More racing and new jerseys

Round three of the Gorrick spring series was run in lovely spring conditions at the original Gorrick venue of Crowthorne Wood. As per usual, us Masters set off at 9.45 the weather cool but the fun, winding course in excellent condition. Also as usual, Steve blasted off at the front of the pack, settling in at the back of a leading group of four riders for the first two of three laps. On the final he picked off a couple of riders to give him second on the finish line, and the same spot in the series.

Photo thanks to Joolzedymond.com

Dom unfortunately couldn't make it this week, and neither Grant nor I were able to sufficiently fill the hole left by his absence - both coming in with mid-pack finishes. The number 1 board is a result of having a surname starting with A rather than series standing... It's early days yet though and both of us felt a lot better this weekend than the prior round. Now the sun is shining occasionally a few more training miles should see some improvement.

The jersey I'm wearing in the photo above is a sample of a batch we will soon have in. The colours need to be tweaked a little but they are very high quality Italian made jerseys, plus they have a few nice extra little details which weren't on the first jerseys. We should have these available for sale in a month or so.

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

Dealer news

Following on from a hugely successful Cycle '08 at Earl's Court we have a few new dealers on board.

Ahoj češi! Rebel Bike in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic are now stocking Singulars. I'm extremely happy about this as I have strong ties to the Czech Republic myself, having lived there for a few years before moving to the UK, and my partner being Czech. They are a great little shop with a big online presence, drop in and say hi to Zdeněk and the guys and check out some of our bikes. They have a couple of demos built up they'll be happy to let you take for a spin as well.

Up until now we've not had any UK dealers between London and Dumfires, having Longstaff Cycles in Stoke on Trent on board changes that. They are an extremely well regarded shop and frame builder with a wealth of experience and knowledge. We're delighted to have them as part of the Singular family. Located right next to the Peak District they'll be a great location for taking a test bike out as well.

The Netherlands has been one of the great success markets for Singular to date, thanks to Jelle at singlespeed.nl who's been doing a great job via his online store. However one of my main goals in building the dealer network is to put my bikes in a retail space so that people can see, feel and try before they buy. Therefore I'm very pleased to say that Bike 2 Build, the premier cycle retailer in the country, is now carrying Singulars. They have two retail stores, one in Vlaardingen, and the other in Ermelo.

Cheers, met vriendlijke groet, and na shledanou!

Sam

Smaller Gryphons prototypes in!

I had the first Gryphon built over a year ago really just as something I wanted to ride myself. Basically just took the Swift and gave it a few tweaks to make it rigid specific and drop specific. I loved riding it and people kept saying they liked it as well so finally I had a few more prototypes made up in smaller sizes. A couple of folk around the traps are riding them, Dom left me in his dust (or rather mud spray) on Saturday aboard one and seemed to be liking it, Stu's been liking it so much he left it in a tree... Anyhow, as I'm about to order a batch of new stock I'll get some of these in as well - should be here Feb-March.

A little while between posts as things have been rather busy getting new prototypes in and sorting out everything for my stand at the London Cycle Show which was held last weekend. The show itself went very well with many people making favourable comments on the bikes. A few sales have come from the show directly and we also picked up a couple of new distributors, more on that shortly. We had a nice little spot, possibly one of the smallest stands at the show but located right alongside the BMX display. So whenever that happened we'd be swamped by a horde of people shortly thereafter.

The Peregrines certainly attracted the most attention over the course of the show, though there was also a suspicious patch of drool left in front of the Ti Pegasus sample as below.


A huge thanks to Adam for helping out on the stand, giving up a weekend on which we saw possibly the last sunny weather of the year. Also to Steve for bringing to reality my very vague conception of what the stand would look like. Can't forget Andy either, who pulled together some lovely looking product sheets at the final hour.

Just in the nick of time the final prototypes of the Gryphon arrived in some smaller sizes. They're looking really fantastic and judging from the reception both they and the 26/69 Hummingbird received both will be going in to production shortly.

Thanks to singletrackworld.com for the pics, none of the ones I took turned out to well...

SSWC '08 - The Report

Smooth dustiness at Anadel - Santa Rosa. Photo Deano T

The trans-global sideshow that is the singlespeed worlds this year headed to Napa, California for the first stop back on US soil for three years. Where the social element is nearly as important as the riding, singlespeed events tend to have a more relaxed atomosphere than those which allow our geared brethren. That was under threat this year before the event even got underway. Being held in a populous area of the heart of mountain biking, there were always going to be more people who wanted to attend than there were slots available for. Some controversy surrounded the entry process, but in the end there was a great crowd of people there who were very much in the spirit of the event.

Evening BBQ at the Wine Valley Lodge. Photo Simon D Barnes

I managed to get some riding in pretty much every day I was there, which after all was the purpose of the trip. Skeggs, Tamarancho, Anadel, Napa Skyline, Mt Tam, it was just an incredible treat to be riding such iconic trails in hot sunny weather in great company. Most of the UK contingent arrived at the Wine Valley Lodge on the Friday before race weekend. Having travelled over myself, it was really quite bizzare to see so many familiar faces. There were probably about 30 UK folk staying at the same place, along with a few Aussies, Canadians, and even some Americans thrown in. The hotel was one of those classic US style motels with ground level rooms ringing a pool and bbq area in the middle. It felt like being on a movie set, in fact I had that feeling for much of the trip. I guess my sole impressions of the US being formed via film and television that's to be expected.

Dust lines Photo Deano T

So to the race itself. I hadn't pre-ridden the course, there being too many other options to spend two days riding in the same place. Some had though, and returned with tales of 2 hour laps in 50 degree heat. I was a little worried. What seemed an uncivilised 10am start was in the end a sensible decision as the temperatures rose. We began with an opening half-lap loop, then it was to be three laps of the course proper. The course itself was excellent, the many (for me) pushing sections punctuated by some sublime smooth flowing sections, along with a few more testing rocky ledgy bits.

Team GB readying for the off. Photo Simon D Barnes

There was quite a bit of this

Thankfully broken up by a fair bit of this

I was somewhere around the middle I guess when I decided to call it a day after two laps. At the time it seemed like a good idea given the heat and the attractiveness of the paddling pool full of ice and beer, though in hindsight I regret not having forced myself out for another. Nevermind, there's always next year in Durango!

Peregrine in Touring Trim

I posted some shots previously of the Peregrine in singlespeed monstercross mode, so here are a few showing a different side of its personality, set up for touring/commuting duty. We've had quite a few of these go out already within just a couple of weeks of their arrival, and people seem quite pleased so far.

Here are a few more shots of the Pegasus as it was built and ridden over in California for SSWC and a bit of riding either side. I'm really enjoying riding it so far, very light and climbs like a rocket. Quite stiff but retaining that nice springy Ti feeling.

Lots of new stuff happening lately here at Singular, production Peregrines just need to clear customs and they will be with us in the next few days. Last week saw the arrival of the Hummingbird samples, and today I just built up the first of our Pegasus titanium samples. Below are a couple of pics and a little more info.

Singular Pegasus

I've wanted to do a Ti frame for quite some time. For me, it's the ultimate frame material; light, strong, won't corrode, and has a wonderful ride. As we also know, it's also expensive, and it hadn't been a high priority when getting the company started. However I spoke to a few different manufacturers who worked in Ti, and finally arrived on one to produce a few samples. They took some time to reach production, though I have to say the wait seems well worth it. The finished product is beautiful, construction and weld quality very high.

Geometry is essentially the same as the Swift, though clearly with tubing profiles appropriate to the material. We'll do some testing of these, and all being good will put together a small production run before the end of the year. Weight of this large size frame is 1530g, the medium is 1440g.

Singular Hummingbird

Since we first released the Swift 18 months ago, people were immediately asking "will you do a 26" wheeled version"? I'm a great believer in the benefits of 29" wheels, though for those shorter in stature maneuverability may be reduced, and steering geometry must be compromised to work with available suspension forks without toe overlap. The Hummingbird is intended for people under about 5'8" who begin to run into some of these issues on a pure 29" wheeled frame. The twist here is that although the frame is designed for use with 26" wheels and a 100-120mm suspension fork, it can also be used with a 29" front wheel and dedicated rigid fork with a lot of offset. This gives many of the benefits of a 29" bike, but brings back maneuverability for shorter people thanks to shorter chainstays and wheelbase. The intention is to produce these in a 22.5" and 23.3" ETT.

SSWC 2008

The Singlespeed World Championships is drawing near, only a couple of weeks until one gear enthusiasts from all over the world descend on Napa Valley, California. I've very glad that again Singular Cycles are sponsoring the event, so one lucky person will be taking a Singular Swift SS frameset home with them. I'm also glad I'll be getting over there in person, not for as long as I might have liked, but I hope long enough for some California sunshine...