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Much as title says
I've not done honc before and was hoping for a little advice
Is the off road element tame enough to get by on a normal road bike ?
Depends more on the weather..
I did it a couple of years ago and it was dry as a bone..
CX bike was perfect.
Although most where on MTBs.. the off road wasn't tech, just really farm tracks and field edges, if it was dry, you may be ok..
Just put the biggest tyres you can on it!
You could do it on a road bike, it would be bumpy and uncomfortable but dooable. You would be very fast on all the other bits.
Lots of Cross bikes do it fine. There is no "tech", mainly easy bridleways. One bugger of an off road climb, but you can do it.
If its dry it will be bummpy as a lot of horses ride the trails, if its wet it will be horrid. Clay shite type of horrid.
The course changes a bit year to year but you'd struggle riding a lot of the off-road bits on a normal road bike. It's fine on a cross bike (although some of the rougher/faster sections look more like they're to be endured rather than enjoyed on a cross bike). If you were prepared to walk a few sections (or slide about barely in control) then doing it on 28mm slicks might not be beyond the realms of possibility. Both times I've done it were on a 140mm FS though and still had fun.
Sadly I don't have a cx bike so looks like 29er with some cx tyres might be best of what I've got
Thanks all
I have ridden the whole route, and variations of, on a road bike. Not at one time though. I would advise Not using a road bike mud, the rocky bits, nitty the best tool for the job
[i]Sadly I don't have a cx bike so looks like 29er with some cx tyres might be best of what I've got
[/i]
This would be the perfect HONC tool.
But why not just use the 29r as is?
Sadly I don't have a cx bike so looks like 29er with some cx tyres might be best of what I've got
I'd go for some quick rolling 29 tyres instead, much more fun and won't slow you down much. A few years ago I did the first half in a group of 5 at the very front. The 3 cyclo-x bikes went backwards big time on the lumpy downhills, then we just tucked in behind them on the road when they caught us back up.
Was fun untill they didnt stop for cakes and tea, where's the fun in that, so we let them go.
Last year which was dry was fairly easy on a CX bike. I seem to remember 1 or 2 ploughed field crssings which were hard as being a pain in the wrists. Other wise plain sailing. If dry anything would cope.
My 29 ( spearfish ) has full on mud tyres at the moment and I'm to competitive to use those on the road much lol
I'd suggest most of the advice above is wrong. The ideal conditions for a CX bike is when it's muddy, not when it's dry. CX tyres tend to work pretty well in the mud, and a CX bike works well on all the road sections whatever the weather. If it's properly dry (as it was one time when I road on a CX bike) then the rutted fields are a real pain on a crosser as you get bumped around all over the place - that's when a susser (or just a MTB with properly fat tyres) has a real advantage.
I did it on a cx during a dry year. A few downhills were tough and the final one out of control but fun. I overtook a couple of full suss guys on the way down but that was more due to my the shite brakes. The big issue was being in the pack at the beginning and not being able to see the rocks the the mtb guys just rode over. It's not a race so id choose the cx bike first as its the most fun but I think a rigid 29er with opropriate tyres would be fastest.
Thanks all great as always