Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Wider? Why?

I cut them down after I bought it. Not sure what they are now. I can measure tonight but I'm trying to avoid spending another £300 on a bike that might be off-road once. :)

Beer will be in a Camelback. I brought it over from Oz last time because I thought something like this might happen :) Mmm... 15 years since the last race... tasty

Is this for the Kings Lynn MTB winter series? If so, which one(s) are you doing?

Edit: Successfully stalked you. Round 3. Hoping to be there myself. Same race, different category.

Can't help on gearing I'm afraid. I ride at Thetford quite a bit, but always with gears. So far. I wouldn't worry about a short stem for handling technical sections though, because there won't be any. Every race I've done at Thetford so far would be perfectly doable on a CX bike.

Stalked? I posted it about 5 posts ago.

You perhaps underestimate how feeble my mtb skillz are. I might fit the shorter stem I have and then see how it feels. I can always swap back after doing some "sick jumps" on the ride home..

Oh yeah. Missed that. Would've been much easier than going and finding the entry lists. Hey ho.

Sick jumps? Pictures or it didn't happen.

The sickest jump I've pulled on the Inbred is lifting the front wheel off a curb this morning. It's fucking heavy and I'm just shit at anything other than riding in a straight line on a flat road these days.

Every race I've done at Thetford so far would be perfectly doable on a CX bike.

Are the races usually held on the established trails there? ( Limeburner & Beater ) or are things mixed up a bit?

Not sure I'd fancy the Bracken Pit on a CX bike. Everything else would be ok.

You should come and ride the London CX League round at Frylands Wood a week on Sunday, would be a good test of your set up pre-race, and it's probably the most technical course in the league, so would give your bike handling skills a refresh.

38T 104mm SS ring...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Zee-Single-Speed-Chainring-38T-104mm-BCD-FC-M640-/191593913540?hash=item2c9be31cc4:g:sKQAAOSwl8NVbwaR

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-thirteen-Guide-Ring-guidering-38T-MTB-chainring-104BCD-7075-T6-5mm-thick-/282271504459?hash=item41b8b1584b:g:UWsAAOSwHMJYO0Vn

?

Are the races usually held on the established trails there? ( Limeburner & Beater ) or are things mixed up a bit?

Not sure I'd fancy the Bracken Pit on a CX bike. Everything else would be ok.

Usually a mixture of the existing marked trails and some other unmarked bits in my experience. That pit is definitely doable on a CX bike - I've seen it done. Admittedly by someone with far more experience on a CX bike than me. It's easier now they've put those rocks in place than it was before, when it was just a wall of sandy soil you had to scrabble up. With those rocks in place it's really just a question of carrying enough momentum to take you up and over the top.

On an SS MTB? That'd impress all the fuckers I hold up.

Frylands Wood, eeww ickle Kent is it?

give your bike handling skills a refresh

You mean, make the most of my NHS contributions?

momentum

About all I've got going for me... if I can get going.

I've seen it done.

Hey, well, I've seen this done, but wouldn't fancy it myself ;-)

The Zee one will be fine and is cheaper.

That was me on the way to work.

That's quite some kerb.

I told you the roads were shit out here...

Wider? Why?

Going wider gets your position back forwards and does something with the steering that makes you shred/gnarr or something. Dunno the theory but it's quite a help on tech stuff. Howard can probably say why.

I knew MTBing was backwards!

Do you know how long it has taken me to get my aero tuck nailed and now you want me splayed across the front of my ride like some tart in a car magazine? I have morals damn you!

I like the idea but new bars means installing the grips again which means Too Hard Basket. I'll just buy a proper bike for the 24hr racing ;)

Hippy's mtb bar setup:

Fitted a 38T instead of the 40T which is nice, I guess.

Those Zee singlespeed chainrings don't have little recesses for the chainring bolts. #soniamdisappoint

Also had to take a link out of the chain because although I could get the wheel far enough back for the correct chain tension, the disc caliper wouldn't move any further back. It was kinda lucky because while looking for a split link I found where the previous owner had done a shit job of joining the chain so I removed that bowed out link.

Also fitted a 50mm / 5deg PRO FRS stem and jacked it up by spacer. Bike feels fucking stupid now. :D Feels like a proper commuter upright thing. Maybe that 80mm stem I have would be better or maybe I should just stick with the stretched out position - not really good for dodging shit though. It didn't help that I marked the bars but forgot the angle was different so when refitted the risers were rotated towards me. Sorted that out when I got to work.

Mine are 590mm.

The 90's called butt, they want their bars back.

It's a commuter not a DH bike. If I ride past just one person on the deck because they clipped a tree I will consider it a victory.

Also, the 80s called and said the 90s called jokes are so last decade.

Unles they're blind or earth shatteringly oafish no one will ever clip a tree coz their bars are wider than the foot long* you're riding.

*hyperbole

earth shatteringly oafish

You rang?