The Kit

This page will be updated to show how the kit (that I have been kindly provided by my forward thinking sponsors) works and develops. But please be assured that if it's on here, then it is a cracking bit of kit. I, my team mates and Rob the manager, would not compromise our abilities to complete the WC2C and 7DS with equipment that we don't fully believe in.

Please re-visit this page and see what I'm using, and what they're designed to do at the extreme ends of their design parameters. It will need a bit of scrolling, though, and will probably remain "Under Construction" until the year end.

If I would buy (or lust after) it and it will aid the rides, then it will be on here. You get my drift.

Satmap

If you've read my blog then you'll realise how much I love the Satmap. It's awesome, period. I've taken to riding with it in a plastic bag on it's bike mount, because I don't like getting it dirty. It is designed to get dirty, mind you, but it's really worth treating this little puppy with relish and respect.

Plan your route directly enroute, on the Satmap, or modify it whilst you are actually out and doing something grown up and gnarly. You don't need a computer, but if you have one then you can use any .gpx compatible mapping software suite and plan it, then export it to the Satmap using the Satsync software. There is also an on-line mapping page, licensed by Satmap which means that you can plan your journey on-line and share it.

It works!

It can get a satellite lock on in my lounge and I can then navigate to the kitchen and back again!

The screen is huge, and this is a real and very functional plus. It's easier to read a 1:50000 in detail on this, than it's paper original, such is the quality of the screen and data!

Remember, you can actually use it and change the routing whilst on the move.

Try that on the other makes; the other ones that don't have full OS mapping.

I couldn't have done the WC2C without the help and ready reckoning capabilities of the Satmap unit. I love it even more, now. At the seasons' end now, and it's time to start using her again to recce "The Double". I am looking forward to it.
 

Skins

Maybe, one day, I will have the bottle to put some photos up on the site with me in my skins? You'll just have to put up with the fact that, from some angles, I'm shaped like a potato.

These high grade compression garments always raise a point of conversation when you are training with like minded individuals. People buy them because they believe in them.

I once spent half of my clinical life prescribing patients with similar garments, so I know and believe the basic science behind them. This scientific and evidence based backup is only just catching up with the designers, but I believe the next 5 or so years will show an increased understanding of proprioception and "economy of movement" for want of a better term, when using skins.

On the first day out, I went for my normal 3hr ride using the sweet spot (just below lactate accumulation). These rides are good for building aerobic base but are quite taxing. I'm lucky to be able to do these quite early on in the training season.  I got to three hours and felt really good, so kept going, since my next day was messed up due to the impending Christmas celebrations.  I stopped after 4hrs 30mins. My legs felt great, until 2 days later. I had wringed the life out of my legs.  Don't get carried away on the bike when you start wearing them. You need to treat them as a training aide, and take it slowly!!

After a couple of days active recovery I did the same ride again without the skins...
...3hrs and I was creamed. My quads felt like Popeye's.

The recovery tights are my favourites though. I put them on after each workout and vow to take them off after a couple of hours. I keep forgetting. But, when you realise that they are there, you recognise the gentle compression. It's this that is helping to facilitate the natural muscular pump action to clear away any workout detritus. You forget that they are on because they are so progressive in their smoothly applied compression.

Super comfortable.

You probably don't realise how much of a beating your upper body takes when you go for a ride on the mountain bike, so try this.  

Ride one day for ages and ages over loads of cross country and trail centre terrain. Think about your arms as you are hammering down the hill. They sometimes feel a bit like bingo wings, don't they? Your triceps are flapping about as you hang onto the bike and loads of microshocks are traveling up your arms, through your elbows to your shoulder girdle. The next day your arms and shoulders/traps are a bit tired, tight and ache a bit when you get on the bike.

I normally (used to) suffer from a tight left rhomboid after a bike ride.

Next time, wear skins sleeves or a long sleeve top. I've done both now, and the difference on day 2 is major. It's like shock absorbers for your arms and shoulders.

No aching in the upper body, and that's after 270km of riding this weekend.

I'm off out to buy some for my partner, because she doesn't believe me! Physios, eh?

Update (20/07/09)

I'm still using the skins, and my rhomboid problem is gone. We have also received some white Skins, which suits by pale blue skin nicely.

Jo is now convinced by skins and has bought a few tops.

I used my white skins long sleeved top and my black longs for my earliest challenge of the year. My arms are normally in tatters after 12 to 14hrs on a long ride. Nothing like that happened this time, and a day after completing the WC2C my arms are fine.

Now at the end of the season, My skins are looking well used. I really rate their benefits, and have rarely ridden, at all, without them. They have had a lot of use through a very long and busy off season and racing season.  I will be sticking with skins.

Jo is still loving hers. Everyone comments on how femine the styling is on her tops, but nobody says I look hot in mine!

Neoguard

This is the simplest little gadget, and one of the most effective.

It's easy to remove and reapply and cleans really easily either on the bike, or off.

The best bit?

It's cheaper and lighter than any mudguard system I've ever used and is more effective.

So it's no wonder we see these on a growing number of downhill bikes, and the time is ripe for us to use them on xc bikes.

Check out the photos on the WC2C Gallery. My relatively clean face, after 22 1/2 hours of riding, shows how effective the Neoguard is.

Scottoiler

The idea of the equipment on this page is to make our challenge that little bit easier.
I've raced motorcycles for years, in the past, and used a few of these on my road and also my track race bikes. Obviously the motorcycle version is a bit different, but the theory is exactly the same.

This little baby oils the chain, without your having to stoop and do so, after taking the oil bottle out of your backpack (and spilling stuff everywhere in the process). All you have to do is "squeeze the squid," and your chain cleans and oils itself.

The best bit? When full, it still weighs less than a small chain lube bottle.

It's a no-brainer.

25 minutes is all it took to fit.

There will be photos along at some point to show the difference between my chain and my mates, after long rides.
 
This unit functioned flawlessly on the WC2C (7DS4).

This has been the single most interesting thing to people when they look at my posh bike.

"What's that?"

My chains have lasted twice as long as normal, as have the chainrings. But the simple fact that the chain stays serviceable and relatively clean throughout a muddy 24hr race, and I still didn't have to stop to oil it, is testament in itself.
For 30 quid, you can't say no, really.  Try one.

Hope Hoops

One of the last additions to my bike, ready for the WC2C. These are the SP XC3 wheels with straight pull spokes and Dt swiss 4.2d rims.

The hubs are easily the most space age out on the market. Every little piece of extra material seems to have been machined away to leave an aesthetically pleasing and lighweight hub.

Hope haven't gone for rims which sacrifice strength for weight, and the spokes are not of the superlight variety. However the resultant wheels are the same weight as those I used last year that were built with Olympic rims, Revolution spokes and American classic hubs.

The difference in stiffness between these and my previous favourite wheels is staggering. I used to put up with some vagueness in steering, and a "soft" feel, even when the spokes were tensioned to their top limit. There is no need to put up with that on Hoop Hoops though. They don't flex.

I must admit to having another pair on order; Stans rims on the sp3 hubs. These are going to be purely for 24hr races.

Hope Brakes

I have the Mono Mini X2 brakes. After years of using others on my race bikes, I have come back to Hope, for various reasons. I actually bought some and then got my sponsorship deal. It was the same with the wheels too, actually.

The main reason that I wanted to move back to these stoppers, is the fact that you can get ALL of the spares for rebuilds, easily, without trawling through encyclopaedic parts lists on unfriendly sites. The main dealers stock all of the parts in kit form.

Simple!

But when you use the brakes, you also realise other reasons for going with them. The lever blade is perfectly shaped for 24hr hands, and all of the edges are nicely rounded. The braking force is well metered via the smooth modulation offered, and you can stop really quickly when you want to.

Perfect!

Oh, they look nice too.

Both the Hope Hoops and the Hope brakes were awesome. The wheels were stiff and tough, and needed to be. The brakes were superb, and my hands were comfortable for the whole ride, where I normally have to adopt multiple strange positions, to relieve the pain when using other manufacturers offerings.

At the end of the 2009 season I can tell you that I am hooked on this kit.

Both wheelsets have had a right lot of abuse, including Avalanche Trophy Trail races. They have been stiff, solid, dependable and most of all, good looking. They weigh next to nothing and the bearings still run smooth and silent. The only difference in the wheels is that one set is on DTSwiss 4.2d rims, and one set is on Stans' 355. My personal preference is the Stans, but that's probably because I'm turning into an XC queen, and losing my trail heritage.

I can't say anything about the brakes. I haven't done anything but hose them down and change pads. They have been superb. Strong braking, with much better modulation than Jo's bike which is on another make of brakes. Incomparable, really

661

Due to the ergonomicaly shaped grips that I use, I find that un-padded gloves work the best for me.

Up steps the Raji Glove, in white of course. Easy to pull on and off, well vented and soft. The main feature for me, apart from the softness and comfort, is the towelled thumb area used for wiping noses etc. There are no hard little bits of plastic to catch you unawares.

Comfortable hands for the whole of the WC2C, and my nose wasn't cut to bits after all that time of wiping the icicles off of it at night. I think these are the smartest gloves out there, otherwise I wouldn't have asked for them.
Season end: I have more of these on order, for one good reason. They are great gloves with a lovely palm and lightweight protective back.

Exposure Lights

I don't need to say much about these. They sell themselves, as people ask about them on every ride or race. I like them so much I bough a few more sets, so Jo could use them.
We have 2 sets of MaxxD and 4 Joysticks now, with the added benefit of the great little piggyback battery.
That's belief in a product!
Obviously I much prefer to use my bespoke "7ds" lights which have my name etched in them.

Nice!