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
Mountain bike challenges don’t come much tougher than the Strathpuffer 24. The Scottish Highlands in the middle of winter can be a brutal venue. 17 hours of darkness, freezing temperatures. Ice, wind, hail, snow, rain and miles upon miles of gruelling terrain. But there’s always the chance of a glorious Scottish winter sunrise.
One of our regular customers Kath Finn travelled up to the highland village of Strathpeffer to take part in this year’s event. Kath has sent through her event report and it sounds brutal.
Kath Finn at Strathpuffer 2019
‘I was inspired by a blog written by a team of 13 year old girls who completed ‘the Strathpuffer’ last year. This is a 24 hr mountain bike race in a forest in the North of Scotland, held in January. My rationale was that if they could do it so can women who are over 50. It will be fun, something different and a bit of a challenge. That was July, in the hottest summer for years.
January 2019 and I have a team of women, and a fear monkey. This is supposed to be a little bit of fun but my head as gone into overdrive and is hiding in a black hole somewhere. It quite often does this before races. Eating gets harder, my head is convinced I’m ill, it’s normally lying. It’s trying to protect me from myself. After a week of this I decided this is ridiculous and we sit down and have a big talk with each other.
What is the issue? There are several – as someone very close to me pointed out I am a lousy mountain biker, I hate being cold and get cold very easily and I can’t function without sleep. Ideal! And all of those mean I might let the team down and that isn’t OK, So how do I get out of this hole? Find the evidence to convince myself these problems aren’t problems….
Cold is easy – remember I’m warmer now I’m fatter. Keep eating! That generates heat. Take lots of clothes – five sets of biking gear and three coats each takes up a lot of space but worth it. Order a heater, but don’t despair when the delivery service doesn’t deliver! Sometimes there are angels and someone lent us a fire and gave us wood. Coldest temperature was minus ten and from the start on Saturday morning the temperature didn’t rise above freezing until Sunday morning when rain fell and instantly turned to black ice. Everything froze – stove gas, water bottles, wet wipes, batteries, dropper posts – except me! I was warm, great stuff adrenaline. Well, maybe not warm but OK.
Sleep? I didn’t and somehow I managed. Perhaps with a little help….
Sleep is overrated, caffeine rules.
Turns out I can mountain bike.
My response when anyone asks about biking is to say I’m a lousy mountain biker, I like road biking. Well that wasn’t doing me any good. This was one self fulfilling prophecy I really didn’t
need. For this I needed to be a REALLY REALLY good mountain biker. Hum. My last MTB ride before the event was in the sunshine on New Year’s day and it felt great so I refused to go out again – I held that feeling and kept looking at photos of it. I can do this. I also looked back at my training diary and realised that I was first vet at Kielder off road duathlon, 1st (with a friend) at Dean Barwick, 3rd female in an Open 5, I’d ridden the Sam Haughton, Gisburn and Whinlatter. I’d done night sportives and trailed all over the Shap fells in the dark. Time to really acknowledge what I have done, stop ignoring it and own it. I bloody well can ride a MTB! I wrote these down a few times and shared them with my coach who laughed – a lot – great, just what I need.
And how was it? A team of four riders and two support who didn’t know each other set off for an adventure and had a blast. I haven’t laughed so much that I’ve cried so often in years. The first lap I rode I was totally out of my box – ice, ice and more ice, adrenaline junkie, heart rate through the roof. After that I settled down a bit. Between us we managed 18 laps, 9 falls, about 900 bruises and as many laughs. In the scheme of things we were 4th out of only 9 female teams. We rode about 124 miles and climbed over 20,000ft. We were happy. Our race aim was to have a good time – nailed it!
Tacx and Zwift – embrace virtual reality training this winter
With the evolution of smart trainers, indoor training is now so much more than staring at a cold garage wall. So this winter take your training to the next level – invest in a Tacx Flux 2, Neo or Smart Bike and a Zwift subscription.
The Tacx Flux 2, Neo or Smart Bike links seamlessly with the immersive riding experience of Zwift. Race, train or just go for a social ride in the comfort of your home with real world feel and accurate data.
The Tacx Flux 2, Neo or Smart Bike trainers interact with Zwift, accurately telling Zwift how hard you are pedalling. The system will change the resistance that you feel at the pedals depending on what is happening on Zwift, whether going up or down hill, changes in terrain or if you’re a drafting a rider or in a group. This is why Zwift really is the most realistic virtual road cycling experience out there.
We have Tacx and Zwift demo units and expert staff on hand at all our stores and online at www.WHEELBASE.co.uk to answer all your questions #WheelbaseLakeDistrict #WheelbaseNorthEast #WheelbaseYorkshire – Tacx and Zwift is your new winter bike!
Our Wheelbase Yorkshire store in Ilkley hosted a crash course in bike maintenance for some of the ladies from Ilkley Cycling Club last night. The evening was extremely well attended and will be the first in a series of similar evenings covering everything from fixing punctures to gear setup and adjustment.
The two hour workshop was lead by our Yorkshire mechanic Ben, who has over 20 years of experience working with bikes, and our Ilkley store manager Bernie, who was on hand to answer any questions from the attendees. Ben covered the essentials of bike maintenance as well as looking at the basics of prolonging components and how to avoid roadside failures.
The key points covered in the workshop were:
Most bikes have problems with breaking due to poor maintenance. Lots of riders can prevent broken chains, punctures and major failures by checking their bike on a regular basis. This starts by cleaning and lubricating the bike. Once the bike is clean you can now start to inspect the bike for brake pad wear, chain wear, tyre wear etc. We looked at a range of products to help clean and to lubricate the bicycle. What to do and what not to do.
How to fix a chain, what to do and what not to do when you have broken chain and how to spot signs of wear.
Fixing punctures, tyres and what tools to carry with you when out riding and how to use these tools and when to cut your losses and call in for help.
In the future we are going to roll out a Tuesday evening class for riders to learn more about specific issues. Keep an eye out in-store and on our social media channels.
Transmission, gear adjustment and cleaning.
Brakes, disc, rim adjustment and care.
Punctures, tyres and how to look after your wheels.
Trek-Segafredo men’s and women’s World Tour teams will be wearing the Italian eyewear brand from 2019.
The men’s team debuted their new look at last week’s Tour Down Under where new signing Richie Porte won the race’s Queen stage on Willunga Hill for the sixth successive year. Alongside Porte, the men’s lineup includes classics star John Degenkolb, GC rider Bauke Mollema and, one of the breakthrough riders of 2018, Jasper Stuyven.
The women’s team were also showcasing the Koo glasses at the Women’s Tour Down Under, where the team won the first stage of the race with Letizia Paternoster. The team are the newest addition to the UCI Women’s World Tour lineup and among the 13 riders are star riders Lizzie Deignan, explosive sprinter Lotta Lepisto and all-rounder Elisa Longo Borghini. It’s a squad packed with versatile talent who will be expecting to compete and win at the biggest races in 2019.
The riders will choose between the Open Cube and the Orion models for racing while for podium presentations and when not riding they will be wearing the casual California glasses. The Open Cube model comes with added ventilation to ensure the rider’s vision is always crystal clear and weighs just 30g so are perfect for mountainous days in the grand tours.
WHEELBASE Yorkshire Winter Ride: photo gallery from expert cycling photographer Daniel Monaghan of Cadence Images. View the full photo gallery here.
45 riders braved freezing temperatures and a smattering of snow to join us on our first Wheelbase Yorkshire Winter Cafe ride in association with LeCol and Spatzwear.
Setting off from our Wheelbase Yorkshire store in Ilkley, the riders headed North East out of the town and onto the quiet roads of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The conditions leading up to the ride were classic Yorkshire winter – grey, snowy and plummeting temperatures. A thorough course check first thing in the morning confirmed the ride would be safe to go ahead and riders began turning up from 9am for registration.
The first group of riders got underway just after half 10, led by Spatzwear founder and ex-pro rider Tom Barras. The conditions turned out to be a perfect test for the range of Spatzwear products, with almost all riders in the group wearing a pair of either the Pro or Roadman overshoes. Two more groups followed the first on the out-and-back ride to the famous Town End Farm Shop & Tearoom – the ultimate Saturday morning cafe stop.
After a social catch up at the cafe stop the riders headed back towards Ilkley, taking in some more of the national park’s undulating roads. Once everyone was back at the store riders gathered for a Q & A session with Tom Barras of Spatzwear and Tommy Bustard from Le Col, both ex-professional riders who know a thing or two about training through the worst winter weather.
We’d like to say a massive thank you to Town End Farm Shop & Teamroom for hosting our cafe stop, the service and atmosphere was top quality. We’d also like to thank to all the riders who took part and made the event a success as well as Tom and Tommy for representing their brands and showcasing some of the best winter gear available.
Bookings are now live for our MTB Big Demo Weekend taking place on the 16th and 17th of March.
Book your place today and ride your dream bike around the stunning Kentmere Valley in the Lake District National Park.
The UK’s Largest MTB Demo from the UK’s Largest Cycle Store.
This is the original and biggest mountain bike demo in the UK and brings together 11 of the World’s best MTB manufactures for one big weekend in the Lake District. 150 Mountain bikes to demo on fully guided rides from our store around the stunning Kentmere Valley, fully pre-bookable online at www.bigdemoweekend.co.uk.
Everyone is welcome from beginners to seasoned experts. All demo rides need to be booked in advance through the website. The day costs is just £15, an absolute bargain to demo up to 4 bikes in one day, head-to-head and back-to-back.
Professionally guided demo rides by CycleActive leave at 9.30am, 11.30am, 2.00pm, 4.00pm and last about 1hr 15mins across the rolling terrain of the Kentmere Valley.
EF Education First Pro Cycling kick off the season in style.
The 2019 World Tour season got underway at the Tour Down Under this weekend and one team took all the attention ahead of the race. Back in October 2018 EF Education First Pro Cycling announced they’d be kitted out in Rapha clothing for the upcoming season, marking a new, unconventional chapter in professional cycling. The last World Tour team to unveil their kit, they were holding back something special. The new kit, along with the team edition Cannondale SystemSix bikes, is designed to disrupt the status quo of the professional peloton.
The Cannondale World Tour team has been through a number of guises since its inception, from the green argyle days up to the bright and bold kit of last season. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters has been there from the beginning and will be overseeing the squad take on an alternative 2019 calendar. Riders will tackle the iconic races of the World Tour as well as participating in some more unconventional events such as the Leadville 100, the Three Peaks Cyclocross race and the Taiwan KOM challenge.
The team is stacked with an array of talent, with GC contenders Rigoberto Uran and Michael Woods hunting for grand tour success while maverick riders like Lachlan Morton and Taylor Phinney take things off the beaten path and explore new avenues.
The riders will be racing on the all-new Cannondale SystemSix in a distinctive team edition colourway at the Tour Down Under, a bike that will be available for sale in the near future. Cannondale’s first real aero bike was launched last year around the Tour de France and at the time EF Education Drapac rider Alex Howes described the SystemSix as the fastest bike he’s ever ridden – “In races I feel like I’m cheating. It’s an absolute weapon. The stiffness while sprinting is next level yet it handles just as well as the SuperSix Evo. Cannondale nailed it.”
The temperature is dropping but there’s no danger of cold hands with a pair of 100% winter gloves.
We know you can put your hands in your armpits or wrap them around a nice warm cuppa in the cafe, but these practices won’t work when you’re actually riding. Designed to keep your hands warm while still maintaining control and feel on the bar, 100%’s winter gloves will keep you riding throughout the winter months.
The 100% Brisker is the original winter glove and perfect for those cold morning laps or training rides both on road or off. Designed to keep the cold out and your hands warm, the glove features a single layer of insulated soft-shell on the back to keep the damp and cold weather out, while a a single-layer Clarino palm helps maintain control on the bars.
Features
Single-layer Clarino palm for premium comfort.
Lightly insulated soft-shell top hand ensures protection against colder temps.
Silicone printed palm graphics increase grip in damp conditions.
Reflective graphics on top of hand offer a clean look with improved visibility.
Moisture-wicking microfiber interior provides the perfect level of insulation.
TPR wrist closure system with hook and loop backing ensures proper fit.
Integrated tech-thread keeps you connected with your phone.
Mixing everything the Brisker and Hydromatic glove offers, this glove will keep your hands warm and dry so you can head out for a ride no matter the conditions. Featuring a breathable and waterproof back which is insulated with a single-layer of soft-shell material, this glove will keep you riding in all conditions.
Features
Single-layer PU palm for weather protection.
Lightly insulated soft-shell top hand ensures protection against colder temps.
Waterproof-breathable insert secured to outer layer for optimal gripping.
Silicone printed palm graphic increases grip in wet conditions.
Reflective graphic on top of hand offer a clean look with improved visibility.
Embossed graphics for some added texture.
Extended waterproof neoprene pull-on cuff for more coverage.
Conductive index finger & thumb keeps you connected with your digital device.
If you look outside and the dark clouds are gathering then reach for the Hydromatic Waterproof glove and laugh at the rain. With a breathable, laminated mock-mesh back to keep water out and a single-layer PU palm, your hand will be wrapped in weather protection while giving you the control on the bars your desire.
Features
Single-layer PU palm for weather protection.
Laminated mock-mesh top of hand fabric.
Waterproof-breathable insert secured to outer layer for optimal gripping.
Silicone printed palm graphic increases grip in wet conditions.
Reflective graphic on top of hand offer a clean look with improved visibility.
Extended waterproof self-goods pull-on cuff for more coverage.
Conductive index finger & thumb keeps you connected with your digital device.
