Cyclocross Racing - Can I race SS in the C race?

Or do I have to do the designated SS race? (It's a timing thing: the C race is the first one of the day, and the SS is the last. I'm not really available in the afternoon and I don't want to miss out.)

I did it all last year, even finished 10th overall (C's) in the GA series. Uh...go for it.

you can race SS in any race

Well, as it turned out, I slept through the C race so I did the last race of the day which was B, singlespeed, and unicycles (!). Came in 11 of 16 in the SS category. It was HARD!

And really, really, really fun. I'll be back for the next one!

Saw a guy absolutely tear it up in the Pro/1/2/3 Chicago Jackson Park race yesterday on a fixed-gear track bike, with brake of course.

So, yeah, go for it –*you won't be at a disadvantage necessarily.

With the course being flat and mostly hard packed, singlespeed wasn't my disadvantage. What killed me was an absolute lack of skill at dismounting and remounting at the barriers. I must have had half a dozen guys fly by me as I flailed to get back on my bike.

Gotta work on that.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/2877459315_414721c976_b.jpg

Style points. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/2877459315/sizes/l/)

And, guess it's actually a SS cross bike, running as a fixed.

That looks like a track bike, no canti studs in back and very little tire clearance.

That is an awesome pic!

It's a track bike with a canti fork on the front -- he races track. I spoke the the owner after the race for a few minutes. He was stoked about the idea of using the track bike out on the cross course. Really nice bike, and an awesome performance by it's owner.

I'm gonna race cross on my steamroller. Clearance for 34's plus mud I hear. Obviously not a true cross bike like that guy but still cool.
Does he not have a rear brake because he's fixed? Is that a kind of loophole in the rule, or is it pretty much whatever goes?

Mines just a road bike with caliper brakes and a SS drivetrain. The biggest tires I could fit under the brakes are 30mm Kenda Kwicks. I think I'd have trouble with mud, but no problem at all on a dusty course.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/CalOso/delpasocx.jpg

I'm gonna race cross on my steamroller. Clearance for 34's plus mud I hear. Obviously not a true cross bike like that guy but still cool.
Does he not have a rear brake because he's fixed? Is that a kind of loophole in the rule, or is it pretty much whatever goes?

that's no more a cross bike than your steamroller is. :) look at how tight that tire is to the brake bridge.
no need to run a brake on the back when you're running fixed.
that is an awesome photo.

that's no more a cross bike than your steamroller is. :) look at how tight that tire is to the brake bridge.
no need to run a brake on the back when you're running fixed.
that is an awesome photo.My understanding of the USA Cycling rules is that a freewheel and two brakes are required. IMO singlespeed cross racing makes perfect sense, but fixed cross racing is a novelty. Sure, you'll get all kinds of attention (as evidenced in this thread), but you give up a lot by not having the freewheel.

My first five cross races, I raced on a Steamroller with 32C file tread tires, long-reach calipers, and a freewheel. Getting a rear brake fitted was a bit of a kluge, as described here:
http://www.surlybikes.com/spew7.html
It worked great. In really grassy sticky mud, tire clearance would have been an issue.

Wouldn't you get wacked in the back with a rotating pedal when you try to shoulder your FG? Also, there were some really tight turns in the race I did where I would definitely have struck a pedal if I tried to roll through it.

My understanding of the USA Cycling rules is that a freewheel and two brakes are required. IMO singlespeed cross racing makes perfect sense, but fixed cross racing is a novelty. Sure, you'll get all kinds of attention (as evidenced in this thread), but you give up a lot by not having the freewheel.

My first five cross races, I raced on a Steamroller with 32C file tread tires, long-reach calipers, and a freewheel. Getting a rear brake fitted was a bit of a kluge, as described here:
http://www.surlybikes.com/spew7.html
It worked great. In really grassy sticky mud, tire clearance would have been an issue.

i'm sure you're right, flargle. i was speaking more to whether it was necessary to run a rear brake and not so much to the rules. it would be fun to try some practice races fixed but i agree, fixed gear would be stupid in an actual race, and would prolly just net you a bunch of enemies from all the guys stacking up on your back wheel at the first tight corner.

Meant to say this before: you can't see it in that pic, but the seat tube on that bike has one of those snazzy curves which follow the curve of the rear tire. I'm really surprised that the cross tire fit with that tight clearance.

khs aero track, perhaps?

Yeah, coulda been. It was inspiring. I was torn between thinking I was a total wimp for worrying about my gearing etc. and thinking about how nice it would be to have a bike so stripped down and light.

Yeah, big oops on my part for calling the bike a SS 'cross bike. I saw the fork and looked no further. :)

Watching Nico race, he definitely couldn't lean into corners as well as the guys who could coast, which probably hurt him at a few points. However, the course wasn't overtly curvy, with the "Whirlpool of Death" and the small run-up/barrier section on the back side the only places that I recall really requiring some good lean on the bike.

I kinda hope to see him campaign the rest of the series fixed, but once the weather turns sloppy (will it ever?) I think it'll be more likely to see him on something else.