I'm gonna try my hand at a bit of cyclocross this weekend (West Buckland School, North Devon). I'm gonna use my xc bike. Any advice?

Prepare to taste blood 😀

i cant give you any advice as i've not done one yet, but i plan to try one on my mtb too.
Make sure you report back here with how you got on, good luck..

Fit the thinnest knobblies you can get. 1.8" is good although if you can get something around 1.5 – 1.7" that's better. If you can adjust the suspension set it as hard as it'll go without actually locking it out.

Strip the bike of any accessories. Mudguards, bar ends, bottle cages, computer, light brackets, under-saddle packs can all come off.

It will be fast. No, faster than that. It will hurt but it'll also be fun and you won't be last. There's usually a really good atmosphere at cross races. Take warm clothes for afterwards!

I'm gonna do my first this weekend too….bit worried having looked at last years results (SCX) that nearly everone are club riders, and there's not enough people doing it as a bit a laugh like i'll be doing. I'll be the one getting lapped then 😕

I'm sure you will enjoy it, the atmosphere is great and even the top guys are quite laid back.
Your mtb will be fine. Fit some skinny tyres if you've got some and take of anything not needed – mudguards etc.
Pace is mental, you start off flat out and then just keep going faster, so practise the course and get fully warmed up beforehand. It only lasts 50 mins or so plus a lap.
Good luck.

i know what you mean, i wish i never looked at the results of another league, probably 90%+ club riders so will be tough going

as crazy legs says. Imagine the fastest thing you could ever imagine, it will be faster than that.

Let us know how you get on
Bought a cross bike last night and plan to start racing in a couple of weeks
No idea what I have let myself in for!!!!

You will get lapped.It will hurt.They will go off like a whippet up a drain pipe,and then carry on at that pace.The sound of the bell will be sweet music to your ears.At some point you will swear that it is totally pointless.You will get beaten by someone resembling your dad.5 minutes after the finish you will be planning the next one.You will start coveting cx bikes.

In my first CC race, I got lapped by a 12 year old girl. I came last. By a long way. It was awesome though..

As mentioned, the narrowest tyres you can find, pumped up to 60 psi (at least).

I was always told that 'you think you're fast. You're not'

I had a phone call this morning asking if I wanted to go and watch a local CX race but for some reason I'm quite tempted to race.
So I'm just preparing myself for a kicking!

The guys at South West Cyclo Cross are a good bunch. My son raced at the under 12 kids race at Newnham last weekend. Most are riding cross bikes but there are a few mtb's kicking about also. I should be there tomorrow but not riding, I will be on the camera.

I will race when my CX bike is finally bought/built 🙂

South West Cyclo Cross racing pics

My first one of the season on Sunday, so just loosening up on the road or turbos later.
Looking forward to it as I couldn't race last year.
I was hoping to race together with my son, he got a first and second last year but sadly has gone back to football. 😥

Don't try to stay with the front guys, you probably won't stick with guys on cross bike anyway.
The first one i rode I had to stop after two laps to be sick. You do get used to the speed after a few races and its great fun.

get hays to take a photo of you at the finish so i can laugh at your knackeredness!!!

Are water bottles a no no at cx races? Do guys use camelbacks, or just go without for an hour or so?

You just go without for an hour. If you have time to eat/drink at a CX race you're not trying hard enough!
Most people fuel up well beforehand, perhaps a gel a couple of minutes before the start then have a water bottle ready for the end. It's only an hour, you can survive that long without a drink.

I usually down a bottle of Allsports Finaleboost 10 mins before the off,super red bull type drink then suffer!
I'd say try to stick with the fast guys,that's what I do and usually manage a top 10(on a cross bike mind).
Do have a very good warm up,minimum of 30 mins with a few very hard efforts to get you prepared for what is to come.
Don't worry about guys being 'club riders' anyone can join a club it doen't make them better than you.
And finally,enjoy it 😀

Did my first cross race today.

Hard work (as expected) but quite good fun. Not eating or drinking for an hour was a bit alien but I'm making up for it now 🙂

My first cx race completed too (SCX Round 1 – Plean). Thoroughly enjoyed it, even managed to pass more peolpe than passed me! Did get lapped by 3/4 of the top boys though…damn they're fast! Maybe next year I'll give them a run for their money 😉
Thanks for the advice posted earlier, had 1 gel before the gun and energy drink the hour before, and no water during the race at all….and surprisingly I didn't even need any.
Thanks to Stirling Bike Club for organising a top event.

Simonbarnes

That's a nice shiny race number. Most of our numbers look like they've been kept in the cow shed!

Glad you enjoyed your race.

Saints alive, that was fun! Probably one of the best things I've ever done on a bike.

I didn't come last and managed to beat quite a few lads on cross bikes (despite breaking my front mech and being stuck in the middle ring on my second lap) so pretty happy with that. I'd say that if you're thinking about doing one, then give it a go. I was gonna just watch and see what it was about. If I had, I would have thought it was just a load of roadies riding around a field. Instead, what I experienced was a brilliantly competitive, yet surprisingly welcoming experience that made me work harder on my bike than I ever have done before (first time I've had a stitch since I gave up rugby). I'm hooked and well up for another race next weekend.

SWCX: http://www.cyclo-cross.org.uk

Simon – Niggaz With Cyclo-Cross Attitude?

No Sam 🙂

North West Cyclocross Association

Good skillz Rich! I can't believe a 'unit' like you on a full sus beat some proper crossers. I might have to join you just so everyone has someone slow to repeatedly lap. Bodmin on 18th sounds good.

Other crossers, if I ride my skinniest mud tyres on a singlespeed will I make it round?

Saints alive, that was fun! Probably one of the best things I've ever done on a bike.

I've been telling people that for *years* and they're just starting to believe me. Welcome to our world!

And well done to all you newbies! My 'n'th race today in Bristol and was very happy to have come away with 5th place. The mighty Will Bjergfelt (Sports Beans/Wilier) was the winner.

Was chatting to a newbie before our race today – he'd put skinny mud tyres on his hardtail to take part. At the end, I watched in horror as he dropped a place when, in a bout of over-enthusiasm, he tried outsprinting someone in a dash for the finish line… when his forks compressed on the last bend, and his bike slid out from under him… 🙁

I think he'll be back next week, though.

Mine was purgatory today, that was the first CX I've ever done that was raced within the confines of a single field.
Pancake flat and bumpy as hell.
Though couldn't have asked for a better way to blow off the cobwebs.

oldgit – sounds good – we were all set to go until I read the londoncyclesport revised details where they said that entry on the line was unlikely so I unpacked and did something else today. Maybe catch you at Hemel next weekend?

I'll be at Hemel next weekend hopefully see you there.

Julian, I reckon you'd love it, as would Jim. I'm pretty sure Carl would hate it though. Any bike'll do but not sure about your SS. I got beaten by a bloke on a rigid, 15yr old Univega today which rather humbled my two grand of suspension technology. I definitely found a new admiration for cx bikes today. Hayley did remark afterwards that she expects a cross bike to appear soon. Cyclescheme time in December 😀 . Any suggestions for one under a grand?

Bodmin is a bit far for me, but all the others left in the series are close enough to be easy. Gonna do one or two more and definitely finish in Plymouth.

Oldgit, I grew up in Dunstable and never knew that such a thing existed locally. Gutted.

I definitely found a new admiration for cx bikes today.

It's what they're designed for, after all…

😉

Cheeky!

Sponging_Machine: well done on your race, glad you enjoyed it! I have a lot of respect for people who turn up on MTB's just to give it a go without really knowing what to expect (mostly cos I remember only too well my first CX race on my MTB!).

Good luck in your next race. 🙂

Having done my first cross race today I'm glad it was on a cross bike as trying to keep up the required speed through the large chunks that weren't at all technical would have resulted in me being even more of a wreck at the end. Great fun though.

Just checked the results and I came 32nd out of 36, so not too bad for a fat giant on a bmx.