Mountain Biking

Andrew descends from the mountain top into St. Moritz on the last day of the Transalp 2008.

Now that I'm getting older, my Road Race days are now over and I find myself a touch slower on two wheels. In 1995 I switched to a Mountain Bike as it was just starting to take off on the UK. I must admit, I find today riding across the countryside much more enjoyable than endless miles of Tarmac.

Agenda for 2010

I won't be attempting a further TransAlp this year.  I'll be taking a break from the time-consuming training and focusing on other personal and business matters, which for 2010, take a higher priority.  
However, I will be out almost every weekend in the Mountains having some gentle fun!  If you live in Munich or to the south.  Please contact me and join me for a ride. 

Here's the fine detail on the three bikes I currently own.

Specialized Enduro SL Expert
Used for longer rides and extreme terrain (particularly "single-track" or steep downhills)
- Frame: Specialized Enduro M5 alloy with 150mm travel.
- Shock: AFR air spring shock with spike valve, fully adjustable.
- Forks: Future Shock e150SL, fully adjustable 150mm travel, dual crown with integrated stem.
- Wheels: DT Swiss custom (front with 25mm through axel) with Shamano XT block.
- Gearing: SRAM X-0 rear mech and trigger shift, Shimano XT custom chainset and front mech.
- Breaking: Avid Juicy Ultimate hydraulic disc breaks with 203/185mm rotors.
- Cockpit: Specialized mid-rise alloy bar and bar-ends.  Integrated stem/fork combination.
- Seating: Sella Italia MaxFlite leather saddle.
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy SL
- Weight: approx 12.5kg / 27.6lbs

Extralite based full suspension
Used for fast cross-country rides.
- Frame: Extralite F-1 v4.0 (Aluminium 7020 T6) with "StablePlate" shock, 100mm travel.
- Forks: Pace RC39 100mm travel with lock-out (carbon/magnesium)
- Wheels: Extralite UltraDisc with Shimano XTR titanium block.
- Gearing: Shimano XTR chainset, front/rear mech with XTR rapidfire.
- Breaking: Magura Marta SL (carbon) hydraulic disc breaks with 160/160mm rotors)
- Cockpit: Extralite UltraBar straight bars (carbon) with Extralite UltraStem and bar ends.
- Seating: Extralite ThePost with Sella Italia leather saddle.
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beaters SL
- Weight: exactly 9.2kg / 20.3lbs

Marin based hard tail
Used now as an out-of-season training and as a commuter bike
- Frame: Marin 7005 aluminium custom build frame.
- Forks: Pace RC36 ProClass Suspension forks (carbon/titanium)
- Wheels: Hand-built wheels with Hope Hubs (titanium/aluminium) on Mavic SUP x517 rims
- Gearing: Simano XT front/rear mech with XT rapidfire. White Industries chainset
- Breaking: Magura RHS33 RaceLine hydraulic rim brakes
- Cockpit: RaceFace straight bars with Kore stem and Scott magnesium bar ends.
- Seating: Fi'zi:k Nisene leather saddle
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy SL
- Weight: approx 10.5kg / 23.1lbs