09 wasn't too bad. 2010 was so dry I did the whole thing on a pair of 90s vintage green Michelin file-treads.
05, 06 and 07 had moments of utter misery
06 people got sunstroke chap! I only did 2 laps, as a stand in for someone who was really ill (sunstroke), and was VERY VERY red myself come Monday morning and back to work.
2010 was so dry I did the whole thing on a pair of 90s vintage green Michelin file-treads.
2010 was lovely conditions, not too hot, but nice and dry. Shame I got drafted into a team of really quick guys as they lost someone with a few days to go, and ironically I was the next fastest person they knew! I very nearly killed myself trying not to let them down... Still, 21st out of 132 iirc in category, that's about the highest up a field of entries I'm ever going to come in my lifetime.
Got to agree with this, unless it's a full mud fest. Last year I did one lap in 1.8 Medusas, then changed to 2.1 crossmarks for the rest of the time, much much better!
I think the mud clearance is more important than the tread itself. Hence why the old 1.5" conti XC's seem to be so good, and CX tyres for the 29ers. Not heavy treads, just thin and still very fast. Thinking if it's horrid I'll fit the narrowest tyres I can to my full sus bike, as ironically it's got quite a bit more tyre clearance than my HT (though the Maverick DUC32 fork helps there!) and just slice through the mud with 60psi in some 2" tyres or thinner. Preferably still with not too much tread though, so they're still quick.
the SRAM guys need to keep their servicing open all night....
1. Make sure your bike is actually in a ridable condition BEFORE turning up to the event. Turning up with a knackered drivetrain or brakes is just silly. Yes it does happen, more than you would imagine.
I've had some amazing support from both Madison (new rear mech, whole new brake) and SRAM (new MoCo cartridge) at Mountain Mayhem after various bits broke. It's [i]almost[/i] worth turning up with a knackered bike and getting them to fix it all.
Ah yes... Typo. I said 05 07 08 earlier... I should know 06 was hot as it was solo that year!
Course is up on the Mayhem website - Similar to last year.
Start is the same, up the zig zig hill, along the fire road, down through the woods to the lower fire road, climb up to the plasticine woods that never dry out, back up to the other end of the woods alon the edge of the field, through a little bit of trail then back down the slippy fire road to the arena. Over the bridge, up the massive grassy uphill, through the woods to the right of the obelisk, slippy off camber decent etc which is hilarious when it rains, down to the fire road over the back, up to the Somme woods, down all the way to the bottom of the next woods, climb back up through the woods (this is comedy in the wet) then down the fast rattly final decent as last year.
Course is up on the Mayhem website - Similar to last year.
Bum!
2010 - Great course
2011 - Much less so
🙁
Well the Somme woods and the next decent is the fun way round so that helps - that's better than 2011. Those two one after the other are great if it's dry as it's a fun fast bit. Otherwise it's a comedy slog mixed with trying not to end up pointing the wrong way down the trail whilst avoiding crashing into other riders...
Anyway, Mayhem has never been about the course. Where else do we get such an amazing atmosphere - its like a massive carnival.
Hmm looks like "wiggle woodland" is just a slog along that miserable muddy track rather than diving off in to the woods themselves. I hope not.
Hoping the jump of doom or whatever it was will make a return. The course needs some more features.
Depressingly similar to last year's course which was no fun. If it weren't for meeting up with folk not sure I'd bother again.
Looking at the map and comparing it to last year's GPS map they look pretty much the same.
I quite enjoyed the course so suits me.
Hoping the jump of doom
If you see a disco tent and a load of really fat blokes, you will find one of these! (stolen idea - sorry!) 😉
I don’t understand all this griping about the course... You can’t polish a turd after all, the topography of the area has never leant itself to being a "great course". What is and always has been great is the atmosphere.
I am coming back to racing mountain bikes after giving it all up after the "Malvern’s Classic" in 94. In those halcyon days of the early 90’s when the sun always shone the Malvern’s Classic offered a great event with a very mediocre course, but it was always on my list of "must do events".
I came last year and camped for the weekend, I rode the "Sunday Munch" 100K road sportive with my brother (who has never ridden a mountain bike). "We have to do this next year" he said.... So 12 months later we are ready for whatever MM throws at us.
As Guy Martin often says "it is what it is". Its going to be muddy and its going to have a lot of climbing, if that does not float your boat why do it!
I think most of the people commenting have been to the event several times like myself. And this will be the 4th year for my team and sadly I think the course is cr@p. The courses of 2009 and 2010 were quick yet fun with reward for the climbs with some great downs. Last year was a good change to mix it up but judging by the responses here and on other sites the keeping of the same course has not gone down very well.
I found last years course better on a singlespeed, there was only one bit right up the top (the last bit of gravel fire road) that I regularly walked.
I think they reduced the fast decents because there were quite a few crashes in previous years - the helicopter turned up for one unfortunate. There is a huge variety of skills participating so its always going to be a compromise between a good race course, and something which is rideable and safe for relative newbies.
My first experience of Mayhem, or any mtb race , come to that, was last year. My mates persuaded me that running my Smallblock 8s was a bad idea, so I swapped to XC pros for the entire thing. In all honesty I think the Smallblocks would have been ideal.
Plasticine woods will always be exactly that, like industrially processed cheese which sticks to everything unless you want it to and the stony, mossy long descent back toward the event site on the first part of the course, gives about as much traction as ice.
If the forecast for this weekend is as grim as it appears, truthfully, no matter what you run and I hate to say it, but it will be tough, no matter how perverse your idea of fun is !
Good luck to everyone.
You can’t polish a turd after all, the topography of the area has never leant itself to being a "great course".
Really? It's not exactly flat around there.Whether you like what they offer or not is down to preference, but I dont see the topo as a limiting factor...
What is and always has been great is the atmosphere.
AGREED
Well I for one quite like that course.
What mboy and Will said: full on mud tyres are a waste of time unless it really is sopping wet or you're seriously racing.
I ran 1.5 Mud Sharks for a lap last year and the lack of grip anywhere other than deep mud cost me more time than they saved. Having to keep them at higher pressure didn't help either.
1.8s or 2.0s I reckon for "average" conditions on 26" rims. I'll be seeing what it's like before I take off the 2.25 ADvantages and sticking some Medusas on.
Course looks the same as last year, so that'll be fun for me considering I'm even less fit than I was 12 months ago.
Useful tip? It's not lightweight camping, so bring as much stuff as will make it a comfortable and fun weekend for you.
Another useful tip, a Big clock, easier to quickly see the time if you're in a team.
I've seen the forecast and shall be riding this...
[img] 
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Last year was definitely not wet enough for 1.5" tyres! I just ran Nics all the way through and they were fine.
This year I fear will be wet enough, and then nothing else will work properly!
I'm clinging on to the hope that its not soaking wet, if its dry(ish) next week then hopefully that will give it chance to dry out, it does dry out quite quickly.
At the end of the day its the same for everyone and we've just got to make the best of it 🙂
I've seen the forecast and shall be riding this...
Sheer genius!
Mind you, you'll need to watch out for it when you're not riding it, that will be hot property! You ain't seen me right... 😉
Last year was definitely not wet enough for 1.5" tyres! I just ran Nics all the way through and they were fine.
Aside from plasticine woods, last year was almost dry! I know there was technically some precipitation, but I was running a Hutchinson Cobra rear tyre that would make a Racing Ralph look like a mud tyre, and the only place I suffered with a lack of grip was on the long landrover track style descent after plasticine woods, on the way back to the arena, because of the early morning dew. Everywhere else it was more than enough! Some people don't half panic about tyre choice when things get even remotely wet. You'll slide around more on something with less tread, granted, but then look at a CX tyre. They're narrow to cut through the mud, but they don't have an awful lot of tread on them, and they're bloody fast!
Yes, huge error of judgement on my part, but in the past I'd held off on changing tyres then regretted it, so I changed earlier...
On the plus side though, that error means that I'll not use them again because I hate them and would sacrifice the clearance for the better stability of a wider tyre . 🙂
I'm slow as hell anyway, so a bit of extra speed in the mud isn't really an issue.
It'll all be fine. Course looks OK and with nothing too bad in the damp.
Looking forward to it! Not long now.
Looking at the map and last year experience there are a few places that may catch you out.
1) the SingleTrack SingleTrack that runs between M2 and M3 cuts up lots if wet.
2) the Wiggle Woodland never dries so is always an issue (It's like moulding clay so never sets and is always sticky).
3) Ospray off-camber is a car crash if wet and you are stuck behind slow riders
4) Weldtite wash out is slippy at the top and people go too fast down it
5) The North Face Forest is always wet but they do try to sort it out with carpet sheets where the stream crosses.
So all in all, going to fun!
first time for me this year- was planning taking the Single speed with 1.9's fitted.
Is the course going to be suitable for single speed ? or should i take a geared bike instead ?
Any thoughts
theredchilli - the course is quite good for SS. I rode a lap on my SS (with 2.1 Nobby Nicks on)last year to compare against my laps on the geared bike. Turns out my SS lap was my fastest. Might try the same again this year - definitely taking the SS because if it really muds up then keeping it simple works well.
STS.
A LOT of rain here (just a few miles from course) from yesterday 4pm until the early hours, with plenty more scheduled over the weekend. I think that if the trail went up the somme woods (AKA north face forest) as it has done some years then muddies would be an automatic choice. Going down you have the choice of just slithering along with gravity I guess.
Agree with Dimmadan that Osprey off-camber is the next trickiest place and if it goes through the bracken it'll be impossible to ride on anything that doesn't really cut into the mud.
ScotlandTheScared
Thanks - was my original plan, as the weather looks rubbish ,definaltey my preferred option, as with riding anywhere for the first time- just concerned on the climbs !
theredchilli - I think I managed most of the climbs OK on the SS. I am not the fittest or strongest. I probably had to walk a little bit but not too much. My main problem will be that if its claggy mud my SS has V-brakes so the wheels start to clog up. Hmmmmm.
STS.
Is the course going to be suitable for single speed ?
ss is fine! If fact, me and some mates find it a bit easy so we add in some of these:
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/6850305056_dc80810cbd.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciderinsport/6850305056/ ]DSCF1345[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ciderinsport/ ]ciderinsport[/url], on Flickr
😆
www.justgiving.com/team-SUMO
Sorry for the plug 😳
I cant FLIPPLING WAIT, 4th year in a row for me 🙂
Yeah , I'm running V's on my SS also , going to take it , so will be fun
Well it's finally stopped raining here (near Ledbury). But only after lashing it down for the last two days. This morning it was particularly impressive for a couple of hours. The Malverns themselves dry out super quickly even after this much rain, the Mayhem course? Not so much 😉
My absolute last year. I've sort of given up waiting for a dry one. I'll be swapping the tyres I use all year on the Malverns for a Beaver/Mud-X combo before next weekend. 5 sets of spare brake pads already stashed. Mobile bike washer filed and tested, therapy for Monday morning booked.
Just going to finish 'training' by lying face down in the wet grass for 24 hours!
Forecast now out to Thursday, and it's due to be tipping down then (also quite wet tomorrow). I think it's safe to assume it's going to be wet. Given current levels of wetness around here - Malverns are wetter than I can remember for this time of year even in mudfest years for Mayhem - it only needs a couple of days a week like that to keep it soggy.
... though to be fair, in my preparations I have just changed my tyres & re-waterproofed all of my outers (jacket, four pairs of shorts) So I reckon that should more or less guarantee a scorcher!!!
BRING EVERY BIT OF RIDING KIT YOU HAVE!!!!!!
Only got 2 waterproof jackets and one pair of waterproof shorts so i guess I am getting a wet arse for 5 laps!!!
I took the dog out this morning near the Mayhem course. This isn't actually ON the course but it's within a mile. I ride this a bit of my cross bike and I've NEVER seen it so wet. Even in winter. A bit further up it was like a stream but i didn't take a photo on the grounds of possible de-motivation.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/7385280090_77b5058c6b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/7385280090/ ]Local trails a week before Mayhem[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Off to the Malverns in a bit. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll pull a hamstring 😉
Not sounding good is it 😆 hope it might change, wishful thinking though... Might by some cx tyres
Ah bugger
Thanks for not de-motivating us Alex 🙂
So it's a good thing I've managed to blag a pair of Trailrakers, some Mud X's, and some 1.95" (more like 1.8") Maxxis Ignitors then for the weekend to choose from? 😉
Thinking at this rate it'll be rigid fork on the bike, not suspension, just for mud clearance! 🙁
FWIW, went out yesterday in the Forest of Dean. Was so wet there, mud didn't have a chance to stick to the bike! My bike came back much cleaner than when it went... That said, Eastnor mud is much thicker. I also destroyed some nearly new brake pads inside only 12 miles, so think this Mayhem will be a brake killer!
