Coaster Brake Challenge 12

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rev106 said:
They are ready to ride, are you?
Click to expand...
I wish.... I mean, I ride daily, but Jersey is a long ways from Cali....

I think I'm gonna try to organize an offroad cruiser event near me... see if the local shops/clubs/geeks are into it. Even if it's just 5 or 10 riders the first event, ya gotta start somewhere, right?
 
Cool! 36-32 in front and 18-22 in back some combination there of would work, most new single speeds are 32/20 out of the box.

Yes, Jersey is a tad far...My first one had 6-10 people. Enough for a load of fun!
 
I been thinking about the crazy low gears you're been recommending, Paul, and at first it didn't make sense to me. I tend to run singlespeed mtbs at around 50 to 52 gear-inches; basically 2:1 front/back. That's on the higher end of your suggested range. But then I realized that my SS mtbs all had good brakes front and rear.... a 50" gear lets you climb decent, but it also lets you attack the descent, too. With just a coaster brake, it's goofy to attack the descent; having a really low gear to get up the hill quick is good, then let gravity take over, right? Less chance of outrunning the brake so severely.


Speaking of attacking descents with a singlespeed coaster brake rig, check out this video. Made me feel totally inadequate as a human being.
 
PS- what do you recommend as far as choosing a course? Something to keep the competitors happy/interested? Good trails are scarce 'round here, especially if I'm trying to stay off the "radar".... I imagine the same is true for the LA area, too, though.
 
I got a couple buds in Cally who have training for this ride! Good luck all competitors!
 
Yeah a vid of some pro or semi pro doing down hill is always a little humbling for sure. The gearing is more for the climbing than going down as there are a fair amount of climbs and also there is your normal ride pace and race pace which is a totally different thing! I'm running a 36/22 on my coaster which is easier than my normal single speed that is 36/18.

As far as choosing a course, some sort of loop would be good for people to watch and if someone gasses out or crashes you can get them back easily. Not having hand brakes is a real game changer for most riders so a course you ride on a regular trail bike will be a handful on a coaster. There are trials I ride now that 6 years ago when I started this I would have never dreamed of doing with just a coaster brake. You'd be surprised what you can do. You can't descend the same but you can still descend fast if you want. I set up a satellite meet point and keep the course secret to avoid any fun police or any other causeless do-gooder that wants to stop me. We roll in en masse and we're doing a group ride, just a weird one.

Here's a vid from a few back:

 
Thanks for the advice, Paul. Do you tend to meet at a "satellite" and then ride to the course? OR do you just help ppl "carpool" to the course with vans and trucks? Also, what about distance of the course? I know a loop in the Pines, it's about 11miles.... 2 times around that, or just one?
 
Dang...those gears seem really low.
My normal everyday "all around" single speed is 44-18(about 63 gear inches).
My 2 speed internal hub is 41-18, which gives me a 59 low gear inch/80 high gear inch.

My riding is typically limited to long distance beach riding, mostly flat terrain, but I always choose my gearing based on my own level for "all around" so I can still attack hills on occasion. Even my 44-18 at times can feel a little "spinny".

I realize these dirt trail/mountain rides are a totally different animal. I see why a super low climbing gear is what is needed more than anything...
 
My 26" cruisers that I ride on streets and really tame trails are usually geared in the 57"-64" range. I'm building a kickback bike with rim brakes that I plan to do a lot of trail rides on; that'll have a 49/68" set-up. In the past, I ran 26" and 29" singlespeed MTBs with 50"-52" gears. I think the beauty of a 52" gear is, it's low enough to get up most hills off-road with a lightweight bike (still have to walk some of em), but it's high enough to be worthwhile on long flat stretches and downhills. Going fast on a SS with v-brakes or disc brakes is both fun and reasonably safe; it ain't geared like a regular mtb, but it stops like a regular mtb.

Now, I've been offroad with some c/b cruisers for sure, and it's a different situation entirely. For one, the bikes tend to weigh more than a late-model SS chromoly cruiser--- having a very low ratio helps get a heavy bike up faster, but I really think the temptation of pushing a 50" gear to the max on faster sections would be too great.... and I'd be sure to skid out of control if I had to panic stop while going full-bore on one. No doubt, you'll hit some high speeds descending just from the gravity, but having a higher gear ratio won't really effect that anyway.

I think, if I was going to build a coaster-only bike, purpose-built for trails, I'd shoot for 40"-45".
 
Well yeah, we are trail riding and thus need to conform to the demands of the dirt, thus the low gears, trust me you'll want them, this event is not a cruise by any measure, people have been seen puking on the side of the trail! I've found that keeping our runs under 18 miles works best for time and the overall fitness of the group, longer ones tend to get high rates of dnf. 10-15 miles is ideal.
 
Awesome!

I know I have some 20t cogs I could throw on which would drop me down about 6 gear inches. I probably have a 41t chainring which would drop me down another 3 inches if needed..
 
Well I know a gut that has a ton of cheap used bike bits laying around....;)
 
Coaster Brake Challenge

Heat #4

The Longest Lap

Spectators 4

Meat Pylons 4

Breakage 7

Where:

Starbucks 17901 Chatsworth

Granada Hills, CA 91344

7 am, leave at 8.

A venerable CBC staple, ups, downs, all around, a little bit of everything. About 11-12 miles Fast people can finish it in under an hour. Bonus +1 point activity after everyone is back, food and drinks and a raffle after that. See you then!!!
 
I've been following the results this time... Looks like you're doing better in the standings, Paul... picked up a spot on the podium each time, looks like. Just can't catch Dingo or Will, eh?
 
I used to be faster than Will, many moons ago but he's in beast mode now. I've been chasing Dingo for years now, I've gotten close but never close enough! Yeah I've gotten faster, averaging 12-15 mph off road is fast for a weekend warrior, pro pace is about 17 mph or so in the dirt. Very hard!
 
So, Paul, looks like you won the CBC this time... leastways, you were the overall points leader. Nice job.... still think the Challenge is about the best "Race" I've heard of....
 
Congrats. If I ever plan a vaca to Cali, I'll time it where I can ride at least one stage of the CBC--- assuming the wife lets me. I've been riding offroad on cruisers for a while now, and feel pretty comfortable on my local trails, but I suspect your region is hillier than mine....
 
Well yeah I'm in a valley after all :)
 

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