Yes, you’re right.
I hardly use a fraction of what it can do, but calendar tied up between phone and tablet is handy sometimes.

Monsoon arrived here in Dundee.
I reckon we’ve just had a months worth of rain in 10-15mins and its still bucketing down.

Yeah the weather was horrendous and only 50 odd out of 170 finished. It was all mental though really. Training your brain is important – i’d trained by deliberately going out and doing training sessions that were hard. So finding head winds to ride into, hill reps in the heat, that sort of stuff.

Luckily, having done several 7-24hr MTB events i’ve pretty much got the mental bit sorted. Not entirely surprised at the attrition rate – looking at the photos there seemed to be a lot of very badly prepared people (112mi into a headwind wearing a massive flappy waterproof seemed a popular if somewhat bamboozling choice).

Think his source is here:
http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

Takes more effort with google, but the Germans magazines like their tyre tests and you can find similar data from those.

Edit: Ninja’d – bah!

Without a doubt the best DH racer ever.

Needs some rainbow bands first imo

Any advice on mitigating it?

Change of username would surely be a good start 😛

You need to be riding on or near threshold not over it

It’s an enduro where people are recording times between 20-30mins over 6 stages – he should be well above his threshold.

Well yes, noise = lost energy.
But Ralph comes up as one of the fastest MTB tyres available every time its tested.
I’d put money on MudX, SB8 or GC being significantly slower than a Ralph.
In fact I seem to remember seeing somewhere that SB8 being fast is something of a marketing myth, and its actually barely any quicker than most enduro tyres.

Sad thing is, it could be pretty easily cured by flooding the roads with unmarked police cyclists. Fairly sure (at least in the short-mid term), that units of 2 two policemen (one bike, one motorbike nearby) could easily pay for themselves in fines generated. Its pretty unusual to go more than 5 mins on a moderately busy road without a motorist making a dangerous overtake.

That said, I got overtaken by a police van on a blind corner yesterday, so maybe there is no solution……

I can probably give you some perspective on this coming out of my 8 month training plan for City to Summit which I did last month.

The key thing you have to remember is that being in top running shape will allow you to cycle pretty much anything. You may not be in absolutely top bike shape but you will get round. However being in top bike shape won’t help you at all to get round the marathon. Therefore your training programme has to be a running programme with some cycling mixed in. Don’t try and balance it half and half.

I did a road marathon as part of my training. Leading up that I basically followed a marathon programme with some cycling as cross training. The key is to mix it up and train your heart through the different zones. You also need a proper long term plan that properly builds towards the event and also contains easy weeks.

Make sure you have a VO2 max session, a tempo session and a longer, low intensity run in your week. Then use one or two rides or turbo sessions for either some recovery or some strength work.

As I said my programme was run orientated even though there was 120 miles of cycling in my event. Plus it got me round the Club des Cingles a week later.

Interesting – City to Summit is the event i’ll probably be doing – how did you get on – I saw the weather was a bit horrendous, and even the fastest guy was something like 3hrs behind schedule 😯

Also interested by your training approach, as its the complete opposite to both of the ironman books i have read, which both say that the bike is critical to success, and should also be the biggest part of training as you can accumulate the most time at X heart rate for the minimum stress on the body.

Just starting putting myself a plan together, but think i’ll be aiming for 5 days a week, 3 bikes, 3 runs. Don’t expect to be doing much intensity at all.

Ramp test is a perfectly valid test protocol, although usually done under observation with blood tests, and usually only 2 mins per ‘level’.

I wouldn’t trust a power reading from a gym bike unless it was a Wattbike, and even then i’d be sceptical as its probably not been maintained/calibrated in since it was installed.

I’m in a similar boat (probably doing an ‘iron’ distance duathlon next year), so similar in terms of training to a marathon and road alps trip.

The good news is you only usually cycle 3 days a week at the moment, so you’ve got loads of scope to add running.

Having done some reading, the key seems to be to keep the intensity down and make sure you get the regularity in. Since you are doing distinct events rather than both disciplines in one event, you can change your focus as you go.
Maybe something along the lines of 3 runs, and 2 easy rides per week until marathon is done, then transition to bike 4 times a week after.

Whilst it can be done on a CX bike, i tend to find a FS more fun (but not any faster) than hardtail on the Red.

B+ may well be a good compromise, but not had a chance to try it yet.

RBTV must be reading this thread, camera in above spot for mens race! 😀

Anyone else notice we seem to be lacking camera positions this year? For example why no camera here:

Feed solid here (samsung tv app), but usually if RBTV can screw up somehow they do.

Annie Last off to a good start, not so much for Jenny R.

Interesting Batty has made a fast start as its more normal for her to start conservatively and come strong later.

Great to see PFP appears to be back on form, hope she can keep it going.

Tough course at MSA, seems crazy riding Beatrice on an XC bike – i’m sure there’s plenty on here (myself included) that’d be struggling in a much bigger bike.

Can’t be autumn, summer didn’t start yet.
Spring is certainly dragging on late this year though.

Insane.
Guys doing 40mph sideways in the mud 😯

Several adaptors available to allow you to run hollowtech 2 in a BB30 frame.
For example:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fsa-bb30-threaded-adapter-b3119-/rp-prod129935

Surely if you are riding in conditions where a rock razor is the correct rear then a mary isn’t the correct front.

HD/RR
Or
MM/NN
In my opinion.

Actually very rare to hear people not liking the synapse, but suspect you are similar to me in that you like the way a race bike fits and rides.

If you are looking for something nimble/agile, then maybe endurance bikes aren’t going to be for you as they are designed to be docile/stable for mamils that struggle to reach past their bellies.

Buying new from that genre of bike i’d probably be looking at a BMC Roadmachine as it seems to be at the less sedate end of the spectrum.

Unless you are riding a lot of crappy surfaces, i’d echo @rutland’s advice and ride the cervelo and make bike #3 a proper mud-guarded up wet weather bike.

Thing is binners, once you’ve got a £9k bike you need an appropriate vehicle to hang it off so others can see.

Hell yeah go for it, why not.

waterbottles absolutely caked in mud

Also, dog poo, sheep poo, cow poo…..

What exactly is a loose fitting base layer? Whatever it is you can be certain its not going to be doing its job.

I’m excitedly awaiting delivery of my Scott scale. It comes equipped with a 34T chainring and a 10-42T cassette.
Although I shall be doing mostly XC and hear a 34T chainring is good for this I will be riding around some country lanes now and then and think having a 36T or 38T maybe better otherwise I’ll be constantly using the small cogs on the cassette? Anyone have any experience of this?

Obviously going to depend on how fit you are, how long (time wise) your rides are, what intensity you are riding at, and how steep your local hills are.

Bear in mind that most pro XC riders were only running 36T (think Kulhavy was on 38T) for 1×11.
I’d have thought for most people sticking with the 34 if you live in a flat area or do a lot of road miles, otherwise a 30 or 32T may make more sense.

i don’t really see any negatives!

Very much like my b+ as well, but they definitely roll slower than a 29er tyre on smoother and/or hard surfaces, and don’t bite down through mud as well as a narrower tyre.

for instance I’d never fit a bottle to a mountainbike so the lack of bosses is irrelevant

Seriously? (Genuine question). Why would you actually want to carry around 1.5kg of water and have a silly hose hanging over your shoulder when the bike will carry it for you?

Don’t get me wrong, I have a camelbak and do sometimes use the bladder, but for a typical 30-40mi ride, why bother with the weight on the back and the hassle of cleaning it after?

Endura Urban FlipJak does that perfectly for me

I’ve got the gilet version, and planning to take it on my NC500 trip this month for the evenings, should be perfect for what the OP wants.

Wasn’t sure how it would be when i got it, but really quite like it as a versatile item. Mid-weight sitting around item, or something to throw on when putting bikes in the car after a ride. Or as a super warm on the bike item for those utterly baltic days.

Anyone with a better eye for detail than me care to explain why a P7 and the Pace arent much closer in reach.

Shorter ETT to start with, and slacker SA means that proportionally more of the ETT is behind the BB and less left for Reach

I’ve just ridden mine Coast to Coast off road in 4 days, 215 miles, 8800m of climbing and zero issues. I also regularly do 60-90 mile rides on it…its not just a trail centre weapon, its insanely capable and covers so many bases. On a 1×11 with 32t ring, never felt the need for more at either end (ok maybe a few times on the climbs but the new GX eagle fixes that)

Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean that’s what the bike was designed for. You’d certainly never deliberately pick something with 1 bottle cage and a 65°HA for that job.

It’s like me saying I rode a road sportive on my 29er this year therefore the BMC Teamelite isn’t designed as an XC race bike.

Not perfect, and i’m sure someone else will have something better, but this is a decent place to start:
https://www.bigcycling.eu/en/big/index/map/

The 4 also gets decent casing on the tyres which will no doubt play a role in the weight loss

Sweet, so all we have to do is live in our parents shed, give up a social life and ride our £9k bike to work and back and we’re even on the deal – very STW…

For some people the bike may be the social life so they didn’t even have to give up anything there.

I work with quite a few folk that chuck 3-400 a month at a PCP car, another 7-800 in rent, and maybe 400 on nights out…

And there ladies and gents we have a brand new £9k bike every year.

I’d rather spend £9k on a bike than on a car. Unfortunately the wife disagrees, and hence we have a car worth more than any of my bikes – probably more than all of them put together

See you did things in the wrong order.
Indulge bike fantasy first before acquiring a wife 😆

Loads of pretty run of the mill bikes up around the £3-4k mark now.
And a quick trip to local trail centre or a road sportive will tell you people can’t get enough of them.

Would have thought anyone on £50k+ salary could justify a £9k bike if riding is a large part of their life. And if it makes them feel good, then why not (although i do always have to laugh at people rolling round sportives at 12mph on their deep section carbon wheels).

Nonsense! You can’t just consign anything 1x to your metaphorical trail centre dustbin!

I can, and just did 😀

But there’s other stuff too.
65deg HA
780mm bars
Only takes 1 bottle cage
Not really sure why people have taken so much offence at pointing out a bike that’s clearly been designed with a certain niche of riding in mind.

Would you also be offended if I said a Scott Scale was designed for XC, or a Canyon Sender was designed for DH?

1×11 isn’t limiting.

This discussion has been had on a million threads already, and whilst it may not be limiting for you it is for some.
I’ve got a 535% range on my 2x XC bike and its already limiting (ideally i’d like an extra gear at each end)

But i’d agree its not limiting for ripping round Glentress (other TC’s exist) which is clearly what the bike is meant for.

And not the kind of bike you’d use for touring, so no need for 2x….

Indeed, the intended use of that bike isn’t bike-packing, monster XC days or XC training, its firmly aimed at blasting down the local trail centre at warp speed, for which a 1x is a perfect choice.

Certainly looks a nice bike at a nice price.