End Of The Year Video Awards

These are a few of our favourite videos on www.youtube.com and www.vimeo.com



Drew Bezanson, filmed by Justen Soule on Vimeo.
(From little black bike in Australia)


Not about bikes but it makes us laugh.


This is one of my favourite sections from the surf film Sprout


We've not seen the film yet but hopefully it lives up to the trailer

Christmas Opening Hours and a Big Thank You

Christmas is almost here and with the new year brings our one year anniversary. This time last year we were getting the shop ready for opening in the freezing cold and snow with expensive and lavish interior fittings (ha!)

So here we are one year on, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us through our first year. Friends, old and new who have encouraged us and brought us their bikes, and who have kept us laughing (and in jaffa cake supplies) And our families, who have been behind us every step of the way.

It has been a brilliant year and we hope that we can continue with lots more of the same in the coming year.

We have normal opening hours until Christmas Eve when we well be open from 10am til 1ish.

We are then open on Wed 28th, Thurs 29th, Fri 30th from 11am til 4pm, and Sat 31th from 10am til 1ish.

Did you know...

...It was International dress like a dog day? Well technically it isn't, apart from in the small principality of The Bike Hub. We have found that customers don't even flinch if you chat to them with a black nose and you can even get served in The Brunswick without any trouble.

Chris' hat is actually an Ignite D30 trapper hat which has protective panels which is handy for long boarding. Nicks hat is his daughters which has no protection, it just gives him the ability to look like a poodle/Rod Stewart lookalike.

661 Mini DH

While we were all standing in the rain watching the RedBull Downforce event in Swansea last week, there was a MiniDH race going on in the Forest Of Dean. It seems the weather was better over there as well.

For results, videos and more info go to 661MiniDH .

The Swansea University Cycling Club went in force and congratulations go to Max Robinson who won his category. It looked like a really fun event so we will be entering the next one.

Red Bull Downforce Results

Well shame about the awful weather but it was a great event.


Julian Poffley finished the qualifiers in 11th, Greg Hampton (Swansea Unversity Cycling Club) made it into the final 8 and finished a superb 4th with Rowan Sorrell taking 1st.

Here are the final results:- 

1.   Sorrell Rowan 2:15.807
2. Thickens Michael 2:20.499 4.692
3. Whiles Nikki 2:20.920 5.113
4. Hampton Greg 2:21.644 5.837
5. Stuttard Mathew 2:21.810 6.003
6. Baker Ben 2:23.077 7.270
7. Drake Gary 2:23.185 7.37
8. Moulson David 2:29.531 13.724

Julian clearing the big table near the finish.

Greg tearing around the bottom corner.

Rowan Sorrell showing some style.

Red Bull Downforce

The Red Bull Downforce race is tomorrow (Sunday 4th December from noon to 3pm).  Its free for spectators and we'll be there supporting Julian Poffley, so we hope to see you there. Riders start at Nicander Parade and finish on Princess Way.
Here's a map of the route so you can decide where to stand to watch, and you can visit the Red Bull website for more information.

Lights back in stock

We've just had delivery of 10 sets of head or bar mounted LED rechargeable lights.
Great for riding off road or just for commuting (the cars will definitely see you as they are approximately  930 lumens.)
The run time is about 3 hours on high beam, 4-5 hours on low,  and charger and fittings are supplied.
All for a great price of £50 per set.

Nicks Birthday

I'm sure most of Swansea would have guessed that Nick turned 40 this week seeing as the celebrations started on Saturday and lasted all weekend. 
Of course there was cake. Firstly the "shit its Nicks birthday" version that Chris cobbled together (don't give up your day job Chris!)

Followed by the amazing official family version complete with spd pedal and bike hub logo. 

Red Bull Coming to Swansea

Get your cowbells out, the Red Bull sponsored Downforce urban downhill race is coming to Swansea on December the 4th. Gee Atherton will be there to test the course. All the details are HERE
It's going to be a great day out to watch some great racing so come along and lend your support.

This week's video :)

Here's the video from this weeks Night Ride  longboarding

Apologies for the poor quality (of the film and the skating) it was shot on my camera phone. Gareth (or "swivel hips") was riding his home built drop through, Stewart and Myself on Lush Kisiwa's, Dan on a shortboard with buttons for wheels and Nick on his hybrid narrow deck with rollerblade wheels.

Gareth's board was super quick turning whilst the Kisiwa's were like oil tankers, Nicks rollerblade wheels made for crazy narrow tracking quick runner that slid whenever it wanted to. We enjoyed it though and will be back for more once we find a longer, wider and well lit slope to use (let us know if you can recommend somewhere).

It made a nice change from night riding but rest assured we will be back on the bikes on the weekend.

Cwm Rhaeadr

With the promise of good weather we set off for Cwm Rhaeadr near Llandovery. It's a short but fantastic trail with great flow and some stunning views from the top. Someone suggested we do four laps (I'm sure it was Gareth) but we only managed three and a half.

We also had the GoPro HD960 with us on the chest mount (now available for hire, give us a ring for details). We've created a short montage of the days riding.

We'll definitely be back for more, its easily one of the best man made descents in South Wales


Follow this link HERE for some info about the trail.

Green Oil Chain Lube

We are now purveyors of Green Oil, the original award winning green chain lube. Green Oil is a 'wet lube', suitable for all riding conditions, rain or shine. Its accolades include The Ecologist Magazine's 'Pick of the Month', Green Oil is also winner of What Mountain Bike's Gold Award.


They are a UK company and they don't use petrochemicals or teflon in their ingredients, its all natural with a small ecological footprint.

Stolen Bike

Chris' bike has been stolen. Its a GT Peace 29er, it's red, yellow and green with white handlebars so quite distinctive. Can you keep your eyes peeled and call the boys on 466944 or the police if you see it, thanks

Ouch!

It's been hectic at The Bike Hub and as we're a proper bike shop we're closed on Sunday [so we can do lots of DIY in the house go riding]


This week we went up to Glyncorrwg and even though it was real ych a fi weather today it was surprisingly busy.  So once around the hills and back to the cafe for a sausage sandwich, and we only slightly broke Jamie!

Its Tuesday night....

....so its ride night, and as the days are getting shorter that means night riding.


We all headed up to Kilvey and just about managed not to hit any trees! If you'd like to join us on a Tuesday, then give us a call at the shop.

Nick looking spooky (nothing new there)

Gower Bike Ride

It wasn't the best weather this year but there was a good turnout anyway. We watched the riders go past the shop and had our first customer of the day who turned up with a flat tyre.

Nick and I set off after everyone had gone by and Dave decided to join us and so won our "most inappropriate bike to ride around the Gower roads" competition even though I was on the heaviest bike in the world.

Dave and Nick re-fuelling and phoning for help!

It was good to see lots of friends on the way around and after we had finished it was back to the shop for homemade Guinness cake....mmmm....cake

Fame At Last

The Evening Post have written a piece about us taking part in the Gower Bike ride on Sunday 18th.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Bikers-spare-moment-charity/story-13333469-detail/story.html
We are riding it on the cargo bike (in the picture) but we won't be taking the big spanner! As the article says, we will have some tubes, spare parts and tools with us as we trudge around just in case anyone gets stuck.

Feel free to point and laugh as we struggle to get the cargo bike up the hills.

Bank Holiday Weekend

We had already planned to ride Whites Level at Glyncorrwg today
As the RM Slayer is laid up while I wait for a replacement shock link, I decided to give my 29er a try. Its a GT Peace fully rigid (see the pic for the err..stunning colour scheme) so I was a little apprehensive. 

Anyway it was great! Heading up the first climb seemed surprisingly easy given my lack of fitness. We set off down the Black section and apart from a little jarring that wasn't a problem either. As the trail wore on my hands were getting sore, and the final descent got so bad that I couldn't cover the brakes and hold the bars (it was one or the other)

All in all though I was very impressed by the traction on offer. It wasn't as difficult to steer through twisty singletrack as I'd been led to believe either, you do need to manhandle it a little more than a 26" wheeled bike though.

Off now to rest my weary arms :)

Been a while

Not posted in a while as we've been really busy in the shop and have been surfing more than riding (waves are fickle while trails are usually where we left them :) )
We've not been filming much since but we did shoot some test video to give us an idea for a section.



It's been up on the YouTube channel for a while but I thought I'd post it here. We'll most likely get some more filming done on tuesday evening so keep an eye out for further updates.

Kilvey Hill Movie Preview

Here's a little preview from the first days filming at Kilvey last Sunday. We've decided we are going to make a  film for a bit of fun. As we collect more footage we'll hopefully have enough for a good quality (content) fifteen minute video.

More Videos

Went for a ride around Kilvey Hill yesterday with Gareth and Stewart. Rode some of the bits past the windmill that i'd not ridden for years. Finished off by heading down the Alpine Trail.



Chest mounted this time (its on the stem on the Masts video) and it seems less shakey.

Video from The Masts ride

As promised here's a short video section from Sundays ride



Its only a short bit and it doesn't do justice to how steep some bits are :)

Afan

We had a great days riding last Sunday. Good weather, good trails, with good company..

We'll have some video from the go-pro camera in the next couple of days

We Are Famous !

Well not quite but we have been name dropped on the BikeMagic website by Mike Ayles

The full article is HERE , not sure about the poor student though, if he stopped eating pasties he'd be richer ;-)

South Wales Bike Ride 2011 and Other News

Next weekend is the South Wales Bike Ride (formerly the Gower Bike Ride).
There's more info HERE . There's three routes this year with a longer 50 mile one for the more ambitious/fitter amongst you. The bike ride has now been postponed until 18th September.

There's no more news regarding Moo's and Clyne as of yet but keep an eye on the Moo's blog MOO'S BLOG

Good news though, Exist Skatepark is now open, BMX's are in on Tuesday and Friday, check the website EXIST SKATE PARK we're hoping to go soon.

Thats it for today, off up Kilvey Hill for a ride this afternoon.

SAVE MOOS

Save Moos. from Jack Francis on Vimeo.

Moos and Clyne Trails

It seems that the NIMBY's have put pressure on the council and we are now facing a situation where the jumps at Moos and Clyne are closed pending planning permission.

Have a look at the Moo's blog http://moostrails.blogspot.com/ for up to date news and join the Facebook group. If you have any photos or videos from the Clyne jump spot from more than 5 years ago then please get in touch with Dan from the Moos blog.

We need to get support for this so go ask all your friends, relatives and workmates. Lets not lose a superb facility.

Clyne Valley MTB Trails

The MTB trails that are being built have now entered the planning stage and i'm sorry to say that some people have raised some objections. I'd like to think that if your reading this then your in favour of more cycling facilities (of all kinds) in and around Swansea. Can you take a moment to email your support to


planning@swansea.gov.uk

and quote planning application 2011/0566

We need as many people as possible to email in with their support (even if you write the email for them).
It has the potential to be a superb asset to the City.
You may want to mention some of the following :-
* will encourage tourism to the area
* positive involvment of local community
* positive effects on local youth
* sustainability of trails
* the consideration of other users in the overall plan - walkers & equestrians
* considerations of environmentally sesitive areas

Lets get behind this as cyclists, not just mountain bikers, road riders or bmx'ers. If we band together on this then we can become more vocal about other facilities and events that we would like (and need) in the future.

What could this be?

Massive queues at the shop this morning after the bank holiday?

No it wasn't :)  this was the beginnings of the crowd that gathered to see the bus carrying the  promotion winning Swansea City team. The atmosphere was fantastic, thousands lined the route to welcome the Swans home. Luckily nobody dropped the cup off the front of the bus.

4x Euros

We spent Sunday afternoon at the 4x European round held at Bryn Bettws Lodge near Afan. The weather was quite poor and the track was very slippery but the racing was good. Have a look at http://www.british4x.com/ for the results.
Here's some pics from Sundays racing

More From Pump Track Tuesday

As promised here some pictures from Tuesday evenings riding.

Rapt concetration ( or totally blown)

John(ny Cash) 

Nick without his "crying clown face"

Thanks to Gareth for the pics (very much appreciated), theres more on facebook (head to our facebook page for the link)

Pump Track Tuesday !

For those who didn't know, the pump track is finished and open for riding ( there cant be many who didn't know though, there must have been 30 bmx'ers there last night). It's excellent and great exercise so get a bike (doesn't matter what bike) and get on it whatever age you are. Here's a (rather poor) video of the track from last nights riding. Hopefully the pics of an un-named rider crashing will appear later :)

Off to do some work now, got lots of second hand bikes to sort out for sale.

Pump Track

The Pump Track has been completed and is looking really good BUT as it has only just been finished it needs a couple of days to settle before we can ride on it. I know a number of people have been using it already but can I please ask anyone who is planning on riding it to leave it a couple of days more.
I've been told that its best to leave it until after the weekend at least. I know its "there" and we all want to use it (no one more than me) but for it to last as long as possible we need to be patient and wait a couple of days. Thanks and keep an eye out for news of a future event involving the track.

News

Available to order now, Urge Helmets as seen here http://www.urgebike.com as worn by Julian (Poffley) , Fabien Barel and many others :)

We have an Evoc freeride pack in the shop if anyone wants to see one. I've been using one for a few months now and apart from being a really comfy well made backpack, it also has a CE certified back protector built in. You don't notice it when wearing it but you know its there "just in case". We wont be stocking a huge range but we will be able to order them if requested.

If your local and want to join up for a tuesday night ride, ring/email/call in for cuppa and find out where we are going (usually Kilvey or Clyne) and come along. Its usually a "play bike" evening with no rushing about or racing.

James' New Whip !

Proper BSH 21.2" top tube, Mid BB, metallic red paint, full 4130 cromo 5mm laser cut dropouts

£249 RRP

We'll be building it for James later today so i'll be putting a pic up later. 

Finished result :)

More Opening Hours

Hope everyone had a good time over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, plenty of cycling needed now to burn off the chocolate. We will be shut on Friday but we wont be watching the wedding (well I wont anyway) as we will be off for a ride to avoid the endless TV and Radio coverage.

Easter Opening Hours

We are closed Good Friday and Easter Monday, open as usual on Saturday.
Thats my lot, off for a lie down now, trying to recover enough energy to go for a ride on Sunday.

Pump Track Design and a Skatepark

Some more pumptrack news, I've been sent a proposed design. It's not set in stone as of yet but it does give us an idea of what it will look like.

I'm awaiting further info about the site.

On a sort of related note, Exist are opening a Skatepark in Swansea, head to EXIST SKATEPARK for some info and to sign up.

Ride For Japan

Just a quick post today, Tyron of www.thefootdown.co.uk is taking part in a charity ride for victims of the Tsunami in Japan, if you'd like to donate then head to www.justgiving.com/rideforjapan

Cheers

Second hand bikes and other stuff

We've got some bikes coming in over the next few days so keep an eye on the second hand bikes page for updates.

KHE BMX's are available to order (at the moment) have a look at Dan Dhers here


It's an older video but still worth it (wait until 1:46 onwards)
Maceto's start at £379 (Dan Dhers signature model) with Root's from £269

Pump/BMX Track

I've had an update regarding the building of the Pump Track. As I said before funding has been secured and the tender has gone out and I can reveal that Dragon Downhill will be building the track. Work is scheduled to start in May.
If you want to see some of the tracks they have built then head over to http://www.dragondownhill.co.uk/2004site/BMX.htm
I've ridden the track they have built at Bryn Bach Park and it is superb so we are guaranteed a great track.
I'll post more news and hopefully a layout as soon as I get it.

Clyne Trails

Had some updates regarding the pump track today, funding has now been secured and the tender has gone out. I've got no news on who is building it yet but i'm awaiting details of the meeting between the Parks Department and the Contractor. I'll be attending that meeting so I'll update with plans,news,photos etc as and when I find out.

There's another meeting on Wednesday about the Clyne MTB trail. Hopefully I'll have some good news from that as well (fingers crossed but dont hold your breath). Again I'll update you if I find anything interesting out.

GoPro HD960 Video Camera

We've had the HD960 at the shop for a while now and we are going to make it available for hire very soon. We currently have a chest mount and a velcro helmet mount available.
I'll be adding some more mounts (mostly custom made ones) as times goes on but what I'd like is your input.
If there is a particular mount you think would work really well let me know and I'll see if I can make one.
Here's a little bit of test footage



YouTube compress the video , the raw footage is HD quality.
We are still finalising details of how and when but let us know if your interested in hiring the camera.

More Dog Visits

Some new bikes in (check out the second hand bikes section), some frames as well
(a Giant Glory no less) and we have some used wheels in as well (pics to follow)

In the meantime Pepper dog came to visit today. Here he is in a rare moment of stillness

Lots of repairs in, so not had much time to report lately, and there was no riding last weekend due to food poisoning :(

Will make up for it this weekend by either riding and digging or just heading for Brechfa, not sure yet. Feel free to try and sway me

Clyne MTB meeting

I went to another meeting for the Clyne MTB riders group last night to find out what progress had been made.

For those that don't know the group is working with Swansea City Council (and others) to promote cycling in the Clyne Valley. This includes trail building, BMX tracks and dirt jumps. There's more info at the website

There had been a delay but it looks like things are back on track now, hopefully work will begin on the revised route quite soon. The dirt jumps at Moos ( blog here ) are looking amazing.

The pump track/BMX track is a little up in the air, but progress has been made but I can't say too much until it is confirmed, but rest assured something is being done. If you want any info then call in the shop where I'm hoping to have an updated map of the routes and where everything is.

Here's a pic of Moo's to illustrate the work Dan and his mates have already done

Catch Up

There have been comments about the lack of blog posts. We're really sorry but we've been busy busy busy at the shop. There have been lots of very nice bikes brought in for us to fix :)

We do have some fresh stock in the second hand bike department, with a few more to add when they're ready to sell. There's a couple of clicky links to the right so you don't have to scroll through the blog to find the relevant post.

We've also been opening accounts with new suppliers left, right and centre, so we can now offer a huge range of parts to order.

We are agents for Mojo Suspension and TF Tuned Shox, which covers servicing of nearly all shocks and forks, with PUSH tuning also available. Just bring your bike in and we'll send the forks off to the experts. Typical turnaround is 48 hours, so we can have your fork back on your bike in no time. Call us for a quote.

http://www.mojo.co.uk/mtb.html
http://www.tftunedshox.com/

The ride tomorrow is up Afan with the boys. Going to play on the final descent of The Wall :)

Special Offer

Need a new helmet for your bonce?  We have 661 Recon Helmets in stock

Here's the blurb from the 661 site

The Recon helmet was designed as an all-mountain bike helmet. An in-mold shell design allows for fewer components and weighs in at a featherweight 303 grams, The extended rear coverage create a Moto inspired profile and the quick adjust Detox fit system secures correct fitment. 18 intake vents give great airflow across the head while the internal channeling is what really gives the Recon Helmet its active ventilation and keeps the rider cool. With its removable moto inspired visor, and matte finished graphics, the Recon helmet is ready to take the trail by storm.

Eventful Sunday

Sunday's ride at Kilvey Hill killed my frame! We'd been riding various singletrack sections from 10ish onwards testing the GoPro Chest Cam.

We had ridden the Fenceline twice and then the Alpine without problems. Looping back up to the rock garden on the downhill and set off down the right hand tech track. As I exited the track and re-joined the downhill there was a loud bang (a bit like a rock strike but much louder) so I stopped (about 10 yards from the jump) to find the carnage below.

It's being replaced by a new Ragley Blue Pig 2011.
 

Anniversary

We've been open one whole month. To celebrate this we have a tin of Quality Street at the shop for people to come and scoff. Yep we know how to party here, so come and see us before we eat them all! (If you know us then you know that's quite a large possibility)

The shop is still a bit of a work in progress and will be for a while, but little by little we will get it looking how we want. We're fully functioning as a workshop though and that's the main thing.

It's been a brilliant first month. We're having a blast, and it's been lovely to see so many familiar faces come in to see us and be so positive about the shop. It's also fantastic to welcome lots of new faces and we've been really encouraged by the support we've received from every single person that's come through our door :)

Frames

These are the frames and forks we have at the moment...oh and theres a few new bikes below

Giant Glory 8 Large, £475 (or £550 with NukeProof Rear Wheel)

call for more details

                                          KMT Prowler 48cm £350 Large (hand not included)

                                          Orange P7 2008 Sliding Dropout 21" SOLD

                                          Orange Ms-Isle 16" SOLD

                                           Adorni 58cm Frame and Fork, Long Point Lugs SOLD

                                      Large MTB Frame, Resprayed with Custom Stickers :) £40

                                          Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 1, 20mm Bolt Through --SOLD

.

Fresh Bikes

Check out our new arrivals in the Second Hand Bikes post below. We're going to keep them all together in one post (for warmth during the cold weather)

Can you spot us?

We managed to get the exterior sign up yesterday, much to the amusement of the Saturday afternoon shoppers of Swansea. Well we gave them something to watch while they were waiting at the lights!

the bike hub is easy to find, and if you look closely at the street photo, just a 10 second stroll from Joe's Ice Cream...two birds...one stone?

In other news, we have a great offer on tyres at the moment. We have in stock 26" semi slicks for £14.99 or two for £25. Get you bike ready for the warmer weather, its just around the corner.