2014 4X Pro Tour Round1 Race Report from Team DS's Lewis Lacey!

We are proud to work closely with all of our sponsored and supported racers, riders and drivers and get to know them really well.  Lewis was one of our early members of Team DS but last year was hit by injuries which pretty much took him out of action for the year.  It has been a tough ride back to fitness for Lewis but has shown how determined and talented he is with two awesome results in as many weeks starting with a 2nd in the British 4X round at Afan and then last week an amazing podium spot at the 4x Pro Tour.

Here's his race report.  Also give him a follow on twitter @lewislacey

Round 1 - 4X pro tour.

Sunny meadow Poland

It’s been a long year since I was last here, and I broke the end of the plate that was in my shoulder in the first turn. As ever always amazed with how rad the track looks. This year the guys put a monster jump at the end of the last straight.

Went up for a track walk, to see what was what and to see where it all went wrong for me last year, Built the bikes, time for a play. I wanted to have some fun, then on to the more serious stuff later (lines and all that shit)

Feeling fine and chilled, riding and track speed all good (could always do with a bit more) on to XXL schnitzel that’s why we come to Poland.

Saturday,

Qualifying relaxed and feeling fine, maybe a bit too relaxed as I cruised my run I was gutted with myself, but turned out I qualified 8^th

A lot better than I thought, knowing I had a bit more in the tank was nice.

Rd1 there was only three of us on the gate these ones feel a bit unkind when only on person goes out, on to the next one.

Rd2 made a good gate the first straight seemed to feel effortless and a smooth run down saw me take the first spot.

Rd3 now things were heating up, with Slavik and Nate dogg on the gate I knew I needed to make a good start, gate dropped best start so far finding myself level with Slavik over the first two jumps following him closely in to turn one chasing him down making sure I could keep that 2^nd spot from Nate dogg.

Rd4 it’s getting harder every time Slavik and Beaumont again we all gated together super tight first straight as I just squeezed Beaumont into turn one it was again chasing Slavik down making sure Beaumont stayed behind, I was clear second in the semi making my first Pro tour main final.

Final Slavik Prokop Slavik Lacey it goes without saying what this race was going to be, I took gate 3 (wanting 4) Prokop 4 as the Slavik’s lined up on the inside got a good snap all banging bars down first straight it was tight. After getting a bit of a slap from Prokop sending me slightly sideways into turn one leaving Thomas and Prokop to lead in 1 and 2 me in 3^rd not knowing where Hannes was, bang he hit me right in the same spot as it all went wrong last year, taking my front wheel, causing me to almost hit the fence. That was it my final was over, I was never going to pull those power houses back. I sat down and took fourth place well happy with the night looking forward to round 2 Fortbill, love that first straight.

Props to the boy Master Lucas Cryer.

#Brakeburn

#Ducksmart

#Royalracing

#Ospreypacks

#G14Distribution

Lewis Lacey #414

For more info on Duck Smart and our range of cleaning products visit www.duck-smart.com

All of our Bike and Car Cleaners Made in Britain & proud of it!

We have been featured in this months Bike Biz magazine which focusses on those brands that are "Made in Britain".  We are very proud that this is the case for us, and in fact we do pretty much everything in house from bottling, labelling, mixing, and creating all of our own products, which also means we have the flexibility to always be growing our product range to fit the needs of all you challenging bunch of dudes, and the extreme conditions you throw yourself and your wheels through.

Here's the full article, which may also enlighten you more about us and how we roll!

Duck Smart, Made in Britain and Proud of it!

Duck Smart is a relatively new company in terms of cleaning products for the cycle market, but as a team they have been manufacturing and creating their own products for the commercial sector for over twenty years.

Through the companies owner Gary Bennett, and chief Chemist Graham Wood, for the Duck Smart range of products they have diverted away from their commercial roots and created a range of PH Neutral, foaming, non caustic cleaners which has certainly got the industry talking both for the effectiveness of the products, and the sweet smells used in them. On top of all of this they proudly stake claim to the fact that all of their products are manufactured in the UK at their headquarters in Benfleet in Essex by themselves.

Gary tells us more “For us its a natural thing for us to create all of our products in house as that is what we have always done. As well as this, we purchase all of the other materials, like boxes, bottles and labels all from local suppliers within a 20 mile radius, in fact quite a lot of what we use is bought using the other companies on the Trading Estate where we are based”.

“Because we manufacture everything ourselves it means that we can play around with colors, smells, different types of products, and raw materials so we can continually develop and improve our range. We have 3 or 4 new products pretty much ready to be launched and another 3 we are working on now. We like to always work with our teams, riders and dealers when we develop new products, so that we get honest feedback from all types of people and then we amend the products from there. Making everything in house means this process is a lot quicker and easier than outsourcing it, and also most outsourced products are ready made formulas with just a few things changed. I suppose some of our disadvantages are also our advantages in some respects. Graham our chemist likes everything to be perfect and more importantly safe for both the consumer and the bike, and as much as we can environmentally friendly, but this also means that our products contain more raw materials and elements to them. For instance our Foaming Earth Mover Bike Cleaner is a truly unique product which took two years to develop, and is made up of Softeners and detergents and contains 10 raw materials so this means it is more expensive to produce than the more common Hard surface cleaner based products which can be sourced from outside of the UK and can be watered down and very cheap. So I suppose our disadvantage is cost, but that is also an advantage to our customers who receive a product that they know they can trust on their bike and components, and has been thoroughly tested by experts in the UK. Again some of the bottles and containers we used could be purchased from abroad for cheaper but we have always work well with our current provider who sell us bottles made from recycled plastics so it is something we would not like to compromise on if we can help it. Being local they also help us out with smaller quantities if we are running short so it means our turn around is a lot quicker and means less space is taken with storage as if you purchased abroad you have to buy larger quantities”.

The innovative team at Duck Smart are always working hard to develop the next range of cleaners and with much of their Marketing being based around wash bays and letting people try their products. With their hands on, friendly approach we are sure you will be finding out about their products for yourself very soon, all of which are proudly stamped with Made in Britain on them.

For information on Duck Smart visit www.duck-smart.com email info@ducksmart.co.uk or call 01268 350700

THE CYCLE CLEAN TAG TEAM!

As a treat we have combined the extremely hard working duo of our Famous Foaming Earth Mover Bike Cleaner and our brand new Banana smelling Dry Wash/detailer Bike Ezee in a neat little offer for just £16 inc P & P. On top of that we will also chuck in one of our Micro Fibre cloths so you can polish up your bicycle to you hearts content.

This combo covers you in two ways. If your bike is literally caked in it, you can go all out Foam with the Earth Mover. First up, rinse and brush off any loose and clumpy mud with water and a brush. Then apply Earth Mover all over your bike using the foam nozzle. Use a damp sponge to agigate any dirt, and foam your bike the whole way through. The foamier the better as this gives the Earth Mover a better contact time with the dirt, breaking it down in front of your very eyes. Next up rinse the bike with water again.

You can now apply Bike Ezee by applying a light spray on the area you want to polish up and rub it in with the Micro Fibre cloth. Bike Ezee will give your bike a long lasting natural shine and a water repelling protective coating making your bike easier to clean next time round. Another bonus is that your bike will smell of Bananas with a hint of chocolate, so great if you keep it in the house.

Option 2 if your bike only has a bit of road dirt or light dirt on it and you don't want to get the hose out. In this instance you are in safe hands with Bike Ezee as a lone wolf as it also works as a Dry Wash/Waterless cleaner....... It's as simple as spray lightly on the bike, and wipe with the Micro Fibre cloth which will collect the dirt, while the product lays itself over your bike parts giving it that shine and protection.

So over to you! This offer is only available for a limited time so get yourself signed up!

To purchase this special offer CLICK HERE

Or further information on Duck Smart and our range of products visit www.duck-smart.com

Launching Bike Ezee, our all new Waterless Bike Cleaner!

It's been a little while in coming but we are stoked to announce that our brand new product Bike Ezee is now available on both our webshop and for dealers via our Distributors Madison.

You can throw any phrase you want at Bike Ezee but a few that do the job are, Waterless Bike Cleaner, a drywash, cycle detailer, protect and shine......

Bike Ezee removes light dirt, grease, grime and dust and is perfect for the roadie and urban cyclists, or those who like to give their bike an extra zap of shine after they have used Earth Mover to wash their mud caked cycle.

It uses a pretty simple process of spray on and wipe off with a Micro Fibre cloth, and as well as giving your bike an almighty shine it also gives your frame a protective water repelling coat.

It couldn't go without one of the famous Duck Smart smells so after testing many scents with the best noses in the industry, Bike Ezee has been given a Banana's and chocolate smell.

Also it contains no PTFE's so its safe to use on your disc brakes and any other parts of your bike.

So if you wanna go waterless when you next clean, give Bike Ezee a go.

Full info on www.duck-smart.com

Duck Smart Dirty Defying Bike Cleaner Combo offer!

Times are tough, times are dirty, so being the nice guys we are we have come up with a great offer to give you a helping hand.

For Just £16 inc P & P we will set you up with a 1 litre bottle of our famous foaming Earth Mover Bike Cleaner and a 1 litre bottle of Mud Slider Aftercare, which is a water dispersant for after your wash and to top it all it will stop that mud from sticking next time round.

Also because we are nice like that, we will even throw in a Micro Fibre cloth which you can use to rub in your Mud Slider and give your bike that natural shine!

Offer is only available for a limited time, so get yourselves involved!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE UP THIS AWESOME OFFER

www.duck-smart.com

How to Clean your Mountain Bike

Our cycle guy Rob Webb shows how to clean your Mountain Bike with some of the Duck Smart cleaning product range including:

Earth Mover Bike Cleaner
Smart n Ezee - Dry Wash & Detailer
Bullit Silicone Spray 

For more info on the Duck Smart cleaning product range visit www.duck-smart.com