Pretty sure AndrewJ and MaD can hold their own in the Old Gits category even if they SS 😉

Proper shame that there aren’t more SS vets but what’s the point of having a category when there’s only one entry? It’s hardly a “race” then in my opinion, and it’s just a challenge against themselves. I’d prefer to be thrown in with another category just so that I can actually race against someone else in that category and to see how I fared against them. It’d be a pretty empty “win” if I won a category if I was the only one racing in that category.

12 Hour Solo for me.

Always stop and pick people’s litter up on the trails; cereal bar wrappers, cans of redbull/Monster, gel wrappers the usual stuff. Unfortunately it gets tricky when I come across burnt out cars, difficult to fit into my pack 😉

You can’t win either way in my opinion 🙁 If you leave it in plain view it’s obvious, if you cover it up it’s also obvious that you’re trying to cover something potentially valuable.

Erlestoke is a great event, unfortunately can’t make it this year. It’s pretty competitive but like all races, the “flyers” will get by if they want to, either silently and very rapidly or those that are polite (most people) will let you know they’re there. If you want to, find a safe place to pull over to the side and let them pass, if not they’ll find a way. Doing solo events mostly, I tend to politely ignore the shouty screamy people demanding to be let past, but they’re a minority. Erlestoke is pretty tight in places but there are plenty of open sections.

If you head over to Strava, you can see the Dyfi route on my activity log, it includes the road to and from the forest. In the list of segments it’ll show you where the World Cup Descent is too.

http://app.strava.com/rides/8044376

Another Dyfi, another mug, love it. Couldn’t have asked for better weather too. Thanks to all the organisers and volunteers.

No wrappers here either, they’re littering the floor of my van at the moment. I stuff them in the leg of my bib shorts during the race/event.

Try the Anthem with a 120mm fork? Slackens it off really nicely but doesn’t take away its raceyness. And it’ll save you a fair few quid buying and selling bikes.

That’s the setup I had on my Anthem and I rode and raced everything on it, proper technical local trails, 7-day stage race in Canada, 24 hour solos….

The first thing I look at when I get on site for a solo event is a spot to put up my awning/tent along the track. What usually works is a reasonably long “straight” or a decent loop around the event arena where we can pitch up either side of the track. Easily accessible toilets is usually a bonus but not essential, even during a 24.

Having one central “transition” area isn’t really necessary for soloists in my opinion, although some do turn up with literally a box and bike so an area for such people would be welcomed I’m sure.

Having loads of teams/tents/people trackside can help create a much better event atmosphere as well – certainly helps for soloists to have people cheering and heckling on each lap. It’s a huge boost to morale.

Thanks for the info. Found this as well, which should keep me busy for some time!

http://www.gclaflorida.com/rutas/kc_rutas_catalogo.php

I use the same tyres for winter as I do for summer. That way they’re easily interchangeable 😉

I’m happy with my Ribble Sportive Racing I bought last summer. Great value for money and does what I need it to do. Can’t fault the spec really for the money. The PlanetX bikes are worth a look as well, they’re similarly priced.

From Twitter a few minutes ago:

“Online entries for the Wiggle Mountain Mayhem 2012 will be online approx 1pm. @wigglebikeshop @provelosupport @singletrackmag”

http://www.dutycalculator.com/

Do you mean custom stickers? If so I’ve used

http://www.slikgraphics.com/

Very good quality and quick turnaround as well.

Had the same issue with my Hope headset, think the cap is particularly tight. Like you say, take a file to the top of the steerer and taper it ever so slightly and grease the inside of the cap/seal. Worked for me. I was using a SFN so not sure if it’d be Hope’s expander thing.

@MTBHuw

….for stuff like races (12/24 hour solo mainly), rides, bike things, general musings.

Riding the wrong way up a one-way street is just another reason for motorists to dislike cyclists in my opinion.

As a mountain biker there are plenty of alternatives but it is a blow to local businesses. Once the trees are gone you’re going to want to ride elsewhere.

It is such a shame, will be a blow to the riding scene at Afan.

Just wondering, as it has been raised a couple of times, but why do you need trees to ride your bike?

The trails at Afan (apart from Penhydd, but that was going to be lost anyway before the phytophthora outbreak) have been unaffected by the felling. There were closures for periods of time but everything is now open again, and better in my opinion. Nicer views of the surrounding countryside, compared to being confined inside oppressive relatively featureless, pine forest before. The clearfelled sites do look “ugly” for a short period of time but soon regenerate.

Afan Forest is a commercial forest so will be subject to felling from time to time, not at the scale that has occurred but there was a good reason for it, to stop the spread of disease. And it’s only the Larch that’s been felled.

http://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

Amazing stuff! Honestly, it’s great.

Just to add, available in the UK now it seems as well. I bought mine on EBay from the US….

http://www.antimonkeybutt.co.uk/

https://picasaweb.google.com/116827884952143936764/20120205DyfiWinterWarmer?noredirect=1

Thanks all. I’ll try the Disco pads for now as I’ve been using them before on my other XT brakes and they’re pretty good.

I didn’t realise the new XT brakes were different either, should have checked.

Photos now live online at:

http://mcope.photoshelter.com/gallery/Brechfa-Frostbite-40-January-2012/G0000rscvxJwcvwY

Great event!

Here Sir! I’m going 🙂

I tested the prototype Big Horn post for DSP and Loco Tuning at last year’s BC Bike Race in Canada. It’s an excellent post in my opinion and the advantages you get from using it far outweighs the extra weight it adds, especially during a race like the BC Bike Race (which includes very technical terrain). Being able to drop the post for the descents during the race was just brilliant and made racing so much more fun and enjoyable, rather than having to keep your saddle up by your shoulders all the time 😉

There will negligible lateral movement of the saddle, none that I noticed whilst riding, and drop and return times were fast. Had the post stick down on one occasion but I sorted this with a bit of lube. The remote lever is a bit industrial looking and isn’t as pretty as the Reverb for example but didn’t bother me, it does what it’s meant to do.

Surprised when Simon @ Loco Tuning told me what the RRP was – much cheapness! I’ve got one on order 🙂

Why would you cover your bike in it? It’s already waterproof 😉 Cool stuff though, would be good on clothing and shoes.

The Evoc bag is one of the best I’ve seen and used.

Been using it for some time but don’t always upload my rides onto there. KOM for the Rhigos climb at the moment and a few other lesser known ones, and I’m no roadie.

I’d agree with monkeysfeet, upping your rotor size for the trip is a good idea.

Never had a scratch on my bike from the lifts (and touch wood won’t again this year). The potential lengths of the descents you’ll go on will be tiring on any bike.

I take my Prophet with 140mm forks and DH tyres on my Alps trips and find it a great bike for the trails I normally ride there as well as the odd DH run. I’ve yet to take it beyond it’s own capabilities so never felt the need to get something bigger.

What’s wrong with taking the Lapierre? What kind of riding will you be doing out there?

You’re the same height and inside leg as I am. Annoyingly I’m a “tweener” with most bikes, not really a small, not really a medium. I’ve got an Anthem and first bought a 2nd hand small frame as the geometry seemed ok, but what I found was that I had to run a crazy amount of seat post for it to fit. I then bought a medium and it was an all round better fit, slightly less room on the standover, and a bit more length on the TT but almost perfect.

Slightly different standover to the Trance but same frame sizes (16 Small, 18 Medium), so you may well find you have the same problem I had with the smaller Anthem.

Cycleops Mag Turbo Trainer here. Simple to use, easy to store away, and relatively cheap and it does what I want it to do.

No they were the ITM Aero 2.4. Mine’s the Sportive Racing frame by the way.

5 Years on my Niner Jet 9 RDO

Very happy with my Ribble Sportive that I’ve had for a few months now. The stock wheels are absolute pants though. The rear got sent back within 2 weeks and got replaced FOC and I’ve just had to replace the front wheel with an old one I had. Both due to really poor cup n cone hubs. The frame itself is lovely though, very comfortable to ride. It’s also my first “proper” road bike though so I have nothing to compare it with really. Bought mine with the 105 kit.

Planet X was the close second choice.

Yep, rides very well with my 120 SIDs, for both day to day riding and racing. Seems to make the handling a lot more stable and a bit less twitchy in my opinion. No noticeable change in the way it climbs either.

The guy on the bike was looking for an argument, judging by the tone of his questioning. Very confrontational. I don’t think the guy was an FC employee either, looked like one of the contractors to me.

Charge Spoon here, most comfortable saddle I’ve used so far. Good for 24 hour soloing. I find having a comfortable pad in your lycra shorts is a big factor in overall comfort as well.

Saddles are very personal things. Not something one can recommend to another in my opinion. Got to be down to the individual.