A Racing Question.

[Iwasgoodonce]

Evening all. It has been a long time since I threw a competitive leg over a bike. Rigid has become hardtail which in turn has gone all bouncy. I started with a six gear block, did most of my riding with seven and never went higher than eight.
Now when I take my bike to Cannock, all 'da kids on da street' laugh and point. I met Feetabix up there (never met him before) and his bike stood out like a beacon in a sea of springs and pivots.
So, with Youbook (or whatever it is called) full of bike stunts that I would be too frightened to attempt on my Xbox, my question is this:

Would a retro bike be a liability on a modern course? Has the terain of a typical XC course gone 'radical (and indeed) knarly' to keep up with the advances in technology? Would it end up as a cross country run (walk)?

I am fitter and lighter now than for ages, years in fact and would like my son to see the old man in action to pique his interest in cycling even more. Humiliation would not therefore be a good thing. Do they still have a Fun class and would an old and ex-fat git on on old 1988 rigid end up dead or just dead last?

 

[crud]

i was thinking the same thing recently, i ran my retro bike to the local woods with extra narrow flat bars, very scarey on the slightest downhill technical and twictchy as anything. went back with the exact same bike, same set up but with some huge azonic risers, the difference was immense

of course im not going to be able to to go as fast as a modern rig, but the hardtail with judy sl's coped just fine

slight changes here and there and i think most retrobikes can cope just fine.

i wouldnt be scared of any course in the UK on my LTS-DH, it eats drop off's :twisted:

 

[MJN]

There is an old saying;Its not the bike its the rider
At Mountain Mayhem I lapped just as quick on my Yo Eddie as I did on my Scott Spark.
The Spark being a 22lb carbon race thing and the Yo being an old,heavy,Steel 'classic'.And it got some cheers when people saw what it was The Scott didn't
If you want to try racing,just do it.There are loads of prats on nice kit that you'll beat
Not sure on classes nowadays,haven't raced for a while,I didn't even fill out the MM entry!

 

[heathy]

I wouldn't worry to much about the bike, not much has changed in the xc course world, and if you ride rigid all the time then you should be just as good as other's that are the same level of fittness.

 

[daj]

From my experence at Mayhem

Fitness and preparation is more the key than anything else!!! Talking from personal experence dont be fooled by thinking that because you can ride for miles at your pace a 10 mile course will be a piece of cake I was actaully pretty shocked how much I struggled and was unprepared at the difference at trying to ride a "course" at a pace :?

But still actually really enjoyed the experence and have entered another in September since being the stubbon git I am and want to do better

 

[tintin40]

I raced one of my Trimble in a modern race. I did as well as my old bones did. I hadn't raced for over ten yrs. Met all the faces that I'd raced BITD BUT one big difference non of them had stopped :shock: So i nearly died. but i finished. And no were near the back.
It's not about the bike. Fittness
Oh a 1993 Klein rider came 10th in the race

 

[Birdman]

Have a go at a local race in fun category, you'll be fine. There always a few muppets who sprint off but most are in it for a ride around the track. As long as you can ride (note I say ride, not race) for say 50 mins without needing to stop for sandwiches/ oxygen you'll be fine

You'll be surprised at the number of other people riding old bikes too, all courses are fine for hardtails and full rigids, and if it still looks a bit scary, there'll be a queue as most people will be off and walking anyhow.

 

[Splatter Paint]

I'm in agreement with the earlier posts, almost all races are pertectly 'do-able' in the Fun class on a retro, but some are too extreme to be ridden fast.

Two that spring to mind are the Cheddar course and Penmachno in North Wales. I don't think I'd contemplate racing either on a rigid bike and if it was wet there's no way I'd want to use cantis!

SP

 

[Russell]

I'm really only repeating what others have said, but it does all really come down to rider ability rather than what you're riding, although you will probably be faster on a modern bike.

At Mayhem, I lapped faster on my modern bike than I did on my retro, despite it being dark and me being more knackered when I took the modern out.

I reckon that the course that Mayhem is run on now is less technically difficult than when we raced there back in the '90s and back then we had cantis and rigid forks.