News and Views - Page 2 of 3

Dynaplug Racer – tubeless bicycle tyre repair kit

27/05/2019Mathew Shotbolt

The Dynaplug Racer tubeless repair kit is now available at Lifecycle UK – the fastest repair tool for tubeless bicycle tyres.

The Dynaplug repair kit plugs holes — massive holes that regular tyre sealant won’t stand a chance against. Beneath one cap you’ll find the new Megaplug, which 3 times the thickness of the standard plug. And (needless to say) beneath the other cap you will find the standard plug.

We mostly like it because it’s a real time saver when you have a large puncture – as a matter of fact, we like them for any puncture!
When your tyre has a smaller puncture, simply pull off the other cap and the standard plug is ready to go.

Call the shop on 01449 744467 for more details — because punctures don’t care when they happen – we are open every day of the week.

Café Como for excellent coffee (and cake).

17/05/2019Mathew Shotbolt

Café Como is a place for cyclists, walkers and lovers of good coffee – and as cyclists, we can recommend stopping for a break at Cafe Como. The café is excellent and we love the coffee and cake selection – this is definitely a cool place to stop. When the sun is shining there is an outside sitting area which adds to the enjoyment and relaxation.

cafe-como-bike-cafe-menu — Savouries are included on the menu, including toasted sandwiches.

The cafe is run by Miranda who lived in Italy for 13 years and drank a lot of coffee and Cafe Como aims to bring a bit of Italian style and know-how to this beautiful bit of Suffolk.

The cafe is set in a historic farm setting on the A1141 at Brent Eleigh, close to Lavenham.

Open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday from 9.30am to 1.30pm

If you are planning to ride out in a larger peloton we recommend calling ahead to make a reservation (this can be a popular place for cyclists).

And here’s the address and telephone number.

Street Farm, The Street, Brent Eleigh, Suffolk CO10 9NU

Phone: 07401 242179

Cyfac Spirit bicycle with steel frame

07/05/2019Rob Morse

Unusually for a high-end road bike these days, the Cyfac Spirit is made from steel: Columbus Niobium Spirit steel, which is the derivation of the model name.

Columbus Niobium Spirit is a strong material so it can be made with thin tube walls – as little as 0.2mm thick in parts. The tubes are triple butted – so the wall thickness at one end of the tube is different from the other end, and it’s different again in the centre section. The idea is to keep all the strength where it’s needed most while trimming off unnecessary weight.

This steel construction makes for slender tubes compared to those you’ll see on most aluminium and carbon bikes – slim and elegant, we’re saying at Lifecycle UK.

Like the steel tubes, the fork comes from Columbus. It’s a new Carve made from high modulus carbon fibre throughout and it spins on an integrated headset. You can have the Spirit built to whatever geometry you like; it’s full custom so you can get the perfect fit. That allows you to dictate the character of the bike too.

The workmanship is impressive

The tubes are filet brazed by hand France, as it proclaims on the top tube. The filet brazing means you get a very strong joint and it’s a skilled, time-consuming process resulting in a high-quality product. Once painted, those joints are as smooth as if the frame had come out of a mould; they’re absolutely flawless. That’s the workmanship that we are impressed with and this is why we gladly offer Cyfac Spirit to you – our customer.

Customisable

With the Spirit, you can choose from various different design styles, then you get to pick the main colours, the accents, and the colour of the logo. You can even colour match the frame to a particular component, your club kit if that’s what you want.

Our impression

The dominant impression you get from this bike is a very smooth ride. Whether you’re out for an hour-long blast or an all-day adventure, it feels comfortable without any of the tooth-rattling vibration you can get from some bikes over bumpy roads.
It just rounds up all that shaking and sends it back where it came from; on your way, there’s nothing to worry about here. It’s certainly a comfortable ride.

Cicli Barco Pista custom build

02/05/2019Rob Morse

Further details of this stunning Cicli Barco pista bicycle coming soon.

If you are at the Bespoked Bike show in Bristol this weekend it will be on display at our stand, where you can meet the makers and the team at Lifecycle UK.

This track frame is specific to its intended use, with emphasis on rigidity and lightness. It is optimised for racing at a velodrome or outdoor track. And it’s equally at home riding on the roads or streets as a fixie or single speed.

We have built the rear wheel with Paul flip flop hub so you can ride as a fixed wheel or single speed. And we can set up the gear ratios to suit your individual ride requirements.

Like all good track bikes, this promises to should handle well, giving you the confidence when chopping and changing direction at high speed, accelerate quickly and be strong enough to withstand the harsh forces track riding involves.

It is also designed to be stable at high speed – especially when going for a flat out sprint for the finish line (we don’t want to be giving anyone a dirty flick).

Comfort isn’t really a consideration as time spent on a track bike is relatively short but we can provide a professional bike fit which will afford the highest level of comfort and performance dynamics you would expect from this ride.

Felt FR Road Racing bicycles

26/04/2019Rob Morse

The Felt FR is the stiffest, lightest and best-performing road racing bike that Felt has created to date.
All models in the FR range feature a refined version of Felt’s renowned racing geometry which provides confident and instinctive handling.
The Felt FR range is built around a precision-tuned frameset that ensures that minimum power is wasted and the rider is fresh for a finish line sprint after a long day in the saddle.
The FR range has several integration features that have been optimised for contemporary drivetrains and components, including an intuitive cable management system that maximizes efficiency and utility.
Available in both rim brake and disc brake versions, the Felt FR range offers riders every equipment choice available.

Felt FR FRD disc

The FR FRD Disc is the pinnacle of Felt’s decades of experience designing the world’s high-end racing machines. Manufactured with Felt’s UHC Ultimate + TeXtreme carbon fibre, the FR FRD Disc is the result of the Felt Racing Development (FRD) initiative to achieve the absolute greatest performance advantage.

Felt FR2 DISC ETAP

The FR2 Disc features all of the incredible technology found in the entire FR Series, as well as the additional benefits of disc brakes: greater stopping power, increased modulation, and more control.
It’s manufactured with Felt’s UHC Advanced + TeXtreme carbon fibre for a high stiffness-to-weight ratio that maximizes rider performance by ensuring that no power is wasted.
Built with a selection of advanced components like a SRAM eTap wireless electronic drivetrain, as well as Zipp 30 Course, tubeless-ready wheels, the FR2 Disc offers maximum performance in all riding conditions.

Enigma Excel Disc – with titanium alloy frame

12/04/2019Rob Morse

We stock a range of Enigma bikes with the Enigma Excel being the most popular here at Lifecycle UK and with many of our customers.

The Enigma Excel is built with 6AL 4V titanium with the latest generation disc brakes and makes for a responsive bicycle with sharp handling and a beautifully compliant ride.

The Excel is Enigma bikes flagship model — handcrafted to perfection in their Sussex workshop by a team of skilled craftsman.

Many of you I’m sure are asking — what is 6AL 4V?
Well, here is the answer – 6Al-4V Titanium is an alpha-beta titanium alloy with a high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. It is one of the most commonly used titanium alloys and is applied in a wide range of applications where low density and excellent corrosion resistance are necessary such as the aerospace industry.

_Rob Morse

The Enigma Excel is available in a variety of finishes.

The Excel Disc is available in a shot blast beaded, anodized or painted finish as standard so you don’t have to pay more to personalise the bike to your taste. We can highly recommend Enigma finishes and we rate their paint works studio as second to none.

Highly recommended titanium bicycle frame

The Enigma Excel is certainly a tour de force in terms of materials and frame building expertise. A recent update includes a new 6AL 4V precision engineered 44mm down tube which enhances the capabilities and proficiency of the frame.
Adding high-quality finishing work, the Excel Disc has cemented its place as one of our highly recommended titanium frames.

Enigma Excel features:

Frame handcrafted in Great Britain under the Enigma ‘Signature’ program.
Grade 5 6AL 4V titanium alloy tube set with new precision engineered, heat treated 44mm down-tube.
Elegant ‘Ultra-Formed’ seat stays
44mm machined for inset headset types. Compatible with integrated or tapered steerer forks.
Chris King compatible 12mm thru-axle rear dropouts.
Paragon flat-mount disc brake mounting.
31.6mm seatpost for added stiffness.
Titanium machined seat clamp, CNC machined anodized alloy cable adjusters.
Clearance for up to 28c tyres.

Call the shop for details

All of the Enigma bicycles are highly configurable to the customer’s requirements and we don’t stock Enigma bikes ‘off the shelf’. However, we usually have an example in the shop or they may be a customer bike in the workshop for servicing.

We ask you to call the shop first to see which sample Enigma we have in the shop and to discuss details of what you are looking for from the range of Enigma models.