Every now and again i find my self getting so tied up doing stuff for bikes that i run out of time to ride. I have pretty much corrected this balance over the last month or 2 taking on a couple of cool road races here in NZ. I fitted my sprint bike with aero bars and a brake, pulled on some lycra for the babes (didnt work) and got training.

The 1st event was 2 laps around lake Rotorua for a total of 84km's and one manageable climb per lap. I opted for my regular 49/16, 80.5" ratio so i had a fighting chance on the flats with the roadies. It was all going to plan until i started to cramp as we started the final climb and so lost the bunch and had to finish the last 20k solo. I finished in 2hr 20min, the winners some 16 minutes ahead. I fatally assumed that i had underestimated my carbo intake and wasnt gonna let that happen for the next 160km event around lake Taupo....

Lake Taupo is NZ's biggest lake, so big, its a long and hilly 160km to loop it. This year more than 11,500 riders embarked on this challenge on all manner of machines but for the best part this is a roadies domain. Its possible to do this event as a team relay type deal and my plan was to take the start for our Godscogs team of 3, picking up Matty at 40k and Tai at 80k but for us all to keep riding and attempt the whole distance FIXED. Check the profile, its a bit hilly so i stepped the front chainring down to 47 and rolled out @ around 76" safe in the knowledge i needed to gobble even more carbo gel shit than i did in Rotorua. It quickly became apparent, as cramp once again kicked in just after an hour, that this ride was gonna be a whole lot harder than it already was. I kind of managed it mainly by staying seated for the climbs and chewing an entire packet of anti cramp tablets, sachets of salt and anything else i could beg off people. Fast forward to the end of the event and my road riding inexperience was clear to see, I had in fact way over dosed on carbs. Every extra gulp of gel i took to relieve the pain was actually adding to it and it didn't come right until 10k from the end when i ran out of gels.... what a knuckle head.

Despite my discomfort, it was a beautiful ride around this very scenic part of NZ. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the punters on the side of the road trying to sort out punctures or whatever when i heard that horrible hissing sound that could only be a puncture on my front wheel. We couldnt find any glass in the tire so wacked my only tube in and got going again. 10k later and this time just a bang and total loss of pressure without warning. Luckily it was on the flat just after a steep fast decent. Turned out my rim tape had split under the tube, WTF, why now, why ever. Sloppy prep on my part using an old rim tape that should have been binned. We were actually fukced at that point with no tubes and no way to repair it given those deep Zipp's needing ultra long stems. Just then some friendly faces pulled over, Conrad and Guy from AKFixed who happened to have what we needed. Man hugs, all round.
Thats Tai over my right shoulder, he's like 6'4" and its like riding in vacuum when he leads, thanks mate.

Check Matty out, i only just convinced him he should wear lycra and he reluctantly agreed but insisted on 'Boardies' on top coz he felt naked. At about the 120k mark he was eternally grateful. What a dude, he smashed the climbs and made it look easy. We found ourselves yoyo-ing with a large bunch of roadies who would all blow past on the decent only to have us cruise past on the climbs. Was a sweet taste indeed, it was like we sucked a bit of life out of every roadie we overtook on the climb. It was nice to receive encouragement from those that noticed our bikes and realized our challenge, i remember one particular dude with monster calf's yell "respect from a tracky fella's".

So it could have been better but thats just a good reason to do it again next year. We all finished me 160k, Matt 120k and Tai 80k. Our total time somewhere under 6 hours, the other small problem being our transponder didn't work and so didn't receive a time!
Matt and Tai rolled original Godscogs MTB hub conversions, expect i should be able to get triples under them next year and anyone else that wants to do it hard..

I'm probably a bit old school but for me nothing looks as good as polished aluminium. Its a filthy job but very satisfying - after buffing on a machine with 2 grades of polish and mop, i then clear coat them in a magical stuff called 'Nylaic'. This baby's getting laced this week to a flat white Dodici for some lovin by good rooster Jason Tweedie from Christchurch.

Also waiting for some action are a couple of wheels for some patient local lads i am keen to hook up for destruction testing. I have had to resort to child labor to get shit done; this is my 7 yr old Harper who for $2 and 2 swigs of my chilled 'Bud' took up the slack on this wheel for local legend and '09 trick comp winner Mike Lawrence. In the background the 1st single speed i ever built featuring a disc wheel with monster Valentino Rossi decal - what a dude.

I've been cranking out some k's on my track bike lately and have decided to bat for the other team and am building up this roadie for mega rides. Its a steel NOS Moser from the mid 90's, flippin sweet. Full 10spd Record using titanium 9spd shifters and dérailleurs for that 'no carbon' look. Not knowing nought about gears and shit, its been really interesting finding out what its all about and what works with what and how, what a geek.Check some of the detailing...... 
Hanging behind it is a single speed project for my good mate Matty's wife Jos.

Cool as cucumber quill style seat post does away with any sort of clamp arrangement for a nice clean look.

pretty tight for a roadie huh....... love you Mr Moser.

My favorite squeeze, do heaps of k's on this bad boy. I've got an 84k road race on the 9th which takes in 2 laps of Lake Rotorua located in the center of the North Island.

As you can see, to pull the rim 5mm until it just nudged the gauge (red arrow) took 2.56kg of force. 

This bad boy required 4.24kg of force to move the same distance. I would have been happy with a slight advantage but this is not even close and explains why these wheels feel different to ride. Its just as well, this wheels destined for Ivan from http://steadyrollin.wordpress.com/ . Ivan's a big unit (as in muscle and brawn not fat and flab) so it will be a stern test indeed.

Thanks to ibike http://ibike.co.nz/ for the use of all your awesome shit. Jianni and the mechanics from ibike lets me rock in when ever i want to scab free shit from the bin, drink their coffee, have a curry and use tools like the above wheel jig, scales and supa accurate DT spoke tensioner.  Jianni's NZ's Zipp agent and the reason my purple bike rocks the meanest 808 wheelset.

The last few weeks have felt like high class British porn (see below) but they are good to go and look mean as.

Here’s the deal.

We can now accept orders and will ship as of mid next week using 7 day insured courier service. Remember quantities are not limited but my capacity to make them fast enough might be, so get in quick and get your name on a hub if you want one from the first batch. I will only accept your hard earned cash if I am able to supply without delay and will let anyone know if stocks run out and how long the delay will be. Those who have already made contact, you get first dibs so I will give you all an extra day to jump the queue presuming there is one??


Hubs will be shipped with full lacing instructions which I’ll post up somewhere here shortly. Initial colors are silver, black and a sweet looking gunmetal (good idea Alex). I can do custom stuff like polished or pink if you’re willing to pay and wait – hit me up. You can order with or without the primo Zipp track nuts if you wanna save a few bucks, in fact I have limited numbers of these so this would actually be a help.

Standard retail is $US200, plus cog and bolts $25, plus $30 track nuts, plus $25 shipping to the US/Asia/Europe.

The first 15 hubs sold, get cog, bolts and shipping free! So that’s $230 with track nuts, $200 without, a saving of US$50, hope that helps.

I should make two things crystal;

1. I am not pretending to be a big time manufacturer but will always strive to produce a product I am proud to be associated with and confident to use on my own bikes. Look at my bikes, I’m a fussy bugger but if you’re concerned it won’t meet your expectations then don’t send me money.
2.  Like any wheel, many variables such as rim condition, your wheel building skills or the size of your half pipe could all lead to premature failure. I will not accept damaged hubs returned for credit or replacement but will endeavour to correct any obvious manufacturing fault should something slip through the cracks. 

If I still haven’t put you off, send me an enquiry or use the ordering page if I can get it working tonight. I will reply with a confirmation and my paypal account details. Your order is not secure until funds have been received. Don’t forget to tell me your requirements for color and number of teeth for the cog. Distributor enquiries welcome if you'r legit.

Wicked.

Cogs and in fact all the bits are in! Will post an early bird deal mid next week and hit up first all the cool dudes from every corner of the globe that have sent in enquiries for first dibs.
The cogs are laser cut by Chris on his google$$ machine in Christchurch from 3mm 304 stainless steel. We have been rockin them for a couple of years now on MTB hub conversions and they still look brand new. We hand finish the tips of the teeth and Chris has perfected the design to a point of drive train silence.

The last hand made custom set and the 1st front! Gloss black all round and look closely at my crappy camera skills for copper plated nipples. For a full custom ride, an honour indeed.
Sorry to those waiting patiently - clapped eyes on the bearing bushes in the CNC today so just around the corner. Will advise shortly a special introductory early bird offer for the keen.