Herne Hill Youth Cycling Club

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Linette Miles
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1 Here is our news for this week, 12 th September 2013 Please feel free to contribute your cycling, event or race news for next week s mail... News Roundup It s a sad day on Saturday..... as its Ellis s last Saturday coaching with us before he heads off to Swansea and University. Ellis has been helping out for around a year, and he s still able to talk to his brother Alfie! Ellis has been a wonderful person to have help in our sessions calm, friendly, (young), although we don t ever recall him being on a bike! A gentle giant, he's always supportive and helpful to all our riders. We all wish him well in his studies and don t forget to come back soon to visit! So make sure you say a great big Thank You to him on Saturday. London League has started..... and we had riders in all categories. Well done especially those racing for the first time! Under 10s: Mile Summers and Rupert Willatgahuma Under 12s: Joseph Blackmore, Max Lawson, Stanley Platts and Dru Dennis Youth: Freddie Argent, Alfie Parkinson, Luke Levett and Max Hindley Juniors: Jake Sowe and Stanley Nutter Vets + (over 50s): Geoff Nutter and Mark Hindley A great turn out for a far away venue. And thanks to James Abbot who was volunteering with Bill to get the satellite, laser tracking lap counting technology working results were out in record time and everyone thought it was brilliant! All that testing of the system at Lungbusting was worthwhile (Still can t Eurosport on it though...) The next round is at Deal nr Dover an excellent course followed by Fish and Chips on the beach overlooking France. What more could you want???? Details are on the calendar. So let s see more of you having a go it really is good fun! Congratulations! Your club has been successful in the Go-Ride U18 membership competition... and it s all thanks you those of you who joined British Cycling over the summer. We were 2 nd highest in the country! Place Region Club Increase 1 st London Kingston Junior Cycle Club 13 2 nd London Herne Hill Youth CC 11 3 rd North East Tyneside Vagabonds CC 10

2 =4 th North West Astley & Tyldesley CSC 9 =4 th London Sutton Cycling Club/De Ver Cycles 9 =4 th London VC Londres 9 We won a Go-Ride jersey signed by Team GB athletes which we ll find a way of awarding to someone. Plus a coaching Bursary for us to use on BC courses. Thanks once again. And if you haven t joined, just visit the British Cycling membership page. Bronze membership gets you your provisional licence for racing (inc. Cyclocross) and is 15 per year. Tour of Britain Go-Ride Interclub event on Victoria embankment Practice sessions are now underway for this event which is Time trial based, being run by Judith. Here are the date s if you have misplaced them. Friday 13th at pm Wednesday 18th at pm (coach TBC probably Jason Cattermole) Friday 20th at pm The event will be on Sunday 22nd September - time and location TBC. Riders should wear trainers not cleated shoes. For those who have signed up - can you Judith to back to confirm if you can do any date please. It can be a drop in practise so make sure you attend at least 2 including the final one on the 20th. The Tour itself starts this Sunday up in Scotland before finishing a week later in London for the finale on the 22 nd. It s a great day out and you ll be able to cheer on the HHYCCers. Volunteering to help at HHYCC Our quest for a Volunteers co-ordinator has been very fruitful, with two people stepping forward to take on the role. Please say hi to Aparna Murphy and Martin Toyer. Aparna tells us she enjoys cycling, playing badminton and holds a P1 certificate in Krav Maga (Martial Arts, Israel). She likes to travel, meet people and share experiences. She worked as a TV Producer in India before moving to the UK last year, and is still adapting to life in London. She comes to HHYCC with her son. I m sure Martin will send us a resume for next week s newsletter... They are both putting together ideas for how to recruit and organise all you wonderful people who have bags of talent that we can put to good use within the club and around the trails. In the meantime can let us know you can help by ing and catching them on Saturdays. We re busy pulling up a list of things to do in eager anticipation.

HHYCC on Twitter One of the tools we ll use to help with the volunteers is our Twitter account. We ve had it for a while but not used it much.

.. Mitts are on their way We ve noticed that many of our younger members need some cycle mitts, so we ve ordered a job lot and they will be with us soon.

Autumn Family trip away to Holmbury YHA There are still places for our trip to Holmbury St Mary YHA for the night of Saturday 9 th November.

As usual, we ll have rides for all abilities and all are welcome. There are 40 places and we need to confirm numbers fairly soon.

3 HHYCC on Twitter One of the tools we ll use to help with the volunteers is our Twitter account. We ve had it for a while but not used it much. That ll start to change soon with Aparna and Martin. You can follow us from the website Twitter link we ve just put up... or click this... Mitts are on their way We ve noticed that many of our younger members need some cycle mitts, so we ve ordered a job lot and they will be with us soon. We ll be selling them on Saturdays so no excuse you need then for comfort and safety (to your palms). Autumn Family trip away to Holmbury YHA There are still places for our trip to Holmbury St Mary YHA for the night of Saturday 9 th November. Holmbury St Mary is near Dorking and on the edge of the North Downs within easy reach of some excellent Mountain biking and country rides. As usual, we ll have rides for all abilities and all are welcome. There are 40 places and we need to confirm numbers fairly soon. The cost is likely to be around 35 per person, which includes Saturday evening meal, overnight stay, Sunday breakfast and Sunday packed lunch. Please come along and join us. Geoff and complete the form at the end of this newsletter. I ll need a deposit of 15 per person

4 Two Autumn Gorricks... The Gorricks are great MTB races near Bracknell. Fantastic attendance, great courses, races for all. They are on SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER - At Tunnel Hill, Pirbright, Surrey SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER - At Crowthorne Wood, Crowthorne, Berkshire Racing starts at 9.00am and, as these races are not a Series, why not push yourself and give the next category up a go? There are Beginner and Fun categories for those new to racing, and children can race from age 8 upwards. As usual you can expect a superb course, full facilities and a warm welcome. For added interest the Tunnel Hill Trolls will be holding a handicap sprint race in the afternoon at Classic 1, and Berks on Bikes will be holding theirs at Classic 2 - always fun to watch. Pre-entry is already open and you can pre-enter online until the evening of the Tuesday before each event. Full details are on the Gorrick web site

looking into tyres. Last Saturday the trails were slippery and watching you slide around got me thinking about what rubber to wrap around my wheels to keep me on track this winter.

5 In the Zone By Michael Corden In the Zone Know your Rubber Do you know a clincher from a tubeless? What does TPI refer to? And when would a tyre burp? In this issue of In the Zone I was going to talk about the benefits of learning to ride your MTB with flat pedals but hold that thought, because this week I ve spent an inordinate amount of time looking into tyres. Last Saturday the trails were slippery and watching you slide around got me thinking about what rubber to wrap around my wheels to keep me on track this winter. Does the following make sense to you? It s a description of a tyre. Maxxis High Roller DH Tyre Hard pack and medium terrain downhill tyre for front or rear; ramped knob design lowers rolling resistance and adds knob stability under hard braking. Grooved centre provides straight-line control and excellent cornering hold. 2-ply casings with Butyl inserts in the sidewalls for flat resistance and stability at speed. Maxxis Tyre Compounds: Maxxis produce multiple compounds for various types of terrain and racing development. For instance, sometimes the professional team and sponsored riders need tyres that will perform well in all conditions; other times they need a tyre that will handle wet rocks and roots, or a tyre that will have a slower rebound. Super Tacky- compound (42a) to address the wet, muddy courses Slow Reezay- compound (40a) which allows the tyre to rebound much slower than a conventional tyre, offering maximum grip and is the softest compound available. Double Ply Casing: Two 60 tpi casings vulcanized with butyl rubber reinforced sidewalls construct Maxxis downhill casings, which are world renowned for performance and reliability. Our DH casings provide more stability at high speeds and also allows for lower air pressure without the risk of pinch flatting. You re back with me now, read on A bike tyre is made up of three main components: Bead- The bead holds the tyre onto the rim and this represents the support structure of the tyre. Most MTB tyres come with a Steel or Kevlar bead. Kevlar is lighter and makes the tyre foldable Fabric- Tyres are generally made with a base carcass of nylon or other polymer thread layers for the shape, with rubber-based sidewalls and tread. Kevlar is now commonly used as a puncture resistant layer. Rubber- Mountain bike tyres use a variety of compounds that provide unique qualities in terms of grip, shock absorption and durability.

6 Beads The tyre s bead is the lipped edge of the tyre that sits inside your rims. It keeps the tyre on. The main decision you have to make here is whether to choose a steel (wire) bead, Kevlar or tubeless. A Kevlar, or folding, bead is the lightest and weakest. Steel is the tough, downhill option, and tubeless tyres are somewhere in between. Tubeless are stronger than Kevlar beads holding their position well against the rim keeping the air sealed in. More on tubeless later Casings and Sidewalls The tyre s casing or carcass is the fabric underneath the exterior rubber that acts as the skeleton of the tyre. Casings with high thread counts per inch (TPI) have a supple feel and smooth ride quality. A high TPI MTB tyre will have a rating of 120TPI. While an especially supple casing is something that everyone wants, high TPI tyre casings become fragile as a result. This limits high TPI tyres for use primarily on smooth hard packed trails. 60TPI is the most common and represents a medium TPI. Tyres made with 60TPI casings are more durable, but guess what, are heavier and also lack the suppleness of 120TPI tyres. As with just about everything associated with cycling, your options on casing and sidewalls are about trading off weight for strength. Dual ply sidewalls, favoured by DH riders, are stronger and hold their shape when smashed against a rock; single ply sidewalls, favoured by XC riders are lighter but can lose shape when the going gets gnarly. Most general use tyres are constructed to be somewhere between the two. Compounds Once you know what size and strength tyre is right for you, you need to work out which rubber compound you want, that is, how soft and sticky do you want your tyres to be, because different rubber compounds can dramatically change the way an MTB tyre handles. These compounds are normally expressed using a shore hardness number that corresponds to the tyre s durometer. Bear with me Soft compound tyres generally have a durometer between 42A and 55A. A rating of 60A is considered an all-around to slightly-hard compound. 62A to 70A are considered hard compounds. Soft compounds offer descending performance over climbing efficiency; they are grippy through corners. The qualities that make a soft compound grip the trail well also cause poor rolling resistance. The opposite is true of harder compounds. Hard compounds have the additional benefit of a longer tread life Single compound tyres can be great if you are at one end or another of the riding spectrum (DH, or XC racing). However, multi-compounds aim to make the best of both worlds and are the best option for trail riders. Most compounds in this category are dual compounds. Dual compound tyres utilise a strip of tread down the centre made with a harder compound to improve rolling resistance and tread life. For the side knobs, these same tyres will use a soft compound to provide improved cornering grip. Size/Width You know your wheel size - 26, 29 or 650b - now you need to decide on the width of your tyre. Widths can range from as little as 1.5 inches to as much as 2.6inches. Essentially, narrow tyres roll faster (lower resistance) but aren t good in loose conditions (imagine riding a road bike on trails). Wider tyres perform well in loose conditions and can absorb big hits but they roll slower.

7 In general, XC tyres will be narrower while more aggressive Trail and DH tyres will be wider. Bear in mind that some bike frames may have clearance issues with wide tyres; check with your bike s manufacturer to find the maximum tyre size you can fit There s a whole other discussion to be had about using different widths/tread patterns/compounds on front and rear; I ll get back to you on that Tread Design As you look down at your tyre, the basic makeup of the tread is (starting from the centre) a centre/crown knob set; then a transition knob set to the right and left of centre, and finally the shoulder/edge knob set beside the transition knobs. Centre knobs are the workhorses on any MTB tyre while the side knobs assist in cornering. Transition knobs affect handling as you move from cornering to straight-line riding. Ramped knobs decrease rolling resistance, but still leave a strong trailing edge for braking. You know that long, pointy knobs will grip better than short, smooth knobs so the way a tyre looks is important in making your selection. Also be sure to take note of knob spacing which can affect grip and mud shedding properties. Tyres are typically grouped into three groups based on the tread pattern: Tightly spaced knobs: offer low rolling resistance, used on dry hard-packed trails. Wider spaced knobs: offer more mud shedding qualities and grip better on loose trails; also good for climbing and aggressive DH. All-rounders: you guessed it these tyres attempt to blend low rolling resistance with good gripping properties. Pressure Getting to know the correct tyre pressure for you, your tyres and the different types of terrain you encounter is crucial. You could have fitted a pair of the best tyres money can buy but if they re not at the right pressure for you, you might as well wrap liquorice laces around your rims. Insufficient pressure can create excessive rolling resistance and increase the risk of sudden tyre deflation and damage to the rim. Too much pressure can decrease grip. Tyre pressure is influenced by the riding conditions and your riding style. So, there is no tyre pressure standard. Manufacturers recommend a range of pressure that the tyre will operate within, but ultimately it s something you need to experiment with when training. Clincher v Tubeless Clincher: Most bicycle tyres are clincher for use with clincher rims. These tyres have a steel or Kevlar bead that interlocks within the rim. A separate airtight inner tube enclosed by the rim supports the tyre carcass and maintains the bead lock. An advantage of this system is that the inner tube can be easily accessed in the case of a leak/puncture to be patched or replaced. Disadvantages? Clinchers tend to be more prone to snake bite punctures, or pinch flats, when run at low pressure. This happens when the tyre hits the rim and pinches two holes in the tube. Tubeless: A tubeless tyre system requires a compatible tyre, an airtight rim - capable of being sealed at the valve stem, spoke holes (if they go all the way through the rim) and the tire bead seat. The main benefit of tubeless tires is the ability to use low air pressure for better traction without getting pinch flats because there is no tube to pinch between the rim and an obstacle. However, if the tyre

8 pressure is too low, the tyre could burp! This term is used to describe when the tyre momentarily rolls off the rim, allowing air to escape. Disadvantages? Cost. At the moment, tubeless systems are more expensive to purchase than traditional clincher systems. It is possible to convert a clincher system to tubeless. Also, tubeless tyres can be a challenge to repair on the trail they can be run at low pressure, but it takes as much as 60psi to seat them properly on a tubeless-compatible rim. It's not fun getting that much pressure out of a mini-pump! The sealant is messy too. Over 12s development by Charlie Below are the details from Alan Strange for the Dulwich World Champs the Saturday- entry is open to any DP/HHYCC Youth or Junior rider who has been riding regularly with the DP Youth group on a Saturday morning and are at least 15 years old. Note you need to enter in advance on Rider HQ- Here s the link to the RiderHQ registration: /dp-worlds-2013 On the forum you ll find the all the info here: >forum>road racing>dp Worlds 2013 (it s the second top thread). DULWICH PARAGON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013 Date: Saturday 14th September Location: Cyclopark, The Tollgate, Wrotham Road, DA11 7NP Start Time: 14:30 (1 hour + 5 laps). Sign-in: 13:15 13:45 Novice Race Start Time: Sign in 13:00-13:15 Details: The race is open to all Dulwich Paragon first claim club members only (senior men, women, juniors and youth). As previous years this will be a handicap race with lower category riders (and no cats) being given a head start over higher cat riders. Riders will have to work together to stay away from the chasing groups behind (or catch up with those in front). New for this year, we shall also have a novice race. This is open to all Dulwich Paragon members who have never entered a race before. The race will be 40 minutes (+3 laps). The first few laps will be neutralised and will be an opportunity to learn a few tips from experienced racers. The race will start at 13:20. Categories Men's Champion Women's Champion 1st Junior/Youth 1st Vet 1st Super-Vet (over 50) 1st 4th Cat/Non-Cat There will also be primes and other podium prizes. Entry Novice Race 1st, 2nd and 3rd Pre-entry is via RiderHQ. dp-worlds You'll be prompted for

9 which race you're entering along with your race category etc. Race fees will be payable on the day. Seniors 5 & Junior/Youth 1. (If you have only have Bronze British Cycling membership a day licence of 5 is also required) Post Race Prize-giving After the race we will make our way to the Dulwich Woodhouse for food and drink. Here we will award the prizes. Getting There and Back There will be a leisurely paced club ride organised to Cyclopark (43km) and back to the Woodhouse post-race. The ride will depart at 10am from Herne Hill Velodrome and will aim to get to Cyclopark for 12pm and some lunch. All welcome (whether you re racing or spectating). More info to follow elsewhere. What to Wear Please can everyone wear Dulwich Paragon kit for the ride out and back and for the event photo shot. However, can all those racing (Novice or Main race) also bring a Non-Dulwich Paragon jersey to wear during the race - the more garish the better, Pro-Tour encouraged, black Rapha not. Regards Alan That's it for this week

10 Family Trip to Holmbury YHA, 9th November 2013 We are pleased to announce a November weekend away riding the North Downs And we d love you to join us! Where are we going? We have booked Holmbury Youth Hostel, Dorking for the night of Saturday 9th November for 40+ people. We don t have sole use of the Hostel, but that s part of the fun of hostelling! What will we do? Our rides are being planned, and there will be a choice of easy, medium and hard rides on both the Saturday and the Sunday. What will it cost? We expect it ll cost around 35 per person for accommodation and food for Sat pm, Sun Breakfast and packed lunch. We hope that sounds enticing, so in order to book your place: 1. Send a mail to geoffnutter@yahoo.com with your names. 2. I ll send you my BACS details and you can send a deposit of 15 per person to it. 3. Complete the form at the end of this newsletter and send it to Geoff Nutter, 6 Penderry Rise, Catford, London, SE6 1HA We encourage all to come and join in including Mums and Dads and siblings, but preference will be to active members. Club members can come along without their parents or carers as long as they sign their consent. We need to confirm places by end November, soon so let us have your reservations soon! HHYCC Holmbury YHA trip, Saturday 9th November 2013 Yes, please book us onto this trip... Name Age Name Age Consent and Primary contact details I consent for those named above to come on this HHYCC weekend away including overnight stay. I understand that HHYCC do not have sole use of the accommodation Parents name Signature Address Post code Mobile /Tel address Please use block capitals! Ethnicity (optional but helpful in funding applications) White Mixed Asian Black Chinese Other (please state)

PHOTO: SCOTT SPORTS 2014 PRODUCT UPDATE

PHOTO: SCOTT SPORTS 2014 PRODUCT UPDATE ROAD CLINCHER RELIX MAMUSHI PART # SIZE ETRTO TPI BEAD WEIGHT COMPOUND MAX PSI COLOR TECH TB86238100 700x23C 23-622 170 Foldable 205 g Dual 145 Black ONE70/SilkShield