Thetford MTB winter Series 2011/12

ollie51

paulmgreen wrote:

Would you guys recommend 2.1" or 2.25" ???

Which tyres?

evo3ben

stylish wrote:

2.1 is best for Thetford, as it rolls faster and produces less drag. One of my co-horts runs ralphs all year round, and never moans about a lack of grip!

Evo3Ben, i found the best way to seal my x kings was to run an extra layer of rim tape (i dnt use the strips) and then wet the bead of the tire with some sealent before i put it on the rim, then they will pump up and seal. Conti rubber also seems to be quite pourous, and you need to run a touch more goo than with schwalbe"s.

Will be giving 2.1 tyres a go this time around. Maybe a slightly thinner tyre on the back.

I have always used the x-kings with Schwalbe xx-lite tubes and add a bit of sealent into them. Only reason i havent done them properly is i like to be able to change my tyres depending on weather and riding conditions. Changing tyres all the time with a tubeless set up would be a real pain. Plus, what i have heard about sealing conti x'king rs tyres has put me off a bit. Seating them seems to be ok but the side walls are very pourous as you said.
Luckily i now have some nice ZTR Crest wheels and will go tubeless but with different tyres and leave my Pro-Lite wheels as my back up set up.

paulmgreen

ollie51 wrote:

paulmgreen wrote:

Would you guys recommend 2.1" or 2.25" ???

Which tyres?

Let's say Rocket Rons?..

ollie51

i'd say 2.25, I've tried both 2.25s and 2.1s and didn't find the 2.25s to be any draggier, and they had far more grip through the corners.

SiLanc

For those who took part in rounds 1 and 2, here is a breakdown of the race on a lap by lap basis:

http://xcenduro.co.uk/racing/lapbylap/W ... Round1.asp
http://xcenduro.co.uk/racing/lapbylap/W ... Round2.asp

Enjoy

Si

evo3ben

Some great information there!!! 8) Good to see how each lap went, weather you progressed or deteriorated on each lap. Thanks!

C0LL0

Cheers Si

Thats very interesting to see, how much ground I made up on each lap, then tailed off again in time but not places.

C0LL0

Tried out the Bontrager XR3's last night over in Belfares Mud (sorry wood), a big improvment over the OE Bontragers that the bike came with. these are a 2.1 on the 29 inch rims, gave lots of feedback and grip was okay even when changing from hardpacked soil onto horse manure covered leaf mulch with gremlin vomit and mermaid hair thrown in for good measure. so will be using these for round 3, where I can then blame my poor performance on another part of the bike I need to have changed. :-)

VWsurfbum

C0LL0 wrote:

where I can then blame my poor performance on another part of the bike I need to have changed. :-)

It will be the nut that holds the bars

SiLanc

No problem, looking at this lap by lap analysis can be useful in altering your approach to the race, such as if you peaked too soon and faded rapidly towards the end.

C0LL0

VWsurfbum wrote:

C0LL0 wrote:

where I can then blame my poor performance on another part of the bike I need to have changed. :-)

It will be the nut that holds the bars

how true that is

evo3ben

Hmm.... weather not looking great leading up to sunday and sunday itself. Could get very muddy in parts. Question is, what tyres to use, im still undecided lol

Front: Ron/Ralph Rear: Renegade/Ralph :?

stylish

You wont need anything more than Ron"s, and it should be dry for a couple of days before the race anyway.

And as round 3 is on the dry side, with better drainage i personnally wouldnt worry too much, i put X Kings on 18 months ago, and have never changed them back as they work whatever the weather.

C0LL0

what's everone's prediction for the race???? mine is ....... round 3 and 3rd different bike, but yet again a better one than the last so.... 2 hr race vets, 4 laps again with at least a 10 minute time advantage over last race so under 2 1/2 hours total, and if possible and I will be trying a 20 + place gain as well so inside the top 100..... and new tights as well so the knee's dont sieze up when they get cold, same routine as last time getting electrolytes and salts into the body on saturday and nutritional supplements whilst doing the 2 hr drive to the track. & banannas this time, no cramps for me.

evo3ben

Going to follow the same routine i did last time as that seemed to work really well and also seemed to keep the cramp away. Been eating well this week and drinking lots of water.
Bike has changed a bit since the last race. ZTR wheels so now running tubeless and a few other nice light bits. Weighs a couple of pounds lighter than the last round so should make a small difference. Just gotta make sure the engine that powers it is tip top.
Tyres are my main concern. Light as possible and fast rolling with out sacrificing too much grip. Think i might keep a spare wheel with the wife (who is kindly handing me my bottles each lap) that is set up with more aggressive tyre for the rear just in case.

Good luck all and have a good race!!

ollie51

evo3ben - pick a set of tyres and get used to them, and only change them if conditions are horrendous e.g. like dusk till dawn - even then I didn't change mine. I'd say just go for Ra Ra/Ra Ra, they're fast, durable (by xc race tyre standards) and offer ample gip.

My aim is to man up and not intentionally slow down during the 4th lap so I do have to do a 5th!

stylish

My plans are fully different from round 2, i am not racing! but will be watching following a long planned eye operation, so i am in a time of no riding, no training or strenuous effort.................

Bored does not describe my world at the moment, race bike all fettled and ready to go, road bike (new 140 miles on the clock) all ready to go, butold grump here isnt allowed to ride them........

been eating well, stayed off the beer and kept the weight off, so when i can start light training again, i wont have quite as much work to do, although i will be giving it my all, as i am planning a comeback at MSG round 1, but that could be optimistic at the moment, but without a goal whats the point....

Good luck to all on sunday, i will be stood handing bottles out i think, as i foolishly let the ccn mob know i am available!

ollie51

5 laps was out of the question, note even the elite rider got 5 laps in, I managed 4 quite comfortably though.

stylish

Well i came to the conclusion yesterday, that i may well have done ok on that course, maybe even a top 30 (going on the finishes achieved by those i usually find myself racing with) so gutted, and i hate watching, does my head in, and as i will have to do that again for round 4, i had better start meditating to calm myself.

Collo, good of you to come over and say Hi, suppose i stood out a bit with a Patch on!

C0LL0

Stylish good to put a face to the name, (even with eye patch), the course wasn't too tough I don't think, I know I've trained beter for this round and results improved, the climb out of the plumbbuster was the toughest & longest, but thats what I've been working on so made huge gains over other riders.

The course was longer so Having started at the back of the 2 hours field and waited patinetly at the bottle neck (unlike some cheating riders, hope you were disqualifier) I had to work through the field, managed 3 laps had I got away quicker I think 4 would have been achievable, I was happy with my time lap 2 & 3 were the same time after a long 1st lap, and nearly managed the top 100, just 5 out but my own fault for sitting in the van keeping warm rather than sitting on the start line.

Loved the new Trek Elite I think I'm hooked on 29ers now, maybe next year a FS 29er may be delivered around the end of December. nudge nudge wink wink missus ;-)

Must work on my overtaking in the single track sections, i may have been over enthusiastic on some of my passes

evo3ben

Definately a good race but must admit i did find it hard. Really sticky most of the way round. Found everyone to be polite when overtaking which was nice for a change.
Managed 4 laps and the last one really hurt lol. Think only the top 50 made the cut off for the 4th lap. Just goes to show how hard going it was out there.
Looking forward to the next one!

stylish

Was chatting to one of my team mates, and he loved the course, although he said as the single track flowed so well, it was hard to pass people as the speeds were very similar.

Collo, the gravel climb is one bit i enjoy, i would much rather go up that than the plumb buster, i always get up there alot better if i dont spin and just take a big gear and plug away.

There seemed to be alot of people on 29ers yesterday, like some form of virus! and i would imagine with the flowing nature of the lap, it would have suited them a treat.

hammerite

Enjoyed the race, definitely helped not starting at the very back like I had the first two races. I got a bit nervous after the first two laps, pretty much 40 mins exactly so I eased back a touch (well sat behind slowing riders for a bit longer in the singletrack), to make sure I avoided a 4th lap. I'd have probably been last finisher if I'd have made the cut and the guys I got a lift from would've been cold waiting for me (the justification works for me!).

Sitting behind a rider worked for me coming out of the Plumbuster on the final lap, a few guys went flying past us, only to die a thousand deaths when they got to the final hill. Which is where I put the hammer down

Agree with everyone being polite, although from a bit back there was one guy who shouted at the top of his voice "well get on with it then", when we were behind a small group of ladies who were doing fine.

SLN57

I can’t say that I enjoyed the race at the time, on the last lap I was just willing it to end. It was my first ever MTB race and had no idea what to expect, I new there would be pain and I wasn’t disappointed I had cramp in both calf muscles from the 2nd lap onwards.

I was surprised how friendly everyone was; I even had brief conversations with riders whilst gasping for air and the standard of riding was very good.

I managed 4 laps and finished inside the top 50 for the veterans, I’m 46yrs old but feel 90 today.

I can’t wait for my next race.

C0LL0

Had a problem with painful toes on my right foot since the race, turns out I had frost nip in 2 toes (stage one frost bite) should be okay in a week or so, boot covers for next race though, not risking getting full frost bite and lose toes over it.

C0LL0

all looking good for sunday, should be a perfect end to a good series.

I will be getting to the start line a lot earlier this race (I hope), and will be looking at getting a fairly quick 1st lap in, looking at my previous results this is where I'm losing a lot of time, getting caught up behind a lot slower riders.

Came 106th last time so this time I'm looking at top 90 and 1 lap down but as close to 2 hours as possible. still finding 2 hour races tough going, but getting better every time.

My other half will be glad the series is over, She don't like getting up at 6 o'clock on a Sunday morning to stand in a freezing cold forest holding bottles out for me. She must still love me, me thinks...........now when do I tell her about MSG series.....

evo3ben

Getting to the front does work well but have also found that if I'm say mid pack, the energy saved getting stuck behind people gives me energy to overtake on hills etc and make up for ground lost. It is a good feeling overtaking people rather that being at the front and always being overtaken.
I also think that people should use there noodle and place themselves in the pack where they feel they are at the right level of performance. Getting to the front and placing yourself in the top 50 at the start knowing that you will have 50 odd riders needing to overtake you and holding them up is defeating the object if you see what I mean.
I'm hoping the track will stay dry or no worse than the last round. Not too sure what to think at moment and will wait to see what others say when they test ride it before the event to make my final tyre choice.
My wife and daughter got put off and the last round with the cold so I'm on my own this one lol. Hopefully the MSG series will be more appealing to them with the warmer weather

evo3ben

From what i hear, course conditions are very good. One puddle in Hales pit and the rest is dry and fast 8) Lap distance is 6 miles so all is looking good! Course is different from R2 with some new bits added.

Pirahna

Whilst I had an excellent ride on Sunday, wifey had a few issues. The slower women were quickly caught by the fast starters in the mens group, one of whom decided the best way to get past on the singletrack was to shove her out of the way. She was also verbally abused by riders who couldn't find overtaking room. Talking with a couple of other women afterwards they had similar experiences. I know complaints were made and people were being considered for disqualification. Anybody know if anything actually happened?

C0LL0

Not heard anything since Sunday, when they were waiting for the commisionaire to submit a report.

It was great day for racing, I'm not condoning any act like pushing people off track especially women and the use of abusive language, but there was a lot of very very slow riders on Sunday, I couldn't beleive how many were falling off in the flint pit and on the roots and shutes section. but it is a race and anyone can enter so everyone has the right to ride the race how ever fast they want to do it.