The South summer series.......WTF is going on

[nishiki14]

GOOD LUCK with everything you 2!!!!!!!!!!

[Beckyboo]

Good luck - its all very exciting!!!!!!!!!

[moomin]

wish they had let him stay, missing my sweetie 

[Beckyboo]

Are you online in hospital?

Its mean the way they turf the men out asap

How are you doing?

[moomin]

you know me, never miss a day on rad 

all is ok here cept no baby yet and they turfed my sweetie out, its well harsh, never  mind, i can nag him by pm all night 

[spillers#1]

Se mark bought a cruiser and has raced at 2 regionals and did really well  nic968 built a cruiser and raced 40+ at brixton regional and loved it 

30-39 and 40+ cruiser men and old skoolers on new bikes,just look at 40+ line up you have keith wilson 
                                                                                                                                                  billy stupple 
                                                                                                                                                  tony slater 
                                                                                                                                                  Eroll mc clean 
                                                                                                                                                  jeremy hayes 
                                                                                                                                                  john stockwell 
i could name loads of top old skoolers in 40+ this year and all of them damn fast 

[zed4130]

surly this in cog neato is just on a wind up, i mean were is he now  looks like another rad wind up,    tones done so much for the OS racing in the uk , just ingore him, im sure he wont be heard of again, well unless he's on another wind up   

[Twinkle]

The trouble is Zed, Tony isn't well enough for this sort of wind up at the minute and anyone that knows Tony knows just how much his got on his plate right now.  This is definately not the first time people have been allocated points in this way so why raise the issue now?

I think Tony has done the right thing by organising the vote so it can be decided once and for all and nobody will have cause to winge in the future regarding this.

Sharon xx

[thecrooch]

Right then, it took me bloody ages to read that lot so here goes and at the risk of upsetting one of my very best and certainly oldest friend (nearly 30 years now), i,ll continue.

In my view (and im not alone) we have over killed OS, thats why were not getting the numbers, we should bin the winter series alltogether and cut the summer series down to 8-10 races (all races count) now I have to shoulder some of the responsibility for cock-a-doodle-doing up the OSS08 especially the fact that you could drop so many races as I thought this would give everyone the chance to miss some races with family things and not suffer in the rankings but I was wrong.
What we have done instead is put so many races on the calender that the OS is no longer special.................its just another class, the only thing that sets it aside from the other classes is that we will never get a "British Ranking" from it.

Im sorry.

Now am I wrong?

nope not at all - i think you are right about the amount races being overkill - if you treat the OSS the same as the regionals then it keeps it bit special...  Till next year then....

And yes Zips and Lee - we will be..... and Bill we'll just use the 30-39 as training for when we come up to the 40+  if you can wait 3 years that is...

[Zippy]

Looks like we'll be bashing bars in 30-39 next year then Simon. 

I thought you was retiring at the end of this year?

I am going to do cruisers as well next year, so there might be a few of us bashing bars in the 30-39

I was going to hang up my vans at the end of the year but that was mainly down to me not enjoying the racing that much. It's also a huge calender this year and the thought of all these races got me down a bit.

To be honest i thought I'd walk the old school this year but Quad has run me very close and there really isn't anything between us at the moment. That's what's put the fun back into things for me.

Cruiser all the way for me next year though as I reckon the class will see a resurgence next year with another bunch of old schoolers joining them to bash bars. Besides I've seen the fun the 40+ are having and I want some of that.

I think 13 races are a bit much to be honest but this is only the second year and it'll be a few years before things normalize and find their place.

[thecrooch]

Looks like we'll be bashing bars in 30-39 next year then Simon. 

I thought you was retiring at the end of this year?

I am going to do cruisers as well next year, so there might be a few of us bashing bars in the 30-39

I was going to hang up my vans at the end of the year but that was mainly down to me not enjoying the racing that much. It's also a huge calender this year and the thought of all these races got me down a bit.

To be honest i thought I'd walk the old school this year but Quad has run me very close and there really isn't anything between us at the moment. That's what's put the fun back into things for me.

Cruiser all the way for me next year though as I reckon the class will see a resurgence next year with another bunch of old schoolers joining them to bash bars. Besides I've seen the fun the 40+ are having and I want some of that.

I think 13 races are a bit much to be honest but this is only the second year and it'll be a few years before things normalize and find their place.

you are going to do both though arent you? you cant give up the OSS just yet, i havent beaten you yet.... 

[Zippy]

I'm going to enter the odd event but probably only one or two a year and maybe the Brits if that goes ahead on a yearly basis.

[OrgasmDonor]

Right then, it took me bloody ages to read that lot so here goes and at the risk of upsetting one of my very best and certainly oldest friend (nearly 30 years now), i,ll continue.

In my view (and im not alone) we have over killed OS, thats why were not getting the numbers, we should bin the winter series alltogether and cut the summer series down to 8-10 races (all races count) now I have to shoulder some of the responsibility for cock-a-doodle-do-a-doodle-doing up the OSS08 especially the fact that you could drop so many races as I thought this would give everyone the chance to miss some races with family things and not suffer in the rankings but I was wrong.
What we have done instead is put so many races on the calender that the OS is no longer special.................its just another class, the only thing that sets it aside from the other classes is that we will never get a "British Ranking" from it.

Im sorry.

Now am I wrong?

Very well put

I would feel better if we (North) only had 5 or 6 races over a year, it's too intense and too costly at the moment...     and it's not really that special

i agree, maybe doing half the regional calander so that every track is raced once through the summer and winter series, this would lighten the load without any venues being missed out and keep the old school on its toes as only racing each track once a year

[dialledbikes]

Please keep the OS winter series (but fewer dates than last year) as I'd definitely like to do some OS racing over winter when there are fewer NS races to go to.

[QuadPaul]

Very good debate this, and nice to see for a change that it hasn't descended into a keyboard slugfest

I agree with Sam & some of the other very valid points that have been made as well about costs etc, family life etc and it does become a juggling act. Think we do need to keep it that a few rounds can be dropped though as even if we shorten the calander to 6-8 races there still no way everyone will be able to make every round (e.g 5 of 6 or 6 of 8 to count to points).

But in terms of fun it has been a great series again just with slightly less riders. I'm also planning on stepping up to NS over the winter but not decided yet whether to go 30+ or 30-39 cruiser (both look whey too fast at the mo ) I will continue to support the OSS as well though.

[se]

Final bit from me on this, meant to say - yes 5-8 races for the series would be better than 13. I'm dropping a bit of podge at least though.

[miss jibba jabba]

OK from the vibe we're getting, I think MOST of us are agreed that the present format is too long, pauls suggestion of 5 from 6 or 6 from 8 looks like a good idea to me. I first suggested that we should drop the winter series and shorten the summer but 796 and myself had another idea of maybe a yearly season 0f 12 races (1 per month) dropping 2 races.(10 from 12)

WHAT DO YOU LOT THINK???

Ratty's got a bit on his plate at the moment as im sure you lot know but as soon as he's back to his best, we'll all sit down and have a proper chat about it. (probably in the pub)

Nishiki14.

[sonic-1]

i dont have a prob with the way it is at the mo , at some point i wont be able to make a race (22june ) but thats why its the way it is

[dialledbikes]

I think you should keep the summer series and winter series separate.

Having OS at regionals seems to have worked well, so maybe stick with the South Region dates and Hersden for the summer series venues (best 50% of total races to count towards final ranking).  Then run a winter series separately from the region at whichever clubs you like - maybe the winter series could include races at tracks in other regions to drum up support for the next summer series.

[Zippy]

Not sure what's going wrong with the numbers attending racing at the moment as we only had 8 turn up at Hayes this weekend.

We were getting high end 20's last year and at Hersden we had 33 riders turn up.

We desperately need some new blood turning up pretty soon as we're going to loose another 2 to cruisers next year.

To be honest the racing is only a small part of what a race meet is about for the old school, you get to make new friends and some more than likely needed excercise as well.

A few people have said they'd come along to watch. Bugger that bring your bike and join in, I guarentee that't you'll lov it. You'll be knackered hot sweaty and have a smile all over your face.

[eloopnai]

cant we race every weekend sam

im gonna get a new skool bike soon so i can race between our series
 ive got the bmx bug and so has me boy
so were gonna start doing wednesday nights as well here in braintree £2.50 you cant go wrong

[RATTY]

I cant wait to get back on the track

[thecrooch]

I cant wait to get back on the track

And we cant wait to get you back up and running Ratty!

[20to26]

For me personally as a newbie to the OS scene, one of the biggest problems with getting to race the OSS is that it's been difficult to sort an OS "legal" bike - I'm close enough to Hayes, Andover and Bournemouth to feel happy about the cost of travel, plus I want to get my kids into it too while I become BMX race fit along with them.

New to this OS thing meant that I bought 2 bikes that didn't qualify as "legal" to race and I tied up my budget a bit learning the ropes by buying the wrong stuff as a newbie oldie. Both were running "non-caliper" brakes but had 1" threaded headsets so I lucked out when they turned out to be mid-school and only worth looking at. I've found these purchases impossible to move on because of that and recover the costs to put into "real" OS stuff. Because of that a NS Cruiser looks inviting - they're cheaper (even to customise), easier to get hold of, and more like my MTB with a sensible TT length!

Like many I have a limited budget and can't just spend willy-nilly while wife and three kids look on scratching their heads at my slowly growing obsession... and unraceable mid-school bikes. I'm not saying incorporate all MS bikes into the "legal" category but perhaps looking at incorporating some other earler 90's models would make it easier to get "race legal" but maintain the spirit of being "old school". Maybe specify non-vee brakes (ie canti) for frames with 990 mounts and 1" threaded forks.

This is going to become an increasing problem as pukka OS parts become increasingly rare and expensive (£80-£100 for an OS saddle!). One of the biggest threats to OS racing is the cost of entering the sport and availability of parts for the casual "let's give it a go again" racer who doesn't want to spend £££'s on a whim (esp when that whim is a shedload smaller AND older than the mountain bike he's been riding since bmx in the 80's). IMHO this is one of the things that contributed to the downfall of racing in the first place in the 80's - cost. Remember the "how much is your bike worth" questions that main stream media got hooked onto? It gave the impression that BMX racing was for the wealthy and elite when it all started with some kids in a field on make-shift bikes. Cost is always going to be a factor but with OS parts availability more so.

As for the number of OS races - I had hoped to ride one a month myself and get my boys into it as well (which means another 2 BMX bikes). Buying NS bikes to re-introduce yourself or your kids to BMX is easy compared to building a race legal OS ride - so 30-39 looks a possibility. I just hope they have a novice class...

my 2p

[mr.magoo]

Tend to agree/see the point with 20 to 26, being that i've just got back into it, found it difficult to get everything, but was extremely lucky to build an old skool for appx 250, but only cos i was lucky enough to pick up a frame for pennies, had that not have been the case i would still be on my Halfords stallion, then the cost of lid and gloves  ...  etc, got through well over 350.00 in the last month and a half, considering didn't have any spare cash put aside for it.... so then have to justofy the spend to wife? then my lad's bike and lid, now daughter wants to give it a try ... so it is hard for newbies to get back into it, without feeling like an outsider or don't fit in, because of the rules with old skool.

Not that I am trying undermine the rules, but know from recent experience how difficult and potentially costly getting back into it is.

Don't help that i now fancy a cruiser, to see if i get on with them now.....but think that'll be an un-realised dream.....or following divorce.