Team Singular wins Mountain Mayhem singlespeed category

This year we really wanted it, the '08 running saw us edged out by the Trek 69er squad and some muffed handovers through a wet and mucky night. Adam's expecting wife meant he was replaced by Grant in our highest profile race of the season. We had some (quite literally) brilliant custom lights from USE Exposure, and fantastic Maxxis tyres courtesy of the folks at MMA sports - many thanks to Rory and Andy respectively. Steve was clearly on fantastic form, Dom always goes fast, and Grant and I would give it our all.

Our local man on the ground Jason went over during the week to secure us a nice spot alongside the course which gave us a good vantage point and also allowed us to know when we needed to head up to the changeover area. The team all arrived in good time on Friday evening which gave us the chance to barbeque, have a few beers and catch up a bit.

Having endured the quagmire of the past two Mayhems everyone was wishing for a dry one and indeed the days prior seemed to promise that. So it was with a little trepidation we retired on Friday night with raindrops pattering on our rooves. Thankfully rising proved it wasn't too heavy and strong wind plus intermittent sunshine and 2,500 riders going over the course conspired to dry things out quite quickly.

Steve being our fastest rider and best and most enthusiastic runner took on the Le Mans start and did us more than proud by finishing the run in seventh place - then following it up with a blistering 41 minute lap to put us in the top 20 overall from the start.

We swapped off riders every lap until it got dark when we kicked off the doubles, meaning we'd already done three each by that point. As expected, Steve kept churning them out, the fantastic USE lights turning night into day meaning he was still running around 47 minutes for his night laps. Unfortunately Dom then got the worst of a bit of a shower which quickly made certain sections of the course very slimy indeed. It was still pretty slick when I head out for my doubles at about 3.30am. I'd only managed about an hour's sleep, but felt OK for around 1 & 2/3 laps. I felt lucky at that point - glad to be out on the course during that magical time as the sun comes up.

However coming up the final long climb I suddenly had no power left and the slightest incline forced my off the bike and walking. People I'd passed suddenly went zooming past. I was reduced to asking passersby if they had any gels or even water left as by that point my stores were depleted externally as well as internally. For a moment I even contemplated the prospect of the shortest route back to camp or at least a brief lie-down in the grass trackside. Thankfully Rory from USE came past and provided the motivation for me to push on to the top - from where it was more or less dowhill all the way to the end. Then handing over to Grant (who'd said prior 'I'm your man just to keep churning out the night laps when the going gets nasty') said, "I don't think I should do a double, it might take ages like yours did, tell Steve to be ready in an hour

And of course he was. I thankfully got a little more sleep, Steve and Dom kept flying around, Grant and I kept plodding, and when we we'd all had enough Steve even put in a double to finish - none of his having taken more than 50 minutes

In the end Steve did nine, Dom seven, Grant and I six each - 28 total. We were over a lap up on the next singlespeed team, and finished 8th overall in the sport teams category. Thanks to all those who gave us shouts of encouragement along the way.

The lights all ready to go from USE

The bikes are ready

Felix (Dom's son) gives the bikes a final check over

Dom




Grant





Steve

Sam

Steve Webb wins Bristol Bikefest 12hr Solo SS

Steve splattered and shattered after 12 gruelling hours at Bristol - photo Steve Makin

Last weekend was a big one racing for the Singular crew. A split in the ranks saw Grant and I head to North Yorkshire for this year's running of SSUK, while Steve and Dom were supposed to be racing at the Bristol Bikefest 12 as a pair. Last minute family illness meant Dom couldn't make it, so Steve stepped up and rode the solo category. Churning out consistent 30-35 minute laps saw him take the SS category win by nearly half an hour with 18 laps. His effort effectively put him third amongst all solo competitors as well. At least I know if I fall apart at Mayhem next weekend Steve can just keep going...

Grant and I didn't do quite so well in Dalby, but being at the front of the pack is not really what SSUK is all about. We had a great time, met up with some old friends, made some new, and just enjoyed a wonderfully put together weekend. As usual I put up a frame in the gift-giving ceremony, this one for the kids. Under 15's were invited to put their drinking skills to the test by downing 500ml of vitamin water as quickly as they could. Niall narrowly eeked out the win and though close to being ill after it was delighted with his new Hummingbird frame.

Lotts Wood Round 1 to Singular

Summit MTB, a club local to us, puts on a series of races over the summer every third Wednesday evening. Last night saw the running of the first in that series. They make excellent use of a small piece of forestry comission land with a tight and winding course which gets more technical the faster you ride it. Steve Webb rode it at a fearsome pace and in doing so became the first singlespeed rider ever to take the overall win in these races. Incredibly the next two places were also on singlespeeds, Phil Moore and Dean Taylor of Velo Club Moulin. The boys were really flying at the front, though Steve ultimately put nearly two minutes into Phil over the course of the 55 minute race. I was sitting in fourth when one of the local flinty rocks made its way through my sidewall ending my day. We'll certainly be there for the rest of this great little series, if you want to make it along and perhaps even borrow a bike for a spin just drop us a line.

Twittering

For those who really can't get enough Singular news, I've begun a Twitter account. While my ramblings here at least make some attempt at coherent prose, in keeping with this new wave of communicative development my twitter will offer you short vignettes of whatever I might happen to be up to at the time (bike related of course, I won't be posting what I had for breakfast...).

follow singularcycles at http://twitter.com

Lots of news

As ever, lots of things happening in these parts. The new jerseys we had in have now all sold though there will be more on the way. Couple of minor tweaks to the design for these ones. Stefano from biciclista.it who manufacture the jerseys was at EHBE over the weekend with the new samples. We should have these in stock again in a couple of weeks - apologies to those who missed out.

Stefano modelling his creation - a fine figure of a man

The new batch of Swifts and Hummingbirds is in the final stages of paint and should leave Taiwan this week. We will see them here roughly three weeks after that all being well with shipping and customs. Those who have pre-ordered will see their frames a bit more quickly as they are being air-freighted.

In racing news the Gorrick 100 Enduro was held a couple of weeks back and once again Steve Webb put in a sterling performance to come home in fifth in the blue riband seven lap category. This was despite a second lap puncture which cost around five minutes. Without that misfortune he'd almost certainly have been nipping at the heels of the podium.

A recent trip to Afan forest with all the gang in honour of Adam's impending deportation to Australia

I've succumbed to some of the whims of fashion and kitted a bike out with some white bits to complement the startlingly white Reba I've been using for a while. It's come together pretty nicely both in terms of ride and performance.

New clothes and more

We've recently hooked up with biciclista to produce some Singular branded clothing for us. It's all really beautiful gear made to the highest standards in Italy. We have caps (one size fits most) at £13 each and jerseys at £55 each. They are not cheap but are top quality and unfortunately thats just the economies of doing small runs of custom clothing. Anyhow the results are fantastic - so if you want the clothes to match your bike just send me an email.



The last post mentioned Steve Webb's dominating win in the last round of the Gorrick spring series, and the fact he took out 2nd overall. Here's a nice podium shot.

Another Win for Steve - Second Overall in Gorrick Masters Series

Things have been a little hectic at Singular HQ; a house move and lots of new frames on the way, plus trying to make the most of decent spring weather and get some riding and racing in. Yesterday was the last race of the Gorrick Spring series. Singular's man Steve Webb did us very proud by winning the last race of the series by a huge margin of over 3 minutes. I didn't make it as the previous night was a bit of a housewarming bash at our new place - Steve's restraint when faced with a fridge full of beer paid off.


Taking him to victory and consolidating second overall in the series was his prototype Singular Pegasus singlespeed. A special build with light Stans 355 rimmed wheels, Racing Ralph tyres, other decently light parts bringing the package in at a hair over 19lbs.

Finished some interesting builds lately as well. A couple of Alfine projects which took a while to get together but the results I think being worth it.

First is a special Peregrine built for the back tracks of Uganda. Rory came to me wanting something sturdy enough for his rounds out of the bush hospital in which he works; low maintenance, but still with some classic style. The result was a build aound a Shimano Alfine internally geared hub, Nitto cruiser bars and some fairly standard parts so as not to break the bank. More pictures here.


Previous to that I finished another custom build around an Alfine hub - Peter basically wanted the worlds toughest road bike. This was built around one of the few remaining Gryphon sample frames, the internal gear hub, and the newly released J-Tek shifter designed for use with an Alfine hub and drop bars. I was really impressed with both the finish and function of the shifter, highly recommended for Alfine/Nexus hubs with drop bars.

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