[Closed] Hopton Charity Gravity Enduro - Get on it.

Bump for a good cause. Entry opens on the 2nd October.

I'm entering with scottfitz. Never ridden that way before, but trails look excellent! team qecp collective ftw!

very tempted !

I'm in. Good cause and looks like a good intro to DH.

Bump. Good cause, and entries now open.

I'm signed up. Whats the terrain like up there? If its wet, whats the grip like? I've been to the main TCs in Wales and grip is great in wet, so could get away with non winter tyres. Would Fat Albert on front be ok, or would I need a Storm or maybe swampy? Would crossmark lust on back be a bit risky? TIA

I have one set of tyres.

Rain, shine, wet, dry.

Not even very good ones (Continental Mountain King 2.2in)

Does it really matter?

well I am travelling 4hrs to this event that I have paid £35 to enter (inc fuel thats approx £100+night accom), so I would appreciate having chosen the right equipment that I have to pick from!

Sorry superfli, didn't mean it sound like that! I'm just worried I don't have the right gear! And 'does it really matter' was acutally a genuine question!

Sorry to bite 😉
Well it sounds like you might be local and know the conditions and could get away with those tyres just fine. In the dry, I would use the same tyres on my AM bike for all but DHing+alpine duties. But in the wet - certainly from where I'm from (chalky south), grip is minimal, so getting a grippy tyre is pretty crucial.
Think I'll risk my NN (which are great all rounders, but can split) on back and FA on front - my normal choice

I'm booked on. I'm really looking forward to it because the trails are great. I've ridden DH there before and the trails were awesome fun.

In. Pearces's are a top bunch and their downhill races are run like clockwork.
Good riding at Hopton but can be slick in the wet.

Any one else up for this? Its a good cause and the trails are good.
Could be nippy camping mind.

I'm going to give this another bump.

Enduro trail maps are up. 2.5+1.75 miles of DH (each being done twice)!! Over 10mins for 1st one. 10mins of flat out peddling?!! Thats going to be tough 😯

At least they're mainly DH - it'll still be a bit of a grind in places but should be fun 🙂

Thinking of going along on the Rigid SS.

Will I die?

Jimster. Probably not but I'd recommend some pretty chunky tyres at least. And a spare set of legs!

Spent yesterday doing a bit of digging and tidying of the new bits for the Gravity Enduro course - loads of work has gone into these tracks and it's looking fun 🙂

Do we walk the tracks in the morning or the day before then because I've read that we don't get any practise time?

Getonyourbike- not sure where you have read about not having practise time. Please check this link> http://www.pearcecycles.co.uk/hopton_woods_charity_gravity_enduro
as it clearly states the following:

Sat 20th Oct

7.30 - 18.30 Enduro rider registration
15.00 - 17.30 Enduro stages open for inspection

Sun 21st Oct

7.30 -10.00 Enduro rider registration
8.00 - 10.00 Enduro stages open for inspection
10.30 - 16.00 Four timed stages completed
16.30 approx Prize presentation

I would expect that you can ride the course for inspection as it will take more than 2 hours to walk around it. If any doubts, I suggest you contact Pearce Cycles.

Pearce - best organised races in the business Pearce DH series has always been superb (weather aside) run by some of the nicest people you could hope to meet - both Dave and Lyndsey Pearce are absolutely wonderful people (Im pretty sure she helped push my bike when I snapped my arm and comforted my mate when he compound'd his leg).

Hopton DH is pretty rooty predominantly, if wet it has a tendency to get a little slick so I wouldnt go for a full mud tyre, either a cut down spike or an intermediate. Unless its frozen. Then its High roller territory.

Sorry, I just assumed that when it said inspection, instead of practise, I assumed that it wasn't riding them.

You will be able to ride the Enduro course on Saturday. As for the terrain, for those who did the Eastridge Gravity Enduro, it'a similar to that but on a bigger hill.

So you're allowed to ride the tracks from 3 to 5:30 in the afternoon on saturday?

Bump for Jase 🙂

i rode both stages in full on saturday. they are a bit good.

[i]So you're allowed to ride the tracks from 3 to 5:30 in the afternoon on saturday?[/i]

Yup!

[i]it's similar to that but on a bigger hill[/i]

It must be my sense of humour by I find that really funny. Hopton's hill is not only a bigger hill, it's much bigger and is exhausting climbing up it but you'll have sooooo much fun coming back down. 😆

edit: entries close this Thursday

My first time to hopton, Gravity enduro should be fun. Hmmm tyre choose...
Im going
Swampthing F & Mudx R (If its muddy)
Swampthing F & High roller R (If its not to Muddy)
High roller F & Larson TT R (If theres no mud)
I will take all 4 and pick when i get there.

forget the larson, the swampy /high roller is the one to go with.

Forget the Larson? You don't need grip on the rear :-/ just speed 😉

i take it back then, everyone should use a larson rear for the hopton race ,especially if your in masters 😉

I rode at Hopton weekend before last - was pretty wet, and quite slick. I had an Advantage on the front and an Ardent on the rear which was a little sketchy and lacking in traction in places.

I'm entered on Sunday, though having to look at building up the hardtail since my Mondraker has developed a couple of unsightly cracks 🙁

Based on experience of various Gravity Enduros, I wouldn't go too chunky (HighRoller/Minion etc) as there's going to be plenty of climbing on the transitions, and the stages look to have a fair amount of 'along' as well as 'down' in them.

Should be a good day, and as everyone has said - for a great cause

I will bring a minion too and choose on the Sat. Come to think of it I have a lot of maxxis tyres. I will leave the crossmark, igniter & wet scream at home 😉

Jesterthefirst, yeah, fair comment. I just meant it was a similar mix of man made blasts and rooty loamy goodness, just on a bigger scale.
As for tyres, I'd go for grip first, especially if it's wet. There will be a fair bit climbing back up but the transitions are going to be pretty relaxed timing wise I think. Unless of course you're in vets, in which case I'd go for semi slick 1.95 XC tyres both ends 😉

crossmark will be alright on back won't it? swampy on front for me. else it's nevegal which is a bit slow. hmm slow and grippy or fast and possibly not so grippy :-/

use the nevegal.

if you have reasonable fitness ,tyre choice is usually irrelevent for transitions on the gravity enduros as there is usually loads of time between stages.

Its not the transitions I'm worried about. Nevegal is draggy even on singletrack. Fine for pootles and trail centres, possibly not so for racing. I'll take a walk on Sat and decide. H'mm fitting tubeless in a hotel room, all that fast pumping, huffing and puffing. Will sound odd when my wife and son and me walk out...

nickhead - Member
I rode at Hopton weekend before last - was pretty wet, and quite slick. I had an Advantage on the front and an Ardent on the rear which was a little sketchy and lacking in traction in places....

Based on experience of various Gravity Enduros, I wouldn't go too chunky (HighRoller/Minion etc) as there's going to be plenty of climbing on the transitions, and the stages look to have a fair amount of 'along' as well as 'down' in them.

If the ardents and the advantage were a little sketchy, wouldn't it be better to go with a highroller / minion? Or is there something inbetween you would recommend?

I'm a bit of tyre novice, and the idea of starting a tyre thread on here terrifies me to my very core....

will everyone be wearing a full face or open lid?

Open lid - as suggested on the Pearce website (but mainly because I don't have a full face)

I might consider looking a **** and putting my parachute chinguard on. If I dont use it here, where am I to use it?!

parachute 😳

You can borrow it Scott, but dunno if your coordinated shorts and top will match 😆

what the hell is a parachute chinguard??

what the hell is a parachute chinguard??

Its embarrassing that what it is! 😳

Be cool like me Superfli, Ride in a piss pot'n'goggles and your pants! 8)

Also dave you don't need to protect your face, it's not like your going to make it look worse. 😈

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/met-parachute-mtb-item180471.html?gclid=CNL_24LthbMCFWXJtAodCR0A9w

I'm to old to give a hoot what people think, it also seems I'm too ugly as well 🙁
However, I dont particularly like going to the dentist, so I'm going to wear it!

Don't worry mate when you win the master we will all love you 🙂

@superfli
the crossmark will not be faster of the greasy singletrack on the stages at hopton. it will only benifit you on the fireroad sections of the stages.

Looking forward to it. Anyone else in the hardtail cat? Can anyone tell me how long getting up the hill will take? I am going down on the sunday and would like to get atleast one stage ridden before the off, but seen as I am second starter at 10:30 it is lookiing like I might need an early start...

Provisional start times have been listed

As far as I know the Gravity enduro route is similar to the National xc course held earlier this year. Check out the lap times on Timelaps for the results (saturday results here)which will give you an idea.

At the top of the climb there is a grassy climb too but I think this has been modified and recently been given a layer of hardcore (?) so it won't be so draggy. I haven't actually seen the alterations though. The hill climb will take anything from 7 minutes to 15 minutes depending on your fitness and conditions.

Video of the stages for the Gravity Enduro, you may wish to turn the volume up for a running commentary.

http://mpora.com/videos/AAdaqcb3wkkf

Have a great weekend everyone 😀