Nick’s Bikes

06/02/01 - My eggbeaters have been damaging the soles of my shoes. Also they have long spindles that aren’t agreeing with my ankles. So I’ve bought Shimano’s mid-range M540 pedals. A little extra weight, but they’re far more comfy.

05/03/18 - OK. Time to get serious for Cape Epic, so I’ve dropped a lot of money and gotten me a Mountain Cycle Zen from Bike Hut. Complete with new Skareb forks, XO shifters and Marta SL brakes. Schweet! The Kona will get rebuilt as a commuter/tourer.

04/11/25 - A disk brake at the front! Avid’s ball-bearing cable disk, with an XTR rotor. And Speed Dial SL calipers at the rear. Boy but these babies stop me fast!! From JensonUSA

04/08/10 - Got new brakelevers - Avid Speed Dial SLs. Only 150g from JensonUSA, as well as Eggbeater pedals - let’s see if they live up to the hype!

04/01/20 - A new perch for my butt - an SLR Gelflow, as well as a new Ritchey WCS stem (very light - 112g!).

04/01/05 - Got a spare set of wheels - X517s on LX hubs. Have put slicks on these so now I can do road-training on the MTB for the Epic.

03/10/07 - Fitted the new cassette and went riding! Feels like a new bike!

03/09/25 - Finally my new kit arrived! Unfortunately they forgot to include the cassette - so my bike’s all ready to go except for no means of getting the power to the back wheel!!!

03/08/21 - Ordered a whole new 9-speed drivetrain complete with new wheels! Can’t wait!! [from Merlin Cycles]

03/08/19 - New pedals! Cheapie VP104s to go with my new SIDI Action shoes (which replaced my finally deceased 8 year-old SIDI Technos). [from Chain Reaction]

03/05/02 - Some new shocks for the old frame… Rockshox Duke XCs (80mm) to replace the knackered RSTs… she rides like a dream again. All of a sudden downhills are enjoyable! [from UK Bikestore]

03/01/01 - What an unbelievable bike… almost 10 years old and still going strong. Good ol’ steel frame, and still running the original rear derailleur and 7-speed thumbshifters. The wheels are about 8 years old and are still true - whoever that wheelbuilder was, he knew his stuff!

07/02/12 - Got myself a new road bike!

06/06/12 - Motivation and training has been rather difficult lately, especially since its been so busy at work. So I’ve invested in a PowerTap hub and some coaching advice from BikeMax. Having a real-time power reading is pretty awesome.

06/03/16 - Needed new cleats for my Time Impact pedals. But I discovered that Time’s new entry-level RXE pedal didn’t cost much more than cleats on their own, and the pedal/cleat combo weighs 100g less than the old ones! So now I’ve got RXE’s on this bike. I’ll leave the Impact’s on the tandem, since the cleats are compatible with both.

04/08/18 - Finally got some racing wheels. Campagnolo Eurus from Ribble Cycles. Ready for summer!! And an SLR Gelflow saddle to match the one on my MTB - they are comfy.

04/02/14 - Replaced my crash-damaged
bars and STIs. Got Dura-Ace STIs to replace the buggered Ultegras.
[from Ribble Cycles]

04/01/20 - New pedals - Time Impact S, hopefully will sort out nagging knee problems I’ve been having over the last few months.

03/09/25 - Got some new race tyres to try - Hutchinson Carbon Comps. Very light but don’t look like they’re too long wearing…

03/08/08 - Some new tyres - Michelin Pro Race 23Cs. The old Axial Pros were starting to puncture just a bit too much

03/06/30 - Got my Lumicycle 12w halogen headlamp… ready for some early morning winter training!

03/02/04 - Fitted Ultegra cranks & B/B, Ultegra brake calipers and ITM Millenium seatpost. [from Parker International]