Yes and YouTube was no help….

In your case will probably get away with removing all the plastic covers and flushing out / lubing with a very light oil (I had a few wire strands buried in there so had to pull apart). Also on first rebuild had an undersized cable nipple that didn’t stay put and would jam things up (so only use Shimano inner cable).

Anyone manage to get a podium? Got meself a gong in the SE England champs at Cyclopark in Kent.
After three bronzes in the V50s I finally struck ‘gold’ in the V60s. OK the field was rather sparse and it might not have been a good idea to beat my club chairman but it was a good day nonetheless. :0)

Well done plop-pants.

Good work Plop-pants, well done.

Thanks @Mick_r I’ll give that a crack and hopefully it will be ok. I had another look last high and I am pretty sure it is something in the shifter end as if I push the mech up with my hand and then release it shifts down instantly and all the cable goes back up housing quickly, but if I use the shifter it is still sticking, even when clean.

Don’t know about you @shedbrewed but my legs are in agony today after all that running. Also developed a stinking cold yesterday arvo whcih probably explains why Sunday wasnt as good as I’d been hoping.

Probably worth a new cable whilst you have the shifter off. I can’t remember when we last (ever?) broke a cable in the shifter so maybe there is a tight bend in there that makes them prone.

I was convinced that we’d broken one of the pawl return springs because it was so weak / floppy causing the malfunction. But once cleaned out it worked properly again.

@ferrals yup legs definitely complaining but all done now. Time to get prepped for Audax season 👍

Good race in the N Wales league yesterday at Ros on Sea in Colwyn Bay. One of the harder courses I’ve done this season – one side of it snaked up and down a steepish bank, 5 run ups in close succession followed by a 6th once the ride out got too muddy. Definitely asked some questions but managed to stay positive by looking at the agony etched in the faces of my competitors 🙂

Felt decent and had some good battles, but dropped a few places with a jammed chain – everyone’s in the same boat there though, trying to nurse the drivetrain round in these races given the winter we’re having. Been coming 11-15th in these races so expect similar when the results are out.

Legs are starting to properly complain now with the CX running – both ankles and a calf sore this morning. How do other people find it? Resolve to do more jogging next year to condition the legs, although being a teeny tiny bit overweight is prob the root cause.
First season of the NW I did must have been a very dry winter (about 4 or 5 years back) – reckon I ran 100 yards tops all season. I remember looking at the pits and not understanding what the point of them was, why are people bringing two bikes?

I watched a video of the north of england cahmps over the weekend and thoguht of you 🙂

I also struggle with the running. I’m planning on running once a week from now on. I also think working on flexibility and the supproting muscles probably helps – my back and knees hurt when I run which I’m sure is glute related. I probably need to chuck in some running up steep hills with the bike on my shoulder too.

I saw that vid – guy did a great job at capturing the atmosphere.

I do try and go out and run 20 or 30 min steady once a week in season, but have struggled this time with niggling aches and pains, and haven’t wanted to push it in case it affects the cycling. Think I need to make it a normal thing year round and patiently work through any issues ahead of the season starting.

Interesting chat re: running, I am not one of nature’s runners, but have the whole year to prepare for next season so am thinking of starting running as soon as doctor allows (recovering from lower back surgery) with a gentle half hour off road run every week. 8 weeks out I’d start with some CX specific running as per this link

Cyclocross Running

Different question: can anyone compare running Limus Open tubulars with latex tubes vs. Limus TLR?

I like the suppleness of open tubulars with latex tubes, but wonder if I would benefit from the lower pressures of tubeless. Have seen pals suffer blowouts etc. with tubeless so wonder what a practical lower pressure limit is for my svelte 85kg…

I ran 23psi yesterday in limus TLR, at 100 kg. Standard for me in muddy conditions – been amazed at tubeless reliability tbh – only had a single problem in prob 30 races and that was caused by a badly dinged rim.

Tubes just sound like a non-starter for a heavier rider (I mean given the choice, we prob all started on tubes). You’d prob need 30psi plus which is a huge disadvantage in heavy conditions regardless of how supple the sidewall is.

Wow, awesome.

You’re bang on, I run 40psi minimum, and can rim the wheel quite easily e.g. bunnyhopping on tarmac to try and shed mud.

What wheels do you have? I’ll be running pacenti rims probably which I hear are pretty good tubeless.

I was on Stans grail which were great for tubeless but got dinged to hell in one season. Now on a set of Hunts 4 season and they’ve been trouble-free, and seem more dent-resistant. Certainly the rim must be critical as plenty of folk report problems with burping etc.

I do run a set of tubs as well, but need to be a bit more careful as I’ve punctured a few in my time (painful on the wallet). The courses in the N Wales league tend to be more mixed terrain so I don’t like to risk them there.

Yeah, I assume burping relates to how tight the fit is and how wide the rim is. The Pacenti rims are as wide as I could find for a clincher road rim, same width as Grails apparently (20mm) so that’s good. I wonder if taller rim brake sidewalls are a good or a bad thing, you’d think good, bead needs to lift further before it can burp.

I feel like I’ve seen more issues at races with tubs than tubeless; whether punctures or rolled tubs.

Personally, I have not had any issues tubeless but I am quite light.

@shedbrewed told me he thought tubeless vittoria wets had more grip than Limus tubulars, but as this was mid-mud-race I have no idea if he was just trying to confuse me 🙂

Nope I wasn’t messing around with you @ferrals I genuinely found the terreno wet tyre run tubeless to have more grip in that mud that the limus/baby limus tubulars on my spare bike. I’m no lightweight at 85kg and run pressure at around 30psi. The tubulars had more feel in them; I could get what the ground underneath was doing; mostly slipping and slopping, whereas the tubeless tyres were stiffer but they were both still dinging at the same points around the course.

An interesting choice of course for the under 8’s in Cheshire this morning! @Steve_b77, my wife said Tommy wasn’t so well after the race is he OK?

An interesting choice of course for the under 8’s in Cheshire this morning! @Steve_b77, my wife said Tommy wasn’t so well after the race is he OK?

Just a bit, although he loved it and wasn’t happy they didn’t get to do another lap!!

Yeah he’s fine now, it wasn’t bike related. He hooked a bungee chord round a branch and walked backwards to see how far it would stretch, unfortunately it stretched rather a lot and then pinged off the branch and into his head just above his eye!

The first aid chaps did a sterling job in sorting him out and having him under observation for a bit, he’s gonna have a corker of a black eye for his return to school on Monday 🤣🤣

@BenjiM Hi, I was the organiser at Tabley yesterday, I hope the under 8’s gained valuable experience for longer races when they move up an age group. 😀

I was walking back from the sign-on after sorting out another little problem, and thought, I wonder if anyone thought to alter that gate? Just in time to see them on the zig-zags in the distance. 🤔

@steve_b77 glad your lad wasn’t badly hurt, didn’t realise it was self inflicted, the story I got from the medic was it pinged off while loading a car.

He’s fine now, just a lovely black eye in the making. Thanks

@tthew Thanks for organising yesterday’s racing. A longer course is great for those kids who are a bit more advanced and ready to move up, but seriously off putting to the younger kids whose first race it might be and they only manage to get one lap in. I may have missed them but I didn’t see any course plans anywhere either? This might have saved the extended loop for the ones with little legs as someone might have noticed sooner. Just a thought 🙂

@steve_b77 Good to hear and he had a great race again! Big wheels doing well 😉

Thanks for organising yesterday @tthew, a considerable undetaking and a new venue always brings some uncertainties. I was marshalling so will have said hello.

Did the last race for some exercise – track like that should be right up my street but it certainly didn’t feel that way. Tests your focus.

Will you use the showgrounds again? I would prefer that then doing Blakemere twice, but most people seem to like Blakemere AFAICT.

Sorry to miss you boys in the last couple of races. Got ill before Christmas and just got a bit jaded / loss of interest after a long season. Alison similar but more that Burnley crushed all motivation, so finally get rid of the trophy we’ve had to dust for the last 4 years 🙂

Hell we even went for a much needed family mtb around Rivvy! (which was absolutely rammed low down with walkers and dogs – busier than summer)

Will you do Rossendale mick? New course must be worth a gander, and can’t be far from you?

I have an entry for the Nat champs next week in Shrewesbury – surprised to get a place tbh. The lanterne rouge is a real possibility but looking forward to it all the same.

Good luck with Shrewsbury if it is wet – our one experience was a swamp by first thing Saturday and only getting worse after that 🙂

I should really pull my finger out for the last race. Rossendale has a reputation as a mudfest for xc running so can’t imagine it will be any different on a bike. Salford was good singlespeed last year (just the radiator frame, tyres and vee brakes that didn’t work) so could be tempted to try a new setup.

Will you use the showgrounds again? I would prefer that then doing Blakemere twice, but most people seem to like Blakemere AFAICT

I’m handing my organisers hat over next year, but it’s a possibility as the move from Blakemere for us was enforced, not by choice. The owners were concerned about the field getting seriously muddy and taking too long to recover. Don’t know if this will affect Cudd Cross, but one of the organisers of that is mates with the owner, so he may get a bit more accommodation. Delamere Forest is a venue I’d considered, but they turned us down because of the building of a new visitor centre, but that should be finished by next year so again a possibility.

I may have missed them but I didn’t see any course plans anywhere either? This might have saved the extended loop for the ones with little legs as someone might have noticed sooner.

Publishing the course wouldn’t have made a lot of difference, we just forgot to alter the end of the loop to stop them exiting onto the field! I hope it didn’t put any of the young racers off, they all looked pretty determined to finish.

Good luck at Shrewsbury @Garry_Lager – does anyone know if the nat champs are being televised this year like they have in the past?

I raced Western League yesterday after a few weeks of overindulgence, although the gluttony didnt seem to affect racing that much. Had a cracking day out on a really fun course in the cotswolds, a bit greasy to start becomming very slippery when a misty rain started to fall. Increasingly I’m of the opinion that racing other leagues is the best way to have fun, with no pressure to match past results its nice jut to race whats in front of you. Not gridded but a wide start line meant a second row (last row) start, didnt have a great start but picked quite a few people off and was in a nice postion towards the end of the first lap, before sliding out one corner after a drop, getting my chain badly jammed and loosing all the ground I’d made up. Kept things steady and slowly overtook a few people again, was starting to get into a groove and speed up towards the last quarter of the race untiln my mech got too clogged and was stuck in the easiest gear. Luckily it didnt snap and I nursed it to the pits to grab my spare bike for the last half lap.

Don’t think i can make the mid-jan western league race so one more race for me now at the start of feb and that will be it for the season.

does anyone know if the nat champs are being televised this year like they have in the past?

Seems like the answer is no 🙁

No TV at Shimano British CycloCross Championships

Despite the record entry of riders, the world stars appearing like Tom Pidcock and how massive a sport this is, it doesn't appear like it is going to be televised as British Cycling I understand cannot afford it. ;-( pic.twitter.com/RYq53SOr29

— British Cycle Sport (@VeloUK) January 7, 2020

Is the lack of TV coverage due to BC not trying to sort of the broadcast rights or a lack of broadcasters being interested in televising it?
Either way it’s a real shame and a backward step after it being on the BBC (albeit on the red button) in previous years.

On a cheerier note, woo hoo, National Champs this weekend 🙂

No TV/streaming for a national Champs is pretty poor. What are BC doing with our money? Other countries seem to manage. Not fit for purpose. Shambles….

When my membership is up, I’m not renewing…. and switching to Cycling UK.

Shrewsbury was good today in the vets – not done a national course before but thought it was a good mix of challenging stuff and open straights over different terrain. Some testing off-camber, a substantial bridge (with massive steps that I crashed hard on) and plenty of short dismount sections – but overall the course seemed to hold up reasonably well and there were no really sustained running sections.

Was gridded 99 out of 101 blokes and going over the start/finish line on the opening straight I was literally DFL, so excellent scope for improving one’s position 🙂 Managed to make up a few places (not seen the results out yet) and had a good battle with another rider for most of the course, so overall was pretty happy with it.

Staying with family not too far away so will go down to spectate the senior races tomorrow. The rain has come in (but is due to clear tomorrow afternoon) so course may deteriorate a fair bit.

Nice one G_L. Course looks in much better state than the year we went so should be some good racing on Sunday. How did TD do? Also some other NW folks getting wins / podiums.

Very poor there was no race coverage for nationals. Will have to check out Trinity Racing’s vid on youtube…

We were down there on both days, pitting in the V40 mens & ladies races and the U16 girls race, which was good fun and a great experience for Tommy, plus he got to meet his hero, Mr. Pidcock.

View this post on Instagram

Top day out at the @britishcycling #cyclocross #nationalchampionship with @mcdepic @ec.044 and Karen @ktmukraceteam all out in their @vanellicycling kit with junior pit crew @tommybowman7 who got to meet the @trinityracing_ team @aby_mae & @camerooney.mason and his hero @tompidcock https://youtu.be/XVyqEVCpwwg

A post shared by Steve Bowman (@steve_b77) on Jan 11, 2020 at 12:24pm PST

On Sunday we were spectators on a massively different course and saw some excellent racing.

View this post on Instagram

A small collection of photos from the @britishcycling #cyclocross #nationalchampionship #elite & #u23 mens #race today at Shrewsbury Sports Village. What looked like really muddy & sticky conditions with some amazing performances #crossisboss @gilesdrake @wheelbase.co.uk @nick1craig @tompidcock @camerooney.mason @trinityracing_

A post shared by Steve Bowman (@steve_b77) on Jan 12, 2020 at 10:02am PST

Well, Shrewsbury reminded me just how much the phrase CROSS IS BOSS is accurate 🙂

Mainly due to the community spirit through which the whole thing survives – from friends pitting for each other all weekend to the organising club and all their heroic volunteers who got very little (nothing? certainly not a lot…) for their effort from the governing body. I won’t turn this into a rant/grump about any of that, because it shows just how well people who love the sport can do and it put a smile on my face for the whole weekend 🙂

The racing was ace too. They’ve had practice running big races at that location and it showed – the course design was suitably “tricky even though it didn’t look like it should be” to reward the best riders while still offering plenty of opportunity to race closely.
Very much glad the V40s were on the Saturday when the course was still…well, green in places! The steps on that bridge were hilarious, I don’t know how some of the smaller juniors got up them at all!

I noticed the Belgian champs course went right out to sea along a pontoon…maybe next year the UK could find somewhere coastal and have the race go along a pier or something 🤣

They’ve had practice running big races at that location and it showed

i read that as ‘They’ve had big running races at that location and it showed’ 🙂

The videos and photos make it look epic. In a couple of years when I’m a Vet and no longer bound by the 80% rule I’m definitely planning on a riding a few more national events as all the courses have looked so good.

The Belgian course looked amazing. Good racing too.

The 80% rule was harsh on Sunday when a world level pro shows up to race – fair to say the field got stretched out. Lads down the field who would be considered strong at an amateur level only getting three laps in.

I fancy trying some trophy races next season – good courses, different atmosphere. I just need to work on the gridding a little bit 😉 Ten rows back with barriers – it didn’t feel like the start of a regional race where you can ride through half the field, or take a canny line by the bushes.

I heard an interview with TP afterwards and his goal had been to lap everyone but the top ten and he was a bit disappointed he’d not managed that!

I’m hoping there is something at Pembrey again next season since its close enough its worth racing even being pulled after 3 laps. Guess they will announce next seasons dates in the next couple of weeks.

The 80% rule was harsh on Sunday when a world level pro shows up to race

Even with it in place we pulled out some riders who were properly lapped – going from 70-75% down one lap to over 100% the next. Mechanicals play a part sometimes but this was simply down to the speed up front.
Then again it is the national championships and everyone knows the score when they enter, with the current crop of riders competing it means that the majority of the field (who are very solid riders in most cases) get hammered.

All set for the last race of the NW season tomorrow? Was a very good course last year in Salford – been mizzley sort of weather all week so ground might not be in too bad shape. League standings are up to date on the website – I had a poor result in the very first race with a mechanical, and need to race tomorrow if I want to drop that. Congrats to @twinklydave at the sharp end who looks to have won the V40 series.

Been a long season with some extremely heavy racing – the N of Eng champs setting a new benchmark for me in defining the word MUD. I’m feeling alright on the bike but really noticing the recovery is getting hard, be good to take a break from the weekend intensity.