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

Nice three hours riding around holmbiry, pitch, leith yesterday . Busy as ever in places , but quiet if you get off the main routes ..

trek fuel

Good choice. The new spark looks good too. 970 is in your price range.

To echo Howard, in my all too brief experience, short 1-2hr XC races are brutal, whereas longer marathon type stuff seems to be a friendlier affair

Or everybody's too exhausted to be a twat to you

Quite used to 1 hour of racing by now. Actually wanted to prep myself for marathon racing. I guess I wanna go for an XC marathon type race then

I’ve raced 1.5hr xc races, Brighton big dog (6hr) as a team and solo, and strathpuffer (24hr) as a quad and as a pair.

They’re all miserable.

Yeh it was full by the time I finally got my hands on a bike!

Am I being an idiot wanting a lightweight well vented trail helmet eg Troy Lee Stage or Smith Mainline. I want to start learning to jump, will never be doing full downhill stupidity but am also old enough to have a vague instinct toward self preservation.

What's your worry? That they wouldn't be protective enough, or that they'd be overkill?

They’re all miserable

Was Ecobeard at all 3 of them..?

Overkill.

But I do remember how once I started riding with elbow and knee pads I felt much more confident going over rocks etc so I didn’t tense up or brake as much and became better at them.

They’re all miserable.

Concur. 3hr, 6-8hr and 24hrs in a team. The team 24hrs are the best though. Maybe because they were both dry whereas the other ones were cold, wet and miserable. I still need to get a 24hr solo done. Camped near Strathpeffer (Contin) last week though and it scares me to think how cold that shit would be in Feb and how mucky the trails would be after a few hours.

Seems reasonable, especially if you're heading out to session some jumps or going somewhere with uplift.
I've only ever bothered with full face at Revs or Antur Stiniog (and might if I ever go to BPW again).

Are facial injuries that likely from dirt jumps? Would have thought collar bones more likely.

Then goggles? POC Oakley etc etc

Any suggestions?

Good question…

When I rode at Bike Park Bavella they insisted on body armour (chest and back) and full face helmet. I thought it’d be horrible having the extra protection but was again confidence inspiring and comforting.

Haha no he no longer travels south of London so Brighton was out of the question.

I've got the fairly recent POC MTB helmet, it's wraps around the back of your head more than a road helmet which makes sense - I cracked my helmet at the back when I came off at Trestle in Colorado. I have not worn it back to back with a road helmet but it feels like the venting is similar.

If you're doing bike park stuff why not get a proper full face and as much body armour as you feel is necessary. And a pisspot helmet for any dirt jump practice, imagine the lighter weight and visibility/mobility would be worth it.

I've noticed similar missing teeth on DJ riders that I see on BMX riders. 🤷🏽‍♂️
A skating lid and a gum shield/mouth guard isn't an uncommon combo

I thought 3hr or 6hr solo within a bigger 24hr event would be nice- plenty of atmosphere, probably won’t be slowest as some folks are going for longer, and when you finish there’s a decent venue to have some grub and watch the races that are still going. More fun for family to attend too

@Tallboy needs a tallboy.

Can confirm they are really rather good. I'm setting PRs both up and down each time I ride it. Which were all set on XC race bikes - FS Kona Hei Hei and Yeti Big Top.

Yeah, that's not a bad shout. Watching the other racers with 18hrs still to ride while you smugly scoff pizza and beer sounds very Schadenfreude so I approve.

Should I put a new BB into the Kona A or should I put the bike in a skip where it belongs?

I need another car crash with another pay out then.. or start working more than 3 days a week!

Wasn't there somebody on here who wanted one of those?