Our WHEELBASE Castelli Cross was back this weekend for the 4th round of the North West Cyclocross Association league. The event, held locally at the Westmorland County Showground, was packed out with supporters, racers and volunteers. The tough course, set by WHEELBASE Castelli MGD rider Stu Reid along with Paul Loftus and Nigel from Lakes Road Club, made for great racing for everyone from 5 year olds right through to the men’s and women’s elite riders.
The sun was shining and the venue was buzzing. The turnout among younger riders was outstanding, with over 150 riding in the Under-8’s up to the Under-16’s race. In the men’s elite race our own Giles Drake took the win after almost an hour of frantic racing and in the women’s elite race Christina Weijak rode to victory after 6 laps of the challenging course.
The event this year saw the inclusion of the Paul Savage memorial trophy, which was awarded to the first rider in the men’s race. Paul, who is sadly no longer with us, was a great friend of WHEELBASE. He was a big Cyclocross rider, a supporter of the NWCCA league and a big help in the pits and at all of our races. We hope the riders enjoyed competing in the event as much as Paul did.
Designed for all-out speed, the Cervelo S-Series was launched as the original aero bike way back in the early 00’s. Bike design has come a long way since the Soloist model was ridden in the World Tour peloton and 23mm tyres were the norm. The most recognisable development of late is without doubt the integration of disc brakes and the trend for wider tyres – the new S5 is disc brake only with room for 28mm tyres.
Along with the launch of the new S-Series bikes, Cervelo has also announced a new partnership with Team Sunweb. The men’s and women’s World Tour teams will be riding Cervelo bikes from 1st January 2019, meaning big names such as Tom Dumoulin, Michael Matthews, Leah Kirchman and Coryn Rivera will all be on-board either an S, an R or a P-Series bike.
The result of many hours aero testing, the most striking feature of the new S5 is without doubt the v-shaped stem. The thinking and science behind this innovative setup is that the v-shaped hole allows air to flow more cleanly between the arms of the stem with less disruption than a standard stem.
The new S5 boasts substantial aerodynamic improvements over its predecessor. Full internal cable routing, a custom bar and stem, riding position, and special frame shapes work together to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics. The new S5 Disc is significantly stiffer at the bottom bracket and head tube, without increasing frame weight, meaning no power is lost during a frantic sprint to the line.
2019 Cervelo S5 models:
Cervélo S5 Disc Dura Ace Di2
Cervélo S5 Disc Red eTap
Cervélo S5 Disc Ultegra Di2
Cervélo S5 Disc Ultegra
Bikes along with prices will be available to order online very soon.
Along with a re-engineered S5 comes an all-new S3, with improved aerodynamics for those looking to take every speed-increasing advantage available. Hours spent testing in the wind tunnel have led to a design with fully integrated cables, a new bar and stem and refined frame shapes that work together to reduce drag and help you go faster.
Specific frame lay-ups and tube shapes soak up road vibrations, helping to reduce your fatigue during long days. Combined with optimized stiffness and stable geometry, this is a bike that’ll make you feel good and go fast.
2019 Cervelo S3 models:
Cervélo S3 Disc Ultegra Di2
Cervélo S3 Rim Ultegra Di2
Cervélo S3 Disc Ultegra
Cervélo S3 Rim Ultegra
Bikes along with prices will be available to order online very soon.
3 years on from the first Turbo Levo launching , Specialized is back with the all new designed Turbo Levo.
Specialized have sheared away 1.2kg from the total weight of the bike but reducing the size of the Brose motor and redesigning the frame,
The new Specialized 2.1 motor is now 15% smaller and 400 grammes lighter than the previous 1.3 motor yet more efficient and powerful. the new motor also boost rider inout by 410%, providing up to 560w and 90Nm of torque with no awkward surges or lags in power.
The batteries have been redesigned and slide into the frame from the BB area and hide away in the downtube, this now means the downtube can accommodate a 700Wh battery (availabale on Expert & S-works).
So, this all new levo is Stiffer, lighter and more capable with is astonishing 40% increase in range, the new Levo is set to redefine e-MTB’s, all over again!
Ride Like a Pro event – with PV Dobson Volvo, Team Wheelbase and Madison Genesis
Excellent day riding with some of the nicest people in bike racing – Tobyn Horton and Neil Van Der Ploeg of UCI Pro Contintial team Madison Genesis
60 customers from our team vechical partners PV Dobson Volvo and Wheelbase had a great experience of riding in a pro peloton on a 35 mile loop of the south Lakes with pro riders from Madison Genesis, WHEELBASE Castelli MGD Elite mens team and our WHEELBASE CabTech Junior development team.
This summer sees the return of the PV Dobson Volvo ‘Ride Like a Pro’ event on Saturday 15 September from 12noon.
‘Ride Like a Pro’ brings cyclists of all levels together to enjoy the excitement of the peloton on a punchy 35mile route around Cartmel and the South Lakes.
A lucky rider will be drawn to win the all new Volvo V60 for a weekend of their choice, plus other spot prizes.
The route will be fully signed with support riders and car from British Elite Team WHEELBASE Casetlli MGD. Come and join us for what should be a fantastic family event in conjunction with PV Dobson Volvo and Wheelbase.
Freelance photographer Andy Cole was among the attendees at last weekend’s South Lakes Bike Fest. Andy has put together some words and images on the weekend..
I was asked to head north with the Little Rippers for the South Lakes Bike Fest, with the promise of bikes, bands and beer, I was in.
Packing the van with camping, photo and biking gear alongside my own Little Ripper, we headed to Staveley in the South Lakes.
We pulled in to the camping field around 6pm, the Little Rippers had already set up their coaching arena, laying out the Sender Ramps to create an awesome little jump park.
The vibe was relaxed, with a few riders loaded up with camping gear and lights heading out for a bike-packing trip somewhere on the high fells and the others milling about the fire-pits, exchanging adventure stories over a few beers.
It was great not to be told where to pitch and without people in high-vis vests shouting orders on what not to do.
The Little Rippers crew had saved us a pitch and with a small tent for just the two of us, we were set up in no time.
With it being a small, or I should say perfectly sized festival, it didn’t take us long to walk around the vendors that were there.
The place was set up for the bike packers and the more adventurous, with the likes of Alpkit, Bombtrack and Ortleib covering the bikes and luggage.
Mechanical support was provided by Wheelbase Cycles, based just down the road in the village.
Looking at these bikes, laden with camping gear, got my imagination wondering. Maybe I could carry camping gear along with some stripped down camera gear and disappear for a few days.
The Bombtrack Beyond certainly looked the part and got me dreaming of wild adventures.
After a cold clear night, broken clouds were above the festival and fells, but with no forecast of rain, everyone seemed eager to get out on their bikes.
Guided rides were heading from the event village at 10am, everything from 80 mile gravel rides, to 6 mile family rides were catered for, with the hardcore tackling Nan Bield Pass. It’s up to you to pick a ride suitable to your capabilities.
A quick brief from Richard and the leaders and the groups slowly made their way out of the field.
With the Little Rippers crew putting on coaching sessions all day, Ben and me decided to head out on the family ride.
I loaded the Evoc Photo Scout up with enough camera gear to cover the World Cup and headed out with Ian on a small taster of the local Lakeland trails.
The groups headed out of the field and went their separate ways.
We trundled down the road, crossing Scroggs Bridge and heading up Brow Foot Lane.
The tarmac soon steepened as we passed the campsite on the other side of the river, testing not just little legs, but some of the adults too.
At the top we had a short rest to get our breath back, Alison passed around the Haribo before taking the bridleway North West towards Kentmere.
Some riders braved the puddles more than others.
We peddled for a couple of kilometers on good singletrack, regrouping at the split in the trail. On the trail leading us back down to the valley bottom, there were three river crossings, giving us plenty of splash photo opportunities.
With wet feet we hit the road to take us back to the campsite, parting with Ian who was taking those with the legs on a little extended loop.
Back at the event village a steady stream of riders started to return, with most of them hitting the pizza, coffee and cake for re-fueling.
The Little Rippers team were in action, coaching the little kids, covering track stands, balance and tackling obstacles.
You could see the progression the little ones were making, gaining confidence with every pedal turn.
After the coaching sessions the Little Rippers team put on a couple of competitions, the slow race was great for teaching the kids control, but the highlight was definitely the limbo. All the kids were swapping out their bikes for the smallest they could find from the range of Frog Bikes the Rippers had brought with them.
Local shops supported the event, giving out vouchers for the winners of the Little Rippers competitions.
The Sender Ramps in the jump park were extremely popular with the more confident, older kids, some of the adults couldn’t resist having a play either.
The Sender Ramps manual machine was great for getting the balance point right, I’ll be ordering one of them myself.
https://sender-ramps.com/
The wood oven pizzas were fresh and amazing.Along with the 50p cakes.
The action didn’t stop when the riding did, volunteers took their turn in manning the bar and at £3 a pint, saw a steady flow of punters wanting to quench their thirst.
Friday Street topped the night off with a blistering set, getting everybody on the dance floor and getting a small field in the South Lakes bouncing.
Although some of the revelers didn’t seem too happy with the band.
Massive thanks to Richard and the team for putting on a great little event and to the Little Rippers for having me along.
WHEELBASE, the UK’s largest cycle store, has a great history in Cyclocross and supporting the race scene across the UK and are pleased to bring you WHEELBASE ‘CROSS in association with Castelli and round 4 of the North West Cyclocross Association league.
The event will be held at the Westmorland Showground, just off the M6 junction 36. The course will be laid by WHEELBASE CASTELLI MGD rider Stuart Reid along with Paul Loftus and Nigel from Lakes Road Club and the Fred Whitton Challenge.
This year’s WHEELBASE Castelli Cross will include the Paul Savage memorial trophy, which will be awarded to the first rider in the senior race. Paul, who is sadly no longer with us, was a great friend of WHEELBASE. He was a big Cyclocross rider, a supporter of the NWCCA league and a big help in the pits and at all of our races. We hope you enjoy competing in this race as much as Paul did.
A great course, great venue and great food is all set to welcome the riders to WHEELBASE Castelli ‘Cross this October.
Race name
Race duration
Entry fee
10:30
Youth & Novice
30 min
£6.00
11:20
Under 8
10 min
£1.00
11:45
Under 12
15 min
£1.00
11:46
Under 10
15 min
£1.00
12:30
Veteran 50+ men
40 min
£14.00
Senior and Veteran Women
40 min
£14.00
U23 Women
40 min
£12.00
Junior Women
40 min
£10.00
13:30
Veteran 40 / Veteran 45 Men
40 min
£14.00
14:15
Senior Men
50 min
£14.00
U23 Men
50 min
£12.00
Junior Men
50 min
£10.00
ENTRY ON THE DAY ONLY.
None league members welcome.
Register for North West Cyclocross League at nwcca.org.uk
We visited Cube Bikes massive factory and impressive showroom in Germany last week to view their 2019 line up.
Cube has already launched two new platforms this year – the Stereo 140 trail bike and the Stereo 150 29 – both carbon, both modern trail geometry and both adorned with a ‘best-in-class’ specification for their respective price points.
We have been a Cube dealer for the past 7 years and have seen the brand become one of our number one brands, particularly due to their early adoption and development of E-Mountain and E-Touring.
It was another packed show and vast range – here’s our run down of the show highlights, in no particular order. All bikes in store and online soon…
1. Stereo 160 Action team £5,499 – stunning eMTB in Cube Action Team colours, top line spec and when you do the maths it’s good value considering what you’re getting. Plush, fast and everything a great eMTB should be – Awarded ‘Enduro Bike of the Year by the German eMTB Magazine
2. Stereo Hybrid 160 Race £3,599 – couple of specs down from the range topping Action Team but mega spec and the prefect bike for starting out on Lake District eMTB’ing.
3. Stereo Hybrid 140 Race £3,599 – enough plush travel for most, agreed industry standard 27.5 x 2.8 tyres, a great colourway and price point.
4. Cube Access Hybrid Race £2,400 – Powertube! Yes, Bosch Powertube integrated battery at only £2,400! Great colourways, cheapest Powertube bike we’ve come across and yes, there is a mens version.
5. Cube Reaction Hybrid Eagle £2,600 – yep, they gone and done it – super low gears of SRAM Eagle on an eMTB platform at an affordable price. We think this will be a winner for the rider looking for a do anything eBike.
6. Litening C:62 Race Disc Teamline £3,699 – top line spec, Teamline colourway and disc brakes – a race performance package at a good price point.
7. Stereo 120 29 TM £2,499 – TM = ‘Trail Motion’ and is a 130/120 bike with a slack head angle for fast trail riding and an ideal bike for rapid laps of your local trail centre.
8. Stereo 150 29 TM £3,999 – ‘if you could have one mountain bike’ this would be it. The best of the best spec.
9. Stereo 140 TM £3,499 – the perfect Lake District ‘analogue’ bike!
10. Cube Reaction C:62 Youth Teamline £1,399 – kids are the future of our sport and why not develop a top end XC race bike that is designed to fit them. Cube supports the future of mountain biking with an Action Team Stereo and this Reaction Carbon all sized and aimed squarely at youth riders.
11. Touring Hybrid 500 £2,199 – we wanted more colour in Cube Touring eBikes and this with lovely cream and bronze we’ve got it. Classy.
12. Reaction TM £999 – we’d been pestering Cube to produce a Trail Hardtail for a while and last year they launched the Reaction TM, and this year they have extended the range to 3 models Reaction TM £999 with 3.0 tyres and a 1x drive train, the Reaction TM SL £1,299 and the range topping Reaction TM Race £1,599
13. Kathmandu Hybrid EXC 500 £2,799 – as the eBike market becomes more established in the UK our riders are understanding the different Bosch drive units. The Kathmandu is designed for eTouring and comes with a power Bosch Performance CX motor and a 500W battery
14. NuRoad Race FE £1,499 – a do anything work horse with a Shimano 105 groupset, spec and frame that will make winter commuting on foul nights much more bearable.
We were invited over to Germany last week for the launch of the 2019 Cube bikes range. We visited the hugely impressive Cube factory where all the bikes are assembled on a mega efficient production line and then were treated to a display of the 2019 line up in their grand showroom.
We have been a Cube dealer for the past 7 years and have seen the brand develop and grow into one of our strongest and best selling across online and in-store. Cube were one of the early adopters and pioneers of the electric mountain bike and their range continues to grow and improve while retaining a great price point.
The highlight of the trip was an action packed eMTB ride in the Bavarian forest where we got to test ride the brand new Stereo Hybrid 140 TM. The neat Bosch powertube looks super clean integrated into the downtube and the eBike specific Fox Float 36 fork is designed for the rigours of eMTB riding with increased strength and longer durability. 2.6in Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres – Magic Mary at the front and Nobby Nic at the rear, both with Supergravity sidewalls – is a potent setup that puts you in full control of any trail situation.
The Stereo Hybrid 140 TM was just one of a huge range of new bikes that we’re excited about and we’ll be listing the full 2019 Cube range online within the next couple of weeks – watch this space.
This summer we’re offering some fantastic savings across a great range of bikes from some of the world’s best brands. There’s still plenty of time to ride before we turn towards winter so now is the perfect opportunity to grab a bargain and treat yourself to a new 2018 bike. We’ve compiled some of our stand-out offers on 2018 bikes below.
Combine proven S Series aero performance with cutting-edge stiffness and lightweight design. The S3 is ready to put the hurt on a ‘friendly’ Saturday morning ride, or just get you to the coffee shop a little faster. Stiffer, better-riding, aero as ever. All with zero weight penalty.
The Synapse has always been a bike dedicated to full-on, day-long, big-mile rides. For 2018 Cannondale have adapted the established Synapse platform into a more aggressive, lightweight all-rounder that rides faster for longer.
Hi Mod carbon fibre frame
Cannondale Hollowgram carbon wheelset
Shimano Dura Ace groupset with hydraulic disc brakes
Built for riders with an adventurous spirit, the Cayo Disc Rival features a lightweight carbon fibre frame and reliable SRAM Rival 22 groupset. The reliable stopping power of the SRAM Rival HRD hydraulic disc brakes ensures full control in all weather even on the most technical descents.
The T-130 C RS features Whyte’s award winning single ring specific carbon frame – a full width main pivot that increases torsional stiffness, extends bearing life and maximises suspension performance. The evolutionary SRAM Eagle GX groupset gives a massive 10-50 gear spread cassette, allowing the chainring to be increased to 34t, giving both top and bottom range improvement.
The T-130 RS features the multi award winning SCR single ring specific frame with mega-stiff symmetrical chainstays. The Fox 34 Performance Elite fork is easy to set up and offers impressive control. The T-130 RS is a super responsive bike with surefooted handling and offers a kit package which is truly value for money.
One of the best hardtails around, the 901 inspires confidence with its category defining geometry. The award winning 901 features the ‘Get a Grip’ seat post clamp to allow on-the-fly adjustment and an ergonomic lever which is easy to operate even in the coldest temperatures.
