Racing tomorrow on my 34lb slack steed with flat pedals, wide bars and big tyres. Am I going to regret this or have the time of my life?
[i]Am I going to regret this or have the time of my life?[/i]
probably both. just not at the same time.
The wide bars will be the hard bits its a tight twisty track!
Depends on your attitude to the event. If you're comfortable on that bike and just want to complete the whole thing, you'll be fine. If you get the endurance racing bug then you may want to consider a more suitable bike.
main thing for me is the other guys I'm riding with on their xc whippet bikes get shown up 🙂 potentially not by me, but we'll see
They'll get shown up by someone, unless they win. Odds are the 'show-ers up' will be on XC whippet bikes too, Thetford doesn't really have anything at all where a more burly bike would be beneficial!
At 4am when my arse hurts from riding a hardtail I'll swap 😆
njee20 it's not a choice of bike it's my only bike!!!
will - I'll be the one on the Spesh Enduro, lathered in mud, trying to hold down the night befores beer and curry. Just tap me on the shoulder I'd be more than happy to swap...
34lbs? in the mountains of Thetford?
It'll be tough on the long, steep climbs
My usual ride is a 32lb hardtail & I'm not worried but I'm not there to win 😉
Seen people on some real big bikes racing in the past so just enjoy the atmosphere. If it's your only bike then your team mates should know this before hand & cut you some slack surely?
I did it solo on my Nomad last year. About 33lobs and with 760mm bars. It was fine even in the really horrible clarty stuff. You'll cope.
I am however doing it on a sub 26lb 29er hardtail this year.
No need for full-suss at Thetford but the most important thing is that you enjoy it!
I live 10 miles from Thetford and ride there weekly, always on a hardtail.
The is more skill in 'pumping' and standing up through the wavey sections than the type of bike. Thetford is about technique to be fast and avoid 'thetford back'!