2010 IRISH NATIONAL DOWNHILL CHAMPIONSHIPS
KILBRONEY FOREST, ROSTREVOR, CO.DOWN

The 2010 Irish National Downhill Championships take place in the picturesque and spectacular venue of Kilbroney Forest, Rostrevor, Co. Down on the weekend of August 14/15th.

Widely regarded as the best and most challenging DH course in Ireland the track offers a mix of outright pedal power and savage technical sections to test the best. The track to be used is the similar to the tracked known locally as the ‘Champs track’ following it being used for the 2007 National DH Champs.

Hosted by the Chain Reaction Club in association with Monster Energy and with timing by NACC the event organisation standard will as usual be high. The focal point of the Irish season is always massively supported by the strong local DH and XC community and Chain Reaction Cycling Club are offering FREE entry to any riders who have taken part in 4 of the 2010 Irish XC NPS events.

The Chain Reaction Club has secured sponsorship from Monster as well as a massive prize fund & raffle goodies to the value of £10,000 and struck a great deal with Stena Line for those riders wanting to taste Irish DH racing and the world famous Irish craic and a touch of the black stuff.

Spectators can enjoy the craic and a touch of the black stuff in the nearby village of Rostrevor and town of Warrenpoint. Camping will be permitted in the finish field and there’s plenty of accommodation options available locally. Only 41 miles from Belfast, 66 miles from Larne and 74 miles from Dublin there are plenty of ferry options as well as airports at both Belfast and Dublin with similar mileage.

Chain Reaction Cycles will also be fundraising during registration and at the event and riders have an opportunity to win Signed Jerseys from current World Champion Steve Peat as well as Josh Bryceland, Nico Voullioz, The Atherton’s, Scott Beaumont, Rizla/Suzuki World Super Bike Team, CRC Intense team and a signed print by legend John Tomac.

Other goodies due to be raffled include Mavic Deemax Ultimate Wheelset, Shimano Saint Groupset, Identiti Krisis SL Frame, DMR Exalt Frame, Marzocchi 4X RC3 Forks + Much Much More in aid of Galway Visually Impaired Social Club & Camphill Community, Glencraig

All riders who enter will also receive a FREE T-shirt complimentary of ChainReactionCycles.com and Monster Energy plus a goody bag full of essentials for the weekend.

Registration

Entry for the event will be Pre-Registration PRE PAYMENT ONLY by clicking on this link. http://fs17.formsite.com/offroadeventsreg/DHNationals2010/index.html Registration will close on Friday 6th August with strictly no entry allowed after this date.

Detailed information about the event can be found at www.IrishDH.com

This just in from Tina at Irish DH…

James News

After several gorgeous weeks weather we headed up to meet Ed Oxley at Lee Quarry in the rain on Wednesday. Ed helped trail designer Rowan Sorrell turn local Countryside Officer, Tony Lund’s dream of creating a new kind of trail centre to life!

Wideopen has used Lee Quarry for bike testing before – it’s compact nature made it a great place to try things back to back over a consistent trail. The variety was ok, but the short loops meant you could have a lot of fun just sessioning sections without feeling guilty…

6 months on and over the winter Rowan with the help of his band of trail builders – including roping in locals like Ed (from Great Rock fame) have added several new lines at Lee Quarry and built a completely new loop at nearby Cragg Quarry. The variety is trails is pretty decent with something for all abilities to have fun on – and how could I not mention the berms! Mahooosive berms… everywhere! Awesome!

These photos are by Denis Oates, the official council photographer and show Ed and Rowan blasting the new trails at Cragg Quarry – as well as local trials ripper Ali C doing some incredible stuff on and around the cool new pump track!

Rowan at Cragg

Rowan at Cragg

Rowan and Ed on Cragg

Rowan and Ed in the sunshine at Cragg Quarry

Ali C rides a sculpture at Lee Quarry

Check out the article in Issue 13 when Wideopen has the first press exclusive on the new trails for Trailscene, with an interview with Tony and help from Ed… out end of June! If you’re heading up there before and want a guided ride get in touch with Ed and see what he can offer :)

James News

Body armour and protection are standard issue for most riders these days – and with high profile accidents the benefits of wearing a neck brace have been pushed by both riders and manufacturers. Thanks to Andy at Hotlines here is the latest on the Leatt range…

Introducing the new DBX neck brace by Leatt®, the bicycle specific neck brace system developed by the same people who started a revolution on the Motocross circuit. Designed with BMX and Downhill Mountain Biking in mind, the Leatt-Brace® DBX neck brace features Leatt®’s patented Alternative Load Path Technology™ (ALPT™). ALPT™ is the key to the success of the Leatt-Brace®. This innovation helps disperse the energy of an impact to the head and helps to assist in the transferring of forces away from the vulnerable neck to the upper torso. The DBX comes in two variants; the DBX Ride, a glass-reinforced nylon construction with basic adjustability and the DBX Comp, a glass-reinforced nylon construction with full individual adjustability. Leatt® – Engineered for Performance.

Leatt DBX Ride – £229.99

Leatt DBX Comp – £349.99

Hotlines will be stocking both DBX braces along with all spares and brace accessories, they will also be stocking the Leatt luggage range. First deliveries of stock will be at the beginning of June 2010.

For more information, please contact the Hotlines sales office:

Hotlines UK – 0131 319 14 44 – sales@hotlines-uk.com

James News

It really is a lovely looking bike. This is the same build as those cheeky shots we got at Cycle 2009 last year, and the sleek oval top tube really does look amazing. The mahoooosive forks (160mm travel, 35mm tubes) are perhaps a touch overkill for the average UK trails but Cy assures me they’re a hell of a lot of fun.

You can pre-order one (the production frames are due in mid March) at Cotic’s site here…

£370 gets you a 5.4lbs hardcore hardtail with lovely finish, quality tubing, British design and great pedigree. The BFe was a burly development of the classic Soul. The production frames will feature slimmed down regular tubing on the rear seat stays to add a little more give to the rear end – it’s shaping up to be a real beauty.

Check them out at Cotic – and read all about her in Issue 12, due out in early March.

James News BFe, Cotic, hardtail

It feels like I’m running a bike shop at the moment – a garage FULL of bikes… we’re heading off north of the border in a couple of weeks for a weekend of hardtail ragging.

First to arrive at Wideopen towers was the 2010 Genesis Alpitude, a complete bike option from the UK designed, Madison supported bike company – and an update on a bike we tested last year on longterm test. Back then we were really impressed so it was a definite for the trip north.

Main change for 2010 is the increase of travel to 150mm with minor tweaks to geometry to suit. This bike passes the CEN regs discussed in Issue 11 and is a well spec’d, well finished lovely looking machine. At a shade under £1600 it may seem expensive but in our opinion is worth a ride if you’re over 5′8″ and in the market for a light but sturdy hardcore hardtail that’ll EASILY keep up with your mates on FSRs on more trail centre based riding.

Check out:
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/alpitude/alpitude/overview/
(also available as a frame only option – but why bother when the full spec’d bike is great components at a great price!)

Read what we thought in Issue 9 here…

James News

Well you wait all year for an Issue of Wideopen and then one comes along on time?

Yes you read that correctly – our aim of having Issue 11 with you by the end of 2010 is still looking do-able (keep those fingers crossed with us!)

Contributors from across the country are rattling off interviews, reports, articles and more – all for your enjoyment.

Expect a few interesting Industry articles in this ‘off season’ issue – along with a first look at two new test bikes.

Keep your eyes peeled on the site at the end of December, or in the meantime sign up to our Facebook group for an update the minute it’s available on our site!

James News

Winter is a bugger for you and your bike and whatever riding you do we at Wideopen try and cover the products that make this time of year just that little bit easier…

The second parcel to arrive at the office this week was a little smaller than the one from SKS (see Christmas Goodies Part 1)… but size isn’t everything and it was very exciting to see two bottles of the new chain lubes from our friends at Juicelubes.

Now strictly speaking one of these isn’t really suitable for this time of year! Juicelubes have produced two chain lubes, one for summer and one for winter (roughly speaking) and that’s probably a good enough description for most of you!

Chain Juice is the wet weather lube and is quite a thick green lube which after being applied to a clean(ish) de-greased chain should last a few wet weather rides without the need for re-application. It also promises to not go that lovely gunky black that a regular lubricant can in wet weather conditions.

Ceramic juice is a dry lube. Again after cleaning and degreasing your chain (Juicelubes recommend their ‘Super Gnarl’ reviewed in Wideopen Issue 10) you apply liberally and leave to ’soak in’ before wiping off excess with a rag.

We’ll be giving both a thorough testing over the winter and into next year. Expect to see a Longterm report in Issue 11 and 12 to cover some dry weather (with luck!)

Check out the Juicelubes website for more information. We’ll let you know when and where it’s available for you to buy.

James News

Winter is a bugger for you and your bike and whatever riding you do we at Wideopen try and cover the products that make this time of year just that little bit easier…

First up we’ve got some pretty pimp mud protection from German brand SKS. Now mud guards aren’t exactly the coolest products to grace these pages and they’re not everyones cup of tea but if you’re sick of a face full of crud and an arse that looks like you’ve been wrestling with pigs then take a look at these…

First impressions are good quality products that should last a few winters – and quite nifty they’re easily removable for when the dry weather rolls around again. Pricey, but worth it? Check out in Issue 12 next year for a Longterm result. In the meantime you can read the technical info on the SKS website.

Read more…

James News

A Gamut P30 arrived in the post today thanks to the lovely chaps at Madison.

First impressions are good with a solid feel, quality finish and simple fitting. This P30 is a dual ring chain device and one that’ll be fitted to the Cotic Bfe when it arrives in the new year. Brief first look in Wideopen Issue 11, out before Christmas.

RRP £114.99
www.madison.co.uk

James
Producer / Wideopenmag.co.uk

Sent from my Three mobile

James News

First report in from Jon aboard the Longterm test bike – the new Ragley Blue Pig, built up with a selection of tasty Nuke Proof parts courtesy of the lads at Hotlines…
A nice new build to suit my need for a slightly longer roomier hartail without loosing the fun factor of my Orange SubZero comprising:

16″ Ragley Blue Pig in Skwosh £259.99 www.ragleybikes.com
Billed as a Revolutionary Steel long travel hardtail, featuring a very distinctive 3 finger chainstay allowing massive tyre clearance whilst providing enough space to run a 36 tooth mid ring with no issues.

Bridgeless seat stays and chain stay mounted IS disc brake give a very clean looking idividual rear end. A key feature of the frame are the bolt on cable guides providing flexibility in cable routing choices.

My initial impressions of the frame were ‘WOW’ an amazing looking paint job with custom placeable sticker set.
During the build the bolt on cable guides fought all the way but the benefits in looks and flexibility outwayed the dificulties.

The paint job, however didn’t please during the build, a coating of paint around the top of the seat tube and along the clamp slot required removing before the seatube could be fitted.

The paint reared its increasing ugly head whilst trying to fit the rear wheel, I have ended up removing the paint from the non-drive side dropout to allow ease of wheel fitting.

Once the build was complete the Ragley had impressed me no end with a great ride and resonsive handling it climbs easily and descends with a smoothness that it’s length can be thanked for, but showing it a rocky rugged track shows it is no bland ride it was flickable, chuckable and most of all fast!

Here’s to a winter of muddy, rocky and fast trails around the Peaks, Wales and Scotland to fully test the Pigs gravity desceding and brutal ascending attitude.

Nukeproof: Warhead 27.2 x 400mm seatpost £44.99, Warhead 50mm 31.8mm stem £59.99, Warhead SL 1 1/8″ headset £39.99, Warhead 760mm 20mm rise Bar £44.99. www.nukeproof.com
What can be said for initial impressions of cockpit parts and seat posts? well with the Nukeproof kit a quality finish and attention to detail springs to mind.

The surfaces and fit were flawless with great quality graphics. The Headset is smooth and compact and time will tell its durability. Lets see how things run and how they cope with a winter of grit and mud!

Nukeproof Neutron Cromo Axle Pedal £69.99 www.nukeproof.com
After many pedals requiring adaption after first ride (get the grub screw box out) I was pleasently surprised to feel comfortable straight off with the Neutron pedals. They are noticeably thin whilst still featuring a deep concave design. From the specs the seals, bushes and bearings indicate a good lifespan should be expected and the finish still looks as good as new even after a few gritty rides and a couple of comedy crashes.

Nukeproof Generator all mountain wheelset £299.99 www.nukeproof.com
Featuring: Nuke Proof Generator hub set and SunRingle MTX 29 rims. New in built up but not yet ridden, can’t wait as they look and appear the part.

The sticking Glass yellow hubs are a bold statement wihich actually go well with the Orange of the Blue Pig, It’s nice to have an individual looking hub which isn’t an anodised show piece.

The build of the rims appears spot on with good spoke tension and no obvious abnoralalities. Sealed bearing front and back should see a long life with minimal maintenance which works well for me and my favourite mud and grit.
A few rides over the next week will give me an initial opinion as to there performance.

Overall the build has gone well with minimal problems and a continued long term test will let the bike prove itself, here’s to seeing you on the trails as you can’t miss me on the orange and yellow beast!

Jon will give us a more in detail look in Issue 11 (out Christmas), with a wrap up article in Issue 12 out in 2010.

James News