chinamtb 08

10:30am

I’m not entirely sure what time the torch arrived, but luckily for you and me I was in the right place at the right time with my super zoom camera! I was under the impression the torch would come first in the procession, but I was wrong. The first thing to come along was the Coca-Cola float followed closely by the Samsung and Lenovo vans. Then the cheering really got started when the new torch bearer came along and stood practically in front of us. After a bit of posing the former bearer arrived and the torch was lit…. and that was that. I’ll post more pictures later.

8:30am

Still nothing much going on, however the crowds are here and the helicopters are flying low.

7:44am

You may ask why am I awake at this ungodly hour when I should be tucked up in bed dreaming of shiny bike parts. Well the reason is today is the day the Olympic torch and its bearer/s come to Qingdao. Luckily for me my home is a quick 30 second walk from the main route of the torch, however it also means I get to here the drums banging at 7am in preparation for the big event. I just had a quick look around (there’s not much to see). The main Hong Kong Rd which runs through Qingdao has been blocked off and is lined with brightly dressed Olympic volunteers (1000’s of them!) equally huge numbers of police are out and about, and there are a handful of vendors. I’m not entirely sure when the torch is due, and I doubt I’ll get to see it (there’s going to be huge! crowds) I may even take my bike for a ride, however if I am around and I have my camera I’ll get a pic.

For the past few years everyone has been drooling over all the shiny white components that have arrived on sale. Deity were one of the first to introduce white parts, but everyone followed suit (eventually). MacMahone came to the wedding a little late however, its only in the last few months that their white handle bars and seats have come to the market and were waiting on the rest. But being French and all they’ve decided to jump on the new ‘In’ color bandwagon ………. green. I think my brother is going to be happy as he can now get his Jackal to look like a lime and orange Tic Tac, but is green the new white? I’ll continue to wait for the industry to go full circle and offer everything in anodized purple again.

Check out the gallery below for some of the latest Macmahone parts and colors.

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When buying new gears for your ‘rig’ (ha ha there you are Ash I said it) you have really one of two options…. don’t you? Shimano or the ‘Big S’ hailing from Japan, or Sram or as they say in China ‘S ram’ from sun bathed Cali. I’ve always liked to stay away from the mainstream so ever since I can remember I’ve always chosen what I considered to be the ‘Underdog’ option. Anyone remember Sachs wavy shifters? I had those, and my current ’sled’ (ha ha I did it again!!) has nothing from the ‘Big S’ on board. However now even Sram is pretty mainstream so I’ve been hankering over something unique. I already have two single speeds before you start, and a hub gear has been rattling around in my mind for some time. No, what I want is something people are going to look at and either say ‘Wow, thats pretty cool’ or for the uneducated ‘Why would you use a piece of sh1! like that?’.

Today I found this, the Driven range of top end bike parts from………. Sunrace!! If you’ve been in to cycling for a while you would have heard of Sunrace. Back in the day when everyone was starting out Shimano, Sunrace and Suntour were all pretty level pegged, however the other 2 S’s struggled to keep up, and are only just gaining momentum again.

The Driven range has been in development for sometime and consists of both mountain bike and road bike components. Everything from hubs, shifters and derailleurs have been designed and made of advanced materials such as carbon, ceramic and beautifully cnc’d aluminum.

The Driven mountain bike range comes in two flavours the NMX and NMZ (the X is presumably the higher of the two models as it has gold bits !).

RDMX - 9 Speed Mountain rear derailleur, All alloy construction, CNC alloy pulleys with sealed bearings, Alloy hangar bolt, Shimano compatible, Weight: 227g
FCMX - Mountain Crankset, 2 Piece External Bearing System BB, Sealed Bearing BB, Patented Fluid Drive shifting ramps, Shimano Compatible, Weight: 771g including BB

Keep posted for more pics and info on the rest of the Sunrace range, and something I find interesting from good old Sturmey Archer.

Are you in Qingdao for the Olympic Games, or do you live here and need to find yourself a bicycle? Or are you an expat in China looking to buy a highend mountain bike? If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above we might be able to help you out.

Whether your looking for a cheap folding bike to get you to and from the shops, or a top end  mountain bike from the likes of Macmahone, Atomlab, Santa Cruz and many more drop us an email with what you want and we’ll help fix you up.

email: andi@chinamtb.com

Route:
We will start at Tanghe, paved ride to Simatai, continue 1.5km uphill
on the paved and downhill a couples of kilometers till we hit our
simple trail, before we reach Jinshanling, some bike pushing on the
steep rock till we reach Jinshanling Great Wall Tower. We need to pay
RMB 40/person (group offer) as an entry fee. Then we cross the arch,
downhill along the simple trail. Keep entry tickets with you, the
local will double-check at the exit of Jinshanling. We will continue
riding 2km downhill, when we see the Advertisement along the main road
on our right-hand side, that will be our 2nd valley, uphill and
downhill and uphill again, we will conquer Simatai Great Wall. MUSHES
can go through the arch of Jinshanling Great Wall and ride along the
Wall, back to the MOB bus. MIOB will continue extra climb, bike
pushing needed for the enjoyment of quite challenging single trail
downhill.

Total distance: approx. 50km +
Total climb: est. 850 meters

Continue reading…

We’ll last weekend we got to the track and did a bit of work on the jump (as some arse had tried to destroy it). Then we spent 4 hours in the hot sun building our berm. We’re pretty impressed with the results (check the photos below) I just hope it survived the torrential rain this morning and Phil’s load-bearing cardboard does its job. Next weekend we’ll get some more done, probably a berm to the left right after this right hander as it’s pretty damn quick now!

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One week from now bikers will start dropping in to Xi Wu Qi Inner Mongolia for the 3 days MTB race that offers so much more than just a race. You will be able to ride Mongolian horses, watch wrestling shows, eat traditional Mongolian dishes… and enjoy spending time with other bikers, runners, and friends.

The marathon will take place on Monday, July 7th, the day after the last bike stage… signed up yet?

Visit www.nordicways.com for more info

Date: Saturday June 28, 2008

Route: This is a clockwise route. Start in Shidu town, just west of
the low bridge over the river. After 0.5km, take the junction to the
north, after 7.5km along the paved road, it is the entrance of our
1st gorge. The local paved the 7km at the entrance and then ahead up
the valley onto gravel. Follow the 14km gravel track over the
ridgeline, climbing from 200 to 850 m before dropping to 600m. At one
point the track suddenly narrows to a seductive small track that goes
straight ahead and peters out: the real route hairpins back on your
left across a river bad. Later on there are some huge switchbacks,
ENJOY!!! At some mountain village follow your nose out through the
village, the road after here is decrepit, and the path reduced to a
single track on top of the old abandoned road.

Continue reading…

The guys over in Hangzhou have been out and about again. This time at Yu Yang Hill, Suzhou. It seems they’ve found what we have always wanted a DH track in their backyard! With any luck we’ll be able to visit Hangzhou sometime and see what the riding is really like.

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