hattenburrow, Author at Beyond The Mud

Giant Mini MTB + Cycling Pump

by hattenburrow | Feb 10, 2013 | Kit Reviews

The mini mountain bike pump looks sleek and stylish at 20.5x27x270mm it is very compact and easy to carry either in a ruck sac or on the bike itself. The pump to bike attachment is great, it sits nicely next to the frame of the bike and the Velcro held it in place while I raced round the new forest all weekend in wet conditions.

The pump is made of CNC machined aluminium and feels very robust which is important for mountain biking, as things (especially when strapped to the side of your bike) tend to take a bit of a battering!

To operate the pump you simply pull the cap off the top and pull out the hose, this is very neat, however with thick gloves on it is pretty impossible, which means taking them off and getting chilly fingers on those winter rides. The end of the hose has a screw nozzle, with Presta and Schrader valve fittings at either end making it quick and simple to change from one valve type to another.

The hose pushes neatly back inside the pump and you can then replace the cap. The rubber cap seems robust; my only thought was that if you lost the cap the valve would be exposed to mud and water.

Looking forward to my racing season I thought about how the pump would be in a race situation, I compared my old pump with my new pump and found it a lot faster to blow up tyres making it my new companion for racing! It took 38.7 seconds to blow up an Schrader and 38.2 seconds to blow up a Presta tyre compared to my old £10 pump, which took 42 seconds (Schrader) and 45 seconds (Presta). The pump easily screws on to fit both types of valve which is excellent, as before I’ve had difficulties with pumps where you push the pump onto the valve and then pull a clip up, trying to do this quickly often results in the valve getting pushed back into the wheel, so having a simple screw mechanism makes life easier. The screw nozzle is hard wearing and looks like it would last a long time.

The pump is at the higher end of the price range for a mini pump at £24.99, however I think it offers good value for money in terms of its robustness and how easy it is to use.

Biking in Scotland Part One

by hattenburrow | Feb 7, 2013 | Biking Adventures

In six days we covered 1,212 car miles, 60 bike miles, went through eight inner tubes, broke gears, lost iPhones and met the BBC Country File cast. Not bad for a relaxing week away.

Our journey started at Dalbeattie one of the best (according to a friend) of the ‘7stanes’. These are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. ‘Stane’ is the Scots word for stone, and at each of the 7stanes locations, you’ll find a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend.

The red ‘Hardrock’ trail at Dalbeattie is a pleasant 25 km with not too many steep climbs and some fantastic views along the way. The ‘sl ab’ which is by far the most talked about part of the trail is a 15 meter granite ‘slab’ which from the top looks more like something you should climb up than ride down!

On day 2, we went to Mabie another of the 7 Stanes. The Pheonix trail is a 19km mix of cross country and twisty single track. Mabie encompasses the most fantastic switchbacks ive ever encountered which feel like your entering a washing machine spin cycle as you get sucked into the never ending spiral. Rocky drop offs and routed sections make this an interesting and technical ride at times. The scenery was stunning with hills covered in Scots pine and purple patches of heather making every climb worth it!

The South of Scotland brought many surprises and had been a good warm up for what was yet to come.