Good Tidings ...Happy futures !!

Merry Christmas to you all, keep riding hard..

Fun riding down under

Fun rides, Hawera-style... _________ pic: Taranaki Daily News

I've been in New Zealand a few months now and it's already pretty clear that cycling is a bit different here. The biggest deal is not forgetting to wear a helmet, about the only thing you can get fined for while riding a bike. Back home you can get a spot fine for all sorts of nonsense, like running a red light which, depending on whether you're talking to a motorist or a cyclist, is either spot on or as dead wrong as compulsory helmets.

English law is a bit of an ass when it comes to bikes, making it illegal to do all sorts of stuff (like £200 fines for "cycling furiously", believe it or not) but that's probably best left to another post... I only mention it cos it seems the Kiwi cyclists, by contrast, are free to go completely nuts and the rozzers can do next nothing about it.

Yesterday's "Tyres of Fire" bike skidding championships took place on the public highway in North Shore, Auckland, where the world's longest skid of over 250 metres was recorded by some guy on a fixie. Do it in a car and they'd throw away the key, but on a bike? Not a cop in sight. It's like bikes don't count on the roads, which of course has it's downsides but does make for a helluva lot more fun.

Want a few beers and ride home? Another spot fine in most countries, maybe even a spell at Her Majesty's pleasure if you got caught "drunk in charge" in the UK, but not here. It's not illegal to drink & ride in NZ. One way of celebrating the fact might be a pub crawl, get a few other riders involved perhaps... like the 1600 riders that took part in this weekend's Beers On Bikes event down in Hawera. It's marked the start of the crimbo holidays here for over thirty years and is amazingly well-mannered, all things considered. As you'd expect with such a large number of inebriated cyclists in one place, the police were out in force, hoping to catch someone not wearing a helmet...

The cycle world's gone cycle mad!

Try & squeeze into the shop this weekend and it'll be pretty obvious, sales of bikes are through the roof this Christmas. Everyone wants one, and so does his wife & kids.

Schoolies are cycling the equivalent of Santa's yuletide excursion instead of sitting through boring maths lessons about it.

Aussies are thinking of building an amazing bike sky bridge over the Sydney harbour. There's even talk of gritting the cycle paths in Cambridge. Whatever next..? Free lights?

One things for sure, when people are gold-plating an otherwise lightweight mode of transport, the silly season is finally upon us :)

Have a good 'un, but take care on those roads and mind them turkeys!

What you want a BMX for?

Subrosa Teaser from Subrosa Brand on Vimeo.

The word is out...

The rose's connotation for secrecy dates back to Greek mythology. Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions were kept under wraps...

Paintings of roses on the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were a reminder that things said under the influence of wine (sub vino) should also remain sub rosa. In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber similarly pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy. [Wikipedia]

Subrosa. In stock, in time for Santa coming.

As promised :)

Star Treks

For all we loved their OCLV frames, and despite their 2005 hook-up with Lance, CW haven't stocked Trek bikes in quite some time. Nothing personal, there were just so many other top-notch brands to stock that they didn't quite make the grade at every price point... until now.

All that input, testing and feedback from the world's greatest cyclist has really started paying off: across the range the Trek 2009 bikes – without exception – are just way too good to miss out on. They yell "quality" from every angle. Their hardtail XC bikes, ranging from entry-level to the race-ready series mountain bikes, are going to set the standard next year. Their Fuel EX full suspension mountain bikes have to be seen to be believed. Trek road bikes, even kids bikes, are going to figure heavily next year, but we have a limited range in stock right now, right in time for xmas :))

You want to see more? Check out the rest of the range, coming soon! just make sure you don't miss the amazing belt-drive District town bike at the bottom of the page. These are cutting edge rides, and no mistake.

At Last !!!

New Subrosa BMX Landed today....well worth the wait..

New Saint Groupset

Introducing the new and vastly improved Shimano Saint groupset... while it shares some features and characteristics with the old M800 group, the M810 is completely new on many levels. Increased strength and rigidity, more lightweight design and, in line with Shimano's current penchant for detail and aesthetics, very technical and distinctive-looking, in gloss black with gold details. The main features are as follows:

Brakes: the return of the 4-Pot Caliper Re-designed from the ground up, 4 piston calipers are the flavour of the day, not seen in the Shimano range since the much acclaimed M755 XT. The new dual-diameter 4-piston calipers provide an incredible 50% more stopping power than the current BR-M800. This two-part caliper is 9% stiffer than than current mono-bodied M775 XT and has an increased oil flow which should make bleeding a whole lot easier. The brake levers feature Servo Wave technology, improving brake power, control and pad clearance. The levers feature tool-free reach adjustment, a beefy lever blade for optimal strength & control and the whole brake package is finished off with a stiffer Vinylon hose.

Rear Derailleur: Shadow Short Cage (SS) The new Saint Shadow rear derailleur does away with the axle mount/interface of the previous M800 series and adopts a universal traditional dropout. Super low profile Shadow derailleurs have always minimized the risk of damage due to hitting rocks etc, but compare the current Shadow offerings in the XT and XTR groupsets with the new Saint SS derailleur and you'll see the lower part of the cage also incorporates a skid plate to deflect debris and obstacles, while a super-wide inner link gives it improved stiffness for gravity racing/riding, with mega-crisp shifts and more positive engagement. Shimano managed to combine this additional rigidity with a remarkable weight saving of 100 grams compared to the M800 version. The new Saint kit has increased spring tension compared to the XT/XTR Shimano Shadow derailleurs and a new, exclusive mode convertor adjusts the rear derailleur's profile to work optimally with either close or wide ratio cassettes.
Close ratio cassettes – 23-28T lowest gear – are recommended for Downhill useage; wide ratio – 32-34T lowest gear – for Freeride and All Mountain usage.
The new derailleur is available in a short (SS) and a medium (GS) cage version (top-normal shifting only) to suit either single or double chainring setups.


Shifters: Rapidfire Plus These gravity-oriented Rapidfire Plus shifters have been designed to combine a crisp shift feeling with one-finger braking. They feature a short release lever stroke and Instant Release technology for a fast, direct response, plus 2-Way Release technology that allows the release lever to be operated in two directions. The new Saint shifters have been developed with an adjustable bracket to allow inboard and outboard mounting for optimum cockpit setup. Their low profile leaves plenty of space between shifter and brake lever for crud-free, mud-shedding performance.

Cranksets: the new Saint cranksets are much lighter (double ring: 100g / single ring: 90g) and even stiffer than the M800 ones. There are both single and double chainring options, both developed with HOLLOWTECH II technology and redesigned to include extremely heavy duty spider arm and spindle. The new crank arm design allows more ankle clearance and the "honeycomb" bash guard has great impact resistance, with a steel pedal thread insert for added stiffness and security. Single chainring options are 34/36/38/40/42T; the double 36 x 22T compact drive crankset for All Mountain riding offers a wide gear ratio and a narrower Q-factor.

Front Derailleur: Following on from the recently announced double-specific SLX front derailleur, the new Saint groupset offers a double-specific front derailleur too, designed to perform optimally with a 36x22T compact drive crankset. The cage radius is matched to a 36T chainring radius, resulting in improved shifting. It has a very compact size with increased plate stiffness and improved clearance of the chain, chain stay and rear tire to work with most types of current full suspension frames. A wider and lower positioned inner plate reduces the chance of chain drop considerably.Top-swing and down-swing (conventional) versions for both 68/73mm and 83mm BBs are available.

Hub and Freehub: If the new Saint hubs were supermodels they'd be a size zero! The new Saint hub and freehub are a staggering 100g lighter and feature a standard size center lock mount which saves weight while maintaining strength. This also means that the Saint hubs are now compatible with the full range of Shimano center lock rotors too. The hub comes with Shimano's tried and tested fully adjustable and easy serviceable cup and cone bearings, which are proven to be more durable under side loads. Over Locknut Dimension (OLD) is 110mm and a 20mm through axle gives an ultra stiff fork/hub combination. The bearings of the freehub have been positioned wider apart for increased stiffness and durability. The freehub body has been developed with Shimano's quick engagement technology, resulting in increased performance, especially in technical terrain. The Saint freehub will be available in two versions: 135mm OLD in combination with a 10mm or 12mm through axle, and 150mm OLD with a 12mm through axle. Seals have been further developed for 400% improved durability, reuslting in longer service intervals.

Lose weight

At the recent Eurobike show Shimano introduced YUMEYA, an exclusive product line which, for the first year at least, will be based around XTR componentry. Yumeya is Japanese for "Dream Workshop", with design inspiration apparently taken from the Kabuki, a form of Japanese theatre known for the stylization of its drama and elaborate make-up worn by its performers. The word literally means "out of the ordinary", and anything that makes XTR kit seem ordinary has to be worth a look...

Yumeya parts are basically state-of-the-art, carbon, titanium and ceramic aftermarket kit with ultra-lightweight spec: the carbon rear derailleur plates will save you 11 grams compared to "standard" XTR; titanium 17/20T casette sprockets another 15 grams, titanium bolts shave off 25 grams a set, a hollow-pin chain loses another 10g, and so on. It all adds up to form the ultimate XTR groupset, complete with white ceramic jockey wheels.

Check out the website, it is without a doubt one of the craziest sites you've ever come across...

The sound of the wind and other noises

The year's wackiest accessory idea comes from Korean product designer Joseph Kim: a ceramic kind of bar-mounted version of the 70's spoke card craze. Y'know, where you peg a playing card or two onto your seat stays & get a cheesey motorbike sound. This is the same, in that the faster you ride, the louder it gets, but more musical, with notes controlled by moving your hands on the grips.

Joseph entered it to a Design21 competition called "Power to the Pedal" back in the spring and it's still doing the rounds now. Voted "most popular" entry, despite only coming third, its probably just a tiny bit too off-the-wall (and likely too pricey) to ever become the craze that spoke cards ever was (interestingly, a spoke card variant appears to be all the rage in the States) and besides, if the shop rides are anything to go by, there's never any shortage of wind-assisted musical accompaniment, courtesy of an excess of Greggs Steak Bake pasties, to warrant the loss of bar-top real-estate.

In any event, I'd definitely be changing the tag line first. Have a look though, it's a cool idea.

via Cozy Beehive

Foxes night ride

Night ride this tuesday leaving shop 5.30-6.00 get in touch if you fancy it -- got a couple of spare light sets if anyone fancies a go

You will believe a man can fly...

via Surfarama

Nothing to do with bikes? Maybe so, on the face of it. The way I see it, the buzz you get from any kind of high-speed self-propulsion belongs to the same crazy family as this one, whether it's radical snowboarding, extreme downhill cycling or dressing up like a dayglo flying squirrel and launching yourself off the side of a mountain at over 100mph.

This is easily the best BASE jumping vid I've ever seen. Watch for the bit where he flies past the roadside. Totally amazing.

Only human

LANCE ARMSTRONG RETURNS - Las Vegas Cyclocross from CYCLEFILM on Vimeo.

Another Armstrong post? Well, yes, but he is in the news a lot at the mo. Like most true cycling fans, we make no secret here of our outright admiration of STTDFW Lance Armstrong (to give him his full title..) despite all the negativity borne of incessant doping allegations – even because of it. Only the bitter and envious actually want to believe he's a doper; let's face it, it's practically irrelevant now. Like the guy himself says, doing what he did takes something much more potent than homologous blood transfusions, it takes real balls, real talent, really hard work. He's no fake and he's about to prove it. Again.

All the old daggers are out for a polishing, with a pretty aggressive Cycling Weekly interview now online, carping on about a "press blacklist" as if anyone cared bar the ones who imagined they were on it... while others are already back on his case for not posting up his blood tests as promised, even though Don Catlin himself has no worries; the most tested athlete in history has been tested seven times already since September and he's still only in training.

The level of sensitivity surrounding both Lance and his detractors is highlighted by the pending legal action over comments made in that recent Guardian interview. Touchy or what?

Watch the cyclecross vid above and you might recognise yourself at the end, as we look into the face of a rider who's been out of the saddle a bit too long for comfort. It's going to be really interesting watching him next year. And if you're not really into the actual bike riding, you can always follow Cycling Weekly's coverage instead ;)

Ideal Christmas Pressie

As Recommended by
+ The Doctor +

Packed with hundreds of photos and hundreds of procedures, the second edition BBB-2 provides both the novice and veteran mechanic with the information needed to perform practically any repair, from trailside fixes to complete overhauls.

Written by Park Tool Director of Education Calvin Jones, the Big Blue Book is the perfect reference guide and step-by-step repair manual for just about any bike, including road, mountain, BMX, and single-speed...

Park Tool wrote the book on bicycle repair: this is a must-have for any keen mechanic.

Dr Woolleys workshop of wonder

• Coming soon !! Watch this space !!
  
  Dr Wooleys workshop of wonder W.O.W.
  
• Tips from the doc.

NEW for 2009 ''Workshop classes.. dates to be anounced soon.

• Learn everything from basic bike set up, puncture repair, to gear tuning and disc brake setup.



• WATCH THIS SPACE !!!!!



• SURGERY OPENING SOON..+

Genesis: Creative Genius

The 2009 iO ID, with Shimano Alfine hub gears. "Awesome... the perfect winter bike" (MBR)

Nah, not the wooden 80's prog-rock Genesis, the decidedly metal Ridgeback Genesis range, probably the best thing ever to come out of a UK bike design studio. Frame design is the key to their success: not only with the aluminium Core series but the clever use of Reynolds 853 and 520 steel alloy, wrought into tough, slim, lightweight frames that look and feel like the top-class bikes they are.

Not content with redefining UK cycling, this year they've gone on to re-invent the wheel, using hub gears for dishless build strength and crud-free shifting. Built with UK riders in mind, ridden and refined by the best in the business, Genesis bikes are the ultimate in no-nonsense, built-to-last bike engineering. We have a great selection of 2009 models in stock right now, ready and waiting... plus a huge price reduction on the last remaining '08 Altitude 1's – down 30% to £550!

It's all waay too cool for Phil ;)