A local gravel / country back lane in the mini heat wave on the Creo 2

 

Well the mini heatwave has hit Co Durham with the temperature reaching over 20 degrees making it rather warm to say the least. Still no rain so everything off road is still bone dry, dusty and rock hard which makes it easy going on the bike. On this ride the wind had also died down so made it easier going up to Consett etc. On the down side with going out later and the good weather every other man and dog is out enjoying the old railway lines around Co Durham. The roads also seem to be a lot busier with traffic and drivers in a mad rush to be somewhere for some reason. At least you can enjoy some sunny and warm looking snaps for a change. Again this was a similar ride to Sunday but shorter in distance due to time and a part return leg of country back lanes. I think its about time I dragged my Creo 1 gravel bike back out as I have been lazy just hopping onto my Creo 2 all the time. Enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

Fresh Goods Sunday - USE Ultimate - Race Stem 100mm x 31.8mm (ULTRACESTEM100BK318A)

 

Moving back onto parts / components that I fitted onto my Specialized Creo 2 when I bought it last year. The stock Specialized stem in nothing to write home about in the looks department but it does what it needs to do and that's about it. The streer'er clamp diameter is not the standard size as it clamps onto the future shock cartridge thing but Specialized give you a shim which can be used to convert the diameter size back up to a standard stem diameter 1 1/8". I am using USE carbon seat posts so thought I would buy a USE stem as well. It looks old school XC, which I like and comes in six different lengths from 80mm to 130mm in 10mm increments. The weight is not too heavy and not too light either. Fitting is simple enough with two allen head bolts for the steer'er clamp and four allen head bolts for the stem clamps. The logos on the stem are printed in both directions so you can flip the stem for a 8 degree positive rise from a -8 degree negative. The quality and finish is spot on and it has not caused any problems in the year plus of fitting the stem. As for value for money well I paid £60 which is not too bad for stem of this quality and weight. 

RRP £80.00 and I paid £60.00 from Winstanley Cycles inc p&p 

Manufacturers Blurb - 

The Ultimate Race has been designed to be light weight, ultra-stiff option for Road racers or XC racers. Created from forged aerospace 7075 Aluminium which is then CNC’d to ensure strong enough to go through the rigorous FEA testing, simple to install as conventionally clamped to 31.8mm bars and Carbon friendly.

Technical Specs
Length	80mm	90mm	100mm	110mm	120mm	130mm
Weight	142g	146g	151g	151g	150g	164g
Drop	132mm
Reach	80mm
Clamp Diameter	31.8mm
Material	Forged 7075 Aluminium

A local ride of two halves in weather and terrain - Crawleyside / Parkhead on the C2C

 

Don't worry I am back now. We have been on a wee holiday break to over the Scottish borders. We stayed in Peebles and called in past Hawick, Innerleithan, and Kelso. The weather was fantastic and not a drop of rain! I did not take a bike as we were only away three days but managed loads of walking and swimming. 

Anyway I am back and needed to get out on the bike again. I woke up to some lovely sunshine but that did not last long and by the time I reached Consett it had clouded over and was overcast. I had a stonking massive headwind all the way up to Parkhead / Crawleyside from the Consett junction. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I was going to have it as a tailwind on the way back down. The lines are still lovely and dry and rock solid so it was easier going under tyre. Once I turned at Crawleyside I did have the massive tailwind and topped 36mph coming back down without pedalling. It was lovely and quiet going up first thing but it was busier coming back down after the turn at Consett towards Lanchester. The sun was getting back through the clouds again but it also tried to start raining so I hoped onto the little country back lanes for a good loop including a few climbs before dropping back into Lanchester to pick up the old railway line again. It is still not that warm with the Garmin reading seven degrees going out and around fourteen coming back in. Below are a few snaps from the ride including a couple of short video clips at the bottom of the blog, enjoy and hopefully more soon-