pak29

Okay, so you've been training all summer for the Single Speed World Championships '05. You could not be more fit or squeeze one more ounce of performance out of your body- your legs can already produce enough horsepower to light up Boston. You've honed your cyclocross dismount/remount until the transition from riding to running and back again is smooth as butter, and your racing tactics have been refined by a hard summer of XC racing to the point where every time you look at another cyclist some primordial predatory instinct stands the hair up on your neck and starts you growling. You've gone on epic rides with a Camelback filled with Guinness so you'll be ready in case of pound-beer-get-shortcut course options. Your racing tutu is fresh back from the cleaners and you're totally pumped and raring to go down there and tear it up...

now, assuming you could create the perfect bike specifically for the SSWC05 race, what would you bring?

The course looks like a complete dog's breakfast- you've got to negotiate 30 miles of rocky climbs, fireroads, tight ridge trails; the whole gamut and all as fast as humanly possible. What would the fastest possible off-road SS for this course look like?
Custom steel with padded top-tube?
Mountain bike with thin semi-slicks and canti's?
29er?
Carbon stays?
Open-Pro's with cyclo-cross tires?
Bamboo seatpost with hidden ninja throwing knives?
Sneaky-peat style Scott full carbon XC frame disguised as grungy city bike?
80's-vintage shoulder strap in the front triangle?
34X12 gearing that you can hardly ride but know you'll be able to hammer past anyone in a final sprint?

jim-bob

I'd just steal whatever ferrentino was riding.

legalize_it

my current ride. she's a sweet one

Thylacine

1) The appropriate gearing for the course.
2) Suspension forks.
3) A nice well fitting frame made from steel, of course.
4) Nice fat front tire, low rolling resistance back tire.

Ah screw it, basically an XC hardtail minus the gears.

Now, if you want to pose-factor, that's a different story. Start with spider web tattoos on your elbows. Bascially anything that makes you look like a sailor.

emayex

i dunno dude...i dunno much about this stuff...but ut seems that a fat front tire and suspension fork is an even or deal...dont they do the same thing....also...i would think you dont want a slick tire in back.....to get over bad terrain dont you need somethin to grab?

im sure y'all know more than me...can you explain why my ideas are wrong
thanks
max

Thylacine

Bigger front tires have more surface area which means more grip. As the front wheel has a greater lean angle in corners than the rear, and contributes less to overall rolling resistance, you can take advantage of a larger tire in the front.
The rear wheel's primary function is drive, so you need to be able to accellerate and decellerate it easily, and that to me means a semi-knobby race tire like the Hutchinson Python, Geax Mezcal or Schwalbe Racing Ralph.

You also have to remember two factors. One - the larger front tire is for grip, not cush. That's why you have suspension forks. Tires make poor suspension devices. Two - It's much easier to regain control of a sliding rear tire, no so easy with a front, so you can take a few concessions with a rear tire in terms of grip vs rolling resistance that you shouldn't really take with the rear.

Horses for courses though - tire selection is definitely also based on what the terrain is like you are going to be riding in, and the best source of info for that are the locals.

climbo

from what I rode out there, grip is not a major concern, it's more the rocky stuff that is the main part of the trails, the surrounding ground is usually quite well packed down and/or covered in leaves etc. depending in time of year. I rode the Wild101 with a 32x16 an I could NOT go any bigger than that, some of the climbs are LONG !!

Perfect bike might be a rigid 29er with a not too aggressive knobby.

max-a-mill

i wanna see someone ride a cross bike out there...

they'll either be incredibly talented and fast, or they'll get eaten for breakfast by those big old rocky climbs and descents we are gonna see.

right now my bike is a rigid with a big old 2.4 on the front for suspension and i see no reason to change it up, but for the race i may have a bigwheeled secret weapon.

legalize_it

suspension is for weenies. i dont care how rocky the terrain is, i have to ride rigid. climbing with a squishy fork stinks, and on the downhills i go just as fast rigid (albeit i have less brain cells left when i get to the bottom)

legalize_it

will you have it in time? that would be sswweeeett

*new*guy

I'll be on a hooptie for sure. You folks keep talking about how rocky the course is. BB clearance going to be a big issue?

max-a-mill

why you got a bike with an adjustable bottom bracket height or somethin???

it'll be rocky and rough if any of the trails i ever rode out west are any indication.

as for the secret weapon i ordered it in april and was quoted 3.5 months so we'll see.

legalize_it - PM

riderx

I wouldn't build any bike specifically for a race. I'll be riding either a 26" 1x1 or a 29" Kelly. And I sure wouldn't ride any skinny race tires unless you ride too slow to pinch flat. There's some fun terrain out there.

You can can get an idea of the terrain will be like here and here (scroll down to the May 26th entry)

*new*guy

HAH! nah. But if clearance is going to be an issue, it makes picking which bike to ride alot easier

pak29

Okay so the rocks are certainly something to consider. Anyone out there have any experience racing over truly rough terrain with any high-end 29er/cyclocross wheels? Anyone tried the American Classic 29er wheels?

climbo

Eric at Mt Nittany Wheelworks would be the person to talk to on that subject.