Muddymoles

Two bikes to watch for 2009

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:37:30 +0000

Up until last year I had been a bit sceptical of the whole long travel, All Mountain phenomenom. At the time, riding a 2003 Marin Rift Zone I couldn't really see how you could build a bike that could cope with the extra travel (the Rift Zone was literally my flexible friend) without incurring a significant weight penalty.

Pitch (Hill) Perfect

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:04:09 +0000

Summer's here!

And with all these long, warm evenings we've been making a semi-regular pilgrimage over to Pitch Hill, starting from the Peaslake Stores, heading off for some great evening rides and finishing off at the Hurtwood Inn for a sweet pint.

Bikely - bike routes on the web

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:04:20 +0000

I came across bikely.com the other day, a website that aims to shares bike routes mapped by other people.

As yet, it's untried in as much that we haven't actually given it a go but it does seem to be quite promising, the routes being shown as an overlay on Google Maps and allowing you to download them to your GPS in .GPX format.

Kyle Strait 661 knee pads review

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:35:27 +0000

Just before our trip to Afan I started thinking that perhaps the time had come to consider some protective clothing. Picking up the odd scrape here and there made me realise how glad I had been at not injuring myself more painfully and the thought of spending any extended time off the bike spurred me to action.

KCNC Jockey wheels

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:28:34 +0000

Anyone following my sorry drivetrain replacement saga of the past week knows that it was all really with one aim in mind. To find an excuse to fit some blingle blingle anodised red KCNC jockey wheels to my SRAM X0 derailleur.

RaceFace Deus XC Chainset follow up

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:01:46 +0000

Following my disaster at finding my RaceFace bottom bracket shell welded firmly onto the hollow axle of my RaceFace Deus XC cranks I took my bag of bits along to Cycleworks in Leatherhead in the full expectation of needing to go shopping in the not too distant future.

RaceFace Deus XC Chainset failure

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:59:33 +0000

UPDATE: In the interests of fairness, I've taken this problem to Cycleworks in Leatherhead, who appear so far to have solved it. Still doesn't show RaceFace bottom brackets in a good light though...

Find out more in my RaceFace Deus XC Chainset follow up.

Perhaps the title of this is a bit disingenuous since it's more a bottom bracket issue but I'm calling it this because of the significant collateral damage. As I've documented recently, my Orange Five has become overdue for a heart/lung transplant in the shape of some drivetrain love. Disastrously as it turns out it appears the Orange is more of a love slut than I ever imagined.

And another casualty

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:32:40 +0000

Well make that two:

me
the bike

The curse of Barry Knows Best cast its shadow over me on Sunday, making me the latest Muddymoler to suffer.

dialled bikes Prince Albert - Are You Dialled?

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:41:51 +0000

(More Prince Albert photos can be found on Flickr.)

As a relative newbie to this all-consuming sport, I soon found myself thinking after a few months of owning my Giant XTC that it would be fun to upgrade. So, first the forks and then some months later came Mavic 321 wheels and Formula Oro brakes.

There was some science behind the upgrading – I knew in my heart a new bike would be not too far round the corner and the parts would be transferred over. If only my national lottery number selection was as predictable.

More pictures from Afan

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:59:50 +0000

Afan has exerted a powerful pull since our visit last month. Quite apart from the great riding, good company and (in Mark's case) a new pair of gloves we've managed to capture a good few pictures of the weekend (on Flickr).

Here's some more of my favourites. First, my shot of Colin on the bermy play area at the top of the Whites Level climb.

Father & son

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:57:54 +0000

We've just returned from our first Center Parcs experience, at the Lac d'Ailette in France. Anyone who's ever wondered at what they're going to do to entertain their kids for a weeks' holiday has probably been sucked into the Center Parcs vortex, which mixes Ikea-on-steroids housing with plenty of kid friendly activities, and a supply of adult only booze.

One casualty

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:05:50 +0000

So it seems we didn't entirely escape collateral damage on our recent visit to Afan. My Orange Five succumbed to the First Law of Mountain Biking. After covering 1100 miles in the past year it became apparant during the course of the weekend (OK, more apparant) that key parts of the drivetrain had thrown in the towel.

Videos of Afan MTB trails

Mon, 26 May 2008 00:14:37 +0000

Rounding off our series of posts (at least for the time being) about our recent trip to Afan Forest Park in South Wales, here's a link to some of the video Dave shot with his helmet cam last week.

Afan MTB photos

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:24:08 +0000

Regulars I'm sure will by now have noticed the huge amount of photos we managed to squeeze onto Flickr of our recent MTB trip to Afan and Glyncorrwg in South Wales.

4 trails, 2 falls and tired, tired legs

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:38:26 +0000

When the idea of going to Afan this year was first mentioned, I thought “OK, that sounds like a laugh”. It was when Dave C emailed us a copy of the trail map that I realised I had probably just agreed to some of the most strenuous cycling I was ever likely to do.