Bike Upgrades - Forks

Since riding the Whistle I have made a few upgrades, In my original review I pointed out that the forks were the bikes weakest link so this was the first thing that needed changing.


My requirements for the replacements were quite specific,
they needed to be cost effective,
light weight - losing weight is never a bad thing,
Air sprung - since my weight is in flux so to speak, I wanted air forks so I could adjust them as I got lighter / fitter.
White - to match the bike
Straight steerer and suitable for QR.
A quick look round and the obvious choices came to light, RockShox XC32 solo air, Fox 32, X Fusion slide. Looking a bit deeper I came across the Manitou Tower Pro at a very good price, But did they meet my requirements?
Price - £189, Air sprung, Weight - 1.63Kg that's almost a kilo lighter than the XCT's fitted as standard. colour - white, steerer and QR - Check.
order placed, and they arrived 2 days later.
Fitting was simple

Remove the hardware from the old forks and bolt
these on, at the same time I took the opportunity to service the headset, I also changed the stem and handle bars (more on that subject later), I deliberately left the steerer long so I could play around with bar height.
The initial observation is of the reverse bridge , the idea behind this is shorter lowers which are stiffer and greater mud clearance, Does look a bit strange to ride at first.
Everything reassembled. time to start the set up

The 120 mm forks are fitted with the MARS spring system.
The Manitou Air Response System is a hybrid air/coil positive spring for an amazingly supple and active overall feel. The system allow all portions of the curve to be individually tuned.
The Damping duties are handled by the absolute plus damper this is again one of the most adjustable systems on the market, the plus damper
Switches between velocity dependent to pressure-dependent based on adjuster position. the adjustment offers an Eight-position dial for compression rate-adjustment from a nice soft ride to full lockout, The lower forkleg has the adjustment for rebound adjustments.

How does it ride?   after setting the air pressure it was time to hit the trails,  the low speed compliance is fantastic when the going gets tougher the forks have a bottomless feel, they track the ground incredibly well, they are very plush the difference between these and the XCT's is day and night. there is a small amount of flex when you rock the bike on the front brake, although this is no worse than the rockshox and fox forks I tried before getting these.
  Any Bad Points? Just the routing of the brake hose is a bit awkward and the comment's like "here mate your forks are on backwards lol "

I would recommend these forks to everyone they offer amazing feel with a low price truly one of hidden gems of the fork world.

 

Does anyone ever read posts?

Just wondering, are post actually read or followed by anyone? if so send me some feedback, Anything you would like to see ? etc

Kick Start

This week I have decided to kick start my fitness training, I have been eating well, (mostly, a carrot cake did find it's way into my diet - Carrot cake is my kryptonite) I managed to cycle to work for 4 days out of 5, I could manage all week but need the car straight from work on a Friday.
On Thursday this week I took delivery of a Sony smart band, which when paired with my new Z2, logs every movement and sleep pattern, it makes quite interesting reading, I don't get anywhere near enough sleep. review to follow once I have got the hang of it.
I have also entered a race, which gives me 4 weeks to learn how to run ! I have found a training plan that aims to get the average person running 5K after 4 weeks, so tomorrow morning I begin the program. This will fit in nicely with my work schedule as I am on late shift for the next two week and don't need to be at work till midday.
I am not worried about the cardio side of the training it is more the running part, I haven't run for the best part of 30 years. Time will tell I guess.

Need to find my motivation.

The last few weeks have been hard, I have lost a very important person in my life, Sadly the mother in law has passed away. Her death was unexpected and hit me much harder than I would ever of imagined, but not as hard as it hit my poor wife.
This has resulted in a month of eating comfort foods and little exercise.
I haven't put any weight on but I do feel low and unmotivated. What's next?
I need to sort my head out and get back to my good habits. I know that as soon as I get started it will all fall into place again and I will be back on track.
As a motivator I have decided to track my life and find out what I actually do during a normal day, how? I have recently upgraded my mobile to the fantastic Sony Z2, the phone includes the lifw log app, and my provider has offered me a smart band for half price. Smart band ordered I sit waiting for it to arrive, 3 - 5 days can be such a long time.
I will use the band and write a review shortly.
I am also setting up a gym at home, equipment obtained so far - multi gym, cross trainer, rowing machine, ab circle, and my wife has a vibro plate, and my bike. As you can see I have all the tools to kick start my fitness program again I just need to find the motivation. anyone need a training partner ?

My aim is to update my blog every Sunday minimum.

The Fat bloke returns

Hey there people,
I have been away for a while so a quick update,
I have been naughty and been eating badly, this has resulted in a weight gain !!! But this is not as bad as it first looks, let me explain why ...
2 months ago I started a new job, the allure of a 25% pay rise and revised hours was just too great.
My new position involves me spending a large part of my day on my feet, it is also 5 miles from my home, my previous job was just over a mile. I therefore am cycling 5 times the distance.
My commute requires me to ride along country roads up and down hills and constantly playing dodgems with the cars (why cars see the need to force their way past, instead of waiting for 10 seconds is totally beyond me), my ride on day one took 24 minutes, which at the time I thought was pretty good, 8 weeks on my time is down to around about 18 minutes, with a personal best of 16 minutes flat.
Since everyone of my rides is tracked a look at the data reveals that if I took the best times of each section I could in theory achieve a time of 14m38s game on.
Back to the weight gain - I have gained an inch and a half on each thigh with the increase in muscle, so I haven't put any fat on just muscle, which I don't object to at all.