Wondering who’s planning on entering this year?
Its the weekend of the 22nd June at Eastnor Park, Malvern. Website: http://www.osmountainmayhem.co.uk/
Would be up for another go this year, entries open midnight 28th February (weekend of BMW) and tend to go pretty fast, although they seem to quite like unicyclists so are somewhat leaniant I think.
Dan K
Yes, we really ought to get a team (or teams) together pronto. I’m certainly up for it, and I’d assume Steve C, Tue and all the usual suspects will be as well, with no crustacian jockeying to distract them. Could be worth sending a PM to various people to remind them. I’d guess:
Spencer (semach), Steve C, Tue (tujotomi), Liam (domesticated ape), Ian Stockwell, Sam W, Keith (keg), Paul Royle, and possibly a couple of others (Alan Chambers(?), [sorry can’t remember your name] Wiggins(?), Beth)
Anna may be up for it again as well - she seemed quite keen after last year.
There’s also Sleepless in August of course. I’m seriously thinking about going solo again and hoping for some better conditions than last year, but it would be good to have a team there as well.
Rob
BTW it’s Fri 19th to the Sun 21st June 2009 and I’d have liked to do it again but I’ll be in Norway then 
Not that I won’t enjoy Norway but they would have to clash, and I could of prepard this time.
Yup, definitely - this one isn’t to be missed lightly.
I’m going to try it solo this time, if I can hold my nerve until the entries come out. I’m pretty sure this one is due to be dry and sunny.
Sam
It’s going to be gloriously dry and sunny, like it always is (I’m trying to persuade my non-camping GF to come along, so let us all pretend please!!!)
Excelent, should have a good crowd. Rob, have you volunteered to contact those guys then?
I’d be looking to join a few others to make a team of 4, my target this year is 4 laps, with all that sunny weather we’re going to have this year it might happen:p
Could do with some advice on light setups, helmet mounted only, or one mounted on frame as well. What was the minimum amount of light power you were supposed to have if anyone can remember?
Looks like it :o
I’ll do it now.
I use a helmet mounted halogen with battery in the camelbak. I think people have experimented with lights on frames but found it to be not that good - it never points in the right direction (in the air on downhills and straight at the floor on uphills) and it often obscured by legs.
I think the official minimum is 10W halogen (or equivalent power of LED/HID), but I think if you have a working light that you’re happy to ride by then they’re not that fussy. I tend to use 10W, which is enough for unicycle speeds. I’ve used 15W a couple of times but the longer runtime of the 10W is more useful than the extra light from the 15W IMO. On a bike when you’re going much faster it’s a different matter of course!
You’re also supposed to have another backup light in case the main one fails, but this can be just a torch. I’ve got a £10 3W cree led torch that’s almost as bright as the 10W halogen and runs off two AA cells for ages. I find halogen light much nicer to ride by though - the intense blueish light of LEDs seems to be much less good at cutting through mist than the yellower halogen light.
Rob
EDIT: PMs sent to Spencer, Steve C, Tue, Liam, Ian Stockwell, Sam W, Keg, Paul Royle, Alan Chambers and Beth. Hopefully if we’ve missed anybody they’ll hear from somebody else or see this thread.
I haven’t received the PM yet, anyway I hope to attend but will not be riding this year.
Keith
Just curious - what unicycle would be best suited for this? (excluding geared ones). I would struggle to do a 9-mile loop several times on a 24"!..
Teddy
That’s odd - it seemed to have gone out OK. I wonder if anybody else got them…
Most people use a 29er, some like a 36. Just to be different I prefer a 26!
If you’ve got a 29 that’s probably the best way to go - 24 would be a bit slow and 36 is an aquired taste (I’ve tried mine - bit faster on the open bits but I hate it in the woods. Some people love it and get faster laps than they would on a 29). A 26x3" is so similar in speed to a 29 that I can’t justify having both, so I use the 26. You don’t get punctures every lap on a 3" tyre either 
(although it is a bit heavier for the climbs)
Rob
EDIT: Keith - just checked those PMs in my sent box - it seems I missed you out. Sorry. Mystery solved.
I will definatly be up for it, I will get myself a good light and will bring my KH29. whos deciding/sorting teams?
I’ll probably have both of mine and see how it goes during the day. If it is dry and you feel good then a 36 can be brilliant. It smooths out bumpy grass etc much better than a 29, but gets a bit much in the mud and uphill when you’re knackered.
Sam
Yes I think wheel size choice depends a lot on the conditions (which can change pretty drastically). In 2007 it was so muddy at one point I think Sam resorted to a 24". That said its going to be sunny this year so i’d say a 29er is a good allrounder.
Thanks for the light info Rob, and the PM ing.
btw I kind of made an error on the dates in my first post, the 22nd is the monday afternoon after it, at which point most people will have gone home:o
Mud clearance can be important when it gets sticky. On last year’s Sleepless (extremely muddy) I used my 26" but with a normal 1.9" xc bike tyre. Worked quite well.
Rob
[QUOTE]
Mud clearance can be important when it gets sticky. On last year’s Sleepless (extremely muddy) I used my 26" but with a normal 1.9" xc bike tyre. Worked quite well.[/QUOTE
I was thinking about mud clearance today. In my nimbus 29er i’m currently running the WTB Stout which works well but doesnt give much clearance at all, definitley not enough for MM.
My knowledge of bikes is that they generally choose thinner tyres to cut through the mud and find grip, yet unicyclists usually go for bigger tyres for a bigger surface area. Anyone tried out thin 29er tyres in mud?
I’d be interested to see how a cyclocross tyre worked on a unicycle in mud. Possibly a bit too skinny and puncture prone.
My 1.9" Z-Max worked well on the 26" in the mud, but I was very tempted to get hold of a 1.5" proper mud tyre and give that a go. Trouble is you have to run skinnier tyres harder to avoid pinch flats, so it’s not so nice on the rooty bits (most of the bikers have suspension to deal with that).
It’s so often a quagmire at Mayhem and Sleepless that I may well buy a skinny mud tyre and see how it works.
Rob
Sorry GK :o
I’ve retired from Mountain Mayhems. It’s not the first time I’ve retired but I suspect this time will be the last. I might well bring the family along, though.
Not that anybody around here remembers my name… 
Regards,
Mark.
Sorry Mark! I could only remember your surname for some reason - I think we’ve only met once or twice (your last MM was my first one).
Rob
Matt Wiggins! Howdy! I hope everything’s going well, maybe you’ll be back from retirement when the girls are old enough to do MM…?