My Precious

It’s funny to think that this was one of the best downhill bikes in 1994/1995. How things have changed!?!

During my ‘off season’ I set myself a goal of restoring ‘My Precious.’

The hardest part was restoring the front forks (Rock Shox Judy DH) as the elastomers had disintegrated.  I got there in the end, thanks to someone selling a pair of Judy XC SLs that had springs in them which I was able to use.

Servicing the damping cartridge



Comparing elastomers to springs









New springs!

While this bike isn’t 100% accurate to when I raced it, it’s pretty close.  The tyres, Panaracer Smokes, were my favourite in the early 90s and I couldn’t resist putting them on.

Specifications:

Frame – Specialized FSR – First generation.

Forks – Rock Shox Downhill Judy with a whopping 3” of travel.

Forks - Rock Shox Mag 21s with 2 1/2" of travel.

Components – mix of Lx and Xt, 8 speed with a few anodised bolts.

Brakes – Magaura Race hydraulic brakes with break beefers to save the frame.  They still feel great.

Tyres – Panaracer Smokes.

Pedals –Shimano XT – First generation.

DCD – Dave’s Chain device was used to keep tension on the chain.

Chain – Sachs, great chains in the day.

Grips - ODI mushrooms.

Do you still have your downhill bike Mr Steve Owens?

Custom Cycling Apparel (clothing)

Late last year I decided I wanted to design my own cycling gear so I started shopping around.

I looked at what Ultimo, Tineli, Champion System and Amapop had to offer.  In the end I went with Amapop and was very impressed.

The whole process was very simple.

I came up with some ideas for my design (big thanks to Andy Brown for designing my kiwi) then emailed it to Toni.

Toni turned my ideas into a design and emailed them back to me.

I modified the mock design and emailed it back.

The whole design process was extremely easy!  The hardest part was deciding on which material to use, either:

Cooldry - a high quality material which is extremely light and has fantastic moisture wicking capabilities.

Coolfresh Extreme – also a quality material but slightly heavier / thicker.

Thermal material – This material is almost too good to wear on the road, let alone mountain biking.  It feels like silk, beautiful!

I went for one of each.

Once the design, materials and sizes were confirmed, I received my gear.

Toni aims to have the gear delivered within 2 - 3 weeks.

 If you think you’d like to have a go at designing your own personal cycling gear or get some designed for you, email Toni at cycletoni@live.com  or visit his website