I'm on the cusp of a medium/large. I have a lot of seatpost showing on mine and it does feel a bit small at times – certainly compared to my race hardtail. I'd also be inclined to go for the larger size and run a shorter stem.

Phil – kinda works both ways. 
  
I thought you were unnecessarily rude (rules or no rules) which doesn't make you the best advocate for your business either. I wouldn't book a skills course with you after that outburst – and you probably don't care anyway.   

Anyway, I think I enjoyed it now the pain has subsided a bit. Now where should I display that wooden plate?

He did eventually switch it off only after I said I would switch it off but attitude sucked big time every other team managed with normal battery lights. You sir as I'm sure your on here are a very bad advert for your club

Afraid he's not. Perhaps it was the manner you asked? 

Slowjo – worst case…there's plenty of pubs along the way! 🙂

You wont be on your own plenty of people have signed up for 121km. Its the 21km extension on the 100km that makes it tough. That's where all the climbing is 🙂 Enjoy!

That's a shame. It always made me laugh when they read out…

"Nick Evans riding for Beyond Mountain Bikes/Specialized/West Drayton MBC/Rapid Racer Products/New Ultimate/Superstar Components" Did I miss any?

Nick – I heard that Timelaps where having to bring out a new version of their timing software just to cope with your list of sponsors 😉

Its interesting about the young riders getting sponsored. I had a conversation last year with a well known lighting provider and they told me that they were focusing on sponsoring riders in Masters and Vets. The logic was that this is where the higher levels of residual income was – i.e. it was people between 30-50 who had £300-£500 to spend on lights.

OG – no need to go anywhere 🙂 Online entry is still available but will close soon. At present there will be a few entries on the day but I wouldn't count on this.

The routes are different this year but the 121km version is no easier. At present the trails are hard and running fast.

The signing has begun – its a massive job and all riders will be issued with a number this year. The other news is that For Goodness Shakes will be supplying their new recovery drink in powder form to all entrants, eat natural will be supply their tasty bars and Buzz Bar will also be on hand dishing out their wares. If that wasn't enough all finishers get a commemorative glass and beer (or soft drink) at the bar. Can't say fairer than that.

I'll be at sign on – too much to do to ride so say hi if you head down.

The run times on those Seca lights don't seem great and they are particularly heavy. 2hrs at 400lumens is not great IMO. I guess 4hrs at 200 lumens is OK but not as good as a Diablo which is lighter, cheaper and much more powerful. But I take your point about the shop deal. You could sell and buy something else?

OG – Exposure lights without a doubt. I run a MaxxD and Diabolo combo and I've been impressed with the burn times and the flood/spot patterns.

But, for me, the biggest reason to buy Exposure is the service. I had some problems with an older Enduro and they warrantied it for me and upgraded to a MaxxD. I've seen Rory just give out spares clamps and the like for free at the SD's night ride. Turning up to 24:12 or one of the CRC Marathons and knowing that if you have a problem they'll sort it is worth the money in my book.

You're joking right? Not a sausage on terrestrial telly. Eurosplot is your best bet.

Oldgit – are you still riding this? Much like you people are either bailing or heading of for other events.

Warning: Shameless plug 😉 Sorry.

If you enjoy HONC. Perhaps you'd be interested in the Bucks Offroad Sportive? Same idea but in Bucks on May 16. Fully sign posted, food and refreshment stops along the way. Chance for a pint afterwards. 121km, 100k, 75km and 35km routes. Max number of riders is 600 and we've filled 200 spaces already. Take a look at http://www.bucksoffroadsportive.co.uk

Shameless plug over 🙂

Btw, run them on No Tubes 355 rims with yellow tape and sealant and have had no problems at all. Went up with a track pump and very little sidewall leakage. There are some stories out that sealant degrades the rubber on Kenda tyres but I have no evidence of this.

SB8s are one of my favourite tyres in the dry or for rocky trails. I rode with them at Coed y Brenin and Afan over Easter and they were pretty much faultless. The close spacing of the knobs does make them pretty terrible in thick mud though. In short, a great trail centre or summer tyre but avoid for winter duties.

Sizing – they don't come up huge – pretty true to size. So if you are a bit heavy size up. Other fast rollers would be 2.35 Schwalbe Rocket Ron or Racing Ralph. Perhaps the Maxxis High Roller XC?

Rim depth makes a big difference to wheel stiffness and strength – shorter spokes, stiffer wheel. With a deeper section wheel you can go to a lower spoke count without ending up with a noodly wheel.

Buzzard – they share some similarities with the Zipp 101 but are not the same wheel. The Zipps are also a lot more expensive. Perhaps too new to get a long term test on them but if they are using Zipp technology they could be a good bet for £500. Here's a link to WW on exactlt this subject

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62491

Agreed 50mm+ in a windy crit could be hard work. Would depend on the weight of the rider though. Something like a 43/46mm (Zipp 303 or equivalent) would be ideal – especially at somewhere like Hillingdon where there always seems to be a head wind – from every direction 😉

Prima Rolf have been around in the US for a good while. New to these shores. Nice looking wheels if you like low spoke counts 🙂

What about the new SRAM wheels – S30 Sprint. 1430g claimed and £500. Reckon they look pretty nice.

The new Rolf wheels are nice too. Chocolate Distribution (Jez Crook) just started bringing them into the UK.

Old git – agreed. They are super nice. Just advised a friend of mine to get them for his Serotta Ottrot. Call me picky, but you have to have a campag equiped bike to run campag wheels. IMO anyway 😉

For £600 I would look at some handbuilts from Wheelsmith

http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/wheelprices.htm

A multitude of hub options to suit budget. For example:

IRD Cadence rims on DT SWiss 240s, CX-Ray spokes in black – £629

Reckon this have to be around 1400g, should be pretty bullet proof and if you break a spoke you just order one from your LBS.

You could go cheaper on the hubs and still get a great set of wheels.

Btw, 30mm is not very deep section. Its 50mm+ you have to worry about cross winds.

I think Charlie Eustace still has the record for the SDW – although I can't find the exact time. Ian Leitch has the SDD in an inspiring 18hrs and 3 mins. Alpine style I should add.

Its a tough ride and a fast time will be weather dependent.

Rob Dean posts on these boards as part of the elite SDD crew. He knows Charlie and might have a better guess on his time.

In that case, any recommendations for a 2 ring mech that's got he same cable pull as a shimano and would work wiht an inner and middle (say 22t and 34t or 36t)?

There is really nothing special about front mechs. They all use the same amount of cable pull. You can use a road mech for a double chainset if your cable goes under your bottom bracket (bottom pull) of if you use a speen adapter. I use a SRAM Red front mech with an adapter on my Stumpy. Otherwise there's XX and I think there's an SLX double.

Swedish Chef – my advice would be go for 40/28 by converting what you have. 40T for XC/Enduros will be fine. I rode 42/30 on everything from Meridas/XC races/Enduros and some 24hr pairs. I rarely changed down into the 30T. The climbing at most UK events is not that severe and when it is its short and sharp.

36 x 11 with a 26" wheel shod with a 2.1 tyre = 25.3mph. Hardly fast – particularly on a road downhill.

Its not a random figure. Its calculated but it should have said at 100rpm. Which is a good cadence. You wont sustain higher than that for very long periods.

Do the DD's come up small like the RoRon? I've had some success with the 1.8 NN in muddy conditions and the Black Shark in truly terrible mud.

I wonder whether 2.0s will have enough clearance around the fork bridge…there's not huge amounts with a SID fork.

Btw, I reckon Schwalbe have the best range of tyres. Mix and match front and rear for all conditions.

Use 10 speed chains and currently a SRAM red front mech. Tried the same with the Specialized Toupe saddles but kept breaking off the nose piece so moved to a Phenom too. The 2010 Toupe looks promising though.

36 x 11 with a 26" wheel shod with a 2.1 tyre = 25.3mph. Hardly fast – particularly on a road downhill.

Do these dedicated chainsets not give a better chainline than converting a triple?

Its about the same. Though the chainline benefits of moving to middle and granny are pretty decent. What you wont get from converting a triple to a double is a narrower Q-factor.

Swedish Chef – you haven't really said what sort of riding you intend on doing. IMO – you want a 40T at least for XC racing in the UK. A 34 at the back gives you a good spread of 9 usuable gears (without having to shift down up front) and means that you are generally in the big ring for 90-100% of the race.

I'm running 42/30 with a 34 outback. I went for Extralite cranks which allow a double using the outside of the spider and a special 104BCD 30T ring.

The most cost effective option would be as Kingtut suggested. 104 BCD – 40 ring fitted in the middle position and a 64 BCD – 26 ring fitted in the granny position. I know plenty of people who run this or similar set up and really like it.

Yes. Sherwood Pines. Apparently a mudfest. Not looking forward to it much. Its going to be hard.

I suspect tyre clearance will indeed be your biggest limiter. Few bikes deal with a tyre bigger than a 38.

That's not strictly true. There are some cross tyres wider than 32. Have a look at Vittoria XM, XN and XG. 32 and 34 widths – although in fairness they come up a little undersized.

Don't know the trail network but if you click here[/url] then you can see the circuit. From that I guess you can see what will be open. No riders without number boards will be allowed on the race circuit.

I'm not going to say too much about Nick (well more than I have already) – people in glass houses and all that 😉

LOL. It looks like a gate with two wheels but its quite fun to ride – although 32:17 was a bit low for BP. Its mostly built from second hand parts and bits lying around. The frame was £50 a couple of years ago on Ebay.

oldgit – Nick is wearing the yellow and black Beyond kit. What makes him stick out is the bright green Oakley Radars 🙂 There's only one of me (#366)…wearing the marshalls vest and marshalling (read:shepherding) the U10's race.

Tim – I think we spoke. I was on the GF Rig 29er.

I was in Spain with some of the MBR boys for a race last year. They told me about the 'ham & cheese cannon'. Basically, the ability to ham (and cheese) up your riding position so as to look like you are going really fast even when you aren't. The cannon bit is to be able to do at will – like firing a cannon. Made me laugh. Andy McCandlish can take some great photos. http://www.andymccandlish.com/fig-bike/bike-portfolio-fig.htm

As you said Tim…no more (or less) blinding than any other photographer.

As a note of style – everyone should look at njee for style points. You can tell he's a harden racer. In every photo he is throwing out a knee or cheesing up his position for the camera. Very MBR. Very PRO. Chapeau 😛