Hope Ambassador Day 2022

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With the threat of a biblical quantity of rain gradually fading into quite a nice forecast, the stage was set for the HB Ambassador Day at Hope HQ in Barnoldswick. Those unable to attend the previous outing would fly, drive, ride and do whatever they could to make it to this corner of Lancashire for the HB shindig.

Sam, Lukas, Olaf and Christian would fly in from Finland, Austria, Germany and Sweden respectively; John would get a very late/very early ferry from Ireland and arrive as the sun rose, Taylor would take two days to ride from London while her partner in crime Kitty would opt for the more conventional car journey, as would Paul.

Taking care of everyone from the Hope side would be Claire, ably assisted by Neil, who likely handlayered most of the ambassadors’ bikes, Robin who can seamlessly switch between most European languages, and Alan, who “knows how everything in the factory works.”

The day kicked off with a nosey around the as yet unreleased HB916, with this being the first time most of the more far flung ambassadors had laid eyes on it in real life. Once they were peeled away from the 916, everyone got stuck into a very Hobbit-friendly second breakfast before the vehicles were loaded for a lap of Gisburn.

A short blast up the road to Gisburn saw a car park awash with all manner of different colour HB130s, in all manner of sizes. With a group this size, the faff is unusually brief, or maybe it was dealt with back at the factory… Who knows. It’s not long before Claire is leading the way, with plenty of very excitable HB ambassadors snapping at her heels.

The opening switchbacks of Gisburn’s red trail lets everyone get their eye in after early starts and late finishes the previous night. It also gives everyone someone to chase, with Claire essentially being the pace-setter, possibly not by accident at this stage.

Winding through the plantation at Gisburn sees some serious greenery thanks to a thick carpet of moss that has started making its way into the trees and offers a much more vivid experience that the monotone we’re used to as mountain bikers in the UK.

As the sun starts to split the clouds, those who braved just a short sleeved jersey are loving life, while everyone who layered up cursing the heat and humidity like someone who hasn’t just come out of the wettest winter ever. The long, steady winch to the top of the Hope line gets the skin leaking, and the breather before dropping in is welcomed by everyone.

Fast and cruisy, with some jumps for good measure, the Hope line is a cracking way to dry the skin out and see if everyone has remembered to bring their style to the party. There’s plenty of airtime being sent with more than a few opting to go back up for another lap.

By the time we meet local resident and trail maintenance legend Kev Duckworth, we’re already running out of time, so we hot-foot it back to the vans for a quick change of kit and a gallop back to the factory.

Whatever meal we then get stuck into back in Banroldswick, Aragorn hasn’t heard of it either…Everyone has worked up an appetite but are all nervously waiting to see where the magic happens down on the factory floor. The CNC machines can be seen from the dinner table and few can take their eyes of it.

With everything including the crumbs hoovered up, a line of wide-eyed ambassadors follow Alan downstairs to the factory floor like the Pied Piper. Alan explains that almost everything is made on site, perhaps some light parts, but even they’re sourced locally. From there, everyone strains their ears over the din of the machines running flat out. Everything from caliper forgings being milled down to the finished form, brake olives, headset caps, the works… It’s all going off.

The whistlestop of the factory heads to the testing room where everything is tested to standards, then destruction, and can help fine tune something that is far stronger than the competition without being unpleasant to ride. There’s even a heat treating rotor robot meaning that the myriad of different rotor styles and sizes get heat treated under the same roof they’re laser cut.

From there, the ambassadors see the people who make their frames, the bars… all hand-layered and finished in one corner of the building. That includes the very rare TT bike that nobody can take their eyes off.

Into anodising and the din is starting to ease. The air is sweet but we don’t know what chemical is making such a nice smell at this stage. We’re just happy that it’s far cooler and quieter here as we move into the wheel room and into assembly, where, again, everything is put together by hand. Even the wheels are inspected, destressed and trued by a human.

And with that, we’re at the end of the tour, our ears have taken a beating but everyone is loving the fact that they’ve seen where all the Hope kit goes from aluminium billet or bar, fibre to frame or seat post, to the kit they ride on a daily basis.

Words & Pictures: Pete Scullion