Two great routes to choose from which take you through scenic roads with beautiful views of Howgills, Dent and Barbon. Both routes head generally south eastwards through Cumbria taking some very quiet valleys that you may be unaware of (unless you’ve done this sportive before of course!) as well as a few tasty climbs and some seriously quick descents.
This year we have a family ride which takes you from the Mill Yard in Staveley to Burneside, though Bowston and back. Limited to 30 places we have guides to assist the younger families round. Finish in time for breakfast at More Bakery or Wilf’s Cafe!
The timed hill climb of the day takes you up Shacklabank. A tricky little climb which will see the fastest male / female crowned King / Queen of the mountain with a Wheelbase team jersey.
Choose the long route and head further afield but get a bonus refreshments stop at Sedbergh village hall before heading back to Staveley for tea, cake and time to drool over the latest carbon fibre beauties in the shop!
It might not seem like it here in the UK but Spring is just around the corner. But before the warmer weather arrives on our shores, many riders head south in February and March for a much needed dose of sun and an early season training camp. With warmer times ahead we can start looking forward to riding in shorts and jersey again – and maybe some arm warmers.
The Castelli SS19 clothing collection features many details and innovations that come directly from their collaboration and close work with the professional riders at Team Sky.
One of the key pieces of this summer’s collection is the Free Aero Race 4 Bibshort, which has undergone some subtle but important changes from the previous iteration. As worn by Team Sky, this is an all-round race short designed to be minimalist and fast without sacrificing all-day comfort. For summer 2019 the seat pad has been updated with a softer, stretchier and totally seamless top layer. The leg gripper is also stretchier and the bib straps are both lighter and more comfortable while offering greater support.
The Climbers Jersey has been a core piece in Castelli’s summer collection for several years and is the perfect jersey for warm weather rides in mountainous terrain – as worn by Team Sky in all three Grand Tours. Taking features from the Aero Race 5.1 jersey, it also excels in wind tunnel testing, losing just 2 watts to its aerodynamic cousin. The Climbers Jersey is extremely cool, lightweight and aerodynamic – no wonder it’s a favourite with pro riders.
The Climber’s Jersey is available in a men’s and women’s fit, the women’s version evolving from the lightweight Geringes jersey. Developed with minimal moisture absorption as paramount, this jersey works very well as a layer on cooler days underneath a jacket or gilet. This is one of Castelli’s most technical jerseys.
The full Castelli SS19 collection is now available in-store and online.
New to Wheelbase for 2019, Smith bring a highly technical offering of bike helmets and goggles to our expanding range of MTB products.
The USP of the Smith helmet range is the integration of Koroyd® into the helmets. Koroyd® provides superior impact absorption, design flexibility and ventilation when compared to materials used in traditional helmet construction such as EPS. Unlike traditional protection materials, Koroyd® cylinders absorb and convert more kinetic energy, whilst increasing air flow and reducing overall weight.
An ideal helmet for enduro riders, the Forefront 2 combines superior protection, ventilation and goggle integration for full coverage and all-day wearability. The Forefront 2 is packed with features such as AirEvac™channels to promote airflow and prevent fogging of eyewear, added Koroyd® protection on the back of the helmet, a three-position adjustable visor, anti-bacterial performance lining with ultra-light single layer webbing plus the MIPS protection system.
Another all-mountain helmet, the Session is designed for riders looking for a balance of style, protection and ventilation. The Session features channels on the front of the helmet for easy eyewear storage, and the three-position visor rotates high to allow for goggle storage. Koroyd® is featured in strategic, zonal impact areas giving riders the confidence they need to charge harder and the top of the helmet has massive airports which combine with internal air channels to allow for maximum airflow and ventilation.
A helmet for mountain bikers looking for a great fitting helmet with style at a lower price point. The Venture features extended coverage on the back of the head for additional protection, internal air channels and 18 vents. The VaporFitTM system makes for a secure and comfortable fit.
A grim winter’s day couldn’t deter our demo riders at this weekend’s Specialized Wheelbase Demo Day. The event was fully sold out as riders turned up at Hamsterley Forest on Saturday to test out some of the world’s best electric and full-suspension mountain bikes.
Specialized brought some of the most popular trail bikes to test on our exclusive demo event. Riders took to the trails on the Stumpjumper and Enduro full suspension trail bikes plus the Kenevo and Levo full suspension electric mountain bikes. Five group rides went out during the day to explore the trails of the North East’s best MTB park with some lunch squeezed in between.
The event ran in unison with a Soil Searching Dig Day organised by Specialized UK and Hamsterley Trailblazers. We had over 40 volunteers turn up to help maintain and build on the trails we ride.
All photos below from Jerry Tatton. Full gallery can be viewed here.
On Saturday we were at Hamsterley Forest with Specialized and the crew from Hamsterley Trailblazers for a ‘Dig Day’. Joined by over 40 ready-to-pitch-in volunteers, we spent the day repairing and building on the trails we love to ride.
The idea behind the Soil Searching programme from Specialized is that we’re all responsible for the trails we ride and we should all pitch-in some time to help out with some maintenance. Along with the team from Hamsterley Trailblazers and our team of eager volunteers we tooled up and got to digging. We provided a hearty lunch to fuel the team in the winter conditions and everyone was in great spirits throughout.
The Dig Day ran alongside our very first and hugely successful Wheelbase Specialized Big Demo, where riders had the chance to try out some of the world’s best electric and full-suspension mountain bikes on the trails of Hamsterley Forest.
All photos below from Jerry Tatton. Full gallery can be viewed here.
For the 2019 Spring/Summer collection Fox Head Clothing have created three distinctive lines of apparel, each one tailored to a different style of riding. Each collection provides the rider with a unique set of benefits depending on their chosen riding style. Whether you have a need for durability, versatility or mobility, one of the three collections will suit your ride – Defend. Ranger. Flexair.
Defend performs in the most demanding conditions. Super tough Kevlar fabric and reinforced taped seams provide durability ride after ride.
Ranger performs everywhere. With natural feeling fabrics concealing technical features, it allows you to hit the trails on your lunch break and get away with it.
Flexair is the lightest and most breathable gear. Using flexible fabrics and targeted venting, it gives you your coolest ride ever.
The full Fox SS19 MTB range is now in stock online and in-store.
Ride the Lakes offers big challenges and a mega day on the bike.
Ride the Lakes is a challenging cycle sportive taking place on some of the the finest roads in the Lake District. With three route options to choose from, there is a distance to suit every rider and stunning scenery on offer on each ride. The 2018 edition of the event took place on Saturday 8th September. Ride the Lakes follows roads ridden by the pros in Britain’s biggest professional bike race, the Tour of Britain. Stage six of the 2018 ToB saw the race traverse the Lake District from south to north, culminating in a summit finish on Whinlatter Pass. The climb features as one of several tough ascents in our sportive route, along with the aptly named The Struggle.
Long Route – Starting from 8am – 151 km – 2582 m elevation
Setting off from Mintbridge Kendal, the route winds along quiet country lanes towards the village of Staveley and enters the Lake District national park. From here we head north towards Troutbeck where begins the first major ascent of the day, the Kirkstone Pass.
At 454m, the riders will climb to the highest point of the day and then be rewarded with some spectacular views on the descent towards Brotherswater. Following the shores of Ullswater, the route continues north and climbs up to Matterdale End, a gradual ascent with a steady gradient all the way.
From Matterdale we descend north and west towards Keswick where we’re greeted with a well-stocked feed station at 42.5 miles and Castlerigg stone circle. PLEASE NOTE: if arriving after 11.30am you will be directed onto the medium course home. Once refuelled and revitalised we’re back on our way and head for the climb of Whinlatter Pass. The climb will be packed with crowds for the pro riders as the Tour of Britain takes it in twice on stage 6 on the Friday and expect to see a few folks lining the route as the sportive takes on its challenging gradients a day later. This is an amenable climb by Lake District standards with an average gradient of around 7% for 3 km and never bridging north of 15%. Avoid going too deep here as there are still plenty of challenges to come later in the ride.
After climbing Whinlatter we descend into Low Lorton and turn south to ride along the shores of Crummock Water, this stretch of road is spectacular and one of the quieter corners of the Lake District. Once we reach the village of Buttermere the route heads uphill again and ascends Newlands Pass. This is a stunning climb and feels very remote, it climbs sharply at the start before relenting slightly in the middle and kicking up again towards 20% at the summit. From the top the route descends through the Newlands valley and back to a second stop at the Keswick feed station.
The long course then rejoins with the medium and heads south from Keswick onto the climb of Chestnut Hill at 70 miles. Following the A591 through the centre of the national park, the route runs alongside the impressive Thirlmere reservoir towards Ambleside for the major challenge of the day. The Struggle starts steep and rarely relents as it ascends from the centre of town for almost 5 km with extended sections above 20%. The pro peloton took on this classic Lakeland climb in the 2016 Tour of Britain as huge crowds gathered to watch the world’s strongest riders grind up its seriously steep slopes. Make sure you’ve saved some gas as this climb is seriously tough.
Once The Struggle has been conquered there’s 15 miles of rolling terrain to go back to the finish line where there’ll be a hot meal and post-ride refreshments for the exhausted riders.
Medium Route – Starting from 9am – 110 km – 1811 m elevation
Setting off from Mintbridge Kendal, the route winds along quiet country lanes towards the village of Staveley and enters the Lake District national park. From here we head north towards Troutbeck where begins the first major ascent of the day, the Kirkstone Pass.
At 454m, the riders will climb to the highest point of the day and then be rewarded with some spectacular views on the descent towards Brotherswater. Following the shores of Ullswater, the route continues north and climbs up to Matterdale End, a gradual ascent with a steady gradient all the way.
From Matterdale we descend north and west towards Keswick where we’re greeted with a well-stocked feed station at 42 miles. Once refueled and revitalised we’re back on our way and climb out of Keswick via Chestnut Hill.
Following the A591 through the centre of the national park, the route runs alongside the impressive Thirlmere reservoir towards Ambleside for the major challenge of the day. The Struggle starts steep and rarely relents as it ascends from the centre of town for almost 5 km with extended sections above 20%. The pro peloton took on this classic Lakeland climb in the 2016 Tour of Britain as huge crowds gathered to watch the world’s strongest riders grind up its seriously steep slopes. Make sure you’ve saved some gas as this climb is seriously tough.
Once The Struggle has been conquered there’s 15 miles of rolling terrain to go back to the finish line where there’ll be a hot meal and post-ride refreshments for the exhausted riders.
Kendal Cycle Club Family Sportive (Entry on the day only) – 12 miles
Ride the Lakes offers a family-friendly route of 12 miles as a perfect introduction to sportive riding. The course follows quiet country lanes around the edge of the Lake District national park with some stunning views across the fells.
On mostly flat roads, the route heads out from Mintbridge Kendal through the villages of Bowston and Staveley and returns alongside the River Kent. Riding under the shadow of Potter Fell gives riders a taste of how good road cycling can be in the Lake District.
Event Includes:
Timing chips
Fully risk assessed and professionally managed route.
Route support available throughout the event
Event control support to help you on route.
Well stocked feed stations.
Well signed route course.
Mechanical and medical support on route.
A hot meal and post-ride refreshments at the finish.
Event photography.
Two WHEELBASE riders climb The Struggle on a clear day.
THAT FRIDAY FEELIN’: awesome to have our Wheelbase Lake District superstore to be featured as the Kona UK & Ireland ‘Bike Shop of the Week’.
Kona Bikes have been a firm staff favourite with members of our Wheelbase Lake District crew for a long time now. Among our staff bikes are a Kona Honzo Carbon, a Process 153, an Explosif, a custom Private Jake and a classic Ti King Kahuna with Pace forks and Middleburn cranks circa 1997 (look out for the photos to be published soon).
We’ve been selling Kona bikes for over 20 years and hold one of the UK’s biggest collection in our Lake District Superstore, come on in and speak to our expert staff who know and ride Kona.
AXS™ (pronounced Access) is SRAM’s brand-new wireless family of components for the mountain and the road.
For the Mountain
SRAM EAGLE AXS™
Designed to sit above, rather than replace its existing groupsets, Eagle AXS is available in either XX1 or X01 spec. Both groupsets are based around the backbone of the Eagle 1X drivetrain with a connected wireless electronic derailleur and controller. AXS powered components are fully customisable through the AXS app which can be downloaded to a smartphone and paired via bluetooth connectivity.
XX1 Eagle AXS™ is XC spec and trail ready. This new groupset utilises the lightest materials and has a 500-percent gear range. The X-SYNC2 chainring is more secure and longer wearing, it’s top of the range and ready to spec the newest super bikes.
XC Focus
Carbon Cage
Ti hardware
Rainbow colourway
X01 Eagle AXS™ is designed for enduro riding and like XX1 centres around SRAM’s 1X drivetrain and carries a 500-percent gear range. The same X-SYNC2 chainring offers longevity and reliability plus it comes with a resilient aluminium cage.
Enduro Focus
Forged aluminium cage
Stainless hardware
Black/polar colourways
For the road
SRAM RED eTap AXS™
SRAM launched its first wireless eTap groupset over three years ago, delivering revolutionary shifting and proven dependability. With the new Red eTap AXS, SRAM have once again revolutionised the thinking behind road bike gearing. The headline behind the new groupset is the addition of a 12th sprocket on the back, but there is so much more going on than just that additional cog. SRAM have introduced X-Range™ gearing, which offers a wider range and more useful and smoother gear progression.
RED eTap AXS™ key features;
Updated design for smoother and faster shifting.
More gradual gear progression between cogs – at least five
one-tooth jumps.
10-tooth start helps provide a wider gearing range.
Designed to work with an XDR™ driver body.
One-piece machined steel X-Dome™ design for weight savings.
WHEELBASE is proud to announce we will be one of a handful of select UK dealers for Pinarello in 2019 and beyond.
And what’s better we already have the Tour winning Pinarello Dogma F10, the brand new Pinarello Prince, the Gan and the electrified Nytro built up and on display at our Lake District superstore Wheelbase Lake District and our newly opened Yorkshire store in Ilkley Wheelbase Yorkshire.
Pinarello combine rich Italian heritage with modern performance to perfection. Borne out of the ‘Eroico’ (Heroic) era in cycling, Pinarello began crafting 100% handmade bikes in a small factory in Treviso in the 1960s. Still run by the Pinarello family, today they are synonymous with Team Sky and their Grand Tour dominance – as we say ‘natural born winners’.
THE BIKES
Dogma F10 Disc
Pure design, amazing performance – The Pinarello Dogma F10 is a bike with Grand Tour winning pedigree. Ridden to Tour de France victory by Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Nytro
Inspired by the Dogma F10, the Nytro combines a high end carbon frame with the lightest electric system on the market to transform the way you ride.
Prince Disc
The Prince is a more price-conscious race bike. It features some of the same technologies as the top of the range Dogma and disc brakes providing braking precision.
Gan Disc
Deriving directly from the Dogma, the Gan provides riders with the style and feel of a Pinarello bike but in a more comfort-focused platform. A less extreme asymmetrical frame and high-strength grade of carbon fibre make the Gan perfect for endurance riders.
We are fully behind the Pinarello brand and have new model lines arriving all the time. View the full range online.
Plus, if you can’t see what you are looking for or need further information call us on 01539 821443, option 1, email at info@wheelbase.co.uk or via our Live Chat service at www.wheelbase.co.uk
