Wow, Hopton was well rooty!

Fun loop. Nothing too challenging in the dry. Must go again in the wet, suspect it will be a whole different kettle of fish.

I just wish the loop had started at the bottom of the first descent, it ended with a bit of a whimper.

**Shameless plug alert**

These races are great fun even for the more casual rider and I really recommend them!

For a taste of what to expect, why not read my blog about the fourth round at 29gears.blogspot.co.uk ?

Thanks. Think I’ll start at Hopton and then see how I feel.

I’m up that way next week. How do the Hopton and Eastridge trails compare? (I could do them both, but I’d rather do one of them 2-3 times and save the driving!)

A singlespeed bike is lighter so it will be faster

Assuming the entire ride is uphill 🙂

Thanks. I did the pen thing but it depends how straight my arms are. It strikes me that 20 degrees of backsweep would be a nightmare for the wrists with elbows out for descending???
The bars I’m looking at seem to be between 5 and 12 degrees, which is far less extreme.

I emailed CC and they say yes they can take bar ends

Rode my rigid SS carbon Whippet 40km round Brechfa trails today at warp speed.

It’s a weird combination of lo-tech and hi-tech but I love it.

I only miss suspension on rough descents where you need to cover/use the brakes, then the rigid’s like a road drill. Which is why I put suspension forks on for the Dyfi winter enduro recently.

It really doesn’t like braking bumps either, but then who does?

Thanks! Do you happen to know whether they take bar ends? Can’t see this on their website.

Did you get them in the end? Very tempted but a bit worried…

lheadhunter – Member

Chrispo – really enjoyed that and a doff of the cap to your race result. I am considering entering some races in the near future and as a SS rider your blog will hopefully provide that little extra kick of motivation for me to get it done.

That was unexpected! I was braced for one of those torrents of abuse this place seems to specialise in…

Go for it – and good luck. But pick your events carefully. You’d have to be really hardcore to race (and I mean race, not just ride) 50-80km. I know I’ll be on the gears for the year’s first marathon at least and maybe take it from there.

Nice timing. I started my own blog literally yesterday about XC racing on a singlespeed with a write-up of last weekend’s mudfest at Margam. It’s a bit light on photos as nobody seems to have taken any, but it would be interesting to see what people think before I start my somewhat belated report on the massively over-photographed Dyfi Winter Warm Up.

[list]www.29gears.blogspot.co.uk[/list]

Does it really make any difference which category you enter? I entered over 40 as I am an old git but I will probably be on a singlespeed as it went well at the winter enduro last weekend

Hub gears are fine on a touring/commuting type bike but are a bit pants on an MTB.
Great idea but just doesn’t cut it.

Why?

OP: I can’t comment on Rohloff but I loved my Alfine 8 until I went singlespeed and now it suddenly feels very heavy

Don’t think I’d have made it up some of the hills on the SS yesterday without SPDs. Mind you, walking would’ve been quicker, if not as character-building.

– Tried GT40, lovely and smooth to begin with but soon didn’t work
– Tried clipping out less often and being less unskilled at bunnyhopping gates and fallen trees but failed miserably, presumably due to being soft and not going out on a unicycle
– Tried stamping and kicking a lot (and I mean a lot) and it worked for a while
– Having a screwdriver or other pokey thing in a readily accessible front pocket worked best for me

wee. at regular intervals

Aim and frostbite might have been an issue in the Arctic gale I was riding in…

West Wales. First ever snow ride! Hard work!!

Mad Pierre – Member

Typical “over biked” rider on Cannock Chase…

Oh, please. I clearly meant overkill in an XC race at Cannock, which is what this thread is about.

Another tip would be to practise sprint starts. Ideally you’d pace yourself in a race, of course, but in reality a slow start means getting caught in a queue when you hit the first singletrack, so everyone tends to sprint off. Alternatively, if a good time/position isn’t that important to you, you could start slowly and spend the race gradually working your way through the pack which can be fun.

You’re probably faster than you think you are so don’t start too near the back

If you normally ride trail centres, practise some mud and roots somewhere

Wrap up warm as you can get very cold hanging around at the start

PS IMO forks over 100mm would be overkill at Cannock (if ever a venue cried out for a rigid singlespeed…)

All together in one race next time apparently

NB The technical bits *were* difficult!

I did my first race on a singlespeed yesterday and I think I’m going to die

Very different to singlespeeding for training or fun

I thought I’d better step up to the big boys’ race, but I kind of wish I hadn’t. It was quite lonely out there with only 15 of us starting and people then dropping like flies or taking detours to Scotland. I also found it really tough after starting too fast on the killer climb over the road, especially after misreading the signs and doing some of it twice! Oh, and doing it on a singlespeed didn’t help. What was I thinking?!

Loved the rooty descent but not the muddy climb – I think you lot messed it all up in the morning!!

Did they do a podium/prizes for the first race this time? After we finished it was like a ghost town, bit of an anticlimax!

According to Facebook, the results for the first race will be corrected this evening as the first lot sent out were wrong.

I bought a used Gravity Dropper on here last month for £75 posted.
It goes up and down, can’t really ask for more.
Having a switch on the bars is important I think as otherwise you may have to stop to activate the dropper on rough terrain.
The drop is only 3 inches which doesn’t sound much but I find it more than enough for getting behind the saddle and, more importantly, back up (which is the bit I worry about most!).

Simon – Member

I’ve got a Gravity Dropper, it’s got a rubber boot on it.

I got one for Xmas and the boot came off top and bottom on the first ride and it now feels a bit gritty, so I’m not feeling as smug now 🙂

I’ll definitely be there, but I’m undecided whether to take gears and suspension with me

I enjoyed the first XC round. As Jonny said, no frills but plenty of hills (and mud) – do you really need anything else?

The only slight worry about the other events is that they are putting on a road bike event and a running event at the same time as each MTB event, so they might get spread a bit thin???

You must be my long-lost Siamese twin?

Anyway, not quite March but 17 Feb there is the Llandegla No Fuss duathlon

Someone asked almost the same question yesterday and was given a link to someone selling individual half links

Oops, I did look but missed that one.

Can it be any old half-link chain then?

Thanks, but do you really have to buy a whole chain of them?

FWIW Cannock XC last year was mostly singletrack and didn’t borrow from FTD trail at all.

Darn, I thought I’d nailed that elusive first original thread of 2012 😉

Seems like I’m not the first to coin the name hardnose either. I may need to look beyond bicycle design for ideas to make my fortune.

Good point, so have I.

But if it’s crap, how come you didn’t notice? 😉

FWIW I did a load of riding on Lanzarote last month and the trails weren’t that exciting or very technical, but I was on holiday and it was so nice to be riding in the dry and the sun that I just didn’t care and had a great time.

I’ve been experimenting with rigid recently and find it’s totally fine except for long bumpy sections where it can be really hard on the body. Also there is less grip on bumpy rocky stuff. I think XC races will be fine, in fact I’m planning to do my next XC race rigid and SS…

Well the “results” are finally out, but Neil’s only got first, second and third for each race, and even then he’s got them wrong… Plus there are no finishing times or lap times. Oops. Good job the race itself was fun!!

He does seem to have some good ideas for getting help with sorting out the timing for the next round, though, so fingers crossed. Oh, and there will be prizes for this time next time.

He’s also looking for feedback in general on race length etc. Go to Red Kite Events on Facebook.

Gasyz: “got to get up hills faster”

Sounds like you were trying hard enough though! I need to get down them faster 🙂

If you flick the cable off the hub you will be able to tell right away whether the cable is to blame.

If so, cleaning and lubing might help in the short term but best to replace them IME.

Yes was a good event. Apparently all rounds are going to be at this venue now. Cafe was a life saver – another lap or two I would have been in trouble.

The cafe was great, but how are they going to get *five* courses out of those three short trails?!

Chrispo were you the guy in yellow who chased me for the last 3 laps? (Jonny in Loco Tuning kit). Were we 2nd and 3rd ? I would like to have found out on the day.

No. I was all in black. Were you with Gareth Hayes who was parked behind me? I stopped after 90 mins and was told I was 3rd over the short distance. Was too cold to carry on. Dylan Stephens and one other beat me on the short course. I spent a while chasing a guy on a single speed who must have done the long course, which Gareth Payne won by a mile. Dunno if that helps. I hate having to wait for results like this – much better straight after the event, or at least the same night.

Yes I imagine winning would help, I just wouldn’t know!!!
Gareth is frighteningly quick though.

I suspect the “XC” tag might put a lot of people off, even though it was essentially just a short-course Dyfi Enduro.

I though it was great to see so many “ordinary” riders there, with a real mix of abilities, right down to beginners. I think many of the serious racers were doing the Welsh cyclocross champs up the road in Builth yesterday, which was an unfortunate clash, so maybe more of them will turn up next round.

It was good muddy fun, very informal, and really nice to have a warm cafe at an XC event! I really missed having a presentation though, as it’s not often I get to finish in the top three…

For anyone dithering about Jan 13 and subsequent rounds, you also got to choose between two distances: one hour plus one lap or two hours plus one lap (which translated into either four laps or six laps of a 6 km course).