Cyclocross 2011 thread

Irrational...? Me...? Yep!!
And it's not seasonal either, been watching Islabikes since start of the year, was originaly going to get him a a Beinn, then he joined the cycling club, spotted the Luath & it was love at first sight!

Are cyclocross bikes different (uique??) to road or hybrid ?

At first sight, cyclocross bikes look like road bikes in that they have drop handlebars and 700c wheels. On closer inspection you would notice that the tyres are much wider (32 - ~40mm) with an MTB-like tread and the brakes are cantilever (or more recently, disc) as opposed to caliper.

To accomodate the bigger tyres, CX bikes have much greater fork and stay clearances. Frame geometry is also going to be different as the bottom bracket is higher - on many higher end bikes the cables for the derailleurs and rear brake are routed along the top tube which keeps them away from the mud as much as possible.

Gearing is down to the individual and generally lower than standard road gearing.

I daresay a hybrid with CX tyres would work, but in domestic cyclocross MTBs are allowed too.

Anyone racing this weekend?

I will be at PORC Penshurst on Sunday o.O Hope they don't send us down the MTB downhill piste

Nah, I reckon decorating is going to take up the rest of my season- I'll have a better go next year.

Anyway this weekend it's Didcot Phoenix 'cross over at Sonning Common- I rode last year, although I got a lift. Bit out of the way so I'll make myself useful at home. I do want to make some progress as I've just taken the radiators off- it's OK at the moment but if it gets colder...

Good luck though, it's still not a soggy as it usually is in November. Not round here anyway.

Yay, MUD!

PORC was definitely, very definitely muddy. Course of two halves: first a hairy, sketchy, slippery technical descent down the side of a huge hill, then a mega slog back up the hill. Tough course, but so much fun to play in the mud A new experience to be travelling at 25 mph with seemingly no grip front or rear

Definitely a good course for tubs, as while very slippery, a lot of the trails are built on a hardcore base, and running soft pressures on clinchers resulted in a lot of punctures.

Good stuff

It is really something. I don't know the best way to do it, I just let the bike do its thing and try to relax and ignore the squirming.

Tubs would help although I just use clinchers. I'm thinking of having a pop a tubeless though as a bit of an experiment.

It gets particularly interesting when the track is rutted, and your front wheel selects one rut, and your rear another, diverging rut.

Yup.

Have you tried frozen, rutted mud yet?

Also interesting, and somewhat more hurty.

No I haven't had that particular pleasure yet

It's not so bad. You don't have to clean your bike after.

Unless it's to wipe blood off the downtube

Are you coming to the Central League event at Hillingdon on the 11th? Should be a good day out now the ground is a bit softer.

It's unlikely, given that I've barely ridden all season. I might change my mind though and potter around at the back somewhere for an hour.

Someone on BR has just pointed out that Wessex League are also racing at Didcot on the 11th, so I *may* try that. The difference in Wessex League, is that they have the Seniors race separate from the Vets, so it should in theory make the starts easier due to the smaller field.

Plus I have raced at Hillingdon once this season already...

may i ask what hillingdon is like as a course, i will racing on the 11th but singlespeed, so im thinking 42t-20t to account for the mud that should be there. are there many hills to contend with?
thanks

When I raced there earlier in the season, it was bone dry, but it can get quite muddy apparently. It is pretty flat, they tend to make the most of the slight incline there is by switching the course back and forth across it, but it is definitely not what anyone would refer to as hilly.

Having said that, I probably spent less than 10% of the race in the large chainring. Can't really help with the ratios, as I have never tried singlespeed cross, and cannot even begin to imagine trying to ride a whole course on just one ratio

Hillingdon does have a reputation for killing rear mechs on account of the tough and long grass there, so you'll be one up on the rest of us on that score.

Generally always a few short, sharp climbs. Try them out during the warm-up to see if you can ride them in your gear (often they'll link two or three together so there isn't always room to get up a good speed to attack the slope second time around). Decide whether to ride or run them.

I've seen a few riders ride singlespeed at Hillingdon, it is generally flat but if muddy even a slight incline can be difficult to ride.

The grass is tough! I pretty much always have transmission issues towards the end of a race at Hillingdon and I've seen a few ripped-off mechs.