I use these (Zefal Swan R and Croozer Road Mudguard Set) on my commuter. Ideal as I also had little clearance between the down tube and front wheel. Eliminates potential toe overlap and easy to clip on/off

I marshelled the bottom of PyG 2 years ago.

I remember chatting to you Duncan, you’ll do fine. I rode it for the first time last year, and will be back on the start line again next w/e. There’s not a lot to add to the points above, but two things that stick out from my first race are:

1) How early people line up, and where they line up wrt their “estimated” finish time.
2) Simon Fell is brutal. Nothing could have prepared me for Simon Fell. Just dig in, you’ll get over it.

Last minute tips:

1) Watching as many videos from past events on YouTube really helped me familiarise myself with the course
2) I recced parts of the course by foot (Whernside and PYG) several weeks before. That was really helpful to know the terrain and also how it felt walking w/o the bike. Maybe too late for you now.
3) If you’ve not already done so, check you’re happy carrying/riding with a hydration pack. I didn’t like it so opted for a bottle cage, with a refill looked after by my family on PYG Lane.
4) I carry CO2 canisters in addition to a pump. Quicker if you’re unlucky to have a puncture.

Good luck, and remember to enjoy it.

This should help: https://www.facebook.com/Up-The-Buttress-688085784657907/timeline/

I did a cyclocross MTL event ~4 weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The few MTBers were mostly riding HTs. The cyclocross bike was fine on all of the route, but there were some interesting moments. It’s definitely more suited to an MTB for comfort alone.

Atera Strada (4 bikes) here. Great piece of kit.

You’re right, this has been done before. I dredged up these past threads that I commented on …

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/tow-bar-bike-racks-3

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/towbar-mounted-bike-racks-1

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-tow-bar-bike-rack-for-3-bikes-would-you-recommend

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/towbar-mounted-cycle-rack-for-an-s-max

Never tried it, but doing it next Sunday (9th) on my cross bike. Will let you know how it goes.

Mary Towneley Loop Cyclocross[/url]

They are, by some considerable margin, the worst company (bike or otherwise) that I have had the mispleasure of dealing with, peddling poor quality dross with horrendous customer service when it goes wrong, and perfectly happy to accuse you of lying about how their substandard products came to break.

Wrong company? Surely this is referring to Dave Hinde?

Yep, I’ve been using them tubeless on my HT for a couple of years. Love’m

A few thoughts on the different parts of this thread …

Tyres: I rode Landcruisers last year, but want something a little lighter for this year. I’ve had a recommendation to try Panaracer Cindercross from Dave Haygarth (awesome clincher and roll beautifully). That’s what I’ll be doing.

2tyred

Now for convincing Mrs Tyred that driving in the support convoy will be a fun way for her to spend the day.

I’m not convinced it looks much fun being in a support team. From talking to some people it’s very stressful, and getting a bit out of hand. There’s so many people with mobile support and it’s getting a bit busy, as well as dangerous in places. Personally, I don’t see the need for mobile support, except for the elite riders. Last year my wife and kids were positioned on PyG with some food and water. For your average rider that’s all you really need IMO.

Atera Strada here. 4 bike version. Absolutely love it, but can be fiddly loading four bikes. Smallest first is the answer to allow the securing arms to go over the TT.

I have a short commute that until recently I did on my MTB as I prefer the riding position a flat/riser bar gives in traffic.

I’ve just built up my old Kinesis T5 CX bike with a flat bar and bar ends. I did put a longer stem on it (110mm 5deg rise) than when it had drop bars. It has worked out really well. With a shorter stem it was a little too upright/cramped.

I feel your frustration. I have recently been in the same boat looking for a suitable MTB for my daughter. She’s also 5’3″ and needs a light(ish) 26er at a decent price. When we looked in the shops £500 wouldn’t have bough something I felt was light enough in a 650b. I also felt the bigger wheels would have been too big.

I picked up the last one of these in 16″, an air fork from Bike24, and some wheels from On-One (now out of stock). I only needed a few other bits and pieces as my spares box donated the rest. Overall I spent ~£425, and I would like to think that it’ll be a more appropriate bike for her size and strength than the +30lbs 650b monster we were considering for more money. Not fully built yet (as we’re doing it together with her doing all the spannering), but it’s looking nice.

The frame and forks together weigh a little over 3kg, which is very decent for the money spent. I’d encourage you to keep looking for a light-weight frame. Possibly second hand?

I was considering one of these before I found the Windspeed.

The link from Jim above is the way to go.

One thought that springs to mind is that you may not have the inner pad set close enough to the disk, or not protruding enough beyond the caliper body. I’ve experienced that a couple of times on both BB5s and BB7s.

I only ever use a hack saw for the job – slow and carefully. If you’re only taking off 5mm I wouldn’t recommend a pipe cutter. Not much of the section being cut off for the rollers to run on. Could go wrong.

The usual suggestions can be found in this thread. My personal choice is the Atera Strada.

The example picture posted by jam bo is the answer … an iwanson spring calliper. Cost less than £5 on eBay. Been meaning to get one for ages.

Aye, that’d be great.

“Are all 650b bikes sluggish compared to 26” ?”

Having only ever ridden 26ers I can say with complete confidence that 26ers are faster 😉

@trailofdestruction, thanks for the video links, I enjoyed that. Looks like the industry have pulled a fast one with 650b … glad I stayed with 26″ wheels and wasn’t bitten by the 650b bug.

Miss my Dave Yates Diabolo. Fillet brazed 735 tubing. It was lovely 🙁

I once looked at some eBay carbon posts, but in the end I bought one of these for my cross bike: http://www.tredz.co.uk/.RSP-Elite-Carbon-Seatpost_50752.htm

Not exactly cheap, but not expensive either.

Does the job, ok weight, clamp has been easy to adjust and holds tight.

I put drops on a Dave Yates Diabolo once. I hated it, and have felt guilty ever since for doing that to such a classic MTB. Overall, it was too long in the TT and too low for my liking.

I have one of these. Better than nothing, but I accept the limitations. It is just one element in the defence system. It’ll call me if the alarm goes off.

http://www.ultrasecuredirect.com/acatalog/UltraPIR-Shed-Garage-GSM-PIR-Alarm.html

Still no sign of MidlandsTrailQuestGraham?

I always love hearing people reminisce about Polaris. I have so many fond memories of that event too; like the sub-zero temps in Galloway Forest.

Returning to the OPs question, while keeping the Polaris theme …

The OMM now run the Polaris events (they took over Polaris a few years ago – it’s now called OMM Bike). They are well set up and run. Turn out is good, but not as big as the old days. They have varied the format from time to time, sometimes running it as a “full Polaris” other times as a “return to HQ” format. I’d say that the course design is better than in the early days of Polaris – There are more check-points and fewer outliers for big points.

This Spring OMM Bike (25-26 April) it’s being run as a “return to HQ” format with long and short course options (basically more or less time). The event HQ will be in Bamford in the Peak District.

OP, if you’ve not done an event like this before the short course would give you a great introduction. It’s also a nice excuse to come and ride in the Peaks 🙂

Google says you can get Dunlop tyres and inner tubes.
For gears, how about a Sturmey-Archer geared hub?
Google has found spokes too at Central Wheel Components
Could be a goer

It’s different … but not in a good way

This would be a good place to start for all sorts of information about cyclocross … http://www.fluentincross.co.uk/

and here … http://crossjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/

Same guy, but the first website is the new location/format.

I’m not really qualified to hand out cx advice, so I’ll leave that for others. The only thing I’ll say is that like you when I was setting up my cx bike the main purpose was for doing the 3 Peaks, and I had the same bar width dilemma.

In the end I went for a 44cm Salsa Cowbell 2 bar as I wanted it fairly wide for off-road handling. This bar is too wide for my shoulder width really, but it gave me some confidence initially.

@oldgit, your questions and my probably not 100% correct thoughts …

Disc rims lighter?
I was going to say yes/probably. I recently built up some wheels using DT Swiss TK540 rims. I just checked and they have the same quoted weight for the disc and rim brake versions.

If yes does that include the disc and hardware i.e the breaking surface now absent?
The weight of discs, calipers, pads, levers, cables or hydraulic reservoir & hoses is greater than the kit needed for rim brakes, so definitely not lighter.

Radial spoking a no no with discs?
I don’t know for sure. I did have an MTB front wheel (Fulcrum) that was radially spoked on the drive side and 3-cross on the disc brake side. I guess that suggests discs and radial spokes are not ideal.

Overheating on Alpine descents sorted?
Probably, but in the past I’ve heard that excessive heat in a hydraulic system can heat up the brake fluid and detrimentally affect braking. Still an issue?

Well I must be an eejit ’cause I’ve not long replaced my CX frame and wheels and stayed with cantis (bike gets ridden in and around Sheffield and the Peaks, off-road too).

The way I see it is that you don’t need discs on a road bike, but if you want them you can, and yes they will be better.

But, do we need better? Modern caliper brakes already have good stopping power. But wait long enough and the industry will convince us that rim brakes don’t work and your road bike will be unstoppable without disc brakes …

Excellent. Thanks for those 3 suggestions.

An extender bar is no use. I should have been clear about that.

The schraeder valve is long (~50mm) with the 10mm bolt at the bottom. The socket has to go over the the entire length of the schraeder valve before it can engage the bolt.

BB7 set-up information: http://howtosetuptheavidbb7.weebly.com/how-to-set-up-the-avid-bb7.html

Personally I’d go for a new run of cable. One less point of weakness to think about.

Damn this thread. It took me years to convert to a hydration pack from a fairly large bum bag. Now that I’ve been riding with my pack for several years along comes this thread and I’m confused 😆

I like the idea of riding light, but at least in winter would want to pack some extra gear. Like some others have said I rarely empty the bladder in the hydration pack (even if only filled half way) so would be fine with a bottle for most days except when it’s hot.

Perhaps it’s time to try a smaller bum bag than I had before? More likely a different solution is required for different rides/conditions?

I’ve got some Oakley prescription Eye Jackets from these guys http://www.extreme-eyewear.co.uk/

Cost a lot (~£235), but would I wouldn’t be without then. Depends on how stable your prescription is, but I find that I don’t need to change my cycling glasses as often as I get new regular glasses. I can handle the prescription being a little out on them – so the cost doesn’t seem so bad since I’m keeping my latest ones for 6-7 years (so far)

If you want different lenses for different light conditions (I have Fire Iridium and Perssimon) then the cost does rack up.

This …

shedbrewed – Member
Right, I have the TRP CX8.4s being used with Shimano 5600 levers. All work lovely. Plenty of feel and very good at stopping. They do clag up with mud and shite if it’s a muddy race though so I swapped to cantis around mid-season when the weather turned.
I’d happily recommend them for a dry course or road use.

Except I had mini-Vs. Worked great when it wasn’t a mud-fest, but ended up with cantis.

I only use KMC now.

Pop bottle +1

Ride in the Peaks. I’ve had 2 FS bikes in the past, but just didn’t feel the love for them. 26″ HT for life.

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful, and underlines how little I know about this process.

These are vinyl decals. Thickish, so have a distinct edge to them. They are lifting in just a couple of places where the sticker is quite narrow.

I think we have similar frames plus one, although mine is the cantilever version.

My finger is hovering over the nozzle of a can of lacquer, but I can’t bring myself to spray the frame. A test run on an old fork with an extra vinyl sticker I had worked fine. I’m hesitating now as the decals I have are quite intricate in places and some of the thinner sections are lifting (especially where they follow a line or curve on the frame). A good overcoat of lacquer maybe the thing to hold them down, but I’m worried that they’ll still lift and I’ll be left with a horrid mess.

The decals would have looked great, but I just don’t think I want to risk it.