Time to swap onto summer tyres - 45NRTH Husker Du

After Angus was racing on my Carbon Beargrease @ Hamsterley Forest last Saturday he came back with a dusty bike so time to swap the winter tyres. We took off the Surly Nate tyres from the front of the Alu Beargrease and Arrans Mukluk and put on my 45NRTH Husker Du's. We are keeping the On One Floaters on the rear for the summer months as they are over half worn! The Nates are rolled up and boxed away ready for the Autumn time again. Hopefully we will get some warmer / drier weather over the summer months for the Husker's to roll on. 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Park Tool AWS-8 Ball end 3 way allen key

I have used many different types of Allen keys over my 30+ years of repairing/maintaining bikes and have found the best solution is never to use cheap quality unbranded ones as they dont last two minutes and can damage bolt heads. I have two Y (3way) allen keys which have square ends so fancied a ball ended Y to add to my collection. I have a full set of L shaped allens keys with ball ends but like the feel and use my Y shaped ones when there is enough space to use them. My square ended ones are manufactured by Snap on and branded Wrench Force, they have hudreds of hours in use and are still in perfect condition. I can see the Park Tool model lasting just as long hopefully. Here is a link to the tech info from Park Tool. The rrp is £9.99 but i got it in a sale for £4.99 inc delivery.

Fresh Goods Sunday - Sram QuickView MTB & Road Garmin Mount @ Garmin Silicone Case 800 Series

When i bought my Garmin 800 the bundle package didnt inc a fly mount but when Angus got his new 510 there was one inc. On my Litespeed winter road bike i have the head unit mounted on top of my stem with a standard mount but when you are following a route map its too far back for viewing properly so i wanted to mount it in front of my bars. The garmin fly mount you cannot fault but the rrp is mega £'s so found these alternatives from Sram at a faction of the cost. They fit within minutes and hold the Garmin head unit with no problems. On my Beargrease i have the mount on the bars but can swivel around when the bands become stretched and you hit the rough stuff. I cannot use the standard mount on the stem as i have left some streerer tube / spacers above the stem and the stem is quite short. So when i found the Sram road version i noticed they did an MTB version which is mounted in the opposite direction and is shorter than the road version. I wasnt 100% sure it was going to work but by tweaking the angle of the bracket the unit clips in ok and is a perfect angle to view from the saddle. Road version £12.79 & MTB version £11.48 inc p&p. rrp £15. I also treated my Garmin to a new Silicone Case £6.83- green for when its on my Beargrease. I kept the standard black cover for when i use it on my other bikes. 

Easter Holiday @ Glentress on the Fat Bikes

A short break up in Peebles to get some mtb'ing in @ Glentress. On the way up the brakes failed on the van so had to do an emergency stop at Hawick and pulled into the nearest garage to get them checked out. Nearly 4hrs later & nearly £400 lighter we were away again. By the time we got to Peebles after a stop off at the Butchers @ Selkirk to stock up on meat / pie supplies it was late on. The following day woke up to pouring rain and poor visibility - Blue route, few hours later were plastered in mud/grit and soaked to the bone. Day 3 - work up to pouring rain and poor visibilty again - Red route, the trails were even wetter with massive puddles. By the time we rode back to Peebles were freezing cold and soaked to the bone yet again. Straight into the swimming pool for a heat up in the steam room. Day 4 - woke up to some sunshine - shame as we had to pack up to come home, bloody typical, not to worry back again the summer hols. Oh and i forgot my winter boots as well. Here are some photos from the break -  

Left sunny Co Durham, starting to Cloud over @ the Border

Helping hand at the top

Then hes away !

Into the mist we shall go

Started to dry up and mist gone on the way back down again

Time for some air on the second of last section on the Blue

These Salsa Carbon Beargrease's cant halve fly

More weight on the bike to keep me down

We use to new cycle track to link upto Peebles/Glentress & Inners all the time now, saves paying the £4 per day carparking fee.

Time for a quick barbie between showers

Not many views on the Red route today

Well manky weather at the top, didnt stop long

Back to Peebles and soaked / frozen to the bone. 3 degress @ Glentress

Sun even came out to drive home

Re stock of meat / pies etc on the way home @ Selkirk

Fresh Goods Sunday - Fenwicks Chain Cleaning Sponge

I have been meaning to buy one of these for a while now and when were in the Lakes i got one from Cyclewise @ Whinlatter. I normally used an old car sponge but they are too soft and get greasy very easily. I already use Fenwicks Foaming Degreaser so time to try one out. You dont get alot for your money bit then its not alot of money really. Here is the tech info from Fenwicks
Chain Cleaning Sponge - It's not just a sponge!

Use with Fenwicks Foaming Chain Cleaner
Fenwicks Chain Cleaning Sponge is a revolution in cleaning your chain, designed to be used with Fenwicks Foaming Chain Cleaner, it makes cleaning your chain quick, easy, mess free and you use a minute amount of product compared to any other method of cleaning - no waste! Specifically developed as a highly durable and cost effective alternative to cumbersome chain cleaning tools. Saving you money :-) as it doesn't easily break
How to use the Chain Cleaning Sponge
No need to wet bike beforehand even when dirt is dried on.
Step 1: Apply Fenwicks Foaming Chain Cleaner and allow to soak in.
Step 2: Insert chain into 'V' slot of sponge on the lower section of the chain.
Step 3: Holding sponge firmly in position, run the chain backwards through sponge for 30 seconds.
Step 4: Rinse chain thoroughly with clean water.
Step 5: Re-lube with any highly rated Fenwicks chain lube.