A New Fork - DT Swiss OPM Team Edition

I’ve recently been lucky enough to ride a couple of different bikes, which has provided me with the opportunity to compare them against my own Stumpjumper HT. One area where this has really opened my eyes, is the performance of the suspension fork on the other two bikes. Or actually that should be how harsh the ride of my existing Rock Shox SID fork is in comparison. My Rock Shox is fitted with Specialized Brain Fade technology which locks the fork out until the inertia valve detects a bump, at which point it opens to allow the suspension to move. The Brain does a good job of differentiating bumps on the trail from rider input, but it isn’t fool proof. When out of the saddle I like the fork to lock out securely to avoid it ‘bobbing’ up and down, therefore I have the Brain setting fairly firm. This might be a factor in the perceived harshness. To try and maintain the small bump sensitivity what I have ended up doing is using the Brain Fade adjuster more like a convention lock-out, rather than set and forget as it is intended. I back the setting off for descents and turn it up for the climbs, but this largely defeats the purpose of the ‘automatic’ Brain. I have heard that Specialized team riders requested the Brain fade dial was moved to the top of the fork for this very same reason. On race day one of my weaknesses is technical riding and my experiences riding with more supple suspension got me thinking that a more capable, compliant fork might help improve my lap times.

I hit the world wide web for reviews and user feedback on lightweight, compliant cross country forks. The MBR forum repeatedly, time and again came back with the same response, which eventually lead to the decision to swap out my existing Rock Shox for a DT Swiss OPM ODL. That’s a whole lot of acronyms!

OPM : One Piece Magnesium
Describes the lightweight magnesium fork lowers with their distinctive reverse arch. Reviews rave about the advantages of the stiff chassis when tracking through rough terrain.

ODL : Open / Drive / Lock-out
Describes the three compression settings. What attracted me to the fork was the number of reviewers who have commented how supple the fork is descending in Open mode. Drive mode offers increased damping support for technical trails and climbing under power. The lock-out is for bob free climbing and out of the saddle sprints. These modes are selected using the handle bar mounted remote lock-out, which is described on several websites as the best in the business.

This all comes in an extremely race friendly sub 1500g package. As well as the positive reviews, a certain Nino Schurter rode this fork to the 2015 World Championships - and if it is good enough for him....!

Having made the decision, my Rock Shox went onto ebay and all was looking good until the DT Swiss fork went out of stock world wide overnight! Now I didn’t have a bike and with suppliers quoting expected delivery dates like August I thought it was going to be time for plan B. However, at the last minute my contact at Strada Wheels discovered the lesser known Team edition fork in stock at UK distributers Madison. (Thanks Darren!) 300 of these limited edition forks are being made and only a  handful are making it to the UK, so it seems I have lucked out!

DT Swiss OPM O.D.L Team Edition

• 100mm travel
• Weight: 1458g including 15mm axel and handlebar lock-out.
• Carbon tapered steerer
• 15mm RWS axle
• SKF bushings
• Team Edition decals
• Supplied with shock pump

Review coming when I have had a chance to put it through its paces.

Missing Out

Sunday saw the 1st round of the Southern XC series. It isn’t the first race I have sat out this year, but this time it really felt like I was missing out! It was dry and there was the great news that a friend got his first solo podium finish. As I checked the results online I really regretted that I hadn’t been there racing against him. The truth of course is that given where my fittest currently stands he’d have collected his trophy and been half way home before I crossed the line. My fitness is as good a reason as any to save the entry fee, but I didn’t have a bike to ride anyway. I still need a pair of forks to complete the build of my race bike for 2016. Hopefully more on that in my next blog.

So maybe I wasn’t racing, but I was still out riding my old fully rigid Stumpjumper. There are so many aspects of my fitness which are lacking at the moment. I’m overweight and my heart rate quickly peaks, but it was the scary lack of stamina demonstrated during recent rides that worried me most. Endurance is usually my strongest asset, even when top end speed is lacking. The truth is before Sunday I hadn’t completed a 4 hour ride since a road ride way back in November. With this in mind I joined a friend who is training for the 7 day Trans Pyrenees race. This meant a steady (for him) 4 hours hunting for elevation gain in the hills around Duncton. 

It was disappointing to hit the wall before the 4 hour mark and today the ride is still heavy in my legs. However, no pain – no gain! There are two races in April which I might use as tuning events, but my first dead cert diary commitment is the Kawasaki 100 on the 1^st May. The 100km race distance probably means 6 to 7 hours in the saddle. As it stands forget about racing, I’d be happy just to finish!

Weighty matters with Strada Wheels

As a new Dad with added mothers day duties this Sunday, the weekly mileage continues to be a bit lean. Judging by how I was dropped like a stone by the rest of the group, on every climb the other week, my Diesel engine is more 1.1 than 2 litre at the moment. I also made the mistake of stepping on the bathroom scales the other night, it was bad news! 6kg above the 68kilos I maintained through 2015. Lets just say there is work to do!

On the bike side of things I blogged previously here about new rims from Light Bicycles, that I bought to replace my previous battered hoops. Darren at Strada wheels has worked his magic and laced them to my Stans 3.30 hubs using Sapim CX-ray spokes. They look stunning and the weight weenie in me just loves the 1470g weight - taped and valved! Ok its only a weight saving of 50g over the previous wheels, which seems insignificant when I'm carrying the equivalent of eight spare wheels around my waist, but its great motivation to get out there and do them justice. Expect a review in the coming months....

Something a little different? Trek Fuel EX 9.8

As a self confessed weight weenie and XC racer boy I have often glanced at modern trail bikes and wondered if slacker head angles, longer forks and some plumper rubber could turn me into Jared Graves.

When I was invited to ride at Surrey Hills this weekend, with my main bike out of action I contacted Alex at South Downs Bikes in Goring to see if he had a demo bike I could try. Given the technical trails around Peaslake perhaps this was my chance to scratch that Trail Bike itch. In the end Alex very kindly lent me his own Trek Fuel EX 9.8.

Its a stunning looking bike shod with 27.5 inch wheels, the middle sized half brother of the 29er and original 26er. The 27.5 inch wheel is ridden by short arses or riders hoping to maintain some of the sharp 26er handling, but still with some of the improved rolling momentum of the larger 29er. The wheels are fitted with 2.35 tyres and the Fuel has 120mm of suspension travel front and rear, with a nice slack 68 degree head angle. Its poles apart from my hardtail with 90mm fork.

Despite all these differences the thing that took the greatest getting used too were the monstrous 760mm wide handlebars! As my familiarity with the bike grew the benefits of that 120mm of travel came to the fore. The suspension means that you can ignore roots and rocks that would knock a hardtail off line and just pick the fastest route down the trail. The extra mass of the bike certainly made itself felt on the climbs, but the suspension enabled the rear tyre to maintain grip again letting me pick more technical lines. Checking my Strava account when I got home I set my personal bests on all the famous trails, like 'Barry Knows Best' and 'Yogurt Pots'.

I admit I am not normally interested in bikes with bulging 2.3 inch tyres and anything over 100mm of suspension travel. I haven't owned a full suspension bike since the 29er revolution 5 years ago. To me the larger diameter wheels made the extra weight and complexity of suspension unnecessary. However, technical riding has always been my weakness. Riding the Trek certainly gave me confidence to carry more speed and attack more agressive lines, but the limiting factor was still my own personal skill level. The advantages of this type of bike over a XC race bike are obvious in technical terrain and when decending. However, I spent the entire ride labouring at the back of the group. Dragging the burly frame, fork and wheels around really took its toll. Perhaps a there is a middle ground that might offer the best of both worlds - the Trek Top Fuel perhaps?

New arrival!

My daughter Sapphire was born on Valentines day, so cycling hasn't even been on the radar for a few weeks. On Sunday I took a few hours off nappie duty for a road ride with the boys. It was brilliant to be back in the saddle.  Surprisingly I felt quite strong on the bike, perhaps I should take two weeks off more often! 

Time is going to be precious in the coming months, so I'm going to need to make the most of my opportunities to get out on the bike. Today it was a window of 50 minutes while my wife was on the school run to collect our older son. Just time for 5 hill reps up the Sculpture climb at Goodwood.

Needless to say I won't be breaking any mileage records in 2016. I am nearly 500 miles behind last year already and it isn't even March! It will be interesting to see if with focused training I can maintain an equivalent level of fitness. Last year was built largely on commuting miles, but it was not very specific training and I expect much of it was nonsense mileage which gained little other than tiring me out. We'll see!

New Wheels!

Three years ago I bought some carbon 29er wheel rims direct from Light Bicycles in China. In terms of bang for your buck they were hard to beat! Laced to No Tubes 3.30 hubs using Sapim spokes, they built up into a 1500g wheelset. As a benchmark Specialized’s 1400g Roval SL’s are a common sight on cross country race bikes. The rim profiles and intended use are identical, but they are over twice the cost of my Light Bicycle wheels.

In three years I didn’t encounter any issues with durability and the customer service has always been superb. It is testament to both the rims and Darren who built them up for me, that they have remained straight and true from day one. However two rock strikes, one on the front which was repairable and a more serious one on the rear that wasn't, have finally brought the curtain down on these wheels adventures after 3000 miles.

So what to replace them with? If I had a pot of gold or a generous sponsor it might have been ENVE’s or the Rovals. As XC racer on a family budget another visit to the now much slicker Light Bicycles website was the way to go.

Three years ago ordering direct from Light Bicycles in China felt like a bit of a risk. I now know several riders who like me have been riding hard on their Light Bicycles wheels with no worries about durability. The amount of positive reports and feedback online is also testament to the quality of the products they produce. No fear now that these are just cheap, knock-off copies of established brands products, that will crumble to dust  at the first sight of dirt. Or that Light Bicycles customer support will vanish if there is a hint of a problem.

It is also interesting that the review of my old wheels is the most visited page on this blog.

www.light-bicycle.com  now offers  a broad range of different rim options for a diverse range of cycling disciplines and riding styles. Since 2013 the trend has been toward hookless rims. Removing the un-necessary bead hook to hold the tyre makes the rims easier to manufacture, as they do not need the secondary machining process to create the internal profile. It also leaves the carbon fibre structure intact, with the reported advantage of increasing overall strength.

My current rim profile - with bead hook

New rim profile - without bead hook

I opted for the lightest, cross country focused rims, clicked the online order button and waited 2 weeks for the tracked parcel to whizz around the world in a couple of days and then crawl through UK customs and the final 40 miles from the airport to my house! The website states a 360g weight +/- 15g. I asked if they could choose some rims at the lighter end of the scale and quickly received an email to say they were happy to oblige. Straight out the box and onto the scales the combined weight was 718g. The internal 22mm width is a little wider than my old rims and should be wide enough to fit a 2.3in tyre, which is about as large as I can imagine ever needing to go. 

New hoops!

 

The rims cost $380 plus £26 UK customs and handling fee. Building them up onto my existing hubs makes them without doubt the most cost effective route to a quality set of replacement carbon wheels. A ride review will follow when Darren has woven his magic!

Winter Mountain Biking

The weather has been pretty weird this winter. Just one short weekend of cold, otherwise it has been mild, wet and windy. This has left the exposed South Downs muddy and the chalk paths tretcherous and slippery. For this reason my mountain bike has spent far too many weekends hanging in the shed with an empty Trek Madone shaped space next to it.

I love all types of bikes and cycling, but if describing what type of cyclist I am, I would always say 'Mountain Biker'. Real mountain bikers are not afraid of a little bit of mud, so enough of this hiding behind the hedges in my clean roadie lycra.

In a thick drizzle I left home and climbed up the rocky, deeply rutted chalk bridleway to the Trundle. Despite the miserable weather so far so good. However, sticky mud and a strong headwind made the descent into the Lavant valley genuinely arduous.

The climb from the B2141 up to the top of the Kingley Vale nature reserve offered very little traction, every pedal stroke a desperate search for forward propulsion. The woodland drop down the other side involved a lot of squirming and slithering, bike and rider seldom going where the front wheel was pointed.

With the wind finally on my back  the climb from Hooksway to the South Downs Way was actually fairly brisk. At the top I passed the only other cyclists I met all day, a statistic that by itself probably explains the madness of my escapade! The tail wind still pushing me on I splashed along, weaving side to side dodging puddles, as the national trail levelled out towards Cocking. Maybe it was over confidence as I hussled the bike along, but without warning the back wheel flicked out to the right. As I tried to catch the huge tank slapper my front wheel squirrelled straight across the path and fired me directly into the barbed wire fence on the right. Nothing damaged I extracted myself from the rusty metalwork and looked around to make sure nobody had witnessed my muddy dismount. What were the chances? The only other people in Southern England insane enough to be out on on the Downs on a day like this were still in sight a few hundred yards behind. I set off quickly before my pride could be damaged any more.

Time was short, so after Cocking I snuck up the road to the Oil rig and along the service fireroad to Charlton. I was cold and soaked with half the South Downs still hanging from my bike or stuck to my clothing. My wife was not impressed when I squeltched up to the back door!

To be honest I would struggle to say I enjoyed the mornings events, but there was a definite sense of achievement that made it all worth while.