Seeing as actually cycling has been a bit of a non entity in my life at the mo I’m having to get my bicycle fix in other ways. And oh did I find the perfect way to do so recently.

Whilst at my parents house searching for a tool I found the frame from my first proper mountain bike. My first decent spec one at least. My Saracen Dirt Trax 2000 (you can guess the year now eh!).

17 years ago this bike was my world. It took me everywhere, to work, to friends, and out on regular cycling adventures to Hengistbury Head, Iford BMX track, and St. Katherine’s hill. It was awesome.

It was the first bike I owned that had suspension and a front disc brake. They were both just for show though, the forks were Zokes units and the brake was an unbranded cable job that made more noise than it provided in stopping power. But hey it had an A-Headset! And that was kind of a big deal back then.

So what do you think went through my mind when I found it? (apart from mentally skipping around with glee), the instant thought was gravel bike. I’ve been mulling over my next purchase in my head (obviously the C60 is still top of the pile) and a gravel bike has been up there. To convert this though I had a think about how suitable the frame would be, what I would like for the spec, what I had lying around, and what I would need to buy.

Starting with the wheel size it should have been my first pointer to stop, the dirt trax runs 26″, and this has never really been a mix with drop bars. These two together are normally a cardinal sin but the lines between bicycle disciplines and designs are being blurred more and more nowadays and I had some mavic d521 on lx hubs so I thought let’s go for it. I also wanted rigid forks, don’t forget the bike was specced with shocks from new, so to accommodate I needed to look into the frames geometry and see if it was all possible.

According to Saracen in 1998 (only catalog I could find) for the 17″ frame the head angle is 73′, top tube 55.5cm, and BB height is 29.2cm. All of these angles are pretty similar to a CX bike so it didn’t look like I was in for any nasty shocks. What I would have to re-evaluate is the fitting of a rigid fork, I needed to get a suspension corrected model to maintain the above figures. A quick hunt around eBay found some super light ones from China. Yes they were £50 delivered but were the correct geometry and 770g. So a bit of a bargain, biggest surprise was the delivery speed…. here in just over a week! Another eBay bargain in the puzzle were some race face evolve cranks and new Bottom bracket. Under £20 for the lot, I was well on my way.

Arrival of these allowed for the first mock up, letting me see exactly how the bike would feel to ride. Dropping it out of the stand and swinging my leg over made me feel all nostalgic, taking me back to the times this thing was hucked off of drops, forward hopped like a trials bike, and wheelied down the high street. Although in this incarnation I don’t think it will be seeing so much of my lairy side.

First thing I noticed was the drop and distance to the bars. Checking the stem out it was 120mm long! So that had to go and be replaced with something shorter with a little rise. The seatpost also looked awful, it needed a new headset, bar tape, cables, tyres, and brakes. I had a 10 speed 105 group set, but the rest was on the order list. Wanting to keep it as on budget as possible eBay was my friend again. Tyres and tubeless setup for £40, brakes for £30, cables £5, stem/seatpost/shim/seatclamp/bar tape £40, chain £10, headset £20. £210 spent on everything to rebuild. Peanuts really.

So what does it ride like? Well, last Sunday I gave it a baptism of fire and decided to take it on the woods cyclery gravel ride. Would it be uncomfortable? Would it fall apart? Would it want to throw me off at every opportunity? Would the tyres come off?

All answered with a no! In fact it out performed a few much newer bikes. No punctures and felt really solid but playful.

Only a couple of tweaks needed, the saddle and post position, and the bar height/angle. Maybe a wider set of bars?It’s a bit aggressive at the mo, it’s not far from my road bike! But hey this was a bargain build and if I can keep up and ride with the modern kit I think it’s fine for now……. but what about that paint…..

Flouro yellow? Neon pink? Matt black? So many options……

But for now let’s just ride it! More this weekend please!

Last weekend saw the return of the cycle show at the NEC. I’ve been a regular attendee since my teens, have seen my tastes change and bicycle technology advance vastly, plus the flavour of the show change with that years latest fads.

This year really saw a healthy swing to inclusivity. Just getting everyone cycling. Because of that there was no real dominating discipline, and I thought that was great. The ebike section was bigger than before and had a myriad of manufacturers dying to shove their latest tools between your legs, and this was the only test area i tried out this year!. whats that saying about my age and family situation!

Anyway here’s a few shots…

All in all a great show with some great new kit. one of the more interesting I’ve been to due to the sheer advancement in materials and manufacturing filtering down into the cycle industry. Ebikes are fully here now (get over it) and they will change the way we all cycle. Electronic groupsets seem to be the way forward, carbon is just getting even more mainstream, and everyone seems to have respect for all disciplines now. The cliques are gone and the fences down, just get out and ride!!

Now to get that C60 piggybank setup……..

With the rise in ebike popularity the technology is advancing pretty fast now, with developments in all methods of motorisation. We have automatic assist drive boxes that replace bottom brackets and bolt into specifically designed frames, in frame motors used to retrofit into the seat tube driving the bottom bracket spindle(and maybe ‘motor dope’), and diy kits to modernise the old mainly via in wheel motors. The latter being something I have been looking into for a little while now, with a cargo bike on the horizon I wanted to make it super easy to ride for both Charlie and I. Yes I know you can buy cargo bikes with motors already installed but at the £2000 plus mark, it’s a lot to shell out for!

There’s a couple of ways of motorising a bicycle both out of the factory and by retrofitting. These are 1. In wheel motors and 2. Bottom bracket assist.

Having ridden both types my preference is the bottom bracket pedal assist. My reason for this? It rides like a normal bike. It essentially magnifies the effort put in by your legs rather than taking the effort away from the crank as in a wheel motor system. Both of the above types can be fitted either as a bike designed to accept all the kit, or a bulky and slightly messy retrofit.

That was until Superpedestrian came up with a really novel implementation of the ebike upgrade. The Copenhagen Wheel.

This wheel changes it all, well if what Superpedestrian are saying on their website is true. It’s a fuss free upgrade to nearly any 700c or 26″ wheeled bike, geared or singlespeed.

First thing you notice about the wheel is (bar that giant red hub) that all the motor, batteries, and controls are encapsulated inside the housing. It may not be the most attractive thing but think about it, that’s a complete ebike upgrade fitted in the time it takes to change a tyre and cassette/freewheel over.

The wheel is controlled and set up by smartphone, with different levels of assist available depending on personal preference. There’s also an intuitive feature that adjusts the assist as you ride giving more help on the hills.

The Copenhagen Wheel has a range of up to 30 miles which is perfect for most commutes, and you simply just plug it in when you get home.

Some of the built in features are really impressive as well: the wheel automatically updates its software over the internet, it protects itself from damage by monitoring riding conditions, has backpedal braking assistance via the motors magnets, locks itself without your smartphone present, and can give full feedback on your ride including power data!

This is a really exciting piece of kit that would modernise many many bikes. It’s available to fit up to 10 speed bikes with an OLD of both 120 and 135 mm.

I think this wheel is a really versatile piece of kit and, yes the hub isn’t the prettiest thing in the world but, the looks are far outweighed by the functionality. It may also not be my preferred method of motorising a bike but the sheer simplicity outweighs the bulky and ugly looking retrofit bottom bracket assist setups. I’m sure with a couple of years the tech will improve even further reducing the size of the hub and increasing the range.

Check out the Copenhagen Wheel HERE

Now all I need to do is get one shipped here! Or maybe ask my family in the states nicely………

There is a new mobile cycle mechanic service open in Bournemouth, Bike Repairs direct.

To get to the website CLICK HERE

Website is impressive as is list of services and experience, maybe the perfect option to keep you bike rolling!

BC

Sometimes life's balances shift and you find yourself hammering away at the anvil preparing for the future. I'm currently residing in one of those periods.

The life irons in the fire at the moment are forging both metalwork for war (work) and for construction (home). Leaving very little time for recreation. Now don't get me wrong both of those are going great guns with super positive results, but looking at the importance of certain things in the hierarchy of life's cycle some things have gotta give. At the moment, it's here…..

My blog and time to generate content has been severely limited, but hey it's just a blog right? It's not providing love for my family, keeping a roof over my head, or providing gainful employment so I think it can wait. Hey I'd just like the time to cycle at the moment!

I do have plenty to write about though….. the new Ribble R872, my semi vintage gravel bike build, restoring the Mercian, a vintage bicycles that have crossed continents, the bike show at the NEC coming up, group rides, where to cycle in the Bournemouth area, shopping for bike seats for little ones, improving fitness……. it could go on for ever!

Speak soon…..