Journal | Hunt Bike Wheels

The BIKEChannel Canyon team were pushing hard at one of the largest meetings on the British domestic racing calendar The Road Race National Championships. Thursday included a individual time trial looping from St Johns to Kirk Michael. Harry Tanfield finished with a 5th place in the elite TT, even managing to finish ahead of a number of world tour pro from Sky and was very close to the lead testers Alex Dowsett of Movistar and creditable winner Steve Cumming from Dimension Data.

There is no shame in us admitting that a good proportion of us here at HUNT | TheRiderFirm and you the HUNT riders/customers are suckers for road racing. With the Tour starting tomorrow and the British Road Champs just passed, it is no coincidence that we'll all be pouring over stage profiles and making office predictions before each stage. We were also at the British National Champs with the BIKE Channel Canyon Team to work closely with them on new wheel ideas, feedback and do our soigneur duties with bottles & gel hand-ups at the feed zone.

Sunday was a serious test for all the the riders who had to take on one of the hardest courses in British Nat Champs history. The 193.7km road race route took inspiration from the famous Isle of Man TT as well as the iconic Snaefell mountain climb with nearly 1500ft of ascent on just this climb, plus many other lumps around the course. Youngster Harry Tanfield made it into the early break and held this own in the fast-paced dozen or so riders. Dexter Gardias from BIKE Channel Canyon also mixed it in the leading groups with Cav and other World Tour riders as the race progressed with constant attacking and finished a very creditable 16th in the Elite men's which included at least 10 world tour riders (that we could count anyway). The BIKEChannel Canyon team once again put in a stunning effort.

See below a photo journal of how things went down on the Isle of Man. Check out the shot when Alex Dowsett's bike hits the timing board!

Roman is one of our latest additions to the Hunt OpenDev Team. Hailing from the Big Apple, Roman can be found blasting through traffic, passing over Brooklyn Bridge and heading into the woods aboard his ‘cross bicycle. When the snow melts and the temperature rises Roman takes to the tarmac aboard his road bicycle to discover the ever-changing New York City. With a clear talent for photography which document his rides, Roman’s Instagram page (which can be found here) is one of the most stunning pages out! Capturing the city from a cyclist’s perspective his distinct style shows that his talents extend well beyond the bicycle.

Roman is extremely valuable to HUNT to help move forward how we can develop our wheels. Putting in huge efforts on his 38Carbon Gravel Disc equipped 'cross machine and his road steed rolling on 50Carbon Wide Aero wheels, Roman pushes his equipment to the absolute limit. His crazy effort in last year's festive 500 saw him push through snow blizzards, rain and extremely cold temperatures. You can rest assure he is putting in hard miles in tough conditions, giving us invaluable feedback. 50Carbon Wide Aero Wheels are Roman's road weapon of choice.

Roman is extremely valuable to HUNT to help move forward how we can develop our wheels. Putting in huge efforts on his 30Carbon Gravel Disc equipped 'cross machine and his road steed rolling on 50Carbon Wide Aero wheels, Roman pushes his equipment to the absolute limit. His crazy effort in last year's festive 500 saw him push through snow blizzards, rain and extremely cold temperatures. You can rest assure he is putting in hard miles in tough conditions, giving us invaluable feedback.

Tyres are a highly significant factor in influencing how your bicycle rides. With the advent of tubeless, the benefits which more and more riders are appreciating include:

The increasing popularity of this new (to some) technology to road bicycles has shifted the landscape in terms of the right tyres for your riding, so see below a round-up of the key info on the current road performance and 4Season tubeless tyres (which can be fitted with sealant to your tubeless-ready Hunt wheels). Part 2 of this guide will cover fatter, gnarlier, crossier and gravelier tyres so if you like off-road thrashing keep your eyes peeled.

The Ras is a uniquely Iirish race. Passing through the narrow shop lined streets, out into the open fields and across seaboard boulevards bordering the Atlantic, the race attracts some of the most promising up and coming riders to the emerald isle. The Ras is no ordinary contest. Not by a long chalk. Capping teams with five man limit forces riders to attack with an all or nothing attitude. The European formula is tossed out and leaves riders constantly fighting for position across the entire eight days of racing.

A huge effort was made by the BIKEChannel Canyon team. Esspecially considering that five riders were reduced to four after Max Stedman was forced to abandon the race due to a fever. Dexter Gardias managed to take home two top ten finishes. A race well spent from the young BIKEChannel Canyon Team.  

Please enjoy this photo gallery from the Ras.

As Hunt has grown, so too has the number of people putting in the hard graft behind the scenes. Our latest recruit describes himself as ‘just another cycling junkie’ but really does know his stuff. Stan Bolyarov is a Robert Gordon University Management with Marketing Graduate who races road and cyclocross. He has even raced the Bulgarian National Road and TT Championships. To say the least… he is very handy on a bicycle. With experience of Dutch and German markets, having lived in both countries, Stan’s role will lie in pushing forward our website usability to give you the best access to tech information, spares and support you need. He will also be found in the customer service, tech and dispatch areas.

We have managed to catch Stan for our latest On The Drops interview... enjoy!

Prepare for an onset of dot watching excitement across Italy.

ROB HARWOOD has been a rider for the Hunt Open Dev Team since it was first announced. Hailing from the lanes and b-roads of Essex, UK, there is nothing more Rob likes than a long day spent out on the bicycle (and finished off with a few beers). Until recently, Rob has been keeping things on the tarmac, however, the draw of gravel has brought this roadie to enjoy the adventure that venturing off the beaten path offers. Spending weekends in Scotland and Wales, as well as being co-founder of a bunch of great guys as ColVelo Collective (read below for more) - Rob sets a bench march for being an ambassador for not only Hunt Wheels but the wider cycling community in general. 

We managed to wrangle in Rob to answer a few questions for the latest edition of On The Drops. Enjoy.

Early this morning in Australia, Hamish, our Hunt Australia and NZ Manager was meant to meet the highly respected Ultra Endurance Cyclist Mike Hall for a rolling interview for Kinesis UK as he raced the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. As you can see from his Instagram feed below, tragedy had struck Mike Hall's ride.

RideInPeace Mike Hall, an inspiration to us all.

Delving into the hardest hitting debates circulating around cycling (such as Jersey Pockets or Saddlebag and C02 versus hand pump) our latest semi-regular segment "On The Drops" will focus upon the slightly more light hearted side to cycling presenting riders from all circles of life. Enjoy the grill sessions!

Mitchell Webber is one of BikeCannel Canyon's youngest rider, but that certainly does not mean he lacks in ability. Alongside wheel choice, we find out what the Hampshire local enjoys about racing and where we might see him in the future.  

A Mushroom, Luigi and Yoshi walk into a bar... no sorry a highly competitive, serious, everything on the line 'cross race...

After weeks in spent training up for their big race, Hunt Team members Josh, Ollie and Dan big race day finally came this past weekend. Performing at the very highest level at the SSCXEU champs meant everything, including racing kit, was throughly thought out to gain that extra 1% advantage. After all, it's the details that matter.

Hunt supported BikeChannel Canyon have kicked off their first race of the season with a spectacular win coming from Chris Opie at the 52nd PERFS Pedal Race. Tom and Ollie from Hunt Wheels were there to capture all of the action, so we have put together a photographic journal to show all of the excitement which took place. 

Results don't come easy at UCI pro-conti level, so for training duties, team BIKE-CHANNEL CANYON will be relying on the HUNT RACE AERO WIDE wheelsets as they prepare for their season.

At a scantly 1480g, the team will hardly notice the disadvantage compared to their carbon race wheels as they pump through the hill reps or punch out paceline efforts. The RACE AERO WIDE's even manage to maintain an aerodynamic edge through their 31mm deep rim profile. The 20Front/24Rear aero bladed spokes laced to our straight pull Race Season hub complete the package.