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Don't know if you use these or if you need any. I know when Abigale was racing we were always on the lookout for discounted gear.
Still are to some extent
https://www.merlincycles.com/sram-x01-dh-type-2-rear-derailleur-10-speed-325297.html
We go with SRAM GX 7 speed, the Session is only 7 (based on 11sp setup)
We could use one of the above and limiter screws etc, but the GX is simple and reasonable money.
The one on there was the original X01. If we were ever selling this I'd put back to X01, but once he's done with it, this becomes mine or a wall ornament, so more than happy with GX.
Thanks for the thought
Looking at that Gammux I really hope they have a generous bearing sponsor. Jeepers, how many sets 🙂
Time to start getting organised for Europe in summer. The plan is still a little loose as the European Championships still isn't announced for location or date, but it's possible we'll be spending 3 weeks over in Europe, how much of that is in accomodation and how much sleeping in the van is open to debate/finances lol.
First booking is the UCI Continental race at Les Menuires on the 24th Aug, we're planning on getting there a few days before potentially to scope it out and maybe pre-ride the track. THE UCI races give the chance (maybe not a massive chance) or scoring UCI points, this could/may ultimately decide a few things for 2026 and beyond.
I think the accomodation is smaller than our garage lol. But it's got a bathroom to clean ourselves, a stove type thing for some food and sort of beds.. that'll do nicely.
The reality is pretty stark on that front in several ways. This year for that to happen he needs to be regularly top 10 in Nationals and the field is so so stacked with talent. First year in any 2 year class is always really tough. But obviously year 1 rolls into year 2 in terms of what teams or even BC are looking at in relation for year 2.
He started strong with a win, but as we know he should have won that one anyway as it was a regional and a weak field. I'm not taking anything away from or the others, but being pragmatic here.
As always there's so many things I can't get into in public but this year could have been very different for us if a couple of mails had worked out slightly differently, the ups and downs of emails are tougher than racing sometimes lol. But we're in a good position at the moment and a good place, there's lots going on with the coach and lots to work on with him for speed.
I'd say Worlds is a good target/goal for 26 yeah, but getting that is going to be bloody tough, but maybe not completely unrealistic.
We'll both keep doing what we do, him going fast and me making the rest happen.
The day was spent at Tirpentwys yesterday with 13 laps done for the boy and his mates. It's a place he knows well and a great little self uplift spot with maximum time and fun. The 2 mates haven't been there before and struggled to get up to speed, which did show us a lot about how important it is to get track knowledge at places we don't know as well as some.
The boy was trying some other tracks than his usual ones as well which were steep ones and commented how superb the Mavens are on them as a lot of the time on tracks he's not really braking much, sometimes just a drag, but there on steeper stuff and needing to scrub off speed hard, they're apparently amazing (which pleases me lots of course)
He was doing this little gap at the bottom, which looks honestly pathetic in the video but it's so so much trickier in real life as where you land is on the back of a 3' drop and you've got a tonne of speed into the wall corner, but as i say, the video doesn't really show it sadly.
https://youtube.com/shorts/L6bKDPdcVCQ?si=daBQw_-b3vTNjaZR
Llangollen today.
Been a crazy few days with Cwmcarn twice, Dyfi, Llangollen and if weather allows we'll be at Llangollen again tomorrow.
Thank you. Getting there mate, getting there. It's 8pm and we're in hotel room, I've just been swapping frame pivot bearings and we're both ready for bed. But we'll keep going, keep working and pushing.
Half term, jeeez that's hard work.
Sunday was Cwmcarn, Wed was again Cwmcarn, this is the location for the first National DH and a course very few will have ridden or visited, so we're heading there a bit to get in some time and learn the track. The bottom section is closed but it's jump jump fast jump, they all do that brilliantly so doesn't matter with it being closed. It's a bit pedally at the top and some 'maybe' gaps that he's been practicing and some gaps in the steeper section before the tunnel. Didn't really get to play with anyone other than his mate Isaac who we've ridden with a lot so don't always get to see the others we could practice with. A lad we know from the Sterlands team was there on Weds but the boy didn't get to the top at the same time. He was using the Mondraker all morning and then in the afternoon i used the Orbea to tow him to the top on his Session so he could get some fast laps in. Considering he thought he was flying in the morning, he went 5s quicker in the afternoon on the DH.
From there it was up to Dyfi for Thurs, beers in the evening were great but can't say it was the best nights sleep ever lol.
Dyfi was typically Welsh in terms of weather. Trails slightly wet, but OK for an hour, then it walloped down for the next 2-3 hours.
I spent that time fixing the cafe chefs brakes and sorting a guy with a Session out with a mino link and bolt he'd lost on the trail, luckily i carry spares of most Session bolts.
The boy wasn't exactly loving it, i'd been out for a run up/down Climachx trail and it was just a river of water everywhere lol. At 1pm he came down for food and bailed on the day. I was struggling to argue.
So we headed towards Wrexham Premier Inn for the night, but near there we passed a sign for Llangollen of 11 miles and it was dry(well, dry for Wales), so we went to Llangollen for a few hours and 6 runs there. The track have some proper steep bits and it's a good fast techy track (sadly you don't see this on GoPro).
This morning we got up for a lazy breakfast at 7.45 and cruised over to Llangollen for the day. unfortunately it was a complete no-no as it was 50mph wind stopping play, we walked over at the top for a look at the trail and were nearly blown over the side of the hill, so sadly we called it a day and jumped back in the van and home.
The afternoon will be spent with a washer, a washing machine, a pile of cleaning cloths and cleaning/lube stuff. We've got a tonne of stuff that needs cleaning and sorting as potentially we're heading to Cwmcarn on Sunday with the coach 😀
Well that's complicated lol
European champs is 1-3 Aug at La Molina, northern Spain near Andorra.
Considering the UCI race is 23-24 Aug that makes life slightly tricky lol
I suspect we'll be driving down, then back for 2 weeks, then down again lol.
You need a fuel sponsor the way you get about. Probably worth moe than anything else 🙂
You need a fuel sponsor the way you get about. Probably worth moe than anything else 🙂
You're not wrong on that one matey. It's a massive massive expense of ours, as well as the van mileage etc. But I don't know of any way to get one of those.
We're incredibly lucky with the help we do get and it has saved us thousands upon thousands of pounds. So we're more than happy with that. But a fairy godmother with a magic wand would go down well for sure.
The longer this goes on, the less Mrs Weeksy understands it in some ways, but there's a long term plan and goal and if the day comes that doesn't happen, then so be it. But for now, it seems vaguely viable so we just keep going.
7am, sun still coming up, we've been on the road since 5 to miss the incoming rain.
We're currently in a massive dilemma with European stuff.
If we go to the Euro Champs there's a 3 week gap from the 4th to 23rd Aug for the UCI/Conti race. That's a bit on the long side to be staying down in France really, both in terms of expense and also work-time. I'd need to WFH for some of it for sure otherwise i'd be getting sacked lol.
I thought it was all going to be really easy at the UCI/Conti race gives UCI points. Which made the decision really simple. However it transpires that the Euro Champs also gives the same UCI points. (Not that i'm convinced he'll score points in EITHER, but maybe... maybe).
There's a tonne of complexity with who's going to Morzine in regards to his mates and riding buddies. There's also a likely trip to Italy for an IXS race which is not far from Como as well as all the UK racing going on.
As a parent i want to give the boy every chance possible and do everything, but you've got to be realistic sometimes i think.
Can you WFH on the road? Just conscious that the fuel, tolls and another ferry crossing will offset a big chunk of the cost of staying out there. I guess that depends on your employer and how good a data connection you can get
Can you WFH on the road? Just conscious that the fuel, tolls and another ferry crossing will offset a big chunk of the cost of staying out there. I guess that depends on your employer and how good a data connection you can get
The answer is yes and that seems to be potentially the plan. If we go down to Spain then as you say the Train and Fuel/Tolls will come to more expense than staying down in Spain/France until the UCI race.
We're still working on the logistics for it, but i think as a plan it works OK. The time we spend in Morzine in the middle i'll mostly work for and a couple of days leading up to the race at Les Menuires i'll work for them too as he won't be able to ride the track as it'll be closed.
It's a pretty convoluted plan i'll admit, but it should be a hell of an adventure. It may mean a few nights kipping in the front of the Transit though lol.
It seems i've sold a kidney and probably a lung, maybe a few other working body parts
Well, it seems we're driving to Spain for the Euro Champs for 5 days, then Les Menuires to practice for 4 days, then Morzine for family stuff for 12 days, then Les Menuires for UCI race for a week. Leaving 30th July, going back 26th Aug
https://www.ixsdownhillcup.com/en/race/ixs-edc-2-fort-william
Entry is in for the IXS race at Fort William. Obviously a place we know pretty well and we'll be there for the National DH as well as the National Champs this year.
Winning an IXS gets you a World Cup wildcard... but lets be honest, that's not the realistic goal 😀
Top 5 then?
The Carrefour supermarket in Puigcerda is highly recommended for all your cured meat needs amongst other things.
Lol juniors has the cream of the crop in talent. There's 5+ guys every season who go into Elites and do well, the Alran boys being the latest, but he's facing George Madley, Billy Pugh, Tom Westgate and Sam Hatfield, just a few of the Brit boys who are WC racers from last year, not to mention all the Euro lads too and then of course the 10 who beat him in Nationals most of last year.
The targets for 2025 are certainly not top 5. I may have dreams of that, but I don't honestly see it.
The crazy lad has thrown in "can we do Pal Arinsal Andorra on the way through" which in truth isn't as daft an idea as you'd first think.
First thing we'll need in Les Menuires is a launderette as the place doesn't have a washing machine 😆😆😆
At the Euro Champs we're in the van for 4 nights. Living the dream, so they tell me.
Hey @weeksy, I live about halfway between Andorra and Perpignan. You're welcome to swing by here on your way past. I can offer wifi, bike workshop, washing machine and decent coffee at the very least. Depending on the dates, I might have a spare room/sofabed. Drop me a line - chipps@ you know the address 🙂
Hi Chipps, that's massively kind of you fella, but Andorra is literally a one evening stop. We're in La Molina for 4 nights at the Euro Champs and then the next morning driving to Pal Arinsal so he can ride the WC track and in the late afternoon heading over to Meze as it's on the way to Les Menuires. That section of the adventure doesn't sadly leave us a lot of scope for visits etc i'm afraid.
It looks like Google takes us more over and up to Narbonne in terms of getting to Meze. But if Meze is any use to you, then we'd happily take you out to dinner, that'll be the 4th Aug evening. Obviously if you're able to get to La Molina we'll have a cold beer waiting during the course of the Euro Champs 🙂
But i really really appreciate the offer/thought.
I've got friends staying over that weekend, so probably won't get away. That then takes us straight into the village music festival week, followed by the Canigou (bonkers) mountain race the following weekend, which other friends are coming out to do, so I'm kind of stuck in paradise that week. Well, to be honest, I can't really go anywhere in July and August as I'm busy running gites, cleaning bathrooms and ironing pillowcases... But if you're route takes you down the valley road, we're only five minutes off it. 🙂
Well the weekend was interesting as always. We hit BPW and the boy was out with Hattie Harnden again as well as a few fast juniors. He was the quickest but that was to be expected and he seemed to have a lot of fun. Part of the plan was to hit Boomslang (new track) for a lot of it, but he ended up doing what they all wanted and hit pretty much all the black trails instead but did hit Boomslang before the end.
The day went excellently apart from a slight bit of play in the back end (AGAIN !!!) which i diagnosed as a lower pivot bearing but possibly a top shock bushing... However it ended up being both !!! lol. I fitted our spare shock to test which removed the top bushing play, but highlighted there was still a pivot bearing on the lower pivot that needed sorting. Arse. Neither are particularly tricky or time consuming so about 45 mins all in and we're golden.
But he's really loving the Session still and despite a long long chat with Hattie yesterday about belt drive bikes, i see us still on the Session for 2025.
This is the part where it all goes very wrong though as due to work reasons i can't do both events in France/Spain as there's too long away and WFH in a different country isn't allowed... Bit of a bummer for him, but we'll sit and chat later today and see which event out of the 2 is his preference and how we do things from there... I'm pretty gutted about it, but i can't change it so we have to accept it and move on.
Any chance he can tag along with anyone else that's going out to race. Not ideal but at least he will be out there to compete.
It's not impossible for the Euro Champs as his mate is racing who's taking him to IXS Italy. But I don't want to impose on them.
Answer is, maybe.
Minor issue at the weekend. Another broken chainguide.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377322343_f4ebee767e_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377322343_f4ebee767e_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qR8Zsp ]IMG_20250309_144236[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
From looking at it, it seems to me (and my mechanic) that it's worn through over time. I spoke to the bloke i bought them from and he's not had a single issue (i believe him too).
So it's a bit of thinking about how/why.
Looking at the mech in terms of chain length/tension we're thinking that it's got a couple of links too many in the chain, which is causing some slap/flap at the top end.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377085746_323eb02cfe_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377085746_323eb02cfe_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qR7M89 ]IMG_20250310_081558[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
So we've removed one of the links and when frame is at max compression this is where we're sitting.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377291114_3822910626_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54377291114_3822910626_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qR8QaY ]IMG_20250310_085620[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Which looks like it's arguably still too many links by the time we wind out the B screw to get the mech to sit about right.
I'm going to drop into Rotec with it later this week so we can give it a full check, but i think it's 1 more link out to get it right. Weirdly though the chain is (i think) the same length as it came from the factory as every time i've swapped it i've done like-for-like in terms of length.. Although i may be mistaken and maybe somewhere along the lines i've fitted one that's too long.
Went to Rotec and we talked through it and a bit of discussion. We ended up removing a 3rd full link so that's about 4" of chain we've taken now.
The mech sits a lot nicer now and the changes are crisper too. Hopefully that'll be about right 🙂
Forks are coming out tonight as they're off to TFTuned for servicing tomorrow.
I doubt it gets cut to length from the factory - easier and cheaper to just throw it on at the length it comes in at. You could see it as a few bonus links free.
I doubt it gets cut to length from the factory - easier and cheaper to just throw it on at the length it comes in at. You could see it as a few bonus links free.
Well this isn't the first chain, i think it's chain 3-4, but when we had issues at FoD we had 2-3 different chains on even in that day just to try and resolve the issue, so it's possible i ended up fitting too long a chain, maybe... i'm usually pretty careful with things like that but it was raining, windy, cold and 20 mins before his race run 😀
I cant believe you don't have a list of how many links each bike has just in case he loses one on the course.
Its a lot easier than having to faff about on race day.
I cant believe you don't have a list of how many links each bike has just in case he loses one on the course.
Its a lot easier than having to faff about on race day.
Honestly never entered my mind, but certainly an option now you've mentioned it.. I guess even easier will be to trim the 2 spare chains to this length in advance so they're just straight and ready to be thrown on. It's not like we'll use them on anything else as they're 11sp rather than 12 on all the other bikes.
Thanks for the @tracey i've trimmed the one i have here (i've also got 3x12 and 1x10 but no use for this bike) and so i've ordered 2 more chains from my LBS for the season.
I'm stocking up on 'stuff' at the moment, so makes sense to get things like that bought.
When Abigale was competing we always had one ready with the right amount of links in for a quick fix
If the stages were rocky like Finale then she would have a spare with the correct amount of links fitted in her backpack
It was suprizing how many riders had DNFs due to loosing a chain on a stage.
Slightly unrelated to him, but
As you know i've been mulling over the 'what bike' lately and i ideally don't want more bikes for myself so i need the 'swiss army knife' of bikes.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54378510389_c328b3f18b_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54378510389_c328b3f18b_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qRf5BX ]FuelEX8XT[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
It's a Fuel Gen6 and yes apart from the colour, it's the same as the boys Gen6. Which is of course how i know i'll get on with it in terms of bike and sizing lol. I spent the day on his testing it and really loving it.
The plusses over the Gen5 of Crusts/mine
Slacker head angle.
Better forks and shock
better geometry
Non-knock-block
Threaded BB
Full internal frame routing
in-frame tool storage
minuses
brakes (will be swapped with the ones on Crust/mine anyway)
Weight, it's a chunk heavier
That's about it.
All round it makes a lot of sense and is arguably the more ideal bike for a decent majority of my riding without going to something too insane that i won't be able to enjoy riding locally. I've got a spare wheelset which will lighten/quicken it up locally anyway.
When i bought the boy his at Xmas that dealer couldn't do the price on C2W but this one could now at the right price and the C2W takes it down to £1300 purchase price new (RRP £4200 lol). I can flog the Gen5 fuel for £1000 which makes it not far off a £0 purchase. That's for a brand new and in warranty bike. So a win all round i reckon.
"yeah but what about Dyfi"...
Well i had his one at Dyfi before he'd even ridden it.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54273890898_ab8c27af62_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54273890898_ab8c27af62_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qFZSTC ]IMG_20250118_110432[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
It was great and happy, although i'm not convinced the tyres worked the best there. But i've seen him on the bike and the tyres and trust me they work fine and dandy.
Just got to wait for them to put it in a box and get it here now. I'm excited.
I applaud your very open and obvious FOMO
Well most of what we do is for him, there's many aspects of this that he wants to reach longer term, but of course some of it is me. When we're going to certain places i can't ride WITH him, but i can of course ride the same places and at times the same trails (this weekend is Cwmcarn black), i feel this Fuel will be just a smidgen better at them without compromising too much at the local stuff.
Of course to an extent we've been 'here' before and always no bike is the ideal compromise for everything... but his (and now MY) Fuel is pretty darn close.
I sat and discussed it with myself and nearly bought a Status 170DH and then a Mondraker Superfoxy, but they both compromise more than the Fuel for my local riding.
Honestly never entered my mind, but certainly an option now you've mentioned it.. I guess even easier will be to trim the 2 spare chains to this length in advance so they're just straight and ready to be thrown on. It's not like we'll use them on anything else as they're 11sp rather than 12 on all the other bikes.
If you have a suitable location in the van (or in the workshop) a small hook and some tape with info at the right spacing can help with chain length, have done that in team scenarios. So you'll have a fixed point then tape with a line and "53/39-12/23-112L" and another with "53/39-12/27-114L". And so on. Last team i worked for (long time ago) had 5 or 6 different marks for cutting new chains and a load of trays for new ready to use and part used chains. And a second set of marks for worn out chains. 11xL 0,25%/0,33% and so on.
BTW, is that the Jamie Harris, brother of Nikki? Haven't seen him riding since he got ill.
BTW, is that the Jamie Harris, brother of Nikki? Haven't seen him riding since he got ill.
I'd assume not mate, he's been riding/racing in the same paddocks as us for the last 3+ years and he's never mentioned being poorly nor has his did, he is about 24/25 and from Ludlow area if that helps. We only talk bikes though sorry so never asked about his family.
He seems to have bad luck with bikes and not quite EVERY race meeting, but a fair few, he'll end up at the gazebo and i'll have the spanners/tools on his bike 🙂 Even at BPW a couple of weeks ago he ended up stealing a Kryptotal tyre as he only had a 27.5 in the van and killed one of his 😀
"53/39-12/23-112L" and another with "53/39-12/27-114L"
We don't run different gearing, so only 1 length is needed. It does sometimes surprise me that MTBers in a DH context don't really change gearing, but they seem to accept more than a gearing/gear may be just fractionally out. for a certain section, but i think it matters less than in road/xc/cx
he is about 24/25 and from Ludlow area if that helps.
Not that Jamie then, shame. He was a *really* talented rider, CX/DH and XC.
We don't run different gearing
Probably not worth it then, except maybe different lengths for different bikes (you've got almost as many as me as far as i can tell!)
I give up with this forum... lol... i had pics... but they just don't sodding work correctly.
Well kinda... maybe... Bike now built, new brakes installed... Just waiting for the plan for the weekend from the boy.
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We went to Cwmcarn today with Hattie. I was curious to see how he got on riding up and down with someone of her fitness
He ended up doing 7 runs with 1600m elevation and 40km. But the good news was his pace and fitness was excellent all round.
I only managed 3 top to bottom but in my defence I did 35km locally yesterday and I'm 35+ years older lol. I suspect being 35kg heavier may be a bigger factor though.
Excellent day
I only managed 3 top to bottom but in my defence I did 35km locally yesterday and I'm 35+ years older lol. I suspect being 35kg heavier may be a bigger factor though.
There's a coefficient somewhere in there that actually means that - pound for pound, year for year you coulda been a contender, i'm sure 😆
I only managed 3 top to bottom but in my defence I did 35km locally yesterday and I'm 35+ years older lol. I suspect being 35kg heavier may be a bigger factor though.
There's a coefficient somewhere in there that actually means that - pound for pound, year for year you coulda been a contender, i'm sure 😆
LOL yeah .... errrrrrm no. Watching these youngsters show me that no matter what i did, can do, could have done, i was still a gazillion miles from them. It's just incredible watching them.
But even yesterday i was put firmly in my place by @joebristol who was there with a mate and i joined in with them for some lapping. He gave me a good kicking.
It and the last few weeks has shown me though that i do need to work on the weight side of things as i'm riding a lot, training a fair bit, but still not exactly setting the world on fire.
But anyway, this thread isn't about me so forgive the thread drift. We've got a few days off and then this weekend he's back out on coaching duties for Katys girls academy. Amazingly enough, it's at Cwmcarn (can't imagine why lol).
Plan is also to do some tow-up laps after the coaching on the DH so we can check the changes recently made as well as bedding in the new Galfter Green pads, still debating if we run them just on the back or both ends.
Well this is a fun way to spend time. (NOT)
Had a request from a sponsor to give them a hand with some product promotion so i've spent a little (lot) of time removing the current frame protection and getting the bike ready for some new stuff and a bit of a early season refresh.
I must admit the protection has done an amazing job at keeping it sweet, although when it's on the bike it does look a little scruffy but that's kind of the whole point as it's protecting the frame. But DAMN it takes some effort to remove it.. It's a very very slow process and barely wants to come off, but also leaves some glue residue that's pretty damn near impossible to get off to get ready for the new stuff lol.
Going to be a long few hours this evening getting it all done and prepped.
We've got a week to get the bike re-done before the next big event 🙂
Hair-dryer and methylated spirits works for me.
YEah hair dryer seems in some ways to make things slightly worse as it then softens it all and makes the glue residue stick more to the frame.. I've had a bit of luck with both with and without up to now. Getting there though, i've got the back end mostly stripped now and the top tube done as well. Still needs a bit more work this evening though to get there.
Happily once it's all stripped to where i want it, i then hand it over to Mrs Weeksy to complete the new stuff. I don't seem to have the skill or patience to do that part at all.
Gt85 is good for getting the residue off. And it’s cheaper than disc brake cleaner
Gt85 is good for getting the residue off. And it’s cheaper than disc brake cleaner
Yeah GT85 and WD40 SORT of get it off... but with a tonne of rubbing, i also used Autoglym tar remover which is pretty much the best out of all the options up to now, but still not exactly just a 1 wipe solution.
Most of the tape is off now anyway.
Nothing is a one wipe solution sadly as the ‘solutions’ rely on breaking down the residue which takes time. When removing gorilla tape residue from a rim the best solution I found was to cover it in olive oil and leave it overnight before tackling the job.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08
Only went to get some tubeless tape, ended up getting a rear mech, a rotor, chain, picked up my old grips for my Fuel and the rear needed a new wheel bearing, which is weird as i'm sure we only used that wheel once from new.
Another £200 i'll never see again 😀 😀
When removing gorilla tape residue from a rim the best solution I found was to cover it in olive oil and leave it overnight before tacklin
Using some fresh grip tape works well. The fresh sticky lifts the old sticky
When removing gorilla tape residue from a rim the best solution I found was to cover it in olive oil and leave it overnight before tacklin
Using some fresh grip tape works well. The fresh sticky lifts the old sticky
I tried everything before the olive oil, this was a right stubborn load of gunk believe me!
An epic day all round at Cwmcarn. He was apprentice coach with Katy for the girls academy, towing them into features, showing them lines and things. Brilliant to see
I was playing on race track and a few of the off piste tracks. My brain is mush and my legs are jelly
So we're onto the start of race season proper now. This Sunday being the first at FoD but then straight to Innerlethen the weekend after, then straight to Cwmcarn the weekend after that. It then snowballs with several trips to Scotland in the few weeks after that (yeah i know Inners is Scotland too but i've blocked that out lol).
Before we head there we're off to BPW on Weds for 'Not-a-race'. This is an invitational pre-season not-race for Pros etc. Last year i think Greenland won it. I know a chunk of fast racers are playing from Charlie H to Ethan, Laurie, Reece, Hattie and of course Katy, potentially a few others, the boy has riders like Felix Griffiths to try and measure himself against who's the current junior racer for the Syndicate. It's going to be an epic day up on the hill catching up with a few people and seeing what the boy can learn from the superstars of the sport. But will also be about networking and making contacts which is honestly as important as anything else we do in terms of racing/riding. It usually gets decent coverage on Pinkbike so hopefully he'll get a few more followers and a bit of a high from it 🙂
His bike has been fully re-wrapped now but that is so to speak under wraps until the sponsor gets the content online and a collaboration on media will follow etc. It looks awesome and i was massively impressed with the new protection kit.
I think in truth this winter we've done as much as is viable for us to get him up to speed and where he is now, sure i'd have LOVED him to spend a few weeks in Portugal or ride southern spain etc playing there but there's budget and work to consider and sometimes what we want differs to what's actually viable. But his speed is good, his confidence is top level and he's really enjoying the riding.
One thing i did bring up was us having a few days out just messing about at somewhere, i don't think he gets enough days where just hitting 'whatever' really happens and every time on the hill is dedicated and focused, so i just wanted to make sure he doesn't feel everything is 100% serious and just messing around is perfectly OK sometimes.
New rubber thrown on the bike today for the race tomorrow and the weekend. I ended up going with a Krypto front and rear after initially installing a Xynotal this morning, but then thought he'd prefer both Kryptos.
Interestingly he was running the Galfer green on his Mavens this weekend but didn't feel any real difference between those and the black compound.. I'm not going to argue too much as the black are 50% of the price of the green lol.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, both from seeing a few mates and also from seeing if he can learn from the pros. I guess it depends how long he can keep them in sight for.
https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/BikeParkWales/2025/ProDay/
Live timing from today. The boy just did a 2.36 but hasn't uploaded it
There's more here now, Reece Wilson has rocked up with Hattie 😁
That’s a screen grab he’ll want to frame. That’s very impressive, a what a chance to shine!
Are Joe Breeden and Charlie Hatton running their Pinion gearbox bikes?
He's sitting in 14th currently and 4s quicker in the afternoon than this morning.
Every rider ahead of him apart from 1 is a current world cup racer.
Massively impressed with his riding and the number of random strangers telling me how fast and smooth he looks is insane.
Are Joe Breeden and Charlie Hatton running their Pinion gearbox bikes?
Yup, so is George on the other Atherton
6 gearbox bikes/riders in the top 10!
He's not far of some of the new Juniors with those times - bloody impressive!
I wish I was only a few seconds slower than Danny Hart lol
Which is the track they're riding? Charlie Hatton was at BPW at the weekend doing laps of Boomslang!
Same track, Boomslang
End of day and back home, he crashed on both his last 2 runs and was up on split 2, but pushed a bit too much and stacked it. Pretty hard crashes but just few bruises and aches, nothing major.
Overall it was an amazing day and a fantastic opportunity for him. We all had a cracker.
Beer now
Looks like he acquitted himself very well looking at the times - bloody impressive.
What an amazing opportunity, bet he picked up a fair bit from those guys.
Also gets his name out there with a couple of the teams.
All of that in spades yes. I was surprised how many people knew him even not in his jersey. Lots of chats with people about him and his riding.
Things are honestly quite ridiculous at the moment in terms of where he is and how he's going. He's flying along and happy.
There's things we could do better, things he needs to work on and learn but obviously things take time. But his progress is more than welcome could have ever hoped.
The last week or two has changed some life plans for him and things are changing a fair bit, but all in a good way.
We did however have some bad/interesting discussions yesterday. A couple of comments of "that bike's too small for him"
It's an R2 (they make R1/2/3) which is regarded as the Large. But i'll admit it's not the longest bike in the world. It's been commented before that he looks a bit big on it, but i've mostly ignored it 😀
Yesterday he did some car park laps on Rowan Sorrels bike which is an R3, however the boy being the boy gets off it and says "feels exactly the same" lol. Chatting with Rowan he said he loves an R2 for it's flickability etc but prefers the stability of the R3 on faster stuff. He's about 6'2 so a bit taller than the boy.
BPW do do hire bikes including Sessions, i asked if we could ride one and hire for the afternoon. Their reply did make me laugh a bit "we can't as we don't have a mechanic to check it over" ... Ummmm we're in a paddock with half a dozen WC Pro mechanics lol... But i did understand their point, so didn't press the matter.
So option 1 is to hire an R3 at BPW in the coming weeks/months and see how he likes/doesn't.
Option 2 is to ignore it
Option 3 is a cheap R3 and swap all his nice bits onto it.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/4000251/
With the way he's riding at the moment and in his happy place, i'm inclined for Option 2. But as always i do want to give him the best chance possible to do well.... so i'm slightly torn.