DATES// 7th APRIL, 28th APRIL, 12th MAY, 26th MAY 2012
TIME// 9.15am – 1pm
LEAVING FROM// Noah’s Ark bike shop, Brimscombe near Stroud, GL5 2TA
DISTANCE// Approx 50k-60k
THE LOW DOWN// Relaxed, social ride, a few climbs, a coffee & cake stop. Helmets and a
road specific bike required. (sorry, we will have MTB rides another date)
Lycra encouraged, but not mandatory!
EXTRAS// Energy drinks will be provided by Noahs (please bring a water bottle). Car parking and showers
are also available at the shop. Please bring cash if you would like coffee & cake en route!
We’ve had a busy week here at Noahs! If you haven’t been down the shop in the last week, we have changed the showroom around a bit. OK, it’s not drastic, but we think it looks pretty awesome and we hope you agree. We’ve got media to keep you entertained, and everything should now be a little easier for you to find. Come down and check it out, any feedback is welcome.
George is the Bike Shop showroom manager. He’s a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ so you will have seen him either in the showroom or running around the premises doing some job.
This bike was a bit of a labour of love. After seeing photos of the bike appear during the 2010 Windham World Cup, he decided that he HAD to have it as his next bike. Initially Specialized weren’t going to bring the Limited Edition colour scheme into the UK, however after many phone calls and nagging, they agreed to bring some in. 7 months later and it finally arrived!
The bike was aimed to be used for racing during the 2011 season, however because it turned up half way through the season he could only manage a handful of races on it. The idea is to race as much on it as possible during the 2012 with Luke
The bike is kitted out with a mixture of trick, yet value for money parts. The forks are RockShox Race’s upgraded with a Elka Stage 4 cartridge. Stem and pedals are courtesy of Point1 Racing, which is only a small company yet make some amazing products. The pedals weight and depth are something a bit special and prevent rock strikes. Ethirteen cranks offer incredible strength and stiffness whilst good ol’ Hope Pro II EVO wheels with DT Swiss EX500 rims are a reliable and relatively light weight option. Overall weight comes in at 37lb12oz. Not bad considering there isn’t any air suspension or super lightweight parts on it. Keep an eye on the blog, this bike is still an on-going project.
All parts off this bike are available through the shop, so if there is anything you like and want, get in contact with us.
Also, if you fancy building your own Demo 8 custom build, pre-order the 2012 Demo 8 frame. Frames are coming into the UK towards the end of 2011.
Luke is one of our skilled mechanics who builds and repairs our customers bikes day-in day-out.
After a little break from riding Downhill, Luke is back on board and getting ready for racing in 2012. Instead of buying a new rig, Luke decided to do-up his 2007 SX Trail into a more Downhill specific machine. I think you will agree that it turned out quite nicely.
You can probably tell he’s done quite a lot of work to it; notably the polished finish. The graphics have been custom made by our friends over at CR Signs who have done an awesome job on them.
For the build, Luke wanted a mix of strong, quick components that wouldn’t break the bank. First off he replaced the Double and Bash set-up with a single ring with an e.thirteen LS1+ chain device courtesy of Silverfish, whilst his broken Marzocchi 66 forks were swapped for a pair of 2010 Fox 40s to slacken the bike and add stiffness. Colour co-ordinated Race Face Atlas FR bars, Funn RSX stem and Maxxis Ardent 2.5 Super Tacky tyres finished off the upgrades to make the bike more of an ‘all out’ Downhill machine. Since he finished the bike, he’s been out on it as much as possible (probably seen him at Nibley if your a local). He’s now being tempted by the new Specialized Status and is probably going to put an order down for one, so watch this space on what he does. Also keep an eye out on the ‘Events’ blog for more ‘Staff Rides’, race results and any events we organise.
Nirjala Tamrakar has won the Forest of Dean MTB Enduro held on the 25th September. With testing weather and track conditions, Nirjala managed to win by a comfortable margin in a time of 02:17:23, which would have put her high up in the mens standings!
For the past few weeks, Nirjala has been working in our workshop to help develop her mechanical skills. She has also been out training with some of our regular customers, enjoying the local trails and Gloucestershire scenery.
Nirjala is the current Nepalese XC National Champion and has come over to the UK to prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games, which she will be participating in.
Nirjala riding in much better conditions than the Forest of Dean
Next ride: Saturday 19th June, 9.30am (not yet confirmed – please check on this website or with the shop before setting out)
Ride details and route: tbc
Social road rides take place on the occasional Saturday morning, leaving Noahs at 9.30am sharp. Why road? Well, whilst it’s great to get away to trail centres or the hills, for a long day out or weekend on the mountain bike, there’s not always the time. With some great local road riding on the doorstep, a couple of hours spinning the pedals keeps the fitness levels ticking over nicely and we can still be home in time for lunch.
The usual aim is to cover around 30 miles and be back at the shop by midday. The rides are 100% tarmac based and will generally be a healthy mix of flat and hilly terrain. The group will stick together on the flat and regroup at the top of any climbs if necessary, so don’t worry, no-one will be left behind. The pace will be steady, nothing too frantic but not a dawdle either! You don’t have to be on a road bike – you could fit a pair of slicks to your mtb or hybrid and roll along just fine. If you arrive at Noahs by car, there’s plenty of free parking, plus toilets, shower and kettle for a post ride brew if you wish to make use of them.
You’ll most likely enjoy these rides if you’re comfortable cycling for a couple of hours without any significant stops and confident dealing with the wide variety of road and traffic conditions that are likely to be encountered on the day. All are welcome but please note, as these are not official, shop-led, guided rides, you must be over 18 years of age and you remain responsible for your own safety on the day. Thanks.
Sam Hart put in a stirling performance on 28th December 2009 to secure a creditable 2nd in the second round of the Meridia Brass Monkeys Winter Enduro Series! Sam, riding for her club London Pheonix, pushed hard to gain her second podium in a row. The upcoming third round on 31st Jan in Parkhurst Hill, Tweseldown is a challenging mixture of fire roads and single track and will test the best.. lets hope the weather has warmed up a degree or two by then.
Noah’s staff enjoyed a relaxing day on 28th Dec 2009 at Castle Combe racing circuit in Wiltshire as a ‘thank you’ for all the hard work during the Christmas period. The single seater Formula Ford drive was a great experience but unfortunately despite various attempts there were no spins or crashes. Roll on next Christmas when Chris (Noah’s owner) is going to pay for us all to do a Formula One driving experience in Italy…. isn’t that right Chris?
Noah’s Sam Hart secured a 3rd place in the VERY wet the inaugural Brass Monkeys enduro event. ‘..while a big shout has to go to 3rd placed Sam Hart who smiled the whole way through and despite coming home with just minutes to spare before the cut off was desperate to get out and do a final lap!’
The event saw a surprise entry from Olympic Gold medallist Rebecca Romero who despite mechanical problems early on in the race came in a worthy 6th. Rebecca Romero is an Olympic silver medallist and World Champion in the sport of rowing and in 2008 she become World and Olympic Champion in the sport of Cycling. In doing this she is the first British woman in history and the second woman in history to win medals in two different sports at the Summer Olympics. Rebeccaromero.co.uk Event Review Lap Times
