GMBC Crazy 6 at the You Yangs

Neil survived the Single Speed Nationals down in Tasmania (see the previous post) and fronted up with the rest of Team Baum (Darren Baum, Harbo, Neil, Jim, Ryan and David). Oh, and Prue Baum managing the whole show with sons Will and Luca racing in the kids race.

Despite the harrowing time in Tasmania, Neil was riding hard and having fun as were the rest of the team. What followings is a pictorial essay for the day.


Jim waiting for the start


The Baum stable


Darren coming down the hill just before the finish....


....around the corner....


....and off to transition




David interviews Neil. What is that man thinking?


David


Ryan refuelling






Harbo looking fresh, despite it being late in the race

08 SS Nationals

The following story is of a man, a bike and a whole lot of beer. If you are offended by the absence of precision or performance I advise you stop reading now, this is not a story for you.

Photos can be found here.



Please direct any holes or inconsistencies in my telling to Mischa and the Bottles and Chains Gang. They put on a debaucherous weekend that must have taken weeks of hard work, thankfully they also providing me a place to sleep. Thanks also need to go out to the Hobart mountain bikers who shared their trails with us, I have reviewed my concept of hills and with your help found it lacking.

In the week leading up to the 2008 Australian Single Speed National Championship, I had an epiphany, I'm not hard core. I'm somewhere close to moderate core, and have been for a long time. I'm not sure if this enlightenment spurred me to prove myself wrong, or it was simply the need to get away after some solid weeks at work. Either way tickets and accommodation were hurriedly arranged with what felt like only hours to spare, then off to Tasmania I went for a weekend with my bike.

My Cubano was stripped down, cleaned and packed. The bike ready to ride, only weighed 8.8kg, but with the rest of my gear the box that contained it tipped the scales at 22kg, thankfully I booked with virgin blue, who have generous conditions for sporting goods including bikes.



I arrived in Hobart around 9:30 Friday night, hopped in a cab and proceeded to the pub with only a short stop detour to deposit my bike at some house I wasn't convinced was Mischa's. The pub was like most I've been to, full of Victorians, and fixed pool tables. Mum, if you're reading this, I only had 4-5 beers (jugs), and was home much earlier than normal (turns out Tassy shuts early).

I awoke after a restful nap showered, dressed and flew out the door to make it to a guided tour of the local trails, kindly provided by the local mountain bike riders. I should take the time to point out my current form leaves much to be desired, so when our transit route took us towards a dirty great big hill known as Mount Wellington, I was less than thrilled. 3 hours later, I'd ridden up and down said mountain and the one it had been hiding behind it, more times than my un-breakfasted legs desired. The lure of free beer and bbq had complete control of all my brain functions, it was on to the BnC BBQ.



The ravenous horde consumed the awaiting snags, showing no sign of let up until the hot plate was cleared. It took a couple of loads for the poor community electric BBQ to stop their hunger, just in time for the skid competition. I entered the lineup, nervously watching the track bike in front of me, concerned about the grip on my new tyres. I sprinted at the line, lent forward and squeezed the left hand. Past the mountain bike, past the track bike, on to the edge of the hill, calls of "stop" behind me convinced me to lean back and end a match winning skid a meter from the far fence. Triumphant i turned and watched Duncan Murry on his rigid, fixed mountain bike fly towards me, ending with his faced pressed on the fence. I had lost, I was demoralised an alone.... PROTEST! The judges heard my cry and took pity. There was to be a rematch... in the skate pipe/bowl.



I never stood a chance in the concrete lane, it's hard surface and my soft tyres bonded leaving me tens of meters short of Duncan's repeated runs. I conceded and stood back to watch the local kids ride the bowl, I was especially impressed by the young lad on the fixed push scooter and the 13 year old launching his $300 mountain bike out onto the flat concrete surrounding the lip.



The finish of our beer supplies signalled another mass trip to the pub where further chances to redeem my honour were on offer. 16" racing, drag racing, roller racing. I was in with a chance of this championship, I was sure of it.



16" bike racing in the parking lot was the awesome fun, I won my heat, was placed well in the semi but was taken out by a vicious t-bone. I lay lying on the ground as my competition rode around me, first blood was shed.



After the 16" racing was drag racing, I fared very badly as this event, my fuller figure was not suited to the clothing and was easy trounced by the slighter figures amongst us. I can't tell you who won, it was time to re-hydrate and eat. I also took the opportunity to drop the bike and camera back home to avoid late night shenanigans.

Once again the forces of evil prevailed against me in the roller derby, I copped the bike with the low gear in the semis, I span like a junior the bike was made for, but never made ground. Humiliated I retired with a quiet jug or three. In my attempts to drown my sorrows I began to accrue several buttons, maybe I was in with a chance after all. The rest of the evening blurs into the next morning, and I'm still unsure what time I finally got to bed.

Sunday morning, a quick shower, then a mad dash to town to meet the group and ride to the Glen Orchie MTB park. I made it after only drafting 3 cars and a bus. Breakfast consisted of some plain corn chips and a can of coke in the park before hopping aboard the bike and crawling out towards the race, it seems I wasn't the only one to stop late the night before, some had even (re)started drinking to ease the pain.

I will admit the will to race was low, on the start line I decided to line up backwards, throw some confusion in the mix. The megaphone siren went off, the riders went off, turns out my plan wasn't well thought out. I turned around, clipped in and looked up the road. It was about then that a cold wet can of beer was shoved into my jersey pocket. The last thing I wanted that morning suddenly sounded like a great idea. Into the first piece of single track one handed, past the dirt jumps and local kids "it's important to stay hydrated boys" I advised, trying my best to stay upright. I took the first bit of fire road as a chance to down the rest of the can, pop it in my pocket and prepare myself to claw back through the pack. I raced on feeling fluid through the corners and sprightly on the pedals.



Coming into the start/finish for lap 2 I threw my can out like a biddon and grabbed another. This time it was done half way though the next piece of single track. The flow was still there but the hills weren't as friendly. A descent towards the end of the track was a roller-coaster of nerves and speed, hard into the downhill corner, past the photographers, over the log, past the dude in pink and on to lap 3.

The can change wasn't as quick, I decided to drink it on the spot, give myself a chance to really attack the first piece of single track... stay ahead of the hydration curve. I continued like this until finally after 6 laps (of 8) I tore the side wall on my rear tyre during an evaluation of a new line on the course and decided that my race was done. At the start of that lap I had been presented with what I believed was the last can, and it would be stupid to risk dehydration without another. I emptied my jersey and found that as well as beers the marshals had given me several badges, I was still in the running for the title.



The final race of the weekend was 16" 4X, my efforts in the XC had won me a place, and I was eager to gain some points/badges. What follows was not pretty, clipless shoes skating on tiny pedals left me at the back of the field and running with the bike above my head. I took to the sidelines and began bargaining for badges.



The remainder of the 4X was an awesome display, some crashes had the crowd enthusiastic but the young man from Sweden? who gapped every field was an awesome site. Unfortunately not being Australian he was ineligible to win the day so Vietsy took out the honours.



I felt that with my racing, drinking and bargaining I had enough badges to win the overall title. 32 little black badges adorned my cap, I stood up to present my claim only to hear someone else continue to count past 50. They must have bargained better than me, so I donated my badges to one of the females vying for the women's title.

At the end of the weekend I had come away unsure if I was hard core, soft core or moderate core, all I knew was the trails were great, the beer was cold and the people were friendly. Maybe next year I'll be champion.

Single Speed Nationals

Team Baum member Neil is a risk taker.

This is proved by one fact. He is going to the single speed nationals this weekend. It is rumoured that race entrants must blow at least 0.15% blood alcohol content from the drinking the night before or they will not be allowed to start the race. Further, if you do not have 7 piercings and 4 tattoos (a brand counts for 2 tattoos) you will have to go to the on course body artist to get yourself up to spec.

I hope Neil is ready for this.

Should he survive, he will be back next week with photos for the blog.

Ryan’s Week/Beechworth Six Hours In The Saddle Results

Ryan's Week

Ryan Moody, who is one of the team that builds the bikes at Baum, started his week of preparation for the Six Hours In The Saddle with a night on the town finishing at 2am. He followed this up with a half marathon on Sunday. He was in building bikes Monday and Tuesday morning, then off to walk in the high country on Tuesday afternoon. He spent 3 days being blown off the Razorback and walking through snow arriving at the Team Baum accommodation on Friday night before the Six Hours In The Saddle. Darren had talked him into riding the rigid single speed (sucker), so he set off, having never ridden the Beechworth trails before, with six hours of solo riding in front of him. Now, my personal opinion is that he is a little loopy …. what do you think?

He did a pit stop to change gearing and Darren was between laps so he helped out while Ryan recovered.

After four hours he was running seventh out of the seventy solo entrants. As his fingers started running out of the strength required for braking, he was regretting being on a rigid single speed - nice and light, but a bit hard on the bumps and hills! After just over five hours he decided to have a rest…..that lasted until the end of the race time.

Beechworth Six Hours In The Saddle Results – Baum

We had a big group of riders up at Beechworth to race six hour this year. The results were as follows:

Darren: lots of cramping. Sometimes hamstring, quad and calf at the same time.

Ryan: fingers used for braking worn out.

David: a couple of crashes, two front tyre blow offs and some blood.

Jim: A realisation that four weeks off the bike affects your fitness.

Neil: A nice meal of Thai food.

We also had the kids up for the weekend and did a winery tour on Sunday to make the most of being in a wine growing region. A great weekend was had by all.

Next race: Geelong Mountain Bike Club 6 Hour, 4th May 2008. See you there.

This crew is not our kids, but they looked so cool I had to include them.

Proof that Darren does not spend all his time behind the welding mask - because in the end it is all about the riding.

Tyre Testing

I did some tyre testing this week - not very scientific, but still useful. (First I should say that my views written here are my views alone and not the view of Baum Cycles). I have been running a Maxxis Crossmark 26x2.1 eXception on the front and a Kenda Karma DTC 26x2.0 on the rear. I use the Stan's notubes system with a rim strip on Spinergy Xyclone wheels (and love it!). I run 24psi in the front and 28psi in the rear.

For my testing I ride a circuit at the You Yangs split into six sections:
Section 1: Slightly down and up hill, some straight and some corners
Section 2: Up hill through corners
Sectoin 3: Down hill with corners
Section 4: Long steep, up hill
Section 5: Steep down hill and technical
Section 6: Back to the start

The Crossmark (525g measured) has been a solid performer. In corners it likes to be tipped over a long way to catch the side knobs and it is predictable when is starts to slide.

The Karma is light (450g claimed) and it tends to let go pretty suddenly. It is fine on the back but I don't like it on the front.

Keep in mind that both these tyres are a bit worn out.

Today I put on a pair of Stan's The Crow 26x2.0. These weigh in at 430g each (claimed). They have very little tread. They have very tight beads and I needed tyre levers to get them on. This should help them stay on the rim well and not burp. I found The Crow tyres were more likely to slide in corners than the Crossmarks, but they are very predictable at the limit, so you can rip into it with some confidence. They feel a like a big balloon type tyre to ride on. Squishy, soft and with grippy rubber. I found the lighter Crows felt more responsive, faster up hill and better in some technical sections where I had to pick up the front wheel.


When I compared the times for each section of the track, I was a little faster on the up hill sections with The Crow (12 seconds faster over 10 minutes) and about the same time on the flat and down hill sections. I kept my exertion level as constant as possible by monitoring my heart rate and on reviewing my heart rate after the ride found that the average for each section was within 1 beat per minute for both tyre sets.

The next tyre to test is the Schwalbe Racing Ralph, so stay tuned

Off to Beechworth for Six Hours In The Saddle

Team Baum is off to race at Beechworth next weekend (the race is on Saturday 5th April). David, Neil and probably Jim and Ryan are doing the 6 hours solo. Should be fun. Darren might even tear himself away from the welder to come up for the weekend.

I heard a rumor that if, during the race, you sneak quietly through the bush alongside the single track you might spy the rare weldus magnificus riding a single speed. If you are looking for weldus magnificus, there are a few key things to look for to confirm his identity. You will notice he wears gloves, interestingly two different gloves. Usually a yellow glove on the left hand and a blue leather glove on the right hand. This unusual behaviour is thought by scientists to be related to the creature's attempts to attract the opposite sex and hence procreate.

You will also notice the welding mask that has now become permanently attached to the face of weldus magnificus. While useful for welding, the mask can be a liability when riding a mountain bike. It tends to fall lower and lower with each bump making it difficult for weldus magnificus to see where he is going. Further, it prevents the wearing of a helmet, which prevents entering mountain bike races, which makes it pointless looking for weldus magnificus on Saturday 5th........

A new mountain bike

I have been working at Baum for about 6 weeks now and I am loving it! Even the bad bits are good. But I don't have a Baum bike yet . . . what? . . . what is that I hear you say? . . . "Don't be RIDICULOUS, how can you work at Baum and not have at least 3 Baum bikes!!?!??!"

Alright, alright, so I need to buy myself a Baum bike. How about a mountain bike? Well, as it happens I have been thinking about the build of a new Baum mountain bike for me.

I want it to be a fast race bike. I would also like it to be super light, but still a practical mountain bike – no road cluster or double chain rings. It will show what we can build here at Baum – to get people excited about fast, light mountain bikes with a bit of bling - and because I like that kind of bike. There will be no "it gets me from A to B" type bike for me. Finally it will have to be big because I am 188cm tall - Darren has already suggested running the large diameter Ti tube set with the 44mm down tube.

I have yet to sit down with the boss and talk through frame geometry, components etc, but my currently thinking on components is as follows:


Frame: Baum Cubano 1350 (estimate)
Forks: DT Swiss XRC 100 RL 1380
Handle bars: Schmolke 80
Grips: Extralite Neogrips 16
Stem: Ritchey WCS 4 axis carbon 124
Headset: Tune Bobo 79
Seat post: AX Lightness Europa 118
Seat Post clamp: Extralite Ultraclamp 11
Saddle: Specialized Phenom SL? 195
Front Derailleur: SRAM X9 154
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X0 197
Cables: Nokon?? 95
Shifters: SRAM X.0 trigger 225
Brakes: Avid Juicy Ultimate 683
Wheels: Tune Princess and Prince 1216
Rim tape and valves: 15
Skewers: Tune Schnellspanner 51
Crankset: THM Clavicula 440
Chainrings: Extralite Octaramps 109 or Carbon Ti chainrings
Chain: SRAM PC-991 Hollowpin 271
Pedals: Eggbeater 4Ti 167
Cassette: XTR 224
Cassette lock ring: Tune alloy lock ring 4
Tyres: Stans The Crow 820 or Schwalbe Racing Ralph
Tube: Stans notubes sealant 120
Lube & grease : 20
Chain stay protector: Stick on 12
Bidon Cage: tune carbon 9
Bidon Cage bolts: Ti 4

TOTAL 8235g

Well, that is very light. Some of these weights are estimates and of course one never really knows what the weight will actually be until the bike is built.

Comments are welcome on this build list.

Give me a few months and you will see me out at the races on a new steed. I am sure you will see more posts about this bike also – I will do posts about the build process, the parts as they arrive and photos of the finished bike before I go and get it all dirty.

David Rusden