Cyclocross Season

RobFowl

Alek wrote: »

I wonder if 3kg of mud and a dead rat I've pulled from the rear derailleur has something to do with my results this time ;-) Much worse lap times than in Grange.

The amount of debris clogging my bike during the race was unbelievable. What is the general opinion on running Alfine 11 in cyclocross?

Mine was really clogged up after as well, great race though.
Loved the course and the coffee after too....

Alek

I wonder how much a clean bike can improve your times... I haven't been shifting that much at all, maybe a singlespeed would be actually faster, as there are not as many places that can clog up?

Mr. Grieves

It's interesting how clogging seems to affect some people more than others. I had no shifting problems during the race despite a lot of mud/grass in the derailleur. It's 9 speed, I wonder if that helps.

I was talking to someone who withdrew after the volume of mud between the rear tyre and downtube and down between the chainstays really started to cause a lot of drag. The clearances to me looked similar to my bike. One difference was the brakes - I have canti's, he had discs. I wonder if the canti cable bridge was preventing some mud from getting as far as the downtube/chainstay. Anybody with discs have similar problems with mud?

Raam

I had no problems with shifting (10 speed) at the back at all or with braking. On cantis. There was a fair bit of gunk clogged up at the back but I didn't notice it or feel hindered by it.

lennymc

i also had no problem with clogging up running 10spd and cantis.

single speeds can clog up aswell - just not going to break any mechs

nak

Raam wrote: »

I had no problems with shifting (10 speed) at the back at all or with braking. On cantis. There was a fair bit of gunk clogged up at the back but I didn't notice it or feel hindered by it.

Same here, bike was fine, cassette was quite clean. My husband was in the A race, which was a bit muckier and on a disc bike with 11 speed - no clogging issues either.

Alek

I had no problems with shifting (10s), but could definitely notice the extra drag - stopped once mid-race to get rid of some stuff from between the chainstays and it has noticeably helped, at least until that straight muddy/grassy stretch

Eamonnator

No expert, but I think, that the front mech causes a lot of the problem.

Alek

The front mech gathers a lot of stuff and possibly makes the chainstay clogging worse IMO.

I guess once the chain starts sliding in the rear mech there is not much resistance there. You just cannot backpedal, it will throw the chain off the front.

okane1

Esroh wrote: »

For those who are looking for a race next weekend.

Round 2 of The Connacht Cycle Cross League will be hosted by Castlebar Cycling Club on Sunday the 23rd of Nov.
The race will take place in Lough Lannagh Village and the surrounding lake area.

Sign on will be in Lough Lannagh Village from 930am.

The Youth race will start at 10am sharp, with the Senior Race starting at 10.45am.

For further information please contact David Brennan at brennan.jd@gmail.com or 
Chris Troy at Cstroy2@gmail.com 

Changing facilities, showers and tea and sandwiches will be available at the race.
See link below for google map location of the sign on area.
https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Lough+Lannagh+Holiday+Village/@53.849134,-9.311814,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x48595d838678986d:0xec2058cdc2d65ed7

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Planning on racing this if they let a Killarney CC rider in:P
Will be my first CX with no practice at all. Hopefully my CX tyres will arrive in time!

Tenzor07

Cool video from the starting lap in the A race:

foxer3640

My gears worked fine (105 11sp) despite a load of mud and leaves blocking the rear derraileur. Had to stop 3 times to remove mud from the fork. I'm running disc brakes.... was surprised to see it blocking up so much. Super event. My first real cx race. Entered the a race it was a ball breaker. Roll on next time

Tenzor07

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Those pics will be uploaded to the site tomorrow, usually takes a good few hours to get them all online.

Pics are now up on the site: LINK

Lumen

http://forums.mtbr.com/cyclocross/disc-brakes-fail-cx-nats-2013-a-833390.html

Raam

Even the pros like their bodges...

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/pro-bike-klaas-vantornouts-ridley-x-night-39090/

Peterx

Esroh wrote: »

For those who are looking for a race next weekend.

Round 2 of The Connacht Cycle Cross League will be hosted by Castlebar Cycling Club on Sunday the 23rd of Nov.
The race will take place in Lough Lannagh Village and the surrounding lake area.

Sign on will be in Lough Lannagh Village from 930am.

The Youth race will start at 10am sharp, with the Senior Race starting at 10.45am.

For further information please contact David Brennan at brennan.jd@gmail.com or 
Chris Troy at Cstroy2@gmail.com 

Changing facilities, showers and tea and sandwiches will be available at the race.
See link below for google map location of the sign on area.
https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Lough+Lannagh+Holiday+Village/@53.849134,-9.311814,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x48595d838678986d:0xec2058cdc2d65ed7

Like·Comment

Cool. I'll be in Delphi for the weekend. Hope to see you there.

duffyshuffle

For fear of pinch flat which i've got a few of recently I raced at low 40s PSI (i'm a bit clueless/new to offroad) but really struggled in the heavy ground, what PSI were people running in general?

I have clincher so have tubes at the moment but have KSyriums that are tubeless compatible, would there be a big difference to run tubeless on them rather than clincher/tubes, is it much hassle, cost etc.. are Maxxi Mud Wrestler tyres good for racing CX in these conditions and are they tubeless compatible?

Thanks! Great race and course, well done organisers!

RobFowl

duffyshuffle wrote: »

For fear of pinch flat which i've got a few of recently I raced at low 40s PSI (i'm a bit clueless/new to offroad) but really struggled in the heavy ground, what PSI were people running in general?

I have clincher so have tubes at the moment but have KSyriums that are tubeless compatible, would there be a big difference to run tubeless on them rather than clincher/tubes, is it much hassle, cost etc.. are Maxxi Mud Wrestler tyres good for racing CX in these conditions and are they tubeless compatible?

Thanks! Great race and course, well done organisers!

As a general rule half your weight in kilos.
Less in soft muddy conditions or if using tubs.

nak

duffyshuffle wrote: »

For fear of pinch flat which i've got a few of recently I raced at low 40s PSI (i'm a bit clueless/new to offroad) but really struggled in the heavy ground, what PSI were people running in general?

I have clincher so have tubes at the moment but have KSyriums that are tubeless compatible, would there be a big difference to run tubeless on them rather than clincher/tubes, is it much hassle, cost etc.. are Maxxis Mud Wrestler tyres good for racing CX in these conditions and are they tubeless compatible?

Thanks! Great race and course, well done organisers!

I run low 30s using clinchers if it's muddy (pretty small though) and 20 ish if using tubs.

I was given new Maxxi Mud tyres from a local bike shop and they are ok, use them in drier conditions for training, but much prefer Specialized Terras - have the clincher and tubular versions; great grip, no problems Sunday. The Clement PDX clinchers are great in the mud too.

Alek

I was running 40psi front and 60 rear, as I tend to pinch my tubes (82kg+11kg bike). I had a real issue with accelerating in mud, my rear wheel was just turning in place - due to too high pressure I guess. No problem with grip in cornering.

Just bought some sealant and will try the ghetto tubeless method for the next race, @30/40psi.

Maxxi Mud Wrestler

There is a tubeless version of this model. I was racing the non-tubeless one on Sunday and found it very good for mud/grass. Much slower than Racing Ralphs on the tarmac, though.

lennymc

I was running about 40 (maybe 35 in really soft stuff) when running tubes. I didn't get any pinch flats, but was very aware of what lines I was taking.

Alek

but was very aware of what lines I was taking.

Because of pinch flats or possibility of taking the tire off in a tight turn? Does it happen with clinchers at all?

Peterx

All this tyre talk.
In saying that I was "lucky" enough to get to try out two different tyres in race conditions on Sunday and was astounded by the difference in handling on the corners.
With the first set (rocket rons I think, lowish pressure) I was cornering like a minor god, putting time into lads ahead of me on all cornery sections and generally thinking today is the day I challenge for my highest finishing position.

One broken seatpost later Alan Clogher very kindly lent me his spare bike and his tyres were at a harder pressure and now I found that those corners were much trickier, I had to take much less aggressive lines and felt sketchier all the time.
My lap times were about 50 seconds slower with the second bike. And sadly this tells me that unfortunately it's not all bull**** marketing talk, the right equipment on the day makes a noticeable difference. And I didn't have any trouble with mud clogging, on either bike.

In actual cyclocross season chat I just LOVE being gridded. I think it's my very favourite part of the whole event, apart from the racing. Getting your name called out, walking up through the assembled nervous horde and crucially avoiding the complete carnage at the start.
I started in the 4th row and after two corners was already 30 places ahead of where I would have been without gridding.
I will spend the next two weeks hoping against hope that by some miracle I am still gridded for round 4.
Johnny McCabe's gopro shows the crashing at the start.

RobFowl

lennymc wrote: »

but was very aware of what lines I was taking.

Too aware Lenny

Raam

I reckon I had way too much pressure in my tubs. It was my own fault as I didn't have a huge amount of prep time when I arrived so I forgot to adjust the pressure. Cornering was more rubbish for me than normal as a result.

Raam

Peterx wrote: »

In actual cyclocross season chat I just LOVE being gridded. I think it's my very favourite part of the whole event, apart from the racing. Getting your name called out, walking up through the assembled nervous horde and crucially avoiding the complete carnage at the start.
I started in the 4th row and after two corners was already 30 places ahead of where I would have been without gridding.
I will spend the next two weeks hoping against hope that by some miracle I am still gridded for round 4.
Johnny McCabe's gopro shows the crashing at the start.

No gridding for B races
That start... narrow, uphill, saps like me who can't clip in properly... it's all a recipe for a bit of fun

RobFowl

Raam wrote: »

No gridding for B races
That start... narrow, uphill, saps like me who can't clip in properly... it's all a recipe for a bit of fun

At least you had the cop to position yourself well for the start, try looking up to see near 90 riders ahead.....

Alek

My lap times were about 50 seconds slower with the second bike.

That A LOT. how about your position on the bike? Or maybe your general confidence racing on a bike that is not yours? Its hard to believe this was only due to the tyres :eek:

lennymc

@alek - pinch flats. never occured to me that a tubed tyre might roll
@raam - i started at 40, did one lap and straight away dropped about 5 psi. Made a huge difference. I possibly could have gone down more.
@robfowl - only 90? Looked like more than that. Good barging practice getting through them.

Peterx

Alek wrote: »

That A LOT. how about your position on the bike? Or maybe your general confidence racing on a bike that is not yours? Its hard to believe this was only due to the tyres :eek:

The first bike wasn't mine either
I was trying to cycle exactly the same, I don't tend to over worry about the bike, as long as it keeps going I'm happy to keep pushing it round in the little circles.

On Alan's bike the saddle height wasn't perfect, the tyres were not as grippy (for whatever reasons - pressure, thread pattern, stiffness) and the bike itself was heavier and quite possibly I wasn't as mentally switched on after losing the buzz of racing for a high placing.

If it sounds like I'm giving out about Alan's bike that is not the case, I am very grateful* for his generosity.

* a couple of Belgian beers at the next event