My WTB Laserdisc trails laced to Quanda hubs have taken a beating over the last few months and are starting to show signs of wear.  From a creaky rear hub, an out of true rear wheel a bent spoke or two it was time to refresh my wheels and invest in a set that should last me for a good few seasons.

Pretty much everytime I log into the MTBR forums or read a blog, somebody mentions the Sun Ringle Wheelset as a solid option as they also speak highly of the durability of the Charger Comps and the Sun Ringle Black Flag series.  The Black Flag wheelsets are XC orientated whilst the Chargers are more for trail and all mountain, the main difference being that the Chargers have a 28mm rim width and the Black Flags a 24mm width.  There is a minimal weight penalty for the Chargers however due to the fact that I weigh in at 215lbs I opted for the burlier option and went with the Chargers.

The wheels come tubeless ready and are in fact the same rims as Stan's flow meaning the set up was a piece of cake.

Front

Everything you need to set up tubeless is supplied including valves and 2 x 2oz bottles of sealant.

Rear

PRODUCT SPECS:

• Stan’s NoTubes™ BST Technology (w/Rim Tape)
• 28mm Rim Width
• 26″/27.5″/29er
• Cartridge Bearing, w/ Cro-Moly FH Body Hubs
• Front Axle – Quick Release, QR15, 20mm (All end caps included)
• Rear Axle – Quick Release Only
• Wheelsmith Spokes
• Wheelsmith Brass Nipples
• 24/28/28
• Cro-Moly Skewers
• 26″-1950g, 27.5″-2050g, 29er-2075g - Weights are based on the lightest possible configuration

All set up and ready to go, I'll report back after I've had chance to hit the trails!

The final race of the series seemed to arrive really quickly and despite the rain coming down before the event things cleared up just in time for the races to start.  The extra precipitation made the trails a little tackier and some of the bridge crossings a little greasy but all told it made for a fun and exciting race.  Most of all it was much, much cooler and not very humid!  Perfect conditions for an Englishman!

I made my way to the start full of excitement for the final race and hoping to get a good start, I lined up just behind the front row hoping to catch a break and get up the start hill on the inside line.  At 6.55pm the Experts set off followed by a few minutes wait until the starter set the Sport category away.  My hopes of a good start were quickly dashed as I got sandwiched into the middle of the gravel track right into a rut, which had been made worse by the rainfall and lost a lot of my speed.  

Getting forced into the rut - I'm in the black jersey with black & grey camo shorts

I managed to get going again and gained a spot or two back before diving into the singletrack.  Quickly heading into the woods, it was clear I was riding a little quicker than a few people in front of me so I made sure to pass them at the first opportunity.  Save for a foot down moment when the rider in front of me failed to clear an obstacle, I felt like lap one went smoothly and I put in a good time.

Into lap two the field had spaced out and I could concentrate on my own ride but without the pack in front to chase, I was conscious I kept pushing hard.  I can definitely feel my stamina has improved as the race series has gone on and I didn't get passed until the climb at the end of lap 2.

Lap 3 at this stage was just a formality, what was particularly pleasing was that I was almost 2 and a half laps in before I got passed by the leading experts, comparing this to week 1 where I was getting passed shortly into lap 3, I knew was on track for a faster time.  Heading into the final wooded section, I checked my stopwatch and knew instantly that if I kept up my pace I would complete the course in under an hour, I came to the final creek crossing and received a big cheer from a crowd of racers who had stuck around after their 6pm start and were celebrating the end of the series, I powered up the final hill and crossed the line.

Big big thanks to the Potomac Velo Club for such an enjoyable series!

Always on the hunt for a deal I came across the Shimano SLX FC-M670 on Merlin Cycles for a little over $100.  There's lots of solid recommendations and reviews for the crankset online.  The SRAM X7 crankset I had been running had been on the bike since new and had not had a particularly had an easy life from me, therefore I couldn't resist switching it out.  Shimano sells the Crankset in 170mm or 175mm options and there is a double or triple version available I went for the triple as I would be running it with a single Race Face Narrow Wide up front and the triple option would allow me to get the best chainline possible.  The main features of this crankset are:

• Dyna-Sys 10 speed compatible
• Triple - 24-32-42 t chainrings
• Includes Hollowtech 2 bottom bracket to fit 68 and 73mm shell widths

The crankset comes pretty well packaged in a neat and well thought out box. 

Out of the packaging

 Once out of the packaging its clear this is a quality item, everything comes pretty much assembled and includes drive side crank arm and chain rings, left crank arm, bottom bracket, spacers and tension cap.

Oddly Shimano uses torx bolts to hold the chainrings in place.  I didn't have the right size torx head so thought I would be stumped, however, found that a 4mm hex key works just as well.

I installed the Race Face ring in place of the middle chainring to get the best chainline possible.  My Niner EMD has a 73mm BB shell so this required one spacer to be placed on the drive side of the BB and there's just enough frame clearance to run the 32t ring.

All installed and ready to ride, I actually took it out for a blast on my local trails and found it to be incredibly smooth, stiff and responsive.  I'm not at weight weenie stage yet so unsure if I've saved a few grams by switching it out however tellingly I set a few new PRs on Strava so initially it does seem like a change for the better.

Image courtesy of Potomac Velo Club

So as week 3 rolled around some pretty crazy thunderstorms hit the area around Dulles airport making me doubt if this week's race could even go ahead.  However making the wet drive home from work and checking Potomac Velo Club's website it said the race was firmly on.  I loaded up and headed out wondering if I was in for a soaking.  As I got towards the Annandale area it was as if the rain had missed it completely and the park was dry as a bone.

Starting week 3 of the series I almost felt a veteran, however the humidity was back so I knew I was in for a challenge.  This week I wanted to come up with a strategy which might help me keep my nose ahead.  So I lined up on the inside of the starting pack and once the starter set us off gave it my all to get up the hill as close to the leading pack as I could.  I wanted to hang on to that pack as much as possible throughout the first lap knowing that as fatigue kicked in I'd have given myself a solid cushion between the other riders who have been finishing around me.  This plan worked pretty well and I'd say I was in the first group of 10 riders to make it to the top and into the singletrack, I managed to keep up for approximately half a lap and then lost ground on the first steady climb (I hate climbing).

Into lap 2 I kept pushing as hard as I could knowing that the last few weeks have helped my discover the best lines to take, which points I need to grind it out and at which points I can grab a breather.  I was a few minutes slower on lap two but confident I was finding that little bit of consistency.

Lap 3 was almost a carbon copy of lap 2 and my pace was pretty consistent by now, I knew that last week's lack of concentration had caused me to fall in race 2 so I was conscious that I didn't let my mind wander.  I managed to complete the lap and finish with a good minute gap ahead of the next rider.  Hopefully the upcoming Holiday weekend gives me an extra chance to train and I can come back even stronger next race.

Sport male week 3 results

After riding my Shimano M615 Hydraulic Brakes for a little over a month now, they were starting to feel a little spongy, mainly due to some lost fluid when I shortened the hoses so a bleed was in order.

A little research online led me to the below kit from Epic Brake Bleeding Solutions.  The kit comes with everything needed to get a good brake bleed. 

The kit includes:

• 1x 60ml high pressure syringe & injection tubing
• 1x 20ml locking syringe with Epic master cylinder bleed adaptor
• 1x Length of bleed nipple/vent tubing
• 1x Plastic bag for waste brake fluid
• 2x cable ties
• 1x pair of nitrile (latex free) gloves
• 50ml Genuine Shimano Mineral Oil (SM-DB-OIL)
• Full easy-to-follow instructions outlining the bleed process

Having completed successful and unsuccessful bleeds before I was a little concerned as to how this one would turn out.  I have however heard that Shimano brakes are pretty straightforward to bleed.  Being cautious I wanted to follow things step by step and take my time, thankfully the guys at Epic Bleed have this covered and provide this awesome step by step guide, making it almost impossible to get things wrong.

Epic Bleed - How to Bleed Shimano Brakes 

Bleeding both front and rear brakes took approx 30mins total and following the guide it went smoothly!  The brakes feel great, I'm extremely pleased and can't recommend these guys highly enough.

What a difference a week makes!

I'm pleased to say the humidity was a lot more agreeable this week and although dry and dusty the course was pretty pleasant to ride.  Having raced the week before I felt like I was an old hat at this racing lark and after my warm up lined up with the pack ready for the start of the race.  As usual the Expert Men headed off first followed by a lone Expert Female, a brief few minute gap and then the Sport Male.

I made a good start at the foot of the hill this week and managed to gain a spot or two, however, my efforts were short lived as one of the first riders to the foot of the start hill crashed the the ground, bringing two or three riders behind down with him.  Thankfully I was just out of the mess but had to slow to an abrupt standstill, regain my balance and cycle around the crash and into the climb without the momentum that I'd anticipated in getting up the hill.  Regardless I still made it to the top of the start hill and into the single track much further up the pack than the week before.  I managed to hang close to the main group for almost all of lap one and then started to drop off a little  into lap two.

Lap two I was pretty consistent and pushed on however at this point I was pretty much riding alone, I knew however that there were a few riders behind me so I was conscious I didn't start to slack off.  I got through it feeling pretty good with lots of distance between myself and the nearest rider behind.

Into Lap 3 I was pushing to keep the pace as I knew at this point I had a shot at significantly bettering my race time from the week before and possibly even breaking the 1 hour mark!  Hopes were dashed however as black clouds started to circulate and the wooded sections became increasingly dark, making it incredibly difficult to see.  A misjudged tree route caused me to hit the deck and get tangled in the bike, thankfully no serious damage was suffered by me or the bike, but by the time I managed to get going again i was being caught and overtaken.  I regained my composure, relaxed on pushed on as hard I could to finish the race,

The Results:

Week 1

Week 2

Although I finished towards the back of the pack in both races I'm pleased to see that I've managed to finish both races and in week 2 shaved over 5 minutes from my week 1 time.

I hope to keep improving and will post back next week with my results.

After entering my first ever race as a beginner last fall one of my New Year's resolutions was to try and enter more races in 2014.  In that first race last fall I'd entered in the beginner class and made the podium for my age category, however, I knew that if I wanted to improve I'd need to step up and push myself to the extra distance and competitive level of the sport class.

The Potomac Velo Club runs an annual 4 race series at Wakefield Park Annandale, VA.  With classes from Junior right through to Expert it has something for all skill levels and abilities, its a Cross-Country (XC) multi-lap course (that borders on being a super-sized short track).  It's fast and flowy, without any outrageous climbs or downhill sections.

The sport race was due to start at 6.55pm, I arrived around 6.15pm allowing myself time to get set up, and find my way around.  After registering, I hung around for a few minutes to watch riders from the 6.00pm race head off to start their final laps and then headed off down to the start line.

Just registered, looking fresh and ready to go

The thing that hit me hard as I made my way to the start line was the heat and humidity, I checked my cell phone and the temperature was showing almost 99 °F (37 °C), bearing in mind the hottest day on record in the UK is 101.3 °F (38.5 °C) this heat was uncharted territory for me.  Never the less I'd trained and knew that as long as I didn't go crazy I'd be able to complete 3 laps.

The start line was at the bottom of a short and steep gravel covered climb to allow the field to separate out, this was actually one of the harder parts of the race as halfway up the hill it was difficult to get traction whilst jostling for position.  I managed to make it to the top towards the back of the pack but definitely not last which I was pretty pleased about.  The course then runs along a gravel road before diving into the singletrack.  At this point everyone was pretty much set although the first few tight corners were a rather slow affair as the field had not had time to separate out fully.  I started to find my groove and despite smashing my pedal on a rock and coming unclipped, I managed to hold my position fairly well as the singletrack headed into the woods.  It was a this point I knew it would be a tough race for me as the humidity and lack of breeze hit hard.  I kept pushing on and knew that if I kept a brisk pace I'd be able to get through it.  As we came out of the woods the field had now spaced out and I was pretty much set in my spot for the rest of the race.

Crossing the line and heading out for lap 2

Each lap is approximately 3.3 miles long and the top finishers in the expert category lap at around 15 minutes, Strava shows my first lap as 19.10 so I still have a way to go.  The experts complete 4 laps of the race and shortly into my 3rd lap I started getting passed but most gave a clear signal they were coming by and were gone before I knew it.  Although no one likes getting lapped, seeing how fast the experts can ride and the endurance they have to do so gave me great insight into how I need to improve.

The sun starting to drop as I head out for lap 3

I was grateful of the fact that my jersey could unzip to just above my navel and let some air in as I started the 3rd lap however the relief was short lived as the humidity hit again as I dived back in to the woods.  I have to say the 3rd lap was a struggle but I made it round and got to the end in one piece.  I'll definitely be back next week but I'll certainly be hoping for cooler weather next time.  In terms of my finishing spot I'll post back with results once they are available online, however I saw a few drop out and believe there were one possibly two others behind me so I'm hoping I didn't come in last spot.  Either way I really enjoyed my first race in the Sport class against some clearly experienced racers and its given me the hunger to improve, train a little more and come back stronger for next time.