The 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12 was held over the weekend down at the historic Newnham Park venue in Plymouth, and despite the wild weather that rolled in through Sunday morning (and the resulting early finish for the race!), the event proved to be a roaring success for all who came down for the weekend’s racing and festivities.
Islabikes is one of the event supporters that has been on board for the past three years, specifically as a headline sponsor for the kids races throughout the weekend. Though the main event may indeed be the full 24-hour endurance race, with so many families and groups coming along to Newnham Park for a weekend of camping and riding good vibes, there are plenty of other events for folks to get stuck into, including numerous kids events.
On Friday afternoon we had the Time Trial, which was followed by some proper heart-in-mouth racing during the Dirt Criterium. Then on Saturday morning before the start of the 12/24-hour event, the little rippers had the chance to enter a 12-minute or 24-minute race, which played out on a squiggly race course in the main event village.
During the Pivot TwentyFour12, we had the chance to catch up with Isla Rowntree of Islabikes, where we chatted with her about Islabikes’ involvement with the event, and what it’s like to see kids darting around on bikes that you’ve personally designed and helped to create. Check out the interview above, or if you can’t see the video, click here to watch it.
During our interview with Isla Rowntree, we also ended up chatting with some of the other team members from Islabikes, including Steve Chapman and Ben Yarnold, who were racing the 24-hour race in a mixed 5-person team. Both were racing aboard custom steel singlespeed hardtails – the frames of which have actually been handmade in the UK, in Islabikes’ Ludlow factory.
The frames are manufactured out of a combination of Reynolds 853 and 4130 chromoly tubing, and they’re made to measure to the rider to their specifications. It’s one of the perks of the job for Islabikes employees. The frames are handmade by Ben, who came on board as a fabricator two years ago, and has been honing his skills ever since. As well as making sweet custom frames for his colleagues, Ben helps to fabricate the prototypes of new Islabikes models, which are made in-house before they’re put out into the field for testing. Longer term, Islabikes hopes to bring full production back to the UK, which is part of the wider Imagine Project where kids bikes will be rented rather than purchased.
The bikes had only just come together before the Pivot TwentyFour12, with Ben having built the wheels two days beforehand. The bikes were actually built out of necessity, as they’re actually replacements for Ben, Steve & Rob’s own bikes that had been cruelly stolen out of the van on their way up to take part in the Highland 550 back in late May. For anyone who’s had a bike stolen from them in the past, you’ll understand the anguish that comes with it – anguish that has been well documented in Steve’s blog post from the Highland 550. It’s worth reading that story and how one bike has so far been recovered, though with two bikes still out there somewhere, Steve is hoping some eagle-eyed Singletrack readers may be able to help with finding them – drop them a line via the Islabikes Facebook page if you’ve got any hot tips on the missing bikes!
Right, so back to the lovely new steel numbers that Ben and Steve were racing on at the TwentyFour12. Both were setup as singlespeed 29ers for the event, though they’re also designed to double-duty as off-road bikepacking rigs, with clearance for 27.5+ tyres and the option to run gears at a later date.
Here’s the specs on Steve’s ride (note: geometry measured with fork at 25% sag):
- Rider height: 5ft 7in
- Rider weight: 67kg
- Complete bike weight: 10.00kg (w/out pedals)
- Head angle: 68°
- Seat angle: 74.2°
- Reach: 451mm
- Chainstay length: 442mm (sliding dropouts so this varies slightly)
- Handlebar width: 720mm
- Stem length: 60mm
- Tyre width and pressure: Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25in front (17psi) & rear (19psi)
- Fork setup: 90psi, Rebound 7 clicks from bottom
With Ben being broader and taller than Steve, his bike features a few key differences in both the frame and the build kit. He’s got a much wider 800mm handlebar up front, along with a burlier RockShox Pike fork instead of the SID. Ben has also fitted an externally-routed dropper post, since he really dislikes internal cable routing (us too Ben!). The frame itself is quite a bit longer and slacker too, and along with the different parts selection, results in an extra 2kg over Steve’s bike.
- Rider height: 6ft
- Rider weight: 93kg
- Complete bike weight: 12.00kg (w/out pedals)
- Head angle: 66.5°
- Seat angle: 73°
- Reach: 475mm
- Chainstay length: 442mm (sliding dropouts so this varies slightly)
- Handlebar width: 800mm
- Stem length: 50mm
- Tyre setup: Schwalbe Rocket Ron 2.25in front (20psi) & Racing Ralph rear (23psi)
- Fork setup: 110psi, 5 Bottomless Tokens, rebound 7 clicks from zero, low-speed compression 8 clicks from zero
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Are these available to order? That pink as is almost my perfect hardtail!
Ben’s bike is my sort of XC bike …. Pikes, dropper, 4 pot brakes ….. Superb