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The annual Mayhem – tyres and course thread!
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cardiffFree Member
Who liked the Jump I built at the Bottow of the long climb on the offcamber on the second half of the course? I cant speak now from shouting “do a whip” “Do a Skid” or “your winning”
Epic mayhem,Agreed about the lack of shopping on offer.I pretty much rode past it when I first saw it so circled around the tree to have another go, I’m not entirely sure it was worth it mind as my jump was pathetic! All good fun though!
BrickManFull Member‘do a skid’, ‘give it cheese’ and ‘rawwwwwr’ are my chants of choice.
I think I single handedly ruined at least 5 peoples world cup hopes at fort bill by blowing their mind with poor spoken English.
DimmadanFree MemberNext year, each RIDER!!!!! Should be given a token for the bike wash and a token for the shower and RIDERS should get priority and get a token back once used. How many non riders were using the facilities from where there bikes got muddy riding the campsite?
3 jet washers for 3500 riders and waiting 2 hours to use them.
Plus showers not being signed of by the council until 12pm on the Saturday is a joke.There has been some real cost cutting this year with less toilets and showers. Shame as it could of been so much better even with the mud issue.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...footflapsFull MemberThere has been some real cost cutting this year with less toilets and showers. Shame as it could of been so much better even with the mud issue.
If there was cost cutting I suspect it’s down to lack of entries / sponsorship, the whole scene is not as popular as it once was, plus we’re in a recession.
kinda666Free MemberI along with many others ended up washing there bikes in the pool..
I stupidly left my dirtworker at home much to my mates annoyance..
aracerFree MemberWho liked the Jump I built at the Bottow of the long climb on the offcamber on the second half of the course?
That was the one I did a running jump over holding my uni at ~9:30pm? Hope you enjoyed my efforts 😉
ElmoFree MemberEven later on (2 on Sunday morning) not all the showers were working.
I got a nice warm one though. There were rumours they were cold earlier.There was stuff to buy, i guess it depended what you were after!
We gave a load of t-shirts, caps, bags and clapping hands away though!Great support from Hope and Sram though(never had to go into the Shimano tent, but I’d assume they were also excellent?!)
LSFree MemberThe showers were tepid just after midnight and cold by about 5am, but to be honest I didn’t care – it was still better than trying to get all that mud off with a bucket full of water 😀
And they were red-hot again by the end of the race, so at least I felt vaguely human on the way home.
BadlyWiredDogFull MemberThat was horrid and brilliant at the same time. Rigid ti 69er singlespeeds with mud tyres rock. My team mates are uniformly ace. Mud makes it harder to chat with random old friends. And that last lap was properly nasty. Still buzzing 🙂
willFree MemberAre there any official photos? Although having said that, might be hard to see the race numbers!!
aracerFree MemberHere’s the nearest I’ve found so far to official photos
britishcycling.org.uk photos, Mountain Mayhem 2012, Pictures by Ed Rollason.
I think those and more will be available to buy at
http://www.edrollasonphotography.co.uk/(no connection, just trying to butter him up so he lets me hotlink a few 😉 )
monkeychildFree MemberThat was epic!!! (not long woke up as I only got home after midnight) was solo on my singlespeed and managed 9 laps. Cheers to all the supporters you lifted my spirits and cheers to the ninja turtle who gave me Bacardi at about 8 in the morning lol.
rkk01Free MemberSo…
Which mud tyre ruled?
My Trailrakers had loads of grip, but at 2.1 were prone to clogging.
Some folks seemed to be relatively immune to the bike jamming mud
neil853Free Membermud-x 2.0 wasn’t too bad except for my ‘really’ claggy lap.
what a weekend though, struggled to enjoy it to be fair. set up we had was awesome though which made it barable, feel sorry for the people where it was their first time, i’ve done it 6/7 times now and its never been that bad, dry its a completely different event.
johnnystormFull Memberrkk01
So…
Which mud tyre ruled?
My Trailrakers had loads of grip, but at 2.1 were prone to clogging.
Some folks seemed to be relatively immune to the bike jamming mud
Maxxis Beavers on my 29 were good to begin with but the early clay on the first half of the course just clogged them. Moved over to the Cyclocross tyres On-one were selling and vastly improved.
jonathanFree Member1.8 Mud-Xs FTW 🙂
I really enjoyed my lap (yes, singular) and thought it would be a shame to spoil that feeling by going out again, so drank instead 😉
mboyFree MemberSo…
Which mud tyre ruled?
My Trailrakers had loads of grip, but at 2.1 were prone to clogging.
I took some 2.1″ Trailrakers, but when everyone was coming back and saying that mud clearance was the most important factor, I fitted a rigid fork to my hardtail, a 1.8″ Maxxis Medua on the back and borrowed a 2″ Bonty Mud X for the front. The Medusa almost certainly didn’t have as much grip as a Trailraker, but most importantly it didn’t hang onto the mud.
Some folks seemed to be relatively immune to the bike jamming mud
I was relatively immune to it compared to some people, but can confirm that after my last lap my bike that was sub 23lb at the start of the lap was more like 40lb at the end of it. Some people’s bikes were more like 60-70lb though! The guy in the bike wash queue behind me was running 2.35″ High Rollers on his hardtail, they had become 3″+ mud slicks and the bike was unrideable.
Rigid fork, frame with tons of mud clearance, and skinny tyres were what was required… I would have gladly gone Singlespeed too if I’d had the ability to (managed to find someone with a cog I could borrow, but not a tensioner).
what a weekend though, struggled to enjoy it to be fair.
Converesly, I really enjoyed myself. The only bits I didn’t like were nothing to do with the bike riding. That course, which was the same course almost exactly as the 2011 course, is a bit boring in the dry (the 2010 course was a lot better in the dry), but in those conditions it made it a lot more interesting. The lack of traction on the climbs after a period of time became a great leveller (seeing sponsored riders walk the climbs makes you feel more human).
Anyway, number 1 top tip from now on for Mayhem (even if you don’t use them cos its dry) is take a rigid fork and 1.8″ (or narrower) tyres with you… Not having to stop to clear the bike of mud every 2 minutes was probably worth 20 minutes or so a lap I reckon.
footflapsFull MemberSchwalbe 1.5″ Mud Sharks are the best tyre for those conditions. No clogging and cut through the clag and grip ok.
inigomontoyaFree MemberMy 2.25 racing Ralph was not great 😉 the Ron did OK in terms of grip on the front, just clogged up badly in the clay.
amt27Free Memberraced solo, did 5 laps, last one 2/3 walking as mech sheared off,
watching some of the better riders in the solo pits, you need:2 bikes at least
petrol jet wash
pit crewand huge amounts of skill to ride all the mud and stop your bike clogging, momentum is king, saw this when lap2 when Josh Ibbet lapped me,
squiffFree MemberI used 2.0 Mud x front and back and found them great with plenty of grip, I didnt get clogged up like other people either, I guess i was going tooo fast for the mud to stick to me or the bike 8) , it was good fun with my 1am nite lap been my highlight as the course was at its fastest.
I agree about other people have said about wiggle, the showers and the bikes washes.
But i will be back next year for my 5th time
crazy-legsFull MemberAnyway, number 1 top tip from now on for Mayhem (even if you don’t use them cos its dry) is take a rigid fork and 1.8″ (or narrower) tyres with you… Not having to stop to clear the bike of mud every 2 minutes was probably worth 20 minutes or so a lap I reckon.
I’ve always taken 2 bikes to Mayhem, my normal MTB (usually a FS S-Works) and my fully rigid Ti with 1.5″ mud tyres on it. On occasions where it’s been dry to start with then wet (or vice versa) I’ve used both bikes, if it’s been 100% dry then the rigid is just there as a spare. It’s brilliant though, will cut through almost anything, tons of mud clearance, ultralight. Feel really sorry for the poor folks on FS bikes with every pivot clogged solid, every linkage holding an extra 5lb of mud.
footflapsFull MemberIf I was riding in those condition I’d pick a Rigid 29″, Single Speed, Belt drive with 1.5″ mud shark tyres.
onewheelgoodFull MemberThe Black Shark Mud’s were absolutely awesome. Great grip and no clogging. However, as one of the wiser members of my team pointed out, whenever conditions are such that Black Sharks are the tyre to have you shouldn’t be riding at all but sat somewhere warm drinking beer. Which I though was a sound argument.
scu98rkrFree MemberSchwalbe 1.5″ Mud Sharks are the best tyre for those conditions. No clogging and cut through the clag and grip ok.
Im not completely sure there is a right tyre. The conditions change so much.
I had Bontrage 1.8 Mud X’s on.
During the night the course was really wet and basically any tire was fine. But as it dried out as you needed a thinner tyre to cut though.
But then there was also the period just before it started to rain when the course was almost a bit dry in places it might have been better to have a fatish tyre to spread your weight and hope to stay above the mud.
BadlyWiredDogFull MemberI seem to have accidentally built a near perfect Mayhem mud bike – it’s a ti copy – Setavento – of a Marin Rocky Ridge, run rigid with a 26″ On One carbon rigid fork and a 29″ front wheel, singlespeeded with an outboard eccentric bottom bracket. Weighs sub 21 lb without particularly light components, feels very slack so it stays super stable running through mud and lack of suspension makes it predictable over bumps. I ran a 1.8 Mud X on the back and a 2.0 Maxxis Beaver up front, which was pretty decent until the last super claggy lap when really narrow tyres would have been better. I didn’t even bother taking my race bike, which turned out to be a very good call. 🙂
Blazin-saddlesFree MemberThe winning Hope team were mainly using 2.0 Maxxis Beaver tyres if that helps?
BadlyWiredDogFull MemberWhile I remember, the other thing that rocked was the grip from my Mavic shoes. Brilliant and surefooted even on that off-camber stuff.
ciderinsportFree MemberTeam SUMO made it home!!!
2 teams, all singlespeed, 9 laps per team 😆 Those suits got a bit heavy with the mud and rain 😆
Thanks to all who put some pennies in our buckets, and all who cheered us on!
And yes… we seem to have started something – we’ll be back in 2013 😯
shortcutFull MemberThe insides of my xtr cranks are a bit polished and there is a little mud collection point on the inside of the big ring – don’t the Japanese have mud and grass? Not the my hope brakes were immune.
But it did all keep working – sort of.
smilerjoFree MemberWell the single speed is in one piece but the hardtail is in need of some tlc, I’m still trying to recover from the trauma of trying to push a hundredweight of clay round the first lap ! Same again next year ? Surely it can’t get any worse ! But that is today’s opinion yesterday was somewhat different 🙂
FunkyDuncFree MemberI was running 2.25 Nobby Nics on an Anthem frame with little clearence and plenty of places for mud to stick.
Although I had plenty of grip alot of the time I just couldnt get the rear wheel to turn and was stopping every 30 yds or so to unblock the wheel. One lap I got back and people couldnt even lift my bike, god knows how much it weighed, there was a solid wall of clay attached to the tyres, and any surface of the bike.
“The insides of my xtr cranks are a bit polished and there is a little mud collection point on the inside of the big ring”
After washing my bike on my last lap I noticed that all the paint work had gone where the tyre passess the chain stays and seat stays just 4 nice pataches of raw aluminium I was going to post a pic today, but unfortunately I cant as it was nicked last night 😈
The other thing I would say is that my 10 speed XT setup worked faultlessly. I remember the last bad Mayhem back in the day when people were saying 9 speed was crap and couldn’t cope with the mud (thats when 9 speed was new) and how 8 was better for mud, so I had real worries for 10,but not once did I get a bad shift or problem even, though I could never see the front chainrings or rear come to that!
aracerFree MemberWhile I remember, the other thing that rocked was the grip from my Mavic shoes. Brilliant and surefooted even on that off-camber stuff.
Proper off-road running shoes FTW – definitely seemed to have a lot more grip than the bikers in the off-camber section everybody was walking after the obelisk.
collostomyFree MemberI ran Bonty Mud-X’s on my Five and had very little problems with clogging up… They were shocking over the roots and rocks on my second lap at 9pm though! Just stripped the headset and found more Eastnor mud. Tough conditions but great memories.
rkk01Free MemberJust stripped the headset and found more Eastnor mud.
My washing machine is currently trying to digest more of the same…
Phil_HFull MemberBonty mud x on the front & maxxis medusa on the back of my five, both 1.8. No clogging problems.
Chain suck though, lots of granny ring chain suck.I had a great time playing gleefully in the filth. I don’t particularly care where we finished, just glad we did 😀
mboyFree MemberThey were shocking over the roots and rocks
Roots?
Rocks?
😕
All I saw was mud! 😉
Seriously though, skinny tyres at high pressures, even with a soft rubber compound, are no good over roots and rocks. But what little time and speed you lose there is made up for many times over elsewhere.
I went for an even narrower 1.8 Maxxis Medusa on the back, and it’s pretty shocking anywhere except for cutting through the gloop, but for that it was awesome!
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