Good luck with the TT’s!

There is racing at Hillingdon on most Saturday’s over the winter or come and race the Wessex league, time trialists seem to have the knack of being good, especially those with a bit of mtb in their history!! NRC always seem to have a reasonable turnout too.

Love that! (assuming it’s not been nicked from some hard earning previous owner!)

I popped along to Hillingdon last night and rode the now point scoring 3/4 race as Thruxton wasn’t on. I had a great time but unfortunately I think adding ranking to the race has made the racing a little negative because as per a lot of 3/4 racing a lot of riders are keen to chase down but then sit up (thinking that they’ll do a little better in ‘sprint’ if they don’t work now!!), it ruins the flow of the race and causes potentially dangerous concertinaing.

All that being said I really enjoyed working hard to keep the speed of the race up and attacking at crazy times – it was a really good workout but I just wish other guys would commit and pull hard!

I hope you’re all enjoying your scraps on the tarmac!

I certainly don’t think you should be extending pedal axles or moving cleats and potentially causing physical issues to suit components choice. If you move your forefoot outwards there is a good chance that you heel will still track the current line anyway just with you foot at more of an angle and cause possible knee/ankle pain.

Mine isn’t the standard spec but has a little xtr, crossmax and a dropper it’s a fraction under 24lbs according to the scales at my lbs. the frame in the M109 is lighter than the non Sworks Epic frame despite it’s alloy rear end and come with lifetime bearings which is a nice bonus.

Oh I should also add that after all of this testing and investigating I went for a Whyte M109, it equally efficient at crossing a map fast but has a more trail bike feel to it. Whyte aren’t making it for 2016 and they are also not replacing it so there will be some bargains to be had on remaining stock

I can’t comment of the Canyon as I’ve never ridden it but I’ve ridden the other two a fair bit. The Epic is a lovely bike, I think the brain system work brilliantly on a cross country platform but the issue is that the frames and the suspension system seem prone to failure, the bb area of the frame cracks on most exapamples of the carbon frame and the shock/brain system seem to fail at various points. The Giant how ever is equally good to ride but feels quite different, it seems to be a little less planted and as a result it feels a little more lively but the frame and suspension seem rock solid.

Re the Epic issues in my experience Specialized have been very good about supporting the replacements but I’m not so sure it should hen in the first place!

Note that the geometry on the T130 is slightly ‘longer’ for 2016

No probs.

Go for the HS-1’s – so cheap

I have two 160’s at home, one is Shimano and is brand new, the other is Quaxar (http://www.xcracer.com/shop/viewproduct.php?productid=299) and it’s had 6 maybe 8 months use. Both are 6 bolt and I can post the pair in the UK for £15.00 if like.

Paypal’s cool too, just use adam.buckland (at) hotmail (dot) co.uk

Hope it helps

A nice story with a positive ending for TSA, good work that man.

I hadn’t realised 3/4 at Hillingdon was now giving points, it’ll be a shame if it has lowered the riding standard because it was pretty good when I went a few weeks pack, especially compared to how it used to be!!

Mine came with a Whyte branded rim strip fitted, get you dealer to give ATB a shout for a set.

Assuming they not changed the design the 15mm DT axle on my TCX has a spring in the lever that means you can move it separately from the axle itself. Once you have a small amount of thread in the opposite fork leg so the axle doesnt pull out you should be able to lift the lever out of the ratchet that engages between axle and lever which will enable you to move the lever away from the brake calliper to tighten more.

I’ve explained that badly but hopefully you get the gist of it.

Some cross riders use a glue/sand mix – I think this method was made famous by Katie Compton.

I’ve just had a read up and I had misremembered, the deal from BC is below:

A rider who, at the 31 December of the previous year, was listed in the top 10 in the elite men’s British Cycling Cross-country MTB Series rankings may also claim an elite licence.

It seems the rider needs to ‘claim’ their Elite road license, I read that as it not being automatic.

Anyway, back on topic – 3/4 cat circuits racing here I come!!

LS, all fair points but I guess as Messers Blobby says, it should take long for the odd extra strong 3/4ths to get promoted, yourself included by the sounds of things.

I’m surprised than you were given a 4th, I’m in a similar position; until 3 weeks ago I’d not raced on tarmac for about 4 years after the first full season away my 2nd cat was replaced with a 3rd and that’s where it’s stayed.

It’s a really good point LS, the system goes something like this; those who finish the season in the top 5 (maybe 10?) in the elite MTB rankings automatically gets a 2nd cat on the road for the following season but there are exceptions such as Phil and Ian who slip the net because Phil was an Expert last season and Ian probably hasn’t accumulated enough points in MTB to rank highly enough. These riders should be able to contact BC and get an ‘upgrade’ but apparently Jason Boutel (spelling, sorry Jason) tried this week and got declined despite his MTB elite ranking and the fact that he was running 3rd, behind Phil at the Nationals before a puncture.

It might make you feel a bit better to know that Phil raced 3/4’s at Eelmoor last night a came just 13th – maybe he is human!!

Good work TiRed, I imagine it’s nice for you to be back. You’ll back near the front before you know it.

I rode at Thruxton again this week and to be honest I felt rubbish, stodgy feeling legs that didn’t want to work in the wind so I was a bit boring as I needed to ride in the group and just rolled in at the end. On a more positive note though and Mr Blobby, you’ll be annoyed you weren’t there but a break of 2 went from the gun in the 4th cats race and stayed away, I was chatting to Phil Pearce who was one of them and his normalised power was 390w for the race!!

Good luck and keep smashing the pedals!!

You can get both halves of the cage as spare parts but I think that’s your lot!

Highly recommended here too.

I actually think it’s best suited to cr*p conditions, I’ve used it on the cross bike I race for the last two seasons and will this coming season too – it’s performed faultlessly over that time and although my mileage hasn’t been huge sometimes the conditions have been horrid, I’ve not had to make any adjustments and the only work I’ve done is change the jockey wheels due to mud and water getting in. One my previous mechanical cross bike I had to change the rear gear cable 2 or 3 times a season, even then shifting was unreliable at times…

Thruxton last night was great, quite grippy for my inexperience with a bit of wind and blustery showers! It was good to very briefly meet Mr Blobby and he looked strong in the 4ths.

The speed was unsurprisingly a lot higher than the non ranking race at Hillingdon that I did last week. It took me a few laps to settle in after I nearly got dropped a couple of times in the first lap a half because a lack of attention!! Once I’d recovered from my early errors I had a little in the tank for a few bridging moves but not a lot more so made may way through the race relearning positioning lessons, making a few efforts and then sat up before the last chicane so not to get in the way of the sprint.

Great fun.

How is everyone else finding their road season?

Top work by Kryton and the Junior version…

Yep, I’ll be in Banjo kit.

From having read here and on the TT thread you seem to have a great engine, plenty enough to make a difference in the race and should be able to get a good few points. If what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked try something different – when you’ve got a motor like you seem to have put them to the sword at the most challenging times!! 😀

I’ll look out for you but if I we don’t see each other good luck!!!!

Mr Blobby, I’m a 3rd. I’ve not been to the mid week at Thruxton, do they run 3’s and 4’s separately or in the same race? I’ll keep an eye out for a NRC rider!

Good luck Oldgit.

Off the Thruxton this coming Tuesday, I’ll let you know how I go…

Cheers Kryton, it’s nice to go and race with no stress. When I last raced on the road I got caught up with ‘training’ now I just ride how/when I want and help my team mates where I can with their training. While my fitness isn’t what it was I feel a lot less pressure and therefore a lot more enjoyment – good place 🙂

Thanks to inspiration from this thread I did my first road (closed circuit) race in about 4 years, and I bl**dy loved it. A few weeks ago I built up an aluminium TCR with some reasonable deep sections on a fairly tight budget and after a few shakedowns near home I took it to Hillingdon last night. I’ve raced at Hillingdon a lot in the past but not been there in the thick end of 5 years so I entered the 3/4 non ranking race and had a great time. I really enjoyed getting back in the wheels and not wanting to sound in any way condescending the standard of riding at this level at Hillingdon has come on a long way, it used to be a little scary at times but the riders have obviously spent a lot of time honing their skills and the coaches have worked really hard.

The race; I rolled around in the group for a few laps just to find my feet but given that you only get 30mins and 3 I thought I’d better get stuck in, as a previous solo attack started to come back to the group I sent one up the back straight into the wind and got 80 maybe 100metres quite quickly and sat there for a couple of laps knowing it was too early for my current fitness so I slowly edged back to the group and sat in again. A few laps later I had another feeler to see if anyone was prepared to join in and I found myself alone again but I’d not recovered enough from the last go so I was away for about a lap and got sucked back in again. I sat in for a few more laps while there was some aggressive riding on the front by a few of the stronger riders but nothing went away so with what turned out to be 3.5 laps to go I had one last do or die, I quickly gained a decent gap and eeked out a little more but I got caught with about 3/4’s of a lap to go by a guy from Charlotteville but he was a little too strong for me to hang on too, his attacked encouraged a big effort from this really powerful guy who came flying over the top of both of us and he dragged the rest of the bunch up so within about 300m I went from 1st with a reasonable gap to the back of the pack. It was great fun…

See if you can get Specialized Fast Trak Grids (there is a UST version too), they are US only but you may find a shop that’ll ship them. I think they come in 2.0 and 2.2

Ah yes, our paths may well have crossed?

If you are doing Summer Cross at Goldwell Park I’ll see you at sign on, the first round is tonight!

So then Messers Blobby who are you, we share local trails and LBS?

Good call on the date and time, too early!!

Cross Country Men – Sunday, May 31 at 12:00 pm GMT on the Red Bull Channel

Thanks for all the positive responses. Hopefully I’ll see you all at singing on Thursday

For anyone not having riden the events before I will be at Northcroft park in newbury on Wednesday evening at about 6.30 for about an hour to suss out a course for the next evening, feel free to come down and join me and get an idea for it.

I use the cassette and mech with a gripshift and next crank and other than the dodgy RF chain line (I have a new ring to sort that) it’s awesome, as good as I could have hoped for

I bloody love this tread. It’s so good to hear how everyone’s getting on and I’m amazed by how honest people are, sure there are the odd lucky sods who win their first race and continue like that but for most of us it’s bl**dy hard work!!

It’s got to the point where I check on here every couple of weeks to get an ‘update’ – me weird, no not at all!

I’ve found you tales quite inspiring, that has lead to me ordering the bits and pcs to build a rugged little circuit racer – it’s been years since I pinned a number on for the road or closed circuit – Thanks guys

Amazing bikes, it’s no surprise that they are ridden to podium places all over the UK most weekends, I think the Male Elite Race at the last round of the Southern XC had an Epic World Cup in 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

I test rode a standard one (which I don’t think is a UK bike for 2015) and a World Cup, the small (shorted chainstays, 10mm (I think) less travel, a steeper front end and single ring only) differences summed up to a very different feeling bike. The WC felt much more lively, almost twitchy whereas the std one felt a lot more planted but there was no question both were incredibly fast and relatively fun to ride. The WC chassis felt very stiff, a little hardtail like on the climbs. There have been some issues with the non Sworks version of the std one cracking but Specialized have warrantied and I think some people have changed to WC frames as they don’t seem to have the same issues.

Following these test rides I went with an M109 after testing that too (and a 650b Anthem). The Whyte felt a lot more fun but ultimately not quite so fast (maybe I’m not a true XC racer). Since having the Whyte I have had the shock tune changed and I’d really like to try a back to back with an Epic as I’m not sure there is much in it…

Sorry for the rambling

Thanks for the speedy feedback, all seems good.

OP, sorry to go OT

Gee, are you using a Rotor bearing with Next cranks, if so which bearing are you using?

I only ask as my BSA Raceface one hasn’t worn very well at all, my bike is at my LBS today having the second one since Jan fitted, I fitted the first one and wonder if I over did the preload slightly.

I’ve used them for years, 9, 10 and now 11 speed. The 9 and 10 were with a Sram mech and were great but now I mix X01 Grip Shift with XTR rear mech and the shifting is even better. I use foam grips and just trim to suit – I really wouldn’t go back.

I’d have Xt or XTR Trail, I’ve just put XTR Race on my bike and they don’t seem to be a good in all areas (other than weight) as my old XT ones