https://www.pinkbike.com/news/race-report-100-mini-downhill-round-1-forest-of-dean.html

See a few familiar names from the BMX world in there – were the U13s running the same course as the older riders? If so Coby Wrayford (who is 11 I think, maybe 12?) is as much of a talent on the mtb as he is on a bmx. Two runs of 1.23 would put him top 15 in the 17-18s. On a little trail bike 😉

Yeah all the same course… that’s the brilliant things about these events and things like MIJ, they’re the same for everyone. Even when semi-pros turn up, they’re all on the same course.

There’s a lot of fast youngsters for sure… you often see BMX world champs, national champs etc… they all usually do really well.

@Hobnob – they were probably on Enduro bikes because that’s what most people own now rather than because they chose it over their DH bikes, although quite a few of the trails at FOD suit that kind of bike.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoSbvCJMW77/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Should be on an enduro bike and stop pushing him, let him enjoy it and play 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Should be on an enduro bike and stop pushing him, let him enjoy it and play 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Nah. He needs an XC speed machine to get the strava KOMs innit 🤷🏼‍♂️

That lad has more skill in his left foot on a bike than I’ve had my entire life on one 🤣

He was looking at something today and we noticed that when we did the FoD race and he decided he wanted to race DH was not quite a year ago, it was the 26th Feb lol.

Wow, what a year.

Today was at Hopton with Scarlett his team mate. We’re concentrating on fun on days like this and today was no exception. He was stupid fast, flying down and just laughing like a loon at the bottom. Was exceptional to see. Scarlett helps with this as she’s a little Bundle of crazy frogs and makes him laugh lots.
They did about 15 runs and loved every minute

Today seeing the Hopton tracks showed me why I don’t race DH and when I do any racing I come last, they’re all just exceptional riders, really really impressed by so many of them.

We had a bit of a damp squib yesterday as we went to Swinley but the main trails he wanted to ride were closed.
So to see him all excited today on way home was great.
Bike was superb apparently.

So to see him all excited today on way home was great.

That’s what it is all about 😁 what more could you possibly ask for as a parent 👍🏻

Bike was superb apparently.

It’s still the wrong bike though 😉 (allegedly 🤷🏼‍♂️😂)

I can’t believe you didn’t make him ride the enduro bike he hasn’t got yet! If he’d raced on that he might have come higher (although he’d have looked very silly running down the course holding only a pair of DMR bars with no bike).

although he’d have looked very silly running down the course holding only a pair of DMR bars with no bike

Sillier still with pedals stuck to his running feet 😂

It’s still the wrong bike though 😉 (allegedly 🤷🏼‍♂️😂)

Heaven forbid there might be some people who have been there & done it already, offering some advice. I must have missed all those instabangers of the DH WC boys riding round the Surrey Hills on their DH bikes.

Lets move on hey… There’s no right or wrong, me and the lad make our decisions, we currently have 2 bikes, both the same… so it’s not a choice/decision anyway.

Even when the PRivateer arrives, it won’t get used in DH races… whether people agree or not doesn’t matter, it’s not happening.

I appreciate all advice… but at times i’ll choose to ignore it. Sorry, but that’s the reality of life… i will never please everyone and i don’t intend to try.. As long as i pleased the small one i created, then i’m happy.

Kind of related (but I dont have an opinion on which bike he should ride) – how does the sponsorship thing of the Privateer work? I assume they have provided the bike so there will be a minimum commitment of X amount of Enduro races using the bike?

how does the sponsorship thing of the Privateer work? I assume they have provided the bike so there will be a minimum commitment of X amount of Enduro races using the bike?

Well not exactly… Privateer are in with the team and they’d like us to ride it in Enduro, but as far as i know it’s not a full on pre-requisite, however you’d have to ask Katy the details. We’ve gone a little further than some people and we’re entering more Enduros than i believe are expected of us. We’ll wait and see how it all pans out but Katy is very much about not pressuring the kids/team, but supporting them rather than pushing them.
They completely understand that currently the racers are DH racers who are going to race Enduro… rather than Enduro racers who may or may not race DH.
We’re currently entered in 3 Enduros, but we’ll likely do more when funds allow us to book, along with them being open for entry. There’s also a few events that are sadly unable to allow him to enter due to his age, so we’re slightly restricted on what we can do sometimes.

But we’ll be pretty hot on riding, jumping and racing the Privateer and in the coming months i’ll likely be geting banned for telling you lot all to buy one and how amazing they are LOL.

Well i won’t, but i will be doing my best to post plenty of Privateer content as will the boy of course.

It’s a tricky situation all-round though as we’re completely new to this and it’s obviously KAtys first year as a team head, so we’re all learning different things about different aspects. I’ve made more than 1 mistake with the sponsorship aspect and i’ve also made 1 or 2 very good helpful aspects to the team/sponsorship too. But it’s all a bit complex, complicated, crazy at times..

2023 Race Info

These are more we’re likely to enter.. but i can’t put into words how crammed the calendar and the bank account are at the moment.
I’m not sure if that answers your question or indeed answers the right question.. but if not, throw in some more and i’ll do my best to answer.

“can we take the 6 year olds bike to the woods please?”

New bike day for the boys. Proper excited lads and first ride report is that bike is brilliant and loving it, well apart from the Codes which don’t stop him lol, but we’ll soon sort that.

A load of DMR parts fitted and he spent the afternoon thrashing it down trails with Katy and Drew.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coh-W2rj7JR/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Awesome!! 👍🏻

Well deserved 👍

Having a bit of a spanner twiddle this morning to fit the cable tidy/routing bits, along with a bottle cage relocator and his Mallet DH pedals (the older ones are very very tired)… Really liking the bike in terms of quality and finish and without too much in the way of sponsor plugging, the DMR Camo stuff looks superb 😀

The Codes have a lot of lever throw before the bite, so i’m debating whether i try and dial that out with a bit of over-bleeding to stiffen the lever and then move it in a bit, or whether i just fit the Guides that we already have here and he likes and has fitted to the purple GT Fury.

He’ll be out playing on the 141 today though all day i think as he’ll need to get used to it, but as i implied last night, first impressions are excellent and he was straight up to speed and surprised how many of his race lines he could hit on it. I think he was expecting it to be a bit less capable than it seems to be.
Next up is a day with Katy later in the week (on the 141) and then a trip to BPW next weekend, where he’ll be riding both the GT and the 141, partly for video/pics, but also just to get more bike time in and getting used to it.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ogvYNE]2023-02-12_07-49-13[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oguTga]2023-02-12_07-49-05[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ogtrhk]2023-02-12_07-48-58[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oguT96]2023-02-12_07-48-50[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oguT6q]2023-02-12_07-48-41[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ogvYyb]2023-02-12_07-48-24[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

I’d try advancing the pistons on the Codes first then try adding more fluid if that doesn’t work.

Well he seems to like it

Again, at the risk of repeating myself, awesome 👍🏻👍🏻

Granite Stash installed.

Having seen it in the flesh- it and the lad are indeed awesome 😎

Just on the Code thing – they have a chunk more bite than guides so I can‘t believe they won’t stop him. Chances are they haven’t been broken in enough – innit ally don5 it 5 hard stops from about 20mm on tarmac – normally 3 or 4 in you suddenly get a lot more bite. They nornally come with sintered pads which are very decent.

You don’t need to overfill them to get a quicker bite – just pop the wheel out and pull the lever to advance the  pads (don’t overdo it) and put the wheel back in.

Ace bikes though – sounds like the lads are going to love them 👌

Pads were advanced and feel nicer, he’s telling me they’re decent, but I still don’t think they’re setting the world on fire compared to the Hopes and they’re close to the Guides.  They’re deffo broken in now that’s for sure, but at the moment there’s many things to play with and setup, so it’s just baby steps.

He’s actually coming home way happier than I thought or hoped and absolutely loves it. Today he was out for 5 hours, so can’t say he’s not putting in the time.

I was out for 3 hours yesterday and the same today, my hands are tired.

Advance the pads and fully break them in and they should be grand. Codes have plenty of power.

Bike looks smart – decent mid travel bikes like that are awesome and great for most UK riding. Once he’s used to it I’m sure he’ll prefer that if he’s pedalling any distance (may like the security of the GT for racing though which is a bit different).

I’m determined to talk him into doing a test lap at a track and seeing if we can Strava it to see if he’s faster, the truth though is that most tracks this year in DH will suit the DH bike more. But a FoD or Stile Cop, maybe the 141 will be used.

Obviously for all coaching sessions it’s the 141 as bike to use and there really is a lot of them. Katy is massively dedicated in getting these kids faster.

It’s night and day better for pedalling of course.

Haven’t you got tech 3 / v4 hopes? Code should be close to those in power I’d have thought

Weeksy, you can get little plastic clips that go on the reach adjusters on the levers that take up the slack. I think they are called deslackinators but I could be wrong. My mate gave me some of his spares and they seem pretty good.

Correct Joe. I only go by what he tells me, I’ve not sat on it.

Chunk, yeah seen them previously, but thanks for the reminder

Show off 😃

Weeksy I think I have some deslackinators you can have gratis if you are interested?

That would be fantastically kind of you. Thank you.

Just found them… PM me your address and I’ll get them in the post this week (might not be until Wednesday when I wfh)

Awesome job by @towpathman to find and send these… Thank you.

Impressed with the ease of Tubelessing the Hunt wheels… No faff, pre-taped and went up without the Airshot. Really easy, quick and nice.

Don’t think either of us have anything in us for riding today… i could do with going to take on a jump that a mate did yesterday, but i’m tired, stiff and achey.

Just had a play on his 141, I really liked it, apart from the 800+ bars which I’d trim if it were mine.

Sizing, really nice in P2 for me at 6’0

Code brakes, well they’re epic. Not sure if he’s just really used to the Hopes, but the Codes are lovely. I may even struggle not to put my SLX brakes up for trade on some codes lol.

He’s absolutely flying it looks like to me.

I did a dad-gap-jump which I never thought I’d do, but managed it. Heart in mouth and pounding!

I really liked it

NBD incoming 😉😂😂