March 2010

During Easter we will operate reduced opening hours. We are very pleased to announce Condor is moving to a larger warehouse and is using the downtime over Easter to kick start the move.

Have a fantastic Easter weekend which we hope is filled with plenty of Easter riding!

• Good Friday - CLOSED
• Saturday - 10am - 5pm
• Sunday - CLOSED
• Easter Monday - CLOSED

Following yesterday's post about Ben racing in the hot heat of South Africa, he has sent through a picture of his modified Specialized BG Pro MTB shoe (available at Condor).

Whilst they are a fantastic mountain bike shoe and superlight, the 45 degree heat is just too hot for Ben's digits, so he got the scissors out made some adjustments to keep a bit cooler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.cape-epic.com/

After their successful first season, film makers Joseph Finkleman and Booker Sim follow the Cervélo TestTeam and capture the human passion and beauty of cycling. With their all-access passes, they show you what conventional race footage fails to capture: everything "beyond" the peloton.

If you haven't seen the 2009 first season head over to the Cervelo site to watch the all episodes in fantastic clarity.
Below is the introduction episode for the 2010 season

Cervelo Test Team Training Kit is now in stock at Condor as are the complete range of Cervelo frames

Online coverage

1. Check out Lionel Birnie and Simon Richardson from Cycling Weekly and their live web updates
2. Follow Chris Newton on Twitter
3. Read the reports from Larry Hickmott on the British Cycling Website and follow him on Twitter
4. Check out photos from Copenhagen on the British Cycling Flickr pages

William Fotheringham spoke to queen of the track Victoria Pendleton ahead of the racing you can read the article here

Radio coverage

• BBC radio 5 live has live uninterupted coverage from the track on certain days. You can listen online, via digital radio or on 909/693 AM
• Thursday 26 March from 1800
• Friday 27 March from 1730
• Sunday 28 March from 1400

Track Cycling World Championship - TV Schedule

• Wednesday 24 March 1900-2100 BBC2, 1800-2100 red button, all online (UK only)
• Victoria Pendleton goes for Great Britain in the 500m time trial (final 1830 GMT) and Chris Hoy returns to the track where he crashed last year, bidding to help better last season's team sprint silver (2125 GMT).
• Thursday 25 March 1830-2000 (BBC2), 1800-2030 red button, all online (UK only)
• Olympic bronze medallist Chris Newton goes for Great Britain in the scratch race (1845 GMT), Vicky Pendleton and Jess Varnish go for gold in the women's team sprint and Chris Hoy bids to add the world title to his Olympic crown in the keirin (final 2050 GMT)
• Friday 26 March 1900-2000 (BBC2), 1800-2030 red button, all online (UK only)
• Anna Blyth will look for a British medal in the women's scratch race (2030 GMT) and Jason Queally could make his GB comeback as part of the men's team pursuit quartet (2050 GMT).
• Saturday 27 March 1415-1630 (BBC1), 1630-1730 (BBC2), all online (UK only)
• Vicky Pendleton defends her women's sprint crown (best-of-three final from 1615 GMT) and look out for the multi-event omnium, which will be a new Olympic discipline at London 2012.
• Sunday 28 March 1350-1730 BST (BBC2) , all online (UK only)
• Britain's sprint king and queen are both in action as Chris Hoy goes for gold in the men's sprint (best-of-three final from 1610 BST) and Vicky Pendleton bids for a third medal in the women's keirin (final 1630 BST)

It may have been Rapha that coined the phrase 'glory through suffering', but Condor designer Ben has perhaps taken that mantra to heart, even if he didn't really intend to do so.

Ben is riding for Mule Bar with team mate Dave Arthur at the Cape Epic. Cape Epic is an eight day mountain bike stage race in South Africa. Each day is a seven hour off road ride with plenty of climbing. However, it's the boiling 45 degree temperatures of the Cape that is really making him suffer.

Specialized have given Ben an aptly named Epic mountain bike, as well as helmet and shoes to race in.
You can follow Ben's suffering via his Twitter updates, blog, and also through pictures on the Mule Bar blog.

Just 250 of the White Team Pro CMWC Tokyo Brooks saddle were made. We only have one left in store; no. 142

Historically Brooks saddles were all made with small copper rivets. Racers in the tours would have their Brooks saddles conditioned and riveted with larger ones to make them last longer. Large copper rivets, in fact, are more gentle to the leather top, so a few decades ago this practice was adopted in the manufacturing at Brooks. This is how the Special range was born. Each of the 9 copper rivets on the Special saddle is hand hammered with great care by skilful craftsmen.

THIS ITEM IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

The Independent has rounded up 50 Best Bikes and the newly released 2010 Condor Leggero road bike found its way to 9th out of 50.

The national newspaper called it a "whippet-fast ride".

Read what the newspaper said here.

There are a fair few cycling related apps available for iPhone. Some are free while others to be paid for to get full functionality.

Search for ‘cycling’ on Apple’s App Store and straight away you’ll find a plethora of route tracking apps. But there is a whole host of things out there for cyclists 'supposed' to make your life on a bike easier.

We've been testing a range of them over the last few weeks. Marking each out of five, using our Condor bird rating system.

Use our comments section below the blog post to tell us what apps you're using.

MotionX GPS - £1.79

A ‘lite’ version of the MotionX app is available to test before you take the plunge and buy the real thing. The lite version has all the features of the normal version but can only record and store one route and the data from it.

Using MotionX is simple – simply click 'Start Track' and then start riding. There is a handy 'Lock' button that will stop you selecting other functions while the iphone is on your pocket. When you get to your destination click 'Stop' and 'Save track'.

Review your start time, elapsed time, distance travelled, average speed etc and take pictures along the way.

We found the recording the route functions simple to get to grips with but not very intuitive and the mapping was slow.

iMapMyRide - FREE

Just like the other tracking apps iMapMyRide uses GPS technology built into iPhone 3G and 3Gs enabling you to track your riders.

The app records essential metrics duration, pace, speed etc and interestingly, elevation.

Once a ride is complete, click 'Save' and the route is automatically uploaded to MapMyRide.com where you can view a comprehensive workout history which can be synchronised with the online training log on MapMyRide.com

The clever thing about iMapMyRide is that is super simple to use and features twitter and facebook integration if you want to automatically tweet your workout to friends and family.

We also liked the voice feedback detailing distance, pace and speed though you have to wear headphones for this and not always safe in a busy traffic environment, and being an American product will send you the wrong way round a roundabout

The mapping is quick to load and most of the time mapped the route spot on.

If you opt for the free version then you’ll have to suffer the small ads that feature on screen. If you don’t want this, but also want at the ability to take pictures along your route, download MapMyRide+ for £2.99

You will need to register at MapMyRide.com and create an account on a PC or Mac.

We really liked the ability of this app to export your rides in GPX, KML or spreadsheets which will allow you to view it on Google maps on your home PC or MAC and share it.

Cyclemeter has an integrated calendar which logs the ride and is handy for keeping a record of your training. Graphically see your speed vs. elevation and review how much distance you’ve ridden each week, month or year.

Voted by TIME magazine one of the Top Ten iPhone Apps for 2009 we expected a lot of things from this free app but were left a bit disappointed. There isn’t any twitter integration or ability to log workouts, and ads run along the screen.

We did like the fact it’s free and you can log plenty of routes, plus it will estimate how many calories you’ve burned on the ride which was pretty accurate versus the Polar we tested it against.

60p gets you a bright red light that you can stick in your bag, or if you dare, attach to your seatpost. It’s handy if you forget your light one evening and need to remain safe in the traffic, but a massive drain on your battery and not that effective.

You should just carry a spare backup light from Knog (£7.99) or Cateye.

 

Bicycle Buyer is a magazine that is fairly new to market, but the first to fully embrace the digital world and app technology.

Cychosis is a dedicated training diary, allowing you to chart your rides (distance, average speed and time). Optional automatic tweet of each ride. This app requires you to manually enter your data so you will still need a cycle computer.

It's handy because you can readily update after a ride rather than lose a paper diary or have multiple spreadsheets saved across home and work computers.

This handy app allows you to evaluate current or potential Gearing Ratios, calculate Gain Ratios, Gear Inches, and Development. Use the Skid Patch Analyzer to visualize and minimize your fixed-gear’s tyre wear. Explore equivalent gearing configurations that let you reuse parts you already have.

Pretty smart stuff, but you could use Sheldon Brown’s website to work out your gear ratio’s. Working out the tyre wear is pretty useful if you skid about town, a lot. But at £2.99 its alot of cash to spend when there are alternatives available for free.

 

 

It’s Back! Original and Authentic.

Latest colours from the San Marco vintage range are in store and Condor have the complete range and all colourways from the legendary Concor Supercorsa to the classically styled Rolls vintage.
Get customising!

Join Rapha for the launch of the Rapha Women's range.

This March Rapha are launching a capsule range of women’s clothing and to celebrate are inviting Condor Cycle's female customers to join Rapha on Thursday 25th for a spin around Regent’s Park followed by a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.

The ride will depart at 5pm from outside the Garden Cafe on the Inner Circle where the Rapha H-van will be parked. Clothing will be available to test on your bike during and after the ride. From 5.30pm coffee, wine and cakes will be available in the café.

If you would like to test the clothing it would be helpful to know your UK dress size so we can make sure enough is available. RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Date: Thursday 25th March, 2010

• Where: The Garden Cafe, Regent’s Park Inner Circle, London NW1
• Time: From 5pm for the ride and to test clothing and from 5.30pm to see the range and for coffee, wine and cakes

The Rapha women's clothing range is exclusive to Condor Cycles in London and now in stock

The classics are coming and a highlight for us is the Tour of Flanders. Many of the staff at Condor have ridden this legendary course including the mighty Koppenberg.

The Koppenberg was removed from the Flanders route for some years, however it's been recently renovated and added to the route again.

Take a look at the You Tube clip below, it is from the 1987 Tour of Flanders, rider Jesper Skibby is struggling up the Koppenberg when all of a sudden the race directors car hits him. The director has two choices - carry on or stop for the ride but hold up the race.

Koppenberg in 2008 was a nightmare- wet and slippy race and for those who falter it's a running race to the top of the climb.

The Hell of the North is a tough brutal race featuring 19 sectors of Pave. However while the race action was taking place the police were busy digging out the Silence-Lotto bus from the mud.

 

A Load of Old Cobblers

Event website - Ronde van Vlaanderen

Fancy taking on the Pros in 2011? The Tour of Flanders sportive (first Saturday in April) is one of the most popular sportives in the calendar. With over 17,000 riders taking to the courses.

There is a choice of three road distances and three MTB routes, with the mid-distance 140km road route missing out the opening flat section but still including such classic climbs as the Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont and the infamous Muur, with its leg breaking 20% sections.

If you have your eyes on the full 259km, bear in mind the early start: a shuttle bus runs from the finish town of Ninove to the start in Bruges leaving 05:30 sharp. This service is open to pre-registered entrants only.

Why we like it

• Belgium atmosphere is great
• Chance to ride over legendary cobbles
• Cheap to enter – between 13 – 20 euros
• The organisers are fully prepared for international visitors and are very helpful at the start and feed stations.
• See the pro race the next day
• Excuse to drink Belgium beer

Ben from Condor has tackled the cobbles on two successive visit to Flanders in 2008 and 2009.

"I just love the cobbles, the atmosphere and watching the pros race the following day on the course I've also ridden. On Sunday I went up to the Muur, and watched the race unfold with a pint of Leffe and screaming Belgium fans. Fantastic."

How to ride it

Visit this link - entries open in September for the 2011 ride

Take the channel tunnel or ferry.

Collect your rider pack from the HQ in Ninove on Friday afternoon / evening.
Ride

Be mindful of the weather, in 2009 we almost got sunburnt but in 2008 it started to sleet halfway round the course. It is difficult to get accommodation in Ninove (the start/ finish town) but there are plenty of towns in the area just a couple minutes drive or ride. Visit the tourist board accomodation guide here

• Major climbs
• Molenberg
• Muur,
• Koppenberg,
• Oude Kwaremont

The Hell of the North – Paris Roubaix - 6th June

Event website - Velo Club Roubaix

Tour of Flanders has super steep climbs but its cobbles pale in comparison to the Paris-Roubaix course. Unlike the race the sportive is run bi-annually by Velo Club de Roubaix and has three route options. The full route of 255km, medium route which includes all the cobbled sectors at 190km in length and short 98km.

Why we like it

• Epic, dangerous, grueling, brutal, romantic, beautiful. The list of superlatives goes on.
• Cobbles are a riding experience – they suck the life right out of you
• Despite being as flat as a pancake it is as much a test of rider and machine as the mountainous sportives
• Great organisation – salami and cheese at feed station
• Souvenir cobble (not to be used as a door stop) when you complete the event
• The residents who gave a welcome clap, cheer or shout of ‘Bravo’

How to ride it

• The event is a point to point sportive so it can make it logistically difficult.
• Download an entry form on the organiser’s website (online registration coming soon).
• We stayed in a small town called Villers St Paul, one of those Parisian overflow settlements that’s all out-of-town shopping centres and ring roads and no centre. Our hotel, an Ibis, was next to a drive-thru McDonald’s and a Resto Marché, an establishment owned by the supermarket chain Intermarché. Imagine if Tesco did restaurants, but better.
• Organizers offer a coach from Roubaix to the start for around 25 euros.

Sporting Tours offer a fully supported service
http://www.sportingtours.co.uk/

The season finale, Revolution 28 took place over the weekend with all the regulars plus Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton.

Once again, as event sponsors Condor Cycles had bikes on display in the track centre and our guest Jeff Banks was on hand to present the final prizes at the end of the night. The racing was as ever, action-packed with the most nail-biting performance being the clash between Sir Chris and Jason Kenny in which Kenny took his opponent up the banking and right to the line.

Pendleton was friendly, polite and a consumate professional, signing autographs, chatting with fans and staying late afterwards to complete an interview on camera. The evening's racing was filmed by Sky in 3D and when they wanted to wrap it up with an interview with Victoria, they asked if we could leave our bikes in the background...

Thanks and well done to Face Partnership for putting on another successful series of Revolution.