Remolition Roadtrip Roundup (well - my bit at least)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Remolition guys are having a roadtrip from Lands End to John O’Groats and are trying to get in as much riding as they can on the way. Even better – they are doing it for charity!

I really wanted to meet up with them when they got to the Lakes, but unfortunately I was stuck in work – so managed to take last Friday off and joined them on the first part of their Scottish adventure.

The plan was to meet up at Livingston skatepark “nice and early before the mini-scooters and crackheads come out” on Friday morning. After a brief delay and drive around Livingston, I met up with BFC freestyler Martyn, who was doing more jumpy stuff on a board than I have ever seen in real life before...craziness!

Soon enough Roger, Smilie, Wil and Daz rolled up and quickly got riding...with someone who shall not be named pulling a surprising amount of freestyle skillz out of the bag...

I had no intention of riding the skatepark; I had brought my NoSno brakeboard with 9’s/8’s and snowboard boots (I had bought some bits to give me a full 8 inch setup that I could easily swap in and out – but apparently they were delivered at home just as I arrived at Livingston...typical). But no one ever rides a skatepark on a downhill NoSno and the Rem guys thought it would be funny – so after padding up and some tinkering, I rolled in and managed to make it all the way to the other side of the park in one go before I ran out of speed. I rolled in again to the same effect – in the time it took to get out of my bindings, Martyn had pulled off about a half a dozen 3’s...

 

A bit of classy vandalism and a sweet photoshoot later and we headed to Edinburgh Bings. I had no idea what Bings were...I tried googling them but found nothing...I thought they were maybe a Scottish way of saying “pleasant little hill”.

I was wrong. Edinburgh Bings are essentially big red slag heaps with 60% gradients that make you cling on for dear life as you try to avoid extra’s from Dr Who and UPVC windows. They were insane!

Martyn showed us some good runs and we watched him and Roger nail some sweet rock drops before me and Wil tried riding what was essentially a bobsleigh run. I faceplanted at the bottom next to quite a nice peach coloured corner bath.

After our urban exploits we said goodbye to Daz (going home) and Martyn (nipping to Glasgow to “get some”) and drove up north into the Scottish lowlands and camped at an awesome campsite.

Saturday we met up with Dave and Al, who showed us a track that they had spotted going up a mountain named after spanish sausage or something. It was a nice walk up, but at halfway it was obvious it was going to be a b*tch to ride; rough and rocky in places and you would constantly be avoiding hanging your axles. Group consensus was that we would try and ride our way back down in stages to the smoother lower sections. I didn’t like the rocky parts – but the bottom section was a gorgeous track running through a beautiful valley.

Fom there, Al drove us to another track he had checked out – kind of like the Welsh competition track “Dave”; it was a great twisty turny firetrack that was a peach to ride.

Back to the campsite for fire and food overlooking a stunning Scottish valley.

Sunday was an early start (for mountainboarders...) and we drove up to Dunkeld to meet with Martyn, Dave and Al to ride at the Hermitage. This was more my style of riding – big firetracks though a pine forest. Al was good enough to be the uplift and drove us around the forest so we got loads of riding in; we rode one of the Scottish Downhill competition tracks (I’m going to need a ton of practice to get a half-decent time on that one – it was really slidy in the wet with loads of corners that you had to take “just right” or you would lose your speed) and a few contenders for the second competition track (a fantastic 1mile+ track which had unfortunately been ruined by recent logging and another which was the fastest firetrack I’ve ridden with two challenging 90 degree corners).

By early afternoon it was time for Al, Martyn and me to head off home and leave the Remolitious explorers to venture further north into wolf country...

If you’ve ever ridden for two days back-to-back you will know how knackering it is. After three days I was shattered. These guys have ridden every day straight for nearly two weeks solid! If you haven’t already – please support their charity efforts.

Mullets and Road Trips

At this very moment the Remolition guys are shredding their way North on a two-week road trip from Lands End to John O’ Groats. If you haven’t already, please feel free to sponsor them (the money is going to the Midlands Air Ambulance Service – a great cause for us riders who like to do stupid things in the middle of nowhere).

 You can track their progress on Remolition Extra and arrange to meet up with them on their travels (due to lack of showers, I would probably suggest meeting up with them sooner rather than later).

I’m hoping to find them when they are around the Lakes towards the end of this week and will probably be sticking around and heading up to Scotland for a couple of days riding (if Scotland hasn’t been flooded by that point).

Whilst up there, I thought it would be a good opportunity to have a go at riding with 9’s on the front and 8’s on the back; what I like to call the Mullet (business up front and party in the back)...although that name doesn’t seem to be sticking for some reason. It’s a technique that’s been pioneered by freeriding guru Roger and it seems to be one of his better ideas, so I thought I’d give it a try. The idea behind it is that the 9’s on the front get you over any rocky/muddy ground but the 8’s on the back retain their manoeuvrability and reduce weight.

 So up front will be the normal 9 inch Primo Strikers on Primo Composite hubs and on the back are my lovely 8 inch GI Maks on some MBS Rockstar Pro’s. This does mean that my freestyle board currently has no wheels...but the idea of me doing anything that remotely resembles freestyle is quite frankly...absurd.

I’ve also got a set of Maks mounted on a spare NoSno Alloy Axle, so if I get the whim to ride brakeless (it’s not happened yet, but you never know...), I can easily swap out the front axles without having to mess around with the brakes.

BTW: if you or anyone you know of is selling a NoSno Custom 12*790 deck – please let me know.

ATBA Downhill Series 1 - Write-up

A slightly late follow-up to last weekends posts live from the Downhill Comp in Whinlatter.

The final results and a great vid can be found here.

I was surprised by how packed the Masters was and it was a battle to end up 8th in the class - but I was pretty happy with my time. Typically...I only had one bail on the day; the final corner of what would have been my fastest run (it was about 3.31 with the bail)...but thats life.

A massive shout-out to Roger for organising the day and to Allan for helping out and building a roll-in that didn't terrify anyone or break. Also congrats to Travis and Brennig for tearing up the Seniors class.

I managed to get in some filming with varying results...I had attached a camera mount to my front axle...but unfortunately the mount was aiming too far up and only caught the sky.

I managed to film the entire run:

 
I also managed to get some decent footage on the final corner of the track and had my first attempt at trying to edit to music - its pretty basic but let me know what you think.

Now I cant wait for the 2nd comp in Wales at Dave and have added a 12x790 custom NoSno deck (the 10x770 is just way too flexi for me and is killing alot of speed) and maybe a GoPro to the shopping list...  

Macclesfield Freeride

The Macclesfield Freeride meet was last Saturday and it was a great day with a phenomenal turnout (for mountainboarders...).

I’m not sure if it was because it is now an annual thing, a great way to get in the first ride of the new year or if freeriding is getting more popular…but there was a definate buzz about this meetup that we need to keep throughout the year.

Ade has a write up on his blog that I couldn't possibly top, so I would suggest you check out if you haven’t already (which has links to Remolitions pics and Rogers write-up).

Highlights for me:

• I got to ride my NoSno for the first time in decent conditions and I am a convert!
• Getting to meet a few new riders and catch up with some regulars.
• Finally getting a decent pic of me riding (it’s tough when you mainly ride solo…)

Macclesfield Forest Meetup

If you’ve not already been out for a ride this year – the Macclesfield Forest meetup this weekend looks like a perfect opportunity to blow away the xmas cobwebs and get in a new years freeride!

Lovely image borrowed from Remolition.com

It’s in the middle of the country as well – so no excuse about too far to travel!

Feel free to come along and check out the event on Facebook, Surfing Dirt and Rem’s write up of the last Macclesfield Forest meetup.

I’ll be there testing out the new NoSno and will be bringing my spare brake board (the ABS/comp 26x setup) if anyone wants to find out what brake-boarding is about firsthand.

On a side note, I was out last weekend trying some snowboard boots I’ve picked up. I managed to get them to fit in NoSno soft bindings, but found that without the back plate of a real set of snowboard bindings, heelsides were a nightmare…they were also a barsteward to walk up the hill in.

Anyone else managed to ride in snowboard boots without snowboard bindings?

My first NoSno

On Friday my NoSno turned up and after 15 mins of tearing open wrapping and checking everything out, I’ve got to say I am seriously happy with the purchase. Everything was in great condition and the only niggles are that two of the 9’s have slow punctures and some of the ratchet springs have gone on the NoSno soft bindings – nothing that I cant fix.

Friday night was spent setting it up; which meant swapping out the axles so that the brake is attached and fitting my 9’s & NoSno soft’s (I’ll fix the others later…). At this point I encountered the well know problem of NoSno wheel bolts and tri-spoke hubs… tighten up the wheel nuts too much and they don’t spin freely/don’t tighten them up and you risk losing a wheel. Luckily, a quick question posted on Surfing Dirt and a short time later and it was suggested that I should be using a spacer in the hubs – like what Primo Composite hubs have…which coincidentally were attached to the new 10’s that were included. Hubs all swapped out and it was ready to go!

Hopping around the kitchen (sorry about the muddy tracks GF...) and it felt much more manoeuvrable than the comp 26x, being significantly shorter and despite only being a 10 deck, wasn’t too flexible given my….ample….frame.

You can see in the pics the comparison to the old freeride board (I decided to throw the new components on there for the time being….saves losing them in house somewhere).

Saturday morning I took the new board up to the test track at Longridge Fell for a spin. Not great conditions to be honest, having snowed the previous day and the fireroads turned out to be covered in almost 2 inches of slush/ice/snow.

My first ride of a NoSno...in snow. Oh the irony.

I managed to get a few runs in, but it was pretty uneventful. The slush was like riding through mud and I couldn’t get any speed up. I also learned that my feet weren’t in the right position when I tried my first heelside turn and there was nothing under my heels so I almost fell off backwards. Classy!

I’ll be heading straight back out as soon as conditions are a little better.

Oh – while I remember…I have also picked up some snowboarding boots to try riding in. Now on the lookout for some cheap Flow bindings.

Hibernation and joining the NoSno Owners Club

So there’s not much happening up here at the moment and I have been half tempted to throw up some …*shudder*…filler posts.

I’ve noticed that every year that I’ve been mountainboarding, I end up not doing any riding from November to January – usually because of a combination of family commitments, crap weather and dark nights. This year’s no different – except I also have Skyrim taking over my life hour by hour.

Despite my boards being in hibernation, I’m still lurking around Surfing Dirt and on the look out for mountainboarding deals and possible trails on maps.

I’ve recently turned 30 (the only positive is that I can now enter the ATBA Masters Class) and my goal for the past few months has been to upgrade to a NoSno Downhill Pro (with Brake) in time for the 2012 ATBA Downhill comps. I was either going to do that by shelling out for a new board (£1250 *gulp*) or going secondhand.

I’ve been unsuccessful in finding any secondhand boards or saving a grand for a new one…buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I have managed to get a bit of a steal off eBay; a NoSno with a 10x770 custom deck, alloy axles and ABS (fitted to a spare alloy axle). There are also a load of other goodies in there for me to play with.

This should be pretty much perfect for my first NoSno and I should be getting it soon and will be able to take some pics.

I’m really psyched and I’ve already started thinking about what upgrades I want to make….(probably a 12x770 deck, composite axles and a Hope brake…which will essentially make it into the Pro Downhill and leave me with enough parts to make another NoSno!).

Obviously the best part of it is that I can now join the NoSno Owners Club!!!

Updates will follow!

What squeaks and likes cheese…?

…Not my brakes…

In my last post I talked about getting a new set of Heatsink brake pads for my ABS brake.

Well I managed to get out to the Test Track on Saturday morning to give them a try-out and they seemed to work fine. Admittedly, it’s not as steep or fast as the descents in the Lakes, which made it hard to compare the braking power against the old stock pads.

What I can say is:

• They definitely slowed me down equal to or more than the old pads,
• During harsh braking, I was being thrown forward more than I used to with the old pads,
• They were quiet!!!

Quiet...I know! Who’d have thought it? Admittedly they were a bit squeaky on the first couple of runs, but then they seemed to bed in and were silent. I shot this video to show how quiet:

Note – it wasn’t running particularly fast and I was purposefully braking before every right turn to demonstrate the noise…so I never really got up to a decent speed which is why it looks so slow.

So – all in all they seem good, but I guess this weekend’s trip to the Lakes will show how effective they really are.

I need more (braking) power!!!

Until the day I win the lottery/persuade the missus to let me buy a NoSno Pro Downhill with Hope disk-brakes (*drool*), I will have to make do with my (admittedly rather splendid and quite effective) ABS brake.

I’ve had very few problems whilst using the ABS (I had the mountings slip a little during some extended and particularly vicious braking and lack of power on Skiddaw…which was stupidly steep) and on the whole I think they are absolutely awesome! But then…nothing ever got worse by making it that extra bit awesomer…did it?

In advance of the Five Passes Mountainboard Challenge next week, I thought I would beef up the ABS a bit more, just in case the passes are a bit too steep/quick. Goofymark over on the Surfing Dirt forum first had the idea of looking into custom brake pads for the ABS so I decided to follow in his footsteps.

Heatsink Bikes produce custom Trial Biking braking solutions – specialising in Magura compatible parts. Word in the biking community is that they are pretty good. Since Goofymark first tried out the pads, Heatsink have come up with a few different pad compounds so I dropped owner Steve an email and he gave me some advice on what pads to try first.

Excellent first impression – Steve emailed back with some suggestions on pads and modifications to the brake disks. The pads arrived quickly and turned up with some Haribo! Winning!

I went for Heatsinks Yellow Magura pads (£18 inc. P&P). Fitting them was a piece of cake – wheels off, pop out the old pads, stick in the new ones and put the wheels back on! The pads are slightly longer and thicker than Magura pads, so the brake then needs to be re-aligned.

The easiest way I have found is by putting a 1p piece (or something of similar thickness) between the pad and the wheel and then tightening the mountings up. Knock out the 1p and the pads are a perfect 1mm away from the wheels.

As I said – the pads are slight longer than the standard Maguras and I found that I had a tiny part of the top corners hanging over the edge of the brake disks – but that shouldn’t matter. Rinse and repeat for the other brake.

I took my rig for a very quick test by rolling down my street and the Heatsink pads are definitely more effective than the standard Magura’s and that was in the wet (although they aren’t NoSno brake level yet..). They were also bloody noisy! Hope that stops soon….

I’ll be testing it out properly at the Test Track this weekend, so will post an update on how they do.