Top 10 signs you need to upgrade your braking system:

brake upgrade needed 1. Your brake levers easily hit the handlebars, consequently you’re not stopping like you’re supposed to.
2. You don’t have the power to skid either wheel.
3. You start smelling that all too familiar smell of burnt brake pads.
4. You have to do a virtual panic stop just to enable you to slow down.
5. You’ve warped your disc rotors, and they stay warped no matter what you try and do to straighten them.
6. You get hand fatigue on long descents.
7. You want to be able to brake with one or two fingers, so you can maintain control of your bike properly.
8. Your current braking system has all the requisite symptoms of bipolar disorder (it’s either «on» or «off» and there’s no inbetween).
9. Riding in the rain has become an unthinkable activity.
10. You want to be faster, braking for each corner at the last possible moment.

Bringing your own bike to Tenerife?

24hr cable housing installation conversion

Take advantage of our 24hr Custom Vertebrae Installation!

If you are planning a Tenerife cycle training vacation, you should be pleased to know that we are now offering a door-to-door cable housing fitment service with a 24 hour turnaround period.

We first pick your bike up directly from your hotel or apartment in Tenerife, where you will meet Dr. Leslie Brown to discuss your specific requirements; we then perform a professional, customised vertebrae installation to your exact specifications, finally returning your bike to you within 24hrs in perfect working condition.

There is currently a €150 surchage for this premium service (price subject to change). We are pleased to also offer you a courtesy rental bike from Pro Bike Hire while we are working on your bike. Alternatively, you can opt for a rest day and see some of the attractions in Tenerife while we setup vertebrae on your bike. Please call +34 605 56 2020 for more info.

Why Tenerife?

It’s no coincidence that many cyclists choose to train in the Canary Islands -Tenerife- the largest island, offers one of the best cycling locations in Europe all throughout the year.This is home to the world’s third largest volcano, and it serves up some of the biggest and most challenging climbs in all of Europe. Starting from sea level, you can ride up to an altitude of 2300m!

What better place to test the limits of your braking & shifting? Naturally, with all the steep offroad descents to be found, it’s even popular with the DownHill crowd.

For more information on Vertebrae Components, please see our sister site: www.vertebr.ae

Free pro bike hire T-shirt when you spend €200 or more…

Free pro bike hire T-shirt when you spend more than 200 EurosSimple enough really. Limit one per customer. Quality fruit of the loom T-shirts with proper printed logos (you won’t see any iron-on transfers used here!). It will feature this logo on the front. Just so you know what you’ll be getting, they are white T-shirts available in small, medium & large sizes. Either short or long sleeve – and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

Free island-wide bike delivery service

pro bike hire with ford connect transit delivery vanWe deliver rental bikes anywhere in Tenerife. Since early February this year, we have been trialling a totally FREE island-wide delivery service!

This applies to all bike rentals with a 3-day minimum hire period. Delivery of bikes to the La Orotava / Puerto de la Cruz area is totally free of charge, all year round (and there is no minimum number of days required).

Please keep in mind that we are based in the North of Tenerife, approximately one hour’s drive away from Las Americas. For deliveries to the South of Tenerife during the low season (May through September), a delivery charge may be applicable in order to cover our basic running costs; the delivery fee for Los Cristianos, Las Americas and Los Gigantes is €36 (pickup included). The delivery/pickup charge to Santa Cruz, La Laguna and Icod will remain at €26.

New full-suspension rental bikes!

Mountain Cycle LogoI’ve had enough enquiries lately about full suspension bikes so I decided a few weeks ago to act. I just bought three lovely frames from Mountain Cycle. They are a small company that really lead the way in big-travel suspensions bikes way back in the nineties. They’ve now been around for 22 years, which is an eternity in the MTBing world. If you’re in your thirties like I am now, you’ll definitely know who they are… they were the whackos who insisted on 100mm+ travel bikes and dual hydraulic disc brakes to complete the package. Somewhat amazingly, that has virtually become standard now. I ask people if they’ve heard of Moutain Cycle now and the answer is resounding ‘no’. Visionaries!

The new dual-suspension MTB frames are coming!This is the model they call ‘fury’ and we will have small, medium & large examples of each. The aluminium frame is anodised black and has up to 5″ or 130mm of rear wheel travel, with Rock Shox Ario air shock & remote lockout included. The remaining bike spec is to be advised. Rest assured it will be good!

mountain cycle fury full suspension rental bike frame-setsThe good news is that I’m planning to drop the price of the existing Merida hardtails into the budget price bracket, so you’ll save 30% on the standard web-based prices by hiring one of those.

New Pro Lite frames have arrrived!

Pro Lite www.Pro-Lite.net logoIn recent news, we received a package from Pro Lite yesterday (well 7 actually). Included in this shipment are two new road framesets in 56cm and 60.5cm sizes as well as one 19.5″ hardtail MTB frame. These are manufactured from 7046 aluminium alloy and the weight of the 54.5cm alloy road frame is a respectable 1258 grams! They definitely look like they are worth the money. [Read more →]

Vertebrae website update!

The ultimate gear and brake housing!I’m pleased to announce that the Vertebrae Components website has been revamped! I wanted to keep the simplicity of the original webpage and also make it easier to navigate & update.

I don’t want the new website to be associated with a blog, because it isn’t one. It’s an online shop. I chose a very simple 1-column design template; I think what gives most blogs away is the sidebar with the blogroll in it. I also removed several things like search windows, RSS feeds, etc. The vertebrae-components webpage is essentially written page-by-page, not one post on top of the other.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you notice any bugs with the new layout or have any suggestions about how to make it more professional…

New rental bikes coming with full carbon fibre framesets!

New rental bikes coming with full carbon fibre framesets! Hasa full carbon fibre rental bikes for hire: 3k monocoque frame and fork.For 2009, I ordered two new Hasa full carbon fibre frames and matching 3k carbon forks. These are manufactured from carbon fiber composite with a 3k weave and come with a beautiful clear coat and no logos. Weight for the frame alone is quoted at just 1150 grams for the medium size and 1200 grams for the large! That’s 150 – 200g lighter than my own personal road bike!!

hire a carbon road bike, carbon fibre rental bikes, Hasa full carbon fiber frame, new rental bikes.Sizes will initially be available in either 55cm or 57cm; possibly these will be followed by a small 52/53cm and another 55cm model if the quality is as good as it appears in the photos and they prove to be popular. They should be completely built up by around February or March and are intended to augment and then eventually replace the two current 55cm Decathlon bikes some time after May 2009.

Hasa carbon road bikes for hire.These are obviously premium bikes so they will likely cost a tiny bit more to rent than the standard bikes (possibly ~15% more depending on the remaining equipment spec).

New online bike rental availability calendar!

New online bike rental availability calendar!My sister has been hassling me halfway across the planet for the better half of 2008 to include a calendar on the main website showing current bookings for the rental bike fleet. I’m pleased to announce to the world that I’ve now incorporated one into the same page as the online bike reservation system.

It’s taken a while to set up and it does mean a bit of extra work for me. Hopefully it will encourage people to reserve a bike; at the very least it should make them book them early if they can see that their frame sizes might not be available!

Vertebrae ceramic housing review.

Vertebrae ceramic gear housing review. Vertebrae ceramic brake lines review.Imagine cable-operated dual-pivot calipers or v-brakes with the modulation & power of hydraulic discs. Imagine the most reliable gear housing on the planet outlasting everything else attached to your bike, including the frame. Have I got your attention? Good. Then read on… [Read more →]

Road rental bikes still available for christmas 2008!

Road rental bikes still available for christmas!Just a quick news flash that road rental bikes are still available around this christmas period! Normally they’d be fully booked out by now, but if you get in quick you can still easily make that winter cycle training vacation in Tenerife a reality. You can book here.

Submit bike links.

Add Cycling Links Bikes Blogs Forums Components BicyclesHello blog readers,

You might have noticed that I haven’t written many new articles in the past fortnight. That’s because I’ve been working behind the scenes on a few new simultaneous projects. One of them is called «www.bikenode.com«, a new global cycling links directory. It took almost a full day to create the Bike Node logo… hehehe. Anyway-

The aim is to make it «the fastest growing cycling link directory for the global cycling community». The idea is to help generate exposure for us little guys. Whatever. But the good news is that I am now taking link submissions. So please feel free to add any appropriate cycling-related links to «www.bikenode.com«. It’s easy & it’s free!

There are still a few features I’d like to add, such as an email confirmation of link submissions, an info page, and an easy way for you to add reciprocal links with & without the Bike Node logo (to encourage activity within the directory, reciprocal links are not mandatory but are HIGHLY appreciated).

If you want a bit of extra exposure, a featured listing (highlighted & placed at the top of each category) costs a one-time fee of only 5$ and will result in more traffic to your site. I’ll also ensure that links are added to the directory in a timely manner if you choose a paid link.

If you feel that an appropriate category isn’t listed in the directory yet, you can also suggest new categories for the directory by commenting below.

Thanks,
Les

Best client photo competition: winner announced!

Winner of best cycling photo competitionA while back I sent out a Newsletter, which you can read here in case you missed it. One of the sections went as follows:

Send your photos & win!
If you’d like to appear on the Guestbook Page, please send me any photos you may have taken while cycling in Tenerife. High-resolution photos are preferred, in any format. I’d also love to hear any comments to include as testimonials… The best photo sent in wins a free T-Shirt!

Anyway, that was last month. This month, the best photo has been chosen & hence the winner decided. Judging the competition was a piece of cake, since only one person bothered to officially enter! (somewhat like another promotional flop of mine… I guess that’s what happens when a Scientist organises these sorts of things…) Sure I had other photographs on file from existing clients, but like they say: «you’ve got to be in it to win it». Nevertheless, I think you’ll all agree that the photo on the left is worthy of the title. I particularly like the perspective and composition of this photo, and also the fact that it isn’t taken from a normal location.

CONGRATULATIONS CLAUDIUS FUCHS OF HAMBURG, GERMANY!! You sent in so many excellent photos, it wasn’t easy to choose between the best ones. You definitely deserve a free T-shirt!

Would you rent a triathlon or time trial bike in Tenerife?

Triathlon cartoon. Swim bike run. Ironman record broken!I must admit that I’ve overlooked the needs of triathletes lately. In many respects, Tenerife would be an ideal location for European triathletes looking for triathlon training zones. Apart from several swimming pools & gymnasiums around the local resorts, there are many ocean swimming spots dotted around the coast. We have great weather all year round, and don’t forget the legendary 2300m climb to the base of Mt Teide!

I have one medium/large triathlon frameset which I could either rent out as a triathlon bike or sell. This has dedicated tri geometry, 650c wheels and could be equipped with a set of time-trial aerobars.

[poll=15]

Subscribe to the newsletter!

Subscribe to the newsletter!The second newsletter will be sent out on Monday the 18th of May at 9:00 Greenwich meantime. How’s that for precision? I promise you that the second newlsetter will be much more proffessional than the first attempt. You can subscribe to the NEW newsletter below! 

Unfortunately, the old subscription list was lost when the software I was previously using crashed so if you wish to unsubscribe you can do that here as well. There’ll also be an unsubcription link at the bottom of all future newsletters. Please also accept my apologies if I’ve annoyed you in any way.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

 
   
   
   


UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE NEWSLETTER:

Free Bike Hire in exchange for in-links!

Help me gather valuable in-links!Interested in cycling for free here in Tenerife? Got your own cycling-related website or blog? Great. All you’ve got to do is supply a new permanent link to www.tenerife-training.net, and you can then hire a bike FREE here in Tenerife for a 24 hour period after it’s approved by Les. Not got your own website? Then simply find another relevant site and suggest to the websmaster that they add www.tenerife-training.net to their links page. If you manage to get 5 in-links originating from different websites, get two free days!!

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, so what’s the catch? Please read the following terms & conditions:

[Read more →]

20% off bike hire in June!

“May-Day” promotional offer!

Limited time only: 20% OFF all rental bikes throughout May & June!

Just three simple conditions:

1) This offer applies to deliveries around the El Puerto de la Cruz region only.

2) To be eligable, you must quote the keywords: «vertebrae ceramic«.

3) This offer is obviously subject to the availability of bikes in your sizes…

New optimised pricing structure…

New optimised pricing structure.As of the 15th of April, we will be reducing prices for renting 4 or more bikes! To make it fairer for everyone, we also need to optimise our existing pricing structure for renting 2 or 3 road racing / mountain bikes. What this means in real terms is that for the most part, the prices for renting 2 or 3 bicycles will increase slightly (since they were overly discounted to begin with). To clarify, all the current bike rental prices for single bikes will either remain the same or reduce.

Furthermore, the current pricing structure will be honoured for all bookings made before this time. The new rental prices for groups hiring 4 or more bicycles will come into effect immediately. Please email me for a quote. So if you’re thinking about coming to Tenerife for that well earned cycling holiday vacation, this is one more incentive to reserve the best bikes at the best prices!

Going Green.

how cartoons help the environment

Above all else, we strive for a minimal environmental footprint.

  1. While air is free, we don’t use disposable CO2 cartridges.
  2. We never pour oil or grease down the drain
  3. We avoid the use of plastic bags
  4. We don’t print anything unnecessarily
  5. We turn off equipment after use (computers, lights, etc)
  6. We use energy-saving light globes
  7. We recycle kitchen waste into compost
  8. Where possible, we buy locally grown food & other products made in Tenerife.
  9. We think small is beautiful. Contrary to what most people think, we don’t have a big petrol-guzzling van, just a small one.
  10. We reuse inner tubes by first repairing them. There’s a long lost skill in patching butyl innertubes. We continue patching them until the valve no longer functions or until they are deemed unsafe… then we either use 700c sized inner tubes like the two metre rubber hose they really are to tie stuff up with or we make rubber bands out of them!
  11. We recycle tyres into belts. (truth be told, we copied the idea from www.velo-re.com and we’re stockpiling them until we can find someone who can locally make a similar item). Chains & sprockets, etc will eventually be used to create one-of-a-kind metal sculptures.
  12. We ride bikes!

10% discount for Summer 2008 bike hire reservations.

Understanding marketing and promotion campaigns 

10% discount for Summer 2008 bike hire bookings made before the end of 2007 year.

To be eligible, you must quote the secret code word «vertebrae ceramic» and pay your 20% reservation deposit on or before the 31st of December, 2007. Offer only vaild for bike rentals in the Summer 2008 period from April 1st through to September 30th. Discount applies to published web-rates.

Simple enough?