Kryton57 – Member
My apologies Winterfold, I stand corrected.

No worries – no need to apologise but thanks anyway

So it’s socially acceptable to go to one of these and go as hard as you can, I doubt I’ll be troubling the potential ‘winners’ but I don’t want to upset anyone’s nice day out either.

If any part of the course is a public road then that would prevent the organisers putting the times in fastest-slowest order.

ooh look, in the website FAQ

“Is the ride timed?
Although the ride is not a race, rider times will be posted on the website shortly after the event”

perhaps you can see why people might be confused 🙄

No I’m not – are you being unnecessarily sensitive? 😛

I can’t tell if they are timed and a race, like a time trial, or timed and not a race, like a sportive. The website blurb seems to suggest the latter, but I only looked them up because the word on here suggested they were races.

I must admit I’ve been looking at the winning times in Fun and Open and thinking it would be easier than getting a kicking in Grand Vet, but it could also be sandbagging, and I would rather eat my own pubes than be called a sandbagger.

After a few races I’ve worked out I need a few long fire road climbs so I can put some time into the riders who are a bit less fit, but have more skillz, so they dont catch me on the twisty bits. Where can you find these -are they what is called ‘Marathon XC’?

I’ve seen the Scott one in Oxford in late May but that looks like a sportive for mountain bikes, are there any that are proper races?

TiRed – it isn’t very fast because there is a still a gap behind your head where low pressure will form. Get a Selector or Javelin. The safest bet for the mostest people.

I’m liking bjj.andy’s progress.

H50/8 – dont be lulled into thinking it is 2 lots of Bentley 25 – the extra leg has the most annoying road surface in London West, South and London South Districts.

Badump

Badump

Badump

Badump.

One isogel, 500ml bottle if you think you need it, but it is doable without. It’s just if you think you need a drink, and dont have one, that will mess with your brain and cause far more problems than the possibility of 2 or 3W of drag from a bottle

I had a miserable first lap then embraced it and was enjoying it for most of the second and the third lap.

Which puddle are we talking about? There was one on a double track which would have made a respectable pond, a gnome with a fishing rod would have been a nice touch. you could just about avoid it, or there was a bit of singletrack which had turned into a stream which you definitely couldnt.

it was lashing down when I left home so I took the front wheel of my trail bike with a High Roller on and used it, the combination of loads of grip on the front and none at the back was fun some of the time. The High Roller wasnt so good in the quicksand though, more of a tunnelling device 🙂

I’ve done 3 races now in Vet/Grand Vet and **** me there are some nifty old buggers about.

I have power meters on my TT and road bikes but cannot see how it really helps with XC? I am pedalling loads and putting down quite decent NP (I would imagine) but that is not why I am being owned – its because my skillz are shit and I don’t have any flow 🙂

Very enjoying it though, even if I am firmly in the bottom half the field.

Spending 3k on a short travel 29er would definitely make me faster and a better husband/father right 😉

“simondbarnes – Member
I don’t really see the point of buying a TT bike unless you’re already doing properly fast times on a standard road bike.”

Er, because with a TT bike and some attention to aeroness you can go quick on a couple of hours training a week without the genetics of a husky?

An old good frame, like a P2/P3 or Trek TTX with a threaded BB for £400, and simple aerobars like the Zipps which are easy to adjust (£99 for them I think now, bargain) means you can fettle your position until you barely cast a shadow and ride without a creak. Beats slogging your guts out to go fast.

MrBlobby – I would call that a budget build – ie its a build, based on a budget frame 😉

Duranos are shat tyres but they will still be 5-10W less rolling resistance per tyre than a Nobby Nic or similar (is Magic Mary more gnarr than Nobby Nic?), its not the tyres

get a race bike, you will think an endurance bike is like a Dutch ladies shopping bike if you are used to old school geometry

So, I should keep my 26″ straight steerer Reba SL properly serviced then? (picks up phone to Liam before spares run out)

Just two days a week to start, especially if you are not that fit, you will find it knackering especially if you are busy at work.

Will shift the timber though once you are doing 3 or 4 days a week.

Get mudguards.

I would have said no, until my daughter hit puberty, then I think the answer is yes. She was doing rugby and horse riding, and went she went from ponies to proper gee gees it was all a bit much, when combined with ‘games’ at school and growing like weeds. So she dropped rugby 🙁 (and now I have no money for new bikes or food…)

Why do swimmers stop being competitive at such a young age? is a good question to ask I feel.

My first MTB race and I found that very enjoyable, in a painful way. By way of example my Avg HR for a 25 mile TT (54-55 mins) is around 157, but today Avg HR for 1:50 for a lacklustre 3 laps 161 😆

It was all a bit wetter and more off camber than I’d choose normally so I was er technically challenged in the nimble and skillz dept and came off a few times, but no harm done

very well mannered too!

Reading bobby’s post my bro-in-law and nephew, who are both 6-3 think 29ers are fab, I am 5-8 if I stand up straight and wonder if it is a height thing ultimately?

Never left, got a 2011 Whyte 905 and Bandit and having ridden a few 29 and 27.5 bikes cant say notice any difference after a few minutes, if that. I am sure they are there if I thought about it really critically, but MTB has been something I do for fun, rather than semi-serious. So cant be arsed to upgrade until something feels excitingly different.

I’m going to do a few races this year though, and if I like it enough to buy a race bike, I imagine it will have to be 29″?

Getting 20mm front axle stuff seems more of a faff than 26″

I live pretty much smack in the middle of Nick’s route and that looks a good bet. Will be muddy, particularly on the horsey bits around Alfold, but plenty doable.

haha yeah that’s what I’m bothered about – presumably the circuits are more Yogurt Pots/3 Amigos than Northern Monkey?

thanks nick

Interesting thread.

Ive been TTing quite seriously for a few years and just riding the MTB for fun when I get bored of training (before I used to ride MTB mainly but never competed). After going to Meribel to watch my nephew do some XC racing it looked so much fun I wondered why I had never tried it so will give it a go next season.

Ive rebuilt my old Whyte 905 at what seems like a reasonable weight and was going to have a go at a Gorrick race as looking at those courses on youtube I would be happy going round them flat out (for me). I would shit myself on a HT on the courses my nephew races on 🙂

The thing I cant work out is what category to enter – and after reading 9 pages of this I still can’t 😕

Im 50 next year so am a Grand Vet, but I expect that involves getting owned by a load of former elites?

Fun seems a bit crap and like I might be sandbagging (~4W/kg FTP, and good 1-5min power) so is it Open or Sport if I want to ignore age cats?

I’m thinking I should enter Grand Vet and sprint like **** at the start and see how long I can hang on, as a TTer I am well used to the idea of entering races with no chance of winning so not bothered by where I come – but any advice welcome.

8.8 km in 14 minutes. So 25 30 for a 10 – two up?

I dont think that’s quick enough really, not without a lot of nous…

What a load of alpha MAMIL crap

Some people like the more positive feel – I am one of those – but it is subjective, you may not be one.

I do think trim able front mechs and ultra torque bbs and latest style hoods are advantages over shimano.

The more expensive chainsets look awesome

My eyes may have been playing tricks on me but I am pretty sure I saw a ‘cycling commuter’ magazine in w12 smiths last week.

Something for urban fixie readers to look down on presumably?

It’s enough to make you weep 🙁

I can’t believe Mike let a bike out with that many spacers 😯 how did you persuade him?

Otherwise, lovely

I wouldn’t advocate riding a bicycle that was as much unsafe as it was sportive bathchair – and think of the weight savings!

Someone must know how much a mm of steerer weighs?

Poor old Cav – his bike weighs 7.7kg! What a muppet, if only he knew…

I do hope that is a figure off the top of your head and you don’t actually know how much they weigh? 😛

Spin – Member

Is this the quintessential STW thread?

very good 🙂

A lot of the bikes on here would be even lighter – if only they didn’t have all those spacers…

😈

+1 for Zondas

Are you the one that changes frames every five minutes?

Get the Cannondale to ease your future resale.

thx1138 I have one of those for my commuter, and it is great, but it is nothing like a ‘road bike’ with flat handlebars

look at the wheel clearances and wheelbase for a start

it is much more upright, so more effort to get a crack on, and the handling is a lot slower

it is much better for keeping an eye on traffic and while wearing a rucksack though – and still plenty quick enough to burn off gheyers in their flouro jackets on the drops on their cross bikes and racers

midlifecrisis – Member
wear white shorts so they don’t show up?

Except if it rains for 10s everyone else on the ride will know far more about his undercarriage and crack than they would like.

OP – shave up to hot pants kind of level then beard trimmer

In winter thicker tights should prevent your man garden poking out with thinner 3/4 it is not totally reliable, and it is minging if a few find their way out

but – its a bit **** cold to be talking about this yet?

I would say just for safety – but some do insist.

A flare or red eye with the under seat mounting is the best.

I was pulling your leg a bit re turbo, if you are doing one in the summer on the way back from work, and pushed for time, then it makes sense.

I wouldn’t bother with warming up on your turbo for the first one, you will be expected to do 30 mph+, and even if you can it still looks too try-hard. Just make sure you are nicely warmed up.

Clip-ons make a big difference, it is less about aerodynamics compared to a good position on the drops, and more to do with taking your weight and it being easier to breathe and sustain a high speed. IMO

Don’t set off too hard, go totally balls out for the last 1-2 miles, make sure you have a rear light etc etc

can you get a proper prescription lens for radars yet or is still the stuck-on thing?

roverpig – google Oakley Transitions

Nice – pity you ran out of money and had to borrow th cassette off your mtb though 😯 😛

I had a massive curry for lunch, and after a ‘rest period’ this avo, have lost more than a pound.

Bad luck to anyone drafting me on the commute home tonight who doesnt take a turn 😈

Hmm, I vary by a good couple of pounds during the course of the day with no real pattern, depending on hydration etc. A single pound isn’t really a trend.

this. its been mentioned several times already

he seems to be one of life’s overthinkers 😀

Btw – as njee pointed out strava power is a bit of a joke.

I did some above threshold intervals on Saturday and Strava was giving me 220-250 watts when I was repeating the same climb within a range of 7s over 4 minutes.

I calculated my power output to be 330W, allowing for headwind. 295W if I ignore headwind. Either way its **** miles out, so ignore it.

If you want to know your power in W, you need a power meter. Strava can tell you if your competitive via the leaderboard on well contested segments. Without being rude, this thread has provided you with enough to worry about without thinking about a powermeter.