From the front page; a statement from Steve Parr;

“It is with much thought and sadness that I have to inform you, I will not be organising UK Gravity Enduro in 2013.
There are several reasons, issues with title sponsor not paying their bill, horrendous timing at all but one round and my own personal situation.

I see that it’s now called the Shimano Gravity Enduro, so did fetish bikes (a shop in Cheltenham) **** Steve over? Do they need to be boycotted?
Has anyone else stepped forward to run the gravity enduros?
Anyone got the gen?

It would be a shame to see the series disappear.

Last I heard was Si Patton from British Downhill was taking it on.

Glad it’s surviving. Any word on the the miser sponsors?

Some info in here Wrecker…

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-bike-for-uk-gravity-enduro/page/2#post-4166066

I certainly wouldn’t buy anything from that company.

Steve did throw some Fetish T Shirts to the crowd on Sun stating “Anyone want some rags?”

Having raced the last 2 years I’m really sorry to see Steve go, the series will lose that friendly, chilled out touch and will probably scare some of the new riders away.

None of this was Steve’s fault, he had so many balls to juggle that yes, once or twice balls were dropped but this was inevitable in a new sport. The timing was bollox but again, this wasn’t Steve’s fault. But this undermined the whole event/series. The timing company should be ashamed of their performance over the last two years because its been a shambles

If the timing element is sorted Steve leaves behind a lasting legacy that I’m certain will succeed.

Sooooo, Fetish bikes; soon to be bankrupt then.

The timing company should be ashamed of their performance over the last two years because its been a shambles

Two years of **** up? I wish my customers were this tolerant…

What timing do they use for the Irish enduro series? Do they have the same problems?

Dyfi was my first round and I was hoping to do a few next year, shame it’s gone this way.

Balls I’m gutted at this news, I had to pull out of the Dyfi round due to injury but I was planning to do two rounds next year. Such a shame.

Shame that, i did a few over the last two years and had a great time…..even the one where i concussed myself out of practice was a good weekend….the better half and me decided to go into town, book into a hotel instead and come back and watch the race on Sunday, the atmosphere was great, sound system playing excellent music, no elitism….the girlie isnt really into bikes but even she said it was a great event….she normally does Horsey stuff and to say they are stiff and snooty is an understatement, i hope Gravity Enduro doesnt go the same way.

the x-fusion enduro1 timings been pretty pants as well, if you overtake someone on a stage you invariably **** up the timings, they have no electronic system at all though

the x-fusion enduro1 timings been pretty pants as well, if you are overtake by someone on a stage you invariably **** up the timings, they have no electronic system at all though

I fixed that reply for you Kimbers 😉

ha ha scott we are gonna have your team at the next one!

Why you got more ringers? 😀

Looking forward to it!

shame to hear this. I entered 3 this year and had a great laugh. OK, maybe not so much at Coed Y Brenin but I dont think Steve could be blamed for the weather.

I hope the series keeps going next year

British Gravity Enduro on Facebook

Mentioned this in the other thread, but contact tags as used by Innerleithen MTB Racing, No Fuss and the Transprovence among others are proven reliable. Steve made the call not to use that type of system because he felt noncontact systems were more professional IIRC, but IMO they did bring the problems on themselves a bit (there’s a reason xc races using timing mats usually have a manual backup…). And the times-for-starts system adds a ton of complexity on top of that of course.

Not to fixate on negatives, just hoping to reassure people that there are methods that work, it’s not an inherent issue with enduros. The Gravity Enduro series looks like it’s using yet another system, hopefully it’ll work out!

Main thing is- even with timing issues, people had a blast at these events. Enduro’s a superb format because it can be great fun from the top to the bottom. That’ll continue regardless of who’s in charge or how it’s run I’m sure.

Looks like it will be a series after all…

“The UK Gravity Enduro Series has proudly led the way for the UK Enduro racer. Sadly she is no longer so we are stepping upto the plate to deliver a national level series.”

and

“The ball is rolling, lets start with timing:
This includes all timing services as used at BDS, plasma TV for commentary purposes at the final stage finish, gantry LED display, professional printed results, internet results hosted on our website and available for you for your use as required.

Results will be available for every category for individual stages and overall event classification for each category. We can also look at other classification methods you may require.
As usual, we guarantee 100% accurate, reliable and punctual results.

As usual – I would be happy to bring on board TAG Heuer
Dave – Sports Timing.”

🙂

chakaping – Where did this info come from….enlighten us!

http://www.facebook.com/BritishGravityEnduroSeries

Chakaping’s info is from here (link in my post)

mikesmith’s link above

It is a shame about the UK Gravity Enduro but I’m glad there is going to be a British Gravity Enduro. It will give me a target for getting fitter than I was.

If Si Paton has anything to do with the project, it will be fantastic.

Just look at what he’s done to the BDS – a truly world-class downhill race series

I wonder if they will have a minimum points entry system (like the BDS) ?

I wonder if they will have a minimum points entry system (like the BDS) ?

I’d be very surprised if they did. The discipline is sort-of pitched at people who don’t want to race DH or XC, so I don’t know where they’d get points from?

I wonder if they will have a minimum points entry system (like the BDS) ?

There would have to be regional rounds first wouldn’t there for this to happen?

I expect it to be hugely popular – hopefully they will keep numbers to a sensible amount.

Maybe as more Enduro race series pop up in the future (and have BC points available), BES (British Enduro Series…) will become the ‘fastest’ Enduro racers

Essentially the same as the BDS..

EDIT: Sorry, should have made myself clearer – points in the future, not in 2013!

If Si Paton has anything to do with the project, it will be fantastic.

Just look at what he’s done to the BDS – a truly world-class downhill race series

I wonder if they will have a minimum points entry system (like the BDS) ?

As someone who has raced numerous BDS rounds, I can view it without the rose tinted spectacles.

From a promotional perspective, yes i’ll agree & will probably do a good job of ramming down everyone in the indutry’s throats, which is what it needs to make it what it should be.

From a riding perspective. Probably not so great. Still at least with a Gravity Enduro there won’t be 12 hours worth of uplift queues for 30 minutes of riding over a weekend…

Irish enduro also used the contact tag system northwind mentioned, didn’t seem to be any problems with it.

I hear strava will be sponsoring it…..only joking.

If timing is sorted out then the series will be fine. 2 years in and still having timing problems is bad.

A smaller national series with more regional events would probably be good for longevity. Driving is getting to be one of the biggest costs in racing these days.

The plot thickens…

Steve Parr will run a 2013 series after all

😐 Hmmm 24h that was a quick turn around.

scottfitz – Member

Hmmm 24h that was a quick turn around.

24 hours is a long time in racing 😉

24 hours is a long time in racing

Depends how slow you are!

He did this at the end of 2011 as well – decided there wouldn’t be a 2012 series, got his ego massaged a bit from those who’d had fun racing and told him what a great all round chap he was for doing such a half-arsed job with loads of timing issues and general teething problems that lasted the entire series great job. A week later he announced a 2012 series…

Shame none of the issues of the earlier 2011 round have ever been sorted out though 🙄

Well it’ll be interesting to hear how his game is going to be upped.

The racing was great at the rounds I did. Just needs the timing sorting and the communications improving really.

See, I know he doesn’t agree with this, but to me it’s this simple…

1) bin the seeding.
2) remove the start times for stages
3) use a timing system that you know will work and which is simple.
4) there is no 4.

1 and 2 go together, this is how many other events run- you get a total time to complete the lap, and make your way between stages as fast or as slow as you like, as long as you complete them all within the allotted time. Because you decide when you start the stage, you can manage gaps and reduce holdups/overtaking – “You look a bit keen, go in front of me”, that sort of thing, or waiting til there’s a gap, etc.

Seeding’s only needed to set out the stage start times, which in turn adds a massive stack of complexity and confusion, and that’s where so many of the problems have been.

3, we’ve covered. It’s ridiculous that their timing still doesn’t work though.

The downside of this to them, is that without the seeding it becomes more of a 1-day event, and maybe that has an impact on cost/value. But on the other hand, rounds have sold out, and removing seeding would allow single-day attendance which is bound to draw more people. Practice on saturday would still be part of the weekend for most people though but at least it gives the option- which saves a lot of money and time, not having to stay overnight etc.

I agree with what Northwind said.

Have watched all this with interest, the format is still new so good to see people doing different things with it. The Gravity series has a more DH style ethos, with seeding runs and millionth of a second timing being v important, but lets face it a bit of a phaff. I did one event but I can’t remember – do the fastest people go first ? That would make more sense to me if the idea is to prevent people catching each other. Actually I vaguely remember getting passed by Helen Gaskell so I think the fastest people went last which makes no sense for the ladies with such small fields and is DH style.

But I digress – Enduro race series need to decide to aim at Elite riders or weekend warriors. What pleases one group is largely just a hassle for the other.

1) bin the seeding.
2) remove the start times for stages
3) use a timing system that you know will work and which is simple.

1. Disagree, on a long stage I shudder to think that Dan Atherton/Crawfy/Clementz could come thundering past/through me at some point. Yes you can be all polite and sensible, but a lot of overtaking can take place on some of the stages that have been used. Seeding helps to lessen that….. I really enjoyed the seeding run at Inners this year and come Sunday it made perfect sense imo

2. This is where things get tricky as if you have point 1. you obviously need some control. Which is where sorting out the late-comer rules and communication between stages becomes critical, not quite sure (like the organisers) how that could/should work though.

3. Absolutely. Dibbers (the nice new wrist-bands ones they used in Ireland especially) all the way, until a genuinely fool-proof gate method can come along and better it