Scott Solace 10 Dura Ace

Mmmm, 

This is a off the shelf bike and it's beautiful. Full Dura Ace, Solace frame that's stiff and responsive, yet compliant and comfortable. 

Solace models start from £1999 and we have a demo bike in store now. 

Our Look 566 Custom

Well isn't this a pretty bike. 

Large 56cm frame, Ultegra Groupset, 3T carbon wheels, bars and stem. 

We have totted all this to a RRP of £4499. We can offer this one off bike for £3499! Because we built this bike, we can play around with the spec. 

Come in and have a look. It's already causing heads to turn!

Saracen Ariel 151

Just a few little pics of this little stunner. Great value for money, carbon rear end, dropper post, Fox forks, clutch mech, all standard. 

This one is sold but check back later as we may have one of our own..

Core Show and The Bike Place - ESI and Carbon-Ti

ESI are a silicone company that create a tidy little range of grips and bar tapes. For MTBs they make a standard and a thicker grip. They are impressively light at only 50g and are available in a large range of colours. The grips are very shock absorbent and comfortable but may not be ideal for those who prefer a more consistent feel. The conventional style of ESI grip are perfect for XC and single track / trail riders but for anything more demanding, a traditional grip may be better. They also produce longer tubes for drop bar bikes but they don't exactly look the part. Great news is that now ESI have released a tape. 

I quite like the tape, it's rather clever. It's the same deal as the other grips, all the colours, doesn't weigh much and is comfy. Unlike other tapes, there's not stickiness and it's versatile. There is a chamfer cut from the tape. This means it can be wrapped around the bar so it's flush and there's no ridges, or it can be used the other way up and will appear ribbed just like in the picture. 

Because it's made from silicone, it's super stretchy so it is easy to wrap but also you can vary the thickness depending on how tightly you wrap the bars. Variable thickness if you like.. Again due to its material, it won't hold water and remains grippy. At £39.99 it's not cheap, but consider the fact that you can reverse it when it's tatty and all of the other benefits as mentioned. 

On the same stand we turn away from the stunning Cielo frames and the Chris King bling-ness to find the rather spectacular ELS mule. (Points for those that know what ELS stands for in the bike trade). This bike was so light it needed to be tethered down. Dripping in Carbon-Ti products, this bike was made just to show off. 

From the new hubs to the one piece Ti replacement SRAM XX1 chain ring, it's designed to be less than light.. So if you want to shave the grams off your bike, think about Carbon-Ti.

Core Show and The Bike Place - Adventure Bikes and Accessories

Planning on riding off into the sunset? Or planning on doing a 'Kevin' and heading out to Scotland for a few weeks? There is a certain American brand that is becoming the default option for adventure cycling. 

Surly and Salsa are the genesis of all the snow / fat bike trends but unlike some, they remain functional. Many fat bikes are being released to fit with the trends. 

But at the top of the game is this full carbon Salsa. If you have over £4k and you need to ride over snow or sand in the middle of nowhere then I think I have found your bike. 

The Salsa Fargo set up with the bags was right up my street. Steel frame, 29" wheels, drop bars plenty of bags and it's YELLOW!

The Bike Place Show also had some Fat bikes to offer

Extreme brand 45NRTH are now available in the UK via a major distributor so you can now get such awesome-ness as these SPD boots for the worst of weathers. 

It's got furry insides..

Core Show and The Bike Place - Lovely Lightweight

I am sure many people missed the Lightweight room. It was hidden away upstairs but it was worth finding. 

Not only did we get to see charming Chris Hewings, but there was some stunning Matte Black-ness. 

We have been selling Lightweight Wheels for some time now and each pair still feels special. However rather than feeling fragile, they are solid. As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a damage cover scheme available. I have also been told that rim damage to tub rims can even be repaired in most cases. 

They have also have a rather beautiful frame set in production. It's just stunning and as you can imagine, it's not exactly heavy. 

Accessories are also available. You. Can also order road bars, bottle cages, skewers etc. The bars are a massive 168g in weight, crazy! Much like the 18g bottle cages. It's all amazing. 

And yes, here's the hangers :-)

Lightweight Wheels

IIf you are after hand made awesome-ness then Lightweight wheels should be a good start. With another set of these leaving us last weekend, they are becoming ever more popular. 

At £3k+ a pair they are a premium choice but not a fragile one. They have a weight limit of 110kgs on some models and clincher or tub options are available. Lightweight also have a damage replacement cover option for their products to ensure you are never without wheels for long, even if you manage to destroy a pair. As the frosts threaten to approach, the already poor roads will undoubtedly get worse and the risk of hitting a pot hole will increase so cover like this is wise. 

Another one of our brands, Mavic, are also doing such a scheme. Again becoming popular as the risk of damaging gear becomes expensive. Mavics cover extends to some of their other products too, such as the helmets and shoes for example. Remember you can only get this cover on products purchased from an autherised dealer. 

So whether is some Aksiums for the winter rig or LWs for something a little more special, come and have a look in store. 

Ps. If you have ever wondered what happens to the unfortunate rims that don't make the cut, they get made into coat hangers, check them out..

http://lightweight.info/int/en/fanlager

Ok, that's pretty light weight..

We always talk about how light is this or that but this is a whole other level! 

2.7kgs! 

It's rather special and the whole thing is a bit of a mission to make. So you won't just nip out and buy one. Make sure you read the full article on: http://antranik.org/worlds-lightest-road-bike-at-2-7kg/

I would love to get my hands on this thing to really see what it's like, would be good to know how it rides too.. Any comprimises on performance or compliance.. Wait about 30 years and I am sure there will be 2 or 3 examples like this. Ok maybe not but it's fun all the same. 

Out On The Bikes!

As many of our regulars will know, we spend all our time fixing, selling, upgrading and talking about bikes but we rarely get out on them! A few days ago we tackled the impossible, lived the dream and went out for a bike ride. 

I must admit that at this stage our main focus and target is the pub. We aren't out to break records or set the road a blaze with our immense speed but to be in a position to require the refreshment that pubs offer. 

This event did gather a range of bikes types, we had: alloy, carbon, steel and titanium. 

It did give us an opportunity to try out our new Trek Domane's, alloy and carbon. Lets just say, if you don't ride bikes or you have ridden a stiff bike, it's a world apart. These bikes still move when you stomp on the pedals but they have the compliance that makes them super comfortable when in the saddle. The alloy bike has at least 5% more compliance than its rivals and the carbon has a massive 35% more than its rivals. Beyond reciting the info off the trek site lets just get it strait, I'm impressed!

As Trek are making some changes to the way they structure the model years, it's worth dropping in and having a chat about what's new. I say this because everyone needs a Domane!

Ritch@KR

Have you seen this Fat Bike?? Loaded with Phil Wood.

I dread to think how much it would cost but all I know is that I want one!

Kitted out with a Carbon frame, custom rear end and Phil Wood goodies including hubs and fork crowns. This makes me happy :-)

We have various Phil Wood shiny-ness in stock so call us or take a look here:

http://www.kineticrush.co.uk/brands/phil_wood.php

Ritch@KR