AMBC XC Enduro Series – Craigburn Farm

So far this season, I’ve raced the Eriksen in both of the 2012 AMTBC enduros.  The first was a four-hour at Mt. Torrens, where I raced solo.  The second was a six-hour at Craigburn Farm, where I raced on a two-man team.

The Mt. Torrens track is always fun with great downhills, but it’s also difficult with long, technical climbs.  My race went well with no mechanical issues.  However, riding across the very fast and rocky top section, I was contemplating the advantages of the 4″ FS 29er following me.  Bouncing off rocks for four hours can be fun, but big wheels and some travel would make it less painful.  In the end, I finished in the middle of the pack at 27th of 45.  More importantly, here’s what happened according to Strava.

On to Craigburn Farm. This is currently one of my favorite trails, and the track layout for the enduro was excellent.  The race covered almost all of the trails in the park, and the conditions were perfect thanks to rain the night before the race.  I’m happy with my six laps (our team did a total of eleven), and I set several personal records (PR) on many segments in Strava.   Better yet, there was a coffee van at the race, so I got to sit and relax with a latte between laps– I’m not sure if that helped my lap tims.  Anyway, of the 20 teams racing we finished 7th: one lap up on 8th, and within a few minutes of 5th and 6th.  Again, here is an account of the race from Strava’s perspective.

Aside from briefly coveting a FS 29er at the Mt. Torrens enduro, I’ve been vary happy with the Eriksen.  The new SID Team fork has been great, and the WTB Bronson 2.3 front tyre has been a good compromise between grip, weight and volume, with grip and volume being it’s strengths.  The 1×9 drivetrain with a 32t ring and 11-34 cassette has worked out well, although the 34t cog has been of limited use– a 33t or 34t ring might make a better pair to the 11-34 cassette.  While I’d like to take the rigid 29er out for another enduro, it’s hard to pass on the relatively cushy ride that the Eriksen’s Ti frame and 100mm fork provide.

Official race results for both races are posted on the new and improved AMTBC site.

If you recall, I swapped the 2.1″ Ignitors on the Eriksen with some rather heavy 2.35s. A few weeks ago I raced the Ignitors (with Eriksen attached) at the AMTBC MT. Torrens enduro. Overall, the 2.35″ Ignitors performed well. More specifically, the 2.35s were noticeably slower on the climbs (it wasn’t me, really), but more than made up for any shortcomings on the way back down.

The downhills at Mt. Torrens are a lot of fun with fast rocky sections, several ramps, berms and other potentially painful features. With my new monster-truck tyres I was able to catch other riders on the downhills and have a lot of fun doing it. So, the 2.35s are staying and I’ll just have to deal with the climbs.

Also of interest may be my new lights. The Mt. Torrens enduro was held in the afternoon with approximately three hours of daylight and three hours of night riding. Prior to this race I had been using a NiteRider MiNewt Mini USB, a 115 lumen light. For this race I used a new bar-mounted NiteRider TriNewt, which comes in at just under 500 lumens.

I ran the TriNewt in the reduced brightness mode for a reported seven-hour battery life during the night portion of the race. Prior to the race I hadn’t noticed much diffrence between the full and reduced brightness modes, and found the light in this mode more than adequate for the race.

I brought the MiNewt Mini USB as a backup light, but I never felt a need to use it. Since the race, I’ve purchased a helmet-mount kit for the MiNewt Mini USB. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but I’m curious to see if it is a worthwhile addition to the TriNewt.

If you’re interested I ended up finishing in the middle of the men’s solo class, even with an unscheduled coffee and photo break– full results over at AMTBC.

Prior to the Mt. Torrens enduro I converted the ’08 Reba Race from 100mm to 115mm. I wasn’t convinced this is what I wanted long term, but I wanted to give it a try. Well, after a few rides and the enduro I converted the Reba back to 100mm. Why? The fork went from fairly stiff and generally nice to noticeably flexy and generally frustrating.

During the conversion back to 100mm I replaced the fork oil (again) and the dirt/oil/foam seals on the fork lowers. Thanks again to BMCR for having the parts in stock. Anyway, replacing the seals is fairly easy, and the now that the fork is back to the “right” height everything feels a lot better. In any case, my rebuild proved a lot cheaper than some others I’ve recently heard about.

Want more? I’ve been getting the Gunnar in shape for the next cyclocross race and had the bottom bracket faced, thanks to Brian at Road Rage Cycles. This may seem like an odd thing to do to a 10-year-old frame, but I noticed my external-bottom-bracketed FSA cyclocross crankset didn’t spin nearly as freely as the more road-friendly 105 Octalink crankset I had been using. Instead of going nuts with a White Industries VBC crankset, I tried the cheaper option of fixing what I already had. I’m happy to report that the FSA crankset now spins nicely and all is ready for the upcoming race.