Onix Bikes Rob Hayles Signature range launch

I went to see the new Onix Rob Hayles Signature Range tonight at the Manchester Velodrome.
It was the first time I had been to the Velodrome, which is very impressive, and as we arrived it felt like going to Wembley for the first time. This is the home of British Cycling, and the stage where many of the current crop of British Pro's have learnt their trade.

Craig's dedication to his brand

We were warmly welcomed by Craig, the owner of Onix and chatted to him about the bikes, how Rob, triple Olympic medalist and former World Champion, had got involved in the testing process, and the decision to make it a signature range. Craig also talked about the exciting opportunities he has had to promote the range, including sending a bike to Monaco for the Channel 5 Gadget show to ride round the GP course.

As you know,all cycling events have to include cake, and as usual Craig used cake as a marketing medium, and they were tasty too, apparently! 

So to the new bikes. I will let you make your own mind up after seeing the pictures. I was lucky enough to see the bike in its raw state at the Twitter ride last year, and I have seen the launch photo's on line, but in the flesh they look even better.

Onix Black RH

Onix Black RH PRO

What I like about Craig's bikes is the attention to detail, not only in his pursuit of engineering excellence, getting all the angles, lengths and rakes right, but also in the finish. The distinctive black frames with only a stripe of colour is stunning. Craig explained how he had to convince the guys who painted the bikes that he wanted stripes without tapered ends and how they thought he was mad, as all stripes have to end in a taper! I think you'll agree they look great.

I also like the use of the Onix O on the top tube in gloss against the matt frame, The internal cable routing on the head tube and the Gloss signature.

Also on hand tonight was Mike, the Onix Mechanic and a real master of his trade. He gave us lots of advice for working on carbon bikes, and a couple of tricks to use to set our bikes up.

A Master Class from Mike

If these pictures have inspired you to think about a new bike, head over to onixbikesonline where you can use the bike builder to choose the components you want to add to the frame set and build your dream bike.

Craig and the Black RH PRO

It would have been rude not to have checked out the track while we were there. I was shocked at how steep the banking is, it definitely doesn't look that steep on TV!

Ade Shaun and Ken who I went with have all ridden the track, Shaun picked up his licence while we were there, and they suggested that I should give it a go. There are two things that may stop me. First, I'm not great at heights, and it certainly looks high on the top of the banking, and secondly, I don't think Mrs Palefish would be happy if I liked it and needed to buy another bike!!

A great "lumpy" loop of Cheshire!

Today was the first time in 6 weeks that the club riders joined the Team lads for a Saturday morning ride. The group was impressive with 20 of us blocking the pavement outside the shop before the off. It was great to have a chance to catch up with everyone after last weeks Ten Minutes of Hell. The agreement of everybody there was that it was a great event, and next year the field will be much bigger, and some of us may try some Ten mile TT's this season!

Before we left Dave, the coach, explained that as there were lots of abilities in the group, we would ride in pairs and take turns on the front, riding at the pace of the lead pair. This way everybody would have a chance to set the pace, but also have to put some effort in to keep up if the pace got faster. It was also agreed that we would not leave anyone stranded in Cheshire somewhere!

We headed out along familiar lanes, chatting and spinning the legs to get them warm, We were riding towards Elsmere Port through Little Sutton when the only incident of the day happened.
Riding in a big group is great, as you put in less effort when in the middle of the Peloton (the name used to describe a group of cyclists in a bunch!) and the miles seem to fly by. But there are some down sides, one is when you get dropped it is hard to get back on as you are on your own in no man's land, and secondly, you can not see any obstacles in the road. If you are following behind a peloton and see the riders frantically gesturing, pointing to the road, waving at the tarmac, or putting their hand behind their back they are telling each other what the road conditions are like. You may also hear shouts of  "HOLE" or "GRAVEL" or "S**T" if you are in a country lane near a stable.
Today one of the riders came upon a raised grid in the road which he tried to avoid, by bunny hopping, lifting both wheels off the ground and jumping over the obstacle. Unfortunately he landed awkwardly and fell, sliding along the road as we were at quite a pace. He decided that his ride for today was over and headed home, with another rider for support. I can report that he got home safely, a little battered and bruised, but should be ready to race next week.

The remaining 18 continued to the Shell Oil road, and managed to get all the way down it without seeing the infamous security guard! We continued on to Helsby, then Delemere, Tarporley, Beeston, Tattenhall, Waverton, Christleton and the outskirts of Chester, finding every hill along the way! We split from the Team riders here as one of the lads had to be back for work and they could ride fast together to drag each other home at pace.The remaining Club riders rode on to Eureka for a well deserved Coffee, and a Banana for me, and cake for every one else!  After the pit stop we headed up the Chester High road and back to the shop.

Regrouping at Beeston Castle

We didn't hang around at the shop today, as the ride took a bit longer than expected, and I had an excited son at home waiting to go and get his new Cycling Helmet!

It was great to ride with the whole group today, and also good to see that we are not that far off the Team pace, kind of!!

Dave gave us some great quotes today:
"Bunny Hops.....Just don't do them" discussing Alex's incident
"Loads of pot holes, this road is bad. Deal with it!" when he got fed up pointing out the obstacles

If I can get enough I may start a new "Zel says" page!

Today's ride details

As you can see from the widget at the top of the side bar, I am taking part in another charity bike ride this year. This time it is a  longer Challenge, From Loch Lomond to Loch Leven, 150 miles in 2 days. The ride is in aid of Asthma UK.
Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.4 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma. Please support us in our vision of "Control over asthma today, freedom from asthma tomorrow". www.asthma.org.uk

Just like a Summers evening without the sun!

It is typical! I have finally got my winter bike sorted. The rear wheel has been rebuilt, new pedals have been purchased, a new saddle (thanks Dan) is in place and mudguards fitted, just in time as the winter has told its toll on the Kuota and the head race bearing needs changing. Good timing I hear you cry, well it would be if the weather hadn't decided to take a turn for the best and deliver us a 12degree average ride this evening! Oh well, it's all good training, especially on a slightly heavier bike!!

For the second time this week, there were seven of us out for a spin. We headed out to West Kirby then up to Caldy, Thurstaston, Heswal, Thornton, and then back through Irby to Greasby. The group are riding well together, and the pace is good. We put a little sprint effort in tonight, a half mile stretch into Thornton, ans it looks like we hit over 34mph.
We passed a Police speed check in Pensby, and I was tempted to ask if I could calibrate my Garmin with his Speed gun but I didn't think the officer would be too keen!

When we got back to The 12th Man, it was mentioned that as a Start and finish venue, it would be a handy place to have some post ride refreshments in the summer! Sounds great for someone who has resolved to give up alcohol for a year, I suppose there is always coke to look forward to!!!

The Vita ride this week is reverting back to one group, leaving the shop at 9.30. We will be out for 3-3.5 hours. We will ensure we do not let anyone fall behind, and wait if the group splits. I think it will be good to have a session with the coach and the Race team lads. It will let me see if I have improved with all the winter training.

Tonight's Ride Details

There was some more great coverage of Ten Minutes of Hell today in " the UK's best bike Magazine" Cycling Weekly. There may be more at a later date too!

Finally a plea from a friend. Lou who runs the Patisserie Cyclisme  web site is trying to raise funds to develop the site. She has got through to Enterprise Nations second round process which requires people to log on and vote for Patisserie Cyclisme who will get £500 start up support if they get 500 votes! It only takes a couple of minutes, and will help Lou realise her dream of turning her passion into a business and in turn help us find the best Cafe stops in the UK!
Please check out this link to Vote: Enterprise Nation Vote Now