Kona Mashup

mottles

Im hoping to enter this December but im unsure if I should enter the enduro or the technical.

My main concern about the technical it that ill be riding a hardtail which has been more than ample for Afan in the past but im wondering if a FS would be better suited for the event.

I read somewhere on here that demo bikes are avaiable does anybody what bikes are there and how to go about getting one for the day?

cheers for the help in advance

nferrar

Skyline are the bike shop based there that also have hire bikes http://www.skylinecycles.co.uk/ I'd have thought FS would def be quicker (although 140-160mm shoould be plenty). No clue about hiring for the event though...

Tom Barton

I'm lucky enough to live in swansea and ride afan all the time. I regulary see lots of hardtails going round the trails no problem. However having said that when it comes to going downhill I've always annhilated the cross country bikes and the guys on the hardcore hardtails know all about the roughness by the end of it - plus they seem to have an inherant disadvantage on the technical climbs (thinking of an all round ride here..)

My personal feeling is that a trail bike at afan gives you a whole load more line options and makes the long rocky desecents more comfortable (i.e. you have a little left in the tank for the end) and improves braking big time. Hardtails can get round fast but you gotta be super smooth to do it fast. Something like an orange 5 (which skyline have in abundance) would be perfect for afan. They also have Orange bloods and SC nomads if you fancy something a little more exotic.

Obviously for the enduro your taking on big chunks of the skyline and a XC suited bike hard or fs is probably your best weapon there.

mottles

cheers for the advise guys, im not sure im up for the enduro route just yet but im planning on riding afan maybe every other week so I will get in skyline before the event.

Im riding 140mm on the forks and like I said its coped admirally in the past but like you say a trail bike will open up faster, better lines.

Im heading up to skyline early doors on sunday to do the wall or white level so I will have a chat with them.

joshtp

i ride the same bike as you and am also hoping to do the mash up also. im gona do the tech as im not sure if almost 50k in the dark is really my thing. but im gona use my normal bike, with a proper fat back tyre and wide bars, yes, but otherwise normal.

mottles

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

i ride the same bike as you and am also hoping to do the mash up also. im gona do the tech as im not sure if almost 50k in the dark is really my thing. but im gona use my normal bike, with a proper fat back tyre and wide bars, yes, but otherwise normal.

Are you running the stock maxxis at the moment? Im sorting out a wider bar and shorter stem too.

joshtp

mottles wrote:

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

i ride the same bike as you and am also hoping to do the mash up also. im gona do the tech as im not sure if almost 50k in the dark is really my thing. but im gona use my normal bike, with a proper fat back tyre and wide bars, yes, but otherwise normal.

Are you running the stock maxxis at the moment? Im sorting out a wider bar and shorter stem too.

yeah, i am, and i really like them, but am hoping to get a minion f DH singleply 3.0 soon for the back, get some big time comfort and grip going on! im on the lookout at the mo for some monster bars, maybe 720-740mm, something like the el gallo trail bars. and maybe a 70mm stem. but other than that ill prob be riding the mashup standard.

P-Jay

I did the last two and they're great fun. I came about 100th, which ain't bad out off 300 or so.

I'd do the technical, there's only three timed sections. Windy point is made for hardtails, the black-run and the last bit probably suit FS moe. But hey run what you brung. It's not the most competitive of events.

mottles

I spoke to skyline about hiring a demo bike and they said I will be able to get one free of charge for a maximum of an hour.

They did say I should email there boss to see if I could get one for the whole event.. at a price.

Saying that I did the Wall on Sunday and decided (as I was dying on the long uphill slogs) that the technical is for me.

Held my own on the downhill sections with quiet a few full sussers, caught up and overtook a couple too

Either way hardtail or full susser I will be there and enjoying myself

mottles

Also could anyone give me a futher insight into how the event/day works?

P-Jay

It's pretty loose. This will be the first winter one. But the last two summer ones have a pretty party vibe.

You rock up and are given a number and tag and the track is open from 9-5 this will of course not be the case in Dec because it'll be dark. You have to complete 1 lap, then your free to go back as much as you like to try to improve your times. We did a lap on XC bikes in the summer, then pushed the DH bikes back up to have another go at the black run (we were faster on the XC bikes) you finish, hand in your tag and are given a bag of goodies.

The times are published an hour or so after the track closes.

It's a good laugh really.

mottles

P-Jay wrote:

It's pretty loose. This will be the first winter one. But the last two summer ones have a pretty party vibe.

You rock up and are given a number and tag and the track is open from 9-5 this will of course not be the case in Dec because it'll be dark. You have to complete 1 lap, then your free to go back as much as you like to try to improve your times. We did a lap on XC bikes in the summer, then pushed the DH bikes back up to have another go at the black run (we were faster on the XC bikes) you finish, hand in your tag and are given a bag of goodies.

The times are published an hour or so after the track closes.

It's a good laugh really.

Cheers for that.. when you say lap how long is the course? And in the technical section which bits are you timed on?

P-Jay

I might have mis-lead you a bit by mistake. When I say you have to complete 1 laps, I meant you have to do all 3 timed sections during the day to get a 'finish' you can do 1 section over and over and then finish the track if you wish.

It's published at 15k, but that's way out. The track has been extended and changed over the years, but the published length remined the same. A little tip, if you want to get around quick to get back up. Skip the Energy Section, just follow the fire road to the left off the end of Windy Point. You come to a junction and you can ether go left upto the start of Windy/Black to have another go, or right towards Dark Side.

You're timed on the Black Run - I think they call it the MBUK stariway to hell on the day.

Windy Point which is the section from the very top

Dark Side, which is the very end section.

If you're training for it, It's worth remembering you're timed over the whole section. We've been riding there for years now and know the track really well, but got caught out first time around.

Over the years we got lazy, we'd start a section say dark side. Chat/Plod down the first 200m's or so because it's flat/climby then when it 'started going' we'd give it death.

In the race you're timed on the first bit so we needed to sprint it. This is a good thing because it really evens out the field. Your HT will eat up the first bit where my 6"er is murder because I've already got the seat down and at full travel for the end, so as it gets rocky/fast like-for-like my 6"er will be faster through the long middle fast bit. Then it flattens out at the end and you're back gunning the Pedals like mad and your HT will have the edge.

They even made the timed section include the 2-300m flat fire road from the big berms to the start of the black section proper in summer. So even though we came blasting through the rocks, drops and jumps on our DH bikes, we were slower over-all than the time we did on the 6"'ers.

Enjoy, I can't do it this time around. But I'll be there for 2010 if it's on. (Perhaps if anyone from Kona/MBUK is reading another event at Brechfa or CwmCarn would be great!)

turnercraig

I did the 2009 Mash UP in the summer, and will definantly be going back in December.

What a great day! We had only done Whites Level once before so we knew it was going to be a challenge to do well not knowing the track, but we surprised ourselves and got pretty good times. Although we weren't there to seriously race just to have fun.

As far as bikes go, I would be happy to ride it on a hardtail and you could well be faster than a lot of full sussers. The 'black' run only has the steep rock section at the end where suspension would be a real advantage, the rest (especially the start) is extremely pedally so you would do well on a hardtail. Windy point is pretty smooth and again there is a lot of pedalling involved to keep your speed. Like what has been previously said the Dark Side has bits where a full susser will be an advantage but you could make a bit of time up at the start.

When we went there were 2 on hardtails me on a GT Idrive full suss and one guy on his Giant Glory (which he uses for DH). The two hardtails were the quickest I was third and the Dh bike was last. Admittedly a lot of it is rider skill and the two hardtail riders are really good riders but just shows you what can be done on a hardtail.

P-Jay good tip about missing out the Energy Section, do you just turn left after finishing Windy Point and then come to the T Junction?

mottles

Thanks for all the feedback guys.. really can't wait for this.. fingers crossed the weather won't be too bad!

Decided I will definatly be doing the technical and i'll probably stich to my hard tail.. all be it with a few upgrades.

Cheers again and I may bump into some of you in December

gregmorris234

I'll be up there! Not racing, Too young im gutted!

P-Jay

turnercraig wrote:

P-Jay good tip about missing out the Energy Section, do you just turn left after finishing Windy Point and then come to the T Junction?

Yeah, pretty much. At the end of Windy you're on a fire road and directly opposide the finish gate is the start gate for the energy. Instead of going across, follow the fire road left for about 300m's and you get to a big bend. You'll notice there's another road joining from the left. That's the fire road that leads from the end of the Black back up, follow it up to the top and you're where all the Tents, Feeding station big RedBull arch was.

turnercraig

Ok, got it thanks.

Might have two runs of Windy Point this time instead of one, if my legs can hack it!!

mottles

just out of interest.. what armour/helmets will people be wearing? I normally wear crash pants and shin/knee guards but im thinking if im trying to get a good time maybe armour up abit more.... full face :?: