About bikes, cycling and cycle to work - Tredz Blog

Bank holiday ‘Street Party’

Tredz Swansea are having a spring street party this Saturday. We’ve got the MAD stunt team holding display shows throughout the day and Wales’ Grand Slam winning rugby captain, Ryan Jones, will be here too.

The mooted game of rugby on bikes has been vetoed (I'm telling you it's got potential), but this is still an awesome combination, right?

What's more we've got loads of bike clearouts, like this ‘07 Commencal Meta 4 Numero 1, reduced from £2199 to £1467. Other killer offers for the day only include:

£75 off the’08 Specialized Hardrock Sport bike. £299.99 down to £225

20% off all clothing

20% off Hollywood 3 bike car rack. £69.99 reduced to £55.99

£5 off all childseats

10% off all helmets

25% off pedals when bought with shoes

There's going to be plenty of giveaways throughout the day too.

So if you’re coming down to ride Afan or Cwmcarn this Saturday, why not stay on the M4 to junction 44 and come join us (directions are here).

Spring cycling guide

Spring is in the air. the perfect time of the year to get back into/start cycling since you get some great weather (some!), with less traffic on the road than the summer.

Our spring cycling guide has some great tips for mountain bikers, roadies and commuters to ensure they get the most out of riding.

Which is all well and good, but the best reason for checking out the page is to see more pictures of the Adonis to your left.

Commençal Meta 5.5 XT at next test day

The good people at Commençal have given in to some heavy duty pestering and let us have two of their Meta 5.5's at our next test day. They will only be available for the next test day in Cwm Carn on the 16th March. You want to test the Commençal Meta 5.5 XT? The bike that some people consider to be one of the best 5 inch travel full suspension trail bikes around?

Better phone us quickly on 01792 702555 before our two Metas get booked out for the duration.

If you can't make Cwm Carn on the 16th March, you'll miss the Commençals, but as our test bike day website attests, there's plenty more bikes and plenty more test dates still to come.

Another sunny day in Afan

Our first test bike day of the year in Afan was on Sunday. A very good turnout, brilliant weather and a fine selection of bikes all contributed towards a great day. Thanks to everyone that showed their face, thanks for bringing back the bikes in one piece and we'll see you next time in Cwm Carn on the 16th of March. For more photos check out our Flickr collection of the day.

Tredz in Afan

The sun last week was too much for us. Our lovely boss (a kind and intelligent man) let us take up some of our test bikes for some staff training.
A great day at the office all round. Learnt a lot about the bikes and how much concern to expect from our colleagues when we come off:

 

You can find more pictures of us riding in Afan at our Flickr page.

El Gallo components

The ‘El Gallo' range (that’s ‘The Rooster’ to you and I). All clean colours, lines and barbed graphics - they look good, but you can see that for yourselves. What you can’t tell so easily is how they perform. Since we’ve been able to get a hold of them we’ve been putting them through the most rigorous testing we could. We call it the Julian Poffley test. Jules is an elite downhiller, one of our sponsored riders and a local legend. He rides hard.

He hasn’t broken it.

The only way to you can get your hands on this swanky, stand out range of bike components at the moment is through Tredz.

New test bike venue!

A new year, a new venue for our test bike days. Not that we’re forgetting about Afan, who could? But it’s just we couldn’t really afford to overlook Cwm Carn either. So close to our Cardiff store, so accessible from the M4 and such a stonking good trail, we just had to have some dates up there.

So now we have two world class locations where you, you lucky people, can come and test one of our top of the range full suspension bikes. Gratis. That’s right, just bring some proof that you won’t try and go too far off piste with our Scott Gambler and we’ll let you take it for a spin for free. Don’t like the sound of the Scott Gambler? What's the matter with you?! Well how about the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Pro or the Giant Trance 2? There’s plenty more bikes to choose from and a whole range of dates to pick from too, check out our test bikes website for this and more information.

Our first date is in Afan on the 17th of February. Give us a phone on 01792 702555 and we’ll make sure that your dream bike is available on the day.   

Suits on bikes

What do Google, Yahoo and Ikea have in common, apart from all being incredibly successful companies?
Bicycles!

We’ve already written about how companies like these (companies that want a healthy workforce, a happy workforce and a great public image that is), are beginning to sign up to cycling to work en mass.

Judging from the amount of phone calls we receive the two wheeled corporate revolution is just beginning and It's not only companies that are seeking the benifits of cycling; we've supplied custom built bikes to the army, the Police and Ambulance services too. For further info check out our corporate page or give us a call on 01792 560651.
Guaranteed the person on the end of the phone will be able chew your ear off about the benefits of cycling to work.

Tredz big night in

This Thursday (31st Jan), come and see what we get up to in one of our stores after hours at Tredz big night in.

We’ve got:

    * Insight into pro-riding with National Champion Nick Craig
    * Nutritional advice from international SIS guru
    * The low-down on the Trans Wales XC event from the organiser
    * Qualified masseur on hand for training fatigue advice and help
    * Village Gym offers
    * And you can meet Olympic GOLD medallist and world-champion Jody Cundy.

For anyone seriously interested in looking at improving their cycling performance, or simply at a loose end on Thursday (or not, ditch the date this’ll be more interesting), come along to our Swansea store and check it out. Doors re-open at 6:30 PM when our teaboy/general manager will be on hand to dish out the hot drinks.

Tredz vacancies

Love bikes? Come and work for us! We've got full and part time vacancies in our Swansea and Cardiff stores. Drop your CV off in store or e-mail it to us: jobs@tredz.co.uk

Best of Tredz 2007

It’s been a busy year for Tredz; continuing to expand ("world domination" our boss cackles), sponsored events and getting out of the office on our bikes just enough to remember why we love this sport. We’ve been all over the country, ridden down mountains, over ramps and into walls. It’s been a blast and we’re just glad that enough of you out there want to do the same thing.

Anyways, here’s the obligatory misty eyed look back at 2007:

Ride of the year:
I haven't had a chance to go and see White's after the extension, 'Energy', was built. Which is a bloody shame as everyone that has goes a little bit dreamy when they talk about it.

Bike of the year:
We're only allowing Tredz employees bikes in on this one - we'll let the rest of the world argue over whether the Pitch is a better bike than the 08 Stumpy (it is). Which means there's only really one competitor here; Suffice to say none of the rest of us spent over 2 grand on a bike this year, so by default, Tredz bike of the year is Fiddy's Commencal Furious 08. Now stop stroking the damn thing and ride it!

Rider of the year:
Hmm, toughie. There’s a lot to choose from here, what with all of the Tredz riders doing so well at their various disciplines. Julian Poffley, Jody Cundy and Phil Marland ended the year with a healthy spread of winners medals, whilst the peoples champion, Gus, lost a load of weight during his cycling weight loss programme. However without letting all our success go to our head, the undisputed champ of 2007 must be…
Councillor Gwyn Roberts, Mayor of Penarth.
He sedately conquered the Tredz Downtown Race, retaining his dignity and deservedly getting the days biggest cheer.

Happy New Year

Christmas is over! Halleluiah!

Only kidding, we’re not grinches here at Tredz (the resemblance is no more than skin deep), but it’s good to see the back of the annual battle to buy presents and look grateful for stuff that’s already gathering dust.
Our New Year Sale is for YOU. When you can kick back, look through our bargains and pick something at a knock down price that’ll actually be used in 2008.
Here’s hoping that all our customers, readers and colleagues have a great new year.

Tredz Trumps

I think it was the recent Commencal catalog, that rated it's bikes Top Trump stylee, that inspired us to come up with our own rip off. Most of us (most) cycle to work every day on a variety of bikes, with a quite spectacular degree of suitability. Some of us have absolute harem’s of bikes with one to suit every occasion, some of us just have a couple. Our boss just waits for Specialized to send him a test model of their latest top spec in his size for his run-around.
It's the range of bikes and riders we've got at our disposal that we wanted to show off, so what better way than giving anyone who's game ratings where it matters: style, suitability... So starting tomorrow, Tredz Trumps!

Pre-Christmas picks

Our Christmas gift ideas page for cyclists is up and awaiting your perusal. Lots of stuff to keep the cyclist in your life, well, the cyclist in your life. Nothing like a well chosen bike related xmas pressie to keep us MTBers, Roadies and BMXers happy.

We’ve put up with years of cruddy, non-bike presents ourselves (I got a pillow case once! A pillow case!), so if you’re the cyclist, point your loved ones in the general direction of our presents page and let them choose a Christmas gift to suit their budget. They’ve all been hand picked by a group of cyclists sick of years of lame presents.

We won’t let you down; even the socks we’ve picked are pretty special!

Tredz Golden Ticket Winner

Anyone who’s seen Tredz at any of our sponsored events, general days out or just come within poking distance of us recently will know about our Golden Ticket competition. The chance to win £200 worth of Tredz vouchers to spend in our shops was always going to result in a healthy response and we had loads of entries, even after we’d removed all of the pseudo-names and family members of Tredz employees from the bag.
We recently drew the winner in our Cardiff store – with eagle eyed Gus looking on to ensure fair play, and can announce that the winner is… Andrew Dutch! Well done Andrew that’s £200 pounds worth of vouchers on their way to you.

Tredz winter cycling gear

Whilst writing a guide to help keep you in the saddle this winter, someone suggested that we should give a visual aid to help show what we we’re trying to achieve. “That’s a great idea” I agreed, little realising that it would end up with me playing the role of 'a visual aid', wearing a selection of ever tighter fitting lycra for the camera.
As an avowed baggy shorts man, who honestly never thought he’d ever go anywhere near a pair of bib tights, this was taking one for the team.
Following several supermodel class hissy fits (“I refuse to stand next to this bike!”) and some bad weather we had to stop halfway through. Which is a shame, as my undoubted cycling gear model ability is obvious for all to see.
Our work didn't get held up by the 'talent' though, check out our invaluable guide to cycling in winter, some incredible sale bikes and our pick of gifts for the cyclist in your life.

Tredz employee breaks

The man you can see riding a downhill bike on your left is Gavin, a brand new Tredz employee. Brand new and already broken.

A little accident after a sketchy landing during a dirt jump session on some local trails led to Gavin ploughing his head into the ground. One snapped collarbone later and below we have the before and after x-ray pic’s showing his break and where they put the nuts and bolts to fix him together.

He's on the mend now though and recovering well. We know this because he's been spotted pulling one-handed wheelies on his bike.

Sleepless in the Saddle - after a nap

From 'our own correspondent' James, written as soon as he caught up on his sleep following the event.

This year's Sleepless in the Saddle was held at the Catton Hall Estate near Tamworth. It's a 24hr off-road relay race over a 7.5 mile course, starting at 2pm on Saturday afternoon and running right through the night until 2pm on the Sunday.

Being a roadie I wouldn't look at an event like this but I was invited by some good mates to join their mixed team (4 men & 1 lady) called Team Sludge. These guys had done Mountain Mayhem earlier in the year and were looking to improve on their placing.

After a quick check of the course with my team mates we managed to pick up 4 punctures!! The trees and hedges had been freshly cut leaving carpet of thorns hungry for tyre rubber. So another quick team trip to the Kenda stall for a supply of inner tubes and we were ready to race.

At 2pm the first riders set off on a Le Mans style start where they were made to run 1/2 mile before collecting their bikes. All exciting stuff. With the race now underway it was time to check over my Giant XTC 3.5 and get ready to race.

Xterra MTB enduro reminder

This weekend sees the Xterra UK 50k and 100k mountain bike enduro in Afan Forest Park. If you haven't enrolled, it's still possible to do so on the day. See the Xterra UK website for details.

Orca offer
By the way, need any Tri kit? All Orca now half price online! 

Downhill championships Moelfre

Last weekend, Tredz rider Julian Poffley came third in the Masters at the NPS Downhill at the popular Moelfre track near Oswestry. The Moelfre track is both a great spectator track on open hillside with no trees, and a super fast rolling track with many high speed corners, off camber sections and fast straights.

A great line-up of top downhill mountain bikers made it a very competitive event, in the Masters six riders came within six seconds of the winner David Tallontine who finished with 2:38mins, Julian coming in just 4 seconds later at 2:42mins in third place after Aidan Bishop 2:40mins, out of 33 riders.

It rained the night before the race but the sun and the strong winds soon dried the track out again. The changing conditions didn’t make the choice of tyres easy. Julian decided to stay with his combination of Maxxis Minion front and High Roller at the back on his Cove to tackle the mud and semi-dry conditions. Some riders went for spikes which were great at the start but drifty later on in what was the first dry race this summer.

Racing was super fast on a track which varied from fire road to solid and cut up singletrack with a steep and grippy finish: a fast jump into grass at speeds of 40mph plus. Lots of shots of the downhill champs here.

We wish Julian success in the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships in Pra Loup, France, next weekend.

Downhill championships Rheola

It's the National DH Champs at Rheola (Glynneath) this weekend, and Tredz team rider Julian Poffley will be gunning for another podium place, even though the weather is looking grim.

We have had Jules's Cove Shocker in the workshop for a little pre-race tune up, and due to the technical nature of the Rheola course its running a firm but slow shock and fork setup. Jules will be running with dx spd's on this track and as for tyre choice, we have put together a little guideline program for all you new to the fold dh riders:

• dry conditions (yea right!) Jules will run a pair Maxxis high rollers, 2.5 super tacky compound

• wet conditions a pair of Maxxis Swampthings 2.5 super tacky compound

• damp/mid conditions: high roller front and a high roller rear, run at about 30 psi.

Hope these tips are useful, and if you get to the race, look out for the Tredz van and cheer our guy!

Tredz bike shop in Cardiff

Tredz are an established cycle retailer dating back to 1989. We opened our latest shop in Penarth, Cardiff (south Wales) in May 2007. Most of Tredz online is available in the Cardiff store.

That said, our online bike shop has over 6,000 products featured. Displaying that lot would make for a pretty cramped store so we’ve picked key lines and tackled the main areas of modern cycling: mountain bikes (hardtail and full suspension), jump bikes, road bikes, BMX, commuting and hybrid bikes.

There’s also a healthy range of bikes for women and for the junior cyclist. We’re catering for everything to do with cycling in 4,500 square feet – for instance our clothing range is on its own mezzanine floor.

However, if you can’t find it in store but it's listed on tredz.co.uk you have two options:

1. order the item online and have it delivered in store to collect; 

or

2. order the item online and have it delivered to your home and bring it in for us to fit the pedals and turn the handlebars which is all you need to do on receipt (see the video of how to do this).

The shop has first-class workshop facilities, download the bicycle workshop pricelist 2008 PDF here.

Where are we?

Tredz, Penarth Road Retail Park, Cardiff CF11 8EF T: 02920 702229 E: Cardiff@tredz.co.uk

When are we open?
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00
Saturday 9:00 – 18:00
Sunday 10:30 – 16:30

How do I get there?

1. Take junction 33 off the M4 (Cardiff West services) and join the A4232 dual carriageway towards Cardiff Bay for 6 miles;
2. Take the second available exit from A4232, sign posted Leckwith (also Ninian Park & athletic stadium);
3. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit for Hatfield Road (signed the docks) and follow to lights at the end;
4. At traffic lights turn right onto Penarth Road (A4160);
5. Continue on Penarth Road for 1 mile to a mini roundabout;
6. We are on your right, opposite the Porsche garage.

Parking is available at the front and also behind the store.

Fancy knowing more about us? Read more on our imaginatively named ‘About Us’ page.

Here's a 'virtual impression' of some of our shop - but as I'm not the world's best photographer it looks far better in reality!

Cycling gold: Jody's Wales Grand Prix & World Cup updates

The Disability Grand Prix of Wales

The Wales Grand Prix is in its 2nd year and was originally setup as a warm up event for the World Cup. The Australian and Irish team showed up as well as the full GB squad and a few extra entries.

I was originally down to do the flying 200, kilo, pursuit and the scratch race, but after talks with my coach, Barney Storey, we decided to pull out of the pursuit and scratch race in order to keep my legs as fresh as possible for the world cup just 2days away. The final plan was to do a maximum effort in the flying 200 and a 500m max in the kilo and cruise to the finish.

The flying 200 went well considering the lack of warm up, not my fault, the organisers told us we were running in numerical order which would put me on number 28 however just as I was about to start my warm up proper, the organisers decided to reverse the order which put me off 3rd without a warm-up! I did my effort and didn’t feel particularly great but the time was 11.675 which is actually a pb by 1/1000th of a second, and had it been official would of also been a WR by the same amount.

On to the kilo, my target was to do my first 500 faster than the schedule I set when I broke the world record which meant my target was 36.446. Without a starting gate the start wasn’t as good as usually but quickly got up to speed and settled into my aero position. The conditions didn’t feel favourable at top speed, you could almost feel the drag! However my 500 was covered ¾s of a second quicker than my target. I then eased off and tried to maintain as much speed with as little effort as possible. Final time 1.11.253 only a second outside my best and that was without consciously trying for the last 500, looks good for world cup!

Paralympic World Cup gold medals

First up at the World Cup was the team sprint and it was also the 1st race, I was off 3rd again with Rik Waddon and Darren Kenny ahead of me. Have to say my legs didn’t feel that great but all the changeovers were smooth and that was what was important as we’ve been disqualified for those on more than one occasion. The time was 52.096 not the fastest we’d ever been, however it was the fastest we’d been in an official IPC competition and subsequently it was faster than the old WR. Not a bad start and it certainly got the crowd noisy!

Next up was the kilo, a quick change into my world champion skinsuit and back on track. Hopefully the team sprint hadn’t taken too much out of me. Target time to beat was 1.10.271 by Jiri Bouska, only a fraction slower than my WR. My first lap was up on schedule and going through 500 I was faster than I’d been in Newport 2 days prior, now it was all about holding it together on the last 2 laps, which although were seriously painful I think I managed that. I crossed the line to a massive cheer from the crowd and Hugh Porter going mad on the PA, as I’d smashed my WR from 1.10.255 to 1.09.028. Which I later found out is the fastest kilo by any paralympian other than the tandems.

No time for much celebration as the team sprint wasn’t long. We were up as fastest qualifiers, against the Spanish team, and coming into my changeover we were as quick if not quicker than our qualifying run, however as Darren peeled off I could see we’d caught the Spanish team, which meant when I was flat out they were about to change. So I had to go the long way round almost up to the fence to overtake safely. When I crossed the line it was 52.740, so outside the WR but considering we’d caught our rivals in 44seconds meant it was my 2nd gold of the day!

To top the weekend off I was announced as the Nationwide Achievement Award male Track Cyclist at the awards ceremony after the event. 

New Cardiff bike shop open

Well we finally opened our new  bike shop in Cardiff on Penarth Road. After ridiculous hours for a few of the team (I do mean obscene), a lot of stress and a handful of arguments, we opened on Friday 25th May. That’s right on schedule, surely a first for us!

Unbelievably, we saw several dozen customers on day one. About 80% of them went out of their way to say how great the shop looked and wished us well (honestly). I’ve never known feedback like it – amazing, thank you all. Meet the lovely Becky, our first bike-buying customer. She came in at 5pm to buy a mountain bike to take to Scotland for the weekend and left with an equally lovely Scott Scale 50.

Our sign for the cycle shop was inspired by this blog’s header, but it’s about to be all consuming and eat its originator (well soon, when I get a few hours to update the format of this blog).

A big shout for Daryl at Colourbox. When I haven’t got eight hours to play with a concept in Photoshop I outsource my ideas to Daryl and he knocks them up in about 30 minutes. He deserves a medal for putting up with my obsessive-compulsive disorder and allowing me to make about 57 reworks until the perfectionist in me finally shut up. Cheers mate, the artwork is excellent.

We’re open 7 days a week and would love to see you:
Tredz, Penarth Road Retail Park
(opp. Porsche garage)
Cardiff, CF11 8EF
Tel - 02920 702229, Fax - 02920 702009
Email - cardiff@tredz.co.uk

Jody Cundy preparing for the World Cup

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so thought I’d bring you up to date on a few things.

Since my last post I’ve signed with a new team, actually my 1st cycling team: VC St. Raphael.  I’ve also competed in my first set of races outside of paralympic events. I rode the 1st round of the Llandow crits, in which I was 7th in the 4th Cat race, which wasn’t bad for my 1st race. It taught me a few lessons, like not to sit on the front too much as it fatigues you out more than you think and secondly, don’t get boxed in when the strongest rider decides to make his break with 2 laps to go!

And then just a few weeks ago I rode the first round of the Sprinters Track League at Newport, which didn’t go too bad, although I was quite cautious about getting stuck in as the Paralympic World Cup is coming up soon and I want to be fully fit and ready for it.

Speaking of which, preparations are going very well. I managed to top my personal best in my flying 100m efforts both in training and also fully kitted. In Manchester last week I finally managed to crack 20 seconds for my opening lap with a 19.72, so things are going well.

Test bike days kick off

As well as supporting cycling events (more on that in later posts), Tredz will be holding test bike days for our fifth year in a row. Yesterday saw the first of 2007 where we introduced Kona and Giant full suspension bikes to the public in their natural environment - the forest.
24 mountain bikers pre-booked their tests on Gaint's Trance, Anthem and Reign, along with Kona's Kikapu, Dawg and Coiler. These were mostly riders who'd never really experienced full suspension and were "blown away" with how much faster they could take the trails. Another 30-odd tests were held by riders who'd turned up on their own bikes and just wanted to try something new. That's exactly what we'd hoped for. Thanks to Mike from Giant and Jonny from Kona for helping make it happen; cheers guys.

The barby didn't go so well...

Cardiff bike store opening

Exciting times, Tredz is expanding. We open our Cardiff bike shop very soon (signed the lease yesterday). Yippee!!

Many early mornings, late nights and zero riding hours will mean the doors should open by the end of May. (Apologies for the poor picture, but I was rushed. You get the idea though.)

Come and see us at: Unit 2, Penarth Road Retail Park, Penarth Road, Cardiff CF11 8EF

Giant's new spring bike range

Most cycling brands change ranges annually. That means every May they start to run out of bikes. ‘The trade’ usually get shown the new range at the launch in about August, and, if we're lucky, the new bikes are in stock with supplier X by the end of October. To be honest, it’s all pretty long winded and inefficient (not that most bike bosses think so).

Not so with Giant. They launch twice a year - road and kids bikes each spring; MTB full sus every autumn. But the best thing about Giant (for us and you) is they bring in the new bikes before the launch. Ingenious! That means they avoid the embarrassing problems that most of the big boys find themselves in every single year – a vacuum of stock.

The ‘new’ which we saw last week is perhaps more a refresh than a complete revamp. Well, if it aint broke... The full suspension line up is unchanged until autumn (and will be called the 2008 range, whereas as this latest catalogue is 2007.5) but the 'lifestyle' MTBs from the Rock to the Terrago disc get new paint and the odd spec change, although it’s mostly cosmetic.

One area which has benefited a great deal is the choice of ladies models. Like other top brands (Specialized and Trek to name just two), Giant are championing women’s bikes and now have over 32 models to chose from. This includes many first-time models like the Terrago disc and the XTC. I think they’ve done a great job on the colour ways and livery but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to call myself qualified to comment.

The ever-popular SCR racers are called ‘new’ again but only the saddle (from Giant to Selle Royal) and chainset upgrade (from FSA to TruVativ) is really different. That said, there's a new entry level in the SCR 4.0 at £350 with aluminium frame and cromo fork, and a gorgeous limited edition (pictured) at £650.

One of the highlights of the line up was Oli Beckingsale's Giant Anthem Advanced carbon fibre rig with 90mm of travel. Doesn’t it look full of pace, even with his hack training wheels on?

Rocky Mountain 2007 bikes roll in

With the cabinets full of glittering Race Face parts, our continued support of Kona bikes, and our spangling new Cove frames hanging on the wall, we're spreading the love of all things Canadian. Yep, our first delivery of 2007 Rocky Mountain Bikes has arrived! Rocky are still hand built in Vancouver, only a stones throw away from the legendary North Shore trails. They’ve got the perfect test ground on their doorstep which would make most bikes crumble. The first thing you notice about them is the attention to detail - it’s outstanding. If you run your finger over the maple leaf paintwork you can feel the depth of the paint; it’s even a little different on each bike (a bit like leopards’ spots!)

One of the best things about us stocking Rocky Mountain is the fact that they offer such a complete range of bikes. The new Slayer SXC has 6” of travel at each end, filling the 'All Mountain' slot pretty comfortably - especially with the world shortage of Specialized Enduros. Their XC race bike, the Element, has been tweaked for 2007 and is backed up by more race wins. It maybe considered short travel by today’s standard, but this rig is fast. Whatever style of bike you're looking for, it looks like there’s a Rocky that’ll float your boat (if your wallet can swim).

If you've ever watched Roam, The Collective or any of the NWD movies then you would've seen the legends, Wade Simmons and Thomas Vanderham, doing some out-of-this-world riding on their Rockys. That’s about the best testimonial any brand could receive.

Cove frames are lush (and in stock)

We've been a fan of Cove frames for ages and sold the odd one here and there, but this week we made the leap of faith and bought a load for stock. Why the hell hadn't we done it before - they're gorgeous?

Only available as frames, they offer a burly build that looks like you could huck it off a building! (Not that we recommend that type of thing, obviously.) There’s hardtails, jump bikes and trail eating machines available, but it’s the downhill bike, the Cove Shocker, that’s going to be flying the Tredz flag. You’ll see both team riders on Shockers at the dh races this year. Ed is building up this one. Is it the orange or his hair that you’ll notice first?

More whats new, and coming soon

At 50 grams less than the Carbon, the new Avid Juicy Ultimate is considered the best performing light weight XC brake, according to Avid. Have a look at the detailed spec to decide for yourself just how true this is.

Hamax child carriers have expanded with the addition of the brand new Hamax Plus child seat, part of the 'Slide and Click' Hamax Plus luggage carrier system. The seat is ergonomically designed, has a reclining function and requires only one hand to fasten the harness. A warning light indicates if the seat is not securely mounted. Check-out the impressive feature list.

The all-new RockShox Totem is a self-acclaimed 'monster of Freeride' with aluminium tubes, new Mission Control Damping system and a choice of springs: fixed coil, solo air spring or the 2-step air spring. Also new in the range are the RockShox Domain, RockShox Argyle and RockShox Lyrik.

With Spring and sunny weather on the horizon, it's great to take the bikes out to different surroundings for a ride. The newest Hollywood E3 Express Rack is a six strap boot rack which takes three bikes.  Easy, flat storage when not in use. In short: cheap, durable and uncomplicated.

And finally, Fox clothing, Cateye and Altura are keeping us in suspense about their imminent new ranges. We are also awaiting the April launch of Specialized's new carbon range of stems and bars - we'll keep you in the picture when these become available.
Posted by Caroline

Whats new, sales bikes and coming soon

For the bargain hunters among you, we still have a range of 2006 bikes on sale but it seems high time to let you know about some of the latest new products added to the Tredz  website.

Aerospace technology & serious engineering combined with snazzy designs: TLD's helmets are works of art in their own right (my favourite: the Rustic). Troy Lee has also launched their new Grand Prix, Moto and Sprint jerseys, pants and shorts. Four new TLD gloves and carefully designed protective clothing for adults and children.

Dahon's folding bikes prove that this type of bike has truly 'come of age'. For those of you who thought folding = 'one fits all, small wheels' type, Dahon have increased their folding range of 24-26" wheels with the Tournado tourer, Fuego full-sus MTB, Cadenza commuter or street bike and Espresso comfort bike.  Lightweight, quick to pack and with lots of interesting extras like BioLogic seatpost integrated pump and Kevlar puncture protected tyres, worth a closer look if you commute or are short of storage space.

Tredz offers you a cheap escape from the UK: for under £24 virtual training in South Africa, Colorado or convince yourself that there are hills in the Netherlands riding the course of the Amstel Gold Race with Tacx latest training videos for the i-magic Forteis trainer.

Continued tomorrow with Avid, Hamax, Rock Shocks and Hollywood products......
Posted by Caroline

Trainer joins Tredz contributor team

TredzTalk have been on the look out to put a trainer on the books who can offer qualified cycle training advice. We're pleased to say that position has been filled by all-round-nice-guy, Nigel Nicholas. Nigel is a full-time fitness instructor, passionate triathlete and uber Lance Armstrong fan. He's competed in th