2012 Specialized S-Works Epic 29er

Bandwagon... People have been raving about 29ers over the last few year - "just like cheating" they say... Well, we held off for a long time until the geometries were perfected, spare parts common and boy am I glad I have gotten the chance to switch.

Mel and I are racing off-road on nearly identical (size, saddle and color of the grips are the only differences) Epics. Basically, it is the European stock Specialized S-Works Epic 29er fitted out with NoTubes 29er Race Gold Wheels, KCNC bar, stem, rotors, grips and seatpost, Schwalbe Tires (Rocket Ron on the front, Racing Ralph on the rear) and Crank Brothers Egg Beater pedals.

My bike, as a fully race ready size large (with proper tires) tips the scales at 9.8kg - incredible for a 29er full suspension!

Coming from what I believed to already be the best bike out there, the 26er Epic - it has had a lot to live up to. Well, only 2 hours of twisty man-made and natural trails under the tires so far but first impressions are that it is even smoother/faster than the original. Tight switchbacks were a thing that I thought it would falter at, but so far, I couldn't tell the difference between a 26er and this 29er both descending and climbing switchbacks. When you have the bike to speed, it really does roll - like my old 6 inch travel Enduro MTB... I found myself chanting "stay off the brakes, stay off the brakes", amazing what it then floats over. I'll be spending a lot more time on it over the next few weeks.

Garmin 800 and SRAM Brakes

Again, many thanks to our sponsors I mentioned and a big thanks to Specialized and Cycleways - we feel so fortunate to be always using the best equipment available on the road, TT and off-road - THANKS!

2012 Specialized S-Works Venge - New Race Bike

For 2012, my trusty S-Works Tarmac SL2 has been retired and replaced with Specialized's new aero road bike, the Venge. Many thanks to Cycleways and Specialized for helping me with the frame, KCNC for some of the finishing kit and checkout the Lightweight G3 wheels and FSA SRM crankset.

Most of the bike has been carried over from my old bike which obviously leaves the frame as the main change - a great way to compare the two bikes and how things have progressed. From the start, the bike feels fast, it is stiffer than the old Tarmac but what has really hit me most is when it turns downhill. I come form a mountain biking background and this analogy works best, it is like going from a hardtail MTB to a full suspension all mountain bike. It is very precise while cornering and leaves me feeling a lot more confident.

One other small thing I like - the Specialized Roubaix bar tape - I have tried a lot of different tapes and I'm thinking I may stick to this one for the next while. Grippy, comfy and reasonably light.

My first ride on it was my first road race win of the year.

Anyway - a few photos (sorry about the noisy background).

An FSA SRM creates pretty graphs

Skinny - with a Garmin Edge 500 bike computer

Specialized Turbo Pro Review

Tires, or more correctly in this case, training tires are a funny thing. Everyone has their preference built up on price, longevity, feel, grippiness and the most important factor – how many punctures did you get on them. Some people swear by a certain brand that others despise with a passion.

Me, over the last few years I have been pretty devoted to using the Continental GP4000s tires on my training wheels (I have no tire relationships on the road bike so I'm buying them) – I have found that they grip well, are reasonably comfortable and last for ages. The negative thing about them is that they feel pretty sluggish (and rolling resistance tests back this up) and cost a lot.

So there I was, in California to train and my rear GP4000s gives up the ghost... What to do – I go to the bike shop and see that the GP4000s are $80... EACH! Hmmm – maybe it is time to try something different.

Mel and I have had a long term good relationship with Specialized (although no tires) so, remembering about some good reviews I noticed recently, I picked up a SpecializedTurbo Pro for $55.

Speicalized had originally started out making tires and apparently they were great. Unfortunately, they lost focus for many years and were making road tires I wouldn't put on a commute bike. Fortunately though, this all changed a couple of years ago and the new Turbo Pro is part of that new generation. They are light, resistant to puncturing, roll well and have a few different versions at different price points. I went with the Pro rather than the S-Works because they apparently wear better. Mel has a pair of Turbo Elites now too (even cheaper), but it is too early for feedback.

So I threw it on and straight away I noticed that it rolled better than the GP4000s (which isn't hard to do) – the proof would be how long it would last...

So, I now also have a Turbo Pro on the front of my bike and the rear tire is still running strong. I have put 6,500km on it since the end of November split across dry roads in the US, a month of riding in Ireland on its rough roads and crap weather and now in Spain on a mixture of roads and conditions. At this point – the tire is 'squaring' off and there are numerous small cuts (mostly acquired in Ireland) but still no puncture (I know – I'm cursing myself). They still roll well and are comfortable. I'm 73kg and am pretty light on equipment but that is still an excellent figure. So basically, I'm giving them a thumbs up.

My request now is that Specialized bring out a 25mm version for me to use – 25 is the new 23... I'll try the S-Works version of the tire next - apparently it rolls and grips better but lasts about half the time - maybe perfect for the front?

UPDATE

I finally replaced the rear tire as it was getting pretty old looking (descending at up to 85 kmph I want my equipment perfect!). No punctures and 8,000km on the tire on the rear - impressive!

S-Works Stumpjumper Hardtail

It has been a long time coming - I had planed on having this bike put together during the summer but things got in the way and it took a while to get all the bits and pieces together. I didn't need it for any races so there was never really a rush to get my butt in gear. The upside, is I have finally built it up the way I want it (apart from one minor thing - but I'll get to that).



It is basically a 2010 Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper hardtail frameset pimped out with some of our sponsors kit. Lots of KCNC bits (some making their first Irish appearance - have a look at the brakes) - NoTubes wheels, the new CrankBrother Eggbeater pedals and Schwalbe tires. A really impressive package and tips the scale at a little over 8kg (I know, saddle and crankset can be lighter)

The new KCNC X-7 brakes are really something to behold - mega mega light (277 grams for the rear, 259 grams for the front INCLUDING rotors and all bolts - wow that's more than 100 grams per wheel lighter than most of it's competition). Braking has been great so far - a very positive feel and another nice feature is that they use Shimano style brake pads - so easy to find when you are stuck.

The rear caliper is simply beautiful - someone had fun with the CNC machine

I run a 2x10 drivetrain. An XT crankset modified to run a 42/28 combo and a 11-36 cassette out back. For most conditions I shouldn't have to leave the big ring (which sits in the middle ring position of the XT triple so gives a great chainline for the whole cassette). The crankset is the only thing I may alter in a while - it does not really befit the rest of the build, but it is what I had easily available.


Crankbrothers newly updated Eggbeater pedals finish out the build.

So, first impressions - it's all about the fork, the stiffness and weight of the bike - the bike just flies - you really want to push hard on it at all times. Sure, it isn't as quick on the descents as a fully, but still remains a lot of fun and is easier to clean and maintain.

So I have both the S-Works Stumpjumper and Epic - if I had to have one, it's easy, it still is the Epic - there just is not a bike like it. The suspension works so well that it is a no brainer to ride around with the extra few hundred grams of weight over the hardtail... But I still really like my new bike.

Setting up a double crankset

I have been asked about the crankset on my training bike many times and each time I explained it from the start - I guess I should put together a quick post that I can point to in the future.

The setup starts as an XT crankset (triple) that needed new chainrings. I don't use a granny ring and spend most of the time in the big ring so I felt a proper double setup would work better. With the big ring (a 42) where the middle ring was, I would also achieve a great chainline meaning that all the gears on the rear cassette would be accessible without having the chain at extreme angles.

I basically removed all chainrings from my XT crankset and bought the following 3 items.

Narrow chainring bolts (or single speed ones) for holding on my new big ring.
A 42 tooth 'middle' ring.
A 28 tooth 'granny' ring.

Then I simply bolted on the new 42 tooth ring where the middle ring used to live with the narrower chainring bolts, then the 28 tooth ring where the granny lived and finally adjusted the 'H' limit screw on the front derailleur so that it would no longer move to the old big ring position.

A post ride example of the setup

I've been really happy with the setup and spend much more time in the big ring as you can easily access the full 11-34 rear cassette.

Best of 2009: Garmin Edge 705 + BikeRouteToaster

It is around a year since I got my Garmin 705 and I have realized that didn't blog about the devices best use case (outside of Powermeter integration) over the 305. I didn't think that mapping would be a huge thing for me, but a few weeks with the device and I was proved very wrong – not only did the mapping help Mel and I navigate our way around Europe, Africa and the United States like a normal car GPS when getting to the race, but it has been a great tool for training in new areas when used with a website I love – bikeroutetoaster.com.

An example toasted route from last week

Bikeroutetoaster basically allows you to trace out a road loop on a google maps style interface and easily upload the result to your Garmin for playback. Not only that, it will also give you an elevation breakdown of what you are about to do which can even be viewed on the Garmin. For instance, last January in Gran Canaria, in the morning over breakfast I would trace out our routes, check the profile (make sure there is the right about of climb for the day) and distance, upload to my Garmin and go. Not once did we ask for directions, get lost or need an external map – perfect.

Best of 2009: KCNC

I have talked about it before, but another thing that I have really loved in 2009 is the KCNC products. KCNC is a company based in Taiwan that makes lightweight, high performance components at a reasonable price. There are many ultralight race components that I lust after but have mega high price tags - KCNC matches the weight and performance but yet is at an affordable price. In addition, to this day, I'm still to have a single issue with any of the products - I have used the seatposts, bars, bar ends, skewers, stems, cassettes and jockey wheels in some form for the last 3 years.


For me, of the products I have used, the seatpost is the star of the show - for £75 and 150 grams you get a set and forget way of dropping 100 grams off most posts. I have used the post on all my mountain bikes, my road bike and my cross bike.

Securing our front wheels - 44 gram (a pair) KCNC skewers

Best of 2009: Schwalbe Tires

Over a couple of posts, I'm going to go through the best things, MTB related, that Mel and I have used over this years season. Due to us being independent racers, we have had the flexibility to go after sponsors that we really like. We do test lots of different gear and are selective over the sponsors we go after - racing costs a hell of a lot more than a set of tires,and I would happily pay for a product that I felt was better (I would pay triple if I knew it was better!).

Last year I ran Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.1s on the front and rear for almost every race. This year, the setup was modified slightly - both Mel and I rode a 2.1 Rocket Ron on the front and 2.1 Racing Ralph on the rear for almost every off-road race. The setup really is that flexible.

First off, the Rocket Ron on the front. Like the rear, it is a standard tubed version that we run tubeless with Stan's NoTubes sealant inside. At a little over 400 grams it is one of the lightest tires around with proper thread patterns (Ireland/UK races + semi slicks don't work so well). Next, various tests on the power required to keep the tire rolling at a certain speed have this as an extremely fast rolling tire - the profile of the tire itself was also nobbly enough for almost all trail conditions, from fast Italian fireroad to the highest quality Irish deep mud. It just loves shredding singletrack, especially muddy, rocky trails.


The only thing I can say against the tire is that it can be a little skittish on lose small rocks over a hard surface (say, a recently resurfaced fireroad) when cornering.

On the rear, the Racing Ralph stayed - it is the fastest nobly rolling tire out there on most terrains (perfect for the rear as most of the weight on a bike and thus, rolling resistance goes through the rear) and the side knobs meant railing corners. Like the Rocket Ron, the only downside is on loose corners over hardpack. Next time you are at a big International race, have a look what tiers people are running - you'll see Schwalbe a lot - see if you can spot the ones with blacked out Schwalbe logos...

Racing Ralph

I'm around 73-74kg and I run about 26psi on the front and 28psi on the rear with Stans ZTR 7000 wheels, Mel, with her Roval Controle SL wheels, runs about the same. If the course is soft with a lot of roots etc, I would run a little less while if it is high speed with pointy rocks, maybe a little more. We make sure to check the sealent every couple of weeks and not leave tires beside a heat source.

My 2009 Season CX bike

The new CX bike for the 09/10 season - my first year doing CycloCross. The setup is basically a 2007 Specialized S-Works Tricross frame, SRAM Force 2010 groupset, TRP EuroX brakes, KCNC finishing kit (not all on yet), crankbrother Eggbeater pedals, Specialized Phenom SL saddle and Tufo wheels/tires.

Bike with the training wheels on - Shimano RS80

Currently there is a 46t big ring on it but I'll probably be dropping to a 42t or 44t for racing.

2009 Specialized S-Works Epic - Race machine

It has been almost 3 months since my new rocket ship arrived at my door – the award winning, 2009 Specialized S-Works Epic, more than enough time for me to form an opinion on it and give a little review – briefly, I think it’s an amazing technical achievement. The mix between rigid rocket and sofa bike is astonishing – It just knows what to do.

For 2009 there has been a massive shortage of S-Works Epics with the Irish and UK supply being sold out long before they even became available. Due to this, my new bike didn’t arrive until the day before I left for for my first set of races in Cyprus. Basically, my housemate, Alan, picked it up for me from Cycleways and I laid hands on it at around 8pm to build up – once built, it was time to pack into a bike bag. I did take a little risk in that I never rode it and I was taking it away to race on for several weeks. Although the suspension had changed significantly from my 2008 version, the geometry was going to be pretty close so I believed that I would feel right at home on it from the start.

Race prepped in Cyprus

Having read a great deal about it on various forums I knew that setting the front and rear suspension correctly at the start was important – in that regard, I watched the various suspension setup videos Specialized has online and spent 30 minutes setting it up – I got it perfect first time around and aside from changing the brain threshold, based on the type of course, I have not altered anything since.

From the first pedal, what got me was the rigidity of the bike – it felt almost like my road bike with every bit of energy going into the pedals. Initially, I was a little worried that I made things too stiff and that when I hit the offroad I would be knocked around a lot. Obviously, the first thing I did was try and find the roughest, most technical terrain I could find and see how it feels. My reaction was, OMG, this feels like my Enduro SL – the suspension worked magically, like riding on a magic carpet – everything from trail buzz to square edge hits were hammered into a smooth ride. It was like a mini destruction crew working just in front of my wheels to make the trail as smooth as possible – just for me, yet when I stood on the pedals, there was a road bike under me – amazing. Another nice thing, the S-Works Frame is naked carbon like last years S-Works Tarmac SL2 road bikes – not only does the frame look sweet (and save about 150grams on paint) but is actually super easy to clean. Important when your racing abroad, cleaning to make it look spotless takes about half the time of last years white Kona.

The front and rear suspension was the main difference with this years bike for me – a lot of the control, drive train (except the new S-Works crankset – very smooth – which I’ll be converting to a double once they become available), wheels etc… was very similar to last years from a performance point of view and has worked perfectly. Racing really is the toughest test of any bike – especially on trails as technically demanding as the ones in Cyprus and I have to say this bike has come out with flying colours. I know it’s really clichéd to say it is the “best bike I’ve ever ridden” – but it really is! It is by no means a cheap bike though at 6,000E, but if you want the best…

Both our bikes ready

Now for the all important bit – what is the weight – well, in the pimped race version with my KCNC components and crankbrother pedals and real tires (not 300gram show bike tires) it hits the 9.2kg mark. Not bad for something built to last under a 73kg rider!

KCNC supplied chains, seatpost, skewers (a new, longer rear skewer is need as the carbon dropouts are pretty wide), stem and bar. Thanks Andy!

Most importantly, thanks to Specialized and Cycleways for sorting Mel and I out with our bikes this year - it is a real privilege to be riding these amazing machines.

Mel has already written a piece about her bike too with lots of pictures here.

Saris PowerTap Disc Brake wheel

This year, Saris were able to help out with a few pieces of equipment through Paligap – the most interesting piece being the new PowerTap SL 2.4 Disc built by Cycleways onto a Stans NoTubes Olympic Rim with Sapim Race spokes which just so happens to talk wirelessly with my Garmin Edge 705. I have used power on the road bike for over a year now and have found it a great training tool – sometimes, I do admit to riding t o a number (which is good sometimes) but the advantages for training specificity, pacing and training/performance recording has been immeasurable. With all that in mind, I was always intrigued to see what the difference would be off-road versus on the road. With a few weeks of training and an offroad time trial on the wheel I can start making some initial observations.

Full built wheel including brake rotor and rim tape is 1,250 grams

Firstly, mountain bikings power profile is dramatically different from the road. Looking at a road power file, you see power rise and fall a lot, this is nothing in comparison to what you find on a mountain bike. The amount of time that you spend at Anaerobic power levels is astonishing with the time spent around Threshold power levels being dramatically lower (unless of course there are long steady climbs in the ride/race). My observation is that you are basically coasting (steep or technical descending), riding at endurance pace (fireroad descending) or are at VO2max/Anaerobic Power Zones (all climbs).

A muddy one

Throughout the winter I spent a great amount of time training for increased power at Threshold/Tempo and increasing the time I can spend at it – it works well for the road but the power requirements for off-road are quiet different and something that I will be altering my training for.

For instance, if you take two rides, one on the road and one off-road that you would consider equally hard on your body, the MTB ride would have a much lower average power, but with a lot higher peaks. Also, generating the same power off road is much more difficult than on a nice smooth road.

Secondly, the cadences at which the power is output is dramatically different. Road riding, unless very steep (and not enough gears available) you can basically decide the cadence you wish to ride at, again, it is so steady. In mountain biking, the cadences vary dramatically, with a large chunk of the high powered efforts at low cadences (50-70). I guess this is a lot of the out of the saddle steep climbs, but again, a thing that my road riding had not prepared myself for properly. On the road, I do train at the slower cadences, but not at that power level – my Anaerobic, VO2Max efforts tend to be at the 80-90 range.

So what am I changing, without going into too much detail, more high powered steep climbs (not necessarily technical, I seem to handle those well), more 3-5 minute climbs and, if you read anything about my Cyprus racing, more training in relation to fast starts – clearing lactate etc…

2009 KCNC Components Arriving

As the start of the season draws closer. Boxes and packages from our sponsors have started to arrive. One of the first boxes was from KCNC right before we left for Gran Canaria. I have been using KCNC components (Seatposts, chains and skewers) for the last two seasons and am looking forward to expanding the components we use this year (and dropping another few grams from the bikes).

For me KCNC are a company that makes lightweight, durable (who cares if it's light if you can't finish a race) and very affordable components. The part that I have been most impressed with has been their seatposts. For 2007 and 2008 I raced off-road on the Ti Pro Lite which weighs just 150 grams. It has been a set and forget component for me and I really can't praise it enough!

I have not setup the new parts yet but from the onset, for 2009, the road 11-23 cassette really stands out - at just 114 grams it drops more than 100 grams from the cassette I used for road races last year. Come October 2009 I'll update with how it lasted a season's racing.

Anyway, here are pictures (on scales of course) of a selection of the bits that arrived.

KCNC Ti Pro Lite Seatpost - 150 grams

KCNC 110mm Stem 106 grams

KCNC 11-23 10 speed cassette 114 grams

KCNC Bar Ends 52 grams

KCNC Road Brake Callipers 161 grams

KCNC Road Skewers 45 grams

KCNC 100mm Stem 100 grams

KCNC MTB Skewers 45 grams

KCNC SC Bone Flatbar 117 grams

Mel and I will of course update our blogs as more shiny bits arrive - I love this time of year :)

Wrapping up the season

With the end of the season upon me I wanted to change something up for a while. The 2008 season was the first season that I used a power meter extensively and found it an incredible training tool. I was much more accurately able to perform intervals, estimate difficulty of rides and learn about proper pacing. The precision at which I was able to train really appealed to my pragmatic mind (although I also believe in not following the numbers – riding by feel and not by a wattage) and I believe that I'm a much stronger ridder now because of it.

For 2008 I used a PowerTap SL 2.4 on my road bike – having the road bike with the power tap gave me the easiest platform (over my mountain bike) for doing intervals etc... but it did come back to bite me by the end of the year.

During the build up to the 2008 season I spent a lot of time riding my cross country bike on as technical terrain I could find. I would create a difficult loop with rocky climbs and tough descents, record conditions and time my runs as the weeks went by. However, as the season went by, I spent more time riding the road bike (with the PowerTap) with only racing and one other session each week being off road. By the time September came along, a lot of the skills I had worked on over the winter had eroded and I was not longer as sharp off-road. My fitness and strength was by far the best it had ever been but my lack of off road riding was telling. (The UCI C2 race I attended in Scotland a stark reminder for me – a podium should have been mine)

There are two things that I have changed (or will change soon) for the coming season.

Firstly, I bought myself a more sturdy (more travel, heavier) bike for riding in the winter. I love riding my xc race bikes. Super nimble, super fast and so so light (my Full Suspension S-Works Epic in racing 'colors' is 9.5kg with proper tires). But I had become used to protecting my bike as I rode – 450 gram tires and light weight components need a certain subtlety while navigating a course which had also lead me to become a bit of a chicken on the bike. With all this in mind, I picked up something that would handle a few “over cooked” corners, drops and boulders yet still be ride-able enough that I would use if for the 80km off road winter spins – I found something that fitted the bill perfectly and rode it all October and November - more on that in a later post.

Secondly, pretty obviously, I'm going to start using a PowerTap SL Disc hub off road – starting by building up a reasonably sturdy XC rear wheel and using a Garmin Edge 705 as the head unit. I'm a huge fan of the training benefit of using power and am really looking forward to seeing how an off road race looks from a power point of view and being able to feed that back into my training so that I train more wisely. For example, maybe in races (lets take some theoretical race), I spend 50% of my time freewheeling and 50% at around 400 Watts (close to my Threshold) and spinning my legs at 85 RPM. Performing drills at similar cadences to what I actually use in the races would be better than doing the 'same old' drills at 70RPM. This is a massive simplification of the techniques that I use - for an introduction, head over to Training Peaks and jump into some of the articles.

Slow Punctures...

Ever wonder how those punctures happen where the bike is perfect all ride, you put it away, still fine but the next day the wheel is flat... I found the problem...

Tire Tear

I got this tear on my road bikes rear tire 30km into a 160km ride I did a few weeks ago. A TorQ bar wrapper as some extra padding between the tire and tube and a mini pump allowed me to finish the ride - amazing.

It went straight to the bin afterwards though!

Exposure Lights

I love when new boxes arrive :)

Just in time for the winter darkness, a bunch of Exposure Lights have arrived - Mel and I now have a Enduro and Joystick Maxx each. As I mentioned before, Mel and I used them in Bontrager 24/12 and I fell in love with them. So compact, simple, light and above all else, bright - oh, and the battery life is great too.

I'm still waiting on the delivery guy for my new burr grinder though...

No Racing = Long(ish) spins

With no races this weekend I was able to get down to some long spins. Saturday was a mountain bike ride following the Wicklow Way to the Ballinastoe Trails, a couple of loops of that with a loop around Djouce and home via the road. A bit under 5 hours made it a lovely day.

The MTB Spin

Profile for the ride

On Sunday I got out to do one of my long road loops - basically 3 major climbs over about 120km with about 2100m total climb. The first time I did this loop (about 20 months ago) it took me about 4:45 - Sunday it was 4:09 at an easy enough pace (except for the climbs - did those at a hard tempo)

Lollipop loop

On another note, one piece of kit that I have been using that I really like is the new Specialized BG Pro SL shorts. Basically a pair of bib shorts made for warmer weather with a slightly less bulky chamois. They stay in position and fit me perfectly. For a long time I basically rode the cheapest bike shorts I could find - I still have lots of them which I wear on shorter days but the comfort of a good pair of shorts when riding for longer then a couple of hours is really worth the expense...

2008 Specialized S-Works Epic Race Bike

Like last year, I got another custom built Specialized S-Works Epic. A short supply of the frames this year meant that I had assumed I would be riding my first race on last years bike but the delivery man was very busy (and me very surprised) to see everything I needed arrive on time for the first race (4 packages the day before the first pre-ride). The major issues I would have going straight into a race on a new machine is wheel/tire combinations and any geometry changes. Fortunately, I had my new wheels about a week before hand and as the frame style had not changed, my bike fit would be very very similar.

Just after I finished build - same as I used for the K-Captial Races

Major changes from last year are that I'm running Specialized's new Roval XC Controle Race wheelset (1420grams – a post about them later), Manitou's 2008 R7 MRD fork and I also switched to a SRAM Twist Shift, Hope Mono Mini Pro shifting and braking combination from last years XTR Dual Controls (which I still love).

The Hope brakes are amazing

Overall weight of the bike (mostly due to wheels, tires, drivetrain and pedals) dropped by about 500 grams for a 'standard' racing trim... I.e. Proper tires etc... Total weight is 9.79KG (21.5 pounds for you imperial folk). Changing a few things (I.e. For a hill climb) I could get it down to about 9.4. Pretty light for a full suspension with disc brakes and durable components :)

From the other side

Finally, how it rides – very fast up the climbs (especially rocky, technical stuff) but really plush and confidence inspiring on the downhills. The difference for me on a technical descent speed wise if a few percent over my Carbon Hardtail, BUT, I finish the descent much more relaxed and recovered. Most notable things about the build for me have been the quality of the Hope Mono Mini Pro brakes and the Roval wheelset.

A big thank you to Cycleways for setting me up with the frame and wheels!