Hi Stuart, we’ve got a mate named Jody who’s after a lift and we’re staying at the campsite in Allemont too! I’ll forward this link to him so he can get in touch directly. Myself and another mate are going by car on the 15th but don’t have room to take Jody and his bike, so hopefully you can help. We’re Shropshire based but I’m sure he can get over to you. Thanks, Ben.

@dirtbiker100, found it quite nice. Very used to forest and moorland rides out here in Shropshire, so the wooded valleys and rolling bridleways of the Cotwolds were something different. The terrain demanded a faster pace too, which pushed my finess nicely!

Glad I stuck to the 50km, sounds like the big climb on the 100 would have put me in a bodybag!

Yep, same occured on Fridays ride in the Wyre for me. Moved two logs from the bike trails just below the caravan park.

Does anyone have some gpx files of good North Cotswolds routes they can email me please? Very keen to go back for a play in this area. Please mail to benwilliams70 AT gmail DOT COM

Thanks in advance!

I currenlty run my hardtail with an 11-34 cassette and 22/36/bashring up front with a double specific Shimano front mech. Works very nicely,and I’ve never missed my outer ring once. Tried a 32 but kept spinning out.

Cheers.Think I’ll get the HG61 cassette and give it a go. If it doesn’t work then I’ll just have to dig a little deeper in my pocket for an SLX mech and shifter.

Hadn’t heard of Zoic before. Simple but nice range. Any more suggestions folks?

I think most of us love Ground Effect. Quality, no fuss practical stuff. Their pricing is incredibly good value, so I guess there’s noo need to have a UK distributor.

I also love Primal’s bold designs, a bit like some of the Franklin jerseys on ebay. Does anyone else do stuff like this?

IMPORTANT NOTICE – RIDE CANCELLED(Again!)
I'm going to have to cancel this Sunday's(26th) ride. My new girlfriend has contracted swine flu, and I'm now suffering from aches and temperature too, so not going to be riding a bike any time soon :-(

I'm starting to think this Ludlow forum ride is cursed. Sorry guys!

Done, several times. Fully set up by pro mechanic too. Just a common problem and design fault with e-type back plate spacing flex. We have a customer who has the exact same issue as me but on a different level e-type/different brand chainset/different frame. Specialized have now done away with the back plate BB mount for this very reason. :roll:

Lecht, if my chain is getting caught bewtween my e-type mech and inner ring then it’s offering a solution for me.

While YOU have no problem with a standard mech set up, I (& probably oher e-type mech users?) most certainly do. So, it’s certainly not a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist!

Thats a very strong sign on excess weight on your hands. Some people feel like their hands are hot, followed by pins and needles later in the ride.

Do you slide forward on your saddle during a ride? If so, your knee might be forward of that vertical path to the peday and may need that layback post.

I can get it at trade price+VAT through work, so quite a good buy for me! :D

Right! Much better to see these things than just talk about them!

Drop a plumb line (homemade will do!) down from your knee to the centre of the pedal axle. Is the front of the knee cap inline when you’re clipped in with the pedals are level, hands on hoods? If so that’s good. If the knee is still forward of the plumb line then the saddle needs to be yet further back etc.

If you can pop the bike in a turbo trainer then try putting it into a very difficult gear and ride it with a high cadence. Then try taking both your hands off the hoods at the same time (only just an inch to the side), and see if you can still support yourself. If you fall forwards, it could be a sign of too much weight on your hands because either the stem is too long &/or top tube is to long, &/or bar height is too low.

Your arms look locked out in the photo, and they should have a very slight bend. have you tried flipping the sten over into it’s upright position? Try that and take it out for an hour or so to see if things have improved.

If you do change anything make sure it is only one thing at a time, so you isolate the problem. Changing everthing at once will only mess you up more.

Ben

Here’s a U.S. bike shop’s website with reasonable tips on home/self fitting to your bike:
http://orangecycleorlando.com/page.cfm?pageID=84

Pay particular notice to saddle height 1st, then saddle fore/aft positioning, before looking at cockpit adjustments of stem length or height.

If the height and saddle fore/aft are done correctly to position you over the pedal well, and you then find you need a stem shorter than 80mm to feel comfortable, chances are the frame is too big for you.

Ben

LOL at Junkyard!

I think you need a 52 or 52.5cm top tube bike. We usually (but not always) expect a rider 5ft5″-5ft8″ish to ride a 53.5 top tube when set up correctly. How is you saddle positioned in the clamp? Is it quite far forward?

Can you put a static pic up here of you sat on the bike, clipped in with pedals level, with your hands on the hoods? Promise we won’t laugh! It will help me visualise anything thats wrong.

I do this stuff for a living. Difficult to sort without actually seeing you and the bike, but can you answer a few Q’s:

1.How tall are you?
2.What length top tube is your road bike (top centre headtube – horizontally to centre of seatpost) ?
3.What length stem are you using in mm?
4.Whats the present bar height (centre of front hub to centre of stem bar clamp)

Ta.

It reall appeals to me. This year I ran a double bash/ring setup in Morzine and managed to get the chain jammed in between the inner ring and e-type mech on my old Scott 3 times.

I’m about to buy a Scott Gambler freeride and the Hammer Schmidt seems like the ideal addition.

A UK journo who occassionally visits our store (but shall remain nameless :wink: ) recently mentioned he and his fellow journo’s are afraid to write anything ‘against’ Lance, as his lawyers are on the phone stop it with immediate legal action every time.

Something to hide, or are they just protecting Lance’s market image from poor journalism? Mmm…

IMPORTANT NOTICE – 5th July ride cancelled!

Sorry about the short notice but afraid I’m going to have to cancel this weekend’s ride on 5th July as my mother’s just had a stroke while I was in Morzine. She’s ok, but I need to be on close hand incase there are any complications.

Will re-organise something soon.

Ben

We’re starting from Morzine on Saturday.

Can’t wait. I’m like a hyperactive kid at the moment! Weather looks like it could be a little damp for the event though?

UK-flatlander, I’ve been told by a couple of folks that while you can get the pack early, you can’t get your number the day before?

Have I been told wrong?

Doodlebug, it’s my first PPDS too. You’ll have to pick up your starter’s pack up on the saturday morning before you start. Before that and you won’t be given your number board at the same time, and without that no chairlifts.

The tourism office will open at 7.30 on Saturday to get your pack, and yes there will be congestion, but there’s no way round that and everyone’s in the same situation.

Have a good ride!

I used bar ends on my riser bar at Mayhem. Nobody laughed at me as I rode passed them all walking up the Kenda Cimb ;-)

flap_jack, cheers for the advice. We’ll try and get Nick to blag it I think.

Then again he’s a skinny XC bleeder who lapped at mayhem in around 50mins (against our 1hr 10’s), so I reckon he should be made to ride up to Avoriaz for his starter pack!

I’m like a little kid at the moment. REALLY looking forward to this now. Shame it’s looking a bit coll and damp out there at the moment.

Had today & tomorrow off work and just packed my bag and bike. Heading down to my mate’s house tomorrow evening, then flying out on Thursday morning from Bristol.

I’ve also had a beer (or two) to get in holiday mode :D

Myself & a mate are both starting from Morzine on Saturday. Unluckily our friend is staying with us in Morzine, but has an Avoiraz start. Anyone know how long it wll take him to get up there before the kick-off?

I’m running a 22t/36t/FSA ’36’t bashring set up and it’s spot on. Gives me a good gear range with some nice top end speed for the downhills.

When I previously ran a 22/32 setup I was spinning out on the descents and getting left behind :(

I use one of these Rigel X2 tents. It’s great! They call it 2 man but it’s really only one man with you kit along side you.
http://i12.ebayimg.com/06/i/001/37/e6/24b8_1.JPG
Very light, single skin (but breathes well), pitches in 2min max. low weight of an ex-army gore-tex bivvy, but with far more comfort.

I also carry a cheap vango down sleeping bag, ‘balloon bed’, small coleman stove/225g gas cylinder, 2 very small pans and a Tikka headtorch.

That’s about it really. My clothing depends on weather and intended bivvy spot, but I ususlly take a down jacket too as they pack small for the amount of warmth they give.

Hi Jimster!

About 4.5 hrs if the weather is good 8) If not then 3.5hrs max.

I’m aiming for a 9.30am start on Sunday 5th from High Vinnalls carpark as previously described. The mileage on this ride isn’t too high, and average speed will be low due to the mix of terrain. Cracking singletrack will be on offer, as well as good views of Herefordshire/Mid-Wales/Welsh Marches and a good cafe stop en route too.

Just so other folks know: I’m away in France from 25th to 30th, so will be out of touch with this thread, but come rain or shine I’ll still be doing this ride on the 5th. Everyone is welcome – more the better!

I’ll post again in the days before the ride.

Ben :wink:

About the corporate bit. ‘Marin’ Roughride right? – I only saw one Marin banner all day and that was at the finish!? Did I miss some in my heat exhausted, tunnel visioned stuper?

Muddypuddle – I spent the night in hospital last night with pretty serious post event asthma :(

Still pop round here tomorrow , but I’ll have to knock the ride on the head. Need a few days to recover!

Agree with MT in some respects. Good time to buy British, though there aren’t that many Brit’s left in the game :(

I work in a roadie bike shop and you wouldn’t believe the number of times we have to reprice on fresh orders. Suppliers prices have changed almost fortnightly recently because of the Euro. It’s almost a full time job keeping an eye on it all with the amount we turn over.

McBoo, I wouldn’t hold your breath for price de-creases. Reality is we had it quite cheap in the UK for too long. Rumour is SRAM Group are going to try and be more competitive against their competitors for 2010 though, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Epic

Jeeze I found it hot! Suffered like a dog until the cloud moved in & cooled things down a bit.

Thought Jerry & his merry helpers laid on another very well run event. A big thanks to red bearded Stu for the humour at some of the water stops – it helped keep me going :-)

I did the very first Roughride years back, so thought I’d give it another go. Less fit these days, so nearly opted for the short, but took a gamble on the long. Took 8hrs 10mins :roll: (think it took me 7hrs last time). Hampered by some ‘bodies’ on some climbable lines, but I mostly took plenty of ‘pause for the view’ moments ’cause I’m a slacker :wink:

Here’s a few pics off my mobile:

Me (& a mate + Muddypuddle), if my hayfever/asthma calms down. Didn’t make it to work today I’m so bad.

All the medication in the world doesn’t seem to help and I’m getting worse year on year :cry: My doc offers the same s#!t advice and pills every year. And every year I spend at least one night in hospital with asthma.

And by the way I love the Rough Ride’s terrain. It’s something different, in a beatiful area. A few grassy climbs will only make you stronger :wink:

Had an hour using the DX light late last night. Quite frankly it’s awesome compared to my L&M Stella 200.

I’m not convinced how well sealed it all is, taking the price in to consideration, so I’m going to have it all apart tonight to make it more UK weather proof.

For £50 it only needs to last a year I’ll get my moneys worth!

Will test ride in full later tonight, but it’s looking damn good from last nights 5 min plod round our paddock!

Oh, and green button doesn’t distract at all.

Unenhanced image of Beam shot from my DX P7:

And this is my Light & Motion Stella 200 (again unenhanced image):

Will do my best tonight after dark (if it get’s that dark before my bedtime :roll: )