My Fred Whitton Journey...

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AlanMorgan
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:58 pm

by AlanMorgan

Hi.
I'm Alan, 65, going on 66 and I've been coerced into attempting the Fred Whitton Challenge by some young whippersnappers who are at least 20 years younger than me.

For those of you who aren't acquainted with the Fred, here's a taster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5s0Mnh1tQc - oh, and before you deride the ones walking - they've already got over 90 very hard miles in their legs.

Obviously, the only thing stopping me from completing the "Fred" is a decent bike...

Probably...

Here are my criteria...

Light weight (well, that's why we're here, isn'it?)
Appropriate gearing
Comfortable enough to complete the ride without ending up in traction.

Back in October I ordered a light frameset from a well-respected Chinese brand (via their UK agent). However, it became clear that it was unlikely that I would receive my frame before May, so I cancellled the order. I was hoping to have my bike built by the end of January to start testing in time for the event in early May. Anyway... I've ordered another lightweight frame from another well-respected Chinese brand (via their UK agent) but this time the frameset is in stock in China.

I'll keep you posted on developments and the bits I've assembled so far.

by Weenie


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BigCol
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:03 pm
Location: UK

by BigCol

AlanMorgan wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 7:20 pm
Hi.
I'm Alan, 65, going on 66 and I've been coerced into attempting the Fred Whitton Challenge by some young whippersnappers who are at least 20 years younger than me.

For those of you who aren't acquainted with the Fred, here's a taster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5s0Mnh1tQc - oh, and before you deride the ones walking - they've already got over 90 very hard miles in their legs.

Obviously, the only thing stopping me from completing the "Fred" is a decent bike...

Probably...

Here are my criteria...

Light weight (well, that's why we're here, isn'it?)
Appropriate gearing
Comfortable enough to complete the ride without ending up in traction.

Back in October I ordered a light frameset from a well-respected Chinese brand (via their UK agent). However, it became clear that it was unlikely that I would receive my frame before May, so I cancellled the order. I was hoping to have my bike built by the end of January to start testing in time for the event in early May. Anyway... I've ordered another lightweight frame from another well-respected Chinese brand (via their UK agent) but this time the frameset is in stock in China.

I'll keep you posted on developments and the bits I've assembled so far.
Hi Alan - it's a fantastic event, i hope you get the weather I did (that is my video you linked to!) and have a great day out.

Have you gone for a disc or rim brake bike? As I'm sure you know there lots of steep descents and some like hrdnott require constant braking (30% slope with frequent hairpins!!) - so good brakes are a must! I glazed my disc pads on hardnott descent :o

Happy to help with any thoughts / questions - for reference when looking at the video I was 88-90kg or so back then

Col.

CustomMetal
Moderator
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:14 pm
Location: UK

by CustomMetal

I did it on an 8kg metal bike with rim brakes... my takeaway was my mate I did it with who had a 11-34 compared to my 11-32, whom I laughed at on the start line was laughing on hardknot! It is a quick course though.. I managed 7 hours 30 which I was happy with. The real drama on hardknot is that the road is so full of people walking it is hard to cycle through them.

On and disc brakes would have make my life easier, especially if you have rain
Allegra- Steel Lugs TBC
Aurelia- Stainless All Road 8.5kg
Bertha- TT 9.8kg
Perdita- Ti Turbo bike 8kg
Serenity- Ti Gravel 9.5kg/8.9kg
Verity- Ti Aero 8.2kg
Alya- Ti Climbing TBC

All weights with pedals,cages & garmin mount

MasterBean
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 11:18 pm

by MasterBean

Is it a quick course?! I did it in 9:30 hours. Aluminium bike, alloy wheels, rim brakes. The wheels and brakes were dead at the end but I got round and only had to walk the top section of Hardknott as my lower back was knackered. Enjoy it.

Sent from my COL-L29 using Tapatalk


AlanMorgan
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:58 pm

by AlanMorgan

Thanks for the encouragement! There are 4 of us in the ballot as a team and we should know if we're in during the first week of February. I've actually decided on rim brakes. I've built some lightish carbon wheels but I'll build a pair of alloy wheels as well in case the weather is really wet.

Regarding gearing - I'm going for 48/32 at the front and 11-34 at the back

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

I did it a few years back, was a dry day thankfully so rim brakes were fine and I'm quite a confident descender. The only error I made was running a 11-28, that extra gear would have been a godsend on Hardknott but I gritted my teeth and got up it in one piece (just about).

bobones
Posts: 1271
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:19 am

by bobones

I entered the ballot for this year, but I am dreading getting in!

What kind of power/weight ratio and gearing do you think is required to complete these 25%+ climbs without walking or grinding to a halt? I saw on the video that BigCol was regularly putting down 400+ watts on Hardknott which at 90kg would be 4.5w/kg +

If do get in, I'll be using my rim braked Giant TCR with 46/33 rings and 10-33 cassette.

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

No idea about power but with a 1:1 gear you should have no problem.

AlanMorgan
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:58 pm

by AlanMorgan

I did the C2C in August last year - Whitehaven to Tynemouth over 3 days. Day 2 was 105km with 2200m of climbing, some of which was mid-twenties in gradient. I know that's nothing compared to the Fred but it taught me that, as long as you have gearing which permits forward momentum at whatever power you can produce, then you get into a kind of zone where you can just keep tapping away on the pedals for as long as it takes. There were 12 of us on the ride (4 men and 8 women - our average age was around 60) and only one person needed to ride in the broom wagon.

Hardknott is a different beast altogether - I realise that. Somebody I know told me that it doesn't really matter if you have to get off and walk as you won't be going much slower than the ones who are still on their bikes. Anyway - I'll be using SPD pedals and walkable shoes...

BigCol
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:03 pm
Location: UK

by BigCol

AlanMorgan wrote:
Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:01 am
Thanks for the encouragement! There are 4 of us in the ballot as a team and we should know if we're in during the first week of February. I've actually decided on rim brakes. I've built some lightish carbon wheels but I'll build a pair of alloy wheels as well in case the weather is really wet.

Regarding gearing - I'm going for 48/32 at the front and 11-34 at the back
Personally I would go with alloy rims even if dry - we saw quite a few people with warped carbon rims on the day we did it - FW web also guides against it :o
Screenshot 2022-01-14 at 17.59.17.png
https://www.fredwhittonchallenge.co.uk/ ... e-mission/

We didn;t actually make the draw, but i emailed straight away to ask to go on reserve list and we got a place fairly quickly a week or so later :)

Gearing definitely key, and pacing your self to leave some in the tank for Hardnott and Wrynose.

The full ride is here:

https://www.strava.com/activities/975174364/overview

Col.

BigCol
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:03 pm
Location: UK

by BigCol

Enjoy the descents, but don;t get carried away - i passed quite a few nasty crashed going down honister:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km7lAzrHmAY

CustomMetal
Moderator
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:14 pm
Location: UK

by CustomMetal

The climbs and descents aren't fast but all the bits in between are pretty flat and fast
Allegra- Steel Lugs TBC
Aurelia- Stainless All Road 8.5kg
Bertha- TT 9.8kg
Perdita- Ti Turbo bike 8kg
Serenity- Ti Gravel 9.5kg/8.9kg
Verity- Ti Aero 8.2kg
Alya- Ti Climbing TBC

All weights with pedals,cages & garmin mount

AlanMorgan
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:58 pm

by AlanMorgan

Thanks for the tip about carbon wheels!

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Lewn777
Posts: 1266
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:35 am

by Lewn777

I wouldn't worry so much about having a really light bike, just get the gearing right. You want at least 34-50 on the front and 11-32 on the main cassette, and also it wouldn't hurt to ask about mountain bike gearing. I'm fairly fit with a 300w FTP and Zwift cat B at 83kg and I would seriously be thinking about having a 40t sprocket on the rear cassette if it would fit.

satanas
Posts: 316
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2020 5:45 pm

by satanas

IMHO you cannot have too low a gear for Wrynose or Hardknott - they're 33% in places, perhaps more on some corners.

FWIW, Shimano GS road derailleurs will handle an 11-40 cassette with 16T front difference without any trouble on many frames. No, this is not officially sanctioned by Shimano, but it definitely works as I've done it for loaded touring and there are numerous YouTube videos about it too.

Best of luck with the weather. :thumbup:

by Weenie


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