Carver 96er in STW

currently prepping a carver96er for test in a future issue of singletrack really hope it gets a good review..............

will be handing it to chipps at the meeting at the velodrome tomorrow night, about trying to get some races or even a race series organised in the north west of england, should be good........

'Cross season..........

after racing D2D this weekend as part of quacamole factory racing (this team maybe a permanent fixture on UK race scene....) im up for some more racing this winter, so im gonna build up my SS to race the thetford winter series, and my new ridley CX bike should be here soon.............

gonna be built with a mixture of '09 SRAM force and rival, i just know im 'gonna love this bike!

And fingers crossed, my good friend marko lalonde of the fisher 29er crew and ridley/planet-cross team, has hooked me up with a gary fisher single speed superfly, i thought this was gonna be the only one in the UK, until jenn hopkins shattered my illusion, by stating someone else is getting one........ i wonder who it could be........

3 in 30

woke up with a cold and a sore knee, so only a ride to work today, but train home, poor show, but i really wasn't up for it.........

3 of 30 - 12.5 miles, 45mins ( at a slow pace ), Flat , Cannondale Six13 Road bike.

2 in 30

planned to go out on the 29er SS in the evening, but the heavens opened, i only had enough motivation to ride the bike, not to ride it then clean it as well, so i turned the xbox on, and instead of playing a game and being lazy, i installed JD's copy of overcoming, the Team CSC documentary, then installed the 'dale onto my turbo, better than nothing i 'spose................

The film is really good as well!

2 of 30 - no idea of mileage, 1hr 10, on the riser block so classed as slight hill ;0) Cannondale Six13 Road bike

Help a brother out............

After thinking long and hard, i cant miss SSWC08! so im taking a lead of my pal marko lalonde and asking people to donate to my cause, to send me to SSWC08, i will do you proud, i wont win, but i will try my best and i will enjoy myself doing it, it cheeky, i know, but f*ck it, ive nothing to lose............ paypal to rockstarracing@hotmail.co.uk i have even set up a facebook group! tell your friends, either to give me some cash or to laugh at pathetic attempt of a free holiday!

please help....................

Winners dont do drugs...........

Been quite a bit since i last posted, been doing shit loads to the house, working my arse off at work and , believe it or not, riding bikes. MAJOR NEWS, RsR has secured the rights to import the dopers suck range of clothing and accessories championed by the legends that are T-Brown and K-Bomb (travis brown and geoff kabush), but this means that after agreeing to import cars-r-coffins and one mag as well, im gonna have to get my arse in gear and order some stuff...............pre-orders welcome.

also exactly 1 year and 6 days since i gave up smoking!

SSUK went well, i believe i was in the top 10 for the first lap, which is a major improvement on previous years and finished top 20 , i think , did enduro6 and i even did the NPS in scotland which was awesome, Rnd 3 next weekend in the lakes.......... turned out 3 races in 3 weekends normally 2 races a year!

loving ridin bikes at the mo, lovin life for a change, 2 people who i know and enjoy they're company, are shaggy and mel who are engaged to be married, i wish them all the best, seems like everyone is happy.................... long may it continue.

one thing im not to too happy about though, is that me and ruth are not going to get to go to napa. im gutted. i could go. but my kitchen, bathroom, and the rest of the house wont get finished, and with ruth starting uni in september it needs to be done before then. im sure there is someone who will be happy to take my place and enjoy the experience, i have had the last 3 to enjoy ( sort of) maybe i do need a break, it means not catching up some of the best people i have met in the last few years, buck and holly, marko, deejay, etc but im sure it will happen again. i hope.

now im going for a pint on a friday afternoon for the first time in ages............laters

Props to the Big Dog.............

Massive thanks to my good pal, Alan Chambers for building my 650b wheels at short notice, knowing full well that im going to make him re-build 'em next week , and build Vikki's wheels, when i get some black AND silver spokes, and some new hope hubs , more on that later.....

i think it looks quite cool, a tad heavy than i thought at 20lbs, but it rides nice along the corridor at work................. will give it a proper shake down at enduro6 on sunday.

New Bike

Not mine though, My good friend Dan-o Hale of shifterbikes fame, and organiser of the 2003 SSWC , has got a new bike. built Ewen Gellie ( i used to race at the deluxe dirt crits in melbourne with ewen ) who builds the Cog frames for Damo, more monstercross than 'cross (like his previous pompino) i love it! awesome paint job, if he can be bothered to race it offroad, he will defo kick arse, the boy has skills...............and the bars! awesome, i NEED to find out about these, is it just me or do they look carbon..... and as per usual, the bike is packed! White Ind, Pauls, King, Thomson, etc, etc, even has the new Oz-riders grips that another of my aussie pals is doing, james maebus, i should be getting some of these soon!

Postal Service

Im having problems with the postal service, and for once its not royal mail, its USPS. what a shower of shit! Davis sent me some parcels including my frame, nicks frame, phil and vicki's rims and tires, and some other nice stuff, on the 26th of march, i paid express delivery (3-5 days) and surprise surprise, they left america on the 6th of may! so 12 days and its not even crossed the pond yet! this is the frustrating part of trying to run a business, i dont do this to make lots of money, i do it to get nice stuff for myself, and to introduce niche stuff to people, remember i was the first to bring 96ers into the UK and now 650b as well. i have a full time job alongside this venture, but some times i think its not worth it, i feel sorry for people who pay me their hard earned money, for their goods to take longer than they should because people cant do their job properly. Between davis boxing it up and sending it to me and me receiving it, it always seems to be one almighty cock up! it really is beginning to make me think why i bother...........

Bike gone, no more bikes she said...

Sold my Cross bike today, and the new owner is getting a bargain! Ruth says i need to cut down on the amount of bikes and bike parts i own , so i flogged it, and gonna build up a hack bike to commute using the bits i have lying around, so two birds , and all that....... i say hack, i dont really own "hack" stuff, as such, so using the Paul Milnes SL cross frame set my bro in-law gave me, a set of White Ind cranks in 170mm w/38t ring on it, some pauls neo-retro canti's, cane creek levers, and an old wheel set i have lying around until my ENO hub turns up, and i say old, hope ti hubs on touring rims.... , carbon bars and post, and surly cassette cog and surly spacer kit and tensioner, not what people would call a hack bike!

So the cellar is one down, but not for long! 'cos of the worlds being on, my interest in track has been re-kindled, so im now gonna build up a track bike, with the intention of racing the manchester track league on friday nights (until i get promoted to tuesdays...) so im now trawling ebay for shamals or atlanta rims, campy cranks, etc.......... gonna take my time though, bit by bit,wont be that noticable, and ill probably get away with it.........

Gears are gay, or maybe not.............

My pal Marko LaLonde , has just been signed to race for the same team as Number 1 US cyclo-cross racer Jonny Page, for the 2008/09 'cross season. Those who know marko ,will know that not only is he a really nice guy, he is VERY quick on a bike, no less, a bike with one gear........

The team will race ridley carbon cross bikes, and as they dont make SS models, they have forced him to ride with gears ( im sure thats not true but i like the idea...) im pretty sure he will tear it up over there, after all 19 more gears than he normally uses, surely he will be faster.......

Doing it justice

Gonna make sure it is RockStarRacing all this year instead of RockStarRacing twice a year...... for the last 2 years the only racing ive done are SSUK and SSWC 06/07. i intend to race as much as possible this year, NPS, SXC, Dragons, Midlands, Early Dawes and even some enduro's, MM, SITS, Enduro 6, and the brighton round of the G2 Revolver series, cant wait! and of course SSUK08 and, hopefully, fingers crossed, at SSWC08 in the good' ol US of A......

New Bike.

The new bike will, fingers crossed, be here for the midlands XC race at hanchurch that i intend to do on the 30th of this month, if not it will have to be done on the 96er. There are still a few little things that im thinking of changing on the build, deciding whether to fit the maverick SC32 that i got off nightfire last year, or run the fox f100 that i ordered? or use the avid juicy ultimates (they match the XO twisties really well!) or go for hope mini pro"s, all this will involve spending when i could just be happy with what i have...........( i think ruth would be happier if i was....)

turns out that vikki got her voodoo bokor in the end, for her 650b build. After asking my valued opinion (?) i advised her to go for the voodoo, and that Tim at everyones favourite shop, Sideways cycles , was doin one in her size for a steal.......... so she bought it, and ive ordered a set of the new stans 355 ZTR 650b rims for her and some pacenti neo-moto's, along with the planned purchase of some pace RC31's, this will be one cool bike........ as will mine hopefully!

on a plus note, my head has healed fine, my whiplash has lightened up, the beers went down really well at the weekend, back at work, gonna do another turbo sesh i think tomoz, while watching 24solo, and the Road to Athens, quality mtb race DVD's that defo gets me enthusiastic and inspired, makes me realise that the decision to give up smoking 289 days ago was a good one!

hello mr postman........

...off to the post office to collect a package, i think i know what it is..........

i know its not my frame, still waiting for that, as is my customer waiting for his (sorry nick) seems to be taking ages, was ordered during chinese new year, so they were all getting pissed when they should have been bending Ti..................

new forks have been ordered, fox F80RLC's, might change a few things on the build list though, first race was 'sposed to be in 2 weeks, midlands XC at hanchurch, still sore from my accident though, will see....

and im doing my first 24 hour race at mountain mayhem, i have been asked to join a team, 3 eazy ups, full mechanic set up, barbecue, beer, my mate will be there with his treatment tent, no excuses then....... only decision is, geared or single speed...........

going for my first pint for 3.5 weeks today in town, gonna get shittered..........;0)

laters

Jump on the (650)B-train.....................

not many people are convinced by the new niche, but im going to do my very best to "help" it along................... 29er's took a bit to catch on, as are 96/69er's, and fingers crossed 36er's never will!

I myself will be building up a 650b "race" bike, Titanium Carver frame with paragon sliding dropouts , fox f80RLC, the new stans 650b rims on american classics laced with CX rays, not sure on brakes, avid ultimates or hope pro's... Sram XO , truvativ carbon cranks. and for SS moment like at SSUK08 and SSWC08 (fingers crossed me and ruth can afford it....) will be de-geared and spaced out using a chris king cog and my "made for travis" carbon chain guard given to me by the man himself..........

and through lots of email contact with the instigator of the B-train (?!) i have a set of the new XC 650b tires the quasi-moto being shipped! this bike is gonna rock!

BUT i am trying to secure, using kirk (pacenti tires) and hopefully stans no-tubes rims, if they want to help, a couple of sets of 650b wheels to give to a few "lucky" people with compatible bikes , like kona units/explosifs, voodoo wanga's and bokors, or anyother bikes you may think are compatible,to try/race to make up there own minds.......................

hopefully this will come off, if your interested in this little project of mine, mail me (rockstarracing@hotmail.co.uk) to see if you can "blag" yourself some wheels to "borrow"....................

pics of the bike as soon as it gets here/gets built, and when i remember how to post pics...........

laters

A new Dawn.....

Finally I have set up something for the internet! there is no shopping cart or web shop yet, im still learning.......

I will post here any news on new products or offers or just general rants, info, etc