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Not now, season's almost done. Wessex League is probably the closest to you and maybe the odd Central League venue.
Not now, season’s almost done.
Really? Still months left in our season
3 more rounds between now and the end of Jan here. Mind you, it started on Sept 2nd!
I know the Stockport kit Gary - I usually have a battle then post race chat with Mr Mc Phillips.
Handmade frame sounds a bit posh - distinctly more homemade.... Pace carbon forks, twin top tubes and Unimog orange so hard to miss (definitely not UCI approved). Alison also races on a more normal looking black homebuild. So far nothing has broken......
Thoroughly beaten by Mr Garry_Lager - he even had the decency to stop for a few minutes and untangle his bike 🙂 Thanks for the tow as it broke me away from a couple of people I'd been stuck with! Good ride mate.
Apologies I couldn't manage much coherent conversation afterwards: 2 degrees, rain, headwind and filth kinda finished me off....
Last weekend was the last race of the season for the regional races series. I’ve been steadily getting myself up the finishers ranking with a 4 th place finish in the previous round. The last race was in real Belgian cross condition, heavy rain cold and windy with the course mud riding like treacle. This is a course that I like but they had changed it considerably making it far more technical. In the end I managed a podium. Third place so quite pleased with that considering the other two on the podium were more than twenty years younger than me.
Now it’s just the German championships in the second weekend of the new year. Hopefully I’ll have my new racing license( the one for this year arrived last Monday, even though my application started in Septembery) which means I can race with people my own age but on the other hand the leading rider is the current European champion. 🥺
Thoroughly beaten by Mr Garry_Lager – he even had the decency to stop for a few minutes and untangle his bike 🙂 Thanks for the tow as it broke me away from a couple of people I’d been stuck with! Good ride mate.
Apologies I couldn’t manage much coherent conversation afterwards: 2 degrees, rain, headwind and filth kinda finished me off….
Nice to say Hello today Mick - good racing. That was a hard day - Headwind one way across the course and heavy wet ground - felt like you had to throw the coal down to go 10 yards in places.
I'd temporarily cramped out when I saw you last lap - don't know if it was the cold but I lost the front wheel a bit and put my leg down to save it, calf muscle clenched up into a ball. Thought it would be a DNF as it was excruciating, but it subsided quite quick and I was back underway no prob.
Fair play to anyone at Burnley yesterday. Great course but that field slog was pretty horrendous. managed 15th in the senior (midtable mediocrity, yay!) Not much post race banter going on as every one was back to there cars pretty sharpish. Thanks to all the marshalls too for staying out yesterday.
A fast and fresh final round for the welsh league at Pembrey today. In typical fashion the heavens opened and the temperature dropped for the seniors race. I took it steady from the start line then began picking places up. Had a good gap from a chasing bunch but couldn’t quite make it to @ferrals. In the end I’d just burned all my matches so rolled in 11th. And so ends my senior racing. It’s been fun.
Quick question rather than starting a new thread, what are the CX race bikes of choice at the moment, I'm looking at an Inflite (bit spendy) or one of the Giant TCX's? Anything else I should be looking at, pref carbon frame.
The Ali Ribble looks OK
Specialized
Trek
Cannondale
Cube
Canyon
Ridley
Stevens
Ritchey
and the list goes on......
What are you racing on at the moment? An Inflite is very spendy if your new to it. Something second hand is worth a look, loads of decent used CX bikes about from people who gave up after a season. Lots of different bikes on the circuit, lots of Crux's in our league (but they paint scheme stands out!)
Enjoyed the last welsh league race of the season yesterday. Very fast race, over 20km/h, which given the course was a lot twister than previous iterations felt pretty intense. Had a good battle with one of the Cardiff jif riders for a couple of lap but lost his wheel and instead concentrated on keeping clear of @shedbrewed and a couple of other riders. The gap varied from nothing to 75 yards for most of the race. Got overtaken by one in the last 1/4 lap and could close back up missing out on 8th by 2seconds. Best welsh league result of the season, felt focused on racing for the first time all season, think all the mince pie and booze consumption has topped up my energy levels 😂
Re. Bikes, i’d Think about geometry- cx bikes are quite divergent in geo this days from the trad like Ridley, to the more progressive slacker HA like focus or Cannondale. I ride a focus and love it for the stability over bumpier stuff and at speed but feel the lack of sharpness through twistier turns. If I was buying now would go for a Trek Boone if in your price range, purely based On specs not having ridden one, fairly neutral geo with the decoupler to smooth the bumps out. @shedbrewed has one so may be able to chip in on what it’s like
I was set to make an almighty (ahem) comeback at Burnley on Saturday, but turns out I couldn't as the wife appears to have bought the contents of the Amazon warehouse so I was seconded to child watching duties while she contributed to major deforestation purely on the amount of wrapping paper required.
The eldest did however race in the U8 race, it was a pretty tough course for the little chaps & chapesses, with the spiral, field slog and the headwind thrown in for good measure. Thankfully the weather wasn't at it's worse, but it was still tough on the midgets. He did pretty well, came home 3rd boy (4th overall) with the tallest U8 Girl [Clarkson mode]In The World [/Clarkson mode] Miss Clegg taking 3rd overall place. He was pretty much the only one not crying by the end of it from the cold, a hot chocolate and his all in one ski suit soon got him warm again.
It was that cold they didn't do the kids podiums and went for individual presentation in the signing on tent, which was a very wise decision.
Awwwww the poor little one .... Damn well done for raising a smile at the end of that !
Next week then Steve? I'll ride the radiator if you race.
I noticed you kept quiet about not riding when we saw you by the brew stall - I wondered where you had disappeared to on the start line......
Next week then Steve? I’ll ride the radiator if you race.
I noticed you kept quiet about not riding when we saw you by the brew stall – I wondered where you had disappeared to on the start line……
That's the plan, as I sure as hell hope all the wrapping will be done by then!!! I'll be on the Frankencross
@mandrake I’ve been racing this season on a Trek Boone 5 with a few changes.
The decoupler’s aren’t noticeable until you ride a bike without them.
The front does a lot less than the rear but it’s only on the recent models with 12mm bolt through axles that you’ll find them front and rear.
It’s been a good bike to race on and definitely feels responsive. Mine is 1x rival out of the box with a 40t front and 11-32 rear.
I changed the saddle, bars and tape to my personal preference and the crankset to a lighter and stiffer Rotor item. As the Boone’s use the gxp bearing sizes I had to machine the washer on the nds and fit a new 24mm I/d bearing to suit.
Standard wheels are ok but I had a pair built for tubs.
I raced an Inflite al slx when they were released as a frameset and my only positive thing to say about it was it had good mud clearance. Otherwise the thing was a pain in the arse and I’d not have another.
Can anyone recommend a decent tubeless rear wheel build for cross? Have a grail atm that has gotten dinged to hell over a season and a half, to the extent that it's affecting the bead seat.
I guess the dings are somewhat inevitable racing but something a bit more robust would be nice.
@Garry Lager my tubeless cx wheels are kinlin xr31t on Bitex bx106 hubs. 24/28. Very pleased with them.
I had Grails on my last bike, now have DT Swiss CR1600's on my proper 'cross bike, any DT Swiss tubeless 29er rim on reasonable width would suffice.
Currently using Primes as tubeless. Fine except the bearings in the hubs are crap.
Totally agree about the Prime wheel bearings. Great value light weight disc wheels but the bearings don't last at all in wet, muddy conditions.
Any idea what the bearing spec is? I'm reluctant to buy the ones from CRC as they will just be more of the same junk!
The primes are right up my street value wise but look a bit narrow?
Be a late fitness test for me tomorrow for Gt Harwood - feeling a bit rough past couple of days, loads to do. But racing is racing so hope to get out to it.
Great Harwood flatness isn't going to suit me, so definitely going to bimble round on the radbike. Will be rooting it out of the attic this afternoon.
how about this? - needs a swapped freehub but still bloody cheap for a nice wheel (esp once youve re-used or sold the xd freehub)
Ooof. Swamp. Very tired (how is that possible from 50mins effort?).
Took both bikes but radiator remained in the van - 32lb singlespeed with no mud clearance that you can't shoulder would have been a very bad idea......
Steve had a good excuse for not riding 🙂
A 1/2hr charity fancy dress cx race for me today at a Swansea playing field. Great fun and really muddy. Got some of the Vittoria wets for Christmas and this was their first real test. Very very impressed, seemed much grippier than the pdx’s they replaced in corners and off-cambers. Stinking cold so not doing my planned proper race tomorrow- half think that makes m season over. Had planned to race tomorrow and on 20th of Jan but think my enthusiasm for hard efforts might be gone for now without a real race to get the motivation back after Christmas
Don't call it a come back, but see you all at Macc Supercross tomorrow
Supacross asking some questions yesterday - legs felt decent but made a show of myself on some of the corners. On me backside a few times and wasn't the only one. Mick_r showed me a clean pair of heels, couldn't get in contention - looked like you had a good race.
Had a bike change but didn't really think things through - one bike had a good set of tubs at the right pressure, but a bit of a dodgy drivetrain. The other had a perfect drivetrain but some ropey wheels with pressure too high at the front. Think I see a solution to this conundrum...
Felt rough to start, couldn't get warm, couldn't get heart rate up, threw up and bailed after 2 laps, went grey, had about 4 coats in trying to stop shivering, got home, went to bed, basically passed out, wife called 111, paramedics came out, temp of nearly 40, resting HR of 95, low SAT, 16 hours kip, trip to doctors, course of anti-biotics and a chest x-ray waiting on results, int cross brilliant
Glad you're OK Steve - you looked pretty grey at the finish. I heard the commentary mentioning your sickness during the race.
I had a good time with constantly good racing against usual suspects. Many tail slide moments and an odd first lap when someone crashed directly in front on the straight - apologies if I got in g_l's way whilst I tried not to trample the poor guy or his carbon wheels 🙂
Youngster happy enough with youth race.
Alison had a pretty rubbish race struggling with wrong tyres and too high pressures.
Eldest did a good one - well up in seniors and just knocked off the junior podium on last lap (6 laps compared to our 4 - ouch). All his training is aimed at the mtb season so that kind of ride without any speed work is encouraging for next year.
I'll be fine in a week or so.
Mini me No.1 got 3rd in the U8 again, so all being well he'll finish 3rd overall in the league at 6, so he's got next year in it as well.
Great race at Battle of the Bing yesterday in Broxburn, think I've started to get the hang of this 'pacing' malarkey, started near the back and just went with the pack for the first half lap or so until some overtaking opportunities became too tempting, started moving up the field but tried not to exert myself too much.
Still got a bit 'wheezy' for a lap or two but just made a point of taking it easy on the three run-ups.
Basically actually used my head for a change, even managed to pip someone on the line after a decent sprint.
Tubeless and low pressures did not appear to be the wisest choice on a course with some long off camber pedals and a BMX track! Saw one guy burp a load of air with a big white puff round one of the berms, and passed my arch-nemesis who was walking after burping a load of air on the off-camber pedal. Latex tubes and 35psi for the win apparently!
Still wonder if I'm being a bit of an arse when overtaking (or trying to) in corners. I have no hesitation in sticking my nose up the inside (so to speak) whenever the opportunity presents itself, but would never instigate contact and always respect the rider in front's line choice, i.e. if they close the door on me I'll brake and back off. I just wonder if some folk dislike being 'intimidated' off their line by a big lummox on an MTB steaming up the inside...
Sounds like a good strategic race 13thfloor. I had a write-off myself - driving to N Wales to do Minera I was reflecting on what a great season it's been for equipment - no major mechanicals...First lap puncture and then snapped my chain grinding the bike round the course for a wheel change! Sheeeitte. A puncture was in the post tbh, great old school course but an absolute tub killer with loads of rocky sections. Annoyed because I knew this but waiting on a freehub for a new tubeless rear wheel so didn't have it to run.
You can defend / attack the line with abandon against anyone on the same lap as you AFAIK. That being said I see CX racing as being quite tiered - a NW one might have 80 blokes in V40 but really my race is against about 10 of them around my fitness / skill. e.g. I can do a strong start, when the mood takes me, which might put me one or even two tiers up. I'll then get passed by quite a few stronger folk on the first lap and I won't dispute any 50/50s with them as they're not in my race really. When it's lads who I'm more competitive with then that's the time to [s]bring out the elbows and shoulders[/s] contest the corners in a sportsmanlike manner.
It's never that cut and dried of course - oftentimes you won't know who's trying to get past you.
@13thfloormonk Close racing is part of the joy of cx IMO, and passing people round corners is the best of it. Sounds like you are riding pretty courteously - I think some people are over aggressive though and I've had two races ruined this season by people trying to ride/run into gaps that didnt exist. My rule of thumb is that if the space is there go for it, but if you are goign to force someone into the tape or way off their line to make the pass its not really on.
Yeah that Garry_Lager is a right animal 🙂
🙂
I don't mind people coming up the inside and most people generally leave enough space for you both to contest the sprint on the exit of the corner (which is half the fun).
So you didn't fancy the drive and hilly course at Waddow then G_L? Properly brutal and good fun in a very nice private countryside setting. Steve looked a much healthier colour but sensibly not racing. Seemed a very polarising love / hate course with those that didn't like it loosing big chunks of time.
I just wonder if some folk dislike being ‘intimidated’ off their line by a big lummox on an MTB steaming up the inside…
To be fair that's generally how I ride / race, when I'm not kealling over and dying by the side of the track. So long as you don't actually run into someone then all is good.
Waddow was even a killer for the kids, No.1 came out on top in the sprint for 2nd in the U8 by 3/1000 of a second, I hope someone got a photo. I wasn't sure at the time, but he was adamant he was 2nd as he said he looked down as he crossed the line and his wheel was in front - someone has been watch it too much track cycling on YouTube. No.2 had a nice walk with a few involuntarily sit downs, but came home with a new mini cx bike from Beacon Bikes so he didn't care.
So you didn’t fancy the drive and hilly course at Waddow then G_L? Properly brutal and good fun in a very nice private countryside setting. Steve looked a much healthier colour but sensibly not racing. Seemed a very polarising love / hate course with those that didn’t like it loosing big chunks of time.
Would have liked to have ridden Waddow, never been round there, although I don't think I'd have done very well on a hilly course - too many kilos. Was there a lot of running at the weekend? The lead mines course in the N Wales series is worth making an exception for, though - really good.
Are you doing the last two NW races? I think I need to do one more to make it nine for the league placing. Looks like the penultimate one is back at BLakemere village now - didn't find that course very engaging tbh first time round but it was quite dry. Could be a good supacross-type course with some weather on it.
Waddow had a proper big open grass climb - rideable first thing but tricky as very bumpy and tyre cloggy. Ended up ride - run(?) big middle bit - ride. Then further on a steep long embankment run. But some great downhills.
Will keep a look out for the lead mines course in future. Is there a Welsh race next weekend?
We've both got more than enough races in and my league position will only go one way now 🙂 Al wasn't going to bother, but should get full points for Sunday so vet ladies might go right to the wire for once (which is good). Blakemere was half term so missed it last time. Been told Salford is a good course....
Sounds like Waddow was tough. There is a N Wales one this Sunday and it's quite handy, never ridden it but it's just above Wrexham. You have to pre-enter by Weds, though, so it's not something you can make a decision on that morning.
The screams from third place because he lost that sprint even made my little tell him to stop being so soft! She came 19th in the under 8's! Getting better, not last and not bad for a singlespeed. Brutal course for the under 8's by any stretch. I enjoyed the race to be honest even managed to discover a new max heart rate. It's my local area, used to teach scouts how to ride off road years ago at Waddow and my wife organises Brownie camps there every year! Good event just a shame it wasn't better attended. First time on the front row too, but still suffering from the same cold I've had for the last 2 weeks so struggled a bit. Tyres are my main issue at the mo, no ones got any stock of any half decent mud tyre.
I'm looking forward to Blakemere to be honest it suited me pretty well with lots of intervals. It was raining for us at the end though so some slip slidey fun!
Word of warning to the U8 dads that time really flies with the kids - BenjiM now gets the pleasure of racing with my little boy 🙂
Rather shocked he was leading everyone on the second lap, and great to see just 10 seconds separating the top 3 juniors at the end.
Word of warning to the U8 dads that time really flies with the kids – BenjiM now gets the pleasure of racing with my little boy 🙂
Oh I fully expect to be getting battered by the time he's about 15, I'll be 50 by then though so all's fair
Forget 15 Steve - think about 12.5 onwards .....