2. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL JUNCTIONS TO SUIT ALL TYPES OF FRAMES.

3. NEATER SMALLER WIRING KIT FOR AN EVEN CLEANER AND TIDIER APPEARANCE.

4. COLOURED TO MATCH THE NEW ULTEGRA “GLOSSY GREY” EDITION.

5. PLUG AND PLAY WIRING. NO MORE FD,RD,BTR SPECIFIC WIRING. USE ANY WIRE ON ANY COMPONENT.

6. OPTION OF 14 WIRING LENGTHS TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR FRAME, LESS EXCESS WIRE LENGTH ON FRAMES.

7. EASY TO USE PC LINKAGE FOR DIAGNOSIS AND UPDATE. ( More info to come)

8. DURA ACE Di2 FEATURES AUTO TRIMMING ON FD, LEVER REACH ADJUST ON ST, CRASH SAVER FUNCTION RD, ADJUSTMENT MODE ON JUNCTION 1 FOR FINE TUNING OF GEARS.

9. 90 MINUTE MAX RECHARGE ON LITH-ION BATTERY/ 2000KM RANGE OF BATTERY LIFE.

10.OPTIONAL SWITCHES TO COME FOR FUTHER USAGE SW-R600 / TT SHIFT SET. ( MID 2012 ) For more details.

Now in its third year, the 6 Hour is held just outside the township of Forrest*. The course runs through the Forrest Mountain Bike Park (Yaugher Trails) and incorporates some of the best single track in Australia. The event is organized and run by the Forrest Mountain Bike & Cycling Club.

Even though the forecast for the weekend was bleak, with strong winds and rain predicted for both Saturday and Sunday, it turned out to be ok with track conditions improving as the weekend progressed. The rain did eventually arrive, but it waited until the last ½ hour of the race. The resulting sudden change in track conditions contributed to a very exciting finish to a great day’s racing.

The Bicycle Superstore Events crew arrived early on the Saturday and set up the huge team area consisting of three 6mtr x 3mtr tents, tables, chairs and workshop facilities. All our riders had to do was turn up on the day with their bikes.

With 21 riders across a variety of categories it was non stop action at the team tent with constant rider changes and re-fueling stops by the solo guys. The BSS crew was certainly the noisiest, with cow bells and air horns blazing every time one of our riders went past our tent.

All our riders had heaps of fun and some finished at the sharp end of the field in their categories with a couple of number one places. Check the end of this article for results.

It was a fantastic weekend and we must congratulate the Forrest MTB & Cycling Club for putting together such an awesome event. We will certainly be there for the next one!

* The township of Forrest is located in the Otway Ranges between Colac to the north and Apollo Bay on the coast. The Forrest Mountain Bike Park has some of the best single track in Australia with trails to suit all levels of skill and fitness.

Visit the Ride Forrest website for details

Bicycle Superstore Team Results

The first Big Thank You goes out to the organizers. The Forrest Mountain Bike & Cycling Club, along with their sponsors, put on an outstanding event.

The course was awesome and everything ran like clockwork – even the weather ran to plan (except for the last half hour, but the intense rain just made for a more exciting finish).

The next Big Thank You goes out to all the Bicycle Superstore customers and staff who competed and helped out on the day. It was a fantastic turn out and we were certainly the noisiest group out there, with cow bells and air horns blazing every time a Superstore rider rode past.

The final Big Thank You goes out to Alistair from our Warrnambool store for organizing the accommodation, and preparing the best (and biggest) spaghetti Bolognese we have ever had.

Well done to everyone and roll on next year!

Our next event is the 5th round of the Victorian Enduro Series at Nail Can Hill in Albury on the 25th June. We will be there in force so come along and join in the fun.

A legendary Victorian icon, the RACV Great Vic is an experience like no other. It truly is a week in another world- a world where strangers share tent pegs, shampoo and tea bags, colleagues encourage each other up hill climbs and lifelong friendships are formed while waiting for a shower or enjoying a post-ride feast.

This year’s ride travels 590km over nine days through flood-affected areas along the Murray River and beyond. Beginning in Swan Hill on the banks of the mighty Murray, riders will travel in a loop through the surrounding areas before riding past wheatfields and into the farming towns of Kerang and Barham. On day four of the ride, riders will travel into Echuca and enjoy a rest day spent paddling in the river and enjoying the region’s gourmet fare.

With well-rested legs and full bellies, the riders will continue on to Lake Boort and the quaint town of Wedderburn before heading south through goldmining country into Maryborough. Finishing in picturesque Castlemaine, riders will cross the finishing line with new friends and memories to last a lifetime.

If you are unable to make the commitment to nine days of riding, there are two three-day and two single-day ride options available. Join in the spirit of the ride and get a taste of everything the region has to offer. To enter the ride or for more information, visit www.greatvic.com.au

Bicycle Superstore is with you every step of the way on this ride keeping your bike running 100%. We are the official Mechanical Support for the ride again for 2011 and we look forward to seeing some familiar faces again for 2011.

Read more >> (PDF 474kb)

See the full video here > Carl Decker rides the new XTC 29er

Giant Australia had a full demo fleet of Maestro bikes on hand and racers were allowed to take the bikes out for 2 hour blocks from 12pm to 12am on Saturday and from 5:30am through to the end of the race on Sunday. The Anthem X-1 29er’s proved to be the most popular choice as they fitted the bill perfectly for the long and tough laps through the forest at East Kowen.

The skies opened up for competitors at dawn on Sunday and the course quickly turned from dry, loose and dusty to thick mud. Not to be phased by the conditions riders had a smile on their face as midday brought about the end of the event. Giant staff also gave away t-shirts to some lucky riders that crossed the line on Giant bikes. Giant would like to thank the organisers for a great event and congratulations again to the Rockstar team for taking out the event… see you all again next year!

The last time I rode a Giant prior to this was the Cadex model back in 1995 and it was pretty good. We all know they’ve come a long way since then, but I really didn’t expect the smooth well handling ride that I got from the 2011 model.

With the frame and fork being made from Giant’s Advanced Composite technology, I really struggled to find any errors in the handling and stiffness. The first ride I did, I was looping up and down short little hills, descending, braking hard then accelerating. It reacted and stood up well and what’s more I had the confidence as if I’d been on the bike for a good month.

Shimano hasn’t been traditionally known for its wheels, but the new RS80-C24’s, a combo of alloy braking surface and carbon prove that they are stepping up with the more well-known brands. Just your standard wheel in terms of looks, but again felt stiff and handled well in all sorts of manoeuvring.

Finishing off with Ultegra 10 speed, and a Fizik saddle….for the person with a budget of under $4000 it comes in well under at $3499!

If you’re looking at getting into racing or you’re a serious recreational rider that wants something in this price bracket that will carry you well, then it’s pretty hard to go past this model.

Photo courtesy of Ride Review Magazine

The ‘Campy Tech Lab’ electronic gruppo had its maiden victory in Saturday’s ‘queen stage’ from McLaren Vale to Willunga, courtesy of Team Movistar’s Francisco Ventoso. Plus the Movistar team won the Overall Team’s Classification prize for the TDU. Not a bad way to start the year for Campagnolo’s most talked about new product.

Many thousands of cycling fans were able to get up close to the new ‘Campy Tech Lab’ branded gruppo, in the team pit areas in the Tour Village each day. Needless to say, it drew a lot of attention and also a lot of questions; ‘when will it be out?’, ‘how much will it cost?’, ‘is it better than Di2?’, ‘what will it be called?’, ‘how light is it?’ … and so on. Of course we didn’t know the answers to those questions, but it didn’t stop us encouraging people to go and have a closer look each day.

The first of many victory salutes this season I’m sure for both Movistar and Campagnolo … maybe just without the boomerangs.

If not, just click play on the video below!