[Closed] Cross is Coming! CX Season 2021-2022

I love 'cross but I've never been all that serious about it. I don't have a dedicated CX bike this year but will probably do a few of the local rounds on the Stooge, just for a laugh!

My 'training' consists of sickening 40min threshold efforts on an overgeared fixed gear. Nasty session but does the trick!

No dates for the Welsh season yet, although they've said it will provisionally start in October and run through to 2022, so a bit later than normal. I'm waiting until there are dates published before I start wondering what kit I need. (Hopefully only tyres...)

I've entered the first trophy race next month in Derby - us elder gents are not subject to the indignity of the 80% rule, @13thfloormonk.
It is first come first served, with no ranking considerations (outside of UCI peeps) due to the covid disruption, and there looks to be places available in almost all categories. You do need a full race license, though, which just cost me 20 quid.

I've been doing regular TT-ing, and it's been raining PBs on the back of little training (you can do this to an extent with tens) - all aero gains and no power gains I suspect so prob useless for CX, but we shall see. There's a good NW program up, outstanding work given how hard it must be to arrange races at the moment.

Do think that all these VO2 max, sharp sessions you get with stuff like trainerroad cross program is way over-emphasised. Maybe if you're right at the sharp end, but when do you ever get respite in a cross race? You don't - that is its USP. So throwing in big digs is not really what it's about for most riders because there is no recovery. As big an hour power as possible makes way more difference.

Not sure how the season is shaping up through, looks like race organisers have maybe been a bit put off by Covid etc. and the calendar is looking a bit sparse.

Venues has been the issue - a lot of councils and other landowners are not yet in the position of being comfortable granting permissions for events. Without a venue, there's not much organising you can do.

NT at Falkirk will be ace.

I'm going to attempt my first CX races this year.

Mildly terrified.

Will I get smacked, if I ask what tyres?

The South West series has 7 rounds confirmed at the moment - I'm hoping to ride 3 or 4 of the more local ones.

Looks like October 10th for the start of the UCI season in Waterloo - never been that fussed about the US races (often a bit too 'dusty' and not enough 'mud' for my tastes) but looks like we'll get a packed schedule with 5 races in October alone.

@geomickb - if it's your first I'd err on the side of grip! Challenge Grifo are great in my experience and can cope with most conditions.

Will I get smacked, if I ask what tyres?

Tyres will be the least of your problems. Your astonishing lack of fitness will not be affected by anything your bike does or doesn't. 😀 (Joking of course, but you won't be thinking about tyres when you're breathing out of your backside for an hour. Put on anything that you have that are narrow and knobbly and allow mud clearance, do the first race and then revisit..)

@geomickb - depends on conditions where you are racing - I'm in NI and after first 2 races, it's mud tyres for the rest of the season. But you may be somewhere where the ground holds up all season.

For mud, and running tubeless, it's hard to beat Challenge Limus or Specialized Terra Pro

But if conditions good, the as Abingham says - Grifo's are a great all rounder, along with Schwalbe X-one All round

If running any of the above, I'd definitely be going tubeless if you can

NW series is rarely anything but mud tyres all year. Schwalbe X One Bite seem to be the weapon of choice amongst the single bike veteran dad's gang 🙂 (i.e. they don't clog).

Venues has been the issue – a lot of councils and other landowners are not yet in the position of being comfortable granting permissions for events. Without a venue, there’s not much organising you can do.

Ah... I did wonder, that should have been obvious really.

Will I get smacked, if I ask what tyres?

I'll be 'training' on Vittoria Terreno Mix, tubeless, probably 35-40psi as most of my outdoor training will probably be on a mix of tarmac, gravel and occasional mud where I can find it.

Racing on Vittoria Wets. Rode them through the winter last year and they were ace and importantly I seem to get on with setting Vittoria tyres up tubeless so they lend themselves to last minute tyre changes the night before a race! Haven't yet figured out how low I can go without burping or pinching tyre, but I hit the rim a few times when I was racing on latex tubes at 35psi so I don't fancy going much lower than that, boggles the mind how low some people seem to go!

As big an hour power as possible makes way more difference.

I tend to agree, if the events were run as CX TTs I think I would probably place higher than I do otherwise, my undoing is getting swept up in all the excitement in the first couple of laps, usually gaining quite a few places from my respectfully-far-back starting position on the grid, but then collapsing with what feels like an imminent asthma attack come lap 3, dawdling for a lap to recover, then putting down a solid TT for the remaining 4 or 5 laps and regaining some of the positions I lost due to my 3rd lap collapse!

Soo... if I can get my sharp end fitness up a bit (or just learn to pace myself a bit more) then I could eradicate the 3rd lap fall-apart and probably finish a good bit further up! 😎

I’m prepping for this season by gradually getting lazier as the year goes on - seems a solid approach really.

Didn’t click what the venue was when I read “Falkirk”, they should be able to make a particularly interesting course for a National round there. Might have to go over for a watch of that one.

If I start hearing murmurs of Super Quaich getting organised then that “should” help with the motivation. Luckily I now only need to worry about 45min power now 😉

There’s a good NW program up,

Do you have a link handy please. Ought to do something to vary my rides.

Looking like a pretty full, 10 round, calendar for the London/Sussex League - starting at Stanmer (as is traditional) on Sept 5th.

but then collapsing with what feels like an imminent asthma attack come lap 3, dawdling for a lap to recover, then putting down a solid TT for the remaining 4 or 5 laps and regaining some of the positions I lost due to my 3rd lap collapse!

Teaching grandmothers to suck eggs here, but are you warming up properly? (I have problems with doing full warm-ups in venues that I don't know. I need about 25 minutes of riding, timed so that I don't cool down. I can only do this at local locations where I can get out on a decent loop(s) and not worry about getting lost.)

I've pulled myself together, got a CX bike and signed up for the NWCCA league this year, if I do as well as my last effort in 2019/20 I'll be amazed as this year my riding has involved just that, absolutely no training whatsoever.

The race calendar looks like it could be a good one, if they actually manage to get some venues sorted, I've put my name down to marshal at the North Cheshire one as from memory the course / venue is literally a flat field and dull as dish water.

I've fitted a set of Terreno Mix to my bike in the vain hope that it'll be dry'ish, but in no doubt the Terreno Wets will be on before the first race.

The eldest will be in the U10 with his eye on the league after a half decent summer of crit racing - which he doesn't really like, but does for keeping fit.

Middle one will be in U8, we'll see if he does more than just takes his bike for a wander round a random field in the NW as he's actually pretty quick when he doesn't get distracted by birds, trees, people waving at him and the sky 😀

The youngest keeps saying he wants to give it a go, he's not quite even 5 yet so we'll see, although he was riding his bike round the garden in the rain yesterday.

I’m going to attempt my first CX races this year - Will I get smacked, if I ask what tyres?

As @mick_r said them Schwalbe's are popular as are Terreno Wets, or at the moment the knobbliest 33mm tubeless tyre you can actually find due to Brexit, Covid 'n all that shiz.

Ironically CX seems to be the more tyre focused form of racing I've come across if I'm honest, just don't ask "What pressures?"

I need about 25 minutes of riding, timed so that I don’t cool down. I can only do this at local locations where I can get out on a decent loop(s) and not worry about getting lost.)

Get some rollers, way easier than getting your bike all shitty before a race #protips

@thegeneralist

https://nwcca.org.uk/calendar

https://yorkshirecyclocross.com/

There is also a North Wales league that has some great courses, but I'm not sure what the score is there for the coming winter - it's tough to get events on.

I bought a tub wheelset of a guy with new terreno wets on - tyres are great but glueing is a personal matter. Think I need to take them off and glue them back on again.

There is also a North Wales league that has some great courses, but I’m not sure what the score is there for the coming winter – it’s tough to get events on

I've heard that they're struggling to get event permissions due to the Welsh Assembly and their guide lines, nothing has cropped up on FaceBook yet.

Schwalbe X One Bite available pretty cheaply at St Johns Street cycles at the moment

Yes, I'm tubeless.

I do a lot of road so want something that will work ok on Tarmac and also stop me from losing it (as much) in mud.

I was just thinking CrossBoss.

I know, I know, I need another set of wheels.....

Get some rollers, way easier than getting your bike all shitty before a race #protips

Yeah I know. I used to use them but sold them years ago when I did very little CX. Not sure I do enough these days to justify them..

geomickb
Free Member

I know, I know, I need another set of wheels…..

Yes you do, for all the reasons you're thinking. No CrossBoss will not be fun at a muddy race, you could spend more time on foot than the bike

Our club is hosting the first round of the NDCXL, but sadly running it the last weekend of the school holidays has rather decimated the volunteers that are needed. Feel slightly guilty that we're in Wales.

Didn’t click what the venue was when I read “Falkirk”, they should be able to make a particularly interesting course for a National round there. Might have to go over for a watch of that one.

mashr
If you are going to come along and watch they were looking for marshals .
High Viz action

Will likely have a 4 and 2 year old with me unfortunately. Probably frowned upon to leave my post to go play in the park for a while

Yeah,2 is a bit young to marshal,think the 4yr old might manage though 😉😂

Teaching grandmothers to suck eggs here, but are you warming up properly? (I have problems with doing full warm-ups in venues that I don’t know. I need about 25 minutes of riding, timed so that I don’t cool down. I can only do this at local locations where I can get out on a decent loop(s) and not worry about getting lost.)

I thought I was but I think I've always held back too much on warm ups partly for the reasons you've stated but also because I was still worried about conserving energy!

I hate the thought of using rollers with nobbly mud tyres though! I've taken my road bike along in the past for that purpose...

If you are going to come along and watch they were looking for marshals .

I just need to get clearance from wife but think I'll volunteer for one of those days, although it might jeopardise my attendance of one or both of the preceding SCX rounds if they find venues! Tough choices...

Right! So I'm going to do my first CX race at Shrewsbury in 2 weeks.

I need to swap my tyres.

Am I allowed to ride with 35mm?

Should I just get two of these:?

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/wtb-cross-boss-35c-tcs-light-fast-rolling-tyre

Just home and washed the dog poop off my shoes (the joy of public parks). Pretty rubbish - dropped my chain on the bumpy start straight, then about 4 more times after that. Somehow didn't get lapped and in the last minute made up a place then had a sprint with another guy so slight bit of excitement to finish.

Think the flying timetrialist Garry_Lager shot off into the distance 🙂

Nice to see everyone and get back to sort-of normality.

I’m racing SW league starting November. Last CX race was 3 peaks about 10 years ago so looking forward to some serious humiliation.

Did my 1st race of the wessex season today - not bad result for me, given a team-mate had a near-fall in front of me shortly after the start and so losing lots of places. It's quite nice to gradually catch & pass people but a bit frustrating as it might've been a great result for me (top 25 in a field of 75 would've been ace - low 30s was nice enough, especially on a power course)

Bugger me, it's hot darn sarf at the moment !

@geomickb - in my view that is a DRY cross tyre at best
(unlikely that your league will be full-on UCI compliant so any width is allowed but 32-35 and KNOBBY if you're planning a whole season on 1 pair)

I could be tempted to come out of ‘retirement’ to do one race, seeing as the Isle of Mull CX at Glengorm Castle is running this year just up the road. I notice it is also the World Santa CX as well as the Scottish SSCC champs - maybe there’s a Santa SSCX champs category? 🤣 does the winner get to wear a rainbow stripe Santa outfit?

@scaredypants can you suggest something else then? Yeah I will probably only manage to do a couple of races to only want 1 set.

This is the league https://wmccl.co.uk/ it doesn't mention UCI?

the terreno wet, linked by somebody above are good - not massively knobby but actually quite grippy in a lot of conditions
(edit weren't actually linked: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-terreno-wet-g20-cx-tyre )

They seem like they'd wear quite fast but are "cheap" in comparison to lots of others

(you won't be under full UCI regs, ignore that - was a sort of joke, sorry)

Ha, no worries, thanks for your help.

They are 33, is it worth trying to find something 35mm or will there not be much difference?

Run whatever bike and tyres you like (apart from fixed wheel) at any race up to National Trophy level, and even then on the Saturday no one will be checking tyre widths.

Really did feel great to get a cross race under the belt today - at Beacon park in the NW series. Felt hard AF tbh - aero gains proved untranslatable, regrettably, but it was pretty smooth racing, bike worked and the terreno wets seemed to roll Ok on a non-muddy course.

You running a new drivetrain @mick_r to be dropping the chain like that? Course had a few bumps in it right enough - Type of early season course where I never know how much pressure to run as it's dry-ish with some hard-pack but still loads of grassy turns - harder tyres feel awful through the twisty tape to me, but I suppose it's what you prioritise.

OTOH My clubmate beat me by a decent bit on 40 psi at around 10 stone - should prob stop thinking about tyre pressures too much.

So does that mean nobody will mind if I go to 38mm?

At local league races you can run 38mm and nobody will care. You can ride pretty much anything (will be a few mtbs). I've ridden a singlespeed radiator on a couple of occasions without complaint!

G_L - same drive train as previous and not worn out. Mrs had the same problem but needs the clutch tightening and a new ring - the wide is narrow and the narrow is like a knife blade!

I enjoyed today, great to be back, sorry I didn't get time to stop and chat, had to dash of to Waddow Hall for my wifes 20 year service medal presentation for Girlguiding. Ran a 33 mm Schwalbe bite on the front which helped on the off cambers and an schwalbe intermediate on the back. Not sure where I finished but by christ I'm glad they changed what was a run up to drop down and ride up! Great course and good bants too! 🙂

So does that mean nobody will mind if I go to 38mm

Honestly, you can ride whatever you want bar fixed wheel. No one will notice or care.

Right will order the 38mm Vittoria Wet. Will I need an airshot to get them on?

Results up! 13th I can live with that 🙂

Will I need an airshot to get them on?

probably not (esp if you use a bit of watery soap)

I’d like to race a couple but hard to put in any training at the moment, especially being unsure if there will be any races relatively local.

I’d like to race a couple but hard to put in any training at the moment, especially being unsure if there will be any races relatively local.

To be honest most of the training during the season occurs during the races! Best bet is get entered and see if you like it 🙂 Where's relatively local?

Yeah up until the 19/20 season I was a pretty avid cross racer but obvisouyl last year didnt happen at all. Local is welsh league but not much on the calendar.

Also in the 19/20 season, i pretty much raced every welsh race and then traveled when no local race so had a super full season from Sept to Feb, whihc on reflection sacrifed too much family time, so I'd kind of decided I wouldnt race every race and try to stick to an hours drive radius unless could make a family weekend of it. Sure I'll find th oppurtunity to get between the tapes at some point!

Was nice to get out and see everyone again, shame I couldn't race due to going over on my ankle on Saturday - but it should be good for the next round.

My entire tribe were out on the U10 and U8 races, first up was No.2 & 3 sons in the U8 with No.2 taking the win, he just needs to stop looking down / behind as the amount of times he nearly crashed were ridiculous and No.3 in his first race ever not coming last!

It was then the turn of No.1 son at his bogey venue, he got off to an absolute flyer, 10 seconds up after the first lap and working his way into the U12 field and then the nerves got the better of him, puked up in the pits and pulled out!

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Honestly, you can ride whatever you want bar fixed wheel. No one will notice or care.

But...... take off the bar bag, seat pack, reflectors, clown horn. And make sure you don't lap other riders if your bike has those. People will hate you. 😀

Local is welsh league but not much on the calendar.

Still just Tredegar and Singleton, I think? Singleton is brilliant for me, just a 2 minute roll down the hill.

Anyone race in the Lincolnshire league? I've never raced before but as I'm moving abroad in the new year I feel I should do a race before I go. I've got my eye on the Woodhall Spa round, as it looks a bit woody/mtbish.

Only got WTB Nanos, which are a bit big?

The nanos will be ok whilst it's dryish - nothing to worry about if you're just giving it a whirl. They'd be bad in the mud to the extent of failing to proceed, so an earlier race a better bet.

OK, bought the tyres and an Airshot, it was all going well, until I tried to get my wheel back in the frame....

Planet X XLA won't take 38mm.

Any options for 35mm tyres?

Anyone want to buy a 38mm Vittoria Wet
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-terreno-wet-g20-cx-tyre

Anyone at the National Trophy this weekend?

100 starters in vet!

With late season XC races I've barely been on the CX bike so not exactly expecting much other than getting my ass handed to me but looking forward to it.

Well, I've entered WMCCL Round 4 (Shrewsbury).
Managed to fit Vittoria Terreno Mixed 33mm, so will see how I get on with them. Long term plan is to get some wet ones on another set of wheels.

Any tips? This will be my first race!

Go as hard as you can off the start, maintain that effort and don't crash

I had an entry to Derby @2tyred but have had to bail with a cold unfortunately - immune system powerless in the face of the kid's going back to school.
Have a good one - was looking forward to racing that venue.

Entered tomorrow in the vets. Free for all on the start line. Looking forward to the 2 hour drive at 6am! 🙂

Come on then, what tyre pressure?

Tubeless Vittoria Terreno All-round 33mm and I'm just under 80kg.

I normally go rock hard but I guess this is the wrong strategy for this kind of race!

Start at 40psi and go down from there.

I'm running low 20s, but 15kg lighter than you.

In the mud, as low as 18PSi but i weigh 62kg. Never had to really think about not being in the mud, even the idea of not having to run mud tyres is alien to me!

Start 25psi geomickb and see how it feels on the course. You could lower this to around 20 if it was heavy mud, and for a dry smooth course you could raise it as you feel.

If you absolutely must be a roadie about it then 50psi is bad but you can prob get away with it early season. It's only when the weather comes in that this will put you on your aris.

A good starting point @geomickb is body weight in pounds, divide by 10 and add 10.

So 80kg x 2.2 = 176
176/10 = 17.6
17.6 + 10 = 27.6psi and take it from there

One thing I found about tyre pressure set up, is if using a track pump, the gauges are not that accurate, as they are designed for higher road bike pressures. I have two track pumps and they read very different, over 5psi different at low pressures and well over 10psi at higher pressure. So you may think you are putting the right pressure in, but it can be a good way out and effect your grip.

So for checking accuracy one of those handheld digital gauges is useful, Or alternatively get one of the battery powered compressors with the digital set point. I found these much more accurate and can get desired pressure time and time again.

Great, thanks all.

Yes, my track pump gauge belongs in a joke shop. I have ordered a separate gauge (hence the question!).

I think I'm going to put 40 in and ride round a field a bit, then decrease and see how I go.

I guess this is a bit like doing running races, you don't know what shoes you will need until you see the course and conditions.

Is it Ok to just turn up for my race or do people normally get there early and watch them all? I'm planning on taking the family and not sure if they will get bored?

NT at Derby was brilliant, so good to be in a big race again!

Didn't quite make the top half of the results, but as my lovely wife pointed out I'm very much at the older end of the v40 field now so shouldn't be too downbeat about it! My first lap is always terrible, I'm too slow off the line and someone walloped into the back of me early on, spinning me round 90 degrees. Shipped loads of places then felt like I took ages to get up to speed, wasn't really passing people until later in the race. Smashing course, I love scaffy bridges, makes it feel like you're in Belgium.

Tyre pressure? Too complex to put a number on! Depends on the tread you're using, what the course is like, what the weather's like etc etc. I'm about 80kg and use tubeless clinchers with around 20psi sometimes. Low pressures give you more grip on slippy surfaces but tread also plays a big part in that. That's what course practice is good for - when I've got the time, I'll take a guess at a reasonable starting pressure, then head out to get an idea and make an adjustment if it needs it. 2nd practice lap will be a hot lap (time permitting) where if I'm needing grip I take the approach of wanting to feel the rim 2 or 3 times on the lap. Less than that and I can let out some air, more than 3 and I probably need more.

Turn up whenever you like, just don't be late to sign on. Unless you know the course well, a practice lap or two is worthwhile, if only for getting an idea of tyre pressure. Factor in time for chatting, CX racing is very social!

Hopefully this fixes my chain drop issues 🙂

I did actually plan the cable run / cable stops in case I ever ran this hub. Just didn't consider this shifter location (the bar end shifter smacks my knee).

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I did actually plan the cable run / cable stops in case I ever ran this hub. Just didn’t consider this shifter location (the bar end shifter smacks my knee).

The question is what hurts more? Smacking your knee or tearing your balls off on the shifter? 🤣

Neither was an issue - completely out of the way - it is fairly flat against the top tubes and far enough forward to be away from knees. And that position is just temporary to see if I liked it.

Turns out you only need a handful of changes per lap and was super reliable. Felt like it was sucking a little power when maxed out uphill in low ratio on the first lap, but still ended up racing the usual people at usual pace. Even a sprint finish. Flat bars and thumbshifter would be very effective for punching out of corners. Handy being able to shift whilst pushing up embankments ready for remount.

Sealing isn't jetwash friendly, but as the frame and drivetrain never clog, it never needs jetwashing!

Well, I didn't fall off but did come last.

I'm amazed how much skill is involved.

Riding cambers was terrifying but my tyres did hold OK.

At least now I have a goal: not last. 🙂

Did you actually come in last place? There were a couple of DNFs in the seniors/vets so if you finished you beat them.

I love racing in the west mids league, I am definitely placing towards the back each time but always racing someone.

well done for finishing @geomickb - you'll soon find yourself in races "towards" the back.

Talking of skillz, I need to brush up my starts - I get gridded mid-pack, which is where I end up but always lose out in the 1st lap. In 2 races I've made up 22 places and then 12 places after the end of lap 1 - I wonder how much better I could do if I wasn't so shit off the line. I think maybe I need to get off the side and just smash it as I'm obviously not enough of a bastard in the mix

Yeah but surely being the last person who didn't DNF is last? I was last off the line and didn't overtake anyone so I'm pretty sure we can't dress it up. I was last. 😀

Yeah but surely being the last person who didn’t DNF is last

It depends how you tell it, and who you're telling it to. If you were on the podium but there were only three in the race you were still on the podium! (I once came fourth in the British MTB Hillclimb Champs.....)

I would tend to count the DNFs - if they started but couldn't finish that's their problem and they were still in the race.

I am considering giving cx racing a go, seen a few races up in Scotland, starting with round 3 of the national series in Falkirk in a few weeks time

I have a cx bike, but other than that I have zero experience of cx racing, or for that matter any racing other than tt’ing and a few endurance mtb events. I’ve done zero specific training for Cx races, however I have a reasonable level of fitness but I think my strengths would be wholly unsuitable for cx racing, ie I’m light, good at climbing, and have zero top end

Am I destined to make a tit out of myself/come dead last if I enter, or are these races filled with loads of beginners? I appreciate the beauty of cx racing is that no one really knows where you come in the field l, but I still don’t really fancy coming dead last!

Am I destined to make a tit out of myself/come dead last if I enter, or are these races filled with loads of beginners? I appreciate the beauty of cx racing is that no one really knows where you come in the field l, but I still don’t really fancy coming dead last!

Just go for it, although entering a National Trophy event is probably not the best way to get started. Try something in a smaller league first would be my reccomendation. Thye're usually filled with various abilities, beginners or not. You'll get experience just from having a go, don't get hung up on positions on your first race, get there early to get some practice in between races, watch other riders during the other races, even the youngsters as a lot of them may be undergoing training so they're learning to ride well. Don't ride your first race with 40 PSI in your tyres!

I would say just go for it.

Lack of skill/bravery was the reason I came last. Get the right tyres/pressures and practise riding cambers and really (really) tight turns.

I was talking to the guy who works in the local shop who is a bit of a cyclist. He told me that he tried a CX race once and he found it so hard that he let his tyre down and pretended that he had a puncture, so that he could bail! At least I finished! 🙂