good old stanmer, 4 weeks of sunshine, 3 days of rain and its a swamp!

Better wet right through though than wet on dry – thats evil.

sounds like the suns on its way though!

timp , if you beat me on a ss im retired;-)

yeah, most people ride flats in stanmer for general trail riding. for big dog though its clipless all the way.

what pedals;-)

anyone been training specially. what have you done.

let me know

1×10.

not going back.
no front shifter, front mech.

no brainer

the drop in to coldean could b interesting in the wet. root and off camber I think with a root nest half way down.

yeah 785 mm is a bit too wide!

see you at the tearooms at top of park at 9.00 if you make it.

MY NUMBER IS 07813947674 if you want to fine tune.

cheers nick

really thought it would be ripping this year – its pissing down here in brighton.

it has been dry but wet on dry in stammer is not a great combo!

Does the course use both sides of the valley or just western side? I’ve ridden round whilst they’ve been setting up the course before and only seen it being taped off there.

no just the one side above the playing field on the left as you enter stammer

nb wont be running race kings in any conditions – just cant get on with them.

I will be running a pair of rubena kratos 2.25 tyres front and rear.

Good rolling and enough all round grip.

Inherited them with the air nine. Hadn’t heard of them before.

Very impressed so far – though haven’t tried them in the wet yet.

If they struggle in the wet may put a mud x up front if stammer plays up.

Chief – what is the main change – are the major features the same or is a more extensive rework of the course.

cheers DC

local (Brighton MTB) so know the trails quite well.

Hi,

will be at stammer tea rooms at 9.00 on Sunday (depart 9.15).

Aim is to do a couple of big dog laps and some other stuff not on the course.

If anyone fancies a guided loop of big dog just turn up. Its a bit twisty and doubles back on itself so can’t guarantee it will be the exact loop but it won’t be far off.

That said if the rain continues we will be walking certain sections i.e badgers.

Wide bars not ideal for stammer as it can be quite narrow in bits but plenty get by.

tim have sent you my snow man piccy – can you add to this thread pleae.

Cheers Nick

n.b. kids dont care if you are ill!!!!!!

Still cant get my snowmn image onto this discussion. Can anyone tell me how they are doing it.

Cheers DC

I meant john updike – rabbit series – captures the male condition perfectly.

http://m.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/accessories/lights/sets/product/review-mtb-batteries-v2-xml-46489a

if you believe wmb then scott scale 29er is a good choice.

i myself think the whyte looks tdb.

dc

Hargroves cycles are doing an alu camber for 1500 i believe.

Should be a no brainer.

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/search.asp?searchbox1=specialized&subcategory=2013+-+MTB+Full+Suspension&category=Bikes

Where i ride, slippy rooty, greasy in the wet mud x all the way.

DC

It’s the rider not the tyres!

According to our skills teacher anyway.

DC

NB swear by mudx

nb hoping to debut the v2’s in Stanmer tonight – only thing is, it’s pissing down in Brighton – again!!!

Got through to Smudge yesterday no problem – for what its worth.

Will do!

yeah that guy is quite handy!

You may have mentioned it paceman – maybe i should have listened.

Loking forward to the timP master class. :wink:

DC

Paceman – shame you didn’t tell me as I was getting ready to jump it! :twisted:

TimP – will look forward to seeing it done the correct way – with speed.

DC

forks were talas set at 120.

Well its about 2-3ft ramp (man made)but quite a sharp trajectory so the risk, as i found out is that if you hit it wrong (i.e. you are in the wrong position on the bike) you can loop over the top.

Went into the woods today to session easier ones for remedial training and confidence reboot!!!
dc

nb. the said jump is now called 180 – the cost of replacing the uppers on my forks!

pics to follow.

Didn’t bother me too much at the time – now it has spooked me a bit.

DC

This reminds me of the VW advert.

It looks like a golf, sounds like a golf – you see where i’m coming from?!!!!

I still run these for general use for three seasons – never let me down, mud x in the winter.

Pluses

Fast – yes
Grippy – yes
Cheap – ish
Available – yes
Durable – yes
50 million versions – no (thats a plus)
Not Contis – yes

Negatives

Trendy – definitey not
Open to random abuse from riding mates – assured
Stupid red stripe that can be seen from a long way off – yes.

DC

Interesting thoughts – seems to be two threads emerging – strava / are you having fun.

Both pretty valid really!

DC

alexxx i hear you – funny thing is i have hurt myself most when doing something silly at slow speed.

DC

I knew my aformentioned ride was not going well when i was runnning down the trail with my bike coming behind me – never a good sign but easier than you would thing.

Still faster than timP though!

DC

Rode big dog and did ok – middle of the pack somewhere.

Rode my local loop just after a flash storm and minced around far too much for my liking.

Off to do some training end of this month so no doubt the instructor will give us an honest assessment.

Not too honest i hope.

DC

Toying with the idea of doing this in the next few years.

Has anyone on this thread done the SDW in a day – roughly the same distance though I imagine more up and down than Kielder.

Are they the same kind of challenge.

DC

Was at the mens race on Sunday and wanted to share my thoughts.

The course can in no way be described as easy – those drops,jumps and rock gardens would challenge 95% of riders. I must admit when you see it on TV or in pictures it doesn’t look too bad but in real life its a little different.

I am not saying you couldn’t get down them with a bit of practice – I suspect i would have a go at all the sections but would need to get my head right before doing so.

Secondly these guys are superstars – the speed is incredible as is the relentless space.

I knew i would be amazed at just how good they are and i was.

DC

I had the same with Paceman – didn’t bother me much though as it was a really special day.

Was terribly disappointed for liam killeen and the british fans as i am convinced he could have moved up the field had he stayed on the bike – probably his last olympics.

DC