Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Big thanks everyone!!

Since I started writing this blog back in 2011 a lot has happened. Updates, race reports, reviews and a whole lot more I was writing about. And I liked every minute of it I can tell you that!

The page hits were increasing nicely over the past few years and the blog has reached a massive milestone recently: the pageviews hit the 100.000 during yesterday. 

That is big news my friends, I'm very very happy to see this! I'd like to say thank you to everyone who is taking to time to visit my blog and returning from time to time. Thanks a lot for all the positive feedback I've been getting, it does help so much to keep the blog running! 

Thanks again and stay tuned, there's more to come! :)

Sunday, May 11, 2014

The Pink Fever in Dublin // Giro d'Italia 2014 Stage 3


I prefer mountain biking but of course also love road cycling. So, it was pretty obvious for me to be at the finish line of the Stage 3 of the 2014 Giro d'Italia that finished on the Merrion Square in Dublin City Centre. It would have been a big mistake to miss out an opportunity like this. 

I got there nice & early, did the usual souvenir hunt for my little son Rhys and myself and then managed to get a perfect spot just 200m from the finish line, pretty much up front at the barriers. Happy days! I mean with the size of that crowd I think I got lucky to be able to get that close I think. Happy days! :) 

Good spot alright, can't get much better than this

I followed all the action on the big screen just right accross the street and watched the fast guys storm down to the finish line like hell. It was truly special to watch the best road races in the world going for the stage victory! The speed was insane! 

The buzz was great out there today despite the usual random Irish weather (rain, sun, rain, sun). The crowd was great and the organizers did a great job putting everything together. World Class show it was and I'm delighted to say I was part of it today. Who knows when would I have a chance to watch a stage finish of a Grand Tour again? 


Friday, May 9, 2014

Cannondale Lefty PBR 90 29er suspension fork



Now, it is definitely something different I have to say. Cannondale's Lefty suspension fork design has been around for a long time but let's be honest: it still creates lot of "interesting" conversations between mountain bikers. It's kind of a love it / hate it type of thing. 




The Lefty is a different fork in many ways. It has double crown design, oversize inverted structure and square-in-a square stanchion design. But one of the biggest difference compare to a standard fork is that it uses patented hybrid needle-bearing technology. So it has rolling motion instead of sliding motion.


The Push-button Platform “lockout” that also has the rebound adjuster. Nice & neat.

If you put that big load of sweet inventions into one fork the result speaks for itself. Light, strong, stiff and very smooth fork with a savage look. What's not to like? :)




One of the Lefty specific details: the caliper mount on the fork is open, so the brake caliper can be removed very easily in order to take the front wheel off the bike. Yes, it needs to be removed but it is fast and easy and completely hassle free. 




Firts impressions:

The first thing that I realized is that I can't stop looking at the front of the bike. Looked weird but in a twisted and cool way. Loved it straight away! Feels just like a normal fork and tracks very well without any control issues. No flex at all, the whole thing feels very stiff even on the roughest trails. Once I got more familiar with the bike I started to strech the limits a bit more just to see is there any weakness that can be spotted. There's none. It's simply brilliant!


It looks weird but got used to it after about 10 minutes




So, it's all good! No regrets at all, I'm a very happy Lefty user and hope to ride on this fork for a long-long time. In the main time I enjoy the ride and also the "Hey dude, half of your fork is missing..." type jokes. There's plenty I can say that, haha! :)