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#3214689 5-Apr-2024 15:32

Funnily enough I just bought an M8000 shifter for a spare bike. I needed iSpec B to mount to some Saint brakes. My first ever purchase off Alixpress which was the only place I could find it.

Thankfully it looks to be a brand new take off, which for my needs was perfect.

geoffwnz

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#3215415 8-Apr-2024 08:21

Gave the Trek Slash a solid workout yesterday at the Porirua Grand Traverse. Teamed up with a running buddy to do the mixed teams duathlon. Knocked out a solid 2hr 24m for the 28km mtb leg. We ended up 4th mixed team only 3 mins down on podium after a total of 4hr 44m racing. Pretty pleased with that.

The enduro bike really shines on the downhills where it just soaks up whatever I throw it at, including one minor off track excursion where the track veered slightly left while I was airborne. Oops. Landed in the longish grass telling myself "please be nothing in here". Probably much to the amusement of the rider I had passed a couple of corners earlier. :-)

Under two weeks until Faultline where I'm lining up for the 100km ride. Will be dialing it back a few notches and expect somewhere between 8 and 10 hours, likely closer to the 10 hours end.

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Coon

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#3215829 8-Apr-2024 18:14

even worse ROubaix than last year

TinyTim

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#3217430 12-Apr-2024 16:02

This death is a terrible thing (Call for strong trail grading standards after mountain biker's death) but the coroner's message is interesting, and it echos an interview I heard on RNZ last year I think.

Every trail, whether pre-existing or custom made, will be a mix of features of different grades. I'm no expert, I'm more interested in cross country, climbing and fitness, rather than gnarly downhills, and am happy to stick to the blue trails (intermediate/advanced). For example on Makara Peak, the advanced trails Missing Link and Potahu are fine but I'll generally skip Starfish which, although is graded the same, has a big drop off partway down which is a bit hit and miss for me. That drop off is bigger than what's on other advanced trails - is it an 'expert' feature, and should Starfish be graded expert based on that? Should an advanced trail be regraded because of a single expert feature - or should it be some proportion of the total trail length? Should it be kept as-is and the hard parts be signposted with their grade to allow me to get off and carry? Or should they remove those features altogether? And how do you take into account how the difficulty changes when it's wet or as the trails wear?

Or is it part of the risk that we all take?

Handsomedan

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#3217435 12-Apr-2024 16:24

That story is tragic. But it's all too common in places too.

Experienced rider, riding a trail he's been on before.
Minor mistake leads to major consequence.
I'd say it'll end up being a similar outcome in the coroner's inquest into the recent Woodhill death.

People probably underestimate just how dangerous mountain biking is.
At 54, I am all too aware of how painful a decent crash could be, and yet here I am hurtling down mountains and hills, flying over jumps and ripping trails with more gusto than ever.
I know the risks...but are all trails adequately graded? No.

I have ridden double blacks, blacks, blues, greens and everything in between. Am I truly capable of riding true double blacks? Probably not.
I don't do gaps. I don't like big drops. I am not a fan of rock gardens.

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geoffwnz

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#3217441 12-Apr-2024 16:29

It's tricky because grading is subjective to a degree. Plus, as noted, do you grade on the entire trail or the one feature that puts it up a grade.

While it's useful to have trail graded, even inconsistently, there's also an expectation on riders to do a couple of things to keep ourselves safe.

Firstly, ride to your ability rather than your confidence level. They aren't always the same thing.

Secondly, look before you leap. Pre-ride unfamiliar trails at a slower pace before going 10/10ths, stop and check out trail features before attempting to ride them.

Personally, if there's a generally "blue" trail with a couple of expert features, I would like to see either a warning just before it and/or a clearly marked bypass option where that's possible. For example, the Times Tables trail in Tunnel Gully is actually marked green despite many small jumps and drops plus one larger drop because they are all either rollable or have bypass options.

Like many action sports, mountain biking can be dangerous. We can mitigate many of the risks from both the trail builder and rider side of things but I don't want to see all the hard features removed "because they are dangerous". I know I don't bounce like I used to 30+ years ago when I first started mountain biking and I ride accordingly (mostly).

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Handsomedan

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#3217446 12-Apr-2024 16:38

Yup - the old mantra still rings true:

Pre-ride
Re-ride
Freeride

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TinyTim

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#3217449 12-Apr-2024 16:47

geoffwnz:
It's tricky because grading is subjective to a degree. .

And there are many things that affect the grade as well. Including (perhaps surprisingly) the drop to the side of the trail - a trail that traverses the top of a cliff will be graded higher than an otherwise identical trail that doesn't. So definitely a confidence thing.

Handsomedan

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#3217452 12-Apr-2024 16:49

So this begs the question - which authority in NZ would ultimately be the decider on what a grade should be for a trail and what are the consequences for trail builders not assigning the correct grade?

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mudguard

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#3217537 12-Apr-2024 19:00

The grading is thorny. I think Nelson and Queenstown have some of the hardest riding. So a five or black in Woodhill would barely be a blue or three in Nelson.
I rode Wairoa Gorge in Nelson recently and it it's pretty unrelenting. Even the three and fours (blue and dark blue) had me questioning why I was there!

I broke my hip at 38 riding a black in Queenstown. Doing five kmh an hour round a corner of no consequence, just landed awkwardly, unfortunately my hip hit first and snapped the neck of my femur right through.

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#3217626 13-Apr-2024 08:52

mudguard: The grading is thorny. I think Nelson and Queenstown have some of the hardest riding. So a five or black in Woodhill would barely be a blue or three in Nelson.
I rode Wairoa Gorge in Nelson recently and it it's pretty unrelenting. Even the three and fours (blue and dark blue) had me questioning why I was there!

I broke my hip at 38 riding a black in Queenstown. Doing five kmh an hour round a corner of no consequence, just landed awkwardly, unfortunately my hip hit first and snapped the neck of my femur right through.

i sold my MTB before that could happen. now only doing gentle riding as running is a bit hard on the old joints.

there is a thread that says cyclists are superior, should that be a thread i visit or not? i dare not click on it ...

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#3218876 16-Apr-2024 08:44

mudguard: The grading is thorny. I think Nelson and Queenstown have some of the hardest riding. So a five or black in Woodhill would barely be a blue or three in Nelson.
I rode Wairoa Gorge in Nelson recently and it it's pretty unrelenting. Even the three and fours (blue and dark blue) had me questioning why I was there!

I broke my hip at 38 riding a black in Queenstown. Doing five kmh an hour round a corner of no consequence, just landed awkwardly, unfortunately my hip hit first and snapped the neck of my femur right through.

This is the main point from my perspective, generalising a bit but trails are ranked differently in the South Island. Last week a mate came down from Auckland who rides 440 and Rotorua regularly he said some Blues at Skyline QT and Chch adventure park would be single blacks up north. He tried a couple of single blacks and had to walk down sections.

A NZ wide grading system would be good, but I honestly think its a choice you take as a mountain biker, the risk adds to the enjoyment.

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geoffwnz

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#3228338 9-May-2024 13:58

So, Faultline Challenge 100km. Epic day out. Despite earlier predictions of 8-10 hours, I ended up spending 11 hours 15 minutes lugging the Slash around every single peak in the greater Wellington region. Well, it certainly felt like it anyway.

But, unlike the Tarawera Ultra run in Feb, I actually completed this event.

Much like the shakedown ride at Porirua Grand Traverse, the enduro bike just soaked up everything I pointed it at, saving me from a couple of potentially interesting moments when I ran over things I shouldn't. Fist sized rocks mid corner, lengthways ruts, steps that were bigger than anticipated etc. Just dealt with and spat out the back in stead of spitting me off the bike.

Used all of the travel, but that's what its there for.

Did not enjoy the carry up stairs sections. But it's all part of the big day out and epic adventure.

Already planning for next year with thoughts of either stepping up to the 160km (would have been timed out this year) or doing the 100km mtb again then lining up the next morning to run the 50km.

I never said I was a good example to follow. ;-)

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elpenguino

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#3228348 9-May-2024 14:15

Wow, that's massive !! Well done. I saw some signs at Makara recently and wondered what it was for, now I know !

I could do it next year, but ahh, I think I'm washing my hair that day....

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

geoffwnz

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#3228352 9-May-2024 14:19

elpenguino:

Wow, that's massive !! Well done. I saw some signs at Makara recently and wondered what it was for, now I know !

I could do it next year, but ahh, I think I'm washing my hair that day....

Thanks. Really happy with the finish.

They had 4 ride distances this year. 24, 50, 100 and 160km. Seems likely they'll have similar next year, so something for all abilities.

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