Current Projects chat and miscellany

Whats up with some of these horrible MTB's (see top of page)is it a 29errrrrrrllllllgggaaaaaagggghhh? (if its not it's hella ugly!), the cotics alright though. I don't care if they've got gears or are singlespeed, all these lesiure mtb's/ curly ti / 29ers can piss off. MTB's are for thrashing!!! Oh and if you've got your seat set as high tricitybendix your spending way to much time in the saddle instead of snaking down some single track or boosting some bumps, word!

It's called XC, it's what people do off road if they were brought up on road bikes. All that jumpy up and down stuff is for people who think it's appropriate for grown-ups to ride children's bikes.

but there is a middle ground where you use a 'proper' mtb, have suspension forks (that work) and a cockpit that you can move around in to use your body to steer/con trol/weight the bike and flow through some sweet twisty singletrack.
those funny barred fridgid arse in the air bikes suck except for sustrans riders with a love for gravel paths.

did you just say "cockpit"?

and for gravel paths and easy single track a cross bike is faster and faster = more fun

You shouldn't jump around much when doing XC, the aim is to cover the ground as quickly as possible and time in the air is time lost and it is not as though you will finds sets of doubles on a xc route/course.

been riding 'xc' for years with a bit of airtime here and there (some not intentional) but unless you race surely the aim is to have fun and get a buzz from riding a bit of sweet singletrack.

did you just say "cockpit"?

i slipped it in hoping nobody would notice.

What bars are those?

I think they are Deda Pista bars.....

and for gravel paths and easy single track a cross bike is faster and faster = more fun

I'm not convinced by this, having ridden both on the same easy towpath circuit. I was faster on the XC SS hardtail, even though it weighed a good 8lb more than the cross bike and was very spinny on the fast bit. I think that Singular up there with the Mary bars might well be the best of both worlds. Obviously there's always the rider's skill to take into account, people with mad skillz tend to be able to do speeds on thinner/lighter/shorter travel bikes that would have off-road muppets like me in the hedge.

I think they are Deda Pista bars.....

+1, markings and shape look right.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kerley
You shouldn't jump around much when doing XC, the aim is to cover the ground as quickly as possible and time in the air is time lost and it is not as though you will finds sets of doubles on a xc route/course.

That is ridiculous, maybe if you're racing XC but alot of people ride it for fun. You may not find big doubles but a good xc ride should definitely have some steep rocky bits, some small-mid size drops etc etc. I don't understand xc courses that aren't at all challenging, it's basically the same as doing road miles just you get dirty. Even when you look at pro level xc now the courses are much more technical than when I started riding (14 years ago) and all the more, the riders are riding the downhill sections rather than hopping off the bike and walking.

but there is a middle ground where you use a 'proper' mtb, have suspension forks (that work) and a cockpit that you can move around in to use your body to steer/con trol/weight the bike and flow through some sweet twisty singletrack.
those funny barred fridgid arse in the air bikes suck except for sustrans riders with a love for gravel paths.

This is my 'XC' bike, could do with discs but it's a good laugh, nowt fancy but is stiff on the way up and with that fork you can attack on the way back down, also great for all day trawls. Normally ride with flats but has my road spds on here as it was a 127mile canal trip.

What bars are those?

And why aren't they taped on the right hand side?

And why aren't they taped on the right hand side?

You only need tape on the side you hold while pushing it along Brick Lane

Facepalm How could I have been so blind?

World Cup Racing in Champery last weekend was pretty tough for XC (DH was ridiculous!)

and...

Maybe his saddle was a bit too high?

i bet they grizzled about that. the british view of xc is somewhat different to the europeans.

World Cup Racing in Champery last weekend was pretty tough for XC (DH was ridiculous!)

and...

Maybe his saddle was a bit too high?

you know he's thinking "awwwwwwwwww shit"

what's his right foot doing? trying to get extra marks for style?

^^that embarrassing poor form.

I'm not convinced by this, having ridden both on the same easy towpath circuit. I was faster on the XC SS hardtail, even though it weighed a good 8lb more than the cross bike and was very spinny on the fast bit. I think that Singular up there with the Mary bars might well be the best of both worlds. Obviously there's always the rider's skill to take into account, people with mad skillz tend to be able to do speeds on thinner/lighter/shorter travel bikes that would have off-road muppets like me in the hedge.

I just find riding in drops to be much faster and the only thing limiting the speed is my fitness not the bike. I am faster on a cross bike than an MTB (both SS). The terrain I ride on does not need fat MTB tyres as I don't need the grip.

Either that or I must just have those mad skillz :-)

Whats up with some of these horrible MTB's (see top of page)is it a 29errrrrrrllllllgggaaaaaagggghhh? (if its not it's hella ugly!), the cotics alright though. I don't care if they've got gears or are singlespeed, all these lesiure mtb's/ curly ti / 29ers can piss off. MTB's are for thrashing!!! Oh and if you've got your seat set as high tricitybendix your spending way to much time in the saddle instead of snaking down some single track or boosting some bumps, word!

WTF? Whats the problem with other people enjoying different forms of mountain biking? I'd like to see you complete a 24 Hour race on a child sized 'Dirt Jump' bike...

World Cup Racing in Champery last weekend was pretty tough for XC (DH was ridiculous!)

Got any pics of the tough bits? ! would do that on my cross bike!

I just find riding in drops to be much faster

I've got a pretty big saddle to bar drop on my XC bike, so the cross bike didn't have a huge aerodynamic advantage.

WTF? Whats the problem with other people enjoying different forms of mountain biking? I'd like to see you complete a ride to the shop on a child sized 'Dirt Jump' bike...

fixed.

I've got a pretty big saddle to bar drop on my XC bike, so the cross bike didn't have a huge aerodynamic advantage.

Maybe that's it as I have done 'tests' when messing around with bars before and going from risers to drops but with all other factors the same and I was quicker on the same bike with just the bar change.

On less than challenging terrain then I guess it is really down to the fitness assuming wheel/tyre weights are close (for the uphills) as the bike is not being asked to do much more than it would be on the road.

This is my new single speed dirtjumper project.
I got the frame cheap and have tried to spend as little as possible.

Frame: £20, Forks: £5, Saddle: £5, Headset: £14, Stem: £3.50, Seatclamp: 2.50, Brake: £3.20, Seatpost: £6.51, BB: free.
I know they aren't jumping forks but for £5 i'm going to give them ago.

Sounds like a bargain. What you going to do about chain tension? magic gear or tensioner?

great stitching on the saddle...

WTF? Whats the problem with other people enjoying different forms of mountain biking? I'd like to see you complete a 24 Hour race on a child sized 'Dirt Jump' bike...

I used to race xc, dh and a bit of trials on the same bike for a shop team back in 97-2000. XC was actually rad, it was funny back then how low the skill level of some riders was. I even rode to some of my races (mad keen!).

XC is about snaking singletrack and boosting those bumps (bumps not jumps yeh)!

OK, I get where your coming from but I don't see the hate for 29ers? Its just a new form of mountain biking aimed at going quick off road in relative comfort, maybe preferred by those who'd rather not 'catch air'