FOX 36 fork action video.

Shimano 230 shoes up date.

These shoes have been part of my riding out fit for quite a while now, about a year and a half. They are the most durable shoes I've had my feet in for some time, comfortable too, especially after I had them heat molded to my feet. I must have done 3000 plus K's of  riding, mostly dirt, in these shoes, with only a little delamination of the skuff guards to show for all their use. The soles are still hardly worn either. I have had to replace both buckles though. One I damaged when crashing my bike on a slippery road in Bhutan in November last year, then I clipped it on a fence post back here in Wanaka and it came flying off. Not surprised at that though. The other buckle just came apart in my hand one day while I was doing it up. Just worn out I guess, The buckles come in pairs, so I had a spare in the workshop already. Two minute fix.

Intense Uzzi build.

Heres a park bike for ya. Just the thing for doing laps at Skyline or any other place that needs a burly rig that can still be pedaled. FOX 36 Van's up front,  FOX DHX 5.0 in the rear, big brakes and good tyres. Let her rip !

ONZA tyres arrive for testing!!!

Heres something super new, just arrived today. ONZA tyres. The brand name has been bought by a Swiss outfit and is now making some cool new tyres. This one here is a single ply folding 120tpi All Mountain design. Dual compound, good aggresive tread, decent side wall thickness and ball park weight of 770grms with this 2.40 model. There are also a 2.25 60tpi model, with slightly more robust side walls. A 2.50 2 ply DH version at 1050grms and some more speed orintated 26 and 29er tyres. I'll be giving them a good working over in the next few weeks, so will let you know what I think.

It's been a while.......

It's been a while since I last posted some news here, but I've still been at it, building new bikes for my clients and trying new stuff, so heres a review on whats new.



This is a classic Gary Fisher Paragon thats just had a full make over. New paint and some decent forks were added a little while ago. New it's had new XT drive train, new rims laced to the still running smoooth XTR hubs and lots of TLC to make it run like nver before. Daves a happy boy. His Marin San Marino road bike got the full make over too, but I forgot to get my camera out for that one.

This is my third Intense 5.5 24" build now. Some lucky young girl got this for her buithday. A great little bike with shortened forks and shock, revalved for their light weight riders, and 24" wheels to keep it low to the ground.

Heres a BMC Race Machine RM01 that I put together just last week. Full carbon frame and fork, Sram Red shiftres and drive train, Easton wheels, bar, stem and TRP brakes. Just 6.88kg's in a 55cm without pedals. Not bad for $5500.00!

New Builds

Here are a couple of new builds that have come out of my workshop recently. The one and only 2011 Foes FXR in NZ. A burly All Mountain machine that will suit riders that aren't looking for a super light weight bike and want something that can handle some serious riding.

A 2011 Commencal Meta 5.5 carbon. The owner up graded from the LTD frame set and got a lighter, stiffer super fast Enduro/trail bike.

Enduro XD15 BB unit

Here it is, the coolest piece of cycling bling I've come across for a long time, Enduro's XD15 bottom bracket unit.

Whats so cool? Well there's quite a bit of amazing technology gone into this little baby. I had the pleasure of meeting it's designer and maker a few months ago and he gave me the full run down on how it came about.

He meet this guy who makes a special alloy for bearings to go in the wings of commercial passenger jets, that will survive freezing tempertures and de-icing chemicals. It's a special nitrogen infused alloy that has been 5 x heat-treated to make it extra hard for use in the XD15, then it has ABEC3 ceramic balls that are running in angular contact races for even more durability. This means you can set a pre-load on the bearings so they will run with a minimum amount of drag and side play. Then it's all sealed up with low drag seals.

It's totally amazing to ride with this BB in your bike. So smooth and so drag free. Take your chain off your crankset and give the cranks a spin and it's just amazing how long they keep turning for. You can certainly feel it when pedaling. All most like having another gear. I think the biggest benefit of the XD15 is how much less energy it needs to make it turn, so the bike needs less energy to make it go. It's also super durable. The bearings have a 2 year warranty against failure. If you are anything like me and get about 4 months riding out of a standard BB, then this baby is something you should have in your bike, road and mountain. You can buy one of these for the price of less than 3 normal external BB units, so for me, by the time I've worn out 6 BB's, the XD15 is still under warranty! A no brainer. BB 30 types are in the works and should be available in a few months.