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I'm doing the Ritchey Trail Masters this weekend and am wondering what sort of bike to take ?
First off - Hardtail or Full susser ?
If (as I suspect) a full suss, what type, a short travel XC type (Super 4 Carbon with 120mm fork) or full on trail type (Yeti 575 - 150mm fork). I'm a reasonably fit rider but not overly great on technical sections (can ride all the Welsh trail centres ok).
Has anyone done it before (or the Trans Wales) would I be better with the added beef/confidence of the Yeti (because of the technicality of the course?) or should I go for weight saving to aid with the hill climbing ?
Genuinely in two minds regarding which bike would be more suitable !?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Michael
From what I understand of the format of the race there are going to be some time sections of uphill and so sections of flowing singletrack rather than all out technical downhill so I would have thought that a short travel full suss would be perfect over a 150mm bike. There is also the distance that you have to cover in between the special stages so I would go for something a bit lighter so you get to those stages less tired.
I will be there on a Whyte 29er carbon hard tail with some larger volume tyres.
For the area it is I would say short travel full suss, there wont be anything that will absolutely require more travel and you still need to cover the distances which will be easier with less travel.
Did TW11 on my Yeti ASR5c w/ 120mm forks and built light - c24lbs. To my mind was the perfect bike - enough travel for the techy special stages and spicier parts of the linking stages, not too heavy on the timed uphills, enough to enjoy the riding as well as being relatively competitive. One of my mates did it on a Scale 29er and reckoned his was the perfect bike, but then he's fitter and more skillful than me (he's just about to break in to Expert level racing, I'm an average Masters rider) and was in it for a podium.
Horses for courses really... Well, not literally obviously as it's a bike race... 😆