Done any proper Bri...
 

[Closed] Done any proper British Rough Stuff on your new gravel bike yet?

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If not, that old lady in the care home thinks you're a wimp... 🙂

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(Pic from Cycling 27/09/1961 p14)


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 9:12 pm
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Hey.

Thats my old Claud Butler !


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 9:17 pm
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She seems to be out for a walk


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 9:18 pm
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Going over Cut gate a few years ago to go watch the TDF we came across an elderly guy on a tourer bike (he was walking at this point and was telling us how much rougher it was up there than it was in his day tbf ) but he there he was having a crack at it and enjoying it. He was a real life rough stuffer. I felt privileged to meet him, he had a proper sense of adventure and was still up for a challenge. Hope like that in my old age 🙂


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 9:59 pm
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Epicyclo in "flaming new bike trend" shocker!

Does anyone still RSF these days, given you can cover so much terrain on mountain bikes? Instead of carrying your road bike.


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 10:43 pm
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cynic-al
Does anyone still RSF these days, given you can cover so much terrain on mountain bikes? Instead of carrying your road bike.

Well, I suppose there's me.

But I'm not flaming gravel bikes - they're perfect for Rough Stuff, ride from home to the trail, follow it until it peters out, shoulder the bike to get over the mountain and join on to a track on the other side - this is where a modern dropbar all-road lightweight bike excels.

Maybe that picture will encourage others to expand their horizons with a gravel bike.


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 11:22 pm
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Don’t own a gravel bike but I have got a Planet X Pro Carbon with 25c tyres and mudguards..

👍👍

https://flic.kr/p/28xZAhi

https://flic.kr/p/23zud6v

The RSF are still legends though


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 11:37 pm
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I thought people do the 3 peaks CX race every year.

Or dies that not count because it’s not an ‘on trend’ cx gravel bike


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 11:41 pm
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@FunkyDunc who's excluding CX bikes?

You can use any bike for Rough Stuff, CX, pure road, mtb etc, but if you designed one for the purpose it's hard to go past the current crop of gravel bikes with their larger volume tyres, room for mudguards and ability to attach all sorts of luggage.

It is recreational riding, exploring not racing.

@Tiger6791 I like the any bike, anywhere, anytime mentality your pic represents.


 
Posted : 12/05/2020 11:58 pm
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I am still "roughing stuff" on my fixed gear bike. On Sunday you could see me carrying it up a couple of rough hills I couldn't ride up. Admittedly that was more to do with my gearing and tyres and I could have ridden up it if I had a 30/50 gear and an MTB with decent tyres (as could the woman in the photo)


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 8:11 am
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kerley
..Admittedly that was more to do with my gearing and tyres and I could have ridden up it if I had a 30/50 gear and an MTB with decent tyres (as could the woman in the photo)

When you're in the hills, there's a point where it doesn't matter how low your gearing or how fat and knobbly your tyres. That's when the Rough Stuff starts.

(And you wish you had a lighter bike 🙂 )


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 9:00 am
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Once lock down ends!

There's any number of routes in the larger Stirlingshire area that seem to make perfect loops but for 2km of heather bashing.

I think MattOaA explained it was a deliberate effort by landowners not to create through-routes to ward off hordes of DoE expeditions, or something.

Can't wait.


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 11:07 am
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And you wish you had a lighter bike

Not really, my current bike is heaviest I have had for a while (7.5kg) but still very easy to shoulder and carry up anything. Not noticeably any harder than the 6.2kg bike I was using last year


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 11:16 am
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@kerley I think you're on the very lightweight end of the spectrum wth your bikes.

I find about 10kg is a good balance. When crossing a bealach with my 20kg fat bike I was soon wishing i'd taken my 8kg fixed wheel. 🙂


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 2:04 pm
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I could have ridden up it if I had a 30/50 gear and an MTB with decent tyres (as could the woman in the photo)


 
Posted : 13/05/2020 2:21 pm