Anyone know if either of these headsets will fit

click

also do I need this reducer

I have emailed on-one along with the two sellers but they are being a bit useless.

Ie one says do know frame spec other sames dont know headset spec.

I have now tried CC them all together.

I still love XC racing… but at my end of the scale there’s very little in the way of shoulder to shoulder battles going on like Njee and some others have

Im sure this gets back to categories.

When your back in 50th place there is little point pushing your self harder just to make sure you dont drop to 51th.

but if the categories were sorted out properly you might find your self in 10th place and then there might be more incentive not to drop back to 11th so youd have more of a race on.

Also there might be more people around u rather than them also finding themselves being destroy in the masters race.

I still love XC racing… but at my end of the scale there’s very little in the way of shoulder to shoulder battles going on like Njee and some others have

Im sure this gets back to categories.

When your back in 50th place there is little point pushing your self harder just to make sure you dont drop to 51th.

but if the categories were sorted out properly you might find your self in 10th place and then there might be more incentive not to drop back to 11th so youd have more of a race on.

Not to play though as they never do. Maybe they played it at school, perhaps they kick the ball about on the beach once each year, but they have no interest in playing the game

This quote keeps coming up again and again. I find it a bit strange almost all of mates and their mates regularly play footy.

For most of my 20’s I played 2/3 times a week, currently I only play once a week mind. Work/Being Ill/MTBing/DIY/minor injuries seem to be stopping me play more often.

For my mates 30th we did a five aside tournament had 20 of his mates in 4 teams of 5. No problem getting the numbers. We also occasionally do 11 a side friendly got one get Monday in fact.

One thing I have to say if I’ve had alot more injuries playing footy than MTBing so that might be one reason why people cant play footy so regularly.

I think handball is the only other one that can so easily be Played on all surface.

I suPPose footy is more PoPular because it was develoPed first.

why was it develoPed first I imagine it because kicking a ball is good fun.

Any ideas about this ?

Ebay headset

can you use this

superstar

problem is it comes with Taper crown.

just realised u cant use the cane creek as its an external not internal headset

yeah I would actually say the hardest thing about DH is the mental side. Something the DH riders arent actually mentioning, but I have alot of respect for.

You’ve got to go out alone and show people what you can do. Everyone is watching you and checking what you can do. Makes it very easy to make mistakes.

With XC sometimes you can hide in the pack a bit and dont really need to show your self till later in the race.

Its on Singletrack its official now :) you cant back out !

ok hands up who ridden
an xc race
and a dh race?

I have although only 1 DH, my rankings are much better at XC and I enjoyed the XC more.

The DH course was very short so it wasnt tiring for me. But it was difficult I got beat up alot in practise the morning/day before plenty of cuts and bruises.

The DH is very very mental and I was very nervous on the start ramp. I was sure the crowd wanted 1 of 2 things.

1.Either a massive jump with loads of style off the start ramp
2.The rider (me) to crash

I compare XC to playing outfield in Football and DH to playing in goal for 11 a side (something else I’ve done and very nerve wreaking too no wonder all GKeepers are mental).

I’ve always found the atmosphere to be better at XC at DH, but that might be how I view the events. I always feel people are pushing you to do things you might not be comfortable with at DH. Things you might seriously hurt yourself at and their dissapointed if you dont try (a crash obviously gets a cheer buts that just stupid if you ask me). Where as at XC people are always cheering you on which is cool and makes me go faster :)

why dont we do a race half DH half XC, with Njee and GW.

molgrips and awhiles can be the support teams.

Bikes can be swaped at halfway.

What about 1 DH run at Cwmcarn followed by 1 lap of the XC course ?

I do directly to my right in the hope the car behind will see me and decide they dont want to get spit all over his windscreen and give me more room as they over take.

Never works.

I’d just like to chip in and say that CX and XC seem to be regarded as some kind of laboratory testing where the guy with the biggest VO2 max will always win. There’s actually a lot of skill and technique involved in both races, despite the lack of styling it up over the table tops, and the quicker you go, the more skillful you need to be.

Totally agree with this, since I started racing XC I’ve got much better as picking my lines. Not so much in a DH all out technical sense but more like BMX. Weighting and un weighting the bike to allow it to roll over roots and stuff with out losing speed.

The problem here lies in the fact that most XC racers on here have no experience outside the gorrick series level of technicality

I dont think this is true, but riding more technical terrain is different from racing on it.

Also the level of race scene seems to inversely proportional to the level of technicality in an area. For instance thetford in Norfork average riding at best has quite a thriving XC race scene especially considering the small population there. Probably to make the cycling more fun !

I would nt want to race on a type of terrain that I could nt regularly practise seeing as alot of the races are likely to be in the south were is there magical technical terrain going to come from ?

It’d be MUCH more fun than 90 mins of solitary agony. Courses could be planned to create tactical options too, much like tour stages.

I agree the best races are when you are actually racing against people rather than just trying to time trial.

But I think alot of the problems here lie with the categories not the course (although a shorter a course would bunch things up).

Whats the point of having some fast/slow people in open and some fast/slow people in masters.

Why not have the slow people in one race and the faster people in another race.

A shorter course would also make the start even more important would have to be very wide to make sure a bunch or a crash didnt totally decide the race.

I remember one gorrick at swinley, I was nt in great condition but the race was packed over 100 people. I managed to get a good start then I heard someone crashed just behind me on the first bend ! Held everyone else up. I got a decent results (by my standards) because alot of good riders behind were trapped.

And there’s the rub.

You want fresh blood in the sport but are reluctant to change the model to make it more appealing* to newcomers.

I think people are arguing about 2 different things.

The non XC riders are on about making XC more accessible to all/more gnar riders.

The XC riders are on about minor tweaks and mainly advertising I think ! Ie getting the message out to other people (espeically youngsters) who will enjoy this sort of riding, people who might be doing triathlons, running, road racing etc ..

Personally I dont want to change the event to attract people who are nt really into the physical “race” format.

Although I do like the idea of having a longer lap with more technical features for the upper categories rather than just more laps.

yes I wonder if alot of people get their idea of XC racing from Mountain mayhem and Sleepless. Although there are a couple of good sections in Moutain Mayhem its easily the most boring course I’ve raced.

Believe it or not, some people, even some XC racers enjoy a technical challenge and race so they can excel on tougher parts, not necessarily win . If races had a better balance of climbing/flat/technical sections people might be more interested. I’d do more XC races if I thought there would be a decent amount of fun parts to balance out the hard work. The last thing it needs, imo is more tracks where a cyclocross bike would be faster. Not many riders (xc racers) I know want to pay/drive/race an event where it’s already a foregone conclusion that the guy who spends most time on his roadbike will win

Muddyfunster what races are you on about exactly ? I dont have much experience but I’d still say for most races you’d still be better on a MTB as the suspension helps even out mistakes when your tired.

I think there’s a bit of an issue with popularity of regional races. Southern XCs are a good step between Gorricks to NPS (for example). Courses are tougher, the standard is higher. The problem is that they have fewer competitors than either, and I don’t know why frankly, but that ‘transitional’ stage from local to national does exist.

A reason I dont do Southern XC – Seeing as Im yet to come right near the top of the field in a Gorrick open there seems little point in me moving on to a “harder” event, as I will just finish further down the field.

Best I should save my money and train a bit harder. If there were more categories and I actually felt like after a few years training I was getting close to winning a race I would be more involved.

Assuming Fun doesnt count as at 2 laps its a bit pointless.

The US have gone to a road style 5/4/3/2/1/E cat system, and we were meant to be doing the same, but it’s all gone very quiet, so I’m not sure.
Genuine question to the XC racers out there:
Do you want that? Or do you want categories defined by age AND ability (as now)? Which is simpler (for racers and organisers)? Which is more open to newcomers?

Do you want that?
Yes

Which is more open to newcomers?
I would guess the american one as your more likely to be with riders of your ability. You might mistakenly enter Veteran/Masters thining the racing will be a bit slower and be totally blown away these races are pretty dam quick. Quicker than open anyhow.

I don’t think the categories are a huge issue though.

Yes but it would be nice to win a race or at least compete to win one once in a while.

At my best I come about 15th in the open category.

People are keen to enter open as it has 3 laps which is a good compromise on laps.

There are two 3 laps races open and Masters/Veteran.

Why not have two 3 lap races open and open advanced and then mix the 2 groups.

That way I and others might have a chance of winning open while the best riders from both groups battle it out in open advanced.

Now good riders under 30 who want to do 3 laps do open and the Masters/Veteran are pretty much all good riders (who really should be joined by the best from the open category).

you say american is 5/4/3/2/1/E

Does this help ?

Begineer(not a full race) then

5 = Fun
4 = Open
3 = Advanced
2 = Sport
1 = Expert
E = Elite

Not far off what I’m saying

No it wouldn’t, getting rid of categories would mean fewer folk won, that’s very basic maths

njee you normally have some very good stuff to say especially about racing, but you seem to have totally missed my point.

The point would not to have less categories but get rid of Master/Veteran and replace them with more ability categories, do you not get what Im saying ?

As you say Masters/Veteran are almost as fast as sport/Expert.

Im near the top of the open category but not quite. I dont think i’ll ever win a race except maybe Fun which is a bit pointless at 2 laps long.

The point of advanced etc would be to make more full length races ie 3+ laps but with differing abilities.

For the gorricks I’d suggest this and more info on the website

Beginner 2 laps – Ie been riding bike offroad less than a year
Fun 3 laps – Unfit Weekend Warrior
Open 3 laps – Fit Weekend Warrior
Advanced 3 laps – Been racing for at least a year or just generally pretty fit
Sport 4 laps – Previously been near the top of the Advanced category
Expert 4 laps – Previously been near the top of the Sport category
Elite 5 laps – Similar to now

Obviously there would be the worry their would nt be enough riders for all the categories but if you moved all the veteran/masters it would be fine. And beginners doesnt really need to be a proper race.

Also the Gorrick do occasionally get popular ie new season and the sun is out. But entering a race with 125 people isnt much fun if you get trapped behind ALOT of slower riders.

More ability category might help with that. No one wants to enter Fun cos you just get 2 laps ie so could be 40 mins cycling.

So every one pours into open to get a decent race but then people who have been racing for 5,6,7 years will also be in this category.

So thats another change I’d make. Except for the very “Beginners race” make sure everyone get at least 1 hours racing time.

The structure of races needs to change too – theres no progress unless you do the NPS and have to have a licence

Totally agree with this !

Been doing the gorricks in the open category for about 4 years. I managed to get a bit quicker one year but still the best I managed was 6th on the first lap 13th by the end.

Admittedly when the field can be over 100 riders this is a massive improvement from finishing 50th.

But what is the point of Master/Super Master/Veteran/Super Veteran ?

There should be no age categories above 16ish just ability categories.

Ie Begineer,Fun,Open,Advanced,Sport,Expert,Elite and not merge Expert/Elite into one race.

There would still be time for this as you would cut out Master/Super Master/Veteran/Super Veteran/Grand Veteran and Senior Veteran.

This way more people would actually come close to winning races and make them compete against similar abilities, might help keep them interested.

yeah Jake Humphrey thats the one who was commentating with Jamie Staff. Obviously knew less that Staff to begin with but reckon he would make a better pundit in the long run, seemed to watch the BMXes with a keener eye. Just because you good at something doesnt mean your good at spotting talent in others.

Ie Pele Roy Keane etc = Good footballers = Terrible pundits / Managers
Alex Ferguson, Wegner, Mourinho = So So Footballers = Great Managers

I thought Jamie Staff was a bit rubbish. Yes he had some nice banter and background stories especially interesting information on training. But he kept calling the races wrong in the BMX time trial which suggests he cant spot the good riders and their skills just by watching, which to me is the mark of a good commentator.

Constantly said it was deceiving because the faster riders look slower as they stick closer to the ground.

Well this is true ! but I’d love to be paid to constantly repeat the same line.

By the end the other younger fellow (from the football) seemed to be calling more right. Seemed to me that although Jamie is a good athlete the “professional” commentator had more of an eye for spotting the quicker riders after only a couple of hours watching the sport.

I suppose this is somewhat unsurprising.

I’ve also done one downhill race. They was one proper jump in this race, which was fine, but I’d had all the previous day to practise it and I’d also managed a couple of practise runs in the morning.

A XC race just isnt like that riders will turn up and have no idea what the course is like.

Technical is great is your fresh but even the riders yesterday started to look a bit sketchy by the last lap. And they’d had plenty of time to practise it.

I regularly do the Gorricks. By the last lap I’ll have been pushing my self hard for over an hour, I’m knacked and my arms are starting to shake, stuff which I would nt even have noticed on a ride with mates (ie with rest breaks) starts to look technical.

I would nt fancy any proper jumps and drops myself not like the riders were taking yesterday I’d just be too knackered to ride them.

Also although chicken lines were available it would be interesting to see if on the first lap whether people would actually have a choice or whether they’ve just be forced down which ever due to the mass of the crowd (certainly looked that way yesterday).

Also I tend not to bother with practise laps simply isnt time, ie drive to event 30 mins, prep 15 mins, 1:30 hour race, clean up 15 mins, drive home 30 mins. Thats plenty enough time to spend racing for me.

Dont think tougher sentencing will really help. But longer/complete driving bans might help. Still wont effect thoose who are happy to drive illegally.

Didnt they wear skin suits in the last Olympics ?

I remember Shazene Reade getting alot of injuries on the way to the final.

In the past I’ve thought banning skin suits was silly, but yesterday showed even in a time trial riders will fall off.

No one is suggesting the BMX riders should wear time trials helmets are they ? Even though they would have gone faster. That bloke who fell off (nosed dived into the jump) would have had serious problems with a TT helmet.

Once you’ve forced the riders to wear a certain amount of armour is there much advantage from the skin suit still ?

Golden Retriever ?

click

could fit a quick ride in at Swinely too.

The simple answer to this would be to not have a kerb between the road and cycle lane.

By the end of the program, esp with the 5 -2 diet thing, it seemed to me that it wasnt eating less made us super healthy just that eating lots makes us unhealthy.

Seems to me that having some days when you dont get enough, or at least not too many, calories should be the default (ie at some time in the year people should struggle to eat enough).

It almost seems like there’s some sort of self destruct mechanism for times of plenty built into mammals (at least). This would make sense from an evolutionary viewpoint as if there is plenty of food you might as well try and get through as many generations as possible so the species keeps evolving.

pretty normal for me too.

You know when your a kid and for some strange reason you decide to eat exactly the same cereal or sandwiches for weeks on end. Then one day your body just says no this is bad for you, you need to eat something else ! Then, even the smell of the food you used to really like makes you feel sick ?

That the feeling I get every morning, its like my body saying no you need to do something else ! Doing the same thing everyday is making you ill !

openstreetmap has the main ones

yeah the first Mountain Mayhem was at trentham what is wrong with this venue?

There’s plenty of other 24 hour races in this country that aren’t badly affected by the weather (Relentless 24, Strathpuffer, UK24…).

True but all in Scotland or close to.

A 24 hour race some where in the peaks(preferably southwards)/wales/or Bristol area would be great.

Even the Malverns would be good if they could do it at the northern end rather than the Southern end.

I would even prefer if it if they could do a 24 hour race on heathland ie Surrey/Berkshire/Swinely/Cannock. Although this poses its own problems as although the sandstone grit is always ridable it can really destroy drivechains in the wet.

Didnt they do a 24 at Trentham near Stoke one year ? Surely the ground must at least drain a bit better there. Would be perfect it you ask me right near the motorway too.