Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti Suspension Forks at Full Travel in Spain!

Just before Christmas I received a nice pair of ex-demo Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti forks from Windwave. I initially tried them on my Lapierre Zesty but I have been having problems with that bike so this week I put the Marzocchis onto my Cove G-Spot. I will be testing the Marzocchi 55 Bombers over the upcomming mountain bike holiday season, the idea is to use the couple of months before my guiding season starts to set the forks up and swap back and forth between the Marzocchi’s and my older Fox 36 Vans to get a feel for how the forks compare.

It is no secret that Marzocchi have had some quality issues in the past. Those days seem to be well behind them now and I guess I am going to find out. Anyone who has been on a mountain bike holiday will know that it’s tough, both on your body and your bike. Mountain biking is hard on your bike anyway but when you are on holiday you tend to push that little bit harder. The mountain biking in this part of Spain is different to mountain biking at home as well, certainly for most people, with longer, tougher descents and generally more technical terrain. As a mountain bike guide I have one mountain bike holiday every week for around six months. I very quickly find out what is reliable and what is not!

Read on for my first impressions and more information on the Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti suspension forks. Read the post »

In Spring 2012 I received my new Cove G-Spot (read the review) and built it up with a 10 speed, SRAM X9 drivetrain (read the review). Although I found the SRAM shifters worked well, the X9 rear derailleur caused me problems. I went through 2 mechs in the first two months and ended up giving up and replacing the derailleurs and shifters with Shimano XT (M770). The XT drivetrain has been put through a full holiday season in Spain and has come out the other side. Read on for the full review and a comparison of my 10-speed drivetrain to my old 9-speed system.

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Shimano M785 XT Disc Brakes

My quest is to find bike parts that work, brilliantly, consistently and with minimum maintenance. This mountain bike holiday season I have been riding 6 or 7 full days each week and if I spend the evenings spannering then I don’t spend them eating, sleeping or spending time with Amaia. So it came to pass when my Avid Elixirs needed bleeding, again, I took a deep breath, gingerly took my credit card out and bought myself a new set of Shimano XT M785 disc brakes. I bought mine from BikeTart for about £100 an end but they are also available from ActionSports for about €92 an end.

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As Cove (www.covebike.com)  say, “we found the G-Spot a long time ago. As one of the industry’s first Freeride bikes, the G-Spot’s been delivering world- wide pleasure for the past decade”. I first rode the original model of the G-Spot back in 2005 and, at the time, decided it was too much of a compromise for me. The burly, do-anything, frame was what I was after but the weight and pedal bob meant that realistically it wasn’t going to be the best companion for my riding. Fast forward 6 years and I am guiding for BasqueMTB, and mountain biking in the Spanish Pyrenees almost every day, and riding the new version of Cove’s G-Spot. Read the post »

SUMMARY: The Ragley Cheeky is a hard, narrow saddle which I found uncomfortable, however the main issue is the shape of the back.
+ Lightweight.
+ Cheap-ish.
- Too narrow for me so uncomfortable.
- Sharp tail and sticky covering catches testicles and shorts.
- Time will tell but looks like it’s not built to last.  

In July I crashed my bike when my SRAM mech decided to take a trip around my hub, causing me to plow a furrow with my elbow and at the same time bending my Charge Spoon saddle beyond repair. Time for a new saddle, and that saddle was the Ragley Cheeky, partly because I fancied a change but mainly because I liked the design! I have been guiding in Spain on this saddle for around a month so have had plenty of time to form an opinion on how it works for mountain biking. Read on for my review.   Read the post »