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Ochain is just a placebo - at the end of the day it's weight in the right place and doesn't really cost anything but money and maintenance and, if you're a believer or have a mechanic for that stuff you might as well run one. It's just FOMO. There's no downsides unless you're on a Shimano programme and now can't . . .
You can get just a quiet a bike with a £25 bit of stick on rubber (VHS).
Have you run one and back to back tested running with and without?
Have you run one and back to back tested running with and without?
No I haven't - even if I were a believer, my current bike doesn't have enough upper chain travel to warrant even trying. ie - Chain is virtually lying on the VHS on top of the chainstay when in upper gears so there's nowhere for it to "flap about".
Having said that I've not seen any proper blind tests done on it or seen any slowmo vids where anyone can show the effects suggested is real rather than imaginary. Add to that, that the thing was designed to eliminate pedal kickback which simply doesn't exist when freewheeling and having realised this they've pivoted to a "chain feedback" model and my scepticism is off the charts.
Even the SRAM infomercial on Youtube doesn't manage to show the damn thing doing anything.
They'll go the way of Neck braces eventually.
Anyway enough asides - this is about Weeksy Jr. When's the AM200 arriving?
Have you run one and back to back tested running with and without?
Anyway enough asides - this is about Weeksy Jr. When's the AM200 arriving?
Don't worry about that at all fella, it's bike talk and you/we/anyone can talk anything about bikes in any of my topics, no issues at all with that.
Sadly the answer to that is AGES lol. I think it's scheduled for the first week of Feb. But we're likely to hold off until the first week of March due to wanting to use a C2W but i can't do that until the other expires. Despite the fact i could pay the bike off tomorrow that's currently on C2W they don't allow that... So i have to wait.
But there's still a tonne of stuff going on to keep us busy. I'm trying to source a new set of Boxxer 35 Ultimates (with a 165mm+ steerer) which will go in either the Atherton or the Session as a spare/me bike.
He's got loads of background sponsor stuff going on (but sadly i get shouted at on here for discussing the sponsor stuff) with some bits being slightly exciting and some bits being REALLY exciting.
We've been discussing a week at Ride Southern Spain but due to his mate being injured that's being put-off until Feb and he's doing coaching sessions shadowing the boss.
Be a great commuter that Atherton 😂
Beautiful bikes - would love one but would never do it justice
Be a great commuter that Atherton 😂
Beautiful bikes - would love one but would never do it justice
Be a great commuter that Atherton 😂
Beautiful bikes - would love one but would never do it justice
I'd absolutely LOVE an S150 or S170 but i honestly would feel like a massive fraud on it. I'm just simply not good enough to do it any justice at all. Hence why i don't own one.
Pearce this weekend and as always a stacked field with some WC Juniors as well as 3-4 'wannabe' WC Juniors...so going to be a tough weekend to see anywhere near the pointy side of things. But he'll do his best. We're going to play about a little with wheels this weekend, partly because i think the track would suit a 27.5 rear and partly because the Atherton is mullet only so he may as well start getting used to the Mullet idea again. We've got Kryptos on both, so there's no tyre type changes in terms of compound/etc.
IT's going to be a chilly one !
He Tried one of the lads Atherton A200 today.
Loved the bike but hated the Rimpact damper. We all had a play in field and no one greatly liked it.
He said it was properly light and fast on track
The Pearce series as always was organised to perfection, they run so so well.
We set up in the paddock with our paddock mates, all are different and all are brilliant in their own way, everyone brings something to the paddock that completes the group in some way.
Beers, banter and XC Racing on the laptop was the order for Friday night.
Sat brought practice and loads of laps, by 11am he'd done 6 laps, but still had hours to play, a bit of lunch and then more riding and he was pretty happy. At times he wasn't feeling the track in a way, but he was getting down decently.
We watched the World Cup DH in the evening with a little bit of frustration at not being there, but it was epic banter with the crew and he was having a superb time with all his mates again.
The bike was awesome again, unlike some of his mates. I had 2 rear wheels over at the gazebo on Sat morning with "this doesn't seem right" and they were correct, using the park tool gauge on the spokes i had at least 15 spokes per where that regsitered <5. We usually run somewhere between 15-20 so they were honestly a joke. Many didn't even register a reading. Afterwards we were a lot closer and the boys both survived.
Sunday was SOOOO chilly, but we'd learned a lesson about hot-water-bottles overnight for sure, which made things a lot nicer 😀
Practice went smoothly with 5 runs and he was feeling decent. I sent him off for run 1 and he was coming down fairly late on in the Cat due to his overall Championship position, but we as always had insane competition. I know i often say this, but again it was stacked with 7 who've had National Podiums and 4 who've represented GB at World Cups.
One of the MB Cyclery from Surrey Hills who we know is silly quick and races EWS came in early with a stonking time, we thought Nathan Diwell-Wilson or Tom Hawkins who both are WC racers would beat him but they never.. I was watching the split times and the boy was 0.8s off on split 1 and 1.7s on split 2, right in the mix and happy..
As you're watching you learn that when people come into the field/finish and their times they'll need to be at... The boy needed to hit the last ramp at 1.49-1.50 to be in with a chance of a decent result..
He came into the section at 1.55 !!! ARRGGHHHHH. He'd had a small off in sector 3 and this put him into P16 at the end of the running... Not what we wanted as Top 5-6 was arguably where he thought he'd be, as did i.
He took it really well, dusted himself off and got sorted in his brain over food and laughs. I was whipping his forks out as they were slightly twisted in the yokes, but that's easily sorted and a quick wash and we're happy.
Run 2 he went up really early to compose himself and work on his warm up..One of the other competitors dads commented that he loves how the boy does a full warm up while some of the lads are looking at him thinking "WTF is he doing" but even though he knows it and sees it, he still does it, week in week out..
THe times were tumbling and rider after rider going quicker... but not many were going that high, but 1 did who crashed on run 1, he went P2. Nice job kid.
I didn't want to see the splits but i saw the boy drop into the field at a 1.49 which put him in the mix and he came in with a 1.57.3
That's more like it and put him into P5... but with a chunk of riders who could go faster that was liklely to change.
However it never and he kept it in P5 to the end.
https://www.rootsandrain.com/event14065/2025-oct-12-pearce-cycles-4-redwood-park/results/#h-17-18m
I was 1.3s off the WC boys which was awesome and beat a couple of other WC lads... So very happy with it. His main competition George and James both finished behind him so yeah he's a happy boy.
Sadly due to the injury at Bringewood he missed both races so couldn't get that back for the overall, but we're more than happy with his form and performance.
https://youtube.com/shorts/bI2VYGjI6dk?si=eU5QISQ_hun7qVCF
Awesome work - good end to the season.
We were gutted as there were spaces available but Daughter was off doing her Silver D of E practice so couldn't make it.
Awesome work - good end to the season.
We were gutted as there were spaces available but Daughter was off doing her Silver D of E practice so couldn't make it.
Ah man, that's a shame, it would arguably be the best introduction into Pearce really. We'll likely do the 100% and i'll be over this weekend watching a bit at the MIJ as we're at the forest anyway and i'm out pedalling.
I guess that brings an end to 2025 racing really and an end to the season. There were massive highs and a couple of lows, but overall the highs easily outweighed the lows.
His season long goal was top 15 in Nationals and he managed of course a P2 at Fort William along with other top 10s. Eventually finishing P8 in the National Series overall. It's hard to be unhappy with that in reality, it was an amazing feeling to get the P2 and i shed some tears at it.
The lows, missing out on the Pearce overall was a bit of a low, along with the reasons of why, in simple terms he lost form when we stuck him on the longer R3 size Session and we didn't quite get the why until too late. Since he went back to the R2 white bike he got a 7th, 10th (at National) and a 5th... But it has transformed how he's riding again as he's got pace, fun and laughs back. He's now playing with the bike again out there and joking about with his paddock mates.
We've fallen into a cracking group of lads this year, both for me and for him. We all work really well as a group and he's riding and chasing the lads (and girl) But he's also bonding in the paddock with them as well.
The Malverns was just an amazing adventure for us/him, not only bringing him a National Champions jersey but also a lot of laughs and fun with the DMR crew, which has now snowballed into a few other things coming from that.
The European Champs, well that was mid-wrong-frame time and was a bit of a damp squib for us in some ways with him not really getting his riding going and struggling to put down some decent laps... Oh how i wish we'd known before then ... oh how much... Not that he'd have jumped into P1 of course, but a more respectable finish would have been nice.
He's a qualified British Cycling coach now and doing his first proper day as a coach shortly, this is massively going to build his future for sure.
I guess the elephant in the room is World Cups. As you may have seen earlier he was chosen for a Reserve Rider for World Cups and we really thought we had a shot at getting a chance, despite the knowledge we'd be unlikely to qualify. However circumstances conspired against him and sadly it didn't happen this year. But we'll keep pushing, riding and trying for 2026 and beyond.
His enthusiasm is still 100% and his training and effort is suerb, he's living the dream at the moment. There's still the fact that we only have a certain amount of time and money we can throw at this of course, i'd love to send him to New Zealand for winter to train at Rotorua or somewhere but that's not plausible. So we can only do what we can do.
The gaps to the front riders at Nationals now are acceptable, he's right on the heels of the faster lads and knows what it's going to take to get to them.... But of course that's easier said than done.
So what's 2026 bringing... Well, pretty much the same as 2025 but hopefully MORE of it lol. There's a possibility of some time in Spain for him and also Portugal, along with some other little gems that may come up. We don't think we'll be hitting the European Champs this year as it's in Bulgaria which removes the road-trip of it really, but it's not impossible we'll fly over... i dunno though yet.
He's got the Atherton arriving along with a couple of new sponsors who are helping him out, to be honest we would't be where we are with all this if we'd not had their help in the last 3 years, they've made it all possible. 2 of them are from here, but STW frown upon the sponsor stuff so i won't say anything more here 🙂
bring on the fun... we keep pushing and trying.
As always, winter brings changes, discussions and craziness. Obviously the first major one being the swapping of the bike to the Atherton A200 which is being built.
But there's also the background stuff going on, some of that at times seems to be a job in itself. There's lots of if, buts, maybes, but sometimes things work out nicely. Part of it i can't get into yet, but part of it i just wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you on here, hopefully it won't get the wrath of the Mods as we're no longer with the sponsor, but so be it.
Anyway 2 years ago through our LBS Rotec Bike we got a message that Oxford Products and Mint wanted to help the boy out and have given him a tonne of help in the last few years, lots and lots, going over and above and even when things didn't quite work out they were more than happpy to help us out as much as they. I've been massively impressed with their bike wash, it's seemed less abrasive than others and doesn't affect anodising as i've seen some do so. But the guys at Oxford are posters on here, although they've never mentioned it as far as i know. But yeah i just wanted to thank them publically on here.
There's other things coming in the future and other sponsors helping the boy out.. It's amazing what they do for him.
Well despite my frustrations of not finding a house as easily as i want in FoD, we do have a few bits of good news. The boy has fallen into his role as MTB coach really well and is spending lots of hours at the moment learning his trade. Even though he's qualified to teach, being a teacher is more than just having done a course, so he's learning from his mentors and picking up skills, tips, tricks and observations. At the moment due to his age he can't be unleashed solo on the public anyway until he turns 18. So his learning is with another coach, which suits as he needs to build up 100 hours coaching to get his next qualification anyway.
With regards to other winter plans, he/we have had a couple of weekends of lack of pressure, just riding, playing and enjoying really. Bit of a post-season break from it all. He's been riding plenty and hitting the tech as well as the coaching, but not racing, we've skipped a race at FoD and are not bothering with the 100% race in 2 weeks time (first one we've missed in 3 years), so we'll be up at Dyfi and Llangollen as well as a bit of Afan, Cwmcarn, Barrys etc etc... Just honing the skills and getting the fitness..
With regards to other stuff, he's now been given Rider Team Athelete stuff from DMR, which was always part of Katys setup but he's now a DMR rider within his own right, along with that brings a load of opportunites, sponsors, parts and 'stuff' that is currently on order. But it's also the people he'll ride with more next year and the places he'll be hitting. It's all different little aspects of making him into an all round rider and increasing his rider profile I guess.
That's awesome news on the coaching and team front!
That's awesome news on the coaching and team front!
Thank you... it's all part of the endless adventure we seem to be finding ourselves in. We've put in an order with DMR/Upgrade bikes for a tonne of stuff for his bikes, which we're now waiting for, but we may need a bigger van for it all 😀 😀
In some ways though i'm more excited about the coaching as that's something that he can actually make a bit of a living doing.. How much of one remains to be seen of course, but it'll put food in his belly at the least. It's also opening up options for plans for winter next year which involves New Zealand for the winter and either Rotorua or Queenstown for some fun and games...
In some ways though i'm more excited about the coaching as that's something that he can actually make a bit of a living doing..
Lets hope British Cycling get their act together next year for the Gravity Coaching courses - they only ran 1 this year.......
In some ways though i'm more excited about the coaching as that's something that he can actually make a bit of a living doing..
Lets hope British Cycling get their act together next year for the Gravity Coaching courses - they only ran 1 this year.......
That is a somewhat bizarre thing i absolutely agree mate. I didn't even know they had a gravity one, i thought it was classed as XC.... but i must admit i've not looked fully in depth yet as he's not 18 until middle of next year and therefore can't do any more courses yet.
Yeah they've split MTB in to XC and Gravity - but have been woefully behind on the Gravity courses....
You need to be careful with which course, the remits are very similar, but obviously focus on the chosen discipline - the XC covers racing, pit stops and other stuff - but the trail/technical area remit doesn't cover bike parks/DH etc. So you need to be careful due to insurance etc.
I've been waiting over 18 months to book on.
Yeah they've split MTB in to XC and Gravity - but have been woefully behind on the Gravity courses....
You need to be careful with which course, the remits are very similar, but obviously focus on the chosen discipline - the XC covers racing, pit stops and other stuff - but the trail/technical area remit doesn't cover bike parks/DH etc. So you need to be careful due to insurance etc.
I've been waiting over 18 months to book on.
If you could keep me posted when you see anything that would be massively appreciated please.
"how do i straighten the bars, do i need to do both sets of clamps"
LOL... "how about we go back to the start of the story here boy" was my reply.
He's up at Tirpentwys with a mate today having some fun. Seems to have crashed 3 times when trying to find his speed 😀
Tues was coaching the Welsh XC Development squad with Katy which is teaching him lots about his trade.
Sat he's coaching again and Sun we're at Dyfi.....
When you throw in the Zwift sessions, weights sessions, yoga sessions, he's certainly putting in a decent shift that's for sure.
https://youtube.com/shorts/HipEVcSiiV4?si=FF8iRw1TeJUVVa7V
the overtaking bit was planned, the rest got sketchy
Be a great commuter that Atherton 😂
Beautiful bikes - would love one but would never do it justice
I'd absolutely LOVE an S150 or S170 but i honestly would feel like a massive fraud on it. I'm just simply not good enough to do it any justice at all. Hence why i don't own one.
Congrats to your lad for what sounds like a great season. Good job.
However, you should definitely buy an Atherton. I have one and I can barely scrape down Super Swooper or Lovely Dyfi. It's still an excellent bike, I'm 100% overbiked, but it's still great fun. An s150 is basically a trail bike, so I'm sure you can justify that.
Currently in the process of selling our house to move, so either way it’ll have to wait until after that really.
unless one come up lightly used for decent money
Well he killed his top guide, the lower pulley is dead, his drivetrain was a disaster lol
Heat treating completed, next they apparently go off to be removed from the plate along with polishing and finishing.
Nice!!
Do you have collection date yet?
I saw some images the other week where they were mirror polished, is that an option or was it a staff bike and they spent all their lunch hours polishing them up?
I saw some images the other week where they were mirror polished, is that an option or was it a staff bike and they spent all their lunch hours polishing them up?
Certainly wasn't offered to us, they do polish the logos but we're going for black lugs anyway as i'm not a fan of the metal lugs as much.
If it was the one I've seen then -
it a staff bike and they spent all their lunch hours polishing them up
was what they said at the time and they don't offer it as a service as it's too time consuming and no-one would pay for it.
Atherton Bikes - Polished Ti lugs... A thing of beauty 🤝... | Facebook
I assumed that was the case, having seen the time that goes into prepping (plastic) parts off the printers at work to a smooth finish I could only imagine the time it took - Would probably double the price of the frame!
I think they look better with black lugs, it’s why I always thought the original Robot Bike Co bike looked a bit crap.
Awesome weekend here with him coaching with Katy on the Sat while me and Mrs Weeksy went house hunting. We then drove to Dyfi for what ended up being pretty much a British National day with anyone and everyone from Junior/Youth over and playing out. He spent most of the day doing exactly what i wanted and riding with one of the fastest UK racers in juniors and i spent the morning trying to ride some of the destroyed ClimachX trail.
There was spannering, coffee, banter and meeting up with paddock-parent mates... Proper epic day.
I'm knackered today though, the Dyfi weekends do take it out of you.
To top off the weekend. We've agreed with vendors on a price for their property today... Let just say we're very excited... but it's a massive step and as we all know, buying houses can be very complicated.
To top off the weekend. We've agreed with vendors on a price for their property today... Let just say we're very excited... but it's a massive step and as we all know, buying houses can be very complicated.
Sadly the hardest part is boxing everything up and not losing it
To top off the weekend. We've agreed with vendors on a price for their property today... Let just say we're very excited... but it's a massive step and as we all know, buying houses can be very complicated.
Sadly the hardest part is boxing everything up and not losing it
If that's as complex as things get then i'll massively take that as a win. We're all massively looking forward to this move, Mrs Weeksy as much for the kitchen as anything.
Me and the boy for the distance to FoD and trails, but it's a lovely lovely place that's for sure.
Best of luck with it. Often cited as the most stressful thing you can do but a move to the FOD should offset that nicely.
In for Christmas? 😆
Best of luck with it. Often cited as the most stressful thing you can do but a move to the FOD should offset that nicely.
In for Christmas? 😆
Nah, the boy is doing his A-levels in April/May, so ideally it won't be until then.... Although if it did go insanely quickly, we'd come up with a plan.... What that plan is, i have no clue yet 😀
Well today brought a huge package from a new sponsor. However due to the restrictions here you'll have to use your imagination or check out his instagram later lol. I posted something on the 'cleaning frame of tubeless fluid' this week which was removed by the moderators, even though we're not sponsored by the brand nowdays lol. Somehow that's advertising.
So if i post a pic of my kitchen worktop with loads of new products, i'm looking at the ban-hammer 😀 😀
It's a shame though as i like saying a public thank you when people send stuff, not necessarily as an advertising thing but as a thank you.
Well that’s it guys. I’ve just had an official warning for posting about the boys news and I’ve had it with this place
I’ve been nothing but supportive and respectful on here and to be treated like a 5 year old who’s not getting any pudding, well that’s just utterly ridiculous.
thanks to all of you who’ve supported me and him in the last 5 years, I really appreciate it. But I’m done
[MOD] For clarity, we don’t allow brands to advertise within forum posts, at all. Be that the CEO of a company, their sponsored riders, or their parents, it’s the same for everyone, we can’t play favourites.