186 – Suspension Performance & World Cup Wrenching with NSR Racing
Today’s Guest:
Nigel Reeve – Founder and owner of NSR Racing
On episode #186 we are chatting with Nigel Reeve who owns and runs his own performance suspension company called NSR Racing. Nigel mostly works with top class riders, guys that are racing in the World Cup or Enduro World Series and mostly doing this as their day jobs. However, Nigel also caters to anyone who wants their bikes suspension dialled in, helping them get the most from their set up and bikes performance.
Nigel is originally from New South Wales in Australia, but is currently living in Switzerland. This helps him be central to the European mountain bike scene and take full advantage of his spannering expertise. Nigel has had a pretty interesting lifestyle from living and wrenching in London, to being a full time mechanic on the World Cup Circuit, travelling the world and working for some awesome teams living the dream!
Nigel also lived and worked in Morzine for ten years, splitting his time between working on the World Cup Circuit, setting up his first suspension company in Australia, plus guiding and mechanicing over the summer months in Morzine. Nigel saw a massive change in Morzine over those years, the popularity of there as a destination and the growth of the sport in general. But, all good things must come to an end and Nigel decided to sell his business in Australia and relocate to Europe finally settling in Switzerland where he quickly set up NSR Racing.
So join us as we chat about the good and crazy times of being on the World Cup Circuit, how to set your bike up correctly, breaking necks and shark attacks of all things!
Thanks for being here. Enjoy the show!
Find Out:
- How Nigel got into mountain biking
- Why he decided to work in a bike store after leaving school
- What dragged him to Morzine
- Why he ended up staying there on and off for ten years
- How he has seen it change over those years
- How Nigel found out he had broken his neck
- How this affected his riding
- What working on the World Cup Circuit was like
- What working with the top riders is like
- What after parties can still be like
- The toll being a World Cup mechanic can have on you
- The different teams Nigel has worked with
- Why he hung up his wrenches and started a suspension company
- What his time was like learning from Dave Garland and developing The stendec Data System
- How suspension set up can effect your complete ride
- The importance data acquisition plays in setting up your bike correctly
- The does and don’t of suspension set up
- How technology has changed things
- How to get in contact with Nigel and NSR Racing
Nigel knows his stuff and after working on the World Cup Circuit for a load of years it’s no surprise that he has built his knowledge of suspension performance and data systems to a very high level. So high in fact that he still works heavily with a number of professional riders in helping them set up their suspension and getting them dialled in for the race season.
Nigel has a passion for his work and loves what he does. He had the great experience of learning from the late Dave Garland helping develop The Stendec Data System, which was a first in the mountain bike industry and is now a real go to for a tonne of teams wanting that data acquisition edge. Nigel chats to us about the advantages the Stendec System can give you as a mechanic and how it makes you think that little bit differently about how you set up and change a rider’s bike to gain a higher level of performance.
We also chat to Nigel about how we, as weekend warriors, should be looking at our suspension set ups and why Nigel thinks if we are wanting more from our bikes overall performance we should be educating yourselves that little bit further, in understanding how suspension works and what is really going on. He gives us some good tips on how to go about that and what to look for. We also dive into the technology of suspension, how that has changed over the years and how materials have played a huge part in that advancement.
It was great to get Nigel on the podcast and I really enjoyed our chat. Maybe it is just me but, I love hearing stories of back in the day surrounding the World Cup Circuit and what those times were like. And who better to tell you some stories than the mechanics! Times back then were crazy, but surprisingly they don’t sound like they have changed much.
Join us as we chat about working with the pro riders, working on pro teams, living and breaking your neck in Morzine, starting your own suspension company and why Australia sounds like the most dangerous place in the world for both surfers and non-surfers alike!
Thanks for tuning in. Enjoy the show!
To Connect with Nigel & NSR Racing:
Website: nsr-racing.co
Instagram: nsr_racing_co
Facebook: NSRRacingCo
Facebook: nigel.reeve.94
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Thanks so much to Nigel for coming on the podcast and sharing his story. Awesome times!
And thank you once again for tuning in. You guys rock!
Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show!