Getting started in XC racing

Paul 8v

I'm looking at getting in to XC racing, the last race I did was about 20 years ago so I imagine things have probably changed a bit...

I've got a few questions, if anyone can help or has a link to a good beginners guide I'd really appreciate it!

What to wear, skinsuits or is it baggy shorts these days?

If it is skinsuits, do people carry tools, repair kits etc? If so how? I've seen some expensive solutions from specialized but it seems a bit overkill

How gnarly are the courses? Looking at some of the stuff at Hadleigh I imagine it would kill the XC bikes of old!

What sort of money would I need to spend to get something competitive? I was looking at the trek Procaliber 9.6 as at £1700 I figured a full suspension would be a bit heavy and I have a bit of a dodgy back, on my road bike I have the same isospeed decoupler and it's really good. Would that be a decent bike to start with?

Thanks

Paul

whyamihere

Some people wear skinsuits, skinsuit wearing tends to increase as you move up the categories. You can of course wear whatever you like, but you might feel a bit daft if you're in a skinsuit while a lap down in the fun category.

For holding stuff, buy one of these: http://backcountryresearch.com/race-str ... mount.html. They're brilliant, I have one permanently fitted to my XC bike so that I don't have to carry a bag.

I'm not going to comment on the courses because I don't know where you are, what series you're looking at, etc. Best thing to do is to look up the location of some of the races on Strava and look for segments, then go and ride some to get a flavour of what they're about. If you look at a segment and find a load of times from the day of last year's race, then you've found the race course. Doing this will let you know what kind of bike you want as well - If it's all fast and non-techy, get a hardtail. If you're chucking yourself through rock gardens, maybe get a bouncy bike.

Paul 8v

That strap looks like a nice solution, better than having a big saddle wedge swinging about.

I'm in Essex so I'll be looking at the travers series and then probably some mud sweat and gears and hopefully the Thetford 12hr later in email year.

Good advise about looking at the strava segments, I suppose he majority of them will be on public land so that would work.

I've done a bit of cyclo-cross racing so I'm not completely green but XC looks to be a lot more technical. Cyclo-cross ends up just being an battle of attrition slogging through mud most of the time!

JGTR

I did an MSG last year and marshalled at the Hadleigh MSG a few weeks back, my advice would be to not worry about having the right bike, clothes etc just sign up and go race. Both are aimed at beginners aswell as more experienced riders and there is always a mix of levels. Hadleigh is a tough course, but people were doing it on a range of bikes from 15 year old bikes right upto top spec stuff. There will always be an A and B line (maybe even a C line) so how tough you make the course depends on you. I believe Hadleigh is the most challenging of the MSG series. Could just go and spectate at an event, will give you a good idea of what to expect, come and have a chat with some club members. Check out the Hadleigh Mountain Bike Facebook page, lots of members race from rookie upwards.

Paul 8v

If Hadleigh is the hardest then that's not too bad. I've ridden some of the A lines there on my old 26" wheel Zesty but I don't fancy a lot of them on an XC bike, I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to the big jumps or drop offs. I was going to try and race on my zesty but it's such a lump I don't think I'll be in with a chance but I suppose I could do a few on that, I haven't been out on it in ages!

JGTR

It’s a real friendly vibe with a range of bikes and abilities, my advice would be to sign up and give one a go and then see about buying a skin suit and £10000 carbon XC race bike

Give it a go on your Zesty, last race there was a guy on a vintage Orange hardtail.

thistle_

I did one of the BC XC races a couple of years ago just to try it out. Found it quite unfriendly to be honest, especially the officials!
Most riders just had a couple of drink bottles on their bike and didn't seem to be carrying any spares. 50% of the field DNF

Spoke to one of the other riders afterwards and they said there was another series of races on the same course which were much more fun so YMMV.

Paul 8v

JGTR wrote:

It’s a real friendly vibe with a range of bikes and abilities, my advice would be to sign up and give one a go and then see about buying a skin suit and £10000 carbon XC race bike

Give it a go on your Zesty, last race there was a guy on a vintage Orange hardtail.

I've already got the skinsuit, I use it for cross as it stops mud going up my back and it's a really old one that's no good for TTs any more :-)

Paul 8v

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

I did one of the BC XC races a couple of years ago just to try it out. Found it quite unfriendly to be honest, especially the officials!
Most riders just had a couple of drink bottles on their bike and didn't seem to be carrying any spares. 50% of the field DNF

Spoke to one of the other riders afterwards and they said there was another series of races on the same course which were much more fun so YMMV.

50% DNF ?! Ouch!

The Rookie

You can pick up an OK 29er suitable for XC for not that much money these days, I bought a 2009 Gary Fisher Cobia for £125, serviced the forks (they were collapsed but all good mechanically) and put on a few better components (losing nearly a kilo) and it makes a great fast mile muncher.

trek_dan

I did my first XC race last year on a cheap 29er hardtail I bought off Ebay and it was more than adequate. I wouldn't worry about buying anything expense yet. I wore a skinsuit but just because I already had one for CX racing. Course wise anything technical (i.e doubles that had to be jumped rather than rolled) always had a B line. I didn't carry tools on me, any mechanical and your race is more or less over anyway.

Paul 8v

whyamihere wrote:

Some people wear skinsuits, skinsuit wearing tends to increase as you move up the categories. You can of course wear whatever you like, but you might feel a bit daft if you're in a skinsuit while a lap down in the fun category.

For holding stuff, buy one of these: http://backcountryresearch.com/race-str ... mount.html. They're brilliant, I have one permanently fitted to my XC bike so that I don't have to carry a bag.

I'm not going to comment on the courses because I don't know where you are, what series you're looking at, etc. Best thing to do is to look up the location of some of the races on Strava and look for segments, then go and ride some to get a flavour of what they're about. If you look at a segment and find a load of times from the day of last year's race, then you've found the race course. Doing this will let you know what kind of bike you want as well - If it's all fast and non-techy, get a hardtail. If you're chucking yourself through rock gardens, maybe get a bouncy bike.

I'm looking to ride a 12 hour event later in the year so I definitely will need tools for that as it has long laps and I don't want to get stranded! Does the racestrap fit a multi-tool as well? Also, where do you keep the inflater head?

whyamihere

In my strap, I have a tube, tyre levers, a small multi-tool and a CO2 cartridge with the inflator head screwed on (though not so that the cartridge is pierced). It's all arranged so that the inflator head cannot unscrew, as other things are in the way. I'll snap a picture when I get home tonight if I remember.

Paul 8v

whyamihere wrote:

In my strap, I have a tube, tyre levers, a small multi-tool and a CO2 cartridge with the inflator head screwed on (though not so that the cartridge is pierced). It's all arranged so that the inflator head cannot unscrew, as other things are in the way. I'll snap a picture when I get home tonight if I remember.

Ah cool, yeah that would be good if you could, thanks!