Its the end of the season. its been tough, ups and downs, crashes, wrecked kit, wrecked body. loads of Roller Racing gigs that clashed with racing weekends, new job, kinda tough..
But musnt grumble.
Racing is racing no matter where or how it comes along. I am feeling shit a week or so of coughing and wheezy chest has rendered me weak and short of breath. Last nights Barncross went farily well, but lets not kid myself. my last race was in December, Christams, travelling, a oygh new stressful job,
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Wessex league round 12 Fairthorne manor part dos. Squirellyness 1.2
After a bit of a layoff ..a few busy weekends, I decided to give the southern champs down in Devon a miss. Instead SouthCoastSprints took our 4 bike roller racing rig to Brighton , for Morvelos Battle Royale. Nut case racing.. Exciting, tactical carnage.
Anyhow.. Back to a chilly lightly frosted morning down in Botley. Phil Chinn and his band of merry Fareham Wheelers had once again laid out another terrific event. Phil had managed to secure Black Sheep timing chips to hopefully finally fix the results problems that have plagued this years league.
Anyhow.. Back to a chilly lightly frosted morning down in Botley. Phil Chinn and his band of merry Fareham Wheelers had once again laid out another terrific event. Phil had managed to secure Black Sheep timing chips to hopefully finally fix the results problems that have plagued this years league.
I arrived with plenty of time, as its only down the road..... and for once actually had enough time to do slow lap followed by a slightly faster one. Space to go through a few sections at speed helped with the confidence.. all too often the warm up time is wedged between youths and junior races.. meaning a slow meander around the course sandwiched and boxed between soft pedaling riders. My family arrive to cheer me.. a very welcome sight and team mate Jerry pulls up.. after a season of racing solo finally a team mate in my race.
a similar circuit as the last races at Fairthorne.
An open long straight down to the bridge and a first pinch point. Open field a squierlly offcamber... Phil changes the field section each race. The pits are central and then the familiar drop to soggy bottom east. Over Phils bridge and then into the woods, still two dips, but a slight change to last time.
the race statrtr
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
CX Tyre Choice
Dabbling and meandering through the last few years , I have tweaked and changed rubber tread around a fair bit. Poring over reviews, desperate to get an edge and most bang for my training as well as a lot of racing and training. I am not an expert by any means, I thought I would do a dump of what I have found.
Basically rubber for cross seems to come down to Tread and Pressure.
Pressure...Grip, cornering handling ( notice none of that comfort crap)
Then Tread.. depends on the conditions.. Basically dry as a bone, (filetread) somewhere in between ( intermediates)or gloopy mud shit ( even then its different types of mud)...
So lets talk about pressure: How low can you go. Its important.. As a cross newbie its hard to get your head into running such low pressures, but a few sessions a playing , bleed a bit, play a bit more, you soon get the idea.
You got to go low...low enough to allow cornering effectively, but high enough not to pinchflat or roll a bead or go too squirrely..
To really get low and the best you have to go tubulars...
Clinchers for playing (convenience and price_, Tubulars for Business (performance. ) I know there is Tubeless, but I have no experience of running them and the only person I know running Tubeless has had no end of snags and burps)
Tubulars are supple so they grip and the sidewall deforms and rolls on cornering, this creates the grip and handling feelthat everyone raves about. the lower pressures and that flat glue bed means there is a hugely lower risk of pinchflatting.
If you read back through this blog you can read that I switched over to Tubulars early in the spring.. If you are going to race, Tubulars are where its at. Training on them is expensive, but through the summer was a worth while investment. I got some cheap intermediates (Grifos) on plain old reflex rims and ended up traiing and racing on them.
However, its not all been plain sailing. I have punctured my summer tubs, and instead of expensive repairs and risking regluing, I just wanged a load of sealant in there and kept on riding.
My Mud specific tubs ( Dugast Rhinos) were glued onto a shit set of Planet Xs that abruptly died. So all I had was those intermediates. These were superb through out the summer and the early season, until the mud got thicker and I had to start using a mud specific tyre.
Everything they say about Tubs is pretty true, though I never properly dialled in the pressure correctly but got down to around the 28 Psi Mark.. that low, cornering started to get a bit squirelly, and roots on circuit felt harsh and scarey(may be down to my rather abusive riding style) but around 30 psi seemed pretty sweet for me.
The two rides I experienced on Rhinos were excellent, mainly damp grass, local field and the Thruxton Circuit. I will undoubtedly be buying new ones to replaced the knackered ones that are sat in the garage.
I now have a set of Dugast Typhoons (Intermediates) to test. And two other sets of wheels ready to glue in the off season. A set of Rhinos on one and the other, a soon to be selected set of Filetreads.
In the mean time I hope to carry on messing with pressure in various conditions.
Still on pressure, clinchers have to be run harder: I seem to have found 37 ish psi for racing, but for training around the 40 and a bit mark. at that pressure the sidewalls don't deform as much and handling and grip is not as good. Oh yeah.. Pinch flats... Lots in training and a pain..
It then comes down to the Tread pattern, as I already mentioned, that depends on the type of mud you are riding in.
Tread patterns vary quite a bit, but generally there are the three types. File treads ( baldy in the middle with side nobs) and intermediate. ( side nobs with an intermittent central tread, the more continuous the more it lends to hard pack) and a mud. long spaced out spikes intended to cut in to gloop, bite and then clear balled gunk quickly. many manufacturuers have the same tread on Tub and clinchers ...
All treads have been ridden over the same circuit multiple times.
I started off with a well worn pair of michelin muds. Classic Greens...didnt really know any better really, but sliced a sidewall on glass down the woods and had to retire them. After a crap repair, I brought them out for a very wet summer cross race, but had a horrendous slithering mess with it. they were OK, but preferred other treads.
Wolf Cross. Good side nobbles for cornering in the dry. but dicey in the slick. Fast rolling on harderpack. wont buy another set though. just felt stiff. balled up quickly on claggy stuff.
Michelin Mud 2 . wear out quick on tarmac, a good intermediate, puncture prone. pretty quick on hard pack, but clogs easily in sticky peanut butter fragile sidewalls. Most reviewers rave about them being the best all rounder, but I am 'meh' about them.
Challenge Grifos . Good all-round tyre . so far my favourite intermediate . ( tubular and Clincher). doesn't clag up like Mud2s and more robust. not so supple cornering, but I can live with that. these are my go to tyre. If I had more money I would buy Grifo Open tubulars...
Schwalbe CX Pro .I bought these thinking they were a possible cheap mud tyre for this winter. But they have been a big disappointment. The tread pattern is pretty good, but they are very narrow meaning they corner poorly, they are not very supple and seem to carve into the loose. Very sensitive to pressure due to the lack of volume. I have punctured every ride on these, on more that one occasion twice. I hate them. Im not giving up on Schwalbes though , I will buy Rocket Rons for my next spin of Clincher Roulette.
Challenge LIMUS Open Tubular. open tubulars are basically really ezpensive clinchers. They are the same carcass as a tubular, supple sidewalls and light. with a latex inner they are really good. These were the mud specifics that I used to replace my Rhinos. Excellent in the mud, but very expensive, anything less than gummy shite, and they feel draggy, but they really are superb in the mud though, but I worry about them in training on crappy circuits. At 55£ a pop these are for sunday best .
Anyway thats my two pence worth
will keep you posted on those Rocket Rons
Basically rubber for cross seems to come down to Tread and Pressure.
Pressure...Grip, cornering handling ( notice none of that comfort crap)
Then Tread.. depends on the conditions.. Basically dry as a bone, (filetread) somewhere in between ( intermediates)or gloopy mud shit ( even then its different types of mud)...
So lets talk about pressure: How low can you go. Its important.. As a cross newbie its hard to get your head into running such low pressures, but a few sessions a playing , bleed a bit, play a bit more, you soon get the idea.
You got to go low...low enough to allow cornering effectively, but high enough not to pinchflat or roll a bead or go too squirrely..
To really get low and the best you have to go tubulars...
Clinchers for playing (convenience and price_, Tubulars for Business (performance. ) I know there is Tubeless, but I have no experience of running them and the only person I know running Tubeless has had no end of snags and burps)
Tubulars are supple so they grip and the sidewall deforms and rolls on cornering, this creates the grip and handling feelthat everyone raves about. the lower pressures and that flat glue bed means there is a hugely lower risk of pinchflatting.
If you read back through this blog you can read that I switched over to Tubulars early in the spring.. If you are going to race, Tubulars are where its at. Training on them is expensive, but through the summer was a worth while investment. I got some cheap intermediates (Grifos) on plain old reflex rims and ended up traiing and racing on them.
However, its not all been plain sailing. I have punctured my summer tubs, and instead of expensive repairs and risking regluing, I just wanged a load of sealant in there and kept on riding.
My Mud specific tubs ( Dugast Rhinos) were glued onto a shit set of Planet Xs that abruptly died. So all I had was those intermediates. These were superb through out the summer and the early season, until the mud got thicker and I had to start using a mud specific tyre.
Everything they say about Tubs is pretty true, though I never properly dialled in the pressure correctly but got down to around the 28 Psi Mark.. that low, cornering started to get a bit squirelly, and roots on circuit felt harsh and scarey(may be down to my rather abusive riding style) but around 30 psi seemed pretty sweet for me.
The two rides I experienced on Rhinos were excellent, mainly damp grass, local field and the Thruxton Circuit. I will undoubtedly be buying new ones to replaced the knackered ones that are sat in the garage.
I now have a set of Dugast Typhoons (Intermediates) to test. And two other sets of wheels ready to glue in the off season. A set of Rhinos on one and the other, a soon to be selected set of Filetreads.
In the mean time I hope to carry on messing with pressure in various conditions.
Still on pressure, clinchers have to be run harder: I seem to have found 37 ish psi for racing, but for training around the 40 and a bit mark. at that pressure the sidewalls don't deform as much and handling and grip is not as good. Oh yeah.. Pinch flats... Lots in training and a pain..
It then comes down to the Tread pattern, as I already mentioned, that depends on the type of mud you are riding in.
Tread patterns vary quite a bit, but generally there are the three types. File treads ( baldy in the middle with side nobs) and intermediate. ( side nobs with an intermittent central tread, the more continuous the more it lends to hard pack) and a mud. long spaced out spikes intended to cut in to gloop, bite and then clear balled gunk quickly. many manufacturuers have the same tread on Tub and clinchers ...
All treads have been ridden over the same circuit multiple times.
I started off with a well worn pair of michelin muds. Classic Greens...didnt really know any better really, but sliced a sidewall on glass down the woods and had to retire them. After a crap repair, I brought them out for a very wet summer cross race, but had a horrendous slithering mess with it. they were OK, but preferred other treads.
Wolf Cross. Good side nobbles for cornering in the dry. but dicey in the slick. Fast rolling on harderpack. wont buy another set though. just felt stiff. balled up quickly on claggy stuff.
Michelin Mud 2 . wear out quick on tarmac, a good intermediate, puncture prone. pretty quick on hard pack, but clogs easily in sticky peanut butter fragile sidewalls. Most reviewers rave about them being the best all rounder, but I am 'meh' about them.
Challenge Grifos . Good all-round tyre . so far my favourite intermediate . ( tubular and Clincher). doesn't clag up like Mud2s and more robust. not so supple cornering, but I can live with that. these are my go to tyre. If I had more money I would buy Grifo Open tubulars...
Schwalbe CX Pro .I bought these thinking they were a possible cheap mud tyre for this winter. But they have been a big disappointment. The tread pattern is pretty good, but they are very narrow meaning they corner poorly, they are not very supple and seem to carve into the loose. Very sensitive to pressure due to the lack of volume. I have punctured every ride on these, on more that one occasion twice. I hate them. Im not giving up on Schwalbes though , I will buy Rocket Rons for my next spin of Clincher Roulette.
Challenge LIMUS Open Tubular. open tubulars are basically really ezpensive clinchers. They are the same carcass as a tubular, supple sidewalls and light. with a latex inner they are really good. These were the mud specifics that I used to replace my Rhinos. Excellent in the mud, but very expensive, anything less than gummy shite, and they feel draggy, but they really are superb in the mud though, but I worry about them in training on crappy circuits. At 55£ a pop these are for sunday best .
Anyway thats my two pence worth
will keep you posted on those Rocket Rons
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Barn Cross
We missed Barn Cross one as we were roller racing down at Morvelos Battle Royale,
Denham of DC cycles invited us along with the roller racing rig.. and despite the chilly evening the expansive Quob Stables started to fill up.
The course was something quite new. Think of City cross on a very tight circuit.
Start on a longish back straight, a sweeping 180. then choose between two sets of Shoretrax rollers; Left hand 30 foot or so of uneven spaced running to an outside sweeping berm. Or right hand over a set of unevenly spaced terminated by an abrupt drop off and a tighter steeper berm. A cross over in between was possibel, but it was tight. Sprint out of the exit into a funnel to another pair of berms, outside faster , inside tighter but slower.
a wiggle, three awkward poles on the floor a left hander, already unclipping into the barriers. Definitly not UCI reg, and more of a high jump than a regular running barrier, all very gymkhana.
Denhams love of BMX is apparent and the heats are run off as Grand Prix Motos BMX styleeeeee. basically race loads, do the best you can, work your way towards that final.
Roller racing is a bit slow, until we put the frog bikes on and we are suddenly busy. I manage a few laps as a warm up and some sort of dial in the rolling Shoretrax stuff. This is well out of my comfort zone, and i am quite nervous of taking it at speed, give me a flat circuit and twisty bits any day. But hell thats the score, make the most of it.
A mixture of BMXs, cruisers, carbon 29ers and a few cross bikes make up the riders. I don't recognise anyone from the local racing scene, but its a good mix of new people, eager to chat , and if i wasn't driving, we would have attacked the Bowman Ales with gusto.
The floor looks like sand, but actually its a remarkably grippy mixture of sand, 'carpet(!)and rubber chippings, what ever it is its good for cornering, but stinks of horse poop. I regret running Limus Mud tyres I should have gone with Typhoons, or Grifos.. ever better a filetread (if I had any)
Its cold, but eventually the VEts line up, Eight or nine of us. I am used to this now and assert myself in to a good position on the line. not as nervous as usual at the start, but I have a degree of trepidation about my chest / phlegm/ tightness and general lack of activity since Christmas.
The go comes and a get a good start. fluff my clip a bit , but get onto that first corner in first or second. The left hand rollers and outside berm allows a few riders slip through, but I can crank it and force myself into that tightening funnel before the next corner. Those poles are awkward, keep speed, bunny hop . I am clean through the barriers and into the second lap.
only three more.. lungs are burning, but I am holding the front.
A chap on a single speed is riding well and pushing hard, Our tyres buzz
as we round the top turn, and despite a wiggle i manage to win my first Moto.
Straight back into roller racing.. lungs hurting a lot, coughing a lot, with red and brown marbling in gunky shite i am dislodging. recover is hard, but kids roller racing is always good.
Its not long before the second moto is called. I shed a few layers of quilted warmth and line up again. Mr Waterford single speed gets the jump on me and I relax a bit more on this one, the wide way around is my only option as I cant do dropofffs, but i have enough power to catch up and assert myself into that funnel. Barrier technique helps, and the confidence to drive through the corner before remounting.
 |
| taking a holeshot (red) photo: DC cycles FB page |
Race three is a similar affair, Mr waterford gets a good start, I slot into second and it runs to form... another second.
people are slowing down as the super sticky floor material really drags you, 4 laps is tough going.
The final is called. I line up in my familiar spot.. Denham holds the count and for some bizzare reason I didnt register that the clanging bell thing is the start. the entire field lurches forward as I sit there like a twat.
Soon enough i recover my limited faculaties but i am in about lats or second to last place.
Shit , arses,,, this is going to be hard to make up.
I sprint hard down the opener, time to put some cross racing into the mix. Assertion is the name of the game.I have to queue into the rollers, and on exit i have to brake hard as Waterford boy is already exiting the berm.
My thumb searches for my usual dingy bell, but I call out telling people to move off the line I am coming through,
Everyone ignores me of course and as those awkward pole hops pop underneath I am about half way up the field. I am unclipping going into the barrier, going faster than those around. slower riders are drifting rightwards and wider onto my line.
I force through, handing off another rider, defiantly doing a bit of rubbing is racing, Definitely in the spirit of it as I basically force myself through the pack. A hard sprint away, and I am in a familiar second slot.
 |
| Rubbing is racing,.. Someones chainring marks on my thigh |
A swift half and prize giving. Those BMX chaps love their big trophies.;...
What a cracking event, definitely worth a shot and so deserves to be far and wide and hugely popular. Cant wait for the next one.
A massive thanks to Denham of DC Cycles and all of his team.
Lezyne, Shoretrax, Bowman Ales.
video of the first one:
http://vimeo.com/113909501
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