One for the bike nerds :-) It was inevitable really I suppose that sooner or later along would come a new dedicated fixed-gear TT machine to replace my now long-gone Condor Stadio… Budget this time around much much smaller so nearly all second hand parts, which is no bad thing, but I in theory the end result is a quicker bike… if not quite so pretty.. The frame was a really lucky find. Back in 2005 I …
Bikes & Gear Archive
Titanium Pocket Stove
I’m determined to get my total camping load on my bike for a month away below 10kg if I can. No idea if that’s reasonable, as I’ll still want some basic tools and bike spares, not to mention camera.. and a little bit of comfort for a month long trip, so we’ll just have to wait and see. So.. for this next trip don’t want to carry my Primus Himalaya multifuel stove and fuel bottle. …
Kona Paddy Wagon Winter Bike
2020 Update This bike is still in regular use, and folk still read this post, so perhaps a quick update is on order, almost 8 years on from the original post. It’s been probably the most reliable winter trainer I ever owned; the old Soma Rush that preceded this was an excellent ride too.. until the frame cracked. I still think the Kona’s compact frame looks a bit rubbish but functionally it’s proven to be …
Carbonology catch-up
It dawned on me just recently that so far this year I hadn’t mentioned any proper ‘carbonology’ at all.. I was reminded because another big roll of the shiny expensive black stuff was delivered last week ready for an autumn of moulding.. I have no surf kayak fins left in stock which is a situation to be sorted soonest I think, and I’m making myself another carbon Greenland paddle.. not because there is anything wrong …
another post of a carbon flavour…
I feel as if I should apologise to my cycling readership for the recently rather kayak-heavy flavour of my posts… It’s not that I am not riding, I am.. it’s just that nothing exciting is going on in that department right now.. Just cruising around and not really missing the racing scene and attendant training schedules at all :-) I may have some adventure cycling flavour of news to share soon however but in the …
a final bit of fintology..
hmm, fintology.. that’s a stupid word but it’s all I could think of for the minute. I’m stuck in waiting for a courier this morning so I may as well fill some blank space on your screen.. This is probably the final carbon kayak fin post for now.. it needs to be posted as the fins have been through a reasonable amount of testing now and appear to be doing very well. Despite being hollow …
another carbon Greenland paddle
I’ve just finished making myself a second carbon Greenland paddle. The first one has been a great success, very nice to use – comfortable and very efficient, and has proven itself more than tough enough. The reason for this new one is that I wanted to modify the blade profile slightly and vacuum bag the components rather than just rely on a hand layup. Rather than start again from scratch I simply modified the original …
carbon surf kayak fin – finished article
an update on the carbon fin project is in order I think.. mission success if you like.. (previous posts on making the blank and the mould here <link>) I’m still playing around with the layup of the fin shells but this first fin has 5 layers of carbon at the root tapering to 3 at the tip. The root area itself is filled out to the rectangular profile using scraps of carbon with a random …
more carbonology, a surf kayak fin project
(* for more & updates on this project click here *) This is very much in the realm of experimental, I have no idea if this is going to work out because of the fine detail in the moulding and the strength required so I’ll introduce the project and what I’ve done so far and then say no more until it is either a huge success or a miserable failure.. Surf kayak fins have a hard …
making a carbon Greenland paddle.. part 3: the paddle
Ok, here it is.. finally got around to writing up last bit, sorry for the wait. I must also apologise for being something of a dummy and without thinking erasing the card that all the construction photos were on… so I only have a couple of pics plus the finished product. I’ll be making another incorporating lessons learned on this one however so I’ll take more pictures then… sorry :-( To make each blade half …
making a carbon Greenland paddle.. part 2: the mould
As I write I have just finished laying up the carbon cloth to make the first section of paddle… if you want a stress free life I wouldn’t recommend this project… I’m well aware as I work that mistakes/problems are going to be expensive in both time and money invested and it is proving to be a devil of a job to get the cloth to conform to the mould without a vacuum… I’m not …
Carbon Fairy comes.. (again)
progress on the paddle project has been slowed somewhat this last few days by a spell of fine weather, the Cornwall Sea Kayak Symposium, some bike riding, getting mashed in some large surf and essential outdoors work on my house… It’s not stalled completely however, a large roll of the black stuff arrived today, yum, and the plugs are just about finished.. I just have some final cleaning up and polishing to do before I …
making a carbon Greenland paddle.. part 1: the plug
I had planned to present this all in one go, but it’s quite involved and time consuming so I decided to break it down into stages instead… gives me something to write about :-) This project is something I’ve been meaning to get around to for over a year, using my traditional wooden Greenland paddle with my carbon Greenland boat doesn’t feel quite right but the only commercially available carbon version I know of costs …
Thorn Nomad
Well with flights booked (November) it was about time I got off my arse and rebuilt the Nomad after its last adventure.. it amazes me each time I clean it up and service it how good the paintwork still is after years of adventures.. a thick, black powdercoat that has proven to be pretty much bombproof. The only real changes to the bike from last time are the new rims I built onto the old …
Storck Scenario Pro… a second life
It took me a while to get around to taking some pics… motivation has been low to write and photograph these last couple of weeks, something to do with settling back into normal life at home I guess. Anyway for those folk who might be interested I finally photographed my refurbished Scenario Pro… It cost me £416 in total, that includes shipping to/from Germany; strip, inspection and refinish of the frame; return of the fork …