Something new is coming // 27.5" Wheelsize Revolution

So, here we are again! Something new, something better to look forward to. Or...should we have second thoughts and take things a bit slower? Hard to tell but in my opinion it all boils down to this: ride what you like, what you prefer and what you have the most fun with! 

The past few years time was all about the 26" VS. 29er "war" with tons of advantages and disadvantages about both wheelsizes and everything else that is connected to them (weight, stiffness, handling, ect...). But now here's something new, something that the World just knows as 27.5 or 650b! The "best-of-both" option that should be the solution for riders like me. 

I'm riding 26" XC bikes since I started mountain biking. But this summer I tried 29er bikes just to see what the difference is and how beneficial it would be for me. The truth is that I really liked the 29ers and I was 100% convinced about them. I liked them, I loved them and I wanted one! Wanted one badly!!

But, and here's the "but part"...since many of the bike manufacturers are started to focus on the 27.5 size and I've done a lot of reading about them and I have to say: I am convinced about them! Actually, I'm more convinced about them, then about 29ers. They are lighter, they have better acceleration, more agile ride, they are stiffer than the 29er models!  

So, in my opinion there's an unquestionable benefit over the old 26" standard but a ton of benefit over the 29ers. Can't deny it, I'm super-mega-über excited about them now and can't wait to see them on the trails! 

The Cyclocross Season is coming // Time to get ready!

With the Fixx Supercross Cup just around the corner (less than 4 weeks to go) I decided to get my act together and start some 'cross specific training. From now on I will be on the cyclocross bike trying to polish the well faded bike handling skills & techniques! 

Cyclocross is the main thing I'm doing this year, so I feel like I need to focus on it 100% and try to make most of the upcoming Irish Cyclocross Season with record braking 18 races in the race calendar.

So, after a lovely and sweet mountain bike season it's pretty much time to say good bye to my faithful XC bike and let the drop handlebars, canti brakes, 700x34c tyres and mud up to my neck overtake my cycling life! Bring it on!!  :)

It's time to visit some of the well known parks and get cracking on the whole cyclocross game!  

One of my favourite 'cross venue

The wet grass and some mud. What more can I ask for?!

Single ring setup (9 speed) // Thoughts after 6 months

I've been running a single ring setup (9 speed) for the last 6 months. Tested it out on lots of different trails & terrain, in every possible conditions. So I think it's about time to post some thoughts about it.

But where to start? I could start with the reason why I decided to give this setup a go. Or the way it has been converted. That's not important I guess, so here are the facts!

• The idea of having a single chain ring on the front is brilliant, well at least it is for me. It's very simple, less things to worry about, less maintenance and not to mention it's lighter. This is the bottom line. It's a great riding experience, I surely like it! But...and here is the "but part"... 

• The first and most important thing that I needed to realize is the fact this is just a DIY tuning thing I got going on here. Got the system right as much as it possibly can be but...it hasn't been designed to work this way, so there are some minor faults. Little mechanical issues also, but mainly in functionality point of view. 
• The particular issue that I have with this setup: it's only 9 speed. I've been using 11-34T casette with the original 32T Shimano SLX ring on the front. It covers most of my needs but I run out of gears quiet easly because the gear ratio isn't enough. I prefer to ride out to the mountains when I go for a spin, so on roads / fire roads the hardest gear isn't fast enough. Spins out way too soon... On the other hand the easiest gear (32-34) is working ok, but only on shortish XC spins. Don't find it very good on spins that lasts more than 3 hours simply because it gets very uncomfortable (getting tyred, less power, cadence drops). The biggest slap in the face was this year's Da Cooley Thriller XC Marathon race where I struggled a lot with the single ring setup...it just simply wasn't enough for those big climbs! 
• The best way to sum things up is this: it works, it does the job bit it's far from being perfect. It's not 100% reliable and feels a bit limited from time to time.

   

When I converted my XC bike this way I knew that it wasn't gonna be perfect. But I tried it anyway and I got a taste what it's like to ride a bike with only one ring o the front. And I can only imagine how great would be having something like the Sram XX1 on the bike with the massive ratio! Amazing! 

So, at this point I'm still saying that I going to keep the bike built the way it is and keep running only 1 chainring for a while. But in the future I will be using the trusted double ring setup for marathon and endurance races! Oh, and also waiting for more affordable Sram groupset to drop! ;)

Da Cooley Thriller 2013 - Race report

Wow, what a day it has been! I've raced Da Cooley Thriller 2013 today and the first lesson I've learned today is that this race doesn't get any easier. I raced here last year, so I kinda knew what to expect, but still! Man, it was a hard day in the saddle!! 

Wet and misty morning in Carlingford

Even on the way from Dublin to Carlingford the weather was pretty grim, and this hasn't changed after I arrived: damp & misty morning it was, the clouds were sitting on the mountains. Didn't look too good, but at least it wasn't cold. After I picked up my race number and dropped off my drink/food supply at the registration I was pretty much all set. 

All good to go, bring on the mountains! :)

The start was at 10:00 am sharp and we had the usual spin around Carlingford Village before we turned towards the nasty looking mountains. That few minutes through the village was great, lots of people were cheering us on as we cycled by. Cool! 

After we left the village and the race has really kicked off I started to set my own pace on the first long fire road climb. Felt great, enjoyed myself. Luckily I managed to get through the first tecty section without any problems, I "hated" that bit from last year: tons of exposed rocks & even more super-mega slippery roots. Got it done anyway, happy days! 

Climb after climb, little downhill here and there, rain on and off. The conditions were alright but when we got up to the top of the first big mounatin things have changed. We had about 40 meters vision in the thick fog and the trails were pretty challenging also.

Descending from the Mast (photo by Pixels Pro)

Wasn't easy up there but managed to enjoy it as much as it can be enjoyed. Had a great time on the bike up until about the 30 km point...than I hit the wall, just like I hit last year. Was drinking and eating well during the race, didn't start too strong either, so everything was ok...but somehow I was suffering big time. Just couldn't find myself, no power left at all...

To top that I managed to get lost on the perfectly marked course, so I had to turn back and try to catch the guys I've already passed before...it was absolutely bad. I had some dark moments the least to say! 

At the second feeding station I picked up my own stuff and carried on toward the final big push up the last big climb. But before I did I surprised myself with a 1/2 cup of Coke. Oh Mother of Sweet Jaysus, it was sooo good, I can't even begin to describe! :)

Luckily after this I started to pull myself together slowly and I even got to the point where I actually enjoyed the last big grassy climb with all those little technical rocky sections. By this time all the rain has disappeared  and we got pretty much roasted! On that climb (I know it doesn't sound right) I wished to have rain instead of that stone splitting sun. 

On the final downhill I felt like I was under some pressure from the rider behind me, so I had to let it fly pretty well all the way to the Finish. Man, it was some rough trail there! 

Superfast downhill bit just before the Finish Line (photo by Pixels Pro)

After this mad run I crossed the Finish Line and bagged my second Cooley Thriller Experience. I finished the race with 4 hours and 5 minutes racing time and finished 3rd in my category (Experts). Am I happy with how things went today? Sure thing!! The goal was to try to do my best to get a Podium place and also pull the race time under or close to the 4 hours mark. Goals are accomplished, so I'm happy! :) 

After the race: tired but happy

The bike was amazing today, no techical issues whatsoever, although the single ring setup was maybe a bit too extreme on a course like this.

My race in numbers:

     50.1 kilometers

     4 hours and 5 minutes

     1655 m elevation gain

     1854 calories burned

     2 litres of drink

     4 gels

     1 bananas

     0 mechanical problem 

     tons of fun / suffering
      
     3rd place in Expert catergory

Prize giving after the race

 
This year's race was very hard again simply because of the massive amount of climbing and the challenging conditions. The course was marked very well and the organizers put a fantastic race together once again! Well done and thanks for everything today! Oh, and the chicken curry after the race was absolutely amazing, loved it! :)

Da update // In the last few days

The race day is tomorrow, will be lining up at the start line of Da Cooley Thriller XC Marathon. The training is done, I think I am as prepared as I can be. But the rest of my pre-race preparation has to go well also! So, in the last two days I was busy to get the bike and everything else ready for the race on Saturday!

Lunchtime bike wash at work, it has to be in top form :)

Filling the carbs like there's no tomorrow!

The gear is packed also

All the food & drink for the race

So, here we are again: racing tomorrow! Brilliant! Can't wait and I know for sure I will have a blast on the trails! Bring it on! :)

Starting early this year // 1st cross training is done!

Ok, I know it's early and all but I just couldn't resist anymore! I was planning to keep cyclocross as a priority for this season and luckily I'm not the only one in Team ThinkBike. We have decided to get the ball rolling and start early this season. 

We had our first training session that was ment to be a "nice and easy cross spin" that turned into a proper fast enough bike ride. My team mate Liam is really into cross, so he was pushing us to our limits a good few times this evening.   

We went up to the Massey's Woods and after that to the Hellfire Club tonight and got a bit of everything: grass, mud, fire roads, roots and some nice amount of climbing as well. Was a bit funny to ride the cross bike after soo many months on the mountain bike. Would need a little more time to get the hang of it again! :) 

So, it has started. No turning back now. Will keep a mix of mountain biking and cross for 2 weeks and after that it'll be pretty much cross all the way! Well, that's the plan anyway. Bring on the racing season, can't wait!!

Da update

Ok, so the preparation has been going very well for Da Cooley Thriller MTB Marathon. I've been doing some nice 50-70 km long mountain bike spins with a good mix of single tracks, fire roads and tarmac sections also. I'm getting used to the longer spins and I can tell I'll be definitely a lot more prepared for this year's race than I was last year. 

So, I've been doing my thing, lovin' it for sure...however...I need to admit that I haveing serious issues with keeping focus on mountain biking with the cyclocross season just around the corner! I really looking forward to the marathon race of course, but...I mean come on!!! I have some serious hype building up about the upcoming cross season, the cross bike is 100% ready to rock and the excitement is over the roof at this point! 

I guess the only thing for me to do is to calm the hell down, keep riding the mountain bike and keep my eyes on my goals for the upcoming marathon race. I know it'll be fun and I also know that the cyclocross season will also be an absolute blast! Can't wait!! :)  

Capturing the summer up in the mountains