Wheelbase Lake District are celebrating yet another fantastic two days of demo riding following our hugely successful Big Demo Weekend 2024!

Last weekend saw us kicking off a busy year of events with the our Big Demo Weekend 2024. With fingers crossed all week we were graced with dry weather and even slightly dusty trails, of which there’s photogrpahic evidence below! As usual our favourite bike brands made the long trip to the Lake District with a fleet of their top tier models for demo and very quickly the event village quickly took shape with TREK, Yeti, Whyte, Cannondale, Merida and Cube all setting up their pits and priming their respective fleets of demo mountain bikes ready for a weekend of riding. This year they were joined by Fox clothing, Smith protection and Burgtec who had shoes, helmets and pedals all available for testing.

The big demo weekend was again a chance for riders to get a feel for the latest tech and shred on some of the most exciting new mountain bikes and eMTBs from the world’s leading brands. Each group ride was guided by fully-qualified, certified mountain bike guides from the Cycle Active team. Our customers got to take their dream bikes out onto some of the most iconic trails in the south Lake District before heading back to Wheelbase HQ for refreshments and a quick bike change before heading out again for more fun!

We’d like to thank all of our customers who attended, our fantastic bike brands for supplying us with the world’s best bikes and the hard-working guides for getting everyone around the trails safely and with a huge smile on their faces. We can’t wait to do it all again next year. If for some reason you couldn’t quite make it this year, don’t worry… pencil it in your diary for a similar date next year and we’ll see you there.

Photo Galleries

We had two amazing photographers capturing all the fun of the weekend. Visit the links below to check out all that went down from two days of riding the best trails of South Lakeland…

Photography from Day One CLICK HERE

Photography from Day Two CLICK HERE

 

But if you can’t quite wait that long, fear not. Wheelbase Northeast also be hosting a mountain bike demo day in Hamsterley Forest on the 11th of May, where again we’ll have a huge fleet of eMTBs and Mountain Bikes from Yeti, Merida, Orbea, Cube, Trek and Whyte. You can now book your dream ride online, selecting each bike that you want to test ride during each time-slot available, with rides going out at 9.30am, 11.00pm, 12.30pm, 2.00pm and 3.30pm. All demo rides need to be booked in advance through our booking website, linked below. Demo bikes are £10.00 to book per ride.

 

 

Wheelbase Big Demo Weekend 2024 Event Report

Even with dry conditions, there was still opportunity for the odd splash!

Our registration team were busy all day signing riders into the event from all over the country.

The event had professional MTB guides on hand to showcase the best trail of South Lakeland to our demo riders.

It was smiles all round as riders jumped from one awesome demo bike to the next.

All our brands had experts on hand to achieve an optimum set up on their bikes for each rider .

The bikes had very little time to rest, but each brand expert ensured they were fine tuned ready for the next session.

Sunshine meant everyone was eager to hit some prime trail conditions.

The Cannondale Moterra was a sure fire hit all weekend, check out our “Hot Bikes from the Weekend’ feature below, to find out why.

There were many demo routes to choose from, each featuring some amazing trails.

Yep… that’s a dusty trail!

And some blue sky too!

Everyone had a ‘wheelie’ good time (sorry!)

Our riders still managed to find the dirt…

Which meant the bike wash was a hive of activity as usual.

Our bike wash team are a dab hand at turning around a filthy bike in record time.

Burgtec had their amazing Penthouse pedals for testing and plenty of their shiny bling to catch your eye.

Fox also had their Union Shoes available to demo.

Want to know all the about the tech and development of each bike? Merida’s Andy Mee was in attendance with a wealth of knowledge on their range.

With many riders opting for multiple demos on the day. It was a case of a quick refuel and pedal swap before heading back out for another hot lap.

Smith also brought along their latest sunglasses alongside their range of protection and with an amazing forecast, for possibly the first time this year, riders were able to put them to the test.

Hot Bikes of the Weekend

There were some phenomenal bikes available to demo all weekend. But there were a few that really caught our eye and some which are already firm favourites with our staff. Check out our ‘Hottest Picks’ of bikes from the weekend…

 

Cube AMS Hybrid One44 C:68X TM 400X 2024

We have all grown to love this bike here at Wheelbase and for good reason. If you’ve ever wanted that little extra boost up a climb without worrying about the weight, the AMS Hybrid ONE44 C:68X TM is the bike you’ve been waiting for. You might guess from its elegantly sculpted frame – made from Cube’s premium C:68X® carbon – that it’s something special, and you’d be right.

Bosch’s new SX drive combines with a 400Wh battery, built-in system controller and bar-mounted Mini Remote to deliver up to 55Nm of additional torque via Sram’s GX Eagle Transmission 1×12 electronic gears. A Fox 36 Performance fork and Float X Performance shock deliver progressive mountain-flattening travel. Newmen Evolution SL A.30 wheels are fitted with Schwalbe Magic Mary and Nobby Nic 2.4in tyres, and held in check with a pair of Magura’s powerful MT7 hydraulic disc brakes. And if you thought all this adds up to blistering pace, you’re not wrong!

Spec Highlights

• Fox 36 Float Performance GRIP, 3-Position w/ Micro Adjust, Tapered, 15x110mm, 140mm
• Fox Float X Performance, 210x55mm, Adjustable LSR w/ 2-Pos- Lever
• Newmen Evolution SL A.30 Wheelset witted with Schwalbe Magic Mary, Super Trail, Addix Soft, Kevlar, 2.4 tyres
• Bosch Drive Unit Performance SX (55Nm) Cruise (250 Watt), Smart System
• Sram GX Eagle AXS Transmission 12-Speed drivetrain
• Magura MT7 hydraulic disc brakes

 

Yeti SB160 29 T3 2024

Next up in the weekend’s pick of Hot Bikes is a staff firm favourite, the Yeti SB160. Upholding a time-tested, race-bred ethos that says nothing should hold a rider back from the sheer joy of untethered speed. The SB160 is built off one of the most successful race platforms in EWS history, the sb160 is race bred and honed to be the fastest bike when charging hard in technical terrrain like that found here in the Lake District.

Forget what you know when it comes to suspension kinematics — according to Yeti the clock doesn’t lie and proves more progressive leverage rates aren’t faster! The SB160’s kinematics have been refined for the longer travel of the SB160’s chassis with increased bottom out control while maintaining a relatively linear progression curve. Why a linear curve? Riders experience more predictable damping characteristics throughout the travel. Predictability whether in a competition setting or riding an epic ridgeline can make the difference in success between the tapes or dropping your mates through the singletrack.

The Yeti factory team wanted even more confidence at pace. To achieve this, they refined geometry with little more reach, rebalanced front and rear centres, and size-specific chainstays and seat tube angles. It’s their most confidence inspiring geometry to date and it’s optimised by frame size, ensuring athletes of all sizes and styles are in a position that prioritises speed and efficiency.

Spec Highlights

• TURQ Series Carbon Fibre Frame with Switch Infinity Suspension, Threaded BB, Fully enclosed internal cable routing, Sealed Enduro Max pivot bearings.
• Premium Fox suspension – Fox Factory 38 Grip2 170mm fork and Fox Factory X2 Shock
• Raceface ARC Wheelset with Maxxis Assegai and Minion DHR EX+ tyres
• Burgtec finishing kit and Fox Factory Transfer dropper post.
• Reliable, smooth shifting from a SRAM X0 AXS Eagle groupset
• Extremely powerful and superbly modulated SRAM Code RSC 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes

Cannondale Moterra Neo SL 2 2024

We also had the pleasure of our friends at Cannondale bringing along their new Moterra Neo SL, another trail eBike that’s high on power and low on weight. Aimed at providing an engaging, nimble ride experience that will tame the tech and find the flow. However packing 85Nm of torque, 600W+ of peak output, and 601Wh of power into a machine weighing as little as 20.6kg /45.4lbs, when it comes to full-power fun and lightweight agility – the Moterra Neo SL in a class of its own! Quite literally… it has more watts per kilo than any other on the market! The lightweight carbon fibre frame features Cannondale’s weight-saving FlexPivot technology which is key to achieving this.

The Moterra Neo SL has four different levels of boost, easily adjustable on the fly, help you choose between maximum range, monstrous power, or your ideal blend of both. Whether mild or wild, your ride will be whatever you want it to be, no more and no less. It’s not just about power and weight, the Moterra SL’s suspension is specially tuned for the kind of high-speed sessions this bike encourages.

The burly FlexPivot stays are also at the heart of it’s suspension design, acting as a Horst pivot, it creates a true four-bar system, that’s been dialled for incredible traction, confident braking, and a playful feel that just begs to be pushed harder.

Spec Highlights

• Light and durable, full carbon, 150mm travel FlexPivot frame with Proportional Response suspension kinematics
• Premium Fox suspension – 160mm Performance Float 36 fork & Performance Elite Float X rear shock
• Reliable, smooth shifting, Shimano XT/Deore 12-speed w/ e*thirteen e*spec Plus cranks
• Powerful, dependable Shimano Deore 6120 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes
• Cannondale-tuned Shimano EP801 motor & custom, high-energy-density 601Wh internal battery