Its that time again - BBB 2011 Demo Bike Sale...

Not many left now!  No pictures - just great prices and all sold with warranty and a full service.  The level of discount reflects the amount of use but all are in superb condition.

2011 Trek Fuel EX7 Black, med/lar        £2000 now £1395

2011 Gary Fisher Paragon 29er, med      £1600 now £995
2011 Gary Fisher Paragon 29er, large     £1600 now £1195 inc full upgrade to XTR & £600 DT wheelset!

2011 Gary Fisher Superfly 100 Elite 19” £5000 now £2995 - The fastest 29er full-suss on the planet.

2011 Trek Madone 5.2 58cm                 £2800 now £1995

2011 Orange ST4. medium                     £3119 now £1995

We also have three new, Trek Fuel EX-8s with £500 off, making them only £1800, down from £2300 in the sale.  The sizes are 17.5" and 18.5" in both colours.

 For any questions or a demo ride just get in touch.

t. 01751 474220

e. shop@bigbearbikes.co.uk

See the latest news on our website at www.bigbearbikes.co.uk

Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

And remember...... for great riding Follow the Bear!

Malton & District Cycling - The 50+ and easy rider group.

Malton And District Cycling

The fifty plus and easy rider group

Contact Keith Buck tel: 01653 628211

e-mail: bucksawpit@btinternet.com

Runs will start from the Slingsby maypole, Slingsby, North Yorks.  Unless an alternative is given.

Pace, steady touring, about 12’s.

The route will be circulated on the Monday/Tuesday before the ride.  Please join the group where it is convenient for you.  Liaise with the leader to coordinate times.

For events shown in  italics  contact the organising club member.

Sun. 18^th Dec. 09:15am Slingsby.  09:45 Welburn/A170 junction.

Cockayne/Bransdale/Carlton (anti clockwise, Martin likes the down hills this way) Helmsley, Harome, Slingsby.

Boxing Day. 11:00am Eden Camp. A one hour jolly with the Malton Wheelers. 

Matthew Entinknap 01653 694571 

e-mail: maltonwheelersrc@tiscali.co.uk

2012

Happy New Year!

It’s a Leap Year. An extra day on the bike.  Yippee!

Sun. 15^th Jan.  10:00am Lidl car park, Welham Road, Norton. Malton Wheelers/CTC 60m or 60K

£2:00.  Matthew Entinknap 01653 694571 

e-mail: maltonwheelersrc@tiscali.co.uk

Sun. 5^th Feb.  ?? Watch this space.

Wed. 29thFeb. Leap Year ride. To be advised.

Sat. 19^th May.  CTC rides from Slingsby.

100m in 10hrs

240m in 24hrs

300m in 24hrs

All rides will be in 50 mile loops, returning to Slingsby at the end of each leg.

£? To be advised

Entry on a standard CTC entry form.

No entry on the line.  Sorry.

Closing date for entries Tuesday 1^st May.

Keith Buck

Sun. 8^th July.  CTC Scarborough.  100k.

Jim Buddo 01723 863103 

e-mail: jandjbuddo@iscali.co.uk

Sun. 9^th Sept. CTC Malton. 50 & 80 mile rides.

Jim Buddo 01723 863103 

e-mail: jandjbuddo@tiscali.co.uk

Whitby Wheelers - Club Runs

Whitby Wheelers- Sunday AM Club Runs October & November 2011

Oct.  2   Marton 10am to Dean's Garden Centre*,  Stockton-on-Forest. 

 Return via Welburn.

 

 Oct.  9   Irton Garden Centre*. Return via Harwood  Dale.

 

 Oct. 16  Sleights via Sandsend and coast road to Lockwood Beck  &  Castleton*.  (Jim Theaker's ride).

            

 O)ct. 23  Egton, Egton Bridge, Lastingham, Hutton-le-Hole*.

 

 Oct. 30  Marton 10am to Thirsk*.  (Patrick's ride  - presumably fast).

             

 Nov.  6  Sleights, Thornton Dale (Balderson's*), Pickering,  Swainsea Lane,  Stape.

 

 Nov. 13  Sleights to Great Ayton*, Castleton*.

 

 Nov. 20  Thornton Dale 10am, Wintringham, Luttons, Driffield (Bell  Mills*).

 

 Nov. 27  Castleton, Rosedale*, Stape.

Please note, * denotes café stop.

Whitby Wheelers subscriptions are :- Adults £10, Family £15, Juniors £5.

Club Contacts for Ride Info etc...

Patrick Mudd 01751 476647 / Chris Greaves   01947 810159 / Mike Fielding 01751 432626

Will Downhill Racing - BDS Round 2 – Moelfre – 10/04/2011

We arrived at Moelfre on the Friday night with enough time spare to walk the track and I found it to be very much the same as when I last rode here. This time though it had been made even better with some easier lines put behind the tape to make it more interesting and a berm put in place.  An old jump had also been removed increasing the flow of the top section. Saturday was great! The weather was boiling so out came the sun cream and tinted goggles for an epic day of hitting rocky drops and railing dusty berms with a great atmosphere to greet you at the bottom. There were also few lines on the course so I could really just focus on my speed and squeezing in every possible crank turn. Sunday brought great weather again, but in practice I ended up crashing on a rider who had fell off on a drop out of my view. Hands were shaken and apologies exchanged before I continued riding with a sore chest.  Unfortunately this pain, combined with the pressure of my one shot at nailing this race run, ended with me coming off and injuring my back. I was air lifted to hospital and diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae... gutted! I will race again for BDS Round 4 at Fort William and to compensate I plan on entering two NDH rounds. On the bright side though, at least I got a helicopter ride out of the experience!

Pictures and info from the event can be found at:      http://www.halobritishdownhillseries.com/homepage.html

Pictures of me and my race history/stats/ etc can be found at:     http://www.rootsandrain.co.uk/rider5610/william-hugill/photos

Will Downhill - BDS Round 1 – Nant Gwrtheyrn – 20/03/2011

 I was very excited to be back on the bike for another year of racing. The first stop of this season was round 1 of the British Downhill Series. This would be a step up for me with more points on offer, but also I would be racing in the youth group. The event itself was very well organised with many big brands showing off their latest kit, with lots of goodies given away. The track resembled the course I rode at Kidland the previous season; tight and steep corners with rocks and drops to keep you on your toes, but with the addition of an exhausting fire road section. The track was made more difficult with Sundays sloppy conditions, and I finished 25^th out of 29 overall. I am pleased with this result for my first race against a higher level of competition and I look forward to BDS round 2 at Moelfre. 

Pictures and info from the event can be found at:    http://www.halobritishdownhillseries.com/homepage.html

Pictures of me and my race history/stats/etc can be found at:     http://www.rootsandrain.co.uk/rider5610/william-hugill/photos/

Coming Soon in Ryedale - Cycling Challenges & Races to try...

These are all really great, local events for Road and Mountain bikers that you will probably find a few 'bears' having a go at.  If you would like to have a go just follow the links or give us a call or drop us an email for more information or advice.


We say 'live local, ride local', so go on - what's your next challenge?


Tue 17th May - Mountain Bike Treasure Hunt from Big Bear Bikes:
http://www.nymbo.org.uk/2011summermboscore.htm

Fri 20th to Sun 22nd May - Dalby XC World Cup Weekend:
http://mtbworldcup.co.uk/


Sat 4th June - Mountain Bike Orientering @ Farndale & Bransdale: http://www.nymbo.org.uk/farndalebransdaleflier2011.htm


Sat 2nd July - Mountain Bike Orienteering @ Cropton Forest: http://www.nymbo.org.uk/croptonflier2011.htm


Sat 16th July - Stockton Cycling Festival Sportive acroos the North Yorks Moors:
Stockton Cycling Festival Sportive
 

Sat 16th July - The Clifton Cycle Club - Dalby Red Route Challenge: Clifton Cycling Club

Sat 16th to Sun 17th July - The Yorkshire Wolds 146 mile Cycle Challenge:
http://www.yorkshirewoldscyclechallenge.org.uk/

Sun 7th August - The Ryedale Rumble:
http://www.ryedalerumble.co.uk/



Mon 29th August- Mountain Bike Orienteering @ Broxa & Harwood Dale:
http://www.nymbo.org.uk/harwooddaleflier2011.htm


Sat 17th September - Mountain Bike Orienteering @ Dalby Forest:
http://www.nymbo.org.uk/dalbyflier2011.htm


Sun 18th September - Moors Marathon, 75/50/25k
http://www.nymbo.org.uk/index.htm


Sun 9th October - Dalby MTB Duathlon:
http://www.ukmtbtri.co.uk/events_dalby.html


Sun 2nd October - The Clifton Cycle Club MTB Hill Climb Comp:
http://www.cliftoncc.org/


Good Luck!
The Bears


PS. If you would like to join the Big Bear Bikes team and ride in our colours then just ring the shop and ask for David or Mark.  We offer great deals for team members.

Will Racing Downhill

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Big Bear Bikes

Prissick Park Criterium Races

Did the first of these tonight in Middlesborough on the new dedicated cycle track. There are six races in total, 1 every week on Thursdays. There is a 4th cat / go ride 30 min race followed by an hour (plus 2 laps) handicap race for E/1/2/3/4 riders. I did the latter race which started at 8.00pm.

The course is only 1K in length but is nice and wide, super smooth and has some nice corners which you can roll into at speed with minimal braking.

It got dark during the race which made it interesting and the shadows of wheels was initialy offputting but once it got dark the led lights around the track gave enough light to keep it safe.

I started off at the front and really tried to stay in the top 10 to push myself but with so few people taking a turn I dropped back a bit and stayed in the top 15. There were only a handfull of second cats but they came through with about 15 mins to go and the pace hotted up. I managed to hang on and ended up sprinting into 7th place.

I thought it would feel like a bit of a hamster run but with some nice corners it keeps it interesting and I will certainly be doing more of these if I can get away from work on time. Mph.

Trek 2.3 Aluminium

Trek 2.3 Road Bike

I took the demo Trek 2.3 for a ride last week. I wanted to ride it as it shares the geometry of the more expensive carbon frames which always get good reviews. Currently I ride a top of the range Scott Addict which has a superlight carbon frame and is designed as an all out race bike. I also have a Titanium Van Nicholas which I bought in the autumn to ride as my ‘second’ bike / winter bike. The titanium frame is certainly more forgiving than my Scott but is not as quick and responsive… but it is designed as more of a ‘long haul’ bike which puts comfort before performance.

I did a two hour loop on the Trek on one of my favourite rides up to the Blakey via Bell-end climb and back via Cropton. I have to say I was very impressed. Its one of those bikes where you get on it and it feels instantly right. Usually when you first get onto a new bike it takes a few rides to ‘dial in’ to its riding characteristics… not his one though.

I was also amazed to find it a lot more comfortable than my titanium bike. It’s hard to gauge and score how much more comfortable but there is a significant difference.

So that’s two big plus points for starters. The third thing I noticed was that despite being more comfortable it felt noticeably stiffer when climbing. I did not time the difference but it certainly made the long drag up to the Blakey easier.

And finally the fourth plus point was the way it feels when cornering. This is linked to the first point about how right it feels to sit on… it carves a really nice line when cornering and feels planted and very secure. No twitchiness but no sluggishness either; a really nice balance.

It usually takes me weeks to make up my mind about anything I buy but I sold my Titanium bike 2 days after doing the demo ride and have bought the Trek demo bike… So if you want to try it you will have to ask me (nicely)! Whilst I very much like the Scott I have, I don’t think I want to try out the carbon Trek Madone version as it may be hard to go back to the Scott afterwards… not just yet anyway! Mph.

Whinlatter MTB Challenge

There was once a famous book that start something like this: 'and in the beggining there was'...something or other, blardy, blardy, blare. Well with this race review in the beggining there were HILLS, in the middle there were HILLS, and yes you got it, in the end there were...wait for it! HILLS! 

Richard Mcguire (the creator of this illustrious blog and in the photo!) & Joe Spencer both racing for Big Bear Bikes were on the start line, & ready for battle. In front of us were lots of fast looking racer dudes & dudeses with their 'race faces on' that said they were ready for blood. '3-2-1-go'! was the cry from the starter and away we went. I set off like a house on fire (well smouldering) & Joe was the same. The thought half way up the first climb was 'how the hell are we going to do another 30 miles like this.' Luckily there was a slight bottle neck at the top leading into the first part of singletrack. 'Phew, a rest I thought.' Away we went again and the further into it the more comfortable it became. I was in around 50th place at the half way stage with Joe just a little further back. The hills kept coming and coming and with no granny ring & the rain get into the surface more and more the task of holding our places became harder. after several gels, bars & carb drinks supplied by Big Bear Bikes the fatigue started setting in after about 26miles,and the harder i pushed the worse it got, then the brick wall was about to be hit for a few miles. At around this point I went A over T straight off the edge of a bloody big wet fat root. And that was that. After a quick dusting down, and several peoples passing me I carried on in true couragous style. Joe at this point was seamingly getting stronger & passing people for fun after hitting a flat spot spot around the half way stage.

About two miles out my legs came back a little but by this point it was too late the damage had been done. Guess I'm not quite as fit as I thought I was.

In the end I finished in the race in 74th in a time of 3hrs 16mins. Joe finished in 142nd in 3hrs 54mins. Upon reflection fairly respectable for a first attempt on a demanding course with so may competitors - 476 doing the full enduro as we were. A great day out on a well set up & run event. More to come from both of usin the future I'm sure. RM