NMTBD. The orange is bacccccccck. Sorta :)

[weeksy]

In the interest of doing what no-one on the internet does... i've listened to the above and got the bike ready for Dyfi this weekend.

Untitled by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

This is as you can see, the boys bike... Longer dropper, 160mm Lyriks, 9mm higher rise bars and my flat DMR Vaults installed.

I guess this is the easiest way to find out if that makes any difference to me at all.

[Mr Moofo]

In the interest of doing what no-one on the internet does... i've listened to the above and got the bike ready for Dyfi this weekend.

Untitled by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

This is as you can see, the boys bike... Longer dropper, 160mm Lyriks, 9mm higher rise bars and my flat DMR Vaults installed.

I guess this is the easiest way to find out if that makes any difference to me at all.

but you have to think you are going to like it first!
But it is the sensible approach

[weeksy]

Well, considering how close it is to the standard bike, i can't see how i'd dislike it.

[weeksy]

The day at Dyfi went well... Although it left me (as usual) with as many questions as it did answers.

There's little doubt his bike feels 'better' than mine.
But we have 3 changes on his
1. 160mm Lyriks
2. 12mm higher rise bars
3. 50mm more saddle drop.

Which of them played the biggest factor, i don't really know in truth. It's very hard to say and pretty subjective.
There were times when i wasn't sure i was going to survive, let alone see a benefit, i nearly stacked it multiple times, but i don't think any of them were the bike/setup fault. I was just trying and rocks are slippery, so nearly came a cropper a fair few times. But managed to save (not sure it was me who saved it) a massive sideways rock moment which seemed to last a lot longer than i wanted
Couldn't match my mates when the going got techie, but stayed with them on some sections which pleased me lots.

I don't really know what/where to go next with the plans if i'm honest. Whilst the bike was better, i don't think it changed a lot and i don't think i'd go faster/better just because i go to something else.

[Mr Moofo]

Raleigh Chopper ?

[weeksy]

Raleigh Chopper ?

LOL i don't believe that's the answer, but i've got some of his spare DMR O-dub bars which i'll throw on mine later this week, they're pretty crash-scuffed, but nothing major. It'll give a bit of an answer anyway. But overall i think the answer is pretty apparent of "stop moaning and get better at riding"... Which i'm working on, honestly.... but it's tough

[weeksy]

Bars are fitted, if i want the higher 35mm rise at the moment i've had to go narrower as we trimmed them up at Innerleithen last year due to tree gap width. So they come in about 760mm maybe 765mm with grips. They feel narrow though for sure. If we go with them i'll get another set from DMR ordered up.

[Mr Moofo]

Bars are fitted, if i want the higher 35mm rise at the moment i've had to go narrower as we trimmed them up at Innerleithen last year due to tree gap width. So they come in about 760mm maybe 765mm with grips. They feel narrow though for sure. If we go with them i'll get another set from DMR ordered up.

Erm, can you just leave the grips out 5mm each side - which will give you more width. Somewhere between 760 and 780 strikes me as the sweet spot. 800 mm bars are just daft unless you are high mountain / bike park/ DH god , or never cycle where there are trees

[weeksy]

20260208_114609 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Muddy, slippy, draggy but fun ride today. After 2 hours on Zwift yesterday I think my pace was off a bit today. But I put in a decent shift considering the conditions. It was great to be out and if you ignore the mess, it's all good.

[weeksy]

I was a little irritated yesterday with the usual 'noise' i get from this bike....

It's like a flexing type of noise that you get on it, but i've not really established what part it is, sometimes i think it's the seatpost, sometimes i think it's a linkage, or the headset..

So i've gone a little more methodical this time and just gone for the headset, stripped it out along with the adjustable headset cups and gave it all a good clean and re-grease. Will see if that fixes it on the next ride.

Of course it's all because of the ridiculous weather this winter and my inability to not ride i just like riding no matter what the conditions and that takes a toll on things.

[weeksy]

Bloody awful out there. Cold, frosty, windy, muddy, draggy.

It was sunny though

[Dodgy69]

Sunny means it's nice out there.

[weeksy]

Sunny means it's nice out there.

Lol not on the trails. It was a bit of a disaster trail wise

[Mr Moofo]

Bloody awful out there. Cold, frosty, windy, muddy, draggy.

It was sunny though

Keep on gearing myself to hit the Downs, but is absolute slop out there walking the dog at low level. It will be okay on teh high exposed bits but the troughs will be bog swimming

[weeksy]

Yeah it's been horrific as we all know and the more rain the more people walking the trails and they just get worse. Not a lot we can do. Apart from look forward to drier days soon..
I've mostly been riding indoors and trying to keep training but being outside is nicer, usually anyway

[weeksy]

Early one up to the local today

20260221_083715 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Was sooooo slippy it was daft. But wasn't too cold a morning so all good! Out and home before 9am

[weeksy]

Top day at FoD with stupid wet and messy trails soaking me from head to toe. In one corner the bow wave was so big I needed a surf board!

The climbs were as tough as always but that bring a feeling of self reward and satisfaction when you crack open a beer at home.
Forgot to take any pics though

[weeksy]

Must admit though i was having some Ebike/Sly FOMO on Sat... The speed at which the ebikers can negotiate Dowies is just ridiculous. I managed 6 runs which i was pretty happy with, but with an Eeb i'd have got 10-12... But do i need 10-12 and would the 6 help me in a context of health more than 10 on an eeb.... Heck i don't know. lol.

I did swap a few things yesterday when at home, nothing too major. A set of headset bearings went in the orange Fuel and a pair of Deity grips went on instead of the Bontragers i've been running.

The one big take-away from the weekends riding though is... i need to get faster in myself ! It's not the speed on the up that bothers me, that's just a chore you have to do.. but the speed on the down compared to my mate... sheesh.. i need to find SO much speed for sure. But how the heck i do that i have no bloody clue.

[Taff]

Devils advocate - why do you NEED to get faster?

You're not a teenager that bounces and heals quickly, you're not a racer trying to get to the pointy end, you're a dad out having fun with mates.

If you're having fun doing what you do (and I'm 100% confident that you are loving it), there's no need to pressurise yourself into going faster and risking a bigger crash just for the sake of shaving 0.5 second off Dowie 5 on Strava.

[/Devil advocate mode]
Stop being a pussy and let the brakes off, or see if you can get some coaching - I'm sure you know someone that could do that

[weeksy]

Devils advocate - why do you NEED to get faster?

You're not a teenager that bounces and heals quickly, you're not a racer trying to get to the pointy end, you're a dad out having fun with mates.

If you're having fun doing what you do (and I'm 100% confident that you are loving it), there's no need to pressurise yourself into going faster and risking a bigger crash just for the sake of shaving 0.5 second off Dowie 5 on Strava.

[/Devil advocate mode]
Stop being a pussy and let the brakes off, or see if you can get some coaching - I'm sure you know someone that could do that

Well it's only sometimes that it matters, Sat was one of them. Most rides i can hang with most of the people i ride with, so it's a non-issue. But Sat was with a mate who's quicker and i'd prefer him not to be that much quicker
I also have aspirations this year to do a DH (MIJ so not exactly Nationals) race and would like to be somewhere in the mix, not at the front, i know that's not happening currently, but not out the back. So i still have the desire to find and have more speed.

The coaching side, yes i completely agree that i do have someone. But the problem is that 99% of the time we're out, he's doing 'something' and prioritising that instead of coaching me. Which i completely understand as he's got goals and maybe this year we'll get a bit more freedom to play together... but it's hard as i'm happy to get him faster rather than getting me faster.