EQUIPMENT CORNER

'SALES AND EXCHANGE' CLOSES DOORS - posted 23 November 2011

One of cycle speedway's most established business is closing down.  Shaun Hudson, proprietor of "Cycle Speedway Sales and Exchange", confirmed the shock news earlier today,  Speaking exclusively to Spokesman-Online, Shaun explained the reasons behind his decision.

"I just wanted to let everyone know that from the end of next week "Cycle Speedway Sales & Exchange" will be closing its doors and the website will be closed down.

"Since starting the business some 10 years ago, we have hopefully helped and provided a dedicated service to the riders and parents of riders involved in Cycle Speedway. One of my reasons for starting up the business was the total difficulty I found in locating any part whatsoever connected to the sport.  After much foraging about in
the back of old warehouses, more telephone calls and e mails then I care to remember, I managed to get together quite a list of parts and suppliers.

"We then moved into bespoke frame building and launched the "Trac Star" range of bikes, built in Columbus lightweight tubing. With the help of frame builder Frank Edwards, we built a number of bikes, our first being for multi British champion Darren Slater. This was very much a new area for me and we had a number of initial setbacks as we tweaked our product, the major downside however was always cost" said Shaun ruefully.

"Some years later Archie Wilkinson returned to the sport with his new
range of bikes and most importantly a new Cycle Speedway tyre.  With a large sigh of relief we moved away from frames and bikes and concentrated our efforts on accessories, clothing, helmets, gloves etc. I have always had an excellent relationship with Archie and Karl and am convinced that without them the sport would be in dire straits.  It could not continue without their support and the access to affordable bikes.

"Cycle Speedway Sales & Exchange" has always been a part-time business run alongside my other interests and over the last 12 months it has been increasingly difficult to allocate time to it. With this in mind I have decided that its now the right time to call it a day.

"I would just like to say a big thank you to all my customers down the
years for your support.  Hopefully I have helped some of you with those
tricky bits and bobs that you could never quite put your hands on, in
your local bike shops.  I remember crawling the full length of a loft in
search of a 33T TA chaining to get someone out of a corner.  Happy days!" reflected Shaun.

"If I don't see you at the indoors this weekend, I would like to wish you
all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing everyone around the tracks next season. I am passing on the details of the supplier of racing trousers to Archie and Karl.  Keep an eye on their website for further news. We are selling off a few oddments we have left on ebay.  Our user name is ginaena.  Take a look and see if you can grab a bargain" said Shaun.

Editor's Note
In these difficult days, it's always sad to see any business close down, let alone a cycle speedway business.

The news that "Cycle Speedway Sales & Exchange" has stopped trading will be a blow for many in the sport.  Proprietor Shaun Hudson has provided a wonderful service to the sport for the best part of a decade, especially in the early days when cycle speedway kit was a rare as hen's teeth.

So we couldn't let this occasion pass without saying, on behalf of everyone involved in the sport, customer or not, what a tremendous contribution Shaun has made to the continuation and development of cycle speedway over the past ten years and to wish him well in his new business ventures.

SEATPOST INTEREST - posted 17 October 2011

Reader Neil Lester wonders whether any riders would be interested in buying high quality seatposts, if so he would be willing to arrange a bulk order to keep the price down.

Neil explained to Spokesman-Online.



"Would anyone be interested in these seatposts?  I'm not going to commit myself to buying a few to sell if there isn't any interest in them. I've bought one and when it arrived it was exactly as it was described, new old stock, unused.  Considering everyone back in the old days had them, there seem to be very few in use and even harder to get hold of.  They would sell at £45.  If anyone is interested and would like one, please contact me, Neil lester at ndlester@hotmail.com.


"The photo is an example, the actual seat post size is 25.4mm, just need to put a shim in the frame (or Red Bull can, cut up) to build it out so you can tighten it up properly.  If anyone is interested, please woudl they reply by Friday 21 October."

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An exciting cycle speedway bike is taking the sport by storm. Robert Bandosz's revolutionary wonder-bike is certainly a talking point around the tracks.  


Months in development and with a price tag in excess of £1,000 the lighweight machine is capturing the imagination.  So Spokesman caught up with Robert and asked his to tell us more about the bike, which is affectionately known as the

BANDOSZ UNDER "8"

This project was born in my head last summer.  It required a full nine months to realise it with a four figure spend and hours of work far outweighing the financial outlay. Most people would call me a crazy maniac when they see how many parts I've tested during the past season just for cycle speedway purposes. Well...maybe I am crazy but this is my passion and a big part of my life.  If you do something you make sure that you do it perfectly...and so do I!

The best bike on the world won't make you a World champion but it gives you an advantage over your opponents. I know how important practice is but last season I told to myself "I will try to build the best bike in the world and training harder than ever before. If after a few seasons I'm not on the top of rostrums then I'll never be able to say that I didn't do everything possible to be the best." I meet many Cycle Speedway riders who told me that they can win the race even on unicycle. Ok, they can!  I can't!

Ok, let's talk more about the bike. Probably you got confused about the title.  "Under 8" means how light the bike is!  At this moment I know only
one CS machine which weighs in under an 8kg limit - this machine is Lukas Nowacki's titanium bike. 

It's not a big shock for me using a titanium frame but the real challenge for me was to build "U-8" bike using aluminium frame and steel fork.

At this moment my scales show a total weight of 7780 grams - approximately 1.5kg lighter than typical British style bike. This
is like racing with extra 1.5 litre bottle of Cola on your frame. Now can you feel the difference?   Of course cycle speedway bikes can be lighter still but my budget had a limit so I searched in the whole internet looking for the best parts and deals. 

The most important parts were the crankset and wheels.  Both had to be light and stiff.  I searched nine months for something better, lighter and cheaper and I think that I found the best deals that I could. From
the photographs you can look at the bike from "inside".

The Frame - It looks like a Mielec? Well it is! The whole frame was designed specially for me using my own project which means a different kind of aluminium, totally different angles than standard the Mielec frames. I didn't expect such good results - so strong, stiff and light like never before. I waited around four months (after a two months delay) for my "baby" and I would like to say a big thank you to Mielec from Poland for their wonderful creation!

The Crankset - From looking at the photos you can see the provisional RaceFace Next carbon fibre crankset - which is the best technology ever using this kind of material. I look very sceptical on using carbon fibre in cycle speedway, with too many crashes in the sport to benefit from using it. I previously snapped a Campagnolo crankset, so my feelings are still mixed but I'm ready to give it one last chance.

The original crankset designed for this bike is Aerozine Titanium (the anodized red one from photos). I call it my little NASA project as the same company made parts for NASA rockets! It has the same stiffness as XTR, and is lighter in weight but much cheaper. 


I applied to Aerozine Titanium who are based in Korea for become a crankset tester and my dream came true as I have received a beautiful anodized red crankset from them.

Just now I'm continuing to use the RaceFace crankset because my left arm still required a special axle conversion for pedals (you can change the length of the crankset from 170mm to 175mm using a simple key). The ceramic bottom bracket bearings make everything perfect. So a big "A" note for the company producing the parts for NASA rockets!

The Wheels - When I received huge parcel from the courier I thought that it was just an empty box, so to make sure that I wasn't mistaken I opened it in front of the postman. I didn't imagine that rims could be so light - each one weighed in at 330 grams (Weinmann DP 3000 is nearly 600g). They are "No Tubes ZTR Alpine" - pretty stiff for that weight and still using aluminium only. The no tubes system helped me to save another few hundreds grams which is very important in your wheels. Less grams = better acceleration. I can use most tyres using these rims without tubes. Good price and highly recommended.

The Freewheel - The pearl in my collection and the loudest freewheel I have ever has. For a few years Echo have made the best mechanisms in the world plus the precision of the titanium version plus the one year guarantee gives you an immortal freewheel. The price in the UK would make you sick but in Poland you can buy that freewheel from around L80.

I guess that from the beginning of the article everybody was just thinking about the bike price. Well it isn't cheap. The whole project cost around L1200 - but I'm sure that every smoker could save that from the budget every year!  Of course I could never have completed my bike without help of my local sponsors. I would like to thank "The Royal Café" in Edinburgh who "topped up" my project's budget by 50%. As I said I would never started (or finished!) without so much financial help.

We are in a progressive 21st century so hopefully in next 10 years I'll be
able to go further and complete an "U-7" bike using titanium with a
new generation of carbon fibre parts!

Link for gallery on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/speedbajbus#!/media/set/?set=a.249489451744712.84007.100000509773332

TOP BIKE COMPANY BACKS NOWACKI - posted 18 March 2011

While Steve Harvie might be living his American Dream in the brand new edition of Jock Strop,  another cycle speedway individual has been living it since the end of last season, and what a dream it is. Lukasz Nowacki’s new machinery has raised a few eyebrows, even those of Archie Wilkinson at the Dash Midlands Grand Prix. 




Arguably the most expensive, and the best cycle speedway bike ever is the true masterpiece and is certainly in the good hands. Nowacki debuted on it against Poole in the closing match of 2010 season and famously scored a 20 point maximum getting around former British champion Gav Wheeler in of the races in spectacular style. He also started this season well with a good victory at Wednesfield and a third at Norwich.



“The idea of a new bike came about at the beginning of 2010. My racing has become more and more demanding, countless hours on the track has taken its toll on all my bikes” Nowacki told spokesman-online.

With limited stocks and lack of customisation at the only bike supplier, Archie Wilkinson, Nowacki was forced to look elswhere.

“Unfortunately the only bike off-the-peg does not suit my racing style.  I simply wanted something better. I also don’t believe that imperial wheels have any future in the sport anymore with track being very rough and softer than they used to be. I’ve been approaching British companies for a while, and had some responses.  People were interested, but simply didn’t think that the bike would have any other use than on the track. For any commercial brand, money factor is the most important, and profitability of the design would have to come first. With the prospect of the World Championships being held in America I had this brave idea of targeting bike companies from Across the Pond.”

The determination and the “never give up” attitude taken from his racing approach on the track, has paid off and one day an email arrived which could change, not only his career, but could also change the whole sport. 

“One day, after another batch of sponsorship emails sent out, I have had a response from one company, which I would never have thought I would hear back from. A titanium pioneer, Lynskey Performance, were interested in making me a custom design from the toughest metal in the universe. For any road or indeed mtb bike nerd out there, Lynskey would be “the name” in the business. They have started out as Litespeed, manufacturing the best titanium frames for many years, and after selling the business out, they have started out as Lynskey and are an undisputable leader on the market.”


The frame design has been taken out from Lukasz’s favourite, Pete Young’s Oval Master, with slight changes to the bottom bracket height and definite American influence over the aesthetic side of the project. 



The first-ever titanium speedway bike has been created in America and is being ridden by a Pole living in the UK. It can’t get anymore cosmopolitan can it?

“Guys at Lynskey were absolutely amazing.  They have put the photos from the Poole match on their main webpage straight away, which made a lot of noise in the US. Don Erwin, the guy behind the whole deal, is very excited about our relationship and wants to give cycle speedway a go. He has been asking about the Championships and how the bike performs.  What’s more important and significant, he announced that Lynskey are coming over to Edenton to watch their protege win the rainbow jersey. I don’t even have tell you how that makes me feel. America doesn’t need discovering, it has to be given a chance to discover cycle speedway.” 

With the interest form the Portland fixie scene and their version of indoor racing, and Coca Cola helping out the American Dream is becoming real.

Editor's Note - More information about Lynskey Performance, including Lukasz Nowacki riding the new bike, can be found on the company's website http://www.lynskeyperformance.com/a/

ARCHIE WILKINSON LAUNCH 2011 RANGE ON NEW WEBSITE - posted 5 February 2011



Leading cycle speedway supplier, Archie Wilkinson, has launched his exciting new 2011 range of bikes, frames and other components, all of which are featured on AW's bright new website www.archie-wilkinson.co.uk


Archie Wilkinson is the top name in cycle speedway equipment. The company specialise in supplying top quality bicycles, frames and accessories to this fast and furious sport.  Most of the equipment has been specifically designed for cycle speedway, and is used by many of today's top riders.  Archie Wilkinson can accommodate the needs of all riders whether they are just starting or have been racing for many years - and remember - all their bikes are assembled in the UK to customers own specifications.

NEW FRAMES TO BE UNVEILED SOON - posted 24 January 2011


Cycle speedway equipment suppliers, Archie Wilkinson, are expected to unveil their new range of frames for the coming season which we hope to feature online soon.  In the meantime, two of their most successful products continue to fly off the shelf.

Their specially designed and professionally manufactured pedals, made with high quality axles, lightweight body and internal bearings, are excellent value at £18 per pair.  Another top seller are the 108/9 freewheels.  These are high quality 18 tooth freewheels with 108 engagement points and 9 pawls. Fantastic for extra advantage from the gate and pick up out of the bends, they retail at £55 apiece.

ENTER V-SPRINT - posted 20 January 2011

One of cycle speedway's best known stars, the legendary Jim Varnish, has branched out into cycle retail, specialising in merchandising track equipment under the v-Sprint marque.

"Basically V-Sprint is a little venture I'm running, selling track equipment into the race scene" Jim told spokesman-online.

"I've developed and imported some great gloves, ideal for track racing and they will be ideal for cycle speedway too.  If a team had an interest in supplying them I will certainly be happy to do a discount" explained Jim.

Take a look at the full V-Sprint range by clicking on http://www.v-sprint.com/pages/sprint-gloves.html


 
 
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