Ross McArthur

Jordan, you've been reading too many Memes.

Editing? What do you mean by that?

Erm, was that just your pervious 12 videos mangled into one?

The only issue he's got is his down stairs mix up. He's got a Mangina!

I don't even know what that means

The Base. Duuuuuh. Faslane.

Glad the cranks fitted ok then?

It's all about the bitches and niggers. Some ballsy stuff there.

Looks like JDs Onza.

Trials ain't dead.

Silent rim brakes

I've managed to happen upon a tensioner which screws in, inboard of the hanger. I'll post a pic.

the boy on the Cannondale!

Wow, how does he do that with such a big frame and such narrow bars? Don't his wheels explode in mid air?

I can't say I felt unstable at any point due to the width of the bars nor did I have a problem moving around on the bike due to the frame being too big. I did however run the stem in the + position instead of minus. Which my mate I borrowed the bike from laughed at. CX banter. It was the first ever race I've done on any bike (excluding trials comps. The Euro boys call it w race, don't they?) and it was a lot of fun. I don't like to admit I'm competitive as I'd like to think I'm more humble than that but the beast was released as soon as I heard that horn!

Drop bars are only a problem if you're not used to drop bars. I'm sure these CX riders are used to handling drop bars in the same way we can hop around on the back wheel and for it look unnatural to them? And what makes you think the frame is too big? Do you think the 200+ riders at the race would have a bike with a frame that's too big for them? Ok that's me trolling. You mean the high top tubes, compared to a short seat tube and high seat post/saddle set up of a XC bike? The way I was told to mount the bike was to swing my leg over the back of the saddle. So all I was having to clear was the back tyre with my foot/leg. I wasn't stepping over the top tube, so that can be as high as it likes. I was also told that the tyre width is such to cut through mud instead of floating around on top of it, like you would with a 2.1" or above XC tyre. And cutting though mud I did, that's for sure. Wheel strength? What? The wheels I had were FFW Carbon jobbies. Felt plenty strong to me. Probably stiffer than my alloy 26" XC wheels actually. As for the why does it even exist question. Err, I dunno.

A lot of people seem to think that. What's your view on why?

Its not something I'm going to pursue but after attending a race I can see where the appeal is. For me the simple fact that it was challenging was enough for me to enjoy it. Challenging in the way that it was in fact a race and I had to push myself to keep ahead. Also that the course was hilly and my skills as a bike rider were put to good use with the twists and turns and the thick mud to pedal through. The whole getting off and pushing/carrying the bike up hill was all part of being challenged too. If you are strong at pedalling, that's great but its not going to win you a CX race if you cant mount your bike and get clipped in fast enough... Something I had a problem with! Its also a good spectators sport. My friends were able to see most of what was going on by hanging around the race village and walking from barrier to barrier to catch different turns on the track. There was a guy on a mic shouting out the lap times and names of who was coming through the finish line, so folk would know how well the riders were doing etc. Id be happy to answer any questions and divulge what limited information I have on CX races if you want to know more?

His bike looks so stiff! Not as stiff as I am right now though.

I was thinking that. I like how parallel the top and down tube are until it curves away. Your garden set up looks pretty swish Cal?

Someone call the smooth Police, Onzatpro09 has escaped! That was some buttery smooth riding lad. Liked the line at 51secs. Great front wheel work throughout too.

Haha, yep. It does look cool. ...and I was only joking. I prefer a slightly slacker set up, one reason being its a bit easier to get the wheel in and out and you don't get that, f**k, my chains about to snap feeling, as you turn the cranks to get the chain back over the chain ring/cog. Good thing about those tensioners is that you can set the tension on the spring by setting what angle the arms sit at before tightening the allen bolt.

I would lead with that.

Yes, they were! Well, it was a beer mat you got and you picked up your free beer at the end. No drinking in the park allowed.

Hmm, Id say it was more road biking, off road. People do use mountain bikes to race. I seen plenty. I think as I have a mtb back ground, i'd've been happier with a set of flat bars on my bike but i'm guessing most of the people who ride cyclocross come from a road biking background, so that's maybe why the bikes look as such? One thing to know about these bikes is that they're designed for mud clearance. That's about all I know about that.