Monthly Archives: September 2013

Back From THE GREAT DIVIDE: The Final Bike Inspection – DID GIBBS BRAND WORK?

When we first heard about local couple Colin and Sue McNorton’s plan to take their mountain bikes to the USA and ride 1000 miles across the very challenging trail known as The Great Divide, other than thinking they were crazy, we thought that it would be a great opportunity to put Gibbs Brand to the test. After meeting with them, the couple kindly agreed to make the trip with nothing but Gibbs to lubricate and protect their bikes! This was a great leap of faith for them as they were to be travelling with very little back-up in extremely challenging conditions, negotiating everything from scorching desert to high mountain passes. The reliability of their machines was of paramount importance!

The full story of the trip and their adventures on the way have been documented in their fascinating blog

Prior to the trip, their bikes were fully prepared and serviced by local independant mountain bike specialist Liam Brook of Newdales Cycles. Other than grease in the bearings, the only lubricant used was Gibbs Brand, a small amount of which was taken to apply en-route.

Gibbs was used in several distinct applications on their bikes. Firstly gear and chain lubrication; After thorough cleaning of the gears and the fitting of a new chain, both were thoroughly lubricated with Gibbs. (This was the only lubricant used throughout the trip) Secondly, all mechanisms such as brake and gear shift linkages were again only lubricated with Gibbs. It was also used to internally lubricate the gear and brake cables. Lastly the entire bikes (with the exception tyres and brake discs) were treated to an application of Gibbs, by simply wiping over with a cloth. This not only made them look great, but would help to keep them clean.

Upon their return to the UK, after their marathon trip, (which unfortunately had to be shortened by a week because of forest fires in the record high temperatures), Colin and Sue were pleased to report that “Other than a couple of punctures, our machines performed faultlessly and the only maintenance was the occasional squirt of Gibbs to the chains” The bikes were returned to Newdales for inspection, to find out just how well they had performed.

NEWDALES INSPECTION RESULTS:

1. VISUAL INSPECTION:

The bikes were initially visually inspected. Liam commented on how clean the bikes were (they had not been cleaned throughout the trip).He would normally have expected to see a considerable build up of dirt and contaminants (including sweat!) all over the bikes.

2: CHAIN AND GEAR INSPECTION:

After stripping-out, both the gear cassette and chain were cleaned, inspected and checked for wear. Both were found to have remained very clean, with very little build-up of dirt and contamination. They also were found to have little or no measurable wear. (A replacement of the chain would normally be expected after this mileage in these conditions)

Copy (3) of gibbs bike 018

3: MECHANISMS & CABLES:

After checking, all mechanisms, including brake and gear cables were found to be smooth in operation and free from ingress of dirt and moisture

CONCLUSION

The bikes were independently inspected after a documented 700 mile trip across very varied terrain (including desert) in a wide variety of weather conditions (from extreme heat to rain).

They had performed faultlessly and required very little en-route maintenance.

Gibbs Brand had been used as the only lubricant. “The wear on the chain in particular was found to be extremely low. All the mechanical components had remained in perfect working order with little ingress of dirt”

The bikes had also stayed amazingly clean and presentable in appearance throughout the entire trip.

*This is more positive proof that the unique formula of Gibbs Brand makes it the ideal all-round protection for your bicycle! Don’t just take our word for it – read what Colin and Sue had to say in their Blog!

Foot note: *We at Gibbs Brand would like to sincerely thank both Colin and Sue for their co-operation in this project and for showing such faith in our product. Thanks also to Liam at Newdales Cycles for his assistance with servicing and inspection.

Do we need to say more?

KEEP YOUR TWO-WHEEL PORSCHE CLEAN WITH GIBBS!

Keep your mountain bike clean by protecting it with Gibbs Brand before taking it off-road. Gibbs’ unique formula leaves a non sticky microscopic film of protection that will stop dirt, dust and mud sticking to your bike. The results are amazing AND IT WILL WORK ON YOUR MOTORCYCLE TOO!

PENDINE SANDS RACE. GIBBS BRAND WINNERS

Gibbs Brand Lubricant was a proud sponsor of this amazing event organized by the VHRA on the birthplace of Land Speed Racing; Pendine Sands in Wales. For a full report please check out this link.

Congratulations to all the class winners receiving prizes of Gibbs Brand Lubricant:

Fastest Blown Flathead: Neil Bennett (Batten’s Special)

Fastest N/A Flathead: Mark Brett (Ballamy Special)

Fastest 4cyl: Phil Wells (’27 Ford)

Fastest 6 cyl: Johnny Best (’34 Ford)

Fastest OHV: Russ de Barr (Ford Model A)

Fastest Full-bodied car: Dan Parker (’39 Ford)

Fastest Car of the Day: The prize of a Gibbs Brand jacket for the fastest car of the day went to Neil Bennett in his Batten’s Special, running an impressive 114.56 mph. (Batten’s Special was built in 1935 as a Brooklands sports/racer. It features a much modified 1932 Ford V8 chassis and a highly tuned V8 engine. The supercharger is a later addition. This road-legal car has continuous competition history since built. It has been in Neil’s ownership for almost forty years.)

CROSSING THE GREAT DIVIDE – AFTERMATH

This is the final part of this epic blog about mountain biking across America’s Great Divide, if you’ve not seen it, catch up by using the link below..

You’ll be glad to hear that this is the final instalment of the much maligned and boring Great Divide bloggy type thing that was my drivel for a few weeks

Well, as the title suggests we are back home and trying as hard as we can to get back to some sort of normality but must confess the trip has had a much deeper effect on us than we could have imagined.

Not necessarily in a deep and meaningful way, although it has to be said that we were amazed at how conditioned the human body and mind becomes in adapting to its surroundings and what is required of it on a day to day basis, when people say that anything is possible I have always thought of it as a bit of a throw away line but not so much anymore.

Delayed tiredness of both the mind any body has been the overwhelming reaction for us both, obviously the trip itself took on a much different shape from the moment that we were let down by a not to be named anymore American and that caused its own stresses and strains but the sheer physical task was something that we are only now starting to talk about and look back on in a happily reflective way and feeling grateful hat we have come through the adventure largely unscathed and unscarred with some very happy memories.

The job of getting things back to normal was never going to be an easy one with clients to re contact, paperwork to catch up on and bikes and equipment to clean and store.

Having booked in our bikes for a post exertion service with Liam at Newdales in Saffron Walden, we were intrigued to see what impact 1000km of road cycling in 40c + temperatures had had on our bikes and whether or not Mr Gibbs (our bike lubricant) would be allowed to join our exclusive group of BFF’s comprising of Mr Chamois cream, Mr Bear Spray and Mr P20 (factor 50 of course!).

The results were quite remarkable (if, unlike us, you know anything about bikes) in that the wear on the chains was measured as NIL, the wear on the gears was measured as NIL and the general dirt on the bikes was minimal to the point where it was questioned whether or not we had actually been away at all and if we had, did we take our bikes with us!

All that needed doing was a slight truing of my front wheel (which I’m sure that if Gibbs had an anti buckling product, wouldn’t have needed doing) and a small adjustment of Sues handlebar alignment – that’s it!!

Incredible stuff we are reliably informed and whilst if you don’t have any problems you have no idea whether you would have done had you not done this or that (if that makes sense) all we can honestly say is that, apart from a couple of punctures, we had absolutely no mechanical problems whatsoever and didn’t need to clean the bikes at all.

Admittedly we were on road rather than the expected off road so the attrition rates much have logically been lower but there was still the fair share of dust and dirt and sand and wind to contend with so what you have here are two very happy and grateful campers and in our world, Mr Gibbs is very welcome to be inducted into the lubricant hall of fame with our blessings.

I’m sure we will be back on the bikes soon enough so we might just get to do the Great Divide the way we intended one day, we are already just starting to talk about it as unfinished business but rest assured, if we do, we wont plan on relying on others for support……………….

Regards

Colin

*LOOK-OUT FOR A FULL TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF GIBBS BRAND ON THESE BIKES – COMING SOON…

GIBBS BRAND WORKS ! – ON THAT EMBARRASSING DIRTY COOKER HOOD

Stainless steel cooker hoods are notorious for attracting dust and fat build up. Unlike other cleaners, Gibbs Brand not only cleans stainless steel without smearing, but it’s unique formula leaves surfaces resistant finger marks as well.

Gibbs Brand’s powerful cleaning action will quickly remove even the thickest grease, leaving the surface clean, smear-free and resistant to further marking.

GO FISHING WITH GIBBS !

Sea or Freshwater Fishing. Gibbs Brand makes the ideal travelling companion it’s commonly used by Fishermen to:

Protect and lubricate reels, making them run quieter and give smoother operation.
To internally lubricate carbon fishing poles.
To soften and lubricate line, improving casting distance.

Gibbs Brand will not leave a sticky, dirt attracting residue, or jell in cold weather. It is therefore great for sea fishing as it reduces the build up of salt of fishing tackle

GIBBS BRAND WORKS ! – ON YOUR HEDGE CUTTER

Prolong the life of hedge trimmer cutting blades with a coating of Gibbs Brand. It is quick and easy to apply and because of its unique formula it will not only lubricate and prevent corrosion, but it will help reduce the clogging of hedge cutter blades.

BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH GIBBS BRAND!

Struggling to keep your DeLorean clean? Fed up with finger marks and smears on your stainless steel? Applied with a lint free cloth, Gibbs Brand will clean and remove remove finger marks from brushed stainless steel. It dries to leave a non sticky microscopic film that will protect the surface of the metal and help prevent further marking.