Category: Cycling

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Hope XC Rear Hub Service!

My old wheels have been on Cath’s bike for a while. The rear wheel bearings in the Hope XCs have given up the ghost with the amount of riding she has been doing recently, so I thought I would have a go at the service myself.

I found out the bearing reference numbers ‘6001 2rs’ from the Hope tech website and then found a local supplier to get some top notch SKF ones. I can recommend PT Bearings of Wolverhampton, they have an ebay shop and they arrived the next day! http://www.ptandbearings.co.uk

It all started well enough but I could not get the axle shaft and bearing to come out of the brake side of the hub body. I used bigger and bigger hammers and soon had shards and splinters of wood flying all over the place, forget the ‘soft-faced hammer’ in the service notes.

I went inside to check the service notes again, with pins and needles in my hands from all the banging, before I got the sledge hammer out. However, a quick Google search suggested a fantastic idea. Wrap the hub in an old cotton rag and then soak it with boiling water straight out of the kettle.

A fairly gentle tap from the sledge hammer (well, not that gentle) and it came out, the water having expanded the aluminium hub enough to release everything. Other than a particularly pesky circlip, the rest went like a dream, tapping in the new bearings with a 17mm socket as I haven’t got a working vice at the moment.

So, a complete hub rebuild for £12.82 and a smear of grease. Can’t be bad!

 

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National Forest – Hicks Lodge

There was a Leicester Orienteering Club foot orienteering event yesterday at Hicks Lodge, a new National Forest bike centre run by Purple Mountain. I had some OCADing to do to the map for this coming Saturdays New Years Eve event so took the laptop along and sat in the cafe whilst the girls first did an orienteering course (Cath trying her new GPS watch and Holly in her new club running top) before doing a loop of the mountain bike trails. The routes are quite tame but perfect for beginners and family groups with burms and rollers all in great condition. They both came back with smiles on their faces despite the bitterly cold wind.

Me ? I enjoyed the coffee and walnut cake and caught up with a few friends over several cups of coffee in the excellent cafe !

http://www.nationalforest.org/visit/index.php

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Kona Fire Mountain 1991- 20 years old

Kona Fire Mountain 1991

In a pre-xmas clearout I found these two photos of my then ‘new’ mountain bike – 1991 Kona Fire Mountain. Its propped up outside my student house in Cardiff in May 1991. Its had a long history, going to Sheffield for a few years in the early noughties and now as far as I know  still doing a commute in York !  Original spec included Biopace rings and 7 speed 300LX groupset.

I found this original kona catalogue 1991 for full retro heaven…

Kona Fire Mountain 1991

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Ditto adventure tag along for sale

Ditto Adventure folding tag along, trailer bike for sale – one careful ‘young lady’ owner !
rrp new £129.00

Fantastic condition single speed and one of the best designs, folding down to go in the boot of a car and tows off the seat post.

Collection from Stafford, Altrincham or Taunton. contact mark@stodgell.co.uk
£80.00 ono

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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New MTBO rules for 2012

The IOF have just publishes new rules for MTBO that take effect from 1st jan 2012 for all IOF events.

http://orienteering.org/new-competition-rules-for-mtb-orienteering/

 

http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IOF-MTB-Orienteering-Competition-Rules.pdf

The main one from the competitors point of view is that waterproof paper should now be used  which I’m sure we will all appreciate. Perhaps all UK MTBO events should follow suit as the costs are negligible.

I also think the revised definition of MTBO is also quite good

'Mountain Bike Orienteering is a sport in which the competitors, using cycles,
navigate independently through the terrain. Competitors must visit a number of
control points marked on the ground in the shortest possible time aided only by
map and compass. The course, defined by the location of the controls, is not
revealed to competitors until they start. Mountain biking and navigational skills
shall be tested in such a way that navigational skill is the decisive element. The
course shall be completed by the cyclist riding, carrying or pushing his/ her
mountain bike. Riding off the track or trail will normally be disallowed unless
specifically agreed by the organiser and the IOF Event Adviser'

 

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European MTBO Camp 2012 – now a WRE (or two)!

Venue for the Ultra Long

It seems there is now even more reason to attend the 2012 MTBO camp (to be held in Hilleroed, north of Copenhagen) as 2 World Ranking Events have been added to the program.

The forests were last used for the 2009 European Championships and are fantastic mountain bike orienteering terrain….

Final details for accommodation, events and training are now out.

 

Fri 21.00 Night Short – Praestevang and St. Dyrehave Nord
Sat 10.00 (WRE) Middle – Grib Skov Syd
Sat 14.00 Training – Stenholt Vang and Gl.Grnholt Hegn
Sun 10.00 (WRE) Long – Tisvilde Hegn Nord
Sun 14.00 Training – Tisvilde Hegn Syd
Sun 20.00 Paallikkoos Diavolo Challenge
Mon 10.00 Long – Tokkekb Hegn
Mon 14.00 Sprint – Urban
Tue 10.00 Ultralong – Grib Skov All

We have booked our flights and accommodation tonight (Hilleroed Hotel option and Stansted – Copenhagen, 7am 30th March for those interested in following suit).

For more details go to http://www.mtbocamp.dk/2012/

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Back on the bike!

Well, I hadn’t ridden a bike properly for 2 months until yesterday, just the odd easy turbo session to keep the legs ticking over. My physio gave the OK for gentle road riding earlier this week, so I have been out twice, once for 40 minutes and once for 70! I’ve been using the new Max Light Pro3 mountain bike to give an extra bit of comfort to my back, and to bed it in.

It was great to get back out and enjoy the autumnal landscapes, as I suspect with today’s winds there won’t be too many leaves left by tomorrow. There don’t seem to be any repercussions from the rides, so the plan now is to slowly up the ride lengths over the next two weeks but not get too carried away with effort, and certainly no mountain biking to cause any jarring impacts through my lower back.

2 months is a long time without any training, even for an extended winter break. I’ve only put on about 1-2 kgs in weight which should fall off fairly quickly when I get back to it. The main problem will be finding the 6-9 hours a week needed for training again as I seem to have filled this time with other stuff!