Issue 10 March 2014

edition 10 march 2014

cooler than ice Affordable, compatable and critically acclaimed in the cycling media, can you succeed without a Stages Power Meter?

neil donoghue felt colbornes race team fred whitton 2014 uci downhill world cup castelli summer servizio corse

Each month incycle will share the inner workings of Saddleback’s brand building activities, news, events and business developments.

Allowing you to gain an in-depth feel for the brands we represent and meet our passionate team. Issue Ten is best served with tinned pineapple in custard and a glass of Dave’s fancy layered coffee masterpiece. inside the office Ross, Jason, Adrian, Charles and Coxy attend the Bristol premiere of Won’t Back Down.

Stages® Cycling to support the dream team of road, Enduro, XC and DH athletes Stages® Cycling announces an all-star line up of athletes who will ride and race Stages Power meters for the 2014 season. In the company’s second year, Stages Cycling transitions from being the category newcomer to the choice of true cycling champions.

“We literally have the dream team of sponsored athletes this year,” said Stages marketing manager, Matt Pacocha. “We could not be happier with the group we’ve assembled, and we are extremely proud to have these athletes help us spread the word that their usage lends credence to: Stages Power is truly the power meter for every rider.”

Stages will support two major road programs - Team Sky, announced in January, and Team Novo Nordisk.

Stages Cycling has individual partnerships with athletes headlining key multisport, mountain bike, and track disciplines including downhill world champion, Greg Minnaar gravity queen turned enduro superstar Anne-Caroline Chausson and Jill Kintner, who is one of America’s most accomplished contemporary gravity racers.

The list of Stages Power riders runs long in Enduro, with familiar names including Cannondale’s Overmountain team’s Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler, Yeti Factory Enduro squad’s Jared Graves and reigning junior downhill world champ, Richie Rude, Giant’s Jeff Lenosky, Geronimo Racing’s Brian Buell, Marin Bikes’ Kyle Warner, The Nomads (Chris Johnson and Dylan Wolsky), Transition ripper Lars Sternberg, Trek Enduro pioneer Ross Schnell and Santa Fe Brewing-Pivot mountain bike do-it-all, Mackey Franklin. Along with XC MTB outfits Luna Women’s Racing and Scott-3Rox Racing.

On the triathlon circuit Cameron Dye, AJ Baucco, and Leon Griffin will be flying the Stages Cycling flag, among others.

On the track, Six-Day racers Daniel Holloway, Guy East and Andy Lakatosh. andrew griffiths

inspiration and execution our latest cover Nick Cox: “I really want to freeze a Stages crank in a block of ice for the incycle cover” Ross Grimmet: “Ok... Lets set it on fire too” Let’s face it most Mondays suck, the weekend’s riding is a distant memory and you find yourself back at your desk far too quickly.

However Ross and I were about to break the mould - Monday would be a creative and fun day. All we needed was a Stages crank, distilled water, a tub, a freezer, a blow torch and a flamable liquid. What sounds like a recipe for disaster proved to be one of the best covers we have shot here at Saddleback for incycle. The preparations were made on the Friday and the Stages crank was suspensed in a tub of distilled water and placed in the freezer.

Monday morning rolled around and there it was - easy - a crank in a block of ice. So out with the camera and a bit of ice sculping the front cover is born. Once fully melted, Ross approached with his trusted blow torch and proceeded to set alight the Stages crank.

What a way to spend a Monday! Once I was happy with the photos we went back to the office and out of sheer curiosity tried to relink and do a firmware update. And after all the abuse we gave the Stages crank it still worked! nick cox

feltcolbornes raceteam Meet this years race team, but more importantly, the colourful new 2014 kit! lee smith age: 31 job: carpenter Discipline: crit racing

justin hoy age: 35 job: Saddleback account manager Discipline: sprinting

alex higham age: 35 job: doctor Discipline: solo efforts

matt higgins age: 37 job: engineer Discipline: road racing

andy betts age: 36 job: bbc engineer Discipline: road racing

matt hargroves age: 18 job: college student Discipline: cyclo cross

john wager age: 40 job: Saddleback operations manager Discipline: going fast

robert ward age: 22 job: bike ability coach Discipline: road racing

colton jarisch age: 26 job: kept man Discipline: leadouts

andy hargoves age: 21 job: buyer Discipline: sprinting

simon holt age: 25 job: lafuga guide Discipline: critirium races

tom age job Dis cri

office in numbers This month we take a look at Felt Colbornes Race Team:

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Felt Bikes

scott chalmers age: 26 job: estate maintenance Discipline: road and cyclo cross

m smith e: 36 b: accountant scipline: itirium races

charles coleman age: 23 job: Saddleback internal account manager Discipline: hills

peter wager age: 38 job: it consultant Discipline: worker road and crit

richard mardle age: 33 job: Saddleback castelli manager Discipline: skills

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Pairs of Free Aero Race Bibshorts

200 Pairs of team socks

guy rowson age: 39 job: director of colbornes garages Discipline: many skills

sophia joy age: 18 job: college student Discipline: cyclo cross

kelly moore age: 24 job: bike ability coach Discipline: sprinting

lili mclean age: 18 job: student Discipline: road

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Enve wheel sets

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hours kit designing

180 years of racing experience

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Vredestein tires

getting down withDonny

Supermarket sweep with Donny in the Saddleback warehouse

office quote of the month

One Direction’s agent: “ Niall would like some Castelli kit, have you heard of One Direction?”

Charles: “No, I don’t think I have.” charles coleman customer service

staff choices

This month ross shares with us his pick of the bunch

ENVE 29 AM rims Never has a single component swap made such a difference to bikes that I know and love. Dropping these wheels into my 29er hard tails and full suss bikes is astonishing.

They carry speed and allow the suspension and frame to handle just like the frame designers intended. top five

Will fussell shares with us his five favourite bikes Will onboard his Planet X Stealth at The Sodbury Time Trials.

Downhill racer turned Enduro race machine drops into Saddleback to pick up a little extra help this season.

I am really excited to be using Chris King, Enve and Smith this year. I have drooled over King/ Enve wheels for a while now so it is awesome to be running them on my bikes. It has been a conscious effort of mine throughout my career to use the kit that makes it possible to win races and I am super happy with how my bikes are setup this year. It is good to see Smith Optics get a boost in the UK, I have been a fan of their Motocross goggles for a long time and I look forward to using their MTB eyewear. neil donoghue

Keep an eye out for Donny at these enduro races: 1. Montenbaik Enduro Chile 19–20 April 2. Tweedlove Festival Scotland 30 May–1 June 3. Enduro Series Valloire France 21–22 June 4. Super Enduro La Thuile Italy 12–13 July 5. Colorado Freeride Festival USA 26–27 July 6. Crankworx Whistler Canada 9–10 August 7. Super Enduro Finale Ligure Italy 4–5 October

1. Felt TK3 2014 Plain black / grey colours keeps the bike simple and looking good.

2. PLanet x stealth My first TT bike - super fast, super light and awesome paint job.

3. Felt F4 2012 With Dura Ace 7900 and Enve - my dream bike.

4. Charge Duster 26” Skinny tubing, and just it being 26” 5. Felt Footprint A bike I can use whatever the weather as well as being light and simple.

summerloving The weather is turning, the roads are drying - it’s time to put away your winter layers and get some sun You couldn’t swing a cat the other week in the warehouse, what seemed to be a city landscape made of pallets holding Castelli boxes had taken over. With this delivery arriving it’s a double win for us here at Saddleback, we get to see in the flesh the Castelli Summer kit and salivate over what we would like to buy. But equally important is the promise of warmer and dryer months around the corner! The excitement of lighter nights and dry roads or trails is tangible! nick cox

meet the saddleback team

emily carr servizio corse and smith optic’s golden girl

Who is Emily Carr?

Proud scouser, triathlete, lover of cake Where do you live?

Cheltenham What’s your job title?

Brand Manager What do you do?

Provide custom team kit, and protect eyes and heads How long have you been at Saddleback?

3 weeks

servizio corse Custom designed Castelli kit

2014fred whitton The toughest Sportive returns Did you dare to enter?

Last year saw over half a million pound raised

by The Saddleback Fred Whitton Chanllenge since its birth. The toughest Sportive in the UK, it sends its entrants over some of the hardest climbs and battle the harshest weather conditions. For the brave few that finish and manage to ride up Hardknott Pass, bragging rights are given. For more information go to: www.fredwhittonchallenge.co.uk

Castelli is dedicated to making the fastest clothing in the world. We do the basic research, then we test the concepts internally, then we test them with Team Garmin-Sharp and in the wind tunnel and only then are they available in Castelli’s Servizio Corse program. You can have the same pieces as Team Garmin-Sharp or Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae. Not less expensive replicas,

but the exact same pieces made using the same fabrics, components, fit and finish, by the same people who produce the pieces you see on the pros on TV. Designed in house to your requests, the program allows cyclists and triathletes the very best kit, in their chosen colours, patterns and logos. For more information, contact emily.carr@saddleback.co.uk.

Worst job you ever had?

Watching painkillers on a conveyor belt……

Best place to ride?

North Cotswolds, with a coffee stop in Broadway Favourite Bike product?

Soon to be owned Bont Riot TR shoes What makes you angry?

Misuse of they’re, their and there What makes you happy?

Gin and tonic What’s your favourite saying?

Gin and tonic Whats the best bit of advice you could give?

Be good, and if you can’t be good be careful What are you listening to now?

Friday afternoon weekend planning How would you like to be remembered?

With a big smile

dh world cup not long now It feels like a lifetime ago since Minnaar was crowned world champ but next month the battle commences again. Excited? We are!

It was business as usual for Greg Minnaar last year, entering the 2013 season as defending World Champion he soon reclaimed the throne with an emphatic win at Petiermaritzburg. Now with the new season fast approaching we can’t wait to see what Enve athletes; Minnaar, Peaty and Ratboy have in store. Round 3 sees the DH World Cup take over, at what is in our opinion the best course, Fort William. June 7-8 are key dates for the diary, be sure to hit Scotland for the biggest mounrtain bike race in the UK. Also make sure you drop by and see us at our stand for all the latest products from Enve and Smith Optics, as well as an Enve athlete signing session which you’d be mad to miss. nick cox

castellitreatment Cardiff based Sunset MTB gets the Castelli shop fit treatment

Here at Saddleback we always try to support our dealers in any way that we can. A large part of this is the use of point of sale display furniture for your shop. Sunset MTB in Cardiff were the latest shop to benefit from a bespoke Castelli section, consisting of large wallpaper graphics and specially made header boards. Along with Castelli display

arms and hangers your shop could also benefit from the introduction of supporting graphics for any of the Saddleback brands your sell. Whether it’s Bont, Felt, Castelli, Stages or Enve to name a few please drop us a line to see how we can take your shop to another level. nick cox

digitaleditions

As we mentioned in the last issue of incycle, we always try to do our bit to save the trees. Therefore this issue along with past issues are available online by going to: www.issuu.com/saddleback Whether you are on your computer or out and about on your phone, Incycle is just a click away. nick cox

Keep an eye out for more of Scot’s adventures in upcoming issues of Incycle.

whatscothasbeenupto?

Our Felt brand manager and race destroyer has been out onboard his cross, mountain and road bikes scot easter felt brand manager

March was a busy old month, full of variety; I seemed to be on a different kind bike every weekend. First of was “The Battle on the Beach” in South Wales, the UK’s first ever beach race, a mix of woodland singletrack, sand dunes and the hard packed sands of Pembrey beach. 400 riders, including a handful of Pro riders from the continent took the start on all kinds of bikes, MTB, Cyclocross and Fatbikes. A glorious sunny day combined with some fast and furious racing meant there were smiles all round, a truly unique event. The date for the 2015 edition is already set as the 22nd of March; get it in your diaries.

Next up, Whinlatter Enduro, 35 miles and 6000ft of proper Lake District mountain biking. A brutal little course that took you up to the snow line before throwing you back down again, 6 times!

If you weren’t climbing the steep stuff you were descending. Despite the weather man trying to put riders off the turnout was huge, 450 hardy mountain bikes took to the hills. In the end the weather was stunning, blue skies and amazing views helped you forget the pain of climbing, looking across the pass you could see the snow-capped peaks of Skiddaw and the mountain that gives Saddleback its name, Blencathra.

Finally the month was rounded off at ClifCross, a Cyclocross sportive taking in parts of the Pennine Way and the Mary Towneley loop. These CX events are growing in numbers and popularity as riders look for something different and a bit more adventurous that your regular road sportive. This had a bit of everything from cobbled climbs to screaming fast off road descents, all finished off with a Hog Roast and coffee.

Looking forward to April it is the start of the UK Gravity Enduro series. We’ll be there supporting at all the races so keep an eye out. scot easter

this month’s best sellers

1 Felt AR5 2 Arundel Stainless Cage 3 Castelli Toe Thingy 4 Scicon Aeronaut 5 Sportique Century Riding Cream

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William’s trusty steed dripping in Enve, Chris King, Stages and Arundel.

escape to southafrica

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We’re always inspired by customer’s tales of riding around the world, here’s a good one...

After some excellent support recently from Saddleback I was asked if I would do a write up on the Enve products and Stages Power meter I was using on a recent trip to South Africa. In fact it turned out I checked off quite a few Saddleback brands : Castelli, Chris King, Enve cockpit, Raceware Garmin mount, Stages PM along with Arundel bar tape. These combined with my beautiful Pretorius Kranspoort Ti frame (www.pretoriusbikes.com) made for a very smooth ride.

I was based in Ceres (Western Cape, SA) staying with family. Ceres is located in a bowl surrounded by mountains, look for the words ‘berg’ and ‘pas’ and there is enough there to make any road cyclist smile. Heading out of town you have 3 roads to choose from (one leading to Michell’s and Bains Kloof passes; another to Gydo pass; then the last which splits to either Swaarmoed pass or Theronsberg pass). I was riding unsupported and given that there was nowhere to refill bottles I had to put a bit of planning into routes and allow for the 30+C heat. I was warned about the state of the roads and the dangers of the traffic. As for the traffic, I felt very safe riding on my own – it was almost embarrassing how traffic would move over into the oncoming lane wherever possible to overtake me. No hooting or abuse, just lots of waves and friendly beeps.

I did find the road surface to be good but not the smoothest (ie still better than any potholed urban or rural English road). This was where the combination of full Enve cockpit, Pretorius Titanium frame and Castelli Progetto X2 pads made all the difference. In particular the combination of Castelli Inferno shorts and Sportful Bodyfit Pro Summer Race jersey worked really well in the heat. The Stages PM actually helped me get more out of the rides, I paced myself better on climbs and got as much riding pleasure as I could out of 2 bottles. In hindsight I might’ve asked a family member to drive out and meet me for a water refill but I still got to get in the miles and do some nice climbs. If I were going back in a group I’d use Craig Edwards (www.capecycletours.com); I’ve known him for over 20 years, he knows the best routes for road and mountainbiking and has a great support vehicle.

William Walls - Saddleback customer

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staff choices

This month ross shares with us his pick of the bunch

Chris King Hubs Another product you need only buy once.

Annual servicing will keep you on the best running hub with the lightning pick through cranks for many many years. One of my hubs is coming up to 10 years old, and is as good as ever.

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MEDIA coverage

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The latest reviews from the media world 1 felt MBUK302 2 bont Cycling Plus 287 3 enve 220 Triathlon 297 4 scicon 220 Triathlon 297 5 felt and castelli Cycling Plus 287 6 felt and castelli Triathlon Plus 66 7 smith optics Cycling Plus 287 8 FELT ProCycling 188

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pricelist front_outline.indd 3 FINAL_OUT.indd 5

11:06 24/01/2013 10:27

B r o u g h t to yo u by

8 7 exclusive UK DISTRIBUTOR Saddleback Ltd Unit 10 Easter Court Woodward Avenue Yate, Bristol BS37 5YS 01454 285 285 info@saddleback.co.uk sb2b.co.uk If you’d rather receive this digitally the please email: incycle@saddleback.co.uk c o n ta c t s Area Managers Oli Hunter 07917 462 225 South West Justin Hoy 07917 462 224 South East Michael Fish 07917 462 223 North DESIGN Nick Cox Senior Graphic Designer nick.cox@saddleback.co.uk MArketing Andrew Griffiths Marketing Manager andrew@saddleback.co.uk

hotter than fire sa dd l ebac k lt d a dv i s e s n ot to f r e e z e o r s e t a l i g h t yo u r stag es c r a n ks as th i s w i l l vo i d th e wa r r a n ty. www.saddl e b ac k.co.u k