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There are "self-energising" chainsets that use springs to store energy that is theoretically released inbetween pedal strokes but this is not one of them. This is intended to reduce the 'dead-spot' created when the pedal crank is pointing upwards towards the rider. It works by moving the upper...

After fourty years of riding in the Chiltern Hills you would think that I would know all the routes by now. However, the HS2 railway building site cuts through the middle of the landscape cutting off roads and rights of way. So being unable to rely on some traditional routes has forced me to...

There seems to be no universally adopted name for these homemade dirt-track bikes and 'Tracker Bike' is just one of the more popular names. In the 1940's/50s there creation may have been originally inspired by the popular sport of cycle speedway and later by teenagers copying the homemade...

Mountain bikes that were made before specialist MTB components became available are extremely rare. It's often impossible to tell if components are original or replacements and I don't think it really matters as long as they are age correct. You should be proud to own a bike from a time when...

Thanks for letting me know that your Stumpjumper frame and forks came from the Netherlands. Does this mean that the components aren't original to the bike, as many look to be age correct?

Hi Keith, You and any family members would be welcome. Saturday will be the easier of the two days and we should get some good views from the hills. It would be great if you could bring some good weather with you, though the rides will take place whatever the weather. There is always plenty of...

That's helpful, Thanks! I assume from your answer that it was an 84 model that you later bought second hand. Do you remember roughly when you acquired it? I am currently searching through old UK cycling magazines to see if there are any adverts or reviews.

According to Wikipedia, Specialized "introduced the first major production mountain bike in the world, the Stumpjumper, in 1981." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialized_Stumpjumper My recollection from the early 1980s is that Stumpjumpers were like mythical beasts in Britain, you heard...

The 1984 Wendover Bash is senonymous with the start of mountain biking in the UK. It was the first MTB specific event to feature both downhill and cross-country racing. Together with its hillclimb and trials competition it set the multi-disciplinery format of early UK mtb events, including those...

Hi Dan, I have emailed you some scans of the 'Made By English' head badge and some photos the Metro Trekker logo used on my bike. Geoff Apps says that the little graphic image he used doesn't represent anything in particular. It's just a decorative natural form similar to those used by arts &...

Here are the spoke dimensions as used on the wheels in the above photos. The same spokes have been used to fit both the inside and outside of the flanges. The drawing shows a spoke as fitted on the inside of the of the drum brake side of the wheel. To make sure that the same spoke would also...

Here are two photos showing the 700C front wheel of a Cleland Landseer showing the Qwikspokes at the hub. Note that the front wheel had been built using a 1 cross pattern on the roller-brake side and radial spokes on the other side. In all 20 spokes have been used. Given the 700C/622mm rim and...

Thanks for that Dan, I have been hoping that Bruce Gordon would produce a fatter version of their original Rock 'n Road. Now we'll just have to wait until they arrive in the UK at a more reasonable price! 48mm should be a great fit for the Cleland Aventura and English Range-rider

Just to mention, to mark the 40th anniversary of the UK MTB competition and the first Wendover Bash, I will be leading a weekend of rides in the Chiltern Hills near Wendover in June. The plan is to base this at a campsite near to Wendover on June the 22nd &...

Hi Dan, Will do! I will ask Geoff and see if he remembers what the graphic to either side of 'BY' was based on? Would it also be possible if you to also run off a set of decals for my Metro-Trekker version of this bike? I can supply photos and dimensions for the 'Metro-Trekker' lettering...

Good luck, I wish you well. I can measure the approximate dimensions/angles of the spoke head that Geoff's machine produces if that would be helpful? Here is an inexpensive arbour press, that if fitted with a custom made jig could probably be used to create the bends in the end of a pre-cut...

Geoff was in when I phoned today. He said that the prototype of the "Kwik-Spoke" machine was fabricated from scratch by a company in the Scottish Borders after he discussed the idea with them. They made two prototypes, one that Geoff still has whilst the other one went to someone in Germany...

Thanks for posting the above Flickr link. This will prove useful when I phone Geoff. The caption with photo 10 says " You can confidently build Kwikspoked wheels that will last for years. I have one set that has been going strong for 61 years." So this is probably an old technique. Even so...

Hi Timberpeg, I will ask him and see if he can supply some photos or drawings of his machine. For anyone wondering what a Geoff Apps "quick spoke tool" is, it is a machine Geoff has developed that can make a spoke of a required length from a longer spoke. It means that the wheel builders who...

Geoff can be difficult to contact these days and doesn't want his email address shared. But if you message me here I will forward it onto Geoff and mention it to him when we next talk.