If I can ever recover!Supposed to do 90minutes tempo tonight. 2 large slices of toast later and I’m on here with my eyelids drooping. Must not nap……

4th week of my 6×7. Same power, lower HR and less pain. Need to retest and recalibrate post rest week. Thought I would have to flunk the last session but beyond aches was power once I got going. Ate like a pig so really couldn’t face failure.

This time last year I clocked I wasn’t getting out. Over the year I hoarded bits and built up a racy single speed. I now get out at least twice a week and hurt in places no turbo can reach. Absolutely no hiding on a single speed!

Rons do have bigger (but fewer) knobs. Carcass same or slightly less thick than a Ralph (which is fractionally heavier).

By no means could you call them a mud tyre. Were it me wanting a leave on solution I’d go Ron front and Ralph rear – it’s what I have on my 29er. Ralphs though sparse in the middle have fairly decent side knobs to catch things when they let go.

Someone somewhere makes a replacement and includes instructions. Try all the usual suspects eg wolftooth etc. Can’t remember who

I slightly screwed up. Was really concerned not to have a top tube that was fouled by the bars/shifters when crashing. Didn’t take account of exposed steerer. Could reduce a tad by flipping stem now I’ve spent a couple of years getting the position.

If I were doing it again I’d increase the gap between the TT and DT slightly and also make it stand a little higher/lower. FWIW I’m not a fan of enormous HT but would have preferred this be 1.5″ longer. Live and learn.

Custom geo

^^ If you look at the page it’s ‘taking a rest for 2017’

20150214_090005 by [/url], on Flickr

If you had a really nice short travel XC frame, some nice hubs and a bit of cash they’d be lovely. I have such a frame and hubs but I can’t justify unlacing some Crests and substituting these.

I have an xc9. Custom geo based on a whyte 29c with short st, long etc and slacker ha. 1 and 1/8 ht, 27.2mm seatpost with standard seat collar. As you can see you can have what you want.

Lovely to ride. Great to deal with.

I always picked up the phone. A brazer from the 1960s and a BMX rider from the 90s have skills other than email and that’s fine by me.

Must admit to feeling a bit down in the dumps. Training hard but for what. G100 not happening this year, no mention of summer monkey, Erlestoke still provisional. Where are all the longer races?

If it’s desirable and good value you can sell on here with very little hassle and minimise charges.

If you’re going to refresh the ad every page and still be doing so 2 months later (Mr Claret I’m talking to you!) you’d be better of using Ebay.

An Epic can be made comfortable – just a case of position. The brain clunking gets on my tits for long events ie over 6hrs but for those the forks are best turned off (you have to hit a bump for it to turn off and over 6hrs thats a lot of bumps to hit with partially locked out suspension).

Looking at your events and I’d seriously consider a carbon Spearfish or a turner czar

It’s still winter!

For me there’s many more things than weight that make more difference. 2lb could be increased muscle. When I start to do hill repeats I get motivation to lose weight but now I want to be fed to do hard intervals and gain power

I love the fact there’s no hiding on the hills. Did a 4.5hr ride on Monday. What would have been dull with gears had me grinning with pleasure for 2hrs thinking ‘why do I bother carting forks and gears around’ followed by a rictus grin of agony for 2.5hrs thinking ‘ow my arms hurt, ow my legs hurt, ow my lungs hurt’ Good workout and more to the point fun.

Hydration?

Are you coming off base and doing more intervals? That sounds like quite a training load in 2days.

Nice. I was close to a Highball until I found a Trek Superfly SS. The Trek dropouts are a little more fiddly but the geo suits me better.

For 2hours or so while my legs are fresh it flies. Once I’m tired it becomes a torture machine!

Very bright,small light and cable free – Lupine Rotlicht.

Armegeddon – Hope District.

Love my Stages XTR that I swap between bikes.

It can drop out and I did nearly kill it when it did so 15minutes into an FTP test. However for a MTB and for training ito neat and good enough.

Balance may well be an issue as my stages power is considerably up on Power tap but as I only ever use stages and only pay attention to it for training I don’t care.

Lovely.

You know it deserves:-

LB/revs/DT240
Fox Stepcast
RF Next SL G4
XX1
Hope Race X2
KCNC/Mt Zoom etc

Embrace the WW – sub 22lb and sod the cost.

Was the Gorrick 100 but as that’s not on I hope it will be Erlestoke 100 – 6hr. If that doesn’t happen I’m stuffed and will try to get some miles in for a quick SDW or something.

So now it’s time to reduce the recovery interval

First intervals block is hideous. Personally I would up the power and keep the interval.

My winter never had the volume of Z2 from previous years but kept some intensity. As a result I’m about 15-20W up on FTP but my foundations may be a bit shaky. Plan is to do a couple of weeks Z2 training camp closer to A event mid May.

Managed 91% of my 20minute FTP over my 3x 20mins Z4. 700TSS week.

What’s it helped? Always willing to try something new but I think there’s a physiological justification for replenishing carbohydrate at this intensity.

Normality doesn’t mean less painful! The 6x7minutes = 42minutes at my 20minute threshold ie it’s supposed to be shorter higher intensity.

3x20minutes may be normality but 20minutes at 90% of threshold isn’t exactly a walk in the park either.

Gels – I am empty after 20-30minutes, I don’t care if it’s only mental but it’s harder to throw in the towel after I’ve necked a gel and I feel stronger after it. Also I want to get my stomach used to eating at threshold. I also find a carbohydrate heavy day is a help. I’m not sure I race harder than this 6x7minute session

I realise I have nightmares about my weekly threshold intervals.

6 x7 minutes at threshold. I go into it rested, nutrition sorted, use a gel mid session, drink torq and I give it absolutely everything. It’s high quality and I dread it. 3 days later I do 3x20m Z4 – same deal.

Sometimes I wish I could just do more but lower quality (ie less painful) sessions.

You’ll be fine. For some reason it’s fine to dissappear into the distance on climbs but bad form not to wait at the bottom of descents.

I disagree. A really light bike rides differently and by more than the percentage difference of weight.

Ride an 18lb HT and the speed/climbing you get from the same input is unreal.

Also depends how racy you want to be?

I built my Spearfish for long days in the saddle. 24lb and rangy it’s got legs. XC is not its forte but I’ve ridden it at pace for 15hrs

Conversely my Epic was built for racing and comes in at 21lb something. It’s fast but 12hrs is a stretch – position, brain clunking and general raciness gets on my tits after about 10hrs. For real marathon stuff the 3lbs matters less than that.

^^ probably renders most other comments superfluous.

I started at Ewelme and headed north. I used the tap at Wendover Church on the way out and back and the one at Sparshold Firs out and back plus the one on the side of the house on the way back. That was 5litres in the heat. I had decided to increase energy drink intake as a lighter way of carrying energy. It backfired with 11 pee breaks and nearly an hour wasted.

It’s a great ride – conditions are very weather dependant. I’d only do it bone dry.

I’ve not bought from them but they are very competitive.

https://www.actionsports.de/en/wheels/custom-wheels/mtb-disc-29-/?p=1

I’d go handbuilt, mainstream hubs (ie DT, American Classic.

Carbon rims allow the use of lighter spokes ie DT revolutions and still remain stiffer than Crests. Crests are (I am told) too flexy and need the next step up ie Sapim D light spokes. At that weight you could reduce spoke count on carbon rims but 4 spokes per wheel it’s hardly worth it and resale is likely poorer

Alloy nipples

Light weight discs, tubeless and keep an eye on tyre weight without doing stupidly puncture prone.

To give an idea DT240, D light, alloy nipples, 32h Crests are approx. 1500-1525g, the same with carbon rims about 100-150g lighter.

Shit happens to wheels – sticks, rocks etc. Personally I don’t think the carbon is worth it.

Tubeless is a must. Godfather lesson required!

I’ve raced against Solares and they didn’t seem out of place. I happily race my Niner MCR when it’s muddy though I’ve got that down to 23.5lb

^^But a Whyte 29C Medium has a short seat tube and a 627mm ETT ie is a Large.

Find out/measure the dimension of the ‘dale you like. Factor in stem length and bar width and check geo tables of intended xc 29er. Test if you can.

Frame weight is neither here nor there. Modern way of sizing is to look at reach and ETT with a shorter stem and then seat tube.

XC bike fit is generally quite long with lots of weight over the front wheel.

You are in the lucky position of being a Turner Large – I’d have a Czar if I was your size.

I’m very glad STW won’t link to The Daily Mail. Excellent work

X lots

What’s the stance on Jeremy Vine? :lol:

I thought the main advantage for Di on mountain bikes was the ability to change gear under full power and that over the course of a race this added up to an advantage.

If you don’t race and are not a gadget freak I can’t see the point. I can however see the disadvantages of extra weight, cost and replacement cost (mechs). Disclaimer – I’m a late adopter of everything.

adsh I see your name down for the Braunton150. Make sure you bring your climbing legs!

I’m a maybe atm. Lots of race training but sod all miles. Will decide on the next couple of weeks.

I’m training hard but races are fairly few. Gorrick 100 and Brighton Big Dog are A events for me. I’d also like to revisit Erlestoke 12 (the 6hr) and Summer Monkey if it’s on. Thereafter I’m not sure.

I am still mentally scarred from TIYS so not planning on any 12hr racing. Might possibly try some long distance ITTs after BBD.

Training plan said 4hrs long slow road. Frost on car and wet roads = lie in. Decided on a quality 2hr sweet spot ride instead. 2hrs at 16.8mph average on HT with mtb tyres. Cold and wet weather – warm and tired body – lots of win.