I’ve been using them front and rear for about 3 weeks now, including 2 x XC races.

I’m using them inside 2.25 Mezcals at the moment and running them at 16/17psi front, 19/20 rear depending on the course and/or conditions.

So far, they’ve been fanstastic. The lower pressure means more which grip increases cornering confidence massively however the fact they’re pretty firm doesn’t mean rolling resistance is compromised too much.

I feel his pain too….I assure you I have experienced everything Kryton speaks about first hand. I am a massive self-critic and will beat myself up if I’m not at the sharp end of racing. I think 99% of people that do this sport are in the same boat too….if we weren’t incredibly competitive, we wouldn’t be ‘athletes’.

I’m coached by non other than Oli Beckingsale. I have been for 5 years and we are still to this day discovering what does and doesn’t work, what times are best for us and what style of motivation works for me.

Kryton – you have bags of motivation, if you didn’t you wouldn’t be on here scrutising your race after every race. Find a little (realistic) target in every race and use that to keep that motivation high. It will grow even more from acheiving those goals.

The BeMC is no small race. I did the Roc d’Ardennes UCI Marathon in Houffalize last week. I set myself a goal of finishing in the top 100. I finished 117th. Work out what kind of power/hr you need to average to get around and stick to it but don’t go chasing it if your not meeting it….for example, I wanted to have a Normalised Average Power of around 280w for the UCI Marathon but by 35k I was down at 240w NP. I was never going to make the 40w back up so I just dealt with it and carried on…..it could have been the terrain that gave me a lower NP after all.

I feel like I’m waffling a bit now and probably not making the point I intend to…so in summary, be realistic in your goals. Reset them and start again with the basics like enjoying your events and just finishing or ridin all of the A lines etc.

And that goes for everyone 🙂

I noticed you sat in the sun yesterday…thats not going to help!

My plan yesterday was to sit in for lap 1 and maybe lap 2 depending on position before working my way forward…it didn’t go to plan because my rear brake failed on the A line on lap one and I had a pretty big crash. I almost get back on the bike and carried on but i’d taken a big bang to the helmet which left quite a dent so I thought better of it! It definitely hasn’t affected my motivation though! Far from it!!!!

Personally, I know my place is top 10 but I make sure I try not to think about where I am during the race. Like I said, try turning all of your data off so you can’t see it because I assure you, that will get into your head and is almost impossible to recover from once its there. I’ve seen some of the pros actually tape over their screen during their race so that they can’t see anything…I just have my screen showing total time and lap time. That way, I race on feel rather than data…..give it a go….

If you need to chat about it, you know where I am at the races!

Kryton – I think you need to stop analysing every single thing you do…believe me, it’s not healthy…take it from a man who’s been there and done it. After the National race at Dalby in 2017 where I literally got off my bike and walked away, someone recommended the book ‘The Chimp Paradox’ to me. I can’t say it 100% helped but I haven’t had a DNF for anything other than a mechanical or crash since.

Personally, I train to power…be it on the turbo, the road or the MTB. For racing I make sure I can’t see what my power output (or anything other than lap time) is because I know it gets into my head and that usually means bad things. I know for a fact that I’m riding better, faster and with my power than I ever have, yet I’m still only finishing pretty much exactly where I did last year. Most of this is due to the level of competition. The Vets XCO category is probably THE most competitive category there is. We’re up against ex Olympians, Commonwealth Games and World Cup racers and those that didn’t go to that level are still mixing it up with the best of them.

Now, this but may not sound good, but I’m going to say it anyway…I’m not overly convinced you and your coach are suited to each other. Find someone that understands you isn’t always easy but my recommendation would be to look at a change in coach. Obviously I don’t suggest a nasty split, just an amicable agreement that you need to try something different to find what works. You can always go back to him/her if you feel they’re better for you than anyone else.

As a side….what length cranks do you run??? I’ll probably be selling my XTR and Stages power meter set up do to sponsor conflicts. I have the race AND the trail versions however, they’re 170mm so maybe a little too short for you!

Now, all that said….have fun! Pick someone close to you in the pecking order and use them as a target for improvement and then once you regularly beat them, move on to the next target. Stop being disheartened and focus on the things that you did well and did right. A glass half empty mentality will just breed more negativity. Look at the positives and the opposite will apply

Haha…well, narrowing it down a little…they’re Swiss so not sure they can blame Brexit can they 😀

Large scale supplier supplying a large (European) manufacturer which means it’s coming direct from Europe rather than having a frame sat in stock…plus it’s a top end frame that are relatively rare in the UK and a small size so probably not enough reason to hold stock in their warehouse.

I’ve been on the phone every few days since it was originally expected. I was told it would be about a week/10 days after it was ordered. I last called on Friday where I was told it would be this week so do I wait for the end of the week before calling again or…..???

To be fair, it’ not the dealer (I don’t think), they’ve been as helpful as I could hope them to be…

So…new battery installed…followed the instructions for pairing with a 520 on the Stages Support page to the letter including changing the reading time settings from ‘smart’ to ‘1 sec’.

Tested with an hour on the rollers and everything worked perfectly

Now that crossed my mind… But I cant figure out how to connect to my Garmin 520 via Bluetooth rather than ANT+

Has anyone tried a Stages Dash Head Unit yet? I’m interested to know if it resolves any of the known issues with the Stages PMs.

My Stages keeps having the same old issues which I’ve learnt to cope with but more recently, it’s started dropping out and/or spiking on my Garmin 520. It won’t hold a connection at all to my Garmin Fenix 5 watch. Despite this, it connects perfectly to the Stages app on my phone which hints towards this particular issue being with Garmin rather than Stages.

And yes, all firmware updates are the most recent versions etc

Rubber Buccaneer – I am indeed of the East Side. I don’t mind a bit of travelling but don’t fancy driving hundreds of miles just to stand at the top of a stage and weep my little heart out 😕

Tracey – Thanks, I’ll have a look at that

Northwind – I was at Afan a few weekends ago during the practice day for the Welsh Gravity Enduro race and rode a few of the stages (the final 2 descents of Blade). I’ve ridden them on a hardtail XC bike and didnt enjoy it but hitting it on a 150mm bike made me want to give a proper race a go. I loved it!!! I dont want it to replace XC racing, just something I can get something from without taking as serious as XC racing…if that makes sense?

Just had a look at the Pedalhounds races and they’re fairly local so could be a good option.

Oooo thanks, I’ll check that out….

Forgive me for jumping on the back of this but are there any inners that are thinner than the others (or outers that have a wider inner)??

My remote lockout on my Fox forks is really slow to return to the open position and I’m wondering if its the cable that has too much friction

I feel I should comment on this…

As an officer of 19 years service, I can assure everyone that times have changed and it has got massively worse over the last few years. I’m in my 4th prison now, having done Cat A, young offenders, a local Cat B and now a working Cat C. I leave here next Friday to embark on a new phase where I will be going to the Prison Service College to try and impart my knowledge and experience onto new recruits.

I can’t agrue that the pay is great for the conditions but I try and be optimistic and think that times will soon change for the better (the service went through something quite similar about 25 years ago).

There are staff that end up corupted for many reasons, there are staff that come into the job for the wrong reasons, there are staff that want to help and there are staff that think the white shirt makes them bulletproof…but similarly, there are offenders that want to change just as much as there are offenders that have no intention of conforming to any rules or regulations.

I dont really know what I’m saying now so I’m off to drink some coffee and eat a cake while totally ignoring someones plea for help because I’m too busy being manipulated by someone who thinks they’re entitled to a heap of tobacco!!!!!!!!

So….I think there is conclusive evidence to prove that the rollers and misuro sensor combination is either quite a bit out or needs some tweaking.

I just did the Cat C ZTR Europe race and got disqualified when I put out an average power of 3.86w/kg for 95% of the race. That’s 0.44w/kg over my FTP!!

0.44w/kg doesn’t sound like much but I hardly feel like I’ve had a ride at all. My average HR was only 143bpm (max is 171bpm).

Looks like I’ll be going back to the Volano turbo instead of the rollers for Zwift

I set my rollers up with the Misuro B+ sensor last night so I should now get speed, cadence and power from them. I’m a bit unsure as to the effectiveness though as my rollers are non-resistance.

Has anyone else got any experience of using a similar set up?

Out of interest, exactly how good is the t2240?

I currently have an Elite Volano but it’s not a Smart trainer. I quite like the concept of a Smart trainer but is it really going to be much better than my current turbo?

How does a £180 Smart trainer compare to a circa £400 Direct Mount one?????

I dont mind using the workout mode…I just wondered if people substituted anything in their schedules for events/organised rides in zwift

So basically…5min Z1 WU, 10min Z2 then 3 x 10min at sweetspot with 5min recoveries taking me to the hour

Do any of you follow a scheduled training plan (from a coach)???

If so, how do you tie it in to zwift?

I have a turbo session scheduled by my coach this evening but it doesn’t really match any of the zwift event rides.

Just done the ZTR B race….ouch, ouch and treble ouch!!!

My Garmin has given me a recovery time of 3.5 days 😳

Did the PAC social ride but I got a bit carried away. I sat within 35m of the leader until bottom of Box Hill when I thought I’d go for it and ‘wait’ at the top. I soft pedaled for a while but got a bit bored waiting for the leader and the group to catch back up so I just decided to ride to the end…

Why can’t I see the PAC Social ride on the Events page?

I’m confused by it though, the map is on London today but the route for that ride says “Watopia Flat Route”??

Errrrrr I have no idea….

I couldn’t do the Dutch National Team Crit last night as I couldn’t use Watopia as a course. When I used Zwift ages ago, I used the little cheat to have London as the course everyday rather than it changing. I couldn’t remember how to edit it back so I went for a tough solo Zwift ride around London instead 🙁

I’ve now managed to change the setting back to normal so I think I’m going to join the OZ recovery ride tonight. Anyone else in for this one?

Gaz, I think that unit sends the power data it calculates direct (via ANT+) to Zwift. Zwift then turns that power into your speed on Zwift. I would imagine Trainer Road will work the same way. No idea on what it transmit to Garmin?

Yeah I think i’ve only noticed it on my Garmin because TrainRoad doesnt display speed on the screen

Traineroad gives wheel speed, it doesn’t adjust speed/distance according to the virtual terrain (on a dumb trainer).

The difference here is because there is no rear wheel and so therefore no (magnetic) speed sensor rotating.

Im thinking about giving this a first go tonight. Thinking about the Dutch National Criterium race at 1900.

One quick question though…I now have the Elite Misuro sensor that plugs into my Elite Volano trainer. It’s picking up the power from the sensor and relaying it to my Garmin and TrainerRoad but it’s not displaying virtual speed…does anyone know if it’s supposed to first of all and if so am I doing something wrong? Also, do I need the virtual speed to be working for it to work on Zwift or will the software take care of all that??

it adjusts your speed in zwift for the slope.

I get that but then wouldnt those that still pedalled at a constant power on a non ergo be fresher at the top of the climb as oppose to those who climbed at that true power and speed??

Apologies if I’ve missed the answer to this but isn’t racing on a trainer that doesnt automatically adjust the power to suit the terrain alomst like cheating?

For example, I have an Elite Volano trainer…if I was to race at my w/kg it would put me in a B race (I think). When the race came to a climb (Box Hill for example), surely I could just keep pedalling at the same power as I was on the flat and therefor not fatigue as quickly or slow as I might if I was climbing it on an ergo trainer???

If that makes sense????

First time back on the turbo last night. My coach has started incorporating some TrainerRoad sessions into my weekley training which started off with Leavitt +1.

While not strictly a tough session (7 x 10min @ 75%-85% FTP with no rest periods), it certainly caused a large amounnt of moisture around my person 😆

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the Hadleigh International Race!!!

Oh hang on, that could because hardly anyone was there and the advertising of it was almost non existent

And there, to be honest, is the problem!

Gorrick fun class is just after the u12s and the first ‘main’ class out.

Last out is the open male 4 hours later

Been there too Gaz, coming in to watch the winner walking off the podium!

I thought I might be wrong there but the same principle applies

Gorrick fun class is just after the u12s and the first ‘main’ class out.

Last out is the open male 4 hours later

Been there too Gaz, coming in to watch the winner walking off the podium!

The problem with races like Gorrick though (and this is totally my opinion) is that they don’t play to everyones strengths. Don’t get me wrong, they are brilliant races and really down to earth events, but they don’t really appeal to someone who struggles to ride single track for example. Take the last race…it literally was 100% singletrack. Now this is fantastic and can only serve to improve peoples skills over roots etc but imagine a beginner turning up, riding it for 2 or 3 laps, falling off countless times, getting dehydtrated because they can’t physically drink etc…I can see why many would be put off

That said, I guess you have the other side of the spectrum where you have those races that are almost a road race (Thetford for example). Enjoyable for other reasons but again, I wouldn’t say it would be a stepping stone to going onto enjoy what the sport can actually offer.

Does virtually every race not have at least an open/fun category though? Why must stuff be ranked for those who, by their very nature, are being put off by it all being a bit serious?

Years ago Novice was renamed Open because people didn’t like the insinuation that you were a Novice, do we need to rename fun too? Make it “enthusiast” or something?

If anything we’re seeing consolidation of categories, I’m not sure you can go adding new ones without the numbers to support, although I fully accept it’s chicken and egg.

Do we not think that the timing of these races can be a factor though. Take the Gorrick series for example…the novice/fun races tend to be held at the very end of the day when everyone else has packed up and gone. This was exactly the reason why the Vets races at National level were moved on Sundays and the Elite race made the last race of the day. It’s bad enough when the Elites finish and most trade stands and spectators have gone home to a nice Sunday roast, when the novices guys finish to a deserted arena, it has to be demoralising…I know I felt a bit like a hindrance when I was that novice (its bad enough finishing your race when the podiums for it are taking place, never mind when everyone has gone home)

the bloke next to me in car park even had his coach timing his warm up…imagine my surprise when he lined up next to me….

You’ve raced with Gazhurst as well?

Bitchy!!! If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em 8)

I think the argument about location has a lot to do with the numbers too. As has already been mentioned, the main population being in the South East of the UK is where we’ve seen the biggest turn out at races (during the season).

BC did TRY to get around a bit more last season to be fair to them. I live near Heathrow and the closest National race to me last year was Cannock, still a 3hr+ drive.

We do have a long long wat to go until we’re anywhere near the rest of Europe when it comes to XC racing though. I went to the Roc d’Ardennes World Cup Marathon in April this year. Yes it had a UCI event included in the festival but the weekend was massively inclusive for everyone. It really was just that…a festival. The whole of Houffalize was closed to traffic, almost every big bike manufacturer was there displaying their kit and there was always something on. It made our National races look like the Rampage Series.

Companies are always going on about the decline in sales etc…would it really cost them too much to sponsor and/or turn up to races of all levels? Surely things like that would attract people along??? For example, I recently read something about Evans Cycles only allowing test rides of 15mins around a car park. Not really good enough to sell a bike in my opinion…but imagine if they turned up at a race event with a selection of demo bikes and allowed people to do a lap on one???

Kind of digressing I know but surely it would encourage participation in the long run??

I don’t personally have access to any kind of figures or anything but I don’t think numbers have been down at races this season at all. I’ve raced nationals, southerns, easterns and some of the team events and I’d say it’s all very dependant on the course, the weather and the time of year.

The OP mentioned TIYS and the Rampage series in particular which I agree have been down on previous years. With the Rampage series in particular, it comes at the end of a very long and expensive season to be honest. It coincides with a lot of CX racing as well as other races (I know there was a Gorrick race on at the same time as one of the Rampage races) and lots of riders having their own ‘downtime’

I do agree that XC racing probably isn’t quite as inclusive as it should be though. It can be extremely intimidating for an inexperienced racer to turn up and see lots of shaved, oiled legs, team sponsored kit and people everywhere on turbos and rollers etc. Organisers like Mud Sweat and Gears and the Southern XC team are doing an amazing job at trying to make races more accesible and ridable while keeping them technical and interesting enough for the high end riders to race.

Lets not moan about XC racing…lets encourage people to come and give it a go!!!! 😀

I’ve had DI2 for about a year now and although I’ve had my fair share of issues with it, I certainly wouldn’t go back to mechanical now unless I really had to. Granted the shifting gets a little getting used to and it takes a little bit of playing around with the e-tube software to find a setting you like but as lunge said, stick with it and eventually you just wont want anything else

Singletrack….lots and lots (and lots) of narrow, twisty, rooty singletrack!!!!

Good to see Gaz resplendent in purple Oakley Jawbreakers

Not purple…black and orange but with Prizm Trail lenses

I crashed hard on the practice lap yesterday (front brake issue after mistakingly using bike spray rather than brake cleaner for a split second). Hit the tree on the A line descent hard enough to snap by front brake lever clean off…

Anyway, I still made the start line and was having possibly my best race of the season, well inside the top 10 until the Elite leader came past and I thought I was on my last lap. I pushed hard thinking I was done only to be told I still had 1 to go…it broke me and I was almost a minute slower on the last lap with some horrible cramp on the two biggest climbs (I also missed a gel and 2 bottles too so that didnt help).

Lost 3 places on that 6th lap to finish 12th

BMC Fourstroke????