Scalextrics time in the shop

Commencal 29 demo bike

We have just had our first (snowy) ride on our new 29er and have been thoroughly impressed. Normally I’m pretty cynical about a lot of stuff in the bike trade but I can safely say that I am now a convert to the wonders of large wheels. This bike is simply outstanding, all of my fears about large wheels being difficult to steer and handle have been proven wrong. The first bit of lumpy singletrack that we hit ( frozen mud!) was a revelation, the bike floated over the top like a small travel suspension bike but enabled all your power to be driven through the cranks and delivered to the floor. Quite honestly it felt like cheating, then the trail turned smoother where I had a feeling this bike would be in its element with the large wheels gobbling up the smoother terrain. it ws good but not quite as impressive as the lumpy stuff.

Next up was a steep climb where occasionally the larger wheel weight could be felt as we were straining out of the saddle, but this was on a climb that i know people regularly walk. Next up came some twisting singletrack, no issue what so ever with the larger wheels, didnt really feel any different and then it was back onto the bumpy stuff and it was back in its element and the grin came back as the bike powered through frozen ruts and roots. On to more singletrack where it was just muddy mess, the thin racing tyres cut through and never did you feel that you need a mud tyre ( I think you would have benefited from a mud tyre on a 26) due to the larger contact patch with the ground. The other surprising element was the bike was set to 80 mm on the front, which never felt like it was out of its depth, I cant remember the last time I rode rough stuff with less than 100mm (possibly around 96?) . The larger tyres do a huge amount to smooth the stutter stuff so with the fork set up quite hard the bigger lumps could be taken care of. So that’s me converted to 29 wheels, Im still a bit wary of the big travel designs as I think they will sit up too high but if you want a fun fast hardtail  and you are around the 6 feet mark or above, 29 is the way to go. I still believe smaller wheels are better for trail bikes and anything that is more weighted towards gravity fuelled riding and also for smaller people!

Thanks for the eggs madison

Pretty new things at torico

Great news for Torico’s newest team rider. Kade Edwards blitzed the competition at the recent 661 mini DH in the ripper category putting 9 seconds into his closest rival and he would have nearly podiumed in the juvenile category. Now, there are’nt many races that have a ripper category, So British Cycling have given Kade special dispensation to ride in the Juvenile category for this season. Nice one Kade!