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Empire's AP-1 survives the ultimate test
Empire Cycles’ highly acclaimed and revolutionary AP-1 demonstrated its durability at the recent No Fuss Events downhill endurance race, held at the internationally renowned track at Nevis Range, near Fort William, Scotland. This is the self same course that was home to the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup earlier in the year.
Last Saturday Hope Technology’s Simon Perry brought the AP-1 home in a top ten placing on this World-class track. Perry, who works in Hope’s sales department, entered the punishing six-hour endurance event, which boasted a demanding, unforgiving and energy-sapping 1.75-mile course. The track snaked down the face of Aonach Mor, the eighth highest mountain in the UK, and whilst Simon on an on-loan Empire Cycles’ AP-1, was pushed to near exhaustion, the “faultless” AP-1 hardly broke into a sweat.
“I can’t tell you how good the bike was,” said Perry. “In a nutshell it was faultless. It soaked up all the bumps, including some ridiculously massive rocks, with ease and it was so predictable. It was just superb. It gripped for fun, and wherever I pointed it, it went.”
A succession of big jumps, bumps, berms, drop-offs, rock slabs and technical natural sections presented a serious challenge to even the most alert and dexterous riders, and maintaining speed over the rougher sections while reserving energy in order to complete the full six-hour marathon was key. Fortunately, that’s where Empire’s AP-1 excelled.
“The smoothness of the AP-1’s ride was critical,” explained Perry. “The suspension and chassis work seamlessly together and make for a really smooth ride. It soaks up all the bumps, and that means you can ride harder for longer because you’re using less energy and you’re not fighting the bike. In that sense the AP-1 was the perfect machine for an endurance event. I’ve ridden a lot of bikes over the years, but this was the best.”
At most downhill mountain bike races riders compete individually against the clock, however, the Fort William Downhill Endurance kicked-off with a hectic, Le Mans-style mass start. Racers then complete as many descents as possible in six hours. Simple.
The idea of the event was not only to test a rider’s endurance, but also their bike’s reliability. Participants are only allowed one bike and a limited supply of spares to see them through. At the bottom of each run competitors have the opportunity to enter the ‘Tech Area’ to carry out running repairs, replenish fluids and to take a breather. Time penalties punish those who have to change wheels, forks, bars, frames and other major components.
“Over the full six hours the AP-1’s build quality was really put the test,” proclaimed Perry, who finished ninth overall (seventh in the Masters Class). “I hammered it all day, riding with very little mechanical sympathy, and it was as stubborn as I was. It simply would not show any sign of weakness.”
“The AP-1 is certainly one really tough bike,” Perry concluded. “It needed no running maintenance – after the event I just washed it and gave it straight back to Empire Cycles. I was hitting stuff really hard all day and it simply didn’t bother it. As I said before, it was faultless. I want one.”
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