[Closed] The Cyclocross season is upon us. Yay!

Still pouring down here. And remembering how difficult the course is in the dry.

Looking forward to more piccys.

Curious on tyre pressure..... i know i know...what tyres what pressure...save starting a thread when CX'ers are all here.

In my limited experince of using conti cx race 35mm clinchers, the really cheap ones, which have been really good.
Still swotting up on CX racing....but 24-26psi seems very low. Was the course just grass and mud, a soft track so allowing lower PSI ?

I run my conti clinchers at 45 front and 55 rear, and still rim the rear, but haven't pinch flatted yet. Did pick up 2 thorns, but i do ride rocky tracks and chuck the bike about on downhills.
If i go too low they just squirm and roll.

Do tubs perform better at lower PSI than clinchers ? i know tubs are more supple so more grip than clinchers for serious racing, so the ability to run lower PSI another advantage to tubs ?

Please excuse the questions, i don't know anyone that races CX and this seems to be a good place to ask.
Eyeing up the south west series race in November at Chard as a possible to at least go and watch.....or get dirty tyres 🙂

acehtn. I'm a bit tired but yes tubs run better at lower pressures. I run clinchers and only go down to about 35/40.

There isn't usually any rock or such on CX courses, it's more about sprints and turns and a hell of a lot of wet slippy off camber, oh and dismounts for hurdles and ditches.

Chef did Nik Gustavsson race today?(he used to live up the road with my friends).

Plumstead next Saturday, first race this season, hopefully I'll be over my cold... and I've got shiny news tires to blame when I fail to set the race alight.

7th place today, bloody fantastic racing the whole way 8)

Nik Gustavsson race today?

DNF Sat, 8th in Prestige, (Elite), today, impressive.

Nice work chef!

Happy Valley today, wet & horrible. Lovely 🙂

No idea on position, but definitely 1st singlespeed ;o)

Kinchy - vets or seniors?

Found it really hard today, must have fallen way back on my previous weeks results. Had to ride it for the 'long run' steady smooth and upright.

Happy Valley was pretty hard today. The head wind from the finish line onwards was demoralising. Was pretty pleased to get up to 4th in the V/J/W but faded to 6th.
Was running about 15 psi in my tubs to help get me out of the dip at the bottom of the circuit and certainly made a big difference on the wet corners. Just glad they stayed on!

Running rocket ron clinchers at 30psi front and 35psi rear, will go lower if it's just grass with no roots or stones that are obvious, i'm 69Kg and don't tend to smash it through things. They will feel soft and bouncy, but at that point the tyre is deforming to the ground therefore maximising grip.

Went 30 rear & just under 30 front today, tubeless. Could've gone a bit lower I think.

First picture published from today. Fighting face with my team mate close behind, (he got me with better technique around a 180 degree bend with 200 meters to go).

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As for tyre pressure, up a couple of PSI today as there were a fair few faster corners and I felt that the front was a little too low yesterday.

I run tubs, so sub 30 is no issue on good cross courses, my pit wheels are clincher and they run in at around 32psi.

Haven't tried tubeless but interesting that you can run tubeless at 30 John, sounds promising.

Had my first race of the season today on my new old bike. I managed to break the frame last year and the frame builder (also a good friend of mine) repaired it and resprayed it. Bought some new Hope wheels with Strans rims but unfortunately the LBS ran out of tape to run them tubeless so had to use innner tubes and with a high psi as the course was very rooty. Every corner was 'interesting' with the pumped up tires and after trying to push too hard I hit the deck hard and managed to pop out my calf muscle! After a bit of massaging I managed to push it back into place and got back on but lost about 10 places! Hopefully I'll have better luck next weekend 😈 though my leg is still hurting like a good 'un 😥

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Here's a mobile pic of the new bike taken yesterday on its maiden voyage. The decals are going on this week and the fork is being sprayed blue along with the stem the week after.

7th place today, bloody fantastic racing the whole way

7th here, bloody hard work though.

Got prize money as well.
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Zappi's Sunday. Sand and mud woooo hoooo 😐

hengrove in the western,expecting carnage with the rain were having

Great looking kit there oldgit!I want some. :O)

hengrove in the western,expecting carnage with the rain were having

Yup.. i'll be there. Just put a clement pdx mud tyre on the front. Actually looking forward to it 🙂

keeping the cross king front speed king rear and see what floats its gonna be like being 10 and riding thro muddy fields
exept u have to deal with the misses not your mother

tricky whats your kit/ride? il watch out when u lap me 😛

hey.. I ride for VC Bristol. Nice course, had a good start (actually gridded for once) but couldn;t stay with the top 7 or so as they were just too strong. Think i just about bagged a top 10 but not sure

Ran a clement PDX clincher on the front. What a revelation. Really does rail round the corners very impressed. Put a latex tube in as well so i coudl run lower pressure. Back end was a bit squirmy as i had the grifo which isn't known for it's grip

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wow tricky disco was that today? what a pleasant looking course and day. Reading cx today had huge rain shower and mud to tackle but a cracking course to slide your way round. could have done with that clemant pdx on some climbs though and some studs on my shoes to get up some of the other climbs...

7th place today, bloody fantastic racing the whole way
7th here, bloody hard work though.

Upgraded to 6th, that's three 6th places on the bounce. Waiting to hear about today

Tricky - where did you get the photo from. I rode Hengrove today, top 7 sure were strong, good course except for the fricken headwind!

Ah yeah I see now u laped me a few time lmao pretty sure I was almost last but weel see lol whether was deff on our side bar the massive headwind I pretty much bonked on the last lap was getting funny spots in the vision not feeling 100% anyway did you get any more pics? I no mum got quite allot of all riders

Round 1 6th
Round 2 6th
Round 3 6th
Round 4 today guess what 6th.

Time for some devil horns for your helmet!

Guy called [url=

brimson[/url]posted them on the velo club facebook page

yes, headwind was terrible that's why i tired to grab someone's wheel to recover on that section

Running two leagues here in Helsinki this year, we've got a race almost every week from now until just before Xmas, ace! One is more traditional/euro with a fair bit of grass though still enough rocks and roots to need higher pressures, and the first round I made it to included a couple of ride/run across the sandy beach of the island we were on sections... The other is entitled 'cross where it doesn't belong' and the organisers delight in throwing rocky, rooty trails at you, sometimes jumps, properly steep offroad climbs and descents etc, and tons of fun rooty singletrack, great fun. And will get interesting as we get to late November and December and the temps can drop to minus 15 and the snow may or may not come... Lots of SSCX and fixiecross, a few monster cross, even one fatcross in this less traditional series!

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Today (me above) was the first frosty race though still sunny, others have been in pretty hot sunshine for October, no rain yet 🙂 This disappointed the organiser who'd planned on a muddy quagmire by running through some bogs, only to have them frozen overnight, yay! Oh and I'm doing the same as Oldgit - 5th, 5th, and today thought I was 4th despite a cold all week and taking it easy the last few laps, but no, 5th again!

Plumpton on Saturday, put on by whitechalkhillscx for the 1st time. They definitely made the most of the available space, with plenty of futile zig-zags, a bumpy lumpy field & a spiral through the farm yard with gas cylinders for cowbells 😀

Weather was horrible. Mid pack finish in vets again & only singlespeed (again).

I might try Finland.

No result up yet (I have seen?), would like to think I had a decent result.

Brutal as always round Hengrove - I think I may have some footage of you/us going over the first rail.

atleast i have a training loop over the road from my house now lol dident no the cource before

No result up yet (I have seen?), would like to think I had a decent result.

what kit/team are you in?

john_l - this coming weekend is, as well as a normal 'less traditional' round, it's the fixie cross "national championships" (or fixed cx and beer drinking gathering) so there'll be plenty of fixed, SS and other weirdness, and the promise of a course from hell 🙂

And a couple of pics from a more traditional snowy round a few years back:

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Come join us!

VC Montpellier - Hoping 4th but might be completely wrong

looks like the western results are up i seem to have betterd myself abit sins 1st race gone from 2nd from last to 10th from last 😆
still im happy with that

Techmechs.. looks like you got 3rd in Seniors

DO you by any chance know Mike ward? Sure he used to ride for you guys (now with 24/7)

No - I know of him but dont know him - I've only been riding for VC-M this season.

I was pretty pleased with 4th(3rd), thats a handy result coming from last years top15 results I was having. Although Hengrove does suit me as a course.

Anyone racing Western League, Netham Park, on the 27th? I've not ridden the venue before, is it any good?

Wouldnt mind knowing if wessex cx Basingstoke on the 27th is a flat field or a bit more interesting like Reading? ill be doing a rain dance as i seem to do much better at reading last week in all that rain and mud.

Im tempted to enter this to give CX racing a go but does any one know if I would be allowed to enter on my 29er with Barends? They're not metal ones, but those rubber ones that have half sticking up and half sticking down???
(These ones:)

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Sure i read in rules "no bar ends" and "no fixed wheel"

Be down to the BC com on the day most likely, and the status of the race. From watching lots of videos of UK racing from this year, they have appeared on bikes....

Pick a race to try and contact the people in charge, or take some bar end plugs in case they have to come off.

dobo, Basingstoke is largely but not totally flat. There are also some woods, a BMX track and some tricky off-camber bits in a addition to the fields.

Unless it's a UCI race (i.e., Nat Champs or National Trophy, you can ride anything. No restrictions about fixed (although the timing of mounting and dismounting would be, let's say, tricky) and bar ends must be securely plugged.

Ok, the BC rules say 'open to any bike without exception' so I reckon I'd be fine.

So what to expect? Likely to be lots of obstacles? Do you get to pre-ride a lap?

thanks crispycross, damn dreaded fields, i always do a lot worse on flat courses, i bet theres a strong headwind too.. bmx course sounds interesting

crosshair what cx series are you going to enter? you can usually preride the courses just before your race, i try to do a warmup lap if im not late.. not encountered many obstacles in the wessex cx series, the odd steep hill you got carry up or sand trap to get over.

Dobo, was going to rock up at Basingstoke. What cat should I enter? (Age 30, done a couple of xc races)

im in vets but at 30 id go in seniors, 1hr hour of pain, it will no doubt be a fast bunch but just enjoy yourself. it will be short laps and its not uncommon to be lapped by the fast guys. the field will soon spreadout and you blend right in 🙂

Cool- I'm intrigued by it I must say. All being well, I'll be there!

There isn't any categories in a cross race usually it's all age related. The vets race isn't any slower than the seniors usually. Either way enjoy an hour of hell, and then smile once you get to the flag. Be warned it's very addictive.

No cats yet Benji but it maybe on the cards in future there has been talks on the YCCA fb page recently I think.

It would be nice if they did do cats, they have them in the states but the participation numbers at their events is massive in comparison to the uk. The YCCA are doing a few races with a novice class but it's the riders choice as to which they chose to ride. Be nice to see it the same as road racing with 4/3/2/1/E.

Be nice to see it the same as road racing with 4/3/2/1/E.

Now that would be awesome. hard turning up to a race full of elite level roadies and the odd pro (simon richardson and Oli beckingsale)

Basingstoke track is ok.
Basically skirts some football pitches near the tennis club so reasonable flat, but does have some ups and downs, some bits in the trees and a couple of sets of barriers.
Vets and Seniors are similar really, fast boys off the front and pretty spread out after half a lap. At least with the Vets racing with the juniors and ladies there's usually a huge field and someone to have a battle with.

No as tough or varied as Reading, but race it hard and it'll still be fun.

MK lower course, super bumpy, endless climbs and wind. I could lick some smooth tarmac right now.

5th place today in the south of Sweden's double header.

Super wet heavy grass for 90% of the lap, one very long very steep run up, one short, some stairs, and plenty of off camber turns. Love it, bring on tomorrow.

So just to check, is the course open to pre-ride all morning (like a Gorrick xc for example) or is it closed when an earlier cat is in session?

How high are the barriers? I've watched the couple of 2011 vids on YouTube and they only seem about 12" high. I never got around to practicing (anything!) my dismounts today so wondering whether to just hop over them....

Anyone racing Western League, Netham Park, on the 27th? I've not ridden the venue before, is it any good?

Just found out it's been cancelled. 🙁 They've been trying to get this venue for 2 years now. Don't want a repeat of [url= http://road.cc/content/news/70545-bristol-crossgate-council-now-working-cx-organisers ]crossgate last year[/url]

To confirm the Netham Cross is OFF due to the poor conditions and over night rain. Can't take the risk of carving up the grass on our first event here with the council stance on letting us use it with a £2500 bond if we do any damage.

Tricky- sounds like well earnd rest day to me misses just found out how much it is per race lmao
Will it be rebooked for another date and the series extended or just skipped all together?

We'll folks, it's bright and breezy with the odd flicker of rain here trackside at Basingstoke. Just been out and warmed up alongside the vets etc. That class looks epic, with the combined races the field takes up literally the whole circuit. The other seniors are currently in the carpark on their rollers which doesn't bode well. I feel ever so over-biked on the full susser and Maxxis Ardent 2.4's are pants at shedding mud so wish I hadn't been lazy as I nearly put the Rocket Ron back on.
I wish I'd left my bottle cage on or brought one for my pocket too as it's pleasantly warm.
The bank is catching a lot of people out but I rode it a couple of times on different lines and with a bit if grunt on the run up it's no bother. Will see how I fare at 2:40 when I'm half dead 😉

I don't want to like it because I really can't afford any more machinery but initial impressions are that it's great fun. Practiced a few proper dismounts and apart from finding my pedals again as I bounce back on I reckon I'll be ok. The boards look like proper 14" spec ones so no chance of hopping them I feel 😉

I fancy a light cx bike but with flat bars- still can't see a need for drops.

Right, quick glug of squash and I'm off into the fray 🙂

Is crosshairs full dead?

I fancy a light cx bike but with flat bars- still can't see a need for drops.

I had a nice light cross bike for about half a lap at Brecon today. Then it got heavier and heavier as I got more and more tired. Finished just in time, one more lap and the whole thing would have ground to a halt ❗ Must have weighed 30lbs by the end.

[s]anyone go to AllyPally to the Raphael Supercross?

I was going to head that way to ride but it's windy on the coast, and windsurfing won.

as crosshair is MIA ill give a short review on Basingstoke today 😉
I was in vets with seemingly half the population of basingstoke... busy..
In contrast to Reading the week before this race was rain free but substituted with wind... but not so bad. There were some tight bends to negotiate that caught a few people out and sending a few through the course tape which was in permenant repair.
The mud was the sticky type which my mud 2s wernt clearing very well making the corners hard to negotiate but took it steady as seen a few offs. BMX track and berms was fun and one of the easier obstacles.
I managed to make up a few places on the barriers section which was unexpected.
The biggest problem seemed to be the short steep slope which looked easy enough but turned out to be difficult due to the ruts, i saw people go over the bars and also off the back and one guy doing a fantastic backwards roll back to the bottom..
first 2 laps were carnage and run ups and only on my final lap did i get to the top without a comedy fail.

great course, great fun.

No, all's good 🙂 I stopped at Newbury for a car wash then been feeding/walking 8 dogs and pressure washing mud out me treads 🙂

Well, that was great fun! I felt really nervous before the start prob because of my conspicuous machinery. I had already decided not to start off the front as the Senior warmup had shown me how fast these guys are. But the gridding meant I didn't get a choice anyway 😉

I put a big wide maxxis on the front as I was supposed to be xc racing last weekend but didn't go so this was its debut outing and I hate it! Way too wide and needs real commitment to get it onto the edge. However, to be fair, by the last lap I'd adjusted and was flinging it in without too many worries.

So what's this CX racing like from a newbies perspective then?
The course was really good fun and had enough different sections to keep it interesting. Obviously none of it is worse than the car park at an xc race but that really didn't matter. Away from the start and a quick down-wind sprint was the fastest bit of the course. Then was a twisty turny bit around some little garden things and a huge bottleneck meant I was able to get a breather and take in the surroundings. Then we took an upwind sprint into a tight bend which took me until the last lap to realise wasn't as slippery as it looked and could be took flat out. Uphill drag across the playing field and into the first off camber section. I felt obliged to make this look easy on my Mtb and I gained ground on various people every lap here. Up towards the car park and a couple of tight sloppy bends around the trees. Again, I was overly cautious up until the last lap when I was looking for ways TO die to relieve me from my pain 😉
Quick downhill, downwind blat across the grass and then out the back into the BMX track. Again this suited me and a quick click into 'traction mode' meant I could be creative with my line and avoid the target fixation on the telegraph pole that everyone else was getting 😉
Through the trees and into the wet ruts of 'soggy bottom' this was genuinely tricky and rewarded light hands- just let the bike do what it likes. Next was an uphill drag through the peripheral trees of the playing field and every lap it was balancing the fact that this gradient suited me against the knowledge that I needed a few spare bpm for the fast approaching 'bank'.
I I can happily say I rode up it every lap and gained a couple of places there on each of the first three 🙂

By this point, the relentless climb from soggy bottom and the epic headwind meant most of my compatriots treated this as a bit of a slog. Then was a cool off camber bit which I loved and even experimented with a few different lines to see which felt quicker. Finally a slalom around the cricket pitch before the two full-height barriers at the start/finish line.
I pretty much nailed this every lap and certainly never gave away ground- my quick practice had paid off.

Lap one was a bit of a sort out, lap two I had a few battles and made up places. Lap three and four were spent too'ing and fro'ing with a couple of guys and after that I honestly can't remember much. I was knackered! Anyhow, there was a guy on a Kona hard tail I'd been back and forth with but I just didn't have the legs on the last lap which turned into a bit of a lonely slog.
One funny thing was a guy called 'Tom' (apparently) who I battled with during a couple of laps. We passed his dad about three times a lap who was shouting various words of encouragement- especially at the bank. Then I heard him say about me 'go on! Get past the big lad!!!' Of course, this spurred me on and I did him back on the downwind fast bit and fended him off to my favourite drag from soggy bottom. Anyway, that pretty much finished him off and he must have blown up because he was soon out of sight.

Next lap his dad looked a little miffed when 'the big lad' appeared without Tom in tow 😀
I nearly shouted 'Sorry mate, he got owned by a fatty on a Mtb' but thought better of it 😉

Anyway, I have no idea where I finished but it was really good fun and great training.

taxi25 - Member

I had a nice light cross bike for about half a lap at Brecon today. Then it got heavier and heavier as I got more and more tired. Finished just in time, one more lap and the whole thing would have ground to a halt Must have weighed 30lbs by the end.

Tell me about it. I knew mine was gathering mud but when I finished and was scooping handfuls out of the frame gaps...

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Brecon was flipping ace today! Clocks back, filthy 'cross, loving winter!

3rd place today, first podium in the national cup.

Rounding up a frantic weekend away, 600km of driving, the whole family in the car plus bike and spare wheels, rushing to the cinema yesterday after the race and a birthday party today.

Still, took home a load of gels and some MuckOff brushes and liquids yesterday and a nice winter training top today, and more importantly loads of cup points 8)

In action:
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Podium:
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Worst result of the year so far for me 9th place. A bit of a balls up on the start line, despite laying 3rd overall I wasn't gridded and had to start right at the back.

Cross debut today, was lying about mid field until I got a puncture on the penultimate lap. Finished the race on the rim. 34x17 was about right. Need to fiddle with my cantis and go down to 32c tyres, had a few clogging issues.

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I'm shit at remounting.

Saturday I was properly ****ed and I look it.
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42/54 so not horrendous 🙂 only 1 lap down too. Plenty of room for tangible progress 😉

Does anyone know anything about the Striking Bikes cx at Stroud this Subday??

Does anyone know anything about the Striking Bikes cx at Stroud this Subday??

Im well gutted that theres a cx race at southampton this weekend but its the national series so i cant race it 🙁
no races for me this weekend...

That's it Dobo but the link from BS didn't work and even a quick google doesn't turn anything up. I thought I was xc'ing this Sunday but had my dates muddled up. So I then had a quick look for other events within an hours drive and found that one.

[url= https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/93182/Team-Striking-Bikes-Cyclo-Cross/Western-League-Round-6 ]https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/93182/Team-Striking-Bikes-Cyclo-Cross/Western-League-Round-6[/url]

There's not a lot more to know than above really - entry is on the line and seniors race is at 11:45. Should be £11 to enter (plus a day licence if you don't have a race licence).

dobo, you could just pop down and watch for a bit? It can be entertaining, instructive and maybe a little awe-inspiring to see the top racers in action.

Saturdays looking bloody dreadful 😀