The Art of Megafying - The Saracen Ariel Evolves....

The Saracen Ariel 143 outside NWMTB

As many of you know I like a good challenge and this year is no different with the focus being on racing in the MEGAVALANCHE at the beginning of the Summer in the French Alps. ( check out YouTube for videos of what madness goes down ).

Along with getting my body in condition, I needed to get the trusty Saracen Ariel in shape to get me down that crazy mountain.

So with the help of the insanely good crew at The North West Mountain Bike Centre ( support your local bike shop folks, your bike will thank you! ) the bike has had some loving...

First off, I've finally caught up with the world of 1x10 and had fitted out back a Shimano SLX 10-Speed cassette and Zee Rear Shadow Derailleur ( Clutch Mechs rule! )

1x10 Courtesy of Shimano Out back

Taking care of business out front I have opted to keep the chaps in Barnoldswick happy and gone for the 32 tooth Narrow Wide Hope Retainer Ring.

Hope Narrow Wide Retainer Ring 32T

Along with a new chain, some new cables and outers, this tidies the Burgtec cockpit up nicely ( Enduro Stem and RideWider Bars ).

Tidy Burgtec Cockpit

NB: I should probably be running a Chain Guide, so this is next on the list of kit to sort out.

That means the current build is as follows:

FRAME: 2012 Ariel custom butted tubeset featuring signature Tuned Ride Link (TRL) suspension /CNC Taper 1 1/8" to 1.5" headtube / 140mm travel running on 30mm main pivot cartridge bearings and 15mm NorglideTM linkage bushings

FORK: Fox 32 Float RL FIT / Taper steerer / QR15 / 150mm travel ( just serviced by NWMTB )

REAR SHOCK: Fox RP23 BV XV ( just serviced by NWMTB )

HEADSET: FSA Gravity XX - ( this will need some love pretty soon.)

SHIFTERS: Shimano SLX M660 Rapid Fire

REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano Zee Shadow+ 10sp M640

CHAINSET: Hope Narrow Wide 32 Retainer Ring ( will need chain guide at some point )

BOTTOM BRACKET: Shimano SM-BB70 HT2

CHAIN: SRAM PC1031 10sp Chain

CASSETTE: Shimano SLX CS-HG81 10sp Cassette

RIMS: Sun Inferno 27 Black 32 hole ( still rocking the 26"! )

HUBS:  Formula Sealed bearing Black 32 hole front for 15mm axle / Formula Sealed bearing Black 32 hole for 12 x 142mm axle rear

SPOKES: Double butted stainless steel 14g with alloy nipples.

TYRES: Schwalbe Hans Dampf 26x2.35 Snakeskin Trailstar ( definitely will need something dual ply for the race )

BRAKES: Shimano SLX M666 180/160 mm rotors

LEVERS: Shimano SLX M666

HANDLEBARS: Burgtec RideWider Bars 780mm 15mm Rise

GRIPS: Saracen Lock-on dual-density grip.

STEM: Burgtec Enduro Stem 50mm AM

SADDLE: Charge Spoon

SEATPOST: Kind Shock 125mm with remote

PEDALS: Shimano XT Trail M785

MUDGUARD: NWMTB Custom Pro Model

Support your Local Bike Shop

So next thing I have to do is ride it!

I'm reporting on the Mega for Ride.io - expect some epic GoPro footage!

Thanks to the crew at NWMTB

Compact Camera Mount Testing ( Featuring Saracen Ariel 143 )

I've had a number of forays into the world of video in my time. These have involved everything from filming skateboarding events with a classic Sony VX-1000 to hanging out at the British Snowboarding champs with a Fuji bridge camera. In recent years I have played around a fair bit with action cameras with the trust original Vholdr ( now Contour ) attached to my bike lids.

I've never really got the quality I would have liked ( though lets not forget the net has had to catch up a fair bit in recent years ) and fell out of love with all the editing that was needed to make a good movie.

So honestly I am not really sure why I decided to make a mount for my trusty Sony HX-9V compact camera out of a Joby ballhead and old lighting bracket ( shhhh it's from a competitor brand ).

I'm probably not going to use it much as I really do like this little compact and I don't think it will like being treated like a crash test dummy. However the first results were pretty impressive.

Three lines down Style Cop at Cannock Chase on the awesome Saracen Ariel 143.


Saracen Ariel 143 - Cannock Chase - Camera Mount Test 1 from Tim Sadler on Vimeo.


Saracen Ariel 143 - Cannock Chase - Camera Mount Test 2 from Tim Sadler on Vimeo.


Saracen Ariel 143 - Cannock Chase - Camera Mount Test 3 from Tim Sadler on Vimeo.

Now I just think what I could do with a Sony Action Camera ...

I should have bought a BMX

Ok, I admit it, I have never owned a BMX. Even with a starring role in ET and whilst my school chum Simon had an awesome Silver Mongoose, I was still riding a trusty Grifter. Then, what seemed like years later, my other school chum, Tim, got a Puch Mountain Bike ( one of the first in the UK and yes made by the company who make those little moped things ) and any interest I had in BMXs went out the window.

The Mighty Raleigh Grifter

From the Grifter, I followed Tim ( yes, one of the original 'Tims'), into the world of Mountain bikes with a Peugeot 'Safari' and then through a succession of Marin's, British Eagles, Treks and other stuff. I used them to ride the trails along with commuting 10 miles to work ( remember when one bike did it all? ). I never really missed not having a BMX.

The Marin Hawk Hill - My first bike with Front Suspension

Many years later I started work at Afour ( which became Sole Technology UK ) and I was once again exposed to the world of BMX with the brand Etnies. But even with being involved in the UK premier of the mighty 'Grounded' BMX film ( as a side note this introduced me to the Black Keys, so I will always be grateful for that ), I stuck to Mountain Bikes, whilst Etnies, at the time, focused on it's skateboarding portfolio.

Grounded -find it on some download site?

Roll on a few years and I found myself a couple of weeks back at Manchester BMX track riding for the first time a small wheeled beast. Yes I am now 35. This I now realise was far too late. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but instead of hanging around New Deal Skates trying to be good at skateboarding through osmosis, I reckon I would have been better off learning to jump a BMX. Call it heresy, but I have never been that good on four wheels.

So why write about this now when clearly I am all about two wheeled action these days? Well last night on my little Blackberry screen I watched this video.


  Just check out the entry at the 2min mark. THAT IS INSANE!
Now I am not saying that I would ever have been able to ride like this, but I might at least have been able to learn how to bunny hop properly without SPDs!

So what can I do? I'm never going to be able to jump a big like these guys but with Sprog No.1 now riding her first pedal bike and Sprog No.2 not that far behind, I am going to make ruddy sure that both of them spend some time on BMXs....

....now I wonder if I can buy a Grifter on eBay?

My very own @teamrumour

Been and interesting few weeks following @teamrumours on Twitter, so thought I might add my own. First person to mail me what it means wins a biscuit.