It started with a Facebook message. So many rides do these days. This one started “Going to the peaks on Saturday the 19th March….” and concluded with “…thinking 80/100 miles with lots of hills”. How could I resist, I had already planned a suitable route ages ago, I just needed a Saturday to deploy it into! Continue reading “A big tough Peak District road ride, with hills of course.”
Spoke Revolutions – My Rides: SPOKE REVOLUTIONS
New domain for the blog
If you’re a regular visitor here to this blog then as well as saying thanks. I’d also like to let you know that I have a new domain. You can now visit http://www.spokerevolutions.co.uk and find all of the content from this blog and all the new content that I’ll be adding.
Picking up an additional 2 climbs in the North York Moors
I’m a bit of a fan of the North York Moors for cycling. Plenty of good hills, not too far away from Peterborough (under 3 hours), quieter than many of the other National Parks and stunning scenery. So I put together a ‘big day out’ route, gathered a couple of mates and off we headed. […]
Endura Mullet Sunglasses
Late September, what better time to feature a review of a pair of sunglasses? No? Well maybe I should justify it then; just because it’s not summer doesn’t mean there won’t be sunny days, the sun is lower in the sky so sunglasses are more important, these have light reactive lens so can be worn […]
Dartmoor Epic 2016, Day 2
With Day 1 complete and some 60 km ridden with around 1500m of climbing under our belts it was onto Day 2. There were plenty of new trails to be ridden on this 2nd day along a new route that would take us to a tried and tested camping ground just north of Ivybridge.
Dartmoor Epic 2016, Day 3
The final day, Day 3. This is the day when the more tired want a direct route back, or maybe even one that skirts around the edges of the hills. They don’t so much care whether it’s still off-road or not as long as the climbs aren’t too technical. On the other hand, those with […]
MuddyGoose – My MTB: SPOKE REVOLUTIONS
Superstar Components CNC Nano Thru Pin Pedals – Review
It’s been a good few months since I bought these but better late than never in the old reviewing stakes, I guess. So here’s my 6 month review of my newish Superstar Components Nano pedals in grey. I got them before Christmas in a special offer, for the valuetastic price of just £25.81. Down from […]
Narrow, Wide, Narrow, Wide… you know how it goes!
I’ve been riding my hardtail mountain bike, aka MuddyGoose, with a single chainring since the summer of 2013. I made the change to simplify things and get rid of the front mech that was often gunked up with mud anyway. I switched initially to a simple DH chainring from FSA with 34 teeth because it […]
Big NYM mtb trek on the horizon
So far my big rides have been up to 6 or 7 hours long. However, I always like to push things a little further each time. How’s 3 days sound? For a couple of years now I’ve fancied riding off into the North York Moors and exploring the trails over several days; making a big […]
New KCNC jockey wheels for my SRAM X7 rear mech
You may remember that in March 2013 I fitted a SRAM X7 rear mech as a replacement for my X5 that came with the bike. The X5 needed replacing due to it’s jockey wheels having been worn down to points and one of the reasons I gave for upgrading to X7 was the availability of […]
Did a bit of thorn pulling the other night
One of the great advantages of having tubeless tyres is that you can ride over thorns, have them stick into your tyre and still continue your ride. Tubeless tyres don’t magically make those thorns disappear though and in some cases air will slowly seep out from around the thorn. So taking some maintenance time to […]
Poggio Del Re – My Road Bike: SPOKE REVOLUTIONS
Replacing an internally routed gear cable
It’s one of the jobs that I’d been dreading ever since buying my MEKK Poggio back in Feb 2014. And it’s probably, in part, why I hadn’t replaced my cable at an earlier opportunity and found myself snapping it mid-ride in the Peak District and having to single-speed my way up Holme Moss.
Mio Link Heart Rate Monitor – HRM
The ‘Mio Link’ is a heart rate monitor that you wear on your wrist rather than being strapped around your chest. It can then send out your heart rate data via Bluetooth 4 or ANT+ to a smartphone or Garmin device.
Changing the bottom bracket bearings – Mekk Poggio
When people talk about changing their bottom bracket bearings they tend to be talking about replacing the complete bottom bracket assembly. Usually consisting of two composite plastic cups pre-fitted with the sealed bearings and probably a connecting tube that sits between the cups. In my case I went ahead and replaced the sealed bearings in […]
Mekk Poggio Bottom Bracket – Replacement
Not one of the easiest jobs and fortunately not a job that has to done too regularly, but sometimes you have to replace those bottom bracket bearings. On a general strip and cleanup of my Poggio this weekend I took my chainset off as I suspected my bearings might need attention.
Fitted some new brake pads – Swiss Stop Flash Pro Original Black Compound
There are reviews out there that berated the brake pads that come with the Mekk Poggio as a standard fit. Personally I’ve not had any issues with them at all; I’ve always been able to reach a controlled stop whenever I’ve wanted to and in all conditions. However, there comes a time when you have […]
SPOKE REVOLUTIONS 