July 2017
Inside the Issue
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Top Tube? What The Hell Is That? In this issue, get to know what the tubes and stays are and what they do. p. 08
BADASS BIKE SKILLS A CHICK ABROAD Janine Jungfels is a World Champion cyclist and Elite Female Mountain Biker and Sportswoman of the year... but most of you haven't heard of her. p. 14
BEGINNER'S CORNER One of the biggest fears of going clipless is falling... but is that just a rite of passage? Checkout our top tips for clipping in on your road or mountain bike. p. 12 Got a question for the Beginner's Corner? Email info@chickswhoridebikes.com and we will use it in a future issue. Don't worry, we'll keep you anonymous!
An interview with Pepper Cook - this months' Chick Abroad who has been bike packing through Iceland for the past month on a solo adventure. p. 04
in this issue Message from the Chief Chick - 3 A Chick Abroad - 4 What The Hell Is That? - 8 Beginner's Corner - 12 Janine Jungfels Interview - 14 Destination: Rotorua - 17
A Message from the chief chick
by Jordana Blackman
Last month, I was honoured to have been nominated for an award in the Leadership category of the Cycling Luminaries Awards hosted by the Cycling Promotion Fund. I flew to Brisbane with my partner and invited some close friends to spend an evening out at the gala awards dinner. I even put on a dress for the occasion... you know. Just in case. As the nominees were read out for the category for which I was nominated, something incredible happened.
They didn't read my name out. I shrunk down into my seat as all of the guests I had invited looked at me. I whispered in a panic to my partner, "I SWEAR this was real! I received an email about it! I PROMISE I didn't hallucinate this!" As they finished to read out the nominees in my category, and then the winner, I applauded with the rest of the crowd, but was utterly confused. What the hell just happened?? During dinner, the MC announced that they would shortly be announcing the winner of a special category created by the judges for contributions to women's cycling. I was delighted and mortified, and had already had about 4 glasses of wine in a pretty short space of time in order to appear nonchalant and disguise my confusion. A hectic few moments, but I guess what I'm trying to say, is thanks. Thanks to those who believed in CWRB from the start and thanks to those who continue to believe in the power of the bicycle and in the power of a woman who doesn't take "no" for an answer. Love, CHIEF CHICK xoxo LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
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"travelling solo is not inherently more dangerous just because you're female."
Pepper cook: A chick abroad This solo adventure traveller is out to prove that women can do it all... CWRB: What does solo travel mean to you? PC: For me, solo travel means having an adventure (usually by bicycle for me) that is unsupported and alone. This represents an important challenge to the idea that society seems to have that travelling is automatically more dangerous if you are a woman. I think when people ask me if I am afraid of doing the bike tours alone, they often imply that I SHOULD be worried about things that
There is a neat route around it (Ring Road,
they never assume a man couldn't handle... for
although I added a bit extra by riding a few more
example I get asked all the time, "what will you
peninsulas as well as part of the Westfjords).
do if your bike breaks?!" and the answer is, I
There's 24-hour daylight, and it is well-known for
would fix it...obviously.
extremely insane weather. Iceland did not disappoint!
None of my male friends are repeatedly asked questions like this, and I feel that by
CWRB: What has been the highlight of your
successfully completing gnarly solo bike tours
trip?
as a woman it proves that we can do it too!
PC: The highlight of the trip was a tie between a 200k section in the North East where there was
CWRB: Why Iceland?
not a single structure or house or shop of any
PC: Iceland has always represented a unique
kind - just a very remote valley with epic black
challenge in my mind because it seems like
sand dunes and mountains, and also the Glacial
such an epic adventure frontier!
Lagoon in the south which was very special to see! CWRB: What has been the biggest challenge? PC: The biggest challenge for sure was the wind. We are talking about riding literally AS HARD AS YOU CAN for 10-15 hours a day to barely get anywhere in the worse headwinds of your life!! The other challenge was trying to get a good night's sleep in 24-hour daylight with winds so brutal I have bruises on my legs from my tent poles hitting me repeatedly as my tent violently blew flat over and over during the night!
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CWRB: Has anything unexpected
I ended up spending over 2 hours (literally)
happened? How did you deal with it?
dragging it into a headwind to the nearest
PC: So. Many. Things. First I got very ill with a
farm where this badass Icelandic farmer lady
snotty cold after making it through the
was nice enough to use her industrial farm
Westfjords, and I was so sick I lost my voice
equipment pressure washer to blast the mud
for 3 days (not that there were many people
off. I had the bike upside down and we both
to talk to!).
cheered as slowly the wheels started spinning again.Â
Next I ate a pre-made tuna salad up in the north and about 20 minutes later I had to hit
CWRB: Did you buy special gear for the trip? If
the brakes to spew over my handlebars for 3
so, what?
hours. I was so sick from something in the
PC: One thing that I did buy that I am so glad I
salad that I had to lie in my sleeping bag on
did was a super rad free-standing tent. I got a
the side of the road for a few hours until I
Mont Moondance 2. Mont is an Australian
could get up to ride again. Finally, there was
company, and my old tent was a crappy 1 man
THE MUD DAY. The Mud Day was the worst
tent that was not free-standing, meaning it had
day of the entire trip.
to be staked on both ends in order to be
"I couldn't even push my bike as the wheels wouldn't budge."
pitched (using the tension). This means that if the ground is too hard or wet you can't pitch it, or if you accidentally pitch it on something uneven or rocky you have to take the whole thing down to move it. The Mont is free-standing and all the parts (poles, fly, tent) can be separated and packed into their own little dry bags to let you pack it all where it fits best.
I had to cross a mountain pass in the North
I also got some Salsa Anything Cages which are
East where the Ring Road turned to gravel,
neat cages that bolt onto your forks as a
and it was the thickest, stickiest most frozen
smaller, lighter alternative to front pannier
horrible peanut butter mud you can possibly
bags.
imagine. Â It got so thoroughly through my wheels, mudguards and chain that not a
CWRB: Where to next??
thing on my bike would move at all. I tried to
PC: I think next I would like to ride in Japan or
drag it through a stream to clear some of the
possibly Canada, but I think before I plan my
mud (as there is not a single stick in most of
next trip I might do a quick Google
Iceland - no trees!) but the ice cold glacier
search..."What is the least windy country on
water just made the mud harder! I couldn't
Earth".
even push my bike as the wheels wouldn't budge.
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TUBES AND STAYS - FACTS AND STUFF This section is dedicated to helping readers gain a bit more of an appreciation for the wondrous machine that is your bicycle. How? By understanding what it's made of, how it fits together and how components work to let you ride on the road or your local mountain bike trails.
Top Tube The top tube is generally the one you have to step over to get on the bike and it more than likely looks different on every bike.
You'll generally find cables are mounted to the top tube, although many newer bicycles have internal cabling where the cables enter the top tube, run within it, and then exit toward the seat end of the top tube (NB: this is widely considered to be an aesthetic choice rather than offering any real mechanical benefit). The space between the top tube and the rider's groin while straddling the bike and standing on the ground is called "clearance". The top tube on some bikes slope downward toward the seat tube for more clearance. Some bikes do not have top tubes at all to allow the rider to simply "step through" (see what they did there?!) the bike where the top tube would be! LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
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SEAT Tube The seat tube is an easy one to remember because it's the one that the seatpost of the bike goes into!
The saddle height is adjustable by changing how far the seatpost is inserted into the seat tube (unless the seatpost is integrated, but this is a story for a different day...). You can see from the picture above that the seat tube can look really different from one bike to the next, its shape determined by what kind of bike it is. On some bikes, the seat tube may also have mounts for a bottle cage.
Down Tube
The down tube generally runs underneath and at a downward angle to the top tube and connects the front of the bike [head tube] to the centre of the bike [bottom bracket shell], where the cranks and pedals are. On racing bicycles and some mountain and hybrid bikes, cables run along the down tube, or sometimes, just like with internal top tube cabling, inside the down tube. Bottle cage mounts are also usually on the down tube as well as a place to mount a small air pump. LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
Inset: older bicycles often have shift levers mounted on the down tube whereas on modern bikes they are together with the brake levers on the handlebars! PAGE 9
Head Tube
Often forgotten when naming parts of the frame, the head tube is what you see when facing your bike, above the front wheel. The top tube and the down tube run off of it toward the saddle. The head tube contains within it 2 things: #1 is the "headset", a set of components which provide the bike's turny-ness (or rotatable interface if you're fancy) and #2 is the 'steerer tube' of the forks. Don't be fooled though - just as the seatpost is not part of the seat tube, the steerer tube is not part of the head tube.
Chain Stay This is an easy one to remember as it is the thin tube that runs parallel(ish) to the ground and is near the chain! Chain stays connect the centre of the bike [bottom bracket shell] to the rear dropouts.
Chain stays can be all sorts of shapes - tapered, untapered, oval, crimped, wiggly or angled. When cables are routed along the down tube, they are also usually routed along the chain stay.
Some bikes also have mountings for disc brakes on the chain stay (see inset).
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Seat stay The seat stay connects the top of the seat tube (often at or near the same point as the top tube) to the rear fork dropouts.
Like the rest of the tubes and stays, seat stays come in variety of shapes and sizes. A common seat stay variant is the "wishbone" [below left] which means the stays join together just above the rear wheel into a single tube which is joined to the seat tube. Other seat stays may have a brace between them above the rear wheel [below centre] or meet at the seat tube [below right].
FUN FACT Hellenic seat stays extend forward of the seat tube and join the underside of the rear of the top tube, creating a small triangle. They were named after British frame builder Fred Hellens, who introduced them in 1923.
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BEGINNER'S CORNER Understanding clipless pedals and our top tips for learning how to use them
One of the most common questions we get at CWRB is around clipping in. It can be one of the biggest, but scariest, upgrades you can make when starting out! Think about it this way, when you learned to
What You Need To Know
drive a manual car it was a steep learning curve. You had to learn how to operate the clutch and move the gears as well as think about braking and accelerating and steering. It's all so hard at first... you bunny hop everywhere - and hill starts become the most panic attack-inducing, horrible thing you can imagine. But then, over time, you practice and it becomes second nature! This is what it's like going clipless. Some people "get it" straight away. Others take a while, and some even fall onto their partner's
Clipless pedals require specific shoes and cleats which fit the mechanism. Â There are a couple of different types of clipless pedals. SPDs are the ones more often seen on mountain bikes [top left] and SPDSLs are most common on road bikes [top and bottom right], but there are also Crank Brothers pedals (aka 'eggbeaters') [bottom left] for cyclocross, mountain biking or general riding.
motorcycle in their own driveway while trying to practice. Ahem. Seriously though, there's a reason so many cyclists swear by it and that's because the benefits once you nail it far outweigh the bumpy ride it can take to get there. Plus, it gives you a whole separate piece of cycling kit to lust over and upgrade every year. The great thing about feet is they generally don't change in size so you can put a pretty convincing argument together for an expensive, quality pair...
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The main advantage is that you will cycle more efficiently (some say about 30% more) due to being able to push and pull on the pedals. Whatever the exact percentage, it definitely makes a huge difference, and, if you ask people, they will tell you they will never go back.
New to clipless? Even if you're not ready yet, get your clipless gear with your bike purchase. You may not want to use it right away, but you you may get it cheaper (or even free!) with a bike purchase as a package deal. Look into pedals which are flat on one side, but have the clipping mechanism on the other. It give you some control over when you are comfortable being clipped in [inset] Test out using the pedals while stationary. Hold onto a
Shimano M324 Clipless SPD-Flat MTB Pedals
pole or a fence, or clip your bike into a wind trainer if you don't have access to a stationary bike with road pedals. For clipless on a MTB, find a grassy area on a slight decline so you can simply roll and clip/unclip without having to pedal.
Fizik R4B Donna Boa Women's Road Shoes
For clipless on the road, find a very quiet street (or better yet, a closed circuit such as a velodrome or criterium track) to practice on. Clip in, pedal a few times, then clip out. Practice clipping out WITH BOTH FEET. This is an important one. Most people end up with a 'favourite foot' which can cause issues if you are forced to stop and unclip with the other one... LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
Women's Salita MES/Nylon Trail Off-Road MTB Cycling Shoes PAGE 13
J9: Aussie's Homegrown World Champ Even if you're right into your mountain
And her story is anything but ordinary. I
biking, you may not know who Janine
met with Janine to ask her a few
Jungfels is. Despite winning the 2014 Elite
questions about her bike, her
Female Mountain Biker of the year
achievements, her goals… and beating all
alongside Jared Graves – arguably the most
the boys.
well-known mountain bikers in the country and the World Champs in her discipline in
CWRB: Trials riding is quite a niche sport,
2015.
how did you get into it? J9: I started riding Trials in 2005 because
Why is that?
a family friend started riding. He was given a 2001 221Ti Monty by his older
Well, Janine (J9) is a trials rider, one of the
brother and when I tried it I really enjoyed
lesser known cousins of mainstream
it, so I bought myself a trials bike and the
mountain biking.
rest is history!
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CWRB: There are some that don't consider trials riding "real cycling" - what would you say to them? J9: Trials is definitely the quirky cousin of the more popular forms of cycling like road and mountain biking. I think a lot of this negative stigma can be associated with its non-traditional race format - it doesn’t have a set course with a start and finish, where the first person across the finish wins.
In Trials, there’s nothing imaginary about that. The fact is – it’s possible, it’s real. So
It’s a little more difficult to follow as it has
to think it’s not ‘real cycling’ is a
a number of courses (called “sections”)
misconception.
which involves the rider to navigate a number of obstacles on the bike without
CWRB: What is it like competing in a
putting a foot down.
sport with so little female competition? J9: It’s good and bad. It’s good in the fact
From an outsider’s perspective, the sport is
that 99% of the time I train with men so I
definitely different with riders jumping up
am consistently striving to ride at, if not
and over things like cars, rocks, logs and
above, their level. This made me not only
concrete, but that is no reason to disregard
rapidly improve, but also to develop a
it as ‘real cycling’. Trials riding is the most
unique riding style that is a lot more
technically difficult sport I have ever tried
powerful than any other female
and is the most unique cycling discipline
competitor.
out there! To be able to hop a bicycle on the backwheel and then jump 1m+ up onto
It’s bad to see so little female competitors
an obstacle is unimaginable for most
because for the sport to grow we need to
people.
have more females riding! I would love to see more females riding and pushing the
"I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE FEMALES RIDING AND PUSHING THE LIMITS OF THE SPORT." LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
limits of the sport. CWRB: How do you keep yourself physically ready and psychologically motivated? J9: I train six days a week both on and off the bike to stay physically fit. The majority of my training is on the Trials bike practicing technical lines, balance and power moves.
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"I BELIEVE IF A FEMALE ATHLETE IS PUTTING IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF DEDICATION, TIME, EFFORT, TRAINING AND MONEY AS A MALE ATHLETE THAN EQUAL RECOGNITION IS MORE THAN WARRANTED." To supplement my riding I do cross
You need to be completely dedicated like
training which involves Olympic lifting at
giving up nights to party with all your friends
World Gym Brisbane with my PT Scott
because training the next day is more
Arthy, mountain biking and running for
important. You need to be 100% passionate…
endurance and bouldering for arm
living and breathing the sport… driving
strength. I think staying psychologically
everyone mad with your obsession with it.
motivated is the most difficult, especially
And you need resilience and determination
when you’re a self-funded rider having to
to never give up after a loss but use that
juggle riding, working full time and cross
information to motivate you to become a
training. It’s stressful to successfully
better rider.
juggle all of these things but if I wasn’t doing this then I’m sure I’d be bored
CWRB: What does "equality in sport" mean
[laughs]!
to you? J9: I guess the key words that come to mind
The one thing that motivates me and
are respect, fairness and professionalism.
keeps me on track is the desire to win
Receiving equality in sport as a female,
the elusive World Championship title
especially in a male dominated sport, can
again. It’s something that has to be
often be difficult. I personally think one of
earned through commitment to hard
the biggest things that have caused the
work. You have to put in the hours of
divide in equality is a lack of support and
training week in, week out.
encouragement provided to female athletes.
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DESTINATION: ROTORUA THE MTB MECCA AT YOUR DOORSTEP
8 THINGS TO DO IN ROTORUA (DURING CRANKWORX) Written by jordana Blackman, as originally published on BikeRoar 2016
Since 2015, the appearance of Crankworx in
Crankworx is a great time to visit Rotorua -
our fair hemisphere has been most exciting
you can easily fit a 4-5 hour ride (or other
for those south of the equator!
adventure) in the morning and have plenty of time for lunch and then head over to
As one of several hundred (thousand) Kiwis-
Skyline for the show of the day. I was lucky
in-Aus, without a doubt, my favourite part of
enough to head over as part of an all-girl
heading to the somewhat ruffian yet
contingent a few weeks back, so here are my
charming town of Rotorua is explaining to
top tips for organizing a trip to Rotorua and
New Zealanders who don't ride (taxi drivers
get some riding in yourself!
and bus drivers for example) why people flock there in droves. Those outside of the mountain biking scene may look at you as if you've grown a second head, but the rest of us understand that Rotorua is a mountain bike mecca well worth the pilgrimage. The trails are 100% world class, the soil drains so well it's a yearround destination and the pubs are fantastic, not to mention the accents are adorable. LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
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#1 Get a full multi-day pass with the luge tickets It's by far the best way to go. The ticket includes unlimited gondola rides (unless you are riding those tickets are sold separately). This will get you into all of the shows plus the event village and food stalls whenever you want. Don't short change yourself here: if you've come along way to Rotorua for Crankworx you want to have the best experience possible. You can be choosy on which days you purchase lift passes for
"IT'S SORT OF COOL WHEN YOU JUST GIVE THE BIKE BACK ALL MUDDY AND WATCH YOUR FRIENDS SCRUBBING THEIRS WHILE YOU ALREADY HAVE A COLD BEER IN HAND..."
riding, but the Crankworx experience is happening
#3 Skyline MTB Park
everyday
Get over to Skyline and experience the wonderfulness that is the gondola ride up. That's
#2 Rent a bike for a day
right - no climbing. Simply pick the trail you want
There's nothing like shredding your bike down
to ride (within your capability of course), zoom
some new trails, but on this trip, I would
down, get back in the gondola, repeat.
recommend trying out a new bike for a day. Whether it's a demo from the event village, or a Talon, Reign or Glory rental from Mountain Bike Rotorua or Skyline, the trails are different from anywhere else in the world - you will want to experience it from as many perspectives as possible. Plus, it's sort of cool when you just give the bike back all muddy and watch your friends scrubbing theirs while you already have a cold beer in hand. LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
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#4 Shuttles. Shuttles. Shuttles.
#7 Craft Beer
There are 130 kms of trails - more than you
right, if you fancy yourself a beer aficionado,
could hope to ride in a few short days, but
you simply cannot go past the craft beer in
some of the most awesome runs are best
Rotorua. Head to one of the many pubs or
accessed by shuttle. Grab your manky (see #5),
restaurants at Eat Street and peruse the menu
check out the Southstar Shuttle timetable, and
for your favorite. Coconut Porter? Sure!
A pretty solid reason for a holiday in its own
make sure you get in as many runs as you can of the amazing tracks in the Redwood Forest.
#8 Event Village and Expo
Spend time looking around and talking to the
#5 Get a Manky
stallholders. You will discover some great Kiwi
What on earth is a manky? Only the best
brands (like Hukkit and Zerode) amongst the
invention EVER. Anyone who's anyone has a
global big boys! You'll also be able to check out
manky - a map and hanky in one. It's essentially
some great workshops and seminars, and have
a cloth map that you can fold up (or scrunch -
a chat with some locals.
depending on your preference) and put in your pocket with the entire trail map network on it for the Redwoods. This comes in super handy for cleaning your goggles, GoProor snotty nose.
#6 Luge it up While you're at Skyline, try your hand at the luge! If you got a multi-day pass at the start of your trip, the luge runs will be included. Not sure what this is? It's like downhill go-karting down an asphalt track that is purpose built with hairpin turns, lumps and bumps, and fantastic views of the city and lake. Oh, and YES, you can Strava it. Ahem. LIVE LAUGH LOVE RIDE
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Advertising and Sales Enquiries Heather Brammall Brisbane, Australia +64 21 123 4567 social@chickswhoridebikes.com Contributions and Editing Jordana Blackman Adelaide, Australia +64Â 17 262 614 info@chickswhoridebikes.com