Soldato
Mountain Biking
- Thread starter Zefan
- Start date
Soldato
4th time I have been now and easily the best!
I finished BCBR for the second time yesterday. Best my previous time by 11 hours so I'm v pleased with that. Especially as I was only able to do 2 hours of training a week with no bike time.
I think I'll be doing Mongolia next and maybe cape epic.
Some things really sprung out this time. I could ride nearly all the technical features but wow...I need better flow. If I could turn a bike bettter my times and energy expenditure would have been way lower. Most riders, including myself, were braking late and in corners. The better riders were sooooo smooth. I started getting better later in the week but had no confidence in my front tyre.
Rocket rons- utter rubbish. I tore a huge lug off the rear tyre on the first day. This was the first day on the new tyre and the easiest day of the week. Replaced with Ikons and I had better grip, lower rolling resistance and no further problems. The front tyre was a RoRo and was washing out before the Ikon rear. I now know why Ikons are tyre of choice for xc. If I was doing the race again I would do it with a DHF or Aggressor front and ikon rear
I desperately need a bike fitting. My bike felt too small- it felt flickable and fun in Surrey but super cramped and difficult to balance on the big BC technical ups or downs. I don't know how to remedy this because MtB fitting seems completely personal and unscientific because the sport is so dynamic.
Happy to answer questions if anyone is thinking of doing it.
I think I'll be doing Mongolia next and maybe cape epic.
Some things really sprung out this time. I could ride nearly all the technical features but wow...I need better flow. If I could turn a bike bettter my times and energy expenditure would have been way lower. Most riders, including myself, were braking late and in corners. The better riders were sooooo smooth. I started getting better later in the week but had no confidence in my front tyre.
Rocket rons- utter rubbish. I tore a huge lug off the rear tyre on the first day. This was the first day on the new tyre and the easiest day of the week. Replaced with Ikons and I had better grip, lower rolling resistance and no further problems. The front tyre was a RoRo and was washing out before the Ikon rear. I now know why Ikons are tyre of choice for xc. If I was doing the race again I would do it with a DHF or Aggressor front and ikon rear
I desperately need a bike fitting. My bike felt too small- it felt flickable and fun in Surrey but super cramped and difficult to balance on the big BC technical ups or downs. I don't know how to remedy this because MtB fitting seems completely personal and unscientific because the sport is so dynamic.
Happy to answer questions if anyone is thinking of doing it.
Soldato
Did something "different" yesterday, five of us completed the Cheshire Ring, 100 mile loop around the regions canal system
Glad I did it (wasn't at the time) but what a gruelling day
Glad I did it (wasn't at the time) but what a gruelling day
That looks awesome.
How did you go about organising everything and how much did it cost (if you don't mind me asking).
Nice!
Some friends of mine did the South Downs Way yesterday with the British Heart Foundation — 100 miles from Winchester to Brighton off road with 11,404ft of elevation — they did it in 10 hours 38 minutes.
I met up with them at Mile Marker 20 and stayed with them for an hour before turning back, that was pretty knackering so fair play to them (and you) for doing 100 miles.
Soldato
Wow, that's some climb, even over 100 miles!!
It was definitely different and a real mix from Manchester city centre to barely kept overgrown long grass, nettles and brambles
Killer for me was the climbs between 80 and 100 miles
The pace could and should have been faster but a mix of some hard going terrain, a few punctures / trail side mechanics and having to make sure the whole mixed ability group stayed together dragged it out a bit
Oh along with a leisurely pub lunch and a number of refuel / hydrate stops ....
That time is moving time, darent tell you the actual full ride time
It was definitely different and a real mix from Manchester city centre to barely kept overgrown long grass, nettles and brambles
Killer for me was the climbs between 80 and 100 miles
The pace could and should have been faster but a mix of some hard going terrain, a few punctures / trail side mechanics and having to make sure the whole mixed ability group stayed together dragged it out a bit
Oh along with a leisurely pub lunch and a number of refuel / hydrate stops ....
That time is moving time, darent tell you the actual full ride time
That looks awesome.
How did you go about organising everything and how much did it cost (if you don't mind me asking
It's an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone. If you're a rank amateur like me, then the joy comes from accomplishment because it is so demanding. If you are a really fit and skilled rider then the whole race is lots of fun.
In terms of organisation, I got a place on the wait list and I did the race 2 years ago so I knew what to expect.
All in, I suspect that the trip cost £4K. I'm avoiding looking at my credit card.
£650 flights
£1800 race
£750 food, repairs and leisure activities.
£750 hotels either side of the race
If you are doing it for the first time then I'd budget £250 extra for miscellaneous kit.
I know I should expect it for buying a Boardman MTB but I had my second mechanical failure in less than 200 miles today. First was a bottom bracket that went clunky in less than 100 miles. No biggie, got it upgraded under warranty. Today I was puffing away thinking "my fork feels really plush today" before hitting a rock feature slightly clumsily and feeling it bottom out. I check and it is at about 50% sag... oops. I must top that up. 15 minutes later I was at about 75% sag and soon after bottomed out.
I got back to the car and pumped it back up but it was soon compressed all the way down again. Pretty annoying TBH! It is only a Raidon XC but even my old Zoom fork on my GT gave 13 years faithful service and I never even looked after that one! The bike is now out of warranty but I'm hoping to get Suntour to help out as it is less than 24 months old so should be covered by them.
I got back to the car and pumped it back up but it was soon compressed all the way down again. Pretty annoying TBH! It is only a Raidon XC but even my old Zoom fork on my GT gave 13 years faithful service and I never even looked after that one! The bike is now out of warranty but I'm hoping to get Suntour to help out as it is less than 24 months old so should be covered by them.
Could just be a loose valve? Also raidons are a well respected fork for thier price point, so to blame it on boardman is a little short sighted, they are fitted to a lot of midrange hard tails.
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True, I've had a lot of little niggles with the thing though but I understand that it isn't really fair to blame the brand that is only responsible for the frame and the finishing kit. I guess part of my problem is that I get to ride off road so infrequently I need something that just works all the time (like my old GT did for 13 years). At the moment every other ride something happens that needs attention.
I had a look on the Suntour website and their suggestion for sorting air leaks looks pretty simple- Remove the valve, remove the old oil, add 5ml of new oil, grease the valve seals and tighten up to 10NM. The only thing I'm not sure on is what to grease the valve seals with?
If its foam seals, then use the oil. Otherwise slick honey (it's expensive) or similar.
Soldato
Went to Peaslake yesterday, never really ridden proper trails before, only really off-road/footpath/bridleway sort of stuff. Twas a bit of an eye opener, I did have lots of fun but was really conscious/nervous about not falling off as I came off two weeks ago and cracked/broken a rib (clipped my bars on a lamppost, went over the front), and didn't want to do any more damage as I've got a stupid busy/physical month ahead. Ticked off Yogurt Pots, Telegraph and Barry Knows Best amongst some others. We went off-piste a bit at one point and found a massive series of drops that I just couldn't manage. Anything too steep I feel like I'm going to go over the bars, wanted to get all my weight over the back wheel but I don't have a dropper which made it difficult/weird. The other guys all had SPDs too, wondered if I should look at getting some to help my riding.
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That fee includes entry, sleeping in tents for the race period (tent city is where most people sleep), transfers (there are a lot) and food.
Basically it is food, board and race entry for the race period. You don't have much to organise other than accommodation either side of the race
Yeah I had a read through the site, very tempted if I can find someone for 2019 and probably spend a week in whistler after it. If I don't sell my bike. Another mech blown up, two XT mechs blown up in a month now. I just can't handle installing another one again.
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Been looking into other bikes as my Giant has been giving me nothing but problems since I got it.
Been having a look at the Santa Cruz 5010 R, Specialized Enduro, YT Industries Capra, and the Trek Fuel EX 8 but can't make a definitive decision on which one! Any recommendations out of these 3 or any others to consider? Looking to spend around £3,500 tops.
Been having a look at the Santa Cruz 5010 R, Specialized Enduro, YT Industries Capra, and the Trek Fuel EX 8 but can't make a definitive decision on which one! Any recommendations out of these 3 or any others to consider? Looking to spend around £3,500 tops.
To be honest, the week in whistler will be a blow out unless you are super fit.
I'm absolutely broken after that race and the internet says I need 2-6eeeks to recover. This is the third year I have done a stage race and the key to recovery is huge volume in training beforehand. I only trained 2 hours a week this time and my recovery period is a reflection of that.
After the race I had a day off and then did a day in the park and I was totally dead after lunch and rode like a plonker.
So I wouldn't recommend assuming you can ride after the race even if you are super fit, I'd imagine you need a week off before you are recovered.
I'm absolutely broken after that race and the internet says I need 2-6eeeks to recover. This is the third year I have done a stage race and the key to recovery is huge volume in training beforehand. I only trained 2 hours a week this time and my recovery period is a reflection of that.
After the race I had a day off and then did a day in the park and I was totally dead after lunch and rode like a plonker.
So I wouldn't recommend assuming you can ride after the race even if you are super fit, I'd imagine you need a week off before you are recovered.
Yeah I had a read through the site, very tempted if I can find someone for 2019 and probably spend a week in whistler after it. If I don't sell my bike. Another mech blown up, two XT mechs blown up in a month now. I just can't handle installing another one again.
I totally get what your saying, and having never done an event like this I probably should allow myself to recover. The temptation is strong, having already traveled that far mind.
2 hours a week! I don't think I'd manage it with that little training kudos!
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What Giant do you have? What problems has it got?
The four bikes listed are very different – two Enduro bikes and two Trail bikes.