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

Can't help you there. Very few pine needle forestry spots in South Australia. It's pretty much all loose or hard rock stuff or a mixture of those over here.

Sounds like a hardtail. But your pressure is quite high. Hardtails are work to ride and need to be moved. You cannot get away with being a passenger like you can on a hardtail.

I'm 74 kg and run 20/22 f/r on my hardtail. But I doubt you'll eliminate the feeling you're having totally with just pressure. I do now run inserts (cush core xc) always and slightly more pressure than I use to, but if you've alu rims the worst will be a puncture not a cracked rim.

These mean that I suffer less cycling in winter- I don’t immediately lose the blood flow to my toes, although it does go after an hour or so. It’s almost a full box- anyone else who suffers from this want them?

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Urgh, I think I might need one of these too. What's the damage on one via Mojo Rising?

Sram pressure calculator seems to think I’m roughly right, but maybe a touch high. Maybe it’s also lack of practise- I realised halfway round todays race that I don’t ride flat out on these sort of trails outside of races!

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What was the course like overall? Was it XCO or XCM?

Axle or the tool? About £30ish for the tool, axle is £23ish. Tool is out of stock for a few weeks but I'm on the list
If you're in a rush, speak to Sam, he mentioned there's a loaner they can post if they're not busy with services booked in

Just the tool. Hoping the axle is salvageable but the bearings don't seem to be moving too freely (new-to-me secondhand frame). I'll drop Sam an email. Thanks - really helpful info!

It was Xterra tri so similar length to xco.
But I have the same issue in xcm!
There was a lot of singletrack in the woods that doesn’t normally get ridden so that was bumpy, then a lot of field edge paths that were also bumpy and killed speed- when I felt strong enough to big gear blast over them like cobbles I was fine but that’s not sustainable

When riding the same trails back to back on my hardtail and my full suspension bike what you really notice on the flat but bumpy sections is that you can stay seated on the full suspension bike and keep pedalling whereas on the hardtail you'd have to be out of the saddle, and your pedalling would be more sprint than spin.

That’s what I’m looking for! Get my power into going forwards rather than trying to stay on the seat. And give my old man back and wrists a break!

Hardtails are fun but also cause a lot of suffering. Everything will be easier on a fully + you'll have more grip in the corners because the rear doesn't bounce as much.

Can't lie ... After the 12hr thing a few weeks ago I've been looking for full sus options as well. Last laps were agony. Desperate for a little sit down in between tech sections because my quads were on fire.

Talking of which. Anyone got any experience with arc8?

Yeah, its most noticeable on the flat sections that are rocky/rooty - on the full suspension bike they present to your arse and wrists as essentially flat, so you just keep the power on whilst seated.

On the hardtail you realise that they're absolutely not flat, and you're out of the saddle cranking away, absorbing the bumps with your legs whilst you pedal.

If you have the power and stamina to sprint the whole trail then a hardtail is probably faster, but if you're, well, me then the full-suspension bike allows what power and stamina I have to be deployed far more easily.

I'm sure the rear end on the suspension bike is taking some energy, but at the same time it's allowing you to output power in a far more economical way, so I reckon the overall outcome is positive - at my level anyway.

Yeh I’m convinced. For marathon events being a bit fresher at the end is a win, and for x terra saving the back and legs for running is a no brainer.
Anyone able to explain why 23 epic evo is cheaper than reduced 22 models? Downgraded spec presumably?

Link?

Evo 23 looks quite nice. Cheap sram group I guess
https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/specialized-epic-evo-29-nx-2023-mtb-bike/139405259/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=17889063&country=uk&gclid=CjwKCAjw04yjBhApEiwAJcvNobsJmYwJ6jwlQcV7KQVm1r_Z0AqzNtW4gAnbdeGawftzDW4YBfpXPxoCdDYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

For marathon events you'll still want some kind of remote shock and/or fork lockout won't you? It's weird that there is no mention of the shock spec in that product description.

I think that's the area where some of the automated systems come into play - live valve and so on.

In a marathon situation I'm sure I'd forget to reach down and flip the shock on or off - and based on the number of Enduro riders who have "turn shock on!" written on their stem I'm not alone.

I'd pick "always on" for a marathon situation where I knew I was going to be tired, rather than "rode half of it with the shock off before I realised", I think.

I agree with @Dammit . Especially so for an XC biased bike which for which the shocks will be valved towards pedaling efficiency anyway.

Funny how often people forget to unlock and lose so much more time on a rough technical section than they gained by being locked out on the smooth climb beforehand.

Had a bit of a whoopsie. Planned to move all parts from my hardtail and that has not exactly what happened. Stupid cranks inbound as well.

It’s awesome. This is my first modern full suspension, first decent fork. It’s just better. Geometry and functioning components put such a big smile on the old face.

Posting because it climbs way better than my hardtail. At least that’s this impression after one ride!

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That sweet, will rip downhill

If anyone was on my local trails and thought they heard a banshee…that was just me cackling like a maniac because the downs were just unreal. So much fun.