So there we are, we have the venue,  we now have some prizes, we need some racers now !

On my way up to Grimsby i made a big detour to vist www.ridinghighuk.com this was handy as a big lorry full of stuff was also going there.  In return for prizes i was made “warehouse bitch” for the day and humped loads of boxes in and stacked them up neatly and got all dirty,  i am doing something wrong as i get to give away all that gear.

It’s no secret i get on well with RHUK,  i ride one of there frames and use Spank and Element parts on the bike,  which i bought myself, no sponsership deals with me,  i bought it because i like it,  and they like me,  which is how i talked them into donating some prizes.  They have helped out in the past.

We have 2 Subrosa saddles there £44.99 each,  2 oversize 2Timer stems at £54.99 each  3 sets of Gold and Chocolate lock on grips £12.99  and 2 sets of Tugg Job grips at £8.99 some rough maff=£250 ish in the kitty,  thats a good start,  hope to have some more stuff later in the week as well from other places 🙂

It was also a chance to catch up on gossip with Chris and Vicky who are RHUK,  they are of course impressed with me lobbing there bike down Fort William again,  but didnt want the gory details about how i took the skin off my ringer and nutsack,  not saying which but one still hurts,  get better waterproofs next year and not the ripped up tatters i had on.   As ever when you vist the “trade” the chat turns to new things, or things on the back burner or being tested,  as ever it was a learning curve and i am not allowed to talk about stuff.  I get that at every show.

Now rewind about 18 months 2 years ago,  i bought a pile of gear,  i wanted to get some element bars to match the grips and seatpost,  Chris knows what i am like and steered me towards buying a Spank Bitch Stick instead,  i wasnt sure but walked off with the standard size ones, with the XGT technology,  we got talking, and although not sure about them at first,  well i really like them, and was thinking of getting a new pair for next year.   Cue the shiny things to come out of a box,  fresh in via air freight,  some shops have a fast track pre-order,  and the main shipment is somewhere at sea on a big boat and due in a month or two or three.

It did take a bit selling to get me on to oversize 31.8mm bars,  i always find them a bit stiff scaffold pole like in weight and feel,  i like bars to absorb some vibration and not pass it all into my wrists (ask anyone who does Fort Bill about that)  so after admitting that i think XGT works (Xtreme Gradual Taper) Chris waved these under my nose. 

The 777 Spike Evo,  Dual XGT and with impact ends.

Cant say wide bars float my boat, but hey ho can always trim them down and never really tried them while racing (i made the mistake of having cash on me too) so the science bit then.

This XGT on my Bitch stick means the bit you put your grips on has an internal taper, so they arent super stiff like a scaffold pole and have a bit of vibration damping,  these Spikes have the XGT in the bend area as well.  Heres what it says on the box, rather than me try to relate it to you.

Spanks Dual XGT bars are designed using proprietary methodology and tooling which is specific to conical diameter, and rise and angle.  Unlike other bars on the market, Spank Dual XGT bars are CNC bent on three planes to achieve optimum consistency and strength.  The level of precision provided by our Dxgt technology enables us to eliminate the need for hand grinding, which normally results in imperfections and inconsistency in wall thickness, setting the Spank Dxgt’s ahead of the rest.

Due to the ever increasing demand for wider bar driven by more aggressive riding styles,  Spank has developed the Dxgt technology with Impact Ends,  the bars go through Finite Element Analysis and rigorous real world testing to optimize the distribution of material to counter high stress areas under extreme use.   Impact Ends reduce the chance of collapse in areas where the wall is thinner or from heavy impacts.  Impact Ends also offer increased support for barends in relevant disciplines.

Spank has taken extra steps to ensure the stem clamping area of the bar is uniformly cylindrical and true.  This bar stem interface is critical to improved fatigue life and ability to with stand extreme loads.

That was a pain in the ass to type as it’s chrome print on a white box.  In laymans terms,  lots of  tech and very big expensive machines where used to make some shit hot tough but comfy bars for me to crash down every track i take them to.  After some races and crashing i will let you know what i think. (never take cash again i will lose it),  You guessed the width is 777mm the claimed weight is 296 grams my scales show 303grams so pretty light for the width,and costing £59.99  the bars are sat in a Spike direct mount stem for Boxxers/Fox 40 at £69.99 

Anyways it late and i am off on more travels early morning, so i will leave you with a duet to watch,  not sure if RHUK share my taste in humour and music,  but thanks Chris and Vicky for the prizes.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILjUe-znXE4&feature=related Kick It !  🙂