BB200 - The Aftermath

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Rumps
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Rumps »

To add my thanks to Stu and Dee and Chew and any other helpers who make the BB the wonderful event it is. As stated above, it is a big decision to put on an event like this and we really appreciate all of the hard work and thought which go into it. Not least having to talk to us and hear our ( extremely repetitious I am sure ) tales of bravado as we stagger in at the finish hour after hour. ( Though I have not yet forgiven you for not staying to welcome us back in 2014 when we arrived back to a shut up centre . It was only 10pm on the sunday night after all.....)
We thought after 4 previous events in my case, 5 in Alan's , this was the best route of all. A really well judged mixture of terrain. And in truth barely what would have rated as a tussock in 2014 in sight.
Thanks also to some of the people we rode with , Alex from Northallerton/Norfolk, the Bicester boys for supper on Friday night, John from Skipton, Richard who was the only other person I have come across to ride the same bike as me and I even got to ride with Ian Barrington -BB royalty. How much better can it get. And not only that he even showed me how to use my new Garmin which I had as a back up.

This year's BB definitely lived up to it being one of the highlights of the cycling year for me.
thanks again.
Will try to post some photos later tonight.
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Mariner
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Mariner »

Thanks Stu and Dee for your hard work and enthusiasm.
Major thing learnt – when Stuart says the trails are surprisingly dry that is only a relative term. Its Wales therefore it’s wet even in a drought. Always go for the most aggressive full wet/mud tyres. I didn’t so consequently spun out going uphill and washed out going down with tyre suck on the flat not to be left out. There was a point on the uphill to Carnau where the rock was so slippery I couldn’t walk on it.

Best wtf moment – somewhere around one-o-clock in the morning crossing another raging torrent on Carnau I spotted a narrow bit with a rock in the middle. Not enough room for me and the bike so I end up stood on this rock with my bike clutched to my chest. Can’t go back and too far to step forward.
Go on then get out of that. :oops:
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Pickers
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Pickers »

I'll add my thanks to those that have posted already. Much time and effort goes into bringing together an event like this. There's such a range of abilities within the participants, very tricky to create something that's more or less just doable by those at the blunt end as well as being sufficiently challenging for those at the pointy end.
I sort of knew what to expect, I came anyway. I had a great time, I might be back next year....
Some of my pics https://www.flickr.com/photos/107347896@N06/sets/

We’re gonna need snacks

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ZeroDarkBivi
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ZeroDarkBivi »

Once again I was quite underwhelmed by the performance of my Exposure Diablo, mounted on the helmet, and used on its own. To ensue I didn't have it fail on me through what could have been 12 hours of solid darkness, I swapped between 20 hour (on slow climbs) and 10 hour brightness, but this was totally inadequate for descending. The beam pattern is also quite diffused, 'wasting' energy providing a wider arc than necessary. I've used Ay-Ups before, with both bar and helmet mounted lights, which where great for up to 3 hours (or closed circuits where batteries can be swapped) but nothing longer, and the helmet mount was a bit crap.

From your experiences this weekend, is a there a system you would recommend for long nights?
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whitestone
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by whitestone »

Not a recommendation for anything but it does depend on the speed you are travelling as well as the conditions (lighter vegetation will reflect some light making things seem brighter for example)

I was fine with a Joystick on the low and mid settings on the Highland Trail but those were short sections of night riding. The only option I can think of at the moment is get a support cell to extend run times but they ain't cheap! The £50 version will double the run time of your Diablo That would let you use program #2 which looks like it is twice as bright as program #3 that you were using.
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ianfitz
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ianfitz »

whitestone wrote:Not a recommendation for anything but it does depend on the speed you are travelling as well as the conditions (lighter vegetation will reflect some light making things seem brighter for example)

I was fine with a Joystick on the low and mid settings on the Highland Trail but those were short sections of night riding. The only option I can think of at the moment is get a support cell to extend run times but they ain't cheap! The £50 version will double the run time of your Diablo That would let you use program #2 which looks like it is twice as bright as program #3 that you were using.
The guy from Mtb batteries will make an external battery with whatever length lead you want.

Much cheaper than the official ones.

Also did you not use a bar mounted light too?
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Zippy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Zippy »

ZeroDarkBivi wrote: From your experiences this weekend, is a there a system you would recommend for long nights?
I had a Diablo on my head and a Toro on the bars. I commute using just the Diablo. I tend to default to 3-10-24 (High, Medium, Low) mode as it was the only option my first gen exposure stuff had - and it suits situations brilliantly. I rarely used the "High" mode to be honest - very occasionally I would as a descent got quick. I had no problems.

The diablo works well as a head lamp - a bit more spotty than a bar light. Combined they work well, using just one on it's own is a more of a compromise I found, you miss bits if detail that help you judge how big things are and whether you can ride over them easily or not.

Try out your setup with bar and head lights and see if that makes a difference first?
substandard
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by substandard »

I ran with just a joystick on the standard setting 1 low setting for almost the entire route from 7ish until 230am when I got back to the van, found the light reasonable on that type of terrain, only had a couple of wtf is that moments! I am a veggie monster though and consume my own body weight in carrots on a weekly basis!! Also helped there was a pack of us close together towards the end so tail lights to follow obviously helped.

Course was a challenge but not sole destroying, personally found it a easier going than the half of the big bear530 I did in August. The big bear seems to take great pleasure in avoiding fast going road and tarmac! One hike a bike section was 10 times worse than anything on this route! Was very pleased the route didn’t use ‘the chute’ that drops you towards Machynlleth as well,that’s proper deadly! Feel off about 3 times getting down that on the big bear attempt! Will defo be back again
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Roobell7
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Roobell7 »

I also ran a Toro on the bars and Diablo on my helmet. Both on low until the Diablo gave out with 1 hr to go. I then ran the Toro on medium and by then it had only just gone orange on low

If I wasn't riding fast :grin: . Then I'd use my SixPack on the bars and the Diablo just for technical sections

I turned my rear light off on the off-road sections. It's amazing how much it helps to drag you along when there is a red light in the distance :wink:
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whitestone
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by whitestone »

ianfitz wrote:
whitestone wrote:Not a recommendation for anything but it does depend on the speed you are travelling as well as the conditions (lighter vegetation will reflect some light making things seem brighter for example)

I was fine with a Joystick on the low and mid settings on the Highland Trail but those were short sections of night riding. The only option I can think of at the moment is get a support cell to extend run times but they ain't cheap! The £50 version will double the run time of your Diablo That would let you use program #2 which looks like it is twice as bright as program #3 that you were using.
The guy from Mtb batteries will make an external battery with whatever length lead you want.

Much cheaper than the official ones.

Also did you not use a bar mounted light too?

No, just the Joystick
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Matt
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Matt »

I only use a Joystick on my head
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dlovett
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by dlovett »

As Andy said, I always turned off my rear light, no pointing in giving anybody a target!

Still tomorrow I must clean and service the bike and fix a puncture which it got somehow during the long drive home.

I have an Audi’s on Saturday with some very quick people. God only knows how my legs will be by then, back to ultrasound in my calf between now and then I guess,
ScotRoutes
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ScotRoutes »

dlovett wrote:As Andy said, I always turned off my rear light, no pointing in giving anybody a target!
WTAF???
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Wilkyboy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Wilkyboy »

Wilkyboy wrote:... by the time I got to Llanwrthwyl (the climb+descent out of Elan) I was re-adjusting the front brake and by the bottom of the next climb+descent (the hike-a-bike before Carnau) the lever was near the bars again — damnable Welsh grit, I have never experienced such rapid wear before! :shock:
I got a multitude of new, genuine Shimano "severe" rated V-brake pads, which arrived today, and the difference between these and the spare ones I had with me last weekend is astonishing! That other pair that I fitted in Rhayader, which I think was another brand from SJS, is made of cheese by comparison with these Shimano ones! Dammit, I wish I'd had these with me then :roll:

I now have three full sets, four pads per set — one to go straight onto the bike once I've cleaned it and two to carry as spares. That should do me :-bd
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Zippy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Zippy »

Wilkyboy wrote: I have never experienced such rapid wear before! :shock:
That should do me :-bd[/quote]

I was doing Strathpuffer in a team back in my uni days. I was riding my rigid singlespeed with v brakes coz I couldn't afford to ruin my blingy race bike - and this was my cheap tu run winter hack. There's Mica in the soil. When I started the ride, I had a ding in the rim that I managed from crashing previously - and you could feel this pulsate when you braked. By the end of the race, this pulsation had gone, and I was straight through the wear markers on the rims! I was also changing pads every 4 or so laps - but hey they were wilkinson specials, so hardly costly :lol:

Not long after that, I'd brazed a disc mount to the frame and was running discs!
ScotRoutes wrote:
dlovett wrote:As Andy said, I always turned off my rear light, no pointing in giving anybody a target!
WTAF???
It's a racing thing - you know how it's easier to catch something up if you can see / see a glimmer of them.
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ScotRoutes »

It's not a race though.

Sorry but this rankles more than it probably should.
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I too can't really see why you'd turn your rear light off either Colin. If someone comes past you, it matters not.
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whitestone
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by whitestone »

ScotRoutes wrote:It's not a race though.

Sorry but this rankles more than it probably should.
Reminds me of a line from that classic film "The Cannonball Run": "What's behind doesn't matter" (to be said in a comedy Italian accent if I recall correctly!)
Better weight than wisdom, a traveller cannot carry
ianfitz
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ianfitz »

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I too can't really see why you'd turn your rear light off either Colin. If someone comes past you, it matters not.
I tend to unplug the red eye from the Revo. But that’s because it seems to be a little brighter at lower speeds without powering the output too.

Even from a distance, and facing away, I’d guess that people would see where I am from my front lights too!
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Chew
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Chew »

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I too can't really see why you'd turn your rear light off either Colin. If someone comes past you, it matters not.
I think the bigger issue is what happens if you forget to turn it back when you get to a road section?

With everything that's happened over the past 6 months, everyone should be making sure they're as visible as possible.
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I think the bigger issue is what happens if you forget to turn it back when you get to a road section?

With everything that's happened over the past 6 months, everyone should be making sure they're as visible as possible.
A very good point.
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sean_iow
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by sean_iow »

I turn my light off when I get to an off road section and back on at the road, I've done it for so long now that it's habit. I turn it of for several reasons, to get longer out of a charge, and not to attract attention. If I'm out locally on a 'cheeky' trail a white front light could be a walker with a torch, a flashing red light gives away that I'm on a bike.

When I get to a road I turn it back on AND wipe the lens clear of mud. This has become habit enough that I find myself going to wipe of the light and turn it back on even in the day now. A benefit of this is that I check my light is visible, if not wiped off and covered in mud it might as well be off.

On events like this it does remove the target for people following. This may be to their benefit as who's to say I'm on the right path, there might be an rideable gravel track just metres away but you wouldn't know if you blindly follow my rear light pushing through a bog :lol:
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Wilkyboy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Wilkyboy »

Zippy wrote:I was doing Strathpuffer in a team back in my uni days. I was riding my rigid singlespeed with v brakes coz I couldn't afford to ruin my blingy race bike - and this was my cheap tu run winter hack. There's Mica in the soil. When I started the ride, I had a ding in the rim that I managed from crashing previously - and you could feel this pulsate when you braked. By the end of the race, this pulsation had gone, and I was straight through the wear markers on the rims! I was also changing pads every 4 or so laps - but hey they were wilkinson specials, so hardly costly :lol:

Not long after that, I'd brazed a disc mount to the frame and was running discs!
Being a Wilkinson myself, that made me smile ;)

The rims I'm running are a special-edition, gold-coloured Mavic rim, made only in the mid-90s. There aren't any available anywhere, not even NOS. I do worry about what I'm going to do when they eventually get to EOL and I have to bin them, because they do look nice on the bike. I ought to really stick them in the attic and build up a new set, but there's a good amount of CBA involved. And cost for a couple of hoops — and spokes, which are freakishly expensive to buy in the UK compared to Rose Bikes in Germany, even with the £8 shipping. That would, though, enable me to go tubeless, as well as worry less about rim-wear.

EDIT: actually, NOT go tubeless, since there don't appear to be any tubeless-ready 26-inch rims with a braking surface ...

As for braze-ons for disks — it's possible to bolt a calliper on the rear without a braze on, but I doubt I'd get an eight-speed hub + disk; I don't think there's quite enough room to add more gears, the chainline is tight with eight. The front would require brazing onto a 21-year-old alu fork, which was never designed to be loaded on one side only, near the axle, so, er, no.

And as soon as I start with any major investment in this bike, it begs the question — "wouldn't it just be better to buy a new bike?" — and I've already been told "when the house is done" :roll:
Last edited by Wilkyboy on Thu Oct 19, 2017 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Zippy
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by Zippy »

Bearbonesnorm wrote:
I think the bigger issue is what happens if you forget to turn it back when you get to a road section?

With everything that's happened over the past 6 months, everyone should be making sure they're as visible as possible.
A very good point.
There is that, but out of habit I turn my rear light off when I get off road, and back on when I go on road. This ensures several things.

1. I'm more likely to have enough battery (yes I charged before and should have 12 hours of life and had a spare), but it's easier to switch something off/on than change batteries.
2. Each time I hit a road section and turn the rear light on, it's a double check that my rear light is actually working - as opposed to possibly fallen off or run out of battery, or so covered in mud it's not visible.

You can argue it any way you want, but those are my main reasons for turning it off between road bits - which I would argue is making myself more likely to be as visible as possible.
ScotRoutes wrote:It's not a race though.

Sorry but this rankles more than it probably should.
Whilst it's not a race, it doesn't necessarily mean that the mindset isn't there for some people, and it's understandable why one would do so. Agreeing with the sentiment is a different matter altogether. A bit like many people believe in a sky-fairy, I understand but don't agree with the sentiment.

I think that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
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Re: BB200 - The Aftermath

Post by ScotRoutes »

Whilst it's not a race, it doesn't necessarily mean that the mindset isn't there for some people, and it's understandable why one would do so. Agreeing with the sentiment is a different matter altogether. A bit like many people believe in a sky-fairy, I understand but don't agree with the sentiment.
Hence the
more than it should
:lol:
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