[Houdini]

Aye, nice steed Chappers. 


A clothes peg and an ace of spades on the rear spokes and she be fit for the road!

[tlr]

Tim, did you survive that small ride around the Lakes at weekend??

Aye, it was a pleasant pootle round a nice part of the world....

It was great actually. Really warm and sunny, and no wind. I think that some people were suffering a bit in the heat, but it suits me.

I got round in 7.36, which I'm really pleased with - I thought sub 8 was the best I could possibly hope for. 227th out of 850 starters (150 people didn't turn up).

The first 100km were super quick - an average of 27kph! Our tactics worked really well as we were hoping to get caught by one of the fast groups for the drag down the A66 to Keswick, and so it happened. I was in a very large group getting dragged along at 40-60kph down the main road. Quite scary in a group that large and fast. Needless to say they dropped me on Honister Pass.

I did walk a bit of Hardknott, cramp in my calves and general fatigue, which was a shame, but overall it was a great day - lots of spectators and support. Sounds like a few horrible crashes as well though.

We ended the day with a few bottles of wine an a birthday meal in the Glasshouse in Ambleside.

[fatdoc]

 


 



awesome, truly awesome

[fatkid2000]

Well done Tim. And to drink a few bottles of wine after is impressive. I would have managed about one glass and then been on the floor but I am an official lightweight.

Fatdoc: I rode a medium Wolf Ridge at Stan's this morning - felt small on the road, but fine off road. It seems a nice bke.
           I'm trying the Mount Vision on Fri or Saturday, think I may prefer this as I think I'll want more of XC bike.

I managed to get the Wolf Ridge up some pretty steep rough stuff, but think I need some cleats to get the most out of the bike.

[fatdoc]

av speed on vision higher....

max speed highest on wolf.... oh yeah baby!  just wind the suspension in all the way on the ups, you get there in the end.

i agree, i ride with the supplied clipless pedals...

[fatkid2000]

Fatdoc: Andrew at Stan's told me the wolf is built up more than the Attack. Is the Attack worth the extra cash, plus its abit lighter as apparently itsn't as heavily built as the Wolf. Bearing in mind you changed your front fork due to breakage to the same as the Attack. The Medium felt small as far as reach went out front, but I presume I will want the reach to be fairly compact when off road. Stan's have s large Attack which I can try on Friday as well.

[fatdoc]

Attack lighter indeed, still 140mm front and aft...

the sizing is  a mare, i buy my bikes small. very small.

bit off topic but here's fatdocs thoughts on mtb sizing...

what i suggest for this bike range (140 mm travel marin all mtn range) is:

you dont want the lowest saddle position you use (saddle down for DH ) to be all the way into the seat tube, i have about 10 to 12 cm still out. my feet are near flat on the floor with this saddle height.

The saddle height adjustment is so vast that you can rack up the saddle to get roadie type leg extension no worries for the hills / road. when on the road the bike then feels cramped, really cramped. esp with the the forks down and locked. so what, it's a MTB, you get better performance this way. i bet you can do this on both frame sizes.... if you bang your knees on the bars on the medium in *road* mode it's too small


if you dont then it's down to reach, there is BIG difference in the head tube length from medium to small and even more so for the large. this was the deciding factor in me getting a small.

with the forks long and soft and the saddle down and the propedal OFF you need to be able to get your arse of the bike, totally off behind the bike frame, bollocks past the top of the rear wheel. if you cant move about this far you'll not get as much out of the bike as it's got.

there, simple eh?


regarding travel....

IAOTO that more travel is better esp in the peaks, rocky natural trails.... cool!

racing / fast XC loops and big rides.... 24 hr endurance events, trailquesting, coast to coast etc.... probably with some serious lyrca..... that's whytes and visions...

Or...

more relaxed group rides, text / forum organised, baggies, odd splash of leg armour, those all MTN type of helmets, ground effect clothing, clipless pedals with platforms, fucking fast descenders - often go to alps in summer and / or own a bigger Bike, still competative on the ups, but wait for their mates - to then seriously take the piss for being slow on the ups... mid week evening rides near always end at a pub..


that's what most mtbers i know do, think enduros, 140mm marins, orange 5s....


it's more fun to be more sprung!

[fatkid2000]

more relaxed group rides, text / forum organised, baggies, odd splash of leg armour, those all MTN type of helmets, ground effect clothing, clipless pedals with platforms, fucking fast descenders - often go to alps in summer and / or own a bigger Bike, still competative on the ups, but wait for their mates - to then seriously take the piss for being slow on the ups... mid week evening rides near always end at a pub..

I'm not sure I can do this relaxed ride thing. When I rode the Wolf up hill near Matlock yesterday I was pushing as hard as I do on the road bike and covered in just as much sweat. Faster = Bettter - I can't do slow that much!!

[fatdoc]

you will when you're bleeding 

all further discussion on this best served on the MTB thread matey...

[fatkid2000]

Tim, Just saw some pic of Hardknott pass on TV, that looks one hardcore hill with mean looking switch - backs / hairpins!! Makes Winnats looking pretty tame.

[tlr]

You're not wrong - it is 2km of steepness that makes Winnats or Curbar Gap seem like a walk in the (flat) park.

I had ridden the Lakeland Loop a few weeks previously which goes over Hardknott and Wrynose and managed them on a 34-25, but this time a 34-27 wasn't enough to avoid cramp in my calfs so I had to walk for a bit. The roads are in a really bad state which doesn't help.

Honister and Newlands Passes are really good climbs as well.

The descents are pretty scary too; I saw 75kph on my clock and I had the brakes on most of the time. I lost a lot of time on the downhills unfortunately - too much imagination I reckon!

I'd be on for a trip to the Lakes one weekend to go and ride them again.

[Joepicalli]

Heads up road gurus: with all allowances for the varying lengths of pieces of string what constitutes a decent time for the Froggatt Hill?

[Percy B]

15 minutes is the benchmark for being a wad. Anything under 20 minutes is respectable. More than 20 minutes and you'll probably be riding a mountain bike

[Percy B]

Oh yes, this assumes that you start the clock at the give way lines at the bottom of the hill and stop it at the give way lines at the top. I didn't know you could ride a bicycle, Joe..... you're full of suprises!

[fatkid2000]

I rode it again today and managed 13 mins 50. Slower than last time, but no pacers to aim at.

[Baron]

The inevitable comparison, or not. Froggatt in 15mins and sport 8a? Discuss, or not.

[jfw]

Birkby says froggatt under 12:30 would be equivalent of 8a

[fatkid2000]

12:30 is seriously fast - the bench mark for most Sheffield roadies is 15 mins unless you're heading towards Cat 1 or Malc Elliott kind of speed.

[saltbeef]

pacers help alot. (I'm not detracting from your time! that is beastly!) I had 2 mins difference between times last sunday and wednesday, due to lo lack of friendly competition, a clock on my bike, and a headwind of doom!
anyway, what does anyone recommend for a bike computer?

[Joepicalli]

Ok, thanks for the views. Sub 20 min = respectable, and I should aim for 15 for waddage cool the work starts here.

[Percy B]

15 mins = 8a?  Maybe, although it would not be an 8a on Kalymnos (that would be 20 mins). Birkby can have his 8a tick when he's ridden Froggatt in 12.30 - does shaving your swede help even more than shaving your legs then?

[Shy Yorkshireman]

Under 20 stopping for a tab and quick half at the grouse is not bad. Under 15 is not like climbing 8a! maybes 7c. Oh and are we talking rolling start at the give way line? Take it that is the bottom of the hill! Proper 8a's are nails. any monkey who puts in a bit of EFFORT can get up that in 15. That my two peneth any road.

[jfw]

Just wanted to add that if you took up climbing there is no way you would climb 8a in your first year/ first few months, but with a bit of training i reckon most people would get a good time on said hill. how many people climb 8a or even 7c in their first year climbing? Anyone know what the record for the Curbar gap is?

[Shy Yorkshireman]

Sorry posting under jfw's log in. She's right though!

[reeve]

Have to say that Curbar Gap is the only local hill worthy of interest!?  Froggatt is almost as tedious as surprise view but a nice surface for descending on for the main event non?

Sub 5 minute Curbar Gap anyone?  Stationary start from leaning on the sign to get cleats in...