Yes – a mate and I were recently riding Afan Masts DH trails in the rain, him on a Pivot 429, me on my Anthem X29, both with 120mm forks and droppers. Were they the most suitable bikes? No… Where they ridable and fun… Yes…

Similarly BPW – had amazing fun smashing down their trails on our short travel full sussers.

The organic thing driving is the biggest difference, but you can make changes to tyres, geo (angle sets, offset bushes, fork travel), stem/bar height etc to tune a bike towards your preferences…

Modern XC bikes (especially full sussers) are pretty damn competent…

Bloody motorbikes come out of hibernation…

Well, you’ve learned lesson 1. Your tyres are part of your suspension system, so keep them consistent if you’re experimenting… 1-2 psi tyre pressure difference can be noticeable, so check them every ride.

EDIT – tyre pressures are tyre dependent too, so don’t assume a psi value on one tyre will act the same on another.

I’ve got one of them there workstands. It’s not perfect, but better than not having one, and I use it all the time…

Pay someone to sort all the niggles and finish the maintenance ‘to do’ list on my bikes, and replace all the parts that are getting towards the end of their life with a sprinkling of upgrades…

I don’t think what you describe is a mid-pack thing at all. Not fulfilling your potential / seeing your training reflected in your results is going to impact anyone.

I’ve got a coach for the first time this year, and have been pleasantly surprised at his attitude towards training. Very pragmatic, focus on sustainable training and the big picture, and actually being ‘allowed’ mentally to miss a session or rework a session if life gets in the way, means that I feel less pressure to train now, than when I was training myself.

I’m not saying you need a coach, but your training has to be sustainable. You can’t sprint a marathon…

I use a RFLKT but also a Topeak stem cap mounted dry bag if I need navigation…

http://www.topeak.com/products/Xtras/F66Fixer

Love the wide ranging suggestions, which I think reflect the wide range of experience. OP – you don’t say whether your on the road or MTB’ing, as although it shouldn’t technically make a difference to what you eat, it will impact the packaging you can probably deal with on the fly.

Doing the four hour Brass Monkey races I’m in full fingered, warm gloves, which hampers dexterity, so easy access it really important.

The tracks are mainly singletrack, so need to pick your moment and get it down you quick.

Also, anything solid becomes almost inedible if it gets too cold, so no bars or solid food.

I was towards to front of the field, so only wanted to stop to swap bottles.

I opted for isogels, and took one every 30-40 mins, as I carry plain water to counter the sweetness so gels were my only ‘food’.

In the summer, with warm temperatures, short fingered gloves, things are a bit easier, so the options open up.

You feeding option are determined by lots of things. How technical you want to be is only one factor…

I think 45 mins might be on the long side for carb utilization, but you should certainly stay ahead of hunger, the alertness point is a good one. The brain can only use sugar, so if you start riding like a plonker after a couple hours, get those refined carbs in ASAP.

Totally gutted. Was going to be the main event of the year for me…

Are you confident that you’ve got the bike set up properly? Ie have you spent time sessioning a section trying really improve the ride quality that the bike gives you, and are you sure that your bike is still set up the same as it was?

When everything is setup as it should, I’m a pretty ‘committed’ rider in that when I’m riding I’m only thinking about the line I want to take and worrying about falling off doesn’t even come into it (and this is coming from someone who has crashed a lot!). When things aren’t setup right, then the fear starts creeping in, and that is the trigger to go around a start checking everything.

The point is that as soon as my bike setup is off, I have less control, and it’s that control that gives me confidence. The rub is that only you can set your bike up as you want it.

Invest a bit of time making sure the bike is working with you and not against you. I’m convinced people don’t do this enough…

Depends on road or mtb, obvs, but I take issue when the ‘hardshell offers no insulation’ line gets quoted. Insulation is the trapping of a (warm) layer of air, which is something that a hardshell does very well – observe the efforts of the technical garment industry to improve the breathability of its hardshell fabric.

The problem of sweaty hardshells is well known, but used appropriately, on longer (2 hrs plus), low intensity rides, it can be a very effective ‘warming’ layer when it’s cold, especially in the latter part of the ride. I’ll often start out in a base layer/jersey and softshell, with a light packable hardshell in a jersey pocket, and put it on after a couple hours. Makes a huge difference…

Yes – in for the 4 hour. The dizziness from the last round has just about stopped… 😉

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Oh FFS Molgrips – you couldn’t see sarcasm if it slapped you in the face!

EDIT – OK, bit harsh p’haps… I figured the tone of the post would make that clear. Guess not!

I’m still getting my head around the criticism of rich folk in one expensive sport by comparing it to another rich folk activity, off piste skiing. Skiing used to be the preserve of the common man, but not any more…

Too many rich people everywhere!!! Damn them, and their wealth buying their privilege / access to the outdoors, which I also have to pay for, but it makes up more of my disposable income, which makes me resentful as they are not proper sports enthusiasts, but are just frivolously spending their money JUST TO GET IN MY WAY!!!

PS – OP you’re either not skiing in the right places or not embracing all that skiing has to offer. Ski touring is where it’s at… 😉

aracer – I see what you’re saying but I don’t understand how that works. If a carcass is supple and deforms easily for low rolling resistance, how can it then provide a solid base for the blocks to give grip? The force on the blocks would force the carcass to deform rather than resisting the force on the block to push it into the ground. What am I missing?

But doesn’t higher rolling resistance generally mean more grip? All well and good saying tyre X is faster rolling than Y, but if X throws you off or can’t carry speed through the corner then it’s a moot point…

Also have a SID RCT3 on my 29CS. Been providing good, faithful service XC racing and blasting round trail centres so also cannot fault them. The damper is left fully open 97% of the time though…

Hmm – I do this when the tyre is loose on the rim before inflation, but can only manage to get a third or half way round before things get too tight (this is on different tyre and rim combos). Also, I need to hold the tyre on the rim with one hand to stop it slipping off as I work round. To be fair, the vid isn’t explicit as to whether he does get all the way round.

Even if only part way round, it still works and closes the gap enough to get the inflation process started.

I use a tube to seat one side properly first and then inflate tubeless with tube removed, which means you’ve won half the battle. The other option is to put another layer or two of rim tape to close the gap…

If you’re struggling for motivation to ride, don’t ride. Either time off the bike will make you miss it, and give you the motivation, or it won’t, in which case time to do something else, and perhaps come back to it in the spring. That’s OK – you don’t have to ride ALL the time.

For me, the motivation is the knowledge that any significant breaks from riding means I’ll lose fitness, which has taken quite a bit of effort to build up. That, and knowing that my racing buddies will be training, and I don’t want to fall behind.

A coach once said to me “the hardest step when training, is the one out the front door”. Rings true to me…

Must say, I was expecting worse! Just kept my head down and legs spinning. I’ve never removed so much mud from the bike after a race though – incredible. Amazed anything was still turning! Glad I went, well organised friendly as normal, but not sure if I’d return in a hurry. It was OK as an emergency, last minute replacement, and appreciate the effort put in by the organisers, but probably wouldn’t chose to race there.

As someone who has fallen off a bike quite a bit, I’ve come to realise that the fear of falling (or the perceived consequences) is, for the vast majority of the time, worse than the reality. Grazed elbows and hip normally.

Are you going to ride without falling off? There’s no way to guarantee it, so embrace it, accept it, and focus on your ride, rather than the falling off…

… and I thought the thread was going to be about this:

http://www.amazon.com/VISP-A01-Fashion-Bicycle-Mechanical-Brakes/dp/B00RQNRTUS

When the first Q&A has the line “This bike literally defies all laws pertaining to gravity.” you know you’re onto a good read…

#Raceforlastplace – it’s still a race, right? 😉

4 hours for me, and new location as well. Looking forward to it!

I run 2.0 Beavers front and rear on my XC HT race bike when it gets too soft/wet for the 2.2 Ikons. They are great, but are quite low volume, and I certainly feel more beaten up after using them compared to the high volume Ikons.

Riding in the peaks the other week I needed to stick a tube in my tubeless front. When I unpacked it I realised it was one I’ve had for years and was ‘rated’ up to 2.1 tyres, and was a bit concerned as I was sticking it into a 2.4.

Finished the ride without issue, including Jacobs Ladder…

Using a narrow tube will be lighter, and is it any less of a risk than using a specific lightweight one?

Per the above – rode it for the first time ever last weekend, passing walkers who were up on the side bank. Got to the bottom and thought “I bet that used to be fun…”

Vandalism…

Say it gets rebuilt – as it’s clearly not the same set of jumps, and therefore has a clean slate in terms of accidents, can they just come back in and flatten it all again?

Mouth open, dribble down the left side of my chin…

Erm – it’s not normally the accountants who are unhappy! They’re just doing their job, which is usually doing what the boss wants to happen. It’s the people who are impacted by the allocation of funds who end up getting emotional…

I constantly feel guilty about not doing more than paying for parking where I go riding, but the suggestion sounds complicated to me.

Massive potential for unhappiness over allocation of money, and classing one cause as being more worthy than another. (Trust me, I’m an accountant!) People who donate will also feel an element of ownership to the money, so would get disenfranchised if they don’t think it’s working well for them.

I think a direct payment model like we see for parking would be simpler and probably work better. Areas are given references, which can then be used to give money directly to those who maintain that area. Could be done simply via PayPal.

Similarly, used these for a few months which have also been good with XT’s (can’t justify the cost of XTR!) –

http://www.xcracer.com/shop/viewproduct.php?productid=297

I fully committed to the weight weenie cause and went 160mm both ends which meant that I got rid of the calliper mount as well.

But then I weigh 65kg, and this is on my XC race bikes. Braking power is slightly reduced going to the smaller front rotor, but nothing dramatic, and still fully controllable with one finger – just needs a bit more force. Metal pads have lasted well thus far too…

I’m thinking about it for winter / muddy xc racing. I generally wear 3/4 bibs anyway, so only have hairy shin/calves showing.

Bought quite a bit of stuff from them – recently Craft winter tights for £44.

Only negative is the constant stream of emails from them – every day.

I think it’s the constant temptation which makes it most irritating. “Oooh look! They have brand “X” on sale. I wonder if there’s anything nice.”

Invariably, I don’t need anything from brand “X”…

Thought chocolate milk was ‘the’ current thing…

I have a remote but don’t touch it as I use speed as a proxy for power, which wouldn’t work if the resistance constantly changed.

I’m sure the marketeers will make some sense out of it!

Shirley the next phase is mixed wheel size frames, meaning all sizes will remain relevant to some extent… ❓