The latest version of XXCmag is out with my story on the Kiwi Brevet. There are masses of other really awesome adventureous styled MTB events in it as well. $2.25 to download it.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Lowry Bay Ridge Track
OK, I know this video is very lame, but I was justing trying to see how it would look in HDI, I dont think my broad-band is fat enough to play it though.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Just chillin
Sometimes I just like to chill out on the couch.. in me nappies, watch a bit of C4. Someone else can fold the washing.Sunday, April 11, 2010
Singular Gryphon Review
A
s I geared up for the inaugral Kiwi Brevet I became aw
are of a different kind of a bike out there. A bike that would eat up big miles in comfort, and roll on 700/29er wheels. They were made of steel or ti, usually had bottle and frame mounts all over th
em, and used road styled drop handlebars with funky names like the "woodchipper" or the "junebug". These bars were designed for comfort, and wrangling a loaded bike over rough terrain. The bike with the biggest reputation in this market is the Salsa Fargo, but an English company is starting to make a name for itself with its new range.
The Singular Gryphon is one of their bikes, and it fits in somewhere between the "monster-cross" genre and the "tourer". A kind of a do-everything bike. Its a bike made specifically for use with a rigid front fork and drop bars. Front suspension is not an option.
My buddy Matt took delivery of a Gryphon frame and only had a couple of months to bed it in before the Kiwi Brevet, so a few long rides were in order to test it in its intended environment. With the addition of a Freeload bike rack and a front handlebar mounted bag it was set to go. The corrosion treated steel frame comes with a Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket so its easy to build up as a single speed if desired. Mike Anderson at the Bike Hutt was responsible for putting it together and most of the subsequent tweaking. Putting drop bars on triple chain-ringed bikes comes with its own set of challenges which are usually solved by using bar end shifters, like you would find on a time trial bike, or cycle tourer. Matt used one for the front derailleur with an Ultegra 9-speed shifter for the XT rear derailleur. Avid's BB7 road-bike-lever compatible disc brakes were used to give the bike serious braking power the likes of which is missing on a traditional "cross" bike.
The very styley but functional Middleburn crankset has 44-34-22 ratios up front. and 11-34 on the back. Tristan from Wheelworks built up a set of wheels that leaned on the robust side for the Brevet and Mike converted them to tubeless. For Brevet use he ran the Contintental Cyclocross tyres in 42mm format, and they rolled beautifully. Several Matagouri induced punctures were had during the Brevet but after a few stops for re-pumping they resealed.
Currently the Gryphon is sporting 2.4 inch wide Conti Mountain Kings which were fitted in preparation for a date with the Karapoti Classic that never came about.
Last weekend we rolled up Summit road and down into the Wainuiomata Trail Park to put the Gryhpon through its paces. After trying to get used to the fact that Matt ran his brakes backwards, I was pleasantly surprised. This was only my 2nd ever ride on a 29er and it was a lot of fun. On the smooth Wainui trails, the lack of front suspension was not really an issue. The bars were very comfortable and I chose to ride on the top of the brake hoods where there was good access to the brakes. This is a no-no as these bars are supposed to be set up to ride with your hands on the flared part of the drops. Unfortunately the bike was still using the set-up used in the Kiwi Brevet.
M
aybe it was a combination of the big wagon wheels and the drop bar not quite offering enough leverage given the bar position I was using but a couple of times I nearly smacked into trees as I had not quite nailed the amount of understeer I was experiencing. Remembering of course that this is not the kind of terrain that a bike with kind of bar was designed for, it still held up incredibly well all the same. From memory the Salsa Woodchipper bar on the Gryphon was 650 mm wide, way wider than my XC rig.
Despite the fat tyres and heavier steel frame, it still climbed very well and felt way more relaxed than my twitchier race bike. There was ample frame clearance for the 2.4 tyres but anything wider might be marginal, depending on the make and model. Running the tyres at 30 psi no doubt helped with smoothing out the ride, as would the steel chassis.
Matt showed how lethal the Gryphon was when despite being a relative off-road novice he could hold my wheel on all but the roughest descents. I am not sure a Fargo would be as spry in this environment with its substantially longer rear stays. The only area in which I felt really disadvantaged over my Santa Cruz race bike was in the very tight hair-pin corners, when descending and climbing.
There were no problems with the Gryphon during the 1100km Kiwi Brevet (Matts story here) where every conceivable type of terrain was experienced. It would be hard to get a more punishing test in such a short period of time. Overall a very enjoyable bike that just asks to be ridden all day. The longer the better.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
PS. More fotos and technical info to follow.
s I geared up for the inaugral Kiwi Brevet I became aw
are of a different kind of a bike out there. A bike that would eat up big miles in comfort, and roll on 700/29er wheels. They were made of steel or ti, usually had bottle and frame mounts all over th
em, and used road styled drop handlebars with funky names like the "woodchipper" or the "junebug". These bars were designed for comfort, and wrangling a loaded bike over rough terrain. The bike with the biggest reputation in this market is the Salsa Fargo, but an English company is starting to make a name for itself with its new range.
The Singular Gryphon is one of their bikes, and it fits in somewhere between the "monster-cross" genre and the "tourer". A kind of a do-everything bike. Its a bike made specifically for use with a rigid front fork and drop bars. Front suspension is not an option.My buddy Matt took delivery of a Gryphon frame and only had a couple of months to bed it in before the Kiwi Brevet, so a few long rides were in order to test it in its intended environment. With the addition of a Freeload bike rack and a front handlebar mounted bag it was set to go. The corrosion treated steel frame comes with a Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket so its easy to build up as a single speed if desired. Mike Anderson at the Bike Hutt was responsible for putting it together and most of the subsequent tweaking. Putting drop bars on triple chain-ringed bikes comes with its own set of challenges which are usually solved by using bar end shifters, like you would find on a time trial bike, or cycle tourer. Matt used one for the front derailleur with an Ultegra 9-speed shifter for the XT rear derailleur. Avid's BB7 road-bike-lever compatible disc brakes were used to give the bike serious braking power the likes of which is missing on a traditional "cross" bike.
The very styley but functional Middleburn crankset has 44-34-22 ratios up front. and 11-34 on the back. Tristan from Wheelworks built up a set of wheels that leaned on the robust side for the Brevet and Mike converted them to tubeless. For Brevet use he ran the Contintental Cyclocross tyres in 42mm format, and they rolled beautifully. Several Matagouri induced punctures were had during the Brevet but after a few stops for re-pumping they resealed.Currently the Gryphon is sporting 2.4 inch wide Conti Mountain Kings which were fitted in preparation for a date with the Karapoti Classic that never came about.
Last weekend we rolled up Summit road and down into the Wainuiomata Trail Park to put the Gryhpon through its paces. After trying to get used to the fact that Matt ran his brakes backwards, I was pleasantly surprised. This was only my 2nd ever ride on a 29er and it was a lot of fun. On the smooth Wainui trails, the lack of front suspension was not really an issue. The bars were very comfortable and I chose to ride on the top of the brake hoods where there was good access to the brakes. This is a no-no as these bars are supposed to be set up to ride with your hands on the flared part of the drops. Unfortunately the bike was still using the set-up used in the Kiwi Brevet.M
aybe it was a combination of the big wagon wheels and the drop bar not quite offering enough leverage given the bar position I was using but a couple of times I nearly smacked into trees as I had not quite nailed the amount of understeer I was experiencing. Remembering of course that this is not the kind of terrain that a bike with kind of bar was designed for, it still held up incredibly well all the same. From memory the Salsa Woodchipper bar on the Gryphon was 650 mm wide, way wider than my XC rig.Despite the fat tyres and heavier steel frame, it still climbed very well and felt way more relaxed than my twitchier race bike. There was ample frame clearance for the 2.4 tyres but anything wider might be marginal, depending on the make and model. Running the tyres at 30 psi no doubt helped with smoothing out the ride, as would the steel chassis.
Matt showed how lethal the Gryphon was when despite being a relative off-road novice he could hold my wheel on all but the roughest descents. I am not sure a Fargo would be as spry in this environment with its substantially longer rear stays. The only area in which I felt really disadvantaged over my Santa Cruz race bike was in the very tight hair-pin corners, when descending and climbing.
There were no problems with the Gryphon during the 1100km Kiwi Brevet (Matts story here) where every conceivable type of terrain was experienced. It would be hard to get a more punishing test in such a short period of time. Overall a very enjoyable bike that just asks to be ridden all day. The longer the better.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
PS. More fotos and technical info to follow.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
I remember when....
I set off on a ride today in the Wainu Trail park. I threw in my phone in case I was needed. I thought I would take my radio too in case there were some cool tunes on Active, as there were the last ride I did (check out Sola Rosa and Bajka on Youtube). A camera would be good also as I was going to take some pix of Mr Cleetus's Gryphon Singular. Video would help too, as some of those new trails are pretty cool, especially the Snail Trail. I thought I might also blog about it while I was out there, so I thought I would take the Computer too......
Bugger. My bag was getting heavy.
Luckily I had my (product placement ;) Sony Ericsson W508 !
Scary what you can pack into one little piece of plastic. This little baby allowed me to Blog, Tweet, Email, and Facebook my way around the South Island during the Kiwi Brevet (where ever there was XT network coverage). It also has very clever (and gimmicky) mp3 and video player, with an excellent radio as well. Plus all the usual cell phone gimmicks. Its no wonder they are number one on the wish-list of your average school kid. The battery life is also very good, as long as you have local networks nearby.
Bugger. My bag was getting heavy.
Luckily I had my (product placement ;) Sony Ericsson W508 !
Scary what you can pack into one little piece of plastic. This little baby allowed me to Blog, Tweet, Email, and Facebook my way around the South Island during the Kiwi Brevet (where ever there was XT network coverage). It also has very clever (and gimmicky) mp3 and video player, with an excellent radio as well. Plus all the usual cell phone gimmicks. Its no wonder they are number one on the wish-list of your average school kid. The battery life is also very good, as long as you have local networks nearby.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Makara Peak Grand Loop Challenge
I was very pleased to hear that the Ginger Ninja himself, Big Al, was organising the Bush-love-Racing Makara TT Grand-Loop-Challenge. MTBing and TTing are my two favourite things I reckon, as far as biking goes. Mostly because they don't involve wheel-sucking or sprinting.
I quickly looked up section 1.3.001 in the UCI handbook as it pertains to Time Trialling and found that so long as my wheels were the same size, then 26 inches was cool, no room for 69er or 96er bikes tho... I cursed the fact that I had removed my aero bars after the Kiwi Brevet but wasn't prepared to put them back on. My Louis Garneau Helmet and Skin-suit would have to suffice.
The Godfather himself, Marco Renalli started two places in front of me, so my plan was to try to catch him and prove that aero beats weight, an argument often held amongst roadie weeners with too much credit on their cards. Marco's new Cannondale Flash is a genuine 17 pound bike, while my Santa Cruz Superlight is 23.5. I needed to rely on the increase in wind velocity at Makara Peak to make our differing CDa's useful (Coefficient of Drag).
Al assured me that you'd have to be pretty stupid to get lost on this course, so I set out to prove him right. The 2nd fork in the track I went right... DOH! A wrong way sign... Back on track. Another fork in the track ... DOH. Short-cut, not allowed to go that way.... I was good for a while, and secretly hoping that someone would catch me so that at least I knew if I was going the right way. Eventually that person came along... Brevet buddy Mike Thomson, on his rigid, v-braked single-speed. Cool, I would tuck in behind him.... No chance... By the next unmarked corner I had lost him... and took a left, instead of going straight ahead. DOH. Back-track again. I remember doing this once in a race there so took a punt on it being the right way.
The trail up ahead must have steepened because I was starting to catch Mike, and Marco was just ahead, and seemed to have caught Ricky who was doing his "stuck in the big ring" imitation by the look of his cadence. With my suspension set on sticky (as it was the whole ride) I just tractored up the rocky intro to the Ridgeline and carefully bombed down the other side. Marco had already got off and started walking when I caught him, and I think Mike had a momentary spill which put me back in front of him again on the rough stuff.
I came around a corner to find Ricky sprawled face down in the grass looking rather still. His Bush-love Buddy Davo was there with his camera documenting the event which was great. I quickly inquired if everything was alright and carried on.
As we got onto the smooth stuff again Mike was in his element and I let him past and immediately lost him again, until I caught him..... crashed on a corner. It seems there were a few crashes in the last few kms. He remounted and stayed in front.
What a fun event. I think there was around 40 entries in the end. Thanks Al and the Bushlovers and the easter egg sponsors!
Thanks to Davo for the picture which I stole without his permission.
Results here.
I quickly looked up section 1.3.001 in the UCI handbook as it pertains to Time Trialling and found that so long as my wheels were the same size, then 26 inches was cool, no room for 69er or 96er bikes tho... I cursed the fact that I had removed my aero bars after the Kiwi Brevet but wasn't prepared to put them back on. My Louis Garneau Helmet and Skin-suit would have to suffice.
The Godfather himself, Marco Renalli started two places in front of me, so my plan was to try to catch him and prove that aero beats weight, an argument often held amongst roadie weeners with too much credit on their cards. Marco's new Cannondale Flash is a genuine 17 pound bike, while my Santa Cruz Superlight is 23.5. I needed to rely on the increase in wind velocity at Makara Peak to make our differing CDa's useful (Coefficient of Drag).
Al assured me that you'd have to be pretty stupid to get lost on this course, so I set out to prove him right. The 2nd fork in the track I went right... DOH! A wrong way sign... Back on track. Another fork in the track ... DOH. Short-cut, not allowed to go that way.... I was good for a while, and secretly hoping that someone would catch me so that at least I knew if I was going the right way. Eventually that person came along... Brevet buddy Mike Thomson, on his rigid, v-braked single-speed. Cool, I would tuck in behind him.... No chance... By the next unmarked corner I had lost him... and took a left, instead of going straight ahead. DOH. Back-track again. I remember doing this once in a race there so took a punt on it being the right way.
The trail up ahead must have steepened because I was starting to catch Mike, and Marco was just ahead, and seemed to have caught Ricky who was doing his "stuck in the big ring" imitation by the look of his cadence. With my suspension set on sticky (as it was the whole ride) I just tractored up the rocky intro to the Ridgeline and carefully bombed down the other side. Marco had already got off and started walking when I caught him, and I think Mike had a momentary spill which put me back in front of him again on the rough stuff.I came around a corner to find Ricky sprawled face down in the grass looking rather still. His Bush-love Buddy Davo was there with his camera documenting the event which was great. I quickly inquired if everything was alright and carried on.
As we got onto the smooth stuff again Mike was in his element and I let him past and immediately lost him again, until I caught him..... crashed on a corner. It seems there were a few crashes in the last few kms. He remounted and stayed in front.
What a fun event. I think there was around 40 entries in the end. Thanks Al and the Bushlovers and the easter egg sponsors!
Thanks to Davo for the picture which I stole without his permission.
Results here.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Grape Ride 2010
Another year, another expedition to the Graperide. 8 of us headed south in Greg's van and booked into the Voodoo lounge at my parents place.
As usual the casual and friendly atmosphere that you get on the Bluebridge Ferry outweighed the only negative, the smell of livestock being transported somewhere to be turned into burgers I guess. Probably good to remind us where burgers come from.Mum was there to greet us with some fresh road kill, which we took home to feed a convalescing hawk they were rehabilitating.
The next day a very early start had us there on the start line with almost an hour to go, just to try and get away in the first wave. It was a close thing. Gav and I held Neil's bike for 40 minutes while he queued for the toilet. In true Koru Club fashion he turned up just as the hooter sounded!The pace was fast from the gun as we rode the crazy winding course out of the Vineyard. People were rubber-banding all over the show with big gaps popping up between all the of the riders as they tried to navigate the corners at speed.
It was my turn to pop on the 1st hill just out of Picton. Not enough riding in the last month saw me not able to hold a wheel so I sat up after a while and regrouped with some guys who knew how to form a paceline (mostly). Conditions were great, warm and a little overcast with a southerly.
14 year old Nicole who hadn't ridden her bike since January snuck home in under 6 hours, while Greg's tandem stoker Ryan (aged 8) had the glory of being the youngest ever rider to finish the Graperide!The rest of the guys, Dave and Neil had gone slower than the previous year, not surprising given their lack of training, but Gav got a PB !!! We felt bad leaving the site after only about 3 hours, as Nicole had not quite finished, but the MC had a voice that just drilled right into your brain, we had to go. Unfortunately for the trip back to the house, the wind had swung right around and it was a stiff northerly. Poor Dave was blown-as broo. I went back in the truck and picked him up to save him from cycling the last 400 metres.
Kathleen ordered up at least 11 pizzas and lashings of liquid amber. We had a good crowd of extra family members from the south island by the time we had finished.Dave often enjoys the sleeping component of these trips the most, and because Neil's camera came without batteries I was forced to document these naps with my cell phone, and the various props that just seemed to be lying around in the Voodoo lounge came in handy. Kathleen was playing camp mother to Ryan and berating him for drinking sugary beverages so late into the night. He still nodded off first and even slept for the entire ferry ride home the next day!
On the sunday we did the usual tour of the local produce markets and were all primed up for our ferry trip home with stinky cheese, licorice, good wines and paper cups stolen from the terminal. Mission accomplished : )Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Summit Road lunch time jaunt
Summit road at lunchtime today. Imagine if I lived in Western Australia.
1. Summit road would be called The Summit Road Mountain Ranges.
2. It would be too hot to ride up at lunch-time.
3. There would be busloads of Tourists looking at the Wild Flowers (Gorse).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41957928@N00/
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Imagine having to drive to the trails?
Imagine having to drive to the trails, that must suck. I snuck up to the Wainui trail park this morning on the way to work and did Labyrinth, the Spoon Hill track with the new piece of track, and the Bee-lines extension which is a very cool piece of fun flowing track. Spoonhill is so much fun in the dry.
