Customise!

With every passing months my steeds become increasingly more personal. This month my project was to add a 'new' front brake to the Carrera. This took the form of a Shimano Saint caliper/lever that I no longer required from the little bike and a new 180mm shimano rotor/adaptor mount. My bikes are becoming increasingly 'patchwork' in their componentry, but more and more personal to me. I now have two different brake levers and two different shifter pods on the Carrera and I love it, because it is unique! I have also modified the front Deore M525 hub to a 9.5mm bolt-up hub using 15mm track nuts for an ultra-rigid front end and theft-proofing.

Its mine, and I like it.

New Brake


New saint lever


New Caliper and rotor - Notice the modified hub

Musik Gehort!

I'm stuck in a rut with music. It seems like the only new music I hear is from radio 1 (and I use the phrase music there very loosely indeed). It seems like there is no truely original talent there. All the stuff I like is at least two years old. Am I so out of touch?

No, no; it is the children that are wrong.


What i'm listening to.

* Röyksopp - Eple
* Super Fury Animals - Ice Hockey Hair
* Zero 7 - Passing By

Penglephant

Penglephant

This is Liz's Penglephant. A cross between an elephant and a penguin, its a pretty scary hybrid type animal.

Half art student, half mad scientist!

Get Karter!

KMX ST-Class

How cool is this. This would be truely awesome for anything downhill on the roads. You are so low that it would feel like doing one million miles-per-hour! I want one, and for £550 I think its a pretty good buy.

---

Father

Father

New Bits!

New forks and headset arrived for the carrera on Friday and these are the first set that I have installed entirely myself, including pressing the headset and cutting the steer tube! The MX Pro forks I selected are lovely. Buttery smooth and brilliantly simple. Two positive air chambers, a rebound and some 30mm alloy stanchions all in a bomb-proof Marzocchi casing. What could be better?

And then there is the headset. Two sets of sealed cartridge bearings all encased in beautifully CNC machined alluminium and plenty of rubbery o-rings and seals.

It is an unashamed piece of bike jewellry - but I don't care. You have to look closely, but when you do the Hope lable just screams quality. I love these discrete little touches that set my bike appart from others.

... I am very sad.

---

What i'm listneing to.

Holloways - Fit for a Fortnight
Blur - Caravan
Blur - On the Way to the Club
Linken Park - Bleed it Out

Lovely Winter Wanders

Are not winter stroles nice?