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3 Ring - tyre pressure?
Hi all,
New to MTB and doing my first race on Sunday - 3 Ring Circus.
Any suggestions on suitable tyre pressure - I ride a 29er with inner tubes and am about 78kg. I've been riding around Perimeter, Long, centre Track, Duck holes, etc about mid 30s PSI.
Any other basic tips for newbies - am guessing arm warmers will be needed plus carry a banana, sandwich or muesli bar as well as enough liquid.
Thanks heaps and apologies if this is all a bit basic.
Cheers,
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Dont stress about tyres pressures, just ride your bike as you have always done. Its got you this far, so dont worry about it too much.
it will be extra cold down there, so arm warmers at a minimum. Once you are riding you'll be warm, but hanging around before and after will be pretty fresh!
Remember that you come through the event center after each lap, so you wont need to take the whole races fuel with you from the beginning. First lap you wont need to eat, but also wont want to stop, but after the middle (red loop) you should stop and grab some more food and drink for the last yellow loop.
You'll notice a lot of people will have little eskys or tables on the ground, just off the race course to pick up their supplies. Maybe take a spare inner tube, a gas bomb, or a minipump too.
Just have fun. Dont look at it as a 'race' if its your first, just get out there and ride it as you have been doing on other rides. Remember though, all the climbing comes in the final lap, so dont go spending all your biscuits on the first few km....
Be sure to write a little race report for everyone here - its nice to hear how people go...
Good luck.
For a newbie I reckon there is a fair bit of climbing on the red lap (2nd loop) as well as the yellow (3rd loop). About 800 metres from memory. Don't forget the famous Wall either, if you get up that you are doing better than most. Plenty of veteran racers I suspect would walk that incline.....
To reinforce @antsonline's comments, the best way to work out what to do is talk to the elite guys like @antsonline except ... tyre pressures and lube!
Tyre pressures are a personal thing. A good mate of mine won the Highland Fling a couple of times running 50psi in his tyres because he valued rolling resistance over traction. Another mate has won it on 32psi. Everyone has their own theories on pressures but I figure if there is that much difference in what the top guys think then it mustn't matter so go with whatever works for you.
As for lube, I kept taking advise from aforementioned mate but kept finding I couldn't get through a 100km without carrying lube. Then I realised he only needs the lube to last 4hrs so has no concept of what us 6hr+ riders need...
Thanks heaps for the replies they all make great sense.
Looking forward to a great day.
Cheers.
Hi Fatboy
When you are talking lubes, what type/brand do you use. I currently use rock and roll blue or red depending on the weather. Are these okay?
cheers
Mid-30s with tubes sounds about right for your weight.