Whittlesea Review article on the Local Cycling Hero Charity Dinner

Celebrating the Cycle

CYCLING fever hit Whittlesea last week with a charity dinner to

celebrate the sport ahead of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

South Morang's Bike n Bean hosted the "Celebrating Local Cycling Heroes"

dinner last Monday night at Cellaroom with UCI Cycling Masters World

finalist, Shannon Johnson; Melbourne to Sydney charity ride and

Scholarship Winner, Lauchlan Denny; and Specialized and Bike n Bean

Female Cycling Ambassador, Simone Evans.

Charity Cycle Dinner (from left): Whittlesea Mayor, Rex Griffin; former pro
cyclist, Bradley McGee; Bike n Bean co-owner, Paul Davis; Melbourne to
Sydney charity rider, Lauchlan Denny; Female Ambassador, Simone Evans;
UCI Cycling Masters World Championships finalist, Shannon Johnson and
Bike n Bean co-owner, Nicola Davis

More than 80 people turned up on the night, raising $1700 which will go

towards the World Bicycle Relief Fund and Helping Hand, the chosen

charity of Mayor, Rex Griffin.

Bike n Bean co-owner, Nicola Davis, said the highlight of the night was

guest speaker, Bradley McGee, a former pro cyclist, Olympian and

Director Sportif for Team Saxo Bank, sharing his experiences and

providing inspiration.

"The ultimate aim (of the night) was to celebrate cycling in Whittlesea

in the community," Ms Davis said."They were only local cyclists but 

obviously he (McGee) started out in a similar situation; smaller, minor races 

and working his way up."

Ms Davis said cycling was definitely popular but needed more avenues

throughout the municipality. "I think more people would come out on their 

bikes if there was better cycling infrastructure in Whittlesea and everywhere 

else," she said. "That's why we also invited the Mayor; so he could get an 

understanding of the cycling community."

She said it was hoped Bike n Bean could continue with the excitement

surrounding Jayco by hosting a bike ride next year.

Meet Simone our first Female Cycling Ambassador

After some great entries for the Bike n Bean & Specialized Female Cycling Ambassador last August, we chose Simone Evans for her enthusiasm and great organisation skills to get more women out on their bikes.


Simone is the Centre Manager at Diamond Valley Sports & Fitness Centre. She enjoys cycling with her husband, son and son's girlfriend. She participates in organised rides such as Round the Bay, Eastlink Ride and the Genovese Kinglake Ride.


Simone chose the Ruby Comp as her Specialized bike of choice, along with some Specialized accessories to complete the look. Simone was officially handed her bike on 10th October at the Celebration of Local Cycling Heroes Charity Dinner, where she was presented an award for her enthusiasm and for being the first ever Female Cycling Ambassador for Bike n Bean and Specialized Australia.

Simone and her Ruby at the Local Cycling Heroes Awards

Here's an account of Simone's first ride out on the Ruby:


On the 16th of October I rode my 7th Around the bay in a day 100kms. This was an exciting day as it was the first ride on my new Specialized Ruby and after spending over 3 hours with Paul fitting Ruby to me I felt a little nervous but excited at the same time. It was fantastic lining up at the starting line on a brand new bike, I had not yet taken her out on the road as I wanted to ride this event as the first time on Ruby. Well within 2kms I realized everything Paul had told me I felt like I was sitting on my couch at home I was so comfortable! After 4 hours of riding in rain and head winds and 100kms down I wanted more! I cannot wait until our (myself and Ruby) next adventure!!!! 


Simone is hoping to organise and lead a regular shop ride, more details to come. Follow her cycling stories as she promotes cycling on our blog and facebook.

Introducing Deda Elementi- the Component choice of Team Sky

Deda Stems enjoying a cheeky latte

Wanting to stand out?

Deda Elementi take components seriously 

with advance materials, innovative design, 

time tested shapes, all wrapped up in the 

integrity and heritage of a company that 

provides answers to the demands 
of winners.

Bike n Bean are proud to announce
our new delivery of Deda components

Handlebars

M35 $499

Deda M35 Handlebar

The M35 handlebar is the greatest innovation in the field of components 

for high performance road racing bicycles. 

No handlebar in the world has such a diameter. The large diameter allows 

for better hand and lower specific pressure, resulting in reduced hand fatigue.

The moment of inertia is what defines the rigidity of your handlebars 

- what all riders are looking for, as insufficient stiffness causes 

dissipation of your precious energy.

The M35 is a single carbon fibre monocoque with different wall thicknesses 

to put more strength precisely where it is needed. The fibre used has 

features specifically designed for competition vehicles where a very 

high tensile strength is married to an extraordinary capacity 

for absorbing vibrations.

Zero 100 $140

Deda Zero 100 Handlebar

Zero 100 handlebar with innovative RHM shape, manufactured in strong 7075 butted alloy.

Presa Carbon $399

Deda Presa Carbon Handlebar

Deda introduces the RHM (Rapid Hand Movement) concept handlebar. 

Designed to improve the quick changes of handle position more quickly 

from 'upper' to 'on the ends' position.

This handlebar has a short drop (128mm) for those riders who have 

more than 9cm higher saddle than handlebar position. 

Very compact reach (77mm) to accommodate extra long modern control levers.

Stems

M35  $260

Deda M35 Stem

The M35 stem compliments the wide diameter M35 Handlebar.

The stem is a #D 2014 alloy forging with different wall thicknesses.

Zero 100 $130

Deda Zero 100 Stem

The innovation of physical matter in a powerful design. The most 

adavanced technology of light alloy tempered by the tough experience 

of the great cycling champions.

3D forged road stem, stress directional fiber orientation. 6/4 Titanium hardware.

Shannon Johnson- Three times Jayco Champion

Our sponsored rider Shannon Johnson is THE Man this last week having won all three of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Masters Support Race.

First race was at Ballarat on Wed 12th October.  Here's a post race interview with Shannon:

Second race was at Geelong on Thurs 13th October.  Shannon started with the Masters group, but after a short while, decided to cross the gap between Masters and Elite (who left 1 minute earlier). Not only did Shannon cross the gap but also overtook some of the Elite group too. 

Third race was today Oct 16th at Lygon St, Melbourne. This time Shannon's family and Bike n Bean staff could attend to cheer on Shannon. He won comfortably much to his children's delight as this was the first bike race they had ever attended.

Shannon enjoying the win at Lygon St

Win for our sponsored female riders at Scott 24hr

Scott 24 hr - Mt Stromlo, Canberra 8-9 October 2011

Weekend Run Down

Friday 7am: Packing the bikes into the car to start our journey to Canberra. Lot of driving to come, but excited about taking Kylie's new Era and Rachael's faithful Safire to one of our favourite riding destinations.

Friday 4pm: Arrived at Mt Stromlo. Raining. Waited in the car for rain to stop before heading out for a quick practice lap. We encountered something we'd never seen at Stromlo before - Mud! Luckily, most of the tracks are fast and grippy, and the course is awesome.

Friday 11pm: Raining again and there are noisy frogs croaking away right next to our tent. We eventually forget our excitement about the race and get some sleep.

Saturday 11.45am: Sunshine! Our team of 6 females (Faster Pussycat) have assembled for the start of the race. Ace to see so many female competitors at a 24 hour event. Kylie lined up for the Le Mans start. Fortunately the new S-Works shoes that Paul fitted us out with are up for the challenge of the starting sprint on bitumen!

Saturday 5pm: Holding 1st place! Kylie's first lap was a bit of a parking lot, as first laps usually are, and Rach came a cropper on a slippery bridge after a mid-afternoon thunderstorm but otherwise pulled off a very quick lap. Smiles all round.

Sunday 2am: Night laps have been going pretty well, thankfully no more rain. A slight technical hiccup with some lights, one flat tyre, and some dense fog, but the mood is good and we're comfortably still in first place.



Sunday 9am: After an awesome dawn lap watching the sunrise, Kylie's gone back to bed. Rach has headed out for another speedy lap in glorious sunshine. Trails in perfect condition and all team members still smiling.

Sunday 12pm: Race is over. Kylie's Era performed faultlessly, and Rach's Safire helped her speed through the team's second last lap to victory! Total 26 laps in 24 hours. Thanks to Erica, Jasmine and Jess (from Canberra), and Kim (from Mt Beauty) for such a great race!

Many thanks to Paul and Nicola for getting our bikes tuned up and ready to race and also for fitting us out with some great Specialized gear.

Meet Bike n Bean Female MTB Sponsored Riders- Kylie & Rachael

Kylie & Rachael initially applied for the Bike n Bean Female Cycling Ambassador but were not succesful. However we were very impressed with their team and individual race results over the last few years that we wanted to help the young ladies achieve at a higher level.

Kylie writes:
I love my hard-tail cross-country mountain bike, but after a couple of years of participating in cross-country enduros, I found myself with a severe case of 'dually' envy.

Enter Paul and Nicola from Bike'n'Bean, who've set me up with a Specialized Era Comp (Carbon!). It weighs a tiny 11.3 kilos, the geometry and set-up are female-specific and best of all it's black - stealth warrior black! I couldn't wait to try it out.

Conveniently, I was heading to Canberra for a weekend of riding just after the bike arrived, so its first outing was to Bruce Ridge. It took me a little while to get used to the rear suspension, the 2 x 10 gears and the wider handlebars, but by the time we arrived at Mt Stromlo for the afternoon, I couldn't stop smiling. The bike is in its element on rocky climbs and descents, and its so easy to ride that I felt a little bit like I was cheating! On Sunday we headed out to East Kowen Forest, where the fun continued. After two days and almost 60km on the bike, everything was still running silently and smoothly, and I grinned all the way back to Melbourne.


Rachael writes:
I walked into Bike n Bean as a mountain biker but somehow managed to walk out with a shiny new Specialized Amira roadbike. Hmmm...still not sure how that happened! Anyway I was keen to take it for a spin as soon as I got home.

The initial pedal strokes felt a little bit wobbly - trying to get used to the new forward position and super skinny tyres - but once I got going it felt great. The carbon frame made for a smooth ride and I felt like I was flying along the boulevard.

Last weekend I headed to Forrest and rode my Amira to Colac. Apart from the headwinds it was a lovely ride. We had lunch at a nice cafe before returning to Forrest via quiet country roads. I think this is when I finally began to start understanding the attraction of road cycling. I was really quite enjoying it. Although, having said that, my Specialized Safire is still my #1 bike - nothing beats the adrenalin rush of steep descents, weaving through trees and negotiating obstacles at high speed!

Whittlesea Leader write up on Shannon Johnson

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Rider drops the engine

Whittlesea Leader
04 Oct 2011

IN LESS than 12 months, professional rider Shannon Johnson has had little trouble shifting gears after swapping motorbike racing for cycling. The South Morang man, 31, a motorbike rider for 20 years, is still driven by his thirst for speed and winning...read more...

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