Finals Day: your 90 minutes start now!
Three finalists do battle in The workshop
Our three finalists — Rikki Pankhurst of Pankhurst Cycles, Theo Tanner of Pedal Heaven and Scott Jones of Mickey Cranks — seem to relax slightly as they’re shown from the foyer and into the immaculate ATG Training facility at the City of Oxford College. Walls hung bench to ceiling with Park Tool’s finest mean they’ve got everything they need, but the large digital clock in the corner is an ominous presence. And then there’s the pressure of being up against each other in front of a judging panel comprised of bike mechanic-ing royalty — namely Calvin Jones from Park Tool; Mark Ingham from the GB Cycling Team; and Julian Thrasher from ATG.
Ahead of them is a rear wheel build, complicated by having to calculate spoke lengths and crossing patterns and required to be true within 0.1mm. There’s also a full internal cable replacement with gear and brake set-up, plus bar taping — must be neat and wrapped in the correct direction.
The clock having begun its 90-minute countdown, few nerves are evident as they set quickly and methodically about their work. Like conjurers they wield cable lengths before suddenly making them vanish into the bike. Bar tape is confidently applied and carefully cut to give that professional finish that seems somehow beyond us garage tinkerers.
But most impressive are the wheel builds. A pile of inert components are transformed into a living, breathing wheel in around 15 minutes, with the same again spent tweaking to perfection. It’s quite a thing to watch.
All this while the judges pace and prowl. They don’t say much, but a raised eyebrow here and a click of the tongue keeps the pressure on.
In the event, all the mechanics are done within the limit. While they head off to get coffee the judges put their heads together, and inspect their work. It’s no easy decision, not least because there is so little to separate each finalist, but ultimately, thanks to his consistently good work, the prize goes to Scott Jones.
Jones looks extremely happy, calling the win “absolutely awesome”. But whether his BBBM trophy will replace the Park Tool AWS-10 multi-tool as his favourite thing in his workshop, we’re not sure.
n See a video of the final at www.cyclingweekly.com.