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Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tech Q&A: Do Avid brakes come with the hose?
Got a comment or advice on this subject? Post it below.
Tech Q&A: Installing Hayes Stroker Ace Brakes.
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Tech Q&A: DT Swill E2200 Wheelset - Hub sizes?
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Tech Q&A: Damaged Tubeless Valve Stem
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
Cannondale Prophet joins Your Ride
Hi PureMTBer's
After 4 years of use and abuse my Cannondale Prophet was beginning to show some serious signs of neglect.
The trusty lefty had lost about 40mm of travel. A problem that could not have been solved without a serious rebuild. I judged that it was begigining to get a little too dangerous after one too many trips over the handlebars on trails that should have been a walk in the park. The Hayes Elcamino brakes reminded me of driving a vintage tractor - and were equally as difficult to pull to a stop once a little momentun had been build on two wobbly wheels and
completely bald rear tyre. Like I said this beautiful bike had suffered some serious neglect...
Click here to read the entire article.
If you would like to ask a question or give advice about this project, please add a comment below.
After 4 years of use and abuse my Cannondale Prophet was beginning to show some serious signs of neglect.
The trusty lefty had lost about 40mm of travel. A problem that could not have been solved without a serious rebuild. I judged that it was begigining to get a little too dangerous after one too many trips over the handlebars on trails that should have been a walk in the park. The Hayes Elcamino brakes reminded me of driving a vintage tractor - and were equally as difficult to pull to a stop once a little momentun had been build on two wobbly wheels and
completely bald rear tyre. Like I said this beautiful bike had suffered some serious neglect...
Click here to read the entire article.
If you would like to ask a question or give advice about this project, please add a comment below.
Point of View Racing at the Australian MTB Nationals with Joshua Sek
Good Afternoon Che,
I got back from the lovely city of Adelaide on Monday night after 6days of training, course familiarisation and racing.
It was hot, mid 30’s daily, the location was in eagle quarry which meant no shade and dust...lots of it!
We arrived on the Tuesday, late and on Wednesday I got to head out to the course for my first look. After completing a 2laps with my coach and her assistant it quickly came evident that this course suited me very well as it was full of short pinch climbs that demanded both a large amount of strength but also required constant technical attention through the endless rock gardens. The descents were long and highly technical, and as I quickly found out; few riders were able to navigate down at high speeds, I was a lucky one and after only a short time practicing I had the majority of the course nailed, so to speak.
Thursday brought my first race of the championships, the club team relay, invited only 12hours before by my good friend Mel, I was promptly signed to my clubs only representation team for National Championships. The team consisted of Myself, Melinda Jackson, James Kennedy and Adrian Jackson and being one of the strongest teams out there we were looking good for a podium. Adrian lead out our first lap returning back to transition in 1stplace approximately 2mins up on 2nd place, next out was James Kennedy, one of the older riders on course he sure showed the younger riders a thing or two about racing coming back in first place with the Adelaide team hot on our heels, Melinda Jackson was next out, with only seconds back to Terri ‘Stink’ Rhodes and only short minutes back to the charging Andrew Blair we were all sure we would lose our lead this lap. Standing in transition I looked back towards the final climb trying to make out the oncoming rider, sure enough it was Andrew Blair, however this was no surprise, what really surprised me was Melinda managing to keep Terri at bay (Terri is a part of the Merida National Team) for the whole lap. I was tagged and full of adrenaline I headed out on my first lap, about 1min down from the leader, who currently was Shaun Lewis (Mongoose National Team) and only 1min up from Adelaide’s rider I attacked the first climb in full view of the event village, I managed to gain time on Shaun but I could not shake the Adelaide rider off my wheel and the proceeded to pass me on the next section of fire-trail. I continued my lap seeming to get faster with every minute gone by I ripped through the descents making them feel like I was on rails, as I progressed up the final climb and sprinted through the finish with my team cheering I realised we had just placed 3rd in the National Club Relay Championships, we all were very pleased with this result. After a quick recovery it was down to the beach for some R & R!
Friday brought a relaxing day, headed out to the course for some final technical work to just run over some tricky sections before race day.
Saturday came and with my race scheduled for 2pm I welcomed the relaxing start to a day, outside it was looking to be quiet a hot day in the saddle with temperatures already in the mid 20’s only shortly after 10am. Heading out the course around 12pm to get a full hour on the wind trainer of warm up the anticipation was building and I was sure getting nervous. Come 1:45pm we (all the U/19s) were in the marshal chute awaiting call up. Riding with plate #226 I was placed roughly in the middle and I had to ensure a good start to make places early on. The gun went and the start was intense, elbows were out everywhere and it was one of the roughest starts I’ve ever experienced with elbows going everywhere!
On the first climb I lost places, merely because I knew from previous races that I wasn’t to go out to hard. I sat patiently at my own pace hoping that as the lap progressed I would quickly take wheel to a chase group of about 6riders that had formed about 1min behind the lead pack. Sure enough as I hit the decent and powered on knowing I would make up time I quickly regained a visual with the chase group and as I thought it was only a matter of minutes before I was a part of it. That was when disaster struck, mid way on the final decent after a difficult rock garden my chain snapped. When I went to sprint up a small rise I found myself chainless, without repairs both on me and back in the tech zone. A simple chain failure had ended my XCO race at nationals, after a year of intense training. Cursing my misfortune I begun the slow walk/roll back to finish. It was not what I hoped for. We quickly returned to our accommodation so I could strip the bike down and give it a full check in the hope I would make up for my bad luck in the following days short track.
An early start come Sunday morning for a 1030am short track start time I was already practicing the course by 830am in the hope I could get the track down pat and hope for a strong finish in spite of yesterdays performance. After circling the track for what felt like hours I finally needed to clear it as sport categories were about to begin racing. Watching and making note of passing lines while the sport race continued I was leaving no stone unturned. It was not long before I was standing in the chute awaiting my call up. A slightly smaller category of 30ish riders I was plated second row with #220. I knew I had fresh legs after my misfortune the previous days and had to make sure I got clear of the messy starts that short track were prone to. As the gun fired I quickly found myself clear out on the right and already up around 19th place. The laps ticked on and I was taking riders with a small personal challenge I had set myself; one rider per lap. The minutes ticked past and like the laps, so did the riders. I made my move around the 10min mark and found myself away from a small group who were quickly trying to ride me down. I managed to hang in for almost the whole race but in the dying minutes (13min mark of a 15min +3lap race) I was pulled by the marshal due to the lapping rule (if the leader is going to pass you in your next lap you get pulled from the race to allow a clear run for the leaders)
I was one of the last riders on course so I was happy with my result and ended up with 12th place, under19, for a first year and first time at nationals I was thrilled to say the least!
So after a year of training, a week in Adelaide I came away with a bronze medallion and a lesson learned about carrying a chain breaker on course. I know what I’ll be buying now!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, hope it was enjoyable.
Most importantly thank you for your continued support and help.
Yours Sincerely,
Josh Sek
Ian Richman Joins Your Ride
http://www.puremtb.com.au/articles.php?id=43
Hi there Pure MTB guys,
Being a pure MTBer myself, what better way to pass away the cold Canberra evenings last winter (when it was just a little too hard to get motivated for a night ride) than to pull apart a filthy road bike and turn it into something completely different. That way you can spare your MTBs any pain and embarrassment, while still having fun on/with two wheels.
So, 'my ride' is a Fidusa Record - a custom-made Greek bike that started life as a pretty straight and conventional roadie (as far as hand-made Greek bikes go) with Columbus CroMo frame and relatively subtle blue paintwork. It has since been transformed into a not-so-straight purple, gold and silver blingfest. Lots of fun along the way, discovering all about Italian thread bottom brackets (I thought all BBs were reverse direction - wrong) and screw-on cassettes (Mavic, in this instance) necessitating a screw-on BMX cog rather than single-speed kit. But the Campagnolo drop-outs worked a treat - so I didn't need a tensioner. Nice straight lines. Cool....
... To view the entire article click here.
Click on comments below if you would like to ask Ian questions or advice on his project.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Brake Burner - Coronet Peak, New Zealand
New Zealand’s elite cross-country mountain bike riders Marcus Roy, of Invercargill, and Kashi Leuchs, of Dunedin, traded their lightweight cross-country race bikes for downhill mountain bikes at the weekend and showed that they are as competitive in this code, with Roy setting the second fastest lap (20.03), and Leuchs winning the team’s event with a total of 17 laps.
This race was never about winning for Roy and Leuchs – the 2009 NZONE The Ultimate Jump Brake Burner fitted into the Team RoadCraft Tour simply because it is such a unique event that focuses on the fun aspect of mountain bike riding.
“It fitted so well into the whole concept of the RoadCraft tour – it’s about having fun mountain biking; riding great trails with great scenery and on great machinery [bikes]. It also just happened to be a downhill race,” three-time Olympian Leuchs said.
The event captures the imagination of most mountain bike riders as it comprises 6 hours of chairlift-accessed (Coronet Express), mostly downhill (462m vertical), 5km trail at Coronet Peak that can be ridden and enjoyed by riders of all abilities. Probably more siginificant is that the event attracts top downhill riders and top cross-country riders and puts them head-to-head.
“It was cool to ride with the downhill guys – I got passed a few times, but when we got to the climbs the cross-country guys could generally pass the downhill guys back quite quickly,” Leuchs said.
To ensure the fun side of this race was the main priority, Roy and Leuchs signed up on competing teams and each invited a friend to join them.
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Leuchs’ team mate choice of good friend Laurence Mote proved wise as the two rode in relay throughout the 6-hour race to win the teams event by 30 seconds. Riding under the team banner of Moose and Knuckle the pair won with a total of 17 laps, creating much comical debate as to who put in the extra “winning” lap.
“This event is so special – you’re doing lot of downhill and you’re pumping all the way down and then you get to the bottom and you’re exhausted, but everyone is grinning. It’s a very social event – there are friendly people everywhere. Even out on the track everyone is friendly and nice as they’re passing or getting passed,” Leuchs said.
Roy enjoyed the chance to ride with some of New Zealand’s top downhillers, but was not surprised to post one of the fastest lap times, only beaten by 0.01 of a second by Andy Reid, of Blenheim.
“The course was very well suited to a cross-country rider – the downhill wasn’t too technical and the short, sharp climbs played to the advantage of a shorter travel bike. I had a cross-country bike with 100mm of suspension [front and back] and I could lock my suspension out for the climbs – some of the downhill guys were riding with 200mm travel and were riding bikes weighing twice that of mine,” Roy said.
“Even on the downhills I wasn’t losing that much on the downhill riders and I never got overtaken in a lap,” Roy said.
Roy asked friend and training partner Andrew Ballantyne, of Invercargill, to join his team, but a crash in a fast section of the trail saw Ballantyne’s left shoulder pop out, rupturing his AC joint and ending his day.
The next event on the Team RoadCraft calendar is the inaugural Alpine Epic 260km four-day stage race from Mt Somers to Tekapo from February 25 to 28. The 50km Motatapu Icebreaker starting at Glendhu Bay, Wanaka on March 14 and finishing in Arrowtown will conclude the tour.
RoadCraft Announces New Zealand Mountain Bike Tour
Two of New Zealand’s top international mountain bike riders, Kashi Leuchs, of Dunedin, and Marcus Roy, of Invercargill, have joined forces to create Team RoadCraft, which will
embark on a heartland tour of some of New Zealand’s most pristine adventure rides.
“The initiative came about through the drive to rediscover what ‘true’ mountain biking
is all about,” Leuchs said.
“We spend all year with the pressure of the European-based World Cup circuit and we
always look forward to coming home to ride and have fun with family and friends,” he
said.
The RoadCraft MTB tour will see Leuchs and Roy road trip around some of New
Zealand’s best mountain bike endurance races.
Leuchs has represented New Zealand at the Olympics three times and hopes to use
the tour as a build up to the world circuit he’ll be returning to in March with his new
team, Felt International. He will be based out of Annecy, France.
“My idea was to get out there and into New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes and
meet nice people in a relaxed atmosphere. This is a great opportunity to showcase the
incredible scenery and races we have in our backyard. Then, at the same time, getting fit
for my international race season,” Leuchs said.
Key events on the RoadCraft MTB tour include the 43km R&R Sports Otago Peninsula
Challenge on February 1, the inaugural Alpine Epic 260km stage race from Mt Somers to
Tekapo from February 25 to 28 and the 50km Motatapu Icebreaker starting at Glendhu
Bay, Wanaka on March 14 and finishing in Arrowtown.
RoadCraft designed the team’s overland camping vehicle (OCV) and share the team’s
passion for outdoor adventure sports.
Other partners include R&R Sports, which has supported Leuchs and Roy for many years
and will supply the team with everything from camping equipment to bike maintenance.
LivingSpace is a hotel and apartment chain, which is where Leuchs is presently residing
while in Dunedin.
New Zealand cyclist supporting Chicago’s green Games bid
Olympic mountain biker Kashi Leuchs leaves for Chicago this week as one of only a handful of international athletes invited to participate in Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“Chicago 2016” and the City of Chicago have proposed to host the first Blue-Green Games, the greenest and most environmentally responsible Games possible.
The two-day summit, held on September 10 and 11 and led by Chicago 2016’s environment team, will feature national and international leaders in sport, business, environment and sustainability. The summit will culminate in sustainability proclamations and other proceedings that will showcase new initiatives in Olympic and Paralympic sport and sustainability.
Leuchs was invited to participate as an athlete, but also because of his involvement with the 350.org movement. He is working to raise awareness of climate change among cyclists throughout the world.
“Cycling is a fantastic sport, a great way to keep healthy and a cheap and time efficient mode of transport. But perhaps most importantly it is a big part of the solution towards a long-term sustainable future.”
Leuchs will be responding to IDEO Design Consultancy chief technology strategist Doug Solomon in what organisers are regarding as one of the most exciting seminars: “Engaging New Audiences”.
“The seminar I’ve been invited to speak at focuses on how athletes and athletic organisations can engage sports fans in environmental activism. My work with the 350.org movement has given me a strong understanding and passion for promoting awareness and understanding of climate change
issues. Making people aware of the issues and getting them involved is one of the biggest hurdles.”
Kashi Leuchs has represented New Zealand in three Olympic Games and held a consistent place in the top 10 of the world’s elite riders for more than 10 years, during which time he lived in Sweden, USA and France. He now lives in Dunedin where he recently launched his own company, Adventure Media Group.
The Otago Peninsula Challenge
Top international mountain bike riders Marcus Roy, of Invercargill, and Kashi Leuchs, of
Dunedin, finished eighth and 10th respectively in the 2009 R&R Sport Otago Peninsula
Challenge.
To the relief of the 750 riders in the field, the morning’s threatening clouds gave way
to blue skies and a blustery southwesterly wind by the top of the first climb. This wind
meant the 43km point-to-point course was buffeted predominantly by a tailwind.
Christchurch rider Brendon Sharratt led the field out from the start and was the
eventual race winner with a time of 1:56.54 – beating the record by about 15 minutes.
The pursuing bunch included Roy and, at times Leuchs. Of that bunch Ash Hough, of
Papamoa, finished second with a time of 1:59.36 and John Richardson, of Dunedin,
rounded out the podium with a time of 1:59.38. Roy finished eighth with a time of
2:02.23, Leuchs crossed the line in 10th with a time of 2:07.14.
The Otago Peninsula Challenge is the second stop on Roy and Leuchs’ Team RoadCraft
New Zealand Tour and holds a special place for the team as it is the home event of
Leuchs.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect from this race. It’s my first fast, hard race back into it
after almost four months taking it pretty easy. The RoadCraft tour for me is more about
enjoying the adventures and seeing the best of New Zealand and I think we saw some of
the most amazing coastal landscapes you could imagine on this race,” Leuchs said.
“Obviously, growing up here I have a bit of an affinity to it, so it was a really nice feeling.
It was nice to ride from my apartment at Living Space straight to the startline,” Leuchs
said.
Leuchs joked that he was on the pace for “the first 300m”, but wasn’t ready to start so
fast.
“I lost contact with the leaders on the first climb, but then I caught them all at the
bottom of the downhill – we all bunched up and I thought, ‘yeah, I’m back in it!’ that was
short-lived – I got dropped on the next climb again,” Leuchs laughed.
“I did my best, I never let up, but at the same time, I enjoyed the race and looked
around a bit – what a day it turned out to be.”
For Roy, the race was about staying in the pursuing bunch, but the wind had other
ideas.
“The start was just so fast. We had a tailwind and everyone was just going for it straight
up the Karetai Track – the first big hill. It all settled in again on the descent of the Buskin
Track and the second climb everyone relaxed a bit,” Roy said.
“From that point I just had to stick with the chasing bunch on the hills and use the
bunch on the gravel road sections. The wind was so strong that I actually got blown off
the gravel at one stage and by the time I got back on the chasing group had gone. I lost a
bit of time there, but was just out of touch from that point on,” Roy said.
“It was a pretty tough course – a lot of up and down for 43km and 1500m of climbing,”
Roy said.
The next event on the Team RoadCraft calendar is the Brake Burner SuperD at Coronet
Peak, a chairlift-assisted six-hour downhill event on February 7. The team will then head
to the inaugural Alpine Epic 260km four-day stage race from Mt Somers to Tekapo from
February 25 to 28. The 50km Motatapu Icebreaker starting at Glendhu Bay, Wanaka on
March 14 and finishing in Arrowtown will conclude the tour.
Motatapu Icebreaker
International mountain bike professional Kashi Leuchs, of Dunedin, won the 2009
Motatapu Icebreaker, beating his Team RoadCraft teammate Marcus Roy, of Invercargill, to
the finish at Arrowtown after 50km of fast-paced racing on Saturday (March 14, 2009)
There were many factors that heightened the intensity of this showdown between
these two friends, teammates and determined competitors. Local media had jumped on
the match-up and press everywhere was putting the two head-to-head. On top of that
the two had recently spent four days riding no further than 20m from each other on the
Alpine Epic adventure race. By the end of that event they knew each other’s every move.
Adding to the colour, the Motatapu Icebreaker is Roy’s event – he has won the event on
the previous four occasions. For Leuchs, this would be his first attempt.
Neither rider expected the race’s start to be dictated by another rider altogether.
“Tony Hogg put the hammer down from the start and we had a young Dunedin rider,
Jeff Notman with us as well. He was the only other one to hang in there with us, but Tony
was just hammering off the front and Jeff and I fell off the pace around the same time. I
was struggling to breathe,” Leuchs said.
“At that point I thought Tony had it in the bag – he was riding so strong. I just decided
to ride my own pace and focused on my breathing and brought my whole system to a
calmer state.”
Leuchs’ calmer state also saw him improve his position and as he hit a short, steep
climb he passed Hogg.
“At that point I felt I was in control of the race,” Leuchs said.
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For course record-holder (1:57.47) Roy the start pace threw an unexpected surprise.
“I was really working just to hold on to Tony. I remember thinking, ‘this is going to be a
long day’,” Roy said.
“I tried to hang on to him, but in hindsight I should have just raced my own race.”
Roy regained composure and caught Tony, he then set off after Leuchs.
“I could see Kashi ahead of me, in the saddle, out of the saddle, in the saddle, out of the
saddle, just keeping the pressure on the whole time,” Roy said.
“Kashi was slowly edging out – I could see that he was continually edging further away.
At about that point, 5km from the start of the descent, I realised that I wasn’t going to get
back in touch with him.”
With Roy settled into second his thoughts turned to his record, which he had set in
2008.
“It wasn’t until the river crossings that I looked at my watch and saw that there was still
20 minutes to go to the 2-hour mark and I started to get a little worried that he might
knock my record off,” Roy said.
Leuchs wasn’t wearing a watch, but had the record in his mind.
“I knew I had the race in the bag and I thought about the record so kept gunning it, but
I think it must have been a quick time he set last year,” Leuchs said.
Leuchs crossed the finishline in 1:58.42, almost a minute over the course record. Roy
finished on 2:00.12.
“I knew it would be tough to beat Marcus – it was good to have a rider of his calibre in
this race to compete with – it keeps me on my toes. The fact that he’s also my teammate
makes it even more fun. We get on great and for us to finish off the season in this big
head-to-head battle is a great way to conclude what has been a very fun off-season for
me,” Leuchs said.
“I’m glad I was able to take Kashi under my wing and help him with his training in his
off-season,” Roy joked.
The Motatapu Icebreaker concludes the 2009 tour for Team RoadCraft.
Both riders expressed their gratitude to the other riders, the people they’ve met
through the season and those who have supported them during this tour.
Leuchs heads back to Europe, via the Cape Epic in South Africa, to begin his season of
international racing. Roy will base himself out of Invercargill to continue studying and to
meet his work commitments.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Team RoadCraft wins New Zealand’s toughest mountain bike adventure race: the Skins Alpine Epic
Two of New Zealand’s elite cross-country mountain bike riders, Marcus Roy, of Invercargill, and Kashi Leuchs, of Dunedin, won the inaugural Skins Alpine Epic with a commanding performance in what has become New Zealand’s toughest adventure mountain bike race.
Team RoadCraft finished 12 minutes 27 seconds ahead of their nearest rival, the Team Giant R&R Sport duo of Scott Wilder and Mark Williams. The final stage was won by Team Giant R&R Sport after a 74km-long battle with the riders of the third-placed Alpinexus team, Nic Smith and Neil Sutherland.
Sixty teams of two took on the challenge with riders from throughout New Zealand and international competitors from the UK, Czech Republic, Switzerland and America vying for the title.
“It feels great to win the inaugural event, but for me the highlight was the people who came along: the riders, the volunteers and the crew. We get to spend day after day with each other and get to know each other and it’s like a big family by the end,” three-time Olympian Leuchs said.
“I have a lot of new friends and have had an amazing experience from this event,” Leuchs added.
“I’ve never done team stage racing before,” Roy said.
“It’s quite a different dynamic and I wasn’t used to that. You couldn’t just sneak away from the other teams when you had a chance. You had to work as a team and it was a lot more obvious if you made a break. I found that challenge to be a lot of fun.” “Camping out and meeting lots of different people was also a highlight for me,” he said. With several high-country passes nearing 1500m in altitude the terrain was also a standout feature of this race, albeit mostly shrouded by alpine mist for all four days of the event.
“The isolation is the unique factor in this race. You had this feeling of remoteness with just a couple of sheep tracks as guidance and knowing full well that the only people to venture up here were the musterers and us,” Leuchs said.
“That, coupled with the misty, thick clouds made it quite spooky. You could race for an hour without seeing anyone and when you did see someone again you were pretty excited,” Leuchs said.
“The navigation side was exciting, too. We didn’t always know where to go next, so it was a challenge to make good decisions,” Roy said.
“We really wanted to win this race and we knew so many things could go wrong in a long race, so we didn’t want to risk anything. It’s a very tough race,” Leuchs said. You can’t bluff your way through a race like this – it’s four days and you have to be ready for each day,” Roy said.
“The riding was at times quite technical and tricky – it’s certainly not for beginners, but will appeal to those riders who want the ultimate challenge – just finishing it is a big accomplishiment,” Leuchs said.
Footnote:
The Skins Alpine Epic is located in South Canterbury in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It is a four-day, multi-stage sub-alpine traverse that crosses a dozen properties, high-country stations and conservation land. The course topped out at 1500m above sea level at it highest point in 2009. It is a fully catered event with breakfasts and dinners provided as part of the entry fee. The organisers are experienced adventure racers and mountain bike riders and have pitched this event to the tougher end of the market and make no apology about the difficulty of the course.
In 2009, several riders failed to complete the entire course. Course markers worked around the clock to re-route several stages that were deemed impassable because of visibility, rain or a combination thereof.
The 2009 event was capped at 60 teams. Organisers aim to include up to 100 in 2010. For more information please visit www.alpineepic.co.nz
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