It was a pretty rough weekend at the National in Redruth. It turned out on the Friday evening I couldn't remember the name of the hotel I'd booked so I spent a good hour ringing most of the hotels in Cornwall asking them if they had a reservation. Turns out I hadn't completed the booking...
The race started badly for me with a big bottleneck leading to lots of lost time on lap 1. I spent 6 laps chasing back to 18th and feeling stronger every lap then punctured on lap 7. When I stopped to put a tube in it turned out my rear rim was trashed, presumably it had been like that for a while as it wasn't just one crack - most of the bead had come off. Perhaps cheap chinese carbon rims aren't all that... But I've heard of the same thing happening with Enve so who knows. I never DNF so ran the last 2 miles. I really hate running. The final insult was that I then ran my car battery flat washing my bike with the Dirtworker. Thanks to Llewellyn's friend for the jump leads!
The title of this post is all about the bike in the photo. I'm currently testing a prototype 650b carbon hardtail frame which is built up with some very mid- range parts compared to my race bikes; SLX gears and Deore brakes. It weighs 23.5lbs on my scales, so about 3lbs more than my Ala Carte ti. The thing is, as I was riding it round Swinley last night, I noticed I forgot exactly what the spec was. The geometry of the frame is great and that's what I noticed. The only thing which irritated me was the lack of multiple upshifts like you get on XTR on the SLX shifter. I really think the way in which mid-range stuff has improved in recent years is remarkable - in a blind test I really couldn't tell the difference between the Deore brakes on that and the XTR ones on my race bike. Replacement parts are considerably cheaper (£25 each for the rear mech and cassette rather than £150 per part for XTR...). Granted, some parts are a bit nicer (carbon post, Stans crest wheels) but there is nothing that posh on there at all.
I guess the message is - who needs top end stuff and £2k carbon wheels to enjoy their riding these days? There is a rediculous amount of money spent on race bikes but for what gain? That said, I'm still going to be racing the XTR bike...
After all it is a bit lighter... Click any of the images below for a larger view / slideshow
Is this all the bike you need?
Recovery food, GB style. Getting over a frustrating weekend's racing with champagne and Eton mess in Windsor Great Park. And yes, one of the hands is my wife...
Marathon racer & Deputy Head. Usually found eating carrot cake in Peaslake.
Thanks to my sponsors: Pivot Cycles, Upgrade Bikes, Ison Distribution, USE, Exposure Lights, ODI, Gusset, Halo, MRP, Schwalbe, Absolute Black and Rotor