Super day, thanks all

TRP Hylex if you’re running hydraulic. They’re available with silver levers and brown hoods but not sure if stocked by the UK distributors (let us know if you get anywhere!)

Agreed, another great edition from Matt and his team. Satuurday’s views over Llyn Brianne were incredible. I missed the final stage in Cwm Rhyadaer but that’s because I was on an mtb.

Interesting to hear that the top few riders approached the stages as a TTT. Nothing in the rules so fair game. Sounds like they were flying!

Make that seven from Minch!
Will be on a gravelised Transition with rigid forks and Terreno’s.
Likely out of date beer from Nailsworth off licence.
Wet wipes it is.

It might even help tbh. You can imagine him being back on the bike mid-June. Also means he skips the Tour de Suisse which was probably fulfilling his road obligations (though his coach says it was to mix things up). Now he can aim for the XC WC at Les Gets.

Yep, that’s him. Think he was elite XC and raced in Belgium for a bit. Also contributed to road.cc I recall.

The Ultegra mech stopped working for no apparent reason afetr a few months. Tried running diagnostics, re-setting the crash mode and a new junction box but it seemed properly dead so now running an XT mech. Bit annoying that something should die for no apparent reason but maybe that’s karma for a mix and match of second hand parts!

Hey, I started down this path early last year. It wasn’t the brightest idea in light of the inflated lockdown prices for second hand components but I eventually pieced together a 1x setup.

I’ve been meaning to update my build thread on LFGSS Excuse the cut and paste…

The official TRP Hylex bodge for installing climbing shifters in the right hand lever is a bit clunky IMO so I looked in to alternatives. It happens that the newer Dura Ace climbing shifters work without the need for STI levers. Something so simple took an awful lot of Googling so for posterity, the shopping list is as follows:

• SW-R9150 climbing shifters (come as a pair)
• SM-EW90A junction box (3-port, under stem)
• SM-JC41 junction box (meant to be internal but couldn’t fit in seat-tube so currently external)
• RD-R8050 Ultegra rear mech (I don’t think the older 6000 series will work)
• BT-DN110 battery (inside seatpost)
• SM-BCR2 battery charger (something I forgot to factor £££)
• EW-SD50 E-tube cables x3

We’ve had the Shotgun for the past few years. Currently used for the 4yo upfront, with the 18mo out back. Absolutely love it. That feeling of taking them on their maiden voyage is amazing! Obvs kids/parents confidence differs as to when you start but I was surprised how intuitive it is for the kids.

I stuck a spare Fizik saddle on ours as it is narrower than the stock saddle to avoid catching my knees (it also looks better!).

As has been said, wrap them up. When chilly I’ll put them in one of my jackets which comes down to their ankles. Also I’ve applied bartape for comfort/warmth.

I didn’t go for the add-on bars due to $$$ and the fact that it’s another semi-permanent fixture. Original setup had the bars at approx Shotgun saddle height but they seemed to cope fine. Now got moto riser bars which gives a bit more comfort plus confidence when we go down steeps.

Kind of regret not going for the Macride for the ease of removal. Shotgun seems a bit unrefined in that regard. However, all the pros far outweigh the cons. When they’re older you can get the tow rope…!

PS. Good luck second hand with Covid tax and summer looming :p

Jaro the Giant!

What a visually impressive course BTW.

So excited. Hoping GCN is showing all four races. Mein looking good for a U23 podium, Turner too if he’s recovered from his Overisje crash.

Kay possibly lacking the power but she was looking good last weekend.

Interested to see how Evie goes. Perhaps not enough tech for her. Love how she needs next to no racing to find form!

Too close to call for the GOATs. WvA seems to have found his cx legs for the first time in a few years and MvdP hasn’t dominated as usual (lacking form or weather worked against him this season??). Big Mat was incredible on the Koksijde sand when he came from last place. But of course this is different sand!

Praying for Pidders. Agreed it might favour Sweeck but Dübendorf was a power course and he did alright there. He’s also making all the right noises about off road riding in the future thank god 🙂

Should work (might need a Roadlink style extender to accommodate the cassette).

FYI my mechanic filed my Stans hub to take an 11sp road cassette.

Haha, my thoughts exactly. Tbh the only thing holding me back on those homemade jobbies is the awkwardness of taking them to a shop. Guess that’s the point at which your suck up for the real thing (assuming they’ve failed for whatever reason)

Am starting to think the same but mega $$$. This is a bit of an ebay/lockdown project and an exercise in making do with existing equipment.

Tidy

Nice one, cheers JB

Cheers. So it sounds like a junction is needed at bb and bar/stem. Any preference for bar v stem? Alu bars so happy to drill.

Treating the family to a trip. Not sure how they’ll vibe a wet, windswept airfield.

Will be interesting to see how the course holds up given the forecast. Everyone has been talking about fast and frozen.

Agree with all of the above. Course appears to suit Brand. Maybe A M Sausage in a sprint. Loved watching Alvarado step up this season but not sure if the track suits her. Evie put in a few digs at Hoogerheide, good at peaking off the back of little racing, she could be a good bet.

Barring illness (or getting his shoe stuck in a wheel) MvdP obvs. Wouldn’t read too much into last Sat. He was looking SHARP come Sun. Anybody’s guess thereafter. Toon starting to look good. Maybe Sweeck given his power. Would love to see Pidcock beat Eli the poisoned dwarf 🙂

As noted above, Terraduros are popular for the 3 Peaks. Note that they don’t accept spikes for cx. VR90s strike a good balance between weight, grip and walkability. For this reason, and the fact they’re cheaper, I went with the XC5 from Shimano.

Great day out, thank you to all involved. Super fun, challenging course and yes, surprisingly grippy. Also grateful for the shelter in the trees!

Cheers all. I’ve tweaked the cleat position so will see how that goes. Not keen on self diagnosis but added some of those Specialized BG wedges as well.

I don’t think over-training is the cause as the load has been no greater than previous years. Maybe just age!

Don’t forget that many of the riders opted to take a rest between stages 1 and 2 at CP1. Lachlan probably has a plane to catch to recommence his day job!

Let’s reassess after the 3 Peaks!!!

Probs. Report him. PS who cares he scratched.

andytherocketeer, I wouldn’t worry yourself. I don’t think the organiser cares if you’re pro or amateur (just all long as you’ve got some outdoor sense!). Personally I would have no issues with being whooped by a pro. It’s fascinating to see how they compare with us norms. Lachlan admits to this being way out of his comfort zone and he seems respectful of the spirit of the event.

As mrmo says, the suggested stops at the checkpoints discourages sleep deprived riding and encourages a more sociable element.

Oops Tour Divide still going. Didn’t mean to shortchange their efforts!!

Northwind, some interesting points there but as with some of the comments above, I take issue when you call their decisions cynical without knowing the full story. I’ll admit that I don’t either but i imagine that there is reasoning behind their decisions (beyond that of making cold hard cash). Imagine that the Welsh Asembly/NRW/FC said that they could use the land. It’s not perfect but they could work with it. Maybe that meant some sacrifices e.g. the haul road is a pre-existing forestry track, therefore it likely wasn’t built with efficient uplifts in mind. Presumably it is longer than the road at Antur. A macadam surface would cost hundreds of thousands. More so if they were to construct a new road straight up the hillside. As for the location of the visitor centre relative to the uplift, again, maybe they just had to work with what they were given – its current location is possibly the only suitably flat parcel of land which wouldn’t need regrading (again, £££).

I don’t wish to argue for the sake of it but it’s a bit harsh to cry cynical without weighing things up.

I really don’t understand why it is so controversial to want a sheltered seating area?

Not everyone buys a day’s uplift pass.

Not everyone has £250 to spare for a day out.

Try and see things from other people’s point of view.

Fair enough but at the outset of the project I imagine that a sheltered picnic area was pretty far down the wish list of future punters who expected world class, well maintained trails, quality, well maintained hire bikes, efficient, well maintained uplifts etc etc. I’m sure they’ll listen to people who wish for a gazebo. After that they can bow down to calls for a smoking shelter. Sorry to be facetious but I can’t believe this thread has boiled down to criticism over a lack of shelter at an outdoor facility.

ajaj mate, as am aside to all of the above, I’ll be honest that my initial response was prompted by a number of unproductive, lazy comments. I don’t envy the guys behind BPW – they’re committed riders and passionate about what they do. They’re human and I imagine they struggle to see past the snidey comments which suggest a lack of understanding about what it takes to run a multimillion pound venture which employs 50 odd people. I suppose that’s the beauty of the Internet, empowering people to pass comment. Rather than digging yourself a deeper hole why not put your energy into engaging with them. Im sure they’ll have a dig day coming up soon.

^that 🙂

…and I particularly disagree when you choose to name-check someone prior to making such comments.

“Would you care to point out anything ill-informed in my comments please. Or did you just mean “something I disagree with?”

You’re right, I disagree with your ill-informed comments.

ajaj, its such ill-informed comments that remind me why I don’t frequent this forum more often. It sounds as though you were present at some of the pre-start talks. Do you really think it is their intention to be rude or are you very easily offended? No shelter from the rain #firstworldproblems (ps they have just invested in the trail head). Only their food in the cafe…seems to be how every business operates in the Alps. You’re welcome to eat your food outside if you can stand the lack of shelter. The issue with the toilets is something I am sure they are aware of. Bear in mind that until sinking a couple of new boreholes they were previously operating off a single water well which I’m assuming wasn’t as productive as expected. I’d imagine that pumping mains water up that access track would be a few hundred K. Liability waivers, trespassing…im cool. And As for the issue with their opening hours, again I have no idea but I’d happily give them the benefit of the doubt that there is more to it than money making…I don’t know, tachos, drivers union…why not get in touch with them to find out rather than spouting on here.

Ah nice one Martin!

Sounds great, cheers Martin, it’s in the diary.

Cheers Swanny I’ll check it out. Riding tomorrow as weather looks wall to wall grim on Sunday!

Nice one, cheers all. Figured there must be something along the North Downs, even if a footpath/steps.

Not fussed about replicating the rockiness, just needs to be steep and easily repeatable.