Mark Leadbetter Professional Cycle Mechanic

09/06/2026

Another Rebuild in a long line of builds and rebuilds for this 🚀 local Enduro superstar 🏆, Dale Stag ! Look him up !! Posts up videos of insanely fast rides that I always thought had speeded up filming 🎥 😂 😵‍💫 . Think this particular wheel has lasted longer than most due to extra long spokes built in a cross 4 pattern giving the whole wheel as much compliance and spring ( AKA Bounce 🌀➿ ) with only a slight weight penalty!!
On one of the latest videos there’s a glimpse of Dale performing some bush mechanics on this wheel ! Not with 🧰 🔧 🛠️⚒️⚙️🔨 or even 🪓 🥊 😂 with a rock 🪨 😂 🙈 ! . Hopefully now a whizzy ride with round ⭕️ wheels in this weekends race in Dunkeld🏁

03/06/2026

Quite chuffed 🥳🧑‍🎓to get some certificates from college 😊 only the 2nd thing I’ve actually tried to learn in 40years 😂
Maybe just a few 💯 hours of practice before I can join some thin walled cycle frame tubing together ish ! If my boss wasn’t such a 🐽 he’d give me an extra day per week to practice 🫣😬

27/05/2026

One of the more interesting jobs this week . Almost like Triggers broom 🧹 😂 but always with the same frameset - who knows 🤷‍♂️ how old it is ! All new drive parts including a new complete crankset from the Shimano inspection / replacement program 😁
It’s amazing how within titanium frames how much each brand/ type have differences in the feel when ridden ! This one is particularly light and springy ⚖️🍭 ☀️ 🌀 just like the rider 😂

13/05/2026

Now at work whenever I look at my favourite Bolt cutters ( other burglary equipment is available 😂) all I can see is the Jaws of death - massive Capercaillie beak 😱

12/05/2026

All wheels I build now are guaranteed against all sorts of massive beak attacks 😂🤣 obviously 🙄 at no extra cost 💰 😭. My own wheel after a bite from a beak that was more like a set of huge bolt cutters ☠️

12/05/2026

08/05/2026

Number two rear hub this week 🙈 - only a few months old ( has some damage ) - the only reason this has lasted this long is because the rider is petite , light and nimble 😊 ! No not me 😂. I forgot to take pics of the internals probably because I was in shock 😳 🙀at the Technofuddery that lives within , the Toy sized minature mechanism that a large powerful rider would destroy very quickly 🤷‍♂️🤨🆘🚳⚠️ 🇨🇳 😂

08/05/2026

Number one daft freehub problem this week 😤🤬🤯 Broken freehub ruining a riders bike packing trip ! Obviously 🙄 whoever designs this stuff isn’t living in the real world coupled with p**s poor materials which are light whizzy and seem super in every way when new quickly turn into a bag of broken scrap 😵‍💫☠️🤠🧨
Building in a Hope 🇬🇧 pro 5 which is about 100 x more reliable

24/04/2026

In a rare moment of Empathy 🤗😳( probably cos there is 💰 🍹involved 😂 ) with this customer who has a bad back - obvs 🙄 I wasn’t listening close enough to the exact spinal problem 🫣😵‍💫set up this bike to be as comfortable as possible! Headtube extension/ high stem / double Gel pads on bars / long brake hoses and gear cable . All set for ⛺️ trip on the western isles ☀️ 😄 🚴‍♀️ 🏖️