So what’s the behind the scenes low down when it comes to technology, bike set-up and route stats for the South Downs Double? Over 200 miles off road is a pretty extreme testing ground for any components and when things work well it’s only fair that the knowledge is shared amongst riders.

So let’s start with the real star of the show, the bike. The heart of the fun lies in the Scalpel Six13 frameset that was made by Cannondale in tiny numbers exclusively for team riders to race the World Cup and Olympics on. Having spent two years trying to get hold of one of these frames, when I finally did manage to wrestle it out of the factory, I was already dreaming about making it something special.

The frame itself was an after-hours project by Mike Parkin (ex Cannondale composites engineer) to give the team the edge over the competition. The main difference between the production Scalpels at the time is the integration of carbon in the top and down tubes. This reduces weight by around 200g whilst also adding stiffness and compliancy. Selectively-flattened carbon composite chainstayseliminate the need for traditional pivots and bearings. The back end gives 2.5in of travel with a remote handle bar mounted lock out.

Up front I’m running one of Cannondale’s original Carbon Lefty ELO forks. It’s been custom tuned by Eight-Aid+ in Germany with a slightly larger air chamber to make it incredibly supple at the top end of the stroke. The telescope has also been tuned with needle bearings optimised to run a smooth as possible. I like to set it up as soft as I can to get the full 100mm travel out of it. With an electronic lock-out button mounted on the left of the handlebar, making it fully rigid takes less than a second. I still think it’s one of the best forks that has ever been made, hence the reason I’m still riding with it.

The overall frame and fork design came from months of sketching, phone calls and visits to Fat Creations to try and represent what was floating around in my head.

The cockpit for the SDD consisted of (from left to right on the picture) lock-out button for Lefty, Garmin Edge 705, external battery for Garmin (on left of stem), Polar CS600, Exposure Lights MaxX D and finally the rear lock out lever. There’s a lot happening up front but for this ride it’s all essential kit.

I’d been riding with the Garmin Edge 705 for a little while now and was really getting into the benefits of GPS mapping. Normally the battery life is more than sufficient for a day on the bike but in this instance I needed some extra fire power. I bought a Gomadic external battery charger that takes four AA batteries and plugs straight in to the unit via the USB port. I ran the 705 on its internal battery for the first 8 hours and then flicked the external battery on. When I arrived at Winchester I switched the external pack off and was amazed that the unit showed it had full power still! Awesome, what a result!

Being September and with exactly 12 hours of darkness on the 26th it was important to work out an optimal light set-up that would see me through the darkest hours. On the bike I was running the new MaXx D which would give me 10 hours of light on the “ride” setting. On my helmet I went with the Joystick MaXx 2 with single piggy back cell to double the burn time on max to 6 hours. The theory was to run the MaXx D on “ride” and the Joystick on “max” which would take me through until dawn. When it started to get dusky in the evening I’d then still have power in the MaXx D to show me the way home. I have to tell you, the power from this set-up is insane. It felt like I was cheating. If you’re into long rides in the dark and want a super clean, lightweight, retina burning system then get a demo on the Exposures. You won’t be disappointed.

Tinkering is something I enjoy doing. Making functional things from bits that happen to be lying around the garage. The rear shock guard started its life as a ForGoodnessShakes bottle that got on the wrong side of my Stanley knife and before long its sole purpose in life was to keep the SDW crud from my shock. The shape of the bottle is almost custom made for this application. How lucky?

I prefer a 2×9 drivetrain than a triple. Up front I was running 29×44 with an 11×34 at the rear. The gear is low enough to keep the legs turning smoothly on most climbs so I don’t see it as a compromise over an alternative set-up.

Tyre choice is always essential on the Downs, with razor sharp flints looking to slash a sidewall at any given moment. I decided to go with a Hutchinson Python on the front and Maxxis Larsen TT on the rear. Both were UST so, although slightly heavier, had much thicker sidewalls. Get them rolling and they’ll want to go forever.

More details and images of the bike at www.mikecotty.co.uk