Steve Webb storms to victory in Gorrick Round 2 for Singular

Singular race team '09 officially kicked off last Sunday at the always well attended Gorrick series - this round being held on the excellent Tunnel Hill course in Surrey. Postponed from the prior weekend due to excess snow and ice, it was impressive to see how good shape the course was in. Steve, Dom, Grant and I lined up in the Masters category at the ungodly time of 9.45. Being the early bird that he is, Steve shot from the start line with all the fast boys, with Dom not far behind him. Part way through the first lap he hit the front, and never looked back. A commanding lead stretched out to over three minutes by the end of the race - at a pace which would have garnered probably top 5 in the Elite category. Steve was on board a Swift SS nicely decked out with a selection of light but solid parts. The course was really ideal for a rigid singlespeed.

Dom Perry had the misfortune of breaking his chain at the end of lap 2, unfortunately surrendering fifth place in the process. A strong ride up to that point certainly bodes well for the season ahead however - someone just needs to have words with his mechanic.... Again he was on a rigid singlespeed Swift, this time a converted geared frame using a half link - it was the half link that failed. We'll have him on a proper SS frame for the next round. Though the burnt orange with silver parts and white saddle and grips did look cool.

Grant and myself were further toward the back of the pack, I just snuck into the top 30 by race end, while Mr Taylor suffered a bio-mechanical and was a few minutes further back. I was on board my prototype Ti Pegaus, also rigid with my favourite drop bars but running a 5 speed cassette out the back rather than the usual single cog. This was largely due to the recent failure of the Exzentricker bottom bracket unit and needing to get something to the line. It worked very well and with the shape I'm in at the moment I was thankful for a couple of gears.

Pictures © Joolze Dymond

For those who may have checked this blog previously, this post marks the start of a slightly new direction. As I've now become slightly more proficient with using the software to edit the website proper, I will be using that forum to provide business related updates pertaining to new models, production schedules, parts availability and the like. This blog will become a little more like what a blog is 'supposed' to be and provide some day to day updates as to what's been happening, what's coming up, and thoughts and ideas for the future.

On that note, I'll share a few pics and background on a new build I put together on my Pegasus Ti frame. In general I've really been loving this frame, its recent guise as 'beefy' hardtail with flat bars, 120mm through axle suspension fork and strong wheels with chunky tyres was a revelation. Still coming in just over 22lbs (singlespeed) it was so confident through nastier stuff as to be a little dangerous in that it encouraged you to ride beyond your skills. In its new get-up it's back to being lightning fast and wanting your attention to tame it. The quite short On-One rigid carbon fork is back on there, some of my favourite midge bars, and (heaven forbid) some gears! Not many though, just a 5 speed controlled by a bar end shifter. As my local riding often takes me on a mix of everything from road to fairly tight trails a few gears can be nice - especially for someone just trying to get back in to shape. It's only 5 speed as it's on a DT singlespeed hub, the five middle cogs of a 9 speed cassette fit nicely and give a good selection of gears for general pottering. 34 up front and 15-27 (I think) on the back.

It's come together really nicely and weighs around 21lbs as it sits with cross tyres. The first real outing was a wander around our local woods a couple of days ago. I rose early to see a blanket of snow outside. Eager to get out and play in the white stuff I grabbed the pegasus and headed out.



Making your own tracks in fresh fallen snow has got to be one of life's great joys, whether you are on skis or a bike.

That's not the front gate of the Singular world headquarters....



DIY deep section rims!

I ride on snow irregularly so it always takes some time to gain confidence in the surprising amount of traction you can get in dry fresh-fallen snow. Once I did though it didn't take long to realise that this bike in this configuration is an absolute rocket. I think I'll race it this weekend at the Gorrick.

Apologies the photos are so poor, they were taken on my phone (the so-so camera being the one downside of my otherwise wonderful new E71) I will have to get some nice ones with the good camera.

Sam