Any tips for preventing mud build up ?

GGBiker

Very muddy race today, was going well until the build up around my canti brakes and bottom bracket got too much, had to stop and clear it out which cost me a couple of minutes and it was game over.

Any tips for preventing this (obviously avoiding the mud helps but often not possible) or for controlling the build up on the fly?

andyp

Have two bikes and a pit crew.

mattrixdesign2

Ride a MTB?

Seriously, I have only done one "proper" CX race, on a bike with cantis, the forks just clogged up with mud knitted together with grass, it lead to serious drag or even worse going over my bars! Not tried since, but for me the choice would be discs, and choosing the widest possible clearances I could, however in the right conditions it would still clog. I now have a CX bike with discs and clearance, not yet tried it race conditions.

I did notice how those in the know lifted their bikes at the worst parts, just to avoid the mud... not in my nature really, I try and ride any thing even if it slows me down :twisted:

tgotb

Ideally 2 bikes and a pit crew as AndyP says. Failing that:
Front mech is often a big mud magnet, so consider single chainring
Discs clog less than rear cantis in some conditions
Fat tyres can clog more quickly than narrower ones
Use your left hand to pull out the worst of the mud whenever you're shouldering the bike
If the really sticky mud is localised to a few specific parts of the course, consider running those to preserve the bike
Riding through puddles or really wet mud can sometimes loosen and release the drier/stickier mud already on your bike; particularly seems to apply to sidewalls

Pit crews are very much the exception at local league events; the vast majority of competitors are on one bike, and even those with two bikes won't generally have anyone in the pits. So long as everyone around you is on one bike, it's a level playing field, and getting your bike through the whole race in one piece is part of the skill of racing.

I weighed my bike when I got home after yesterday's race, and despite having dropped quite a lot of mud onto the car roof and the windscreens of cars behind, there were still 2kg of mud and leaves stuck to it...

antsmithmk

I know I'm not going to win or ever bother the top 30 so my tactics are those similar to the lesser F1 teams when the weather is changeable. For example I will take a slower less muddy line when racing. Take fewer risks but get to the finish in one piece! Also as said above consider running.

So far this season I have finished in front of every cyclist in the central league who had a DNF!

antsmithmk

andyp wrote:

Have two bikes and a pit crew.

Who at CX band 3 or 4 has one though? In the central league it seems like more vets have a pit crew then seniors?! I would guess at the top 5-7 guys have a spare bike or a wheel set.

andyp

It was said mainly in jest.

I could've done with a pit crew and a spare bike yesterday. Like TGOTB, I had about 2-3 kgs of mud attached to the bike after the race.

I was in the US last November and was looking for a couple of cans of the hydrophobic coating you can get over there (not seen it in the UK yet). I reckon some of that painted on a frame would help enormously.

tgotb

antsmithmk wrote:

andyp wrote:

Have two bikes and a pit crew.

Who at CX band 3 or 4 has one though? In the central league it seems like more vets have a pit crew then seniors?! I would guess at the top 5-7 guys have a spare bike or a wheel set.

I've got one, but it's really there for emergencies; didn't even consider using it yesterday. Pit crew is too busy making new friends in the nearest playground to waste time with pressure washers.

Spare wheelset is surely a no-brainer though, assuming you own more than one pair of wheels? If you puncture right at the far end of the course you might decide to bail, but what if (as I did twice last year) you puncture a few hundred yards before the pits, or during a warmup lap? Even if your spare wheels have the wrong tyres for the conditions, it's better than a DNF.

On_What

I did ponder the benefits or some sort of mud scraper during yesterdays mud bath

johnmcdowall

I saw someone at a muddy race spray the bike in WD40 with the idea that the oily surface would make it less likely that mud would stay attached. No idea if this works but I do it on muddy races! Two bikes and pit crew is the only sure fire way really.

nicklouse

no idea about CX bikes but a trick taken from MC bikes to some DH bikes is "speed foam"

it is a rather course foam (sponge) that is used to fill any area where mud would gather. this would allow for easy removal of mud, or just not gather as much?

they also use a veg oil rather than WD40 as it is "better" for the environment.

my not be of any help with the issues you mention but who knows.

devhads

Someone once told me that furniture polish sprayed on the underside of the downtube and BB area will help mud to not stick as much, so that's what I do. I also spray my pedals and cleats with WD40 before each race. I should have sprayed the rear mech with it too because I snapped the hanger yesterday, on the warm up, 15 minutes before the race. DNS!

GGBiker

Some good tips there guys, think my main learning points are run more ( I was making up a few places on any of the sections I did run) and ride around mud when possible. The single front ring might work too, haven't needed the big ring so far this season!

If anyone went to the pits yesterday they would have had a half hour wait to get to the hose!

joelsim

Only go out on the bike when the sun has been shining for at least 14 days solid.

Paul 8v

I like the WD40 idea, that's a very quick fix and you can just spray it on before a race (You can get pump spray veg oils for cooking as well) I'll try it with the Essex clay, if it works with that then it will work with anything!

tgotb

I tried GT-85 on my frame and pedals at the weekend. Not sure whether it helped (maybe I should have sprayed half the frame and one pedal) but I suspect the overspray may be responsible for degrading the latex covering on the sidewalls of one of my FMB tubs. Once I've stripped off all the yucky bits and aquasealed it, I'll do some tests with latex gloves and report back.

Paul 8v

Ooo, not good :-(

proto

Slightly off topic, but here's a picture of the pits at yesterday's Inter Divisinal Championships in Derbyshire. Complete chaos and carnage.One team had two industrial petrol powered jet washers and were changing bikes every half a lap. Those that din't have such support ran the risk of sheared rear mechs, and there were lots and lots of sheared rear mechs!

Paul 8v

This is why the future should be a mech free bike, hub gears, for cyclocross at least ;-)

MountainMonster

You've got love a bit of carnage!

tgotb

Paul 8v wrote:

This is why the future should be a mech free bike, hub gears, for cyclocross at least ;-)

I've seen it done. Problem is that hub gears are heavy and only about 90% efficient, so you're probably losing 30W. Moreover, you still have to live with that 30W loss at the vast majority of races where mud buildup isn't an issue. I have an 8-speed hub on my Brompton, and I can feel it sucking the power...

Unless hub gear technology changes significantly, it's always going to be quicker to have derailleur gears and a pit crew. In the absence of a pit crew I'd rather risk the odd DNF, especially as you can generally discard your worst results in league competitions...

proto

Can be a tad expensive though. Daughter broke her mech hanger AND her rear mech on Saturday at MK Bowl. Two week old SRAM Force 11sp mech at £65 ish? Plus hanger at £15? She's getting 3 speed Sturmey Archer for Luton!

Paul 8v

TGOTB wrote:

Paul 8v wrote:

This is why the future should be a mech free bike, hub gears, for cyclocross at least ;-)

I've seen it done. Problem is that hub gears are heavy and only about 90% efficient, so you're probably losing 30W. Moreover, you still have to live with that 30W loss at the vast majority of races where mud buildup isn't an issue. I have an 8-speed hub on my Brompton, and I can feel it sucking the power...

Unless hub gear technology changes significantly, it's always going to be quicker to have derailleur gears and a pit crew. In the absence of a pit crew I'd rather risk the odd DNF, especially as you can generally discard your worst results in league competitions...

For muddy conditions you probably lose more through all the gunk you get in the transmission, I suppose if someone put more development in to making one suitable for racing rather than touring like most are used you may well come up with something better. At the moment weight and efficiency aren't as important as reliability

A sturmey three speed on a kids bike sounds like a good idea, much less to go wrong!

devhads

There's a guy who races in the eastern league with hub gears, I envied him yesterday at Hillyfields when I was running the last half lap with a ripped mech. I've had two in two weeks now

cyclingsheep

Out of curiosity those of you who have had snapped mechs, has it happened during a gear change or as a result of attempted changes or would it have happened it you'd just left it in one gear? Any thoughts on whether an old school mtb wheel style chain catcher (attaches to the chain stay) would help by keeping the chain taut or whether the Sram CX1 clutch derailier would prevent the mech damage?

andyp

Run a singlespeed for really muddy conditions. You might lose a bit on being restricted to one gear, but you'll make that up with being able to ride the entire race.

devhads

Out of curiosity those of you who have had snapped mechs, has it happened during a gear change or as a result of attempted changes or would it have happened it you'd just left it in one gear?

Last week it wasn't whilst changing gear, it was before the race just after a couple of practice laps. No warning or sounds , just pedal then snap. Just the mech hanger snapped no other damage

Yesterday it was whilst changing gear, clunk clunk snap with a lot more damage. Hanger snapped, rear mech cage ruined and chain bent in several places.

Just bad luck I suppose but with a hint of poor shifting technique. Have a read of this for some tips on prevention.

http://www.fluentincross.co.uk/portfoli ... ud-skills/

Paul 8v

This is quite an interesting one, apparently ceramic bearings help chew up the grit a bit more and these guys fit their mechs with stronger springs too. Not a bad deal this mech but I'm not sure about the shipping costs on replacements

http://www.cxmagazine.com/retroshift-bu ... eplacement

tgotb

TGOTB wrote:

I tried GT-85 on my frame and pedals at the weekend. Not sure whether it helped (maybe I should have sprayed half the frame and one pedal) but I suspect the overspray may be responsible for degrading the latex covering on the sidewalls of one of my FMB tubs. Once I've stripped off all the yucky bits and aquasealed it, I'll do some tests with latex gloves and report back.

Apologies, I think this was a false alarm. Following tests with GT-85 on latex gloves, and closer examination of the tyre, I think it's just normal wear and tear from riding with the bike clogged up with mud. Need to redo the Aquaseal a bit more often I think...