I have enrolled on the Evans Ride-It bash to Cannock Chase on saturday … and I was wondering what the trail conditions were like viz-a-viz mud!?

Has anybody been riding in the area recently (no idea what route will be laid out) and care to advise whether I’ll be ok with Rocket Rons, or if it’ll be more a case of Mud-X’s?

Never been to Cannock before …

if they stray from FTD, it’s extensions and the fire roads then there’ll be mud and plenty of it. If they use FTD then you’ll want something that’ll help you out on wet slippery babies heads, the surface can be like lumpy ice in the wet.

I was planning a quick blast round the Dog/Monkey for Saturday. Anyone know if the Evans ride stays off the waymarked trails or are they going to be even busier than normal?

I don’t bother with mud tyres at all around here; FTD and the sandy trails get very puddly and the trails in the trees get muddy in the very-runny-so-your-wheels-just-cut-through-it-to-the-bottom way but there’s little in the way of OMG-my-wheels-won’t-turn sort of stuff. If that helps.

We rode around Sherbrook Valley last night. Was good. Didnt seem too muddy. Bit of standing water in places. The weather is set imporve apparently, 23c on Sat so someone tells me. Should dry it up nicely.
I gather the Evans routs is a lot of fire-road so I’d keep something that rolls well. 25 miles of fire-road on mud tyres…not my cup of tea.

Cheers guys … still not sure which to go for then 😕 Still – the route should get published tomorrow.

The cannock official trails are hardly muddy at the worst of times, although as mentioned some stoney sections of FTD get a bit interesting in the wet compared to the Monkey. From what i gathered the ride is keeping off the main trails, though?

i’ve been riding at cannock for 10 years and never used mud tyres if that’s any help, i use a tyre that clears well but will still cope with roots. the likelihood of the evans route going anywhere icky is very low as they’ll have to keep impact to a minimum

Tioga Blue Dragon is the current choice although it is terrible on the polished sections

I agree with everyone here. The man made trails are covered in a) puddles b) polished pebbles (like at the beach) c) sand or d) roots. You want a tyre like a Maxis Larson or other close tread pattern for maxium contact.

Off the main trails – its typical fire road or ‘earth’. No clay – just proper mud!

Enjoy – i’m off to do the British Heart Foundation Dark Peak ride around Hope. 55km. Only £15 to enter!

OH Crap, was going to go Saturday thinking it’d be quieter than Sunday, is it going up be full of disgruntled Evans customers?

Sunday is the MAMIL route isn’t it?

The route on Saturday doesn’t touch the trails, it’s based around Fireroads and Bridlepaths in the Sherbrook area. Therefore, unless riders are then venturing on to the trails after their ride, it won’t affect the “normal punters” 😛 Oh, apart from there maybe crowds at Tackeroo Camp site which is the start of the final section before returning to Birches Valley.

The route is shown on the Evans website – http://www.evanscycles.com/ride-it/cannock-chase-birmingham-9th-10th-october-2010

Thanks x-isle, I had seen the preliminary Evans route, but seeing as I couldn’t overlay the trails ….

Sooooo … Rocket Rons then!?

advent and crossmark here

Can’t see the tracks being deep in mud either, so out with the Ralphs. Deciding if to do this event or not. Or drive over to Wales.

Ignore mrmichaelwright, he doesnt know his ar5e from his elbow.

Last weekends deluge has largley drained away, expect some loose pebbly bits, and maybe some sandy bits. Evans should be sticking to BWs and fireroads, dont expect anything technical apart from dogsh1t slalom.

If you see somebody taking an unnatural interest in your tyres on saturday … that would be me then!

although it is terrible on the polished sections

It is quite funny though…

Well, it seems that the long route will include sections of the monkey trail and follow the dog ….
blog

Winter means a super tacky Swampthing up front and a Conti Survivor on the back for me. not the fastest tyres but good and reliable in the wet and mucky Chase winter mix.

I’ve done the odd lap of the warmarked trails around there.

Last weekends deluge has largley drained away

Yes, I went up yesterday and some of the smaller climbs are like ravines. Out for an hour or two and my feet didn’t even get wet.

I went out early on Sunday as well and found myself riding up rivers that aren’t usually there. They seem to have eroded a few new valleys. Because there were so few people out, I picked about a kilo of ceps, which we’ve now eaten.

Ignore mrmichaelwright, he doesnt know his ar5e from his elbow.

🙄

Went last sunday afternoon – first time on the monkey – really enjoyed it.Got totally soaked though. Nobby nic up front & ralph out back. Great combo imho & worked really well in the soft conditions.

That’s the combo I run at Cannock, most of the time.

Conditions fine for Sat, me thinks.