My BIL is a full on Darkside Rapha fanboy but has built up a CX bike which I had a quick ride on the other day. Its steel with all the right kit for a proper adventure and a very nice bike.

He doesn’t do things unless they are a proper challenge, so now wants to do the SDW on it. He hasn’t ridden off road before; So while I admire his ambition, it could end in a combination of punctures / dinged rims / sore writs and loss of temper as he discovers his roadie fitness and skills are no use off road.

Nevertheless, he needs to know how fast he can ride it off road. He’s pretty fit, early 40’s and probably 86kg. Regularly rides 100 miles on the road on weekends and is often riding up and down the Alps.

On the road he would leave me for dead very quickly, off road I suspect he will pinch on the first root/rock he finds and spin out as he tries to stomp the pedals on the first climb.

However, off road for the first time…………..I reckon he will be in for a shock. Anyone any idea of average speeds on a CX bike for the SDW ?

I reckon his biggest challenge will be comfort and a lack of off road experience.

It’s definately rideable on a cx – I agree about the punctures for a rookie off-roader though. Is he tubeless?

Not sure about tubeless. If he isn’t he needs several spare tubes and a good pump. What sort of pressures would you recommend for skinny CX tyres ? I would think he needs a balance between comfort + traction plus pressure to prevent pinches.

40 psi ? 60 psi ? I’ve no idea having only been CX curious a few times.

It’s OK for a reasonable competant off roader, but all the rattling can drive you nuts! 10mph av for a nice day out, 12-13mph for a challenging day.
Travel light and fast, and have a printout of the water tap locations.

Shwalbe do a tough gravel tyre, the Landcruiser. I rode 100miles without any cuts or punctures at about 35psi

What about gearing, I seem to recall some of the climbs are pretty steep. He may ride the Alps on his roadbike, but he’s going to have to sit and spin the loose climbs. 34 front ring and a 36-10 rear ?

He’s a big boy, let him get out and find out for himself what it is like.

FunkyDunc – your right, but I don’t want his first foray off-road to put him off. Also, I may have to rescue him in the van and he can be miserable when defeated 🙂

Perhaps a lap or two of Swinley on his CX bike will give him an intro into off-roading. Its twisty enough to make him think about line choice and bumpy enough to experiment with tyre pressure and layers of bar tape.

I wouldn’t like to do SDW on a CX – in the dry it’ll be painful, and in the wet scary slippy and frustrating. I know people do it on CX but rigid 29er with at least 2.1 tyres would be my pref, though ideally at least front sus.

EDIT – if he does want to do it on the CX, then I suggest doing it in at least a couple of months, and spending the mean time toughening himself up riding the CX bike off road quite a lot.

Is he trying to do it in a day or over several days?

A CX is fast over the high sections but will beat the crap out of you on a lot of the descents.

Mine has a 34×30 low gear and it’s just about ok but I’d prefer lower; 34×36 should be fine.

Spinning the rear on the climbs is always going to be a risk with CX tyres, especially with tubes where you need enough pressure to avoid constantly flatting on the descents. But it should be ok. If it’s dry I would just go with the largest tyres you can fit with a hardpack tread. If it’s wet you’re just going to be sliding whatever 🙂

Nice write up from Beth Hodge who did it on a cx last Sunday.
That’ll be two extra large big mac meals please. South Downs Way in a day.

SDW in a day? On a CX bike? First time off road? Nope.
I ride the middle section of it regularly on a gravel bike and have done the whole thing on a 29er. If it’s even slightly damp there will be a frightening lack of grip. Even it’s dry the fist-sized flints will quickly become tiresome. My mate did it on a CX bike and vowed never again…

If he’s intent on it, then the fattest tyres he can fit in the frame and several tubes. Plus no backpack (not that he would wear one, being a Rapha fanboy – indeed, I suspect he’s been watching too many Rapha Prestige videos for his own good…).

to echo some of the above, fit the biggest tyres you can in the frame, the comfort benefits going up from a standard 33mm CX tyre to a 40mm if it will fit are immense and worthwhile
even so it’s worthwhile mincing a bit on the descents, the time wasted in being a bit slower are more than made up for by not spending time mending punctures

you can do it on standard CX gearing but it will hurt, the climbs are heavily weighted towards the back half

i’ve tried tubeless many times on the CX on the South Downs and really suffered with sidewall flint gashes so run tubes now, others have better tales

my top tip is just to keep moving, it doesn’t have to be fast, just keep moving, stopping at gates (there are 100 or so) to look at the view, stopping for food and a pub lunch really chews your time

here’s a thing i wrote for road.cc on doing the Wiggle SDW in a day on the CX last year – The Way Of The Cross

I’ve done it multiple times on all manner of bikes including a SS CX – very fast, but pretty painful. Agree that bigger, tougher tyres like 40mm is what’s needed – regular CX tyres will probably get shredded by flints / pinch-flatted. With little offroad experience, hands, wrists and backside will take a battering. Very dry and loose in places may make some climbs a challenge so best not wear those lightweight carbon disco-slippers as they’ll be looking a bit less than new. Predictive speed is academic as it depends on the condition and riders on the day – sub 12-hours elapsed, including stops is good going. Don’t forget its 10,000ft of ascent, more than half of it in the second half – I’ve seen people get to Truleigh and think they’ve ‘done it’

Thanks guys, all very good advice which I shall pass on.

He’s going to meet me at Swinley this weekend for some off-road experience and experimentation, which should help.

Cheers.

Drop @bikebouy an email, he rides all around the South Downs / Hampshire and has road, cx and xc bikes.

SDW in a day is not a great idea for a first proper cx ride imo. If he wants an experiment you could do Winchester – QECP, a lap of a trail or two there and back.

Done it on a CX bike and a dropped-barred 29er in the dry and way more fun on the 29er.

It’s the flinty descents where the 29er wins out. Took me much longer to recover from the CX.

How do people manage to get up these climbs on CX gearing??

I live ridden a lot near the Brighton/Lewes/Eastbourne end, and I can barely get up some of the climbs in 22-34 on a 29er! I tried it on a CX (compact, 11-32 cassette) and it was hopeless. Gearing isn’t anywhere near low enough and standing up just means the tyres loses grip and the descents gave me neck ache from using the drops. I always use a 29er now.

I reckon after a ride round Swinley he may have second thoughts 🙂

It’s my playground,
I ride over the Downs a lot and the SDW is my favoured training ground for my other CX adventure riding.

It’s easy, if your mates as fit as you say he’ll be fine. In a day? Yup, if he cracks on and doesn’t get sore wrists or neck he’ll do it easily. Gearing, I use 46/34 & 28/12 and is bang on, nothing’s too steep on the ups and on the downs he’ll be hanging off the back. If it’s dry, he’ll need to watch for the ruts of which there are many and the rutted down the valley bits are chalk rocks, the ups are similar. Even in the driest conditions the undergrowth is damp and slippy so expect to slide on the chalk, this time of year though is all about the off camber teeth rattling descents around Clacktonburry Ring at full chat, be careful as the chalk is slippy in the dry and wet.
Choose your watering holes as you go, one bottles fine just top it up. Eat well when you have a flat bit, take a chain link/tool, tubes, tyre patches ( normal a stuff really, no need to go “full on adventure” and take stuff you don’t normally ride without)
Tyres, your choice. I do it on Griffos if it’s dry, Limus if wet (both std 33C) never been tempted to use my bigger Gravel Grinders yet (38C).
It’s a hoot on a CXer, part of the fun and challenge is getting to the end and not having sore wrists.

Plenty of knowledge and opinion on here about the SDW, suggest he reads it and takes 15% of what’s said seriously.

It’s easy

I ride over the Downs a lot and the SDW is my favoured training ground for my other CX adventure riding.

you obviously are mtb and off-road fit – jumping on a new CX bike from a road background, no matter how good your lungs are, he doesn’t have the offroad skills, nor core/upper body strength that you have developed.

takes 15% of what’s said seriously.

indeed.

From the experience of taking a very fit roadie out round the FoD (fit as in Iron man sub 11 hr. fit) I noticed he not only fell off a lot, he was also knackered.

Physically knackered a lot from the upper body and arm movement, not just the constant crouching over the saddle.

He was also mentally knackered at having to read the trail ahead the whole time.

He said the whole experience was like an intense interval workout and the climbs were way steeper than he ever encountered on the road. He couldn’t get over how he wasn’t able just to pedal along at a set speed/cadence and had to look for grip.

Road vs. mtb is very different, I don’t think there is much cross over.
(He hasn’t asked to come out again mind you)

I was toying with the idea of doing exactly this the other day (while looking out at the SDs from the top of Holmbury Hill). I’ve done the Ridgeway on my CX, so SDW can’t be that much harderer, can it?

Having read this thread, I’m really not sure it’s such a good idea now…

Perhaps I’ll put that little idea ‘away’ for a bit.

I will keep you posted on how he gets on at Swinley and then if he has a go at the SDW.