Trying out the Gopro down Aneurysm at Lysterfield

Had to take it a bit easy so we could stay close (not wanting to get sketchy/run over eachother) and the bar mount is pretty shaky. Still, you get the idea.

Going to try a chest mount chase and see if its more stable next time.

11 minus 1: In honour of John Butler.

So I for one can't be bothered/can't afford upgrading at the rate the marketing pressures suggest. My bike is only a year old and already the drivetrain is 2 generations behind... I'll wait for 13 speed and then upgrade :P

When the Norco was due for a new chain and cassette I found a dirge of wide range 10 speeders available and the price of the few available was ludicrous. As an experiment (I like those) I bought an XT Shimano 11 speed 11-40t cassette and an 11 speed 105 chain. I ditched the 19t cog to get 10 speeds and put an extra couple of cassette washers on the driver. To fix the shift movement I added a 2mm washer under the cable and moved it to the other side of the pinch bolt. I also had to wind the B screw right in.

 The results?
It shifts better than it ever did as a stock 10 speed XT group right across the range. The derailleur movement seems more accurate than before. The 11-40t is perfect for me in terms of spread. I experimented with an 18t road cog to give a 15-18-21 instead of 15-17-21 in the middle but the small shift ramps meant it was horrible to shift across.

Happy days!

Introducing...

So Chris and I (Nick) have been riding bikes since we could walk. This year we thought we'd actually commit to one discipline for a little while and try racing out. To this end we've entered the Victorian Enduro Series as a pair and plan to race the whole season.
The blog is really just an excuse to share our experiences through the season as well as general bike-related garbage along the way.

Strava profiles:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/118109
https://www.strava.com/athletes/513484

This is kind-of where the team started...
(Chris on left, me centre and a mate Dave right)
Chris talked me into racing the Granite Grind last year and after placing 5th in elite behind Jack Lamshed, Ben May, Murray Spink etc. I was pretty excited about the prospect of xc racng!

Up at Mt. Buller on the Epic trail

 2nd place in the first round of the VES

Although we'd both only raced a handful of times we had high hopes for our first race as a team. I drew the short straw for starting duties and sat with the fast solo guys for the first couple of laps to get an idea of pacing (Thanks Toby and Scott!). Unfortunately we let the eventual winning team get away early without realising! In a fairly arbitrary style we decided  to run double laps all day (about 50 min stints) and I for one really liked being able to warm up and crank out a couple of laps and then sit around and hang in the pits. There's definitely some plus's to team racing. You see the race from a whole new perspective; part racer, part spectator. I should also mention that the track was brilliant. Normally I'd stick to the more 'descendy' tracks at the You Yangs but riding the plantation at 28ish km/h average makes for some seriously slidey fun! The jumps section was a hoot every lap as well. On a side-note I'd elected to stick an 11-30 road cassette on for the race and reckon it was a great call.
Our position yo-yo'd a bit through the race as we alternated stints but come final lap I couldn't see any teams ahead and thought we'd won it. Chris had been told we were in 4th so we waited for the final call. 2nd it was and neither of us had expected that!
On reflection we were really happy with the result and what it bodes for the rest of the season. Chris's pace was quick and consistent despite being fresh off a 2 week cruise and I was able to pump out nearly identical mid 24 minute laps all day and threw in a blinder on lap 3, including a KOM on on of the climbs!

We don't mind dallying in most disciplines either

Next installment should be some footage from the local trails and maybe some how-to's... I like to play bike Macgyver :)