me planning to do this next year, with new routes and new adventures.  In my time there, I climbed up a peak of 2500M, swam in a glacier fed dam, descended singletrack for more than 20km in one go, rode so many berms that I could still feel them in my sleep and sat in a hot tub looking at Mont Blanc.  This is a special place.  I left a piece of my soul in those mountains. 

If you are interested in more detail, go to http://www.msaro.co.uk  you won’t be disappointed.

I’m going to ride the Alps

So today as I repack, my repacked luggage to lose any unnecessary weight to make my flight baggage limit, it finally hits me.  I’m flying to France to ride in the Alps. My friend, Gila Joffe owns and runs a touring Company called Msaro. The Name is derived from her beautiful Daughter Aria.  MS ARia Overton.  Talk about a mothers love!  Speaking of which, Gila has got 9 of us to mother and look after while we are there on this 7 day training camp.  Gila knows how to put it in, and we are being put up in a very luxurious chalet in La Tania.  The experiences so far has been so amazing, with feedback of what to expect and weather forecasts,shuttle and transfer arrangements.  Gila has kept us informed every step of the way.  She has gone the extra mile. Which for a novice traveler like me, is a massive bonus. She has never been to busy to answer my inexperienced questions.
As I sit here, bags finally packed and now at the correct weight, there are clothes and redundant outfits lying everywhere.  The realization is so cool.  My stress is over to a large extent.  I can’t wait to sit at the airport now to relax into the journey to get there.  If been anxious since this trip became a possibility. From Passports that got lost in office, and having to re-apply with little time left to them get the ticket and ten apply for the visa, for me it’s been these little hurdles that made this trip seem like a pipe dream.  Well my dream of riding my bike in the Alps is coming true.

For those of you who want to follow what this place is like, I will blog about it daily. I’ll take pics and let you all know what you’re missing.  Also go to http://www.msaro.co.uk to check the site and bookings for next year.  Yes next year!
Ok I’m going to have a nap now, I’m going to be flying some 20 hours, so I’m gonna need some rest.  Chow for now.  And keep it rubber side down.

INSIDE :The Bearded Ninerds Bike

Tags

JET9 RDO, MY BIKE, NINER BIKES

This is my weapon.  I’m going to give you are description of my parts and WHY I chose them.  Let me start off by saying, I’m a Brand Ambassador for Niner Bikes, but I pay for my bikes.  I’m not influenced by sponsorship on this, I am a discerning rider who is rewarded with a slightly better price for loyalty to an amazing bike company.  That said, lets move on.

 

Niner JET 9 RDO ( full carbon frameset, with 12mm Maxle lite Through axle and with carbon rocker link) 100mm.  I chose this frame for it’s trail plush suspension, it’s an XC/Marathon bike that climbs with poise and grace, but downhills like a savage. Pure bliss. The geometry on this bike is flawless, and has been copied by many “big” brands.  There’s something special about the way Niners all ride.  It’s like chocolate cake, you can follow the same recipe your Granny uses, but it’s not the same if you made it.

Rock Shox SID XX World Cup 100mm, 15mm Through axle.  I chose Rock Shox for their proven reliability in RSA conditions.  Where other brands of forks have had premature stanchion wear and costly service and repair costs, Rock Shox have had the mix right.  Hardy seals that keep the trail shit out, and are cheap to replace regularly.  Services are simple enough, basic home mechanics can do them.  Other brands are more fiddly and expensive to service.  The SID XX WC 100m is a very light fork, and I chose this model for it’s weight and performance.  Being a light rider, I can ride light equipment.  Mine is 3 years old now, and it’s smoother than it’s ever been.  No signs of wear. 

Corse Components 29er Carbon Rims with E*Thirteen Hubs laced with Sapim CX Ray Bladed Spokes.  I chose these Carbon Rims for their proven robust construction.  There are lighter carbon rims out there, by a few grams only.  But this rim is unrivaled in strength.  In the time I’ve ridden them, they have been my everyday rims, I’ve landed badly squashed down on rocks, hit ruts super hard all with low tyre pressures and the rims are literally unscathed.  If these were ally rims of the same weight, I would have tacoed the rims or dented them with flat spots.  These are well worth the money!  I chose E*Thirteen Hubs for there Large Hub Flanges (to lace the spokes through and use shorter spokes) and the Freebody Engagement system.  The hubs anodizing is still pitch black and smooth, some other products out there fade over time in the sun and from solvents when washing them.  The CX Ray spoke, being bladed is more aero, but also way stronger.  This wheelset is the most important thing on my bike, it is the first thing in contact with the ground (with the tyre on) and strong, fast rolling, precise steering and stiff wheels are what any mountain shredder wants.

Specialized Purgatory 2.3, Specialized Fast Trak 2.2 Tyres.  I chose these by accident, and I’m a convert.  The new casings in these tyres are a vast improvement on the old ones which were paper thin and sliced to easily.  Another upside to the newer casing is that the casing is more stable.  This allows you to run a lower tyre pressure (1.1FR, 1.0RR) which gives incredible grip.

 Groupset XX1 11speed, Trigger shifter (instead of Twist shift) because I have a dicky right wrist and triggers rule. I ride the 34 or 32T front blade (depending on the course) and the standard XO level cassette (it’s actually lighter than XX1, and lasts longer).  The chain is a Sram PC 1171 Chain, it’s shifting on the SRAM gear is the best in my opinion.  I love the feel of Sram, most of my riding mates run Shimano bikes, and they talk about the “light” action over Sram.  I just laugh, because, even though my shifting can feel more industrial and solid, it works everytime without fail.  Shimano riders often over shift.  I also prefer SRAM parts, because they are rebuildable.  Shimano let you service only a few pieces on a few groupsets and that is just crap.

Sram Guide Ultimates, 180mm/160mm.  I chose these brakes because of the unparalleled level of braking performance, power/modulation and feel.  The build quality is outstanding.  The Carbon brake lever blades run on bearings (which rids it of the horrible brake flop all brakes get), the finish detail is amazing too.  The Ti bolt kit is also light and rust free.  Keeps things clean. The matchmaker simplicity and neatness it offers the cockpit from an aesthetics point of view is also a major feature.  These brakes offer tool free Bite point adjustment and tool free lever reach.  Both work even with a full finger glove on. You can only go as fast as you can slow down!

Niner RDO Flat top Carbon Handlebar, 9 degree sweep.  Because 9 is a magic number.  This truly is a magical bar, with oodles of flexy comfort, which makes the ride sublime. It is light as hell.  The etchings at the stem and tips of the bar allow for precise setup too!

KCNC Arrow 2, 100mm negative 17 degree stem.  I chose this for it’s angle and stiffness.  It’s light and stiff.  To setup my 29er (which are known for high headtubes) I used this negative rise stem to get me low enough over the bike.

Niner RDO Carbon Seatpost, I chose this for aesthetics reason, so it would match my bike and cockpit, and it was a good decision.  It’s built with a huge amount of flex to it, which is very good at saving your ass on small stutter bumps.  It’s been a faultless addition to my bike.

Specialized Carbon Power Saddle 153mm,  I chose this saddle for it’s claimed comfort and posture improving stability.  It works for me.  I can say that with confidence and I have done a whole 24Hour MTB race without getting a rash, which is the first time I’ve had that.  It’s a short saddle, and that hasn’t bothered me.  You sit in this saddle, not on it.

Stages X9 BB30 Power meter. I chose a cranked based power meter because I like the simplicity they offer at a very low weight.  Accuracy is also high.  It’s affordable compared to other offerings and that really sold it to me.  Being able to track my training accurately was the goal, doing so less expensively was a bonus.

Time ATAC XC 8 pedals.  Because there is no equal.  I love it’s big platform base and stability.  It has a nice comforting “thunk” noise when you clip in.  It offers more float than other pedals, which are healthier for your knees.  The quality is perfect.  I’ve always had TIME pedals.  My oldest pedals (still in service) are on my road bike, and are in perfect order.  15 years old!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the insights, my parting comments are that I chose my bike and it’s components for their longevity and ride quality.  Not because they were “light” or “strong” but because they offered me all of those in the right doses.  My bike hasn’t let me down, the choices of equipment play a massive part in that.  My bike must work, and work well.  Let me say that, servicing my bike regularly is factor here.  Without service things will not function to their fullest or last.

 

Happy trails, keep it rubber side down.