Bermagui 3hr and new FRM Wheels

Sweet Bermi single track

FRM Urano XC Team Wheels

After what seems like has been a long block of racing and training on the road bike, I made the trip down to the NSW Sapphire Coast on the weekend for a hit-out on the mountain bike in the Bermagui Dirtsurfers twilight 3 hour race. I was very keen to test the legs and get an idea of my form coming off the Christmas break as I prepare for the National Championships, and the 3 hr format provided a great opportunity to achieve this, as well as a good excuse to get down to the coast for a relaxing weekend away with my brother, James.

Having arrived at the track a little early, I had a peek at the course to find that the local “dirt surfers” had been going nuts with the leaf blower, and the course was groomed like a champion race horse. It really indicates the level of pride they have in there track that they keep it looking so nice. Probably not so obvious was the amount of work that they needed to do after the recent storms to clear all the fallen trees and make the track ridable again, from all reports a solid achievement to get it done before the race. Having a track devoid of leaves also had the advantage that there was no need for much in the way of bunting and arrows. It is pretty funny being used to racing on fully bunted and signed World Cup course, to come to a local race with very minimal arrows and virtually no bunting. It definitely gives the race a natural and organic feel.

The start of the race was pretty fast with Shane Spicer not scared to drive it on the front for the first firetrail. When we turned into the first corner, Trekky (Brendan Johnson) came through to the front and then I thought I’d chop him on the inside to snake him into the single track. However, having had to brake too late cost me some speed and he snuck back in front of me, good fun.…rubbin’ is racing! My coach had instructed me to ride the race like an interval session so I pushed 100% for the first 3 laps, not your typical strategy for a 3hr. After one lap, Trekky let me go, probably laughing at the idea that I thought I could ride that pace for 3 hours. From then I managed to stay in front of him despite my erratic lap times and his consistently solid splits. At the end I narrowly got though before the cut off to complete an 11^th lap, while Trekky and Shane just missed out on the extra loop and finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. My brother James completed 7 laps and came 27^th – it was nice, I got to see him 4 times during the race!

The race was also a great opportunity to test out my new set of FRM Urano XC Team wheels that I received during the week. These are some seriously cool looking hoops; they are anodised red, and feature FRM’s Urano hubs, XMD 333 eyeleted rims, laced with Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes. The weight comes in at 1330g with rim tape and valve stem, which is exactly the claimed weight – That would have to be a first for the bicycle industry?! The wheelset’s light weight make them feel very fast, while the asymmetric rim helps to keep them stiff be accommodating a bigger spoke angle on the drive side. In fact they feel a bit stiffer than the previous incarnation, I’d say most likely due to changes in the hub design which now has a higher flange and a bigger axle, which is not bad for the same weight. Another great feature of these wheels is the system for mounting the rotors; it is a bit like centre-lock in that all you need is a cassette tool to screw of one nut, but the standard ISO rotors fit on there. . It is clean, simple and light design that makes taking rotors on and off a breeze, perfect for taking your bike on a plane. Setting them up tubeless was also pretty easy with the FRM sealant and the “tubeless-ready” rim locking the bead of Maxxis Exception tyres without any dramas. Overall I am super happy with how they rode in the race. I pushed hard on a few laps and they felt solid underneath me the whole time, even when I got fatigued later in the race and started bounce off a few rocks. With Exception series Maxxis tyres, the weight of these things is pretty impressive. That and having good quality bearings make them feel very fast, just what you want for race day.

I’m off to Mt Buller this weekend for the 3^rd round of the Jayco National Mountain Bike Series. It should be a cracker of a race with more riders starting to hit form and the first UCI points for the year up for grabs.