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

1 Race 3 Blogs

One week on and I am still buzzing from racing in the awesome Mini-Enduro at Eastridge Woods. Ok I didn't exactly set a fast time, but I did clean all the lines and finish in one piece. I also got to hang out with the super talented Charles Robertson and he busted out some great pics like this one:

The Saracen Ariel 143 is awesome...but still needs a little help from time to time (c) Charles Robertson 2013.

So with a good day out on the bike it would seem rude not to go blog-crazy..

Just click the logos:

 



I think I did it justice...and yes I count this as one of the three ( get lots of traffic these days)

Now to wait for the next dates as I really like this format of racing!

I have never...

.....fitted a mudguard.

Ok, back in the day I might have fitted one of the original Crud Catchers ( who didn't? ) but certainly since owning grown up Mountain Bikes, I've chosen to keep my bike free of such madness.

That is until I got the Ariel 143. It's such a good looking girl that it deserves a little bit of protection doesn't it?

So yesterday before 24km of greasy fun around Cannock Chase ( Style Cop - Follow the Dog - Monkey Trail ), I fitted a Muckynutz Bender Fender to the Fox 32's.

To quote their text; "...the mudguard is installed so close to the 'knobbly bits' means it can be small and discrete, which is a big plus for those that don't like using them, and as it is less than 1mm thick it adds negligible weight to your bike."

Naturally I got a white one ( got to keep the Factory look going ) and you know what? I'm only a flippin' convert!

Bender Fender on Ariel 143 - Tim Sadler

The question is will I ever take if off?

More Muddy Musings - Tough Mudder on Dogtag Blog

Yes those are my Bull Horns...

Yes I've been blogging elsewhere again ( click the image above to read it ).

Writing stuff for other people

Tim Sadler - Ride.io ( Photo by Tom Laws )

For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter  firstly why not? Secondly, you might have missed my ugly mug up on the Ride.io website reviewing the kick ass Sweet Protection MTB range.

Been a few years since I wrote for another website, but those of you who can cast your minds back will remember that before Tim@Lowepro, Tim@Etnies, Tim@Pyranha and Tim@Outdoorgarage, I was originally Tim@playak. ( before you ask the Outdoorgarage domain has changed so many hands since i owned it that I have nowhere to link to )

It must have been around 98 or 99 when I first starting writing for the original Playak site. In those days I was using a University drop in room ( shhhh even back then I worked out how to bypass all their systems ) and it was before the 'bubble'. Fun days indeed and got to write lots of stuff and go to lots of events. Unfortunately ( and annoyingly ) all my articles were republished when the site had a face-lift and my name was taken off...such is the Wild West of web land. However, you could argue that in writing for them I started down the route to Pyranha ( as I wrote one of the first reviews of the S6 Kayak for the site ), but who knows what role each unique decision plays in a timeline ( and there is of course no such thing as fate ).

Since those early stoooodent days, I've been fortunate to work in a somewhat creative roles (cough), but regardless of that, I think it is important that everyone has some sort of outlet for their musings. Could be writing, could be snapping, could be painting. Who knows what is lost because someone didn't express it in some way? Granted the media is 99% rubbish, but that 1% can change the world.

And that is why this blog exists....( though might just keep it to my musings rather than trying to change the world ).

p.s. working on some follow up stuff for Ride.io so keep checking back.

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?

Tough Mudder Tips & Advice

So it looks like the North West Tough Mudder is back for 2013 , I did it last year, so naturally in internet land that makes me an expert?

Either way, here are my top tips for a fast time:

1) Run - I spent most of the day overtaking people who were walking. If you want a fast time, run.

2) Have a top team - The course is impossible on your own as you need leg ups on a number of the obstacles. Have a small team who all want to run. ( my team got me over the Quarter Pipe, without them I'd still be there )

3) Wear gloves - Ignore the rubbish on other forums, by all means take them off for the monkey bars bit, but for all the muddy rubbish they will make you go faster ( as you wont be worrying about protecting you delicate skin )

4) Get an early slot - If you run you will overtake most people in your wave, you will loose time when you queue for obstacles. Get an early wave and avoid the queues.

5) Ignore the American Cheer Leading crap - It's not the Toughest Event on the planet. It's a good muddy run with mates.

Oh and it helps if you can run 12 miles on the flat before the event!

BTW: I did it in around 2hrs 20 mins. Given similar conditions and a bit more training,  a time under 2 hours is very possible ( though would need to get my sorry ass over that Quarter Pipe in one go! ). I read somewhere that the average Tough Mudder time is 4hrs?? If you do it anywhere near this time, hold you head in shame.

Lens Baby Spark Review / Test / First Look

Ok, so I admit it, the title of the post is written just to get some traffic ( I'm cheeky like that, but then again I am a marketing guru....errrr ).
Anyway, a rather nice Aussie chap called Paul, who has been in the photography industry for a fair few years, hooked me up last week with one of these new 'Spark' gizmos from those purveyors of photography fun Lens Baby.

Looks pretty weird doesn't it? Well it's pretty lo-tech, with a couple of lenses and a plastic bendy tunnel of joy between them. It mounts straight onto my old Nikon D90 pretty easily and to quote Lens Baby, it is pretty straight forward to use

1. Replace your normal lens with a Spark
2. Set your camera to "M" mode
3. Squeeze to focus
4. Shoot away

I suppose it gives a Lomo/tiltshifty/instagram/messy/retro/thingy look? Yes, you could do it in Photoshop ( or run one of those funky lightroom pre-sets ), but where is the fun in that?
Anyway, with a bit of Autumnal sunshine I wacked it on the camera this morning and snapped away at Marple Festival.
Going to need to play with it a lot more, but pretty happy with first set out of the camera ( only some minor curve tweakage...no cropping rule in effect ).
Here is my favorite one from today ( ok, I did drop this one to grayscale, but you can see the effects ).

Oh and this one is pretty cool too...

Check out the rest of the snaps here...more to come, as this is proving to be really fun!

The Bag Man

Not quite the title I thought I would end up with at this stage of my career, but a rather nice article in the latest Wideopen.com magazine.

Click Here and go to Page 115.

Rather chuffed with it would be an understatement.

Oh and here are some links to the people I big up:

Lowepro
Orange bikes  
Madison
Geoff Waugh
MTBCut
Grant Robinson
Sim Mainey

Enjoy!

Owle for iPhone

I may have actually found a reason to own an iPhone. Whilst working this past weekend at a rather enjoyable event. I got the chance to play with the most awesome bit of kit I have seen for a very long time ( and this was at an event where I was playing with a £30,000 Phase 1 camera system ).


It doesn't look like much, but the Owle Bubo for iPhone 4 take the finger tapping, app overloading, hyped to the max, Apple junkfood, overated phone and makes it the most awesome movie system i have ever seen. Nothing complicated...just a 36mm lens ( to sort out the lens on the phone ), a little external mic and an very cleverly designed rig and Bob's your uncle...

...still prefer my Crackberry though :-)

Confessions of a Gear Freak...

For those of you who don't know me, I am a Gear Freak. Yes there you have it, a confession of sorts. I am a borne and bred Freak de Gear....Freako dos Gearo....Freakicht das Gearstein.... whatever you want to call it, I have an addiction which I should warn you all about.

Yes a dude carrying a kitchen sink ( must be American! )

I'm not sure I can put my finger on when it all kicked off. Maybe it was when I was a little Scout and at aged 10 all I wanted was a pair of Troll Omni Climbing trousers that all the grown-ups had? ( now that is a confession ), or maybe it was walking past the old Jack Shorne's shop in Harrow looking in the window and trying to work out how to buy a Whitby Black Widow catapult or original US Army Alice Backpack ( isn't it already worrying that I can remember gear wants from 20 years ago? ). Maybe I was just born with it? Either way it is pretty hard for anyone other than a Gear Freak to comprehend...but let me try to explain.

An Original Alice Backpack ( still awesome )

1) Being a Gear Freak is not just about having the latest kit. It is more than that, it is about getting the kit before anyone else. By the time it is on the shelves it is just too late. The Holy Grail of the Gear Freak is 'The Prototype'.

The Prototype of the Pyranha Burn ( the last kayak worked on at Pyranha )

2) Being a Gear Freak seems to be intrinsically linked to Outdoor Sports. If a Gear Freak knows the difference between an original Berghaus Mera Peak and North Face Mountain Jacket ( in Yellow of course ), then they will also know the differences between an Original Pyranha Acro 270 and Perception Mr Clean ( as well as the difference between a Orange Clockwork and Santa Cruz Heckler etc etc ).

3) The Gear Freak knows the stats. 'Know your Hydrostatic Head!'

Yes it's a Hydrostatic Head Tester ( of course it is? )

4) The Gear Freak is your friend, they will be the one with the spare hat ( ok it won't be spare to them as it will no doubt be designed for a specific requirement ), in fact if you need to borrow anything ask a Gear Freak, they either already have it or they just need an excuse to get hold of one. Just don't use the term 'don't worry, it doesn't have to be a good one'.

5) The Gear Freak is passion unleashed. Don't pretend to understand them, don't try to engage in meaningful debate... just remember pretty much every company which makes cool stuff, be it Outdoors, Automotive, Tech or whatever, was created by a Gear Freak. Steve Jobs= Computer Gear Freak, August Horch ( founder of Audi ) = Car Gear Freak, Werner Von Braun ( one of the guys who helped set up NASA ) = Space Gear Freak. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Come see the Freak Show!

In short, embrace the Gear Freak ( and no that doesn't mean I need a hug )

One last thing ( though I have a feeling this might be a reoccurring topic ), how do you spot a Gear Freak? Well check their reading material.... yes they do like their niche core magazines in their chosen passion ( check out the new Privateer Mountain Bike magazine if you are that way inclined ), but for the most part you will find them reading catalogues. Yep, for me it was growing up with the old Survival Aids brochure, this then morphed into the Cotswold Outdoors Catalogue and it now is firmly stuck with Howies and Patagonia catalogues.

Got to love the concept of every one of these catalogues ( Lomotastic )

It simply is all about the Gear...

The Daddy of Biking Magazines...

Managed to blag a copy of the new Privateer Biking magazine courtesy of top photographer ( and work colleague ) Geoff Waugh.

I've been reading biking mags for what must be 20 years or something ( flipping eck that is scary ), and this is truely the Daddy of mags. Then again what else would you expect from the stable that came up with Rouleur ?

Cover price is 9 squids, which may seem a little steep, but this is set to be a collectors item already ( should have got Geoff to sign mine seeing as he has lots of shots in it! ).

If I were you, I would buy it...

Gower 2010 - It's all about the camping!

Been a while since we just went away camping, so was really looking forward to the trip to Oxwich Bay this summer. It didn't disappoint!

The Top 5:

1) Fresh Coffee brewed in the Morning light.

2) A campsite without fuddy duddys in caravans.

3) Tales told in tents ( though will pack more books next time )

4) Running in fields

5) Putting the tent away in a huge thunderstorm ( yes it was so silly it was funny )

All I can say is that we will be back ( that should be advert enough )

Check out the pics here or click the image below.

Self Proclaimed? Moi?

What can I say? I must have left an impression!?

The Ultimate Gear Bag?

Let's get a couple of things out of the way, I'm a web nerd and I am a gear nerd...

...ok, now we have that clear, check out this awesome Maximus 40 duffle bag which I got via a Highsnobiety online competition.

Now I have had my fair share of duffles ( though still wishing a got a limited edition North Face Base Camp duffle I saw in Chicago once ), but this one is the ultimate! After a nuclear assualt, two things will survive...insects and this bag!

It's a simple bag ( as all true outdoor products should be ). It's extremely well built and hardwearing with multiple haulage options. I really wouldn't be afraid of throwing this onto the back of a landrover or off a bus in Khatmandu...and the blue is very distinctive ( which is a good thing ).

So what is the skinny? Well it's made by the new Eddie Bauer 'First Ascent' brand, who make stuff under the 'Guide Built Gear' heading. Check the list of the people they are working with...it's a who's who of mountaineering ( remember Ed Viesturs from the original IMAX Everest movie? ). Now I have only had a chance to check out this one product, but by the look of their website the rest of it looks pretty awesome. Nice clean functional lines, no pandering to the masses...pure mountain design. Unfortunately you can't buy First Ascent products in the UK ( or any Eddie Bauer for that matter ), so looks like when I am back in the States i'll be checking more of their kit out ( looks like May for another work trip to SF ). Just look at the clean lines of the BC-100 ( and liking the blue colour too!)

Anything negative? Well this is only the 40 litre model, which whilst awesome, it isn't big enough for my mountain biking or full outdoor kit...but i'll still be using it a lot. I might even use it as my international travel bag? ( instead of a shoulder strap it actually has a very clever backpack harness instead ).

Anyway, check it out online here

It's still a fixie...

Yeah, this shows awesome skill, and you wouldn't catch me being able to do any of this on a bmx, trials or big bouncy bike...but it is still a fixie and it still looks a bit...well...silly?

Chris Akrigg THE MAURICE.0 from chris akrigg on Vimeo.

Tea...the truth.

It's a Knockout

Sorry Mr Moyles, we have had a good run and there were some good laughs, but you have changed. Let's face it, as soon as there was pressure to drop the average listening age at Radio 1, you were always going to loose out. Step in Mr Evans, he has been rebelious, but has now calmed down and is playing music which people actually like ( whatever the yoof producers say, no-one over 10 years old likes NDUBZ Mr Moyles ).

So that is that, I'm 32 and I am now a Radio 2 boy....( it was looking doubtful until Sarah 'Let's play another wacky showtune' Kennedy stepped back to allow Chris Evans to start at 7am )

So when do I get my pension?

Gisburn Forest - A Polaroid Adventure