London Calling

Andy Dobson

benpinnick wrote:

Andy Dobson wrote:

Hey Tim...Just spotted that you now have a Nomad. How do you like it?

Mountain trax have a medium Nomad on special right now.... if anyone's interested.

Damn it! Need a large. (and some money). Have to put up with the Marin a little longer I guess. Still, it's not doing too bad now it's finally finished.......



Final spec is.....

Attack Trail frame
Fox RP23
Fox Talas RLC 100-140mm
Hope Ceramic BB
XT Crank and front mech
XTR cassette, rear mech and shifters
Gravity Dropper post with Selle SMP saddle
Elixir CR mag 185/140 brakes
EA90 stem with EA70 bars
Mavic rims on XT hubs
Spech Enduro Pro duel compound tyres
Chickin S^!t rider

Atz

Looking good. Actually reminds me I need to cut down the steerer on my HT. Suppose I need to buy some tools for that then.

Andy Dobson

Ok, pic is obviously too big. I'll resize and upload again.



That's better

benpinnick

That looks fully suitable for some Swinley action... when are you available

Andy Dobson

Pretty much any day from Boxing day onward. Can make Swinley for 10-10.30 ish or SH for whenever as I live there.

Anonymous

Nomad is awesome. When I have the balls to really fly with it especially. Certainly go a lot faster over trails I know well and have more confidence to jump a bit and do small drops. The set up I've got is quite light too for the alloy (carbon didn't feel much lighter).

Pedal & Spoke mentioned an ex-demo sale inc carbon Nomad for £3.5k. Might be the ones that are listed on the UK SC website. Don't know about sizes though, but typically demo stuff tends to be medium.

The annoying dip at the beginning of BKB has been flattened out now. The drop/roll just on from it is apparently much the same. That I have no problem with. After I'd done it once it's fine. Nothing on BKB is a problem apart from the first new jump I'm not sure about yet. Looks like it kicks high. The rest, just blast down. Likewise the graveyard run on Pitch and some stuff on Winterfold, the thing just cruises over the gnarly roots.

Problem I have with drops appears to be I get the front off fine but the rear is still anchored and sends me head first. Not enough speed I'd assume, but seems fast to me sometimes. I just seem to end up rolling them. A few small ones I can do, especially if they're part of a long fast trail and in trail centres where I'm more confident the trail won't throw me anything too dangerous and can see the landing. Still I'm only coping with about 1ft drops. So quite why I did that Swinley one which maybe measures 3ft or even 6 depending where I landed ??? Yeah I know that's still small to many people.

Anyway, xmas duties this week but might be about Thursday depending on deliveries and maybe Friday but not sure yet. After that, I'm about around the new year, most likely from 2nd but maybe earlier.

milko9000

The dip at the start of BKB is loads flatter, I was quite startled when I first hit it last week. I wouldn't say the bigger drop a little further on has changed much by comparison at least.

Andy Dobson

I was refering to the bigger second dip in BKB. The first one is not an issue for me but that second one.....There's just something about it that screws with my head. Three posible routes on the downward side and none of them look too appealing to me.

I think that next time i'm up there. I'm going to ride that far and stop to the side and watch a few guy's ride it to see how they tackle it. The rest of BKB is a doddle for me.

Having said that, I did have a minor "off" last week when the front slid out from under me on a diagonal wet root. First ride on some new tyres (which have now been swapped for the Spech Enduro's) and the confidence in the front end went to rat poo. The difference between the Conti's (that went back up for sale after one ride) and the Enduro's was shown up in a simple test.

My driveway is finished in block pavia and is quite slippery when wet (cue bad bubblegum rock reference). The Conti's would slide the front wheel with gentle 2 finger pressure. Full on 2 finger madness with the Enduro's = rolling stoppy with no slip what-so-ever.

Looking forward to riding SH with them on as they are duel compound and even softer and grippier on the edges.

For the first time ever I'm wishing Xmas over and done with so I can get out and ride.

Atz

Don't stop. That's like kryptonite to doing it. Roll slowly to the lip (there's not really a bad line down it) then off the brakes and weight back. You'll be good. Wet roots are wet roots, there's some technique, some setup (low pressure, blah blah) and a bit of care (no braking, no direction changes) and usually, again, you're fine.

As for spesh tyres; wouldn't touch them after my experience with the Eskars. Fine as a rear, lethal as a front. Never had a tyre so prone to self-steer before or after.

Andy Dobson

Thanks for that ATZ. Just need to get over that first ride though it and I'm sure it'll all be fine. (Now, where's the bucket)

Interesting about the tyres. When you say "self steer", are you talking about the front "tucking" into a turn or the front following undulations, "tracking".

I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Atz

It's really just about weight transfer, you'll be surprised how easy it is.

Self-steer. Well, pretty much as it says, the tread pattern under certain circumstances (anything loose with the eskars) causes the front wheel to head off in a different direction to the one you've wanted. The guys at Freeborn (one of my LBS at the time) all ran Eskars at the back but not the front because of it; when I went in looking for new tyres they advised me to just take a front and it was fine.

milko9000

Andy Dobson wrote:

I was refering to the bigger second dip in BKB. The first one is not an issue for me but that second one.....There's just something about it that screws with my head. Three posible routes on the downward side and none of them look too appealing to me.

It used to do me in a bit too, a year or so ago. Basically I had a biggish off somewhere else (9 stitches in the calf) and it did my confidence some damage too. Anyway, I used to roll up and stop and it'd completely freeze me. I'd end up scrabbling down it on one of the side routes using all kinds of poor technique which was no doubt making it harder. Then I saw a girl come up to it and roll it first go (I know this because she was following a bloke who was talking her through the trail) without hesitation. It's a bit sexist but this gave me the impetus to just MTFU. Come up to the lip slowish and steady, weight back, like Atzs says. MBUK had a couple of articles this year and I think this website ran a series of vids too, they covered the theory if you need it. Do it three times over in quick succession and you'll never worry about it again.

Anonymous

That one is definitely all in the mind. The angle of it means it will roll pretty much on any bike without throwing you over the front. Once you've done it you wonder what the fuss was about. Doing it as an actual drop is another matter.

My mental block is on Deliverance!

Atz

I don't really think there's enough flat at the bottom to drop it. All you'll do is hit the upslope and do yourself a bit of damage.

cooldad

Anyone up for a bit of Swinley tomorrow late morning ish?
thel33ter has added some gears to his singlespeed (shome mishtake shurely) and needs to see if it falls to bits or not and I have spent the day cleaning my bike so need to add some crud.

Anonymous

Other plan tomorrow is Surrey Hills, probably Peaslake.

Nothing confirmed yet.

benpinnick

cooldad wrote:

Anyone up for a bit of Swinley tomorrow late morning ish?
thel33ter has added some gears to his singlespeed (shome mishtake shurely) and needs to see if it falls to bits or not and I have spent the day cleaning my bike so need to add some crud.

Well be heading Swinley bound tomorrow, probably 10 - 1ish....

cooldad

OK 10 is very early but I'll make a special effort.
Text me if time changes, but we'll be ready.

benpinnick

Thats 10 from mine... so 10:30 at the lookout

That work better?

Anonymous

Seems Swinley is getting the majority vote.

benpinnick

10:30 at the lookout for all who'd like to join.

benpinnick

Good ride today, beat the weather well, and DK was only 30 minutes late ...

Be out again probably Tuesday - Thinking Surrey Hills.

Andy Dobson

benpinnick wrote:

Good ride today, beat the weather well, and DK was only 30 minutes late ...

Be out again probably Tuesday - Thinking Surrey Hills.

I was just about to ask if anyone out to play Tuesday but you beat me to it.

Shall we roll call at WB car park, say 10am?

I'm also thinking Swinley, Friday if anyones up for that. Be nice to meet up with some folks who know Swinley well. (Hint, hint)

benpinnick

ok, so thats 10 am for us, 9:30 for DK... See you there.

Andy Dobson

I'll be on the Marin and looking lost and like a cooked beetroot if I've ridden to WB or in a silver ACS air conditioning van if I'm being lazy.

See you there.

cooldad

Bah bloody humbug crack of dawn, but we'll probably make it. No DK time though, he'll be away.

benpinnick

Andy Dobson wrote:

benpinnick wrote:

Good ride today, beat the weather well, and DK was only 30 minutes late ...

Be out again probably Tuesday - Thinking Surrey Hills.

I was just about to ask if anyone out to play Tuesday but you beat me to it.

Shall we roll call at WB car park, say 10am?

I'm also thinking Swinley, Friday if anyones up for that. Be nice to meet up with some folks who know Swinley well. (Hint, hint)

Could do friday next week........ Happy to provide guiding services.

cooldad

Up for next friday as well.

Andy Dobson

So thats at least three for both WB car park 10am Tuesday and the same for the Hideout, Friday at a time to be decided pending weather/travel times/hangovers..

Sounds good to me.

benpinnick

Weather looks pretty good so looking forward to tomorrow... need to ride of some pies.