A spin around Weardale in the sun enjoying the views

 

Well the weather has finally changed and for the better. I was working in upper Weardale today and finished work early so parked up at Frosterley on the way home for a loop out. I had my Creo 2 gravel bike as I was planning on doing some off road mixed in with some country back lanes but I ended up keeping on the tarmac for the full loop. The roads were lovely and quiet despite the weather being fantastic, I thought there would be more people out n about. All in my loop was just under 21 miles from Frosterley up to St Johns Chapel and back again with just under a 1000ft of climbing. I took it nice and steady and enjoyed the views up and down the valley. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon inc a Fresh Goodies Blog. 

Back out on County Durham's old railway lines for a local loop

 

Back out on my Specialized Creo 2 gravel bike for a local loop using two of County Durham's old railway lines and a linking road section. I hoped onto the old railway line at Langley Park and headed to Broompark picnic area. From there I went straight on through Ushaw Moor, Esh Winning, Waterhouses and up the hill to Stanley Crook. From there it is the very fast descent down into Crook. This is where the rood section is with an up and down to Willington. At Willington I turned left at the Coop and along the old railway line back to Broompark. Then back along to Langley Park. There was few other users out but not too busy. There was no real weather, overcast and cloudy with little wind and it tried to rain the whole ride but it kept off. All in just over 26 miles in 1hr 59mins with 1200ft of climbing. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Back out bedding the new HOPE RX2 brakes in on the Creo in the wind

 

It has been a while again since I have been out on the bike. The weather has finally picked up and it has stopped raining 24 hours every single day but I am not feeling the best. 

I had to get out and get some fresh air through my hair as they say so I hopped onto the old railway line at Langley Park and headed for Consett. I had a massive headwind all the way up so that was not a good start. I turned at Hownsgill viaduct and started to head back down to lower ground. Yes I had the tailwind all the way back down. The lines have started drying up lovely with only one real wet section going through Lanchester woods. The new Hope RX2 brakes are bedding in nicely but I have only been out on the bike twice since getting it back. I have wound in the reach adjustment to both levers so it felt much more in control on this ride. There is loads more power now and it was worth splashing the cash! 

All in 25 miles with 1200ft of climbing in 1hr 52mins. Below are a few snaps from the ride and one short video clip, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goodies - Park Tool, Shimano, Stan's No Tubes, VANRYSEL & Genuine Innovations

 

Following on from the big spend on the Hope brake upgrading on my Specialized Creo 2 there has been a second batch of purchses. 

First up is a ParkTool rear derailleur hanger alignment tool. This is the DAG-3 model. The one I bought from CRC years ago is going to be retired off or sold. The rrp is £149.99 and I paid £76.65 from Team Cycles. 

Next up is some more Co2 16g threaded cartridges from Genuine Innovations. The box contains six canisters. I have not gone down the new portable battery route yet so stocked up on some cartridges instead. RRP £19.99 and I paid £5.99 from Team Cycles. 

Next up is my old favourite tubleless sealant. I am moving over to Silca but I have loads of wheels which need a top up now again with Stans in so using this instead of replacing with Silca until I fit a new tyre. 500ml bottle rpp £21.99 and I paid £13.09 from Team Cycles. 

I don't use my road shoes or winter boots very often but I did replace the yellow shimano cleats on boots last Autumn and thought I used up my spare pair of cleats so replaced them with these only to realise I did have another spare of cleats in my pedal tub, they will not go wrong - RRP £20.99 and I paid £8.29 from Team Cycles. 

Last but not least a company which I have not bought anything from before. I am getting ready for the summer lol so thought I would try out this sleeveless base layer from VANRYSEL. Looks and feel to be good quality for the money - rrp £14.99 from Decathlon Gateshead. 

As normal there will be follow up blogs when I get them into use. 

HOPE RX2 Gravel / CX Brake Calipers & Rotors update on Specialized Creo 2

 

If you have been following my blog since I bought my Specialized Creo 2 in January 2024 you will have probably read about how much I hate the Sram Apex brakes from factory. At first they were rubbish, I thought they would scrub in but no still crap. I then changed the cheapo Sram rotors to some Shimano Dura Ace rotors which I had from another pair of wheels and it was slightly better braking performance. Then I decided to swap to Absolute Black pads and that made a huge difference. Still no where near the feel or power of any Shimano brakes I have ever used but better. When my front pads needed replacing I opted for DT SWISS Exotherm pads which I have in the Shimano road version and are excellent. Well again it turned back to crap. I scrubbed them in as per instructions and after several weeks I just could not live with them any longer. 

I had two options either change the shifters & calipers as complete sets to the new Sram Force or Rival or get some Hope calipers and use the existing levers. 

I opted for the cheaper option of Hope calipers. There are two different options RX4+ and the newer smaller RX2. After some consideration and the type of riding I do I went for the RX2 2 pot version rrp £100 each. 

They were ordered and fitted to the bike to then realise that the Shimano ICETECH rotors are not deep enough for full pad coverage. The other problem was the SRAM front disc mount was not 100% working with the Hope caliper. 

So he ordered a pair 160mm Hope RX rotors and the correct Hope front mount. Then onto the next problem, the rear brake would not bleed correctly, the mechanic tried a couple of different methods and still not getting the pressure / bite same as the front brake. So the Apex levers were stripped off the bike and sent back to Zyro, a couple of weeks later they come back with a comment "some internal parts replaced". They were then refitted to the bike and the front brake was ok, same as before the lever was sent away. The back brake just the same, no bite. The mechanic then decided to fit the front caliper to the rear and guess what it worked. 

So the rear calliper was sent back to Hope for new seals to be fitted and refitted back onto the bike again. 

So now I have my second wheelset with no Hope rotors and it would have worked out cheaper to fit a new pair of Sram Rival shifters and calipers. Lesson learnt! 

Bike dropped off Jan 13th and collected 23 days later. I will do a follow up blog once I have used the new bikes over the coming month or so to see how they perform. 

The RX2 caliper is a compact version of our RX4+, designed specifically for drop bar bikes.
Optimized for tight rear frame clearances, especially on smaller sizes.
Features a new bleed nipple for easier, cleaner maintenance

Key Features

// 2 piston version of our renowned RX4+ road/gravel calipers 
// Smaller caliper footprint allows fitment on frames with restricted space 
// Similar power to the RX4+ 
// New bleed nipple design for easier/cleaner bleeding 
// DOT and Mineral oil compatible versions 
// Flat Mount Standard only 
// Compatible with our Flat Mount X, Y and Z brackets 
// Machined in one piece for increased stiffness, reduced weight, better brake feel and increased power 
// Available in Black, Silver, Smoke, Blue, Red, Purple & Orange
// Specific bleed syringe available separately Ø
// Weighs 94g with pads

RX2 FM STD Caliper Mount options:

FRONT 140/160 mount: Ø140 rotor with X mount / Ø160 rotor with Z mount
FRONT 180/160 mount: Ø160 rotor with X mount / Ø180 rotor with Z mount

REAR 140/160 mount: Ø140 rotor direct / Ø160 rotor with Y mount
REAR 180/160 mount: Ø160 rotor direct / Ø180 rotor with Y mount

Compatibility - RX2 MINERAL CALIPERS

Shimano models Dura Ace Di2 R9270 / R9170 / R9120 / R9200 Ultegra Di2 R8170 / R8100 / R8070 / R8170 / R8020 / 105 Di2 R7170 / R7020 / Di2 R785 / RS685 / GRX RX820 / RX810 / RX600 / RX400 / RX815 Di2 / RX817 Di2

Campagnolo models Ekar / Super Record / Record / Campagnolo H11 

RX2 DOT CALIPERS

SRAM models Sram Red eTap AXS / Sram Red / Sram Force eTap AXS / Sram Force / Sram Rival eTap AXS / Sram Rival / Sram Apex / Sram S900