All riding is good

No it’s not! I am in my intervals phase and had to stop myself riding in order to recover from Tuesday’s 5x 15minutes Z4. I wanted to get out last night but it would have been junk (but fun) miles that would have reduced the quality of my Z5 intervals today.

Out of interest – How enduro vs XC is it?

29er

Turbo

Training programme

Powermeter

Gee – I’m very sorry but I can’t do it – I hadn’t factored in the start of half term. I feel very guilty as I asked for this….. 🙁

Probably be best off starting a thread titled “Help me find another appropriate bike”

FTFY

There are a couple of short climbs at the local trail centre (Llandegla) which are over 10%, can’t see gearing which would allow those to be tackled being much use on the rest of the place, and I don’t buy the idea that pushing the bike up is the same pace as riding it on a 22/34 or whatever the lowest gear on my current triple setup is.

Seems the options are either push, melt your knees or spin out in many other areas.

Guess it’ll force you to “take it until you can’t” on the steep bits but I’m not sure that’s helpful either. Seems like a recipe for knee injuries if you are unlucky.

The simplicity is appealing but the practicalities seem a bit of a non-starter (for me).

I don’t travel with mine just use it locally for mud/fitness

Guess it’ll force you to “take it until you can’t” on the steep bits but I’m not sure that’s helpful either.
It’s hugely helpful because your ‘can’t’ will become ‘can’ if you force your limits a few times each ride. It’s good to fail on stuff that’s only just out of your reach.

This – you’ll be amazed what you can get up and how much mental strength you gain. Realising I can just get up something on 32/19 that I normaly spin up in 24/36 makes 1×10 seem a breeze!

Pros

It’s an excuse for another bike
It’s different – very different
It’s fun
All rides turn into intervals
It’s cheaper
No excuse not to get out in the mud
Good balance training – 0mph, 0rpm but upright and clipped in.

Cons

It hurts – a lot!
Your thumbs lose strength

I’m on the new firmware, battery is a week in. Yesterdays glitch has me thinking I may have thrown away working batteries due to tolerance as they always seem to go on XC training which is the bumpiest I do.

It is such a neat power measuring solution that I’m willing to persevere a bit.

On my first one. Batteries last from 3 days to 2 weeks. Often go on an mtb race. Went today on my commute and in rage I tried just opening and shutting the cover and hey presto.

Thing is none of the other options work for me as I want to swap between 3 bikes with xtr. No one does xtr, one bike is a triple, two 1x. Powertap hub is heavy and can’t swap axles, other chainset options compromise what I need but if I did change it would be Quark xx1 or SRM xx1 (ouch) as I don’t like the p2m or rotor chainsets.

I love my nanoflex stuff. Not waterproof but quite water resistant and warm when wet.

Thanks – will view route notes etc. Only way I’ll get round in a decent time is by a constant effort. Time to test the additional batter for the garmin!

I really want to do this (and it was me who asked!) but I need to check on what the ride protocol is going to be! The two variables are speed and navigation.

Judging by yesterdays BORS pace (92miles, 2,245m, more road – 7hr 45m) this is going to take me a bit longer than you.

Is the intention to have a scattering of paces doing the route at the same time but in different groups or lead a group of reasonable paced riders (but slower than you would ordinarily complete it).

^^ nice bike and interesting write up. Do you use GPS to ‘navigate your cassette’ 😀 How are the ‘dependable M985 pedals’ behaving – in my experience they can be depended on to be undependable in the staying in one piece stakes!

Piss take aside nice bike

Centrelock hubs 🙁

Just did mine but I take the seals off first and replace after

I wondered why it seemed to have died in the UK.

3 or 4 years ago there was heaps of talk and a few tests of 26″ DW Flux. For the 650b there appears to be a small number of first impressions. I think I found one test in a US mag of a base level full bike.

Now the Burner is being modified makes me wonder if the Flux will too. I decided to keep my last model 26″ Flux.

According to Stages and Training Peaks over the last 6 months I may be applying for a junior domestique place in your over 50s team:-

20mins 4.6 W/Kg
5mins 5.2 W/Kg
1min 6 W/Kg
5sec 10 W/Kg

Starting to want to verify my Stages – some big numbers on last nights commute. Sure I felt strong but 44W stronger after 4 months. Seems a bit of a stretch even if I was 2minutes 37seconds quicker over 8.9km

My Ti Salsa had a factory inserted shim – alloy pressfit into a Ti tube. Never had any problem with it other than it was a little creak prone. Grease sorted it.

That’s quite interesting, the clearance on my P-650b is shocking. I’ve ended up running 2.1s in the rear just to get some clearance

It’s the one criticism I have of my Curtis XC9 and a function of 67mm BB and short/undented chain stays. I run an Xking 2.2 which is a true 2.1. It works but thick claggy mud will start to gather on the stays and it wouldn’t have worked at last years Erlestoke 12 (along with 90% of most other 29ers)

I have the exact same as NJee but weigh 74kg – they’ve withstood my relatively insensitive line choices on southern XC routes.

I like Strava but I wish I could turn off all the downhills. I’m ashamed to say it affects my judgement and I nearly killed myself last weekend with a massive tankslapper at speed on steep hard flinty ground.

Having experienced that I’d like to think I could restrain myself but I suspect speeds will gradualy climb on the descents (see what I did there!)

Plus the most offensive unfunny name.

adsh » My Turner’s DT rear maxle has a tendency to loosen too. I do it up tiiight but it still loosens.

That sounds bad, something isn’t right

I just put it down to not having a cam action like most other axles. Now I realise it’s tendency to loosen I’m doing it up tighter and check occasionaly – it’s been OK. It is not IMHO the best design.

I faced this choice last week.

I made my mind up just before the Chepstow junction and went FOD – mainly because I have a tender hamstring.

I had fun in a chilled sort of way – a couple of laps each of Verderers and Freeminers. Lots of puddles in an otherwise dryish trail. It was fun, allowed me to concentrate on style and rest the leg for 99% of it. Actually this approach worked well as it’s fast with lot’s of potential for a slight overcook to be punishing.

If I’d been fit I’d have preferred Cwmcarn.

RS SID RCT3 run in centre position with some platform ideally set up by TFTuned for your riding style/weight

My Turner’s DT rear maxle has a tendency to loosen too. I do it up tiiight but it still loosens.

In the words of Arthur Daley “I can stand anything apart from minor physical discomfort” Being cold and wet over protracted periods of time is hell.

Squirt year round

I bought a pair of hideously expensive Assos S5 mille etc etc bib shorts in 2010. I’ve used them on road and since 2012 mainly MTB. They’ve been patched from falls but have seen off 2 pairs of bib 3/4s from endura and gore in that time. Conservatively I reckon they’ve done 5,000 miles in all weathers. They look to have the same again left in them.

So actually they’ve worked out my cheapest bib shorts as well as being my most comfortable.

I’ve also had great service from TF tuned. It’s a pretty painless process. Hoping to get them to turn my CTD floats into something a bit closer to RCT Sids.

Very nice – what’s the rear mud clearance like with a 2.25?

Edited – read crap.

There is a point where the masking effect of youthful energy fades enough that targeted training is needed to maintain performance. Unless you were training really hard previously (and it doesn’t sound as if you were/are?) then there’s no reason why, if diligent, that you wouldn’t actualy increase performance. I managed it from 50-51.

I’m flattered to have been stalked and thanks for the motivational peptalk! I shall now go and do my Z1 recovery with head held high 😀 (ish)

Why bother in the first place

This is what I asked myself on Sunday when after a year’s hard training, a years teetotal plus a carbon 29er I managed to come 22nd in the Gorrick 100 compared to last year’s 24th. Just as well I enjoyed it 🙄

Bet you can’t get as much clamping force with M6 as you can with a Deore QR which is what Cotic recommended to me. Mine hasn’t shifted yet on some brutal rides.

Open, exposed airfield, 50-60 mph gusts, 150 cat 3 and 4 riders, likely to be carnage…?

Could someone please video this!

The firmware news is particularly timely as my XTR stages is in it’s box about to be sent back. Will try it once more.

Every time the battery dies I leave the crank to air in a warm place for 24hrs then reassemble with care (all tabs present, grease on gasket etc). Last time the battery lasted 3 days 🙁 allways seems to cut out mid way through an XC training session when I particularly want power readings!

DMR chaintug (filed) on the drive side and a cheap Shimano qr done up tiiiiight. It’s not a lot of hassle and it makes adjustment simple.

Likely to be slim pickens for answers. Not many M985s and not many of those 1×10 I suspect.

Do M985 cranks work with 1x – mine does. Can’t tell you about Blackspire as my ring is a Wolftooth 30T which is great. Interested to see Blackspire do a 28T.

Just came up but as an event in the calender.