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This is what's wrong with The Industry™

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
XC once was not fun.
24 hour races with a not too crazy team was always fun.
The Vermont 50 several times was fun in a somewhat twisted way...
short course XC (horrible), some enduros (yay for DH on compromised bikes, without safety gear whilst exhausted), a couple of marathon XC events (painful and machoistic) and last year even did a cyclocross event on a MTB with slicks (mental).
Y'all are doing it wrong

In the last year I raced:

Sea Otter DH (fun as fuck since we were drinking heavily between practice runs and hungover with 3 hrs of sleep for the race run)
Local DS race (fun as fuck since DS racing is always fun)
Chainless race on a flow track (fun as fuck since no one was taking it very serious and there was lots of beers and bongs happening in the woods)

I'm going to say race selection will have a lot to do with your enjoyment of racing. I really enjoy the competition, even though I'm never in contention for a top spot, and the opportunity to hang out with cool people.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,190
media blackout
Y'all are doing it wrong

In the last year I raced:

Sea Otter DH (fun as fuck since we were drinking heavily between practice runs and hungover with 3 hrs of sleep for the race run)
Local DS race (fun as fuck since DS racing is always fun)
Chainless race on a flow track (fun as fuck since no one was taking it very serious and there was lots of beers and bongs happening in the woods)

I'm going to say race selection will have a lot to do with your enjoyment of racing. I really enjoy the competition, even though I'm never in contention for a top spot, and the opportunity to hang out with cool people.
defines racing by events that aren't racing.

 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
Y'all are doing it wrong.
Oh mine were all good fun regardless. I can't think of any races I didn't enjoy (aside from injuries). Like I said, sometimes the enjoyment comes from the race, sometimes from the race ending. Even doing as 96km (60mile) XC race on a 31lb Transition Scout had its fun moments.

They're bikes. They are supposed to be fun, else why are we even riding them.
 
Y'all are doing it wrong

In the last year I raced:

Sea Otter DH (fun as fuck since we were drinking heavily between practice runs and hungover with 3 hrs of sleep for the race run)
Local DS race (fun as fuck since DS racing is always fun)
Chainless race on a flow track (fun as fuck since no one was taking it very serious and there was lots of beers and bongs happening in the woods)

I'm going to say race selection will have a lot to do with your enjoyment of racing. I really enjoy the competition, even though I'm never in contention for a top spot, and the opportunity to hang out with cool people.
I think we're in roughly the same place on this...

@jonKranked only races frat boy sanctioned events :D
You got that...
 

Tantrum Cycles

Turbo Monkey
Jun 29, 2016
1,143
503
Oh mine were all good fun regardless. I can't think of any races I didn't enjoy (aside from injuries). Like I said, sometimes the enjoyment comes from the race, sometimes from the race ending. Even doing as 96km (60mile) XC race on a 31lb Transition Scout had its fun moments.

They're bikes. They are supposed to be fun, else why are we even riding them.
whew. ok, good. We came back around on that one. So, racing ISN'T what's wrong with the industry....for a minute there I thought I had been pursuing a totally futile, wasteful endeavor my entire life with no hope of social redemption.

I was about to re-evalute and examine, fuck it now, I'm goin racin.

Why? I like to go fast and I like to measure my ability against myself and others. My big lament about DH/Enduro racing is that you're not racing, but rather time trialing. 4x was kinda fun in that regard. Motocross was the best. Because I'll go faster when there's somebody to faster than. Know what I mean? If you're going 20 mph thru that corner, I'll go 22. If you're braking at X, I'll brake at X+1

But i also like doing laps, so I can hone in and nibble away at every possible advantage.

But the bottom line is, I like to beat people. Why? Who knows. My mom and dad weren't racers. Insecurity? Ego? I don't know and stopped trying to worry about wtf was wrong with me decades ago. But if you go riding with me, I WILL TRY TO BEAT YOU. I will go anaerobic. I will take chances. Maybe some I shouldn't (like carrying small trees around to stick in your spokes). And I'm 60.

It won't even be conscious. I'll just suddenly realize I can't breath and have to back off.

I think trying to understand racers by non-racers is futile. It's stupid. We're stupid. We chase each other for.......wait for it....................................

to cross the line first. Sure maybe there's trophy's and money, for the select few.

but we do it to cross the line first. Clinical fucked in the head.
 

chris_f

Monkey
Jun 20, 2007
390
409
Fuck, the closest I got to a carbon fibre hammock was a bathtub designed to look like one.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
Why? I like to go fast and I like to measure my ability against myself and others. My big lament about DH/Enduro racing is that you're not racing, but rather time trialing. 4x was kinda fun in that regard. Motocross was the best. Because I'll go faster when there's somebody to faster than. Know what I mean? If you're going 20 mph thru that corner, I'll go 22. If you're braking at X, I'll brake at X+1
Pushing yourself is the hardest racing of all, but that's basically every long XC or endurance race. To keep pushing yourself with no one around you is incredibly difficult, one of the reasons it's incredibly difficult to improve/get faster by just "going riding". It's mentally very difficult (not impossible) to push yourself into that extreme discomfort range where you actually will get better (or keep yourself at max output).

Last Saturday, I led most of the first lap of the 60 mile race, as in about 75%. A few times someone did get ahead, I'd gnaw at them on the climbs and they would relinquish first place, in the flats though we weren't getting a good "pull" rotation going on, so this really stressed me during the first lap and when I hit the 2 or so miles of pavement in between the off-road portions, I just died with my super-low fat-pressure that had worked so well for the last few hours, spent the first half of the next lap trying to recover from being totally gassed, but when I did, I felt better and better in what became the worst part of the trail with huge ruts and soft snow, which most people hated/could not ride. It was like an awesome tech-fest the last half and I was on the recovery. Not enough to get back to the placing that I wanted, got 6th overall, but the fun of racing is trying to get the most out of your body and bike, balancing how much and what you eat, drink, how you tune your bike, the strategy you use, etc. For the first part of that second lap though, it was just me. We (the leaders) were so far ahead of the 2nd group and very spread out. It's a mind-**** to push through the pain at that point and keep going.

There are people who like to do races like group-rides. They will complain and bitch when the trail bottle-necks because they are too slow to be out ahead or because it was too cold or there wasn't catered steak and shrimp. Then there are those that will compete and/or finish whatever it takes, never giving up, going out there to either measure themselves against others, or against them, as in complete a tough race.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,192
19,158
Canaderp
Crank broke on fat bike.

New "fat bike" crank ordered.

"Fat bike" crank does not fit on the fat bike.

The fuck.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
Best aid station I ever hit was at the VT 50, honest to god bacon and eggs. I gorged.
Yep, the 12 hour at Armidale has maple fried bacon at the midway point. Another race I did recently was sponsored by a beer company and had an inflatable pool full of ice and beer at the finish line.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,192
19,158
Canaderp
:clue: I think I found your problem. :D
Yeah, well....

yeah. :busted:


No just the whatever no-name crank that came on this Rocky Mountain; the pedal just literally fell out of one side, along with half the threads. I mean, I blame it on the bike but it could have been user error (after the pedal backed out halfway).

Half the threads are still there, so I'm going to try to thread the pedal in from the back to clean it up. And then get the pedal in there from the front. At least so that I can get through this weekend. Nothing gnarly planned; just beers bike and trails. If its breaks more, meh.

Your dentistry type failure looks....dentistry. :busted: Did that just happen riding along or you smacked something?

But really... I even order this crank through a local shop that carries the same bike as mine! Why are the cranks different?! The axle that came on my bike is almost 2 inches longer than the 100mm Sram one that the shop sold me. They better take it back, special order or not.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
Your dentistry type failure looks....dentistry. :busted: Did that just happen riding along or you smacked something?
These are my fat-cranks, the bottom is baby-smooth. No impacts to the carbon.

They started feeling "funny" like my cleat had shifted or the rubber/sole on my shoes had failed (have had that happen before) as my foot would "angle out" during a portion of the pedal stroke. I rode the bike on a 60-70 mile over-nighter and it got progressively worse. Not sure if I really noticed it much before that, but during that ride there was nothing that I could have done anyway. Took the plastic boot off and found this. It likely wouldn't have progressed so far if I had discovered it before/not had to complete the ride. Race Face made it right though, fast getting me a replacement too.

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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
And before anyone says anything about "carbon cranks", I have literally beat the living shit out of my XX1 cranks over 4 years, with multiple DH races, enduro races, bouncing off rocks in CO, AZ, WA and other places, and so on. These Nexts were just less than 1yr old.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
Did that same thing to Next cranks in like 2mo —- multiple years in Sram/TV carbons with deep gouges everywhere with no issue.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,540
5,471
UK
I have literally beat the living shit out of my XX1 cranks over 4 years, with multiple DH races, enduro races, bouncing off rocks in CO, AZ, WA and other places, and so on.
:picsstfu:

Nah. Seriously. Out of nothing more than curiosity I'd like to see the state of a carbon crank that's been abused to 4 season old Saint levels. One set of cranks shared between your Enduro bike and DH or what? Also. what do you weigh?
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,559
AK
:picsstfu:

Nah. Seriously. Out of nothing more than curiosity I'd like to see the state of a carbon crank that's been abused to 4 season old Saint levels. One set of cranks shared between your Enduro bike and DH or what? Also. what do you weigh?
Could not get great pictures of the drive-side, but the general condition is pretty much the same. On the non-drive side, those are impacts at the bottom of the crank below the spindle, not the carbon-layup reflecting. The carbon-layup is much more pronounced on the Next cranks. I run the little "protective" boots, but I feel those don't do much of anything because they are so soft. I've torn a set to shreds and I feel if they were made of something harder (like carbon fiber!) they'd be much more worthwhile. Weigh 170 and the Next cranks (like pretty much every other drivetrain part on the fat bike) look pristine due to only being used on snow and for occasional commuting.


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Cerberus75

Monkey
Feb 18, 2017
520
194
I don't think carbon cranks are a problem, they can take a 800gr setup to 650ish set up and be stiffer. But something is up with the Next cranks, maybe trying to get under 600gr is the problem.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,540
5,471
UK
if they were made of something harder (like carbon fiber!)
But then what would you use to proect your carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?
Carobnfibre carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?



But yeah I get your point.
I thought about buying a carbon downtube guard for a carbon frame I have but despite it making sense honestly couldn't get my head round how retarded the idea sounded. Nice cheap disposible regular plastic would probably be the one. But where's the market for that? :brow:
 
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Tantrum Cycles

Turbo Monkey
Jun 29, 2016
1,143
503
But then what would you use to proect your carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?
Carobnfibre carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?



But yeah I get your point.
I thought about buying a carbon downtube guard for a carbon frame I have but despite it making sense honestly couldn't get my head round how retarded the idea sounded. Nice cheap disposible regular plastic would probably be the one. But where's the market for that? :brow:
IKNOWIKNOIKNOW!!!!! This is IT. I aM GENIUS!!!!

Tubular aluminum sleeves to slide over the cranks and to protect carbon frame tubes. Right? Fuckin brilliant. Please send me all your money.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,627
12,918
Cackalacka du Nord
But then what would you use to proect your carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?
Carobnfibre carbonfibre carbonfibre guards?



But yeah I get your point.
I thought about buying a carbon downtube guard for a carbon frame I have but despite it making sense honestly couldn't get my head round how retarded the idea sounded. Nice cheap disposible regular plastic would probably be the one. But where's the market for that? :brow:
i dunno...the plastic one on the downtube/bb junction of my crabon 2650bromad cracked on the first effing ride though.