The right tool for the job?
Andy doesn’t like to follow the herd – where most people might think a 100mm carbon hardtail would be the best option for long distance racing, Andy prefers to tackle the descents on something a little more substantial!
He got in touch as he was looking to update his favourite racing rig – an all purpose NS Eccentric steel hardtail frame. He loved the fit, and the way it handled, but coming in at 34lbs(!) he wanted to take a little weight out of the equation, and perhaps tweak a few things here and there.
Tweaking the design.
He had, of course, come to the right place. After talking things through we came up with a plan to keep him cruising along for mile after mile. The frame would be based on the NS Eccentric dimensions but with a little work to make sure we could fit in a 34 tooth chainring along with short chain stays and decent sized tyres.
Plate chain stays were the ideal solution to the clearance requirements, with the rest of the frame being designed as a light-ish weight all rounder. The additional leverage of the longer forks meant we couldn’t go crazy with the weight reduction as the frame still needed to handle the downs with confidence.
After that we just added the little personal touches that really make a custom frame your own:
‘Make me a light, fast bike…’
Fast forward through the usual fabrication time and we handed the frame over to Andy’s favourite bike shop, Pedals in Edinburgh, they said:
‘It’s all come together really well, the frame is bang on too. Straight, well finished and seems nicely welded’
Aww, shucks, you’ll make me blush!
Pedals took Andy’s request for a light, fast bike and added plenty of fine components to compliment the frame. All that was left was for Andy to hit the trails:
‘She is fast, stable and light! Ticks all the right boxes, I did a 5 hour plus ride on her today and found it very comfortable. With a 34 tooth ring on the front and 10-51 cassette on the back, there are plenty of gears for every occasion!’.
Initial impressions were favourable! But the proof would be in the racing pudding – Andy was kind enough to keep me updated over the year…
Thought I would give you a quick update on my racing on the bike you built me. I had a gravel race in the lake district where it was the perfect fast, mile munching, machine and I finished well.
Two weeks ago I did a 115km mountain bike race in Kielder and placed 7th, with only 37 of the 120 starters finishing the race it was hard going!
Boy am I glad I don’t do these events, hats off sir!
Yesterday I did a 10 hour mountain bike race in the South West of Scotland and I am very happy to say that, with the perfect bike, I achieved a second place in very tricky conditions! I’d swapped the fast rolling tyres for some grippier rubber and the bike turned from a mile muncher to very stable and confidence inspiring machine.
I still drool over a Yeti Arc in carbon but the bike you built me gets more admiring glances on a start line than any stock race machine!
Well you can’t say fairer than that – it’s always fun coming up with the recipe for someone’s dream machine. And even better to see them doing so well on it!
If you’d like to discuss your ideas for ‘the one’ then drop me a line and let’s have a chat!
And if you’d like to follow more of Andy’s rides you’ll find him over here: @andy_davidson_endurance_racer
