Can’t see the results?

American Classic 130g but reliable and mainstream

My first day without fever for 4 days, chest awful but I hope to be there.

The adventure looks very similar to a Curtis XC9.

I travel for an hour to get to the xc loop and think it’s well worth it.

The xc loop is fun. Very rooty and quite testing. It’s a game of 2 halves – steep down then steep up. All natural and a lot of fun. I woildn’t go near it in the damp.

Was s’posed to be doing that today but it’s day 3 of 100f and feeling so gross I could cry…….

I just visualise how pissed and low I’ll be if I haven’t done what I set to do.

Took to my bed with man flu. Was initialy pissed at training loss – now worried I won’t recover for the 4th.

That doesn’t mean it makes sense to do the same for your local Gorricks

Very true!

I’m selling my as new Merida 96 100mm 26″ FS frame if you’re a large? 2100g including shock and sub 21lb built up.

Failed first early morning start. Warm bed and incipient manbola

But they didn’t match the bar decals. Either all or nothing.

Unfortunately I’m riding it too much to do a studio shot.

Inspired by Candodavid
20141212_123838 by adshools[/url], on Flickr

Image posting from mobile fail.

No excuse for intentional littering.
Whats the non race access at Tunnel Hill like? Want to take a mate around tjat cracking course on friday.

I dropped a full one. Don’t you think the majority of these have fallen out of pockets?

For me the difficult area is not the obviously icy as hell morning but the borderline one where it’s 4c at home but might be freezing in a couple of hollows on my minor road commute. I err on the side of caution and explain to my wife why I’m going to be in the shed for 2 hours that evening.

You don’t do it.

This! 3c and damp roads and I break out the turbo and netflix. If it’s dry and really early I’ll go out in lower temps and stick to more major roads if I can.

Muddy race bike

https://flickr.com/gp/68424083@N07/99H5iW

Brilliant course and some great racing. Really went out hard and pretty much stayed on it for 4 laps and 8th in the grand vets. Met some really nice people.

Turbo, fan, laptop, netflix and breaking bad/lillehammer/mad men/band of brothers etc etc. I actualy look forward to base miles on the turbo!

I have a full time job and a part time one too that used to pay for holidays and bike bits etc.

To start with my training fitted in with my life. Now my life fits in with my training and that has meant sacrifices including the second job. The issue is not so much the time but the regularity/or timing off it to get the best results.

Talking about tyres on Brass Monkey threads is like asking if your mate revised for the exam – they say no but strangely do very well when the results come out.

Fast draining only goes so far with up to 1,000 wheels going round multiple laps. That said it does look much drier for this round which doesn’t play to my attritional nature.

It’s sort of fine and it’s sort of hell.

It’s not technical (though it can be bloody slippery) it’s not particularly bumpy and it’s not particularly difficult to navigate (though I’ve only done the western half and back)

What it is is absolutely bloody relentless and very long. Start slow and have strategies for overcoming despair. Ensure you are comfortable on your bike for loong periods of time.

I cried when I did it – utter exhaustion, a slightly too long position that became apparent after about 9hours and worry over a tubeless slow puncture – at that level of exhaustion the tiniest thing is enough to tip you over the edge.

I’m hoping to do a double with an overnight stay next summer.

I will be there. Might do the practice lap the day before this time…..

Will be arriving tired from winter base miles #earlyexcuse

Actualy I think that despite sounding harsh it’s soundly based criticism.

CO2 is your friend

Nearly but not quite for me. Not sure 3x bottle bosses and drop out choice make a 100mm frame ‘adventure’? I really hate the cabling but the website is pretty informative – only thing missing is mud clearance shot at the chainstays. Bet its tight with Columbus and 2.25.

Lost my best mate to cancer
Spending more time with my family
Gave up booze completely
Moved to 29er and love it
Completed Manx 100
Top 10 in my first 12hr race
Started proper winter training plan – spending less time with my family…..

I run a 660mm MT Zoom flat bar and also a 710mm both with 90mm stems and bar ends. 710 needs a bit more care on singletrack in trees but gives me the same position on a bike with shorter reach that I wouldn’t want to put a longer stem on.

Campag triples are a bit of a black art but my experience is:-

2010 Veloce left hand shifter handles triple

Medium cage mech handles 52/42/30 and 29/12 (or 13? can’t remember) with careful chain length selection and although undesirable it will do extremes of gears without breaking/sending your mech into your wheel

I run a Centaur triple with a Royce BB. It does need a triple specific front mech again mine is a Centaur.

This set up works very well indeed and is not massively expensive. I may be about to change to an XTR double to use my powermeter if you are interested in it.

Heaps of info here

http://branfordbike.com/articles/rear-derailleurs-pg62.htm

ps I’d really like a disc Moots CX

Would that be the barbed wire Pegoretti (no image for me). Reading through that thread it’s apparent what a nice bloke the OP is.

The equation for stack isn’t anything > than 0 is wrong. Sometimes thought goes into a build that supercedes the casual cbserver rigidly applying some completely arcane “rule”.

The main comment on LFGSS when I posted my Curtis build was why a spacer stack when it’s custom geo. Answer I hate long head tubes (gate like – just look at the older Seven MTB photos ugh!) and I wanted a low TT to get bar lever clearance without a stupidly high position. Garry and I went to a lot of effort to achieve this and managed it with a small stack which IMHO looks fine.

I tried to explain but rules is rules.

Why the difficulties with 2x on the Spearfish? Any reason you can’t just fit two rings to a triple chainset?

Short chainstay design with split pivot and reasonable tyre clearance means not suitable for triples, 24t max small ring and 38T max big ring. I had thought about triple to double but isn’t the granny more inboard so making clearance more of an issue?

Sensitivity to set up, being affected by mud and grit over time and mountain bikes are not great combinations.

My Spearfish isn’t proving easy to find a 2x front crank for so I am sorely tempt by XX1 cassette, M9000 mech and shifter with XTR M985 crank 1x. Then I realise I have to change the sodding cassette body… How much do I need 2 extra teeth and one less – possibly not that much but the gap (even with an xt 16t) is really horrible…..

I think MTB on the road is great for crap surfaced lanes, gravel short cuts etc. My commute is about 75mins on really potholed lanes with gravel centres, mud etc. The 29er with Ron front and Ralph rear at about 40 and 45psi is much better than the road bike with much less worry over potholes etc., good brakes and more forgiveness/comfort.

My position is quite agressive with bars 4.5cm lower than saddle and with bar ends adding an extra position. It works very well and is fun.

I suspect I’ll mtfu but a 4am -2c 2.5hr ride (xmas party tonight) after a 6pm 2.5hr ride yesterday does take it’s toll.

Previously I’ve always fitted bike around life. Now I’m being more rigid with sessions it’s a bit of a shock.