Last cycle of 2021...And into 2022!...

 Happy New Year everyone!...

Rewind 48 hours and it was the day before Hogmany... and the end of another year... with work  winding down I finally got an end of year cycle, though sadly on my own as G on nightshift and sleeping, so on stealth mode I headed out early along to John Muir Country Park (JMCP) and although mid morning it was hoaching with people, probably no where else to go so did not bother filming or stopping for pictures along the busy beach at Belhaven until I rounded the point and headed across the empty Belhaven sands...

A lot of greasy mud out here at low tide but I was on the Army Pugsley and with it's 65mm rims and 3.7' (4") Surly Nate chunky tyres makes it ideal for out here.  I know I ride Surly Moonlander wheels on Surly Pugsley 2.0 which is the widest available Fatbike wheel set combination but this size of Fatbike wheel still has its place in places like out here and I definitely think the Surly Nate is the best 4" Fatbike tyre size where the narrower rounded profile if on the original 65mm wide Surly rim is the best option...

All was quiet away from the hoards out walking around on the beach alongside the river Tyne Estuary...

WW2 barb wire coils - aka pigs tails...

Cloud reflections on mirror still water...

NATE Power!...

Wee film of the cycle, song is `Nylon` by Phontaine...

Back home and after a quick hose off of mud I wheeled the Jeep out and fired it up and headed out a short drive around Town... This years mild winter weather is a blessing and it's nuts I could drive about with the hood and windscreen down!, Now, if the council would just stop spreading road salt when the temperatures are over 10 degrees Celsius!, And the forecasts are for the warmest New Year temperatures on record!,  who makes these decisions?...

New Years Day...

The 1st dawned windy but dry and clearing skies by mid morning, we headed out just before midday and being high tide the narrow beach was busy again as we cycled a loop around JMCP, I never took any pics today and just took stills off the Go Pro Footage...

Looking forward to this year, I always look forward to another new year!, Life is Good...

Wee film from the 1st, Song is `Mercy` by Gary Numan...

More soon...

Saturday Sandstorm cycle...

 

November 26th - Black Friday... It was more like Armageddon Friday with a Red Weather warning for that evening for storm damage gales with gusts over 50 mph...

We were in for an evening of wild weather...

So we were out early and although it was crazy wind it was still doable to get in a cycle with a bit planning. Parked in NB we rode through town and mostly out the gale into Yellowcraig where down onto the beach we would mostly freewheel back to NB as the sands danced down the beach under our pedals...

Check out that tailwind assisted speed on a Fatbike! - that's being blown and freewheeling!, it was hilarious flying down Broadsands....

Down at NB harbour there was a fair noise from boat rigging and we were soon again flying down the east beach to the van having had a fun 12km cycle, not a far distance but more than most folk would cycle today and have as much fun...

Wee film, Song is `Bad Stone` by The Crystal Method

More soon...

Microshift Acolyte 1 x 8 Group set; possibly the best budget/bombproof Fatbike Beach riding drive system?...

 

Top marks to Microshift for bringing out a 1 x Group set for mountain bikes at an affordable price;

Shifter £12, Cassette £30, Rear mech £30,

It may be marketed at those new to off-road cycling and on a budget, but there are plenty of folk out there - myself included who been riding off-road for years who have sat up and took notice of this newly released group set, and i am one of those folk that frankly want to buy bike parts that last and are good value, and stuff like weight and what is in fashion come later...

I`m not sure when this new 8 speed 1 x 8 wide ratio Group set will be available here in the UK but I`m on the waiting list for getting my hands on it as this could be the ideal bomb proof set up for coastal cycling as being wide ratio 8 speed allows a stronger rustproof 8 speed chain and a Surly Bikes stainless steel chainring to be used with this set.  

Coastal cycling is not just along flat beaches like mainstream cycling magazines seem to think, maybe because it is a lot easier to take photos one handed when on a flat beach that on soft sandy single track, or tackling rock fields and slabs exposed at low tides. And reliability and value for money are high on the list when using a bike in such environments. strength and reliability are foremost, while at the same time not expensive to replace all come into play when choosing a group set for your bike to suit your budget,

My past experience of over 12 years of coastal cycling on Fatbikes has taught me that Shimano`s Alfine internal Gear Hubs (IGH) looked like a good choice in the early days on the early Fatbikes with its mech free drive chain on steel sprockets - including the much proved Surly stainless steel chainring and KMC stainless chain. I also tried single speeding Fatbikes,  but it is akin to owning a Landrover to drive off road without having a low ratio box of multi range gears. The Internal Gear hubs don't like to be submerged in salt water (they seize eventually) and they need a chain tensioner on vertical frame drop outs, and are a bit fiddly to remove easily on horizontal drop outs like on my own Surly steel Fatbike frames. An IGH also puts a lot of weight right on the back wheel and makes bike shifting a bit different when your unweighting a bike -say to hop on rocks etc...  

So despite being the oldest remaining part of bicycle part design the humble derailed chain drive is an easier choice - make sure  the chain is rust proof of some description and use a good Dry chain lube so sand does not stick to it for obvious reasons. 

So I was always going on about not needing 11 and now 12 speed 1 x set ups for coastal cycling and happily settled with 10 speed group sets with everything available from Microshifts good value 11-40t cassettes on a small tucked in Derailier like the Shimano ZEE, to their 11 - 46t cassettes on regular length rear mechs. 10 speed stuff has become cheaper with the bike industry chasing the latest must have stuff (at an increasingly ridiculous price). 

I have said to friends for years `why don't you get a wide ratio 8 speed group set at a budget price?`...

Well folks careful what you wish for!, here is a wee film...

So watch here for some of this stuff getting used and reviewed riding in the harsh coastal conditions when it arrives in the UK, I will be trying it as a kit and with also with a  Microshift 8 speed thumb shifter along with rust proof stainless chains and stainless chainring. I think it will be bomber at the price..

More soon...

Lockdown Cycle Pt 55; Sandstorm out in Belhaven Bay!

 

Another high pressure day as a real cold blast came in from the Artic with strong Northerly winds gusting 30mph and things were a bit lively out on the coast!...

With no one out in such winds I enjoyed the space to myself...

Out at JMCP for a wee solo and after riding through the woods to the west I cut side on across the bay leaning into the wind as sand was whipped up and danced across the bay...

From out at the point I came flying down the beach hardly needing to pedal!...

A fun hour out to stretch the legs,

Wee film, Song is `Choose Life` by PF Progect,

More soon...