MTB Race, 2010

Tarckives Bikes
21

[quote=dmotobear]I REALLY need a mtb now… and I happen to be BROKE.

Opinions:

Singlespeed rigid: Cheap and could be fun
Singlespeed w/ fork: Still cheap
This bike:
I could always add a cassette out back…

Or a full on 29’r hardtail with xt or something…

PS. Is singlespeed fun to race? I NEEDED gears quite a few times on the course last week… like long drawn out steep climbing in the granny gear… do you just walk the long climbs? I rode my ss cross bike out on the trails and was fine most of the time… but tis painful.[/quote]

I’d suggest the geared Windsor over that, it’s the same price and has a better spec. You could always make a singlespeed out of it.

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This one?

23

I could probably get a good deal on this:

We’ll see tomorrow :slight_smile:

24

Yeah, that’s the one. If you want gears and squish I’d go with the Cannondale if you get a good enough deal. If you were paying MSRP I’d side with the BD bike.

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Killing it in the Cat2 - getting my ass whooooped.



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funny, you don’t LOOK like a domestic terrorist

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Gnarly! So, how’d it go?

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Saturday I drove 3.5 hours down to Montgomery NY, Checked into the Super 8, Got food for the night and morning. (humas,pita,sardine,crackers,yogurt,cheerios,redbull,water,gatorade)

I rode 7 miles of sweet single track, all blue sky’s and perfect temp behind the motel. Back to room for eat and HBO. The rain started at 12:00am. At 1:00 Gran Torino was over and it was still raining. I thought if its below 45f in the morning, I’m driving home.

5:30am the alarm goes off, I can hear the rain. I’m thinking of the VT 50 last fall. (I don’t have to do this, there’s no reason to suffer all day in the mud, I’m going home) (But what about the socks he says)

Turn on the Weather Channel, it’s 45f, raining buckets. (I don’t have to do thi,the socks, what about the socks?)

Get the car loaded and drive the few miles to the venue (I’m NOT doing this) I keep driving, as I get closer, I pull over to turn around to drive home. I look in the rear view and I see a car with a bike on the roof. (ok, I’ll do it)

Warm up, line up, start at the back because cons taint and let them all go. I pass a few as we enter the single track, pass a few more . Back starts hurting early, I think riding on the slick takes more core strength. Tell me self to relax, good form, spin, good posture. release that grip on the bars, hold them lightly… It works, back pain is with me but not unbearable.

The course is slick and fast with great berms to use in the corners. I messed up on one CX style dismount failed to unclip at the bottom and launched . I had to run back and get the bike.

This was one of the funnest events I’ve done. Dark Horse Cycles knows how to throw a party, err, race.

I finished in 3:03:22, 52nd for Sport Men North/NY. I did my best! I’m very happy with my bike, tire choice and skills on the trail.

http://www.darkhorsecycles.com/race-rumblings/82-singlespeed-2010.html
Subtract 8 mins for North/NY time

31

Holy hell that sounds awesome. Love the picture of you riding through the building.

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i’ve decided my 10 year old redline monocog is race worthy. that, or use my dad’s 29er with all the modern shit.

33

1st mtb race ever was yesterday - first race of the wors series.

won the ss category by 4 minutes. won a free entry into my next race… awesome!

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^was fun, right?

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yeah, it was awesome. my 29er happened to be great for the course, and i luckily chose the right gear (32x17) w/out being able to preride at all.

i also made the switch to tubeless - which is nice on a fully rigid bike - and was able to rail the corners and really lean the bike.

plus my legs were strong and i felt like i had a motorbike between my legs!

36

you doing the dark horse 40 daddy bear?

37

Now that you brought it up? It’s between Newtons Revenge and D2R2?

Maybe?

Maybe SS/Fixed?

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wors # 2 was yesterday. 22 miles with a 2 mile gravel road leadout followed by lots of technical singletrack, was intense on a rigid singlespeed.

some guy got seriously hurt, and i was one of the first few guys on the scene, so i stopped for a bit before riding on to find someone with a cellphone or radio. the next checkpoint took forever before finding someone to inform.

the spot where he was laying was at the bottom of a jump, which everyone was going around to the left, but the jump was the straight line down the hill. apparently he was a local though, so he knew the trails.

took 3rd in the ss race, only 20 seconds behind second place, which is less than the amount of time i spent stopped by the injured guy, and then riding cautiously for a while because i was freaked out. 7 minutes behind the winner who i could tell was really strong before the race even started. after the start he proceeded to lead out the fast start of mostly geared riders on a singlespeed and was the first guy into the singletrack.

fell twice. the end.

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p.s. barry wicks showed up - i guess he lives in illinois now.

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