November updates
Summer is here? Eeek. Mid November already and the days are hanging on until about 9pm ish. Summer seems to have officially arrived and as odd as it sounds my mind and body take a while to adjust to having all of this extra light and seemingly more warmth (13degs with sun is warm for [...]
The GT Peace single speed is for sale
It has been fun, but the trusty GT Peace single speed is up for sale. For the first time in many many years I’m literally a two bike kind of guy at the moment. After picking up the Salsa Fargo some months ago to replace the SS commuter- the GT Peace has sat unloved in [...]
BBB Ergo Sticks – bar ends mini review
Commuting comfort The trusty GT Peace has been setup for commuting for sometime now and is working out really well with slicks and a ratio of 36 x 16. I’ve also added a rack and panniers to make the 30KM daily trip more bearable as the humble backpack is simply no longer large enough. Unfortunately, [...]
Bottlelake Forest – Laughing in the face of Winter
I cannot remember the last time that I’ve ridden at Bottlelake Forest on the single speed and was very keen to get out there this afternoon with Spencer. With cabin fever peaking due to the worst week of weather I can remember in a long time my legs were just itching to get a few [...]
GT Peace as a single speed commuter
Until I’ve researched and built up a dedicated commuter / touring bike that has pannier mounts I’ve decided to enroll the singlespeed GT Peace for winter commuting duties. I picked up a new and swanky FSA front chain ring and a beefy BMX chain today and spent a few hours in the shed…to get the [...]
Single speed riding – trail rises
This is my second post in a series about my experiences on the single speed. If you are interested in my story about how I got into single speeding you can check it out here. Basics Lots of us can be lazy when riding a geared bike… and on occasion lazy works well for me [...]
Single speed riding – an introduction
This is my first post in a series about my experiences on the single speed. If you are interested in how to tackle trail rises on your one geared friend, you can check my second post here. I’ve received a few emails recently asking about what tyres and gear ratio is suitable for single speeding [...]
This week…
Crikey! how fast did my 3 weeks holiday fly by!?! With family staying for 9 days and Richard for another 6 this end of year break was full of entertaining as well as some serious riding :) This week found me back at work with early starts, long busy days and energy on the incline [...]
Richard’s visit. Ride three. Bottle Lake Forest
Richards knee is not looking to good after his tumble at Port Hills on Sunday so instead of Craigieburn, we headed to Bottlelake for some fast and dry singletrack instead. With the singlespeed cranking (and typically creeeeaking) and the Turner’s Hope hubs “click click clicking” we put two holiday paced laps in with perfect blue [...]
2008 wrap up
Is it Christmas Eve already! 2008 has been a year full of many ups and downs which I’m sure that you can all relate too. But one thing has kept me rolling forward and that is my mountain biking. I’ve met some amazing friends, seen some beautiful places and ridden trails that have blown my [...]
My current rides
I’ve been meaning to photograph and share the specs of my rides for sometime now… so here they are. GT Peace SS Weight: light (ish) Plain butted steel frame and fork Current tyres- Maxxis Crossmarks Exceptions 2.1 (these have lasted me close to 2 yrs!!! WTF??) FSA Headset (no name I think) Bontrager AM hubs [...]
Bottlelake Forest
After work I headed to Bottlelake for my regular mid week ride. Tonight was solo as everyone was either working late or had other plans. After this weeks dry spell the track was fast, dusty and a little washy in places due to alot of lines resembling sand more than dirt. It is at this [...]
First post in some time – some updates
New Job. I started my new job this week at the University and it has been a superb week. It’s like being back at University but I’m on the pay roll :D Everyone has been friendly- helpful and really nice to work with. What is another bonus is how remarkable the campus grounds are….I’ve never [...]
New Job and full suspension considerations
After what seems forever I’ve got the blog back to a ‘readable’ state and I must admit… I really like where it is heading. The latest WordPress release is also fantastic…. what an epic effort those guys make to the blogging community! Brill. Anyway, back to other bike related stuff :D I start a new [...]
Club Grind – Christchurch inaugural alley cat ride
Yesterday I tried something a little different…. I took part in the Inaugural Alley Cat ride in the city organised by the guys at GRIND. The aim was to ride around the city as fast as possible collecting items such as a flier from a well known massage parlor, get a photo of yourself by [...]
Kayaking on the Avon & a spin at Bottlelake Forest
Today I did something a little different. An hour on the Avon river in a kayak with Craig which was alot of fun and then off to Bottle lake for a spin on the SS Peace. Boy does the SS fly with some summer tread on it!! What a fantastic afternoon chasing the daylight!
Sunshine – yes – sunshine!
As if by magic we have some UV so off to Bottlelake in a summer top I went. Yes my nipples were like Dolly Partons in the shade, but overall I was loving the 15degs in the sunshine. Strangely, I think that it is the GT’s first ride on trails that are solid in parts [...]
GT Peace single speed review
You can see many more photos of the GT Peace here at Flickr Messing around with parts I’ve now ridden the new GT Peace a few times since I picked it up just under a week ago. It has seen daily commutes and a few rides at Bottlelake forest. Also during the past week I’ve [...]
GT Peace 26″ – rigid steel single speed
Hello to my new toy! After throwing the current single speed together at the start of the winter and absolutely falling in love with it since it first hit the dirt… last night after work I eagerly picked up a new ride for the collection to replace the current aluminum SS with some more steel [...]
